Games Played in 2020 (Ranked)
These are the games I played/beat in 2020 that I rank from my most liked to least liked.
42 Games
This is one of the best VNs I've ever played, which is surprising, given when I first saw that Uchikoshi was making another game, I expected it to be lesser than 999. There was a bitter taste in my mouth with the end of the Zero Escape series as we know it, and as a result, I figured the flaws in writing in that game were the direct result of a one hit wonder. I was wrong, and I'm glad I was.
Gone are the days of overly complex locked room puzzles, and here are the strange, failure encouraging puzzles of AI: The Somnium Files. Although not as complex, these puzzles are based in dream logic, and it's a very unique set of logic that's more interpretive than it is to a hard logic, which is fitting, given the premise of the game. It's a concept that's really fun to toy around with and fail, given the outlandish results that occur when you do. The humor to this game is fantastic, making me chortle at the many different scenarios the characters find themselves in. More importantly though, their character's dynamics are extremely strong, giving each character some sort of likability. This is a rare event in Visual Novels, which I think has only been achieved once with Ghost Trick by me. Date, Aiba, Kasumi, etc, have all entered some of my favorite characters period. Needless to say, comparing your characters to the solidness of Ghost Trick's is a great compliment.
Above all else though, this is a murder mystery that is mostly self contained and is well thought out. Surprisingly, the murder mystery's twist is explained in a way that's logical with what we know within the rules set up by the narrative, and thereby, makes the entire story incredibly consistent. This results in one of the most solid murder mysterious that I've read, and even moreso, one of the most interesting villain motive I've ever read.
Overall, this has become one of my newfound favorites in recent years, and I love every bit of it. The sequel expands on some of the left over mysteries that were contained in this game, and it excites me to see how it eventually unfolds.
Gone are the days of overly complex locked room puzzles, and here are the strange, failure encouraging puzzles of AI: The Somnium Files. Although not as complex, these puzzles are based in dream logic, and it's a very unique set of logic that's more interpretive than it is to a hard logic, which is fitting, given the premise of the game. It's a concept that's really fun to toy around with and fail, given the outlandish results that occur when you do. The humor to this game is fantastic, making me chortle at the many different scenarios the characters find themselves in. More importantly though, their character's dynamics are extremely strong, giving each character some sort of likability. This is a rare event in Visual Novels, which I think has only been achieved once with Ghost Trick by me. Date, Aiba, Kasumi, etc, have all entered some of my favorite characters period. Needless to say, comparing your characters to the solidness of Ghost Trick's is a great compliment.
Above all else though, this is a murder mystery that is mostly self contained and is well thought out. Surprisingly, the murder mystery's twist is explained in a way that's logical with what we know within the rules set up by the narrative, and thereby, makes the entire story incredibly consistent. This results in one of the most solid murder mysterious that I've read, and even moreso, one of the most interesting villain motive I've ever read.
Overall, this has become one of my newfound favorites in recent years, and I love every bit of it. The sequel expands on some of the left over mysteries that were contained in this game, and it excites me to see how it eventually unfolds.
1
Super Metroid is bar none, the game that made me fall in love with Metroidvanias. Before, I wasn't really a fan of the games I played within the genre. Even with Hollow Knight, there was something missing that just didn't hit the right way. And I think it all comes down to level design/designer guidance.
A lot of the game is a fairly linear game, albeit towards the end. Despite that, the game never actually feels like it is. It gently guides you with an invisible hand to you objectives, locking you off subtly with rooms, or mechanics you're unfamiliar with existing. The reason why the wall jumping is made so specifically, is because after a certain point of learning how to do it, you begin to understand just how much this opens up the game. The game forces you to learn this trick at one point, showing with the animals that you're capable of doing this. And after this moment, the game, on repeated playthroughs, become even more open for replayability, opening up paths you never really knew you could do before now. It is a master class of map and level design, and it makes this game one of the best games I've ever played. In it's superb design, it is close to achieving it's design goal, and for that, it does it perfectly. One of the rare instances of which I would call a game in any regard "perfect". The only reason this is not above AI The Somnium Files is because the game overall doesn't hit as emotionally to me personally as Somnium Files does.
A lot of the game is a fairly linear game, albeit towards the end. Despite that, the game never actually feels like it is. It gently guides you with an invisible hand to you objectives, locking you off subtly with rooms, or mechanics you're unfamiliar with existing. The reason why the wall jumping is made so specifically, is because after a certain point of learning how to do it, you begin to understand just how much this opens up the game. The game forces you to learn this trick at one point, showing with the animals that you're capable of doing this. And after this moment, the game, on repeated playthroughs, become even more open for replayability, opening up paths you never really knew you could do before now. It is a master class of map and level design, and it makes this game one of the best games I've ever played. In it's superb design, it is close to achieving it's design goal, and for that, it does it perfectly. One of the rare instances of which I would call a game in any regard "perfect". The only reason this is not above AI The Somnium Files is because the game overall doesn't hit as emotionally to me personally as Somnium Files does.
2
One of the most video game video games I've ever played. Everything about this game is amazing. It's become a really fast favorite for me to go through. It has such an addicting gameplay loop that I still to this day, 2 years later after completing it, pop it on to just try and get a high score. It makes me want to get more into the Tony Hawk series, of which I somehow missed out on growing up!
3
I wasn't a fan of Risk of Rain 1, but Risk of Rain 2 knocked everything out of the park for me. The transition from a 2D game to a 3D game is a well suited change for this game, which makes the game focus more on movement than ever before. Probably my favorite rougelite, period. If only it Gearbox kept it's hands away from it.
4
Despite the cutbacks towards the end, this is probably my second favorite open world game ever. The level of interactivity and choices you have within the sandbox of MGSV is astounding, dynamic, and incredibly fun. Probably my favorite MGS game on pure gameplay alone, but third favorite overall.
5
Raging Loop is an interesting VN, a VN that I'm sure has people divided on it's ending. For me, it's one of the more interesting endings that I've experienced, and is thematically enriching for it's themes. It's not perfect, but it's a VN that does a lot with very little. It's an eerie, incredibly intense experience that somehow manages to make me feel emotionally uncomfortable more than any AAA game has tried to give me. It also has some beautiful music that's so fitting for the mood the game is going for, and has one of the more interesting ideas of a protagonist, as well as a specific concept that I've only really ever seen done once before. Fantastic little VN!
6
There is so much love put into Ape Escape 3. It's another one of those "they don't make games like these anymore". Filled to the brim with a bunch of weird, goofy stuff, mini games that are their own expansive things, an array of mechanics and levels that are all utilized in fun ways, and just a lot of things to do. All wrapped together by some amazing music, a cute kid's plot, and some fun ass fun to be had.
7
Drakengard is an experience. It's one of the rare games I've played that have stuck to a theme so wholeheartedly, to the point where you feel it to the very core of the gameplay. It's a game that's so alienating, grueling, soul crushing, and makes me feel so awful that it's hard to recommend to anyone.
And I fucking love it. It's so unapologetic in it's design, and it's amazing.
And I fucking love it. It's so unapologetic in it's design, and it's amazing.
8
I think I prefer Ace Combat 4 better in terms of specific set pieces, environments, and music, but Ace Combat 5 is definitely a special game. It's got a lot of good moments in it, with a surprisingly nice story to it. Gameplay wise, it's a bit more like Ace Combat 4, just with more expansive missions. My only real problem with it is that if you fail, you have to redo cutscene moments, which ends up making those moments lose their bite.
9
A great attempt at converting Metroid into a 3D shooter. The environments are breathtaking, even for a gamecube game, the music is great, the gunplay is really fun at times, the puzzles are great. It's main problem though has to do with it's visor scanning. Too many times, the game is reliant on you scanning something first before it becomes interactable. Which means that you could miss important key areas simply because you didn't inspect it first. This makes for some tedious backtracking that isn't necessary, ontop of some already needless backtracking within the level design itself. Still, a great first attempt at bringing the series in a bold and interesting direction. Can't wait to try the sequels.
10
Just a really fantastic boomer shooter. It's hard to say why exactly, but the movement, the level design, and the feeling of shooting your guns is just so great feeling in this game. I do shooty and it funni :)))
11
A great game! Not a whole lot to say about it, other than it being a great little remake of the original Metroid game. Probably one of the best remakes ever!
12
AM2R is a fantastic fan project, one that makes it hard to discuss given that it's a fan project. In many ways, it feels like Metroid, and it's a well designed game in that regard. Is it the best Metroid game I've played? I'm not sure. But it's a solid remake of the original Metroid 2.
13
This game hurts my hand! I wish it didn't, because otherwise, I would whole heartedly love this game! I should probably replay it...
14
The original DMC is great! I suck at it, but it's a great game that's very combo heavy. It's mostly fascinating to me just how Kamiya has progressed as a game designer, writer, director, etc than it is anything else. Mostly just because character action games like this aren't particularly my thing. Should really give 3, 4 and 5 a try!
15
A weird take on a Metroidvania! I don't think it was designed to be one, but it gives a feeling of one at times. Has a very bleak ending that I like. Solid game, wish there was more of it!
16
I get more why OoT was considered so great to so many people. It's really one of the first of it's kind, with a really engaging world, premise, gameplay, etc. For me though, the puzzles within OoT aren't really my favorite. They're very linear, and require a lot of searching around for keys and hoping you got the right key for progression, instead of a key for an extra you didn't need. It's also fairly reliant on using the 3D space as a puzzle within itself, so it means a lot of the focus is on looking around a room. Still, for one of the first 3D Zelda games, it's a classic, and for good reasons. Not particularly my cup of tea, but I have the upmost respect for it.
17
The weakest of the Yakuza games, but still an enjoyable time! Very comfy environments, very mellow story, but it's mostly still Yakuza, just not as strong!
18
Probably the best DKC game! I don't have much to say other than that!
19
A very nice little game with a nice little story!
20
In comparison to other Metroid titles, this game doesn't gel as well with me in comparison to others. A lot of the game tends to be rather linear, and for a Metroid game, it's not my cup of tea. Still, a very solid game!
21
The best of the original Sonic the Hedgehog games. Fairly large, diverse and interesting pretty much all throughout. I should really replay it at some point with some of the enhancements the fan community has made for it.
22
A way, WAY better game than it's original, Sonic 2 tends to be where Sonic as we know it starts out proper. A fun little game, but not my cup of tea.
23
A pleasant little game from the 5th generation. A fairly weak Treasure game though, especially compared to their earlier games, but still fun nonetheless.
24
A weird little game that's a sort of sequel like Sonic 2, but has a weird time travel mechanic, along with very hit and miss level design. I like it, but it's weird.
25
Not much to say, other than Star Fox 64 perfected this, along with Star Fox 2's concepts.
26
See Star Fox 1
27
A game that I should probably love, all things considered. I'm not sure if it's just preferences, but I've learned a lot about why the Mario & Luigi games never really clicked with me as much as Paper Mario has. A lot of the combat is learning enemy tells. Once you understand the tells for the enemy, you completely negate damage entirely by reverse attacking the enemy. This, in turn, makes the games a lot easier to play, as well as less interesting to engage with. This isn't necessarily to say that this game is bad or anything, it just didn't click as much for me.
28
A fun twist on a Metroidvania game, making it more about weapons than power ups. Neat to see a different interpretation, in a cyberpunk dystopian world.
29
I felt more disappointed with this game because I was expecting the same level of ingenuity in level design that Super Metroid had. I should probably replay this one without those expectations. I didn't play into the game's systems as much as I probably should have.and focused more on the fact that I was blocked off from going to a mandatory section of the game because of stupid reasons.
30
A fun time waster, was very close to a game idea I had as a kid.
31
This game felt really of it's time. It's not a very good Star Fox game, but as a weird third person shooter vehicle hybrid, I dunno, I kind of liked it at times. It's a game that if I were to probably inspect heavily, I could pick out all the flaws with it. But just playing through it casually, I had a fun enough time.
32
I feel torn on Outer Wilds. On one hand, it's got a really interesting concept of exploring planets and solving a mystery through cryptic puzzles. On the other hand, I don't like some of these puzzles, and felt genuinely disappointed to know that I'm in a time loop. It made the game feel like "runs" rather than an exploration of these worlds. It meant that some loops were just bad runs and I'd have to restart. Along with some things feeling like glitches more than they were apart of the world, I felt sucked out of the game's world a lot. Nice world though. And nice sense of discovery.
33
The meaning of the word Vanilla, and that's not necessarily a bad thing! It was the first of it's kind, and it really revolutionized the game's industry. But playing the game now, it's a bit too plain for my own tastes. A solid game nonetheless.
34
FF7R got me to understand why people love the characters in FF7. A lot of the dialogue from the original game got lost in translation with how characters are meant to feel, but these versions of the characters I really like. I really liked how characters from the original like Jessie got fleshed out and felt like real characters. The game is really pretty at times, too, along with the music, though some of the remix tracks I don't really like much at all.
My main issue with the game comes down to combat and story. The gameplay is character action focused, but it never really felt like it did a whole lot. Ontop of some areas feeling like complete filler, the combat didn't seem to hold out for the length of this first part of the game. It feels like it needs to be expanded upon more to be more fleshed out. Story wise, I'm not really sure I understand the direction they're taking with the story. A lot of it has to do with undoing fate, and carving out an entirely new story, which is weird for the fans of the original game who really loved that story. The introduction to Sephiroph in this game feels so weird, and their excuse was that "everyone already knows who he is, so there's no real surprise". But like, the point of his character, and why people enjoyed him, was that he was mysterious and intimidating. Seeing how he killed a gigantic snake monster that you could barely even do damage to, it really put in perspective of how much this mysterious man had over you. But the game blows it's load in the first part and ends with a big battle with a character a first time player won't know anything about. It's so bizzare the decisions they're making here, but I hope they get expanded upon in the second part.
My main issue with the game comes down to combat and story. The gameplay is character action focused, but it never really felt like it did a whole lot. Ontop of some areas feeling like complete filler, the combat didn't seem to hold out for the length of this first part of the game. It feels like it needs to be expanded upon more to be more fleshed out. Story wise, I'm not really sure I understand the direction they're taking with the story. A lot of it has to do with undoing fate, and carving out an entirely new story, which is weird for the fans of the original game who really loved that story. The introduction to Sephiroph in this game feels so weird, and their excuse was that "everyone already knows who he is, so there's no real surprise". But like, the point of his character, and why people enjoyed him, was that he was mysterious and intimidating. Seeing how he killed a gigantic snake monster that you could barely even do damage to, it really put in perspective of how much this mysterious man had over you. But the game blows it's load in the first part and ends with a big battle with a character a first time player won't know anything about. It's so bizzare the decisions they're making here, but I hope they get expanded upon in the second part.
35
The gameplay is alright, the music is awesome, but the visuals are just so lacking in the original feel of the game.
36
Death Stranding is probably the most interesting take on a walking simulator. A lot of the ideas tried are somewhat interesting, different feeling from any other game I've played. It starts off as a simple deliver services, but you end up building things ontop of community driven roads to help expand the game and make things much more faster for yourself. The beginning of the game, however, is fairly slow and boring, and really only picks up towards the end of the game, where more of the systems get explored, and the challenge is raised. A lot of the world building in this game can be interesting to read through, but the story itself is very Kojima, and a very unfiltered Kojima at that. It can be entertaining, but it's a lot of self indulgence of themes that are written way too obviously. And while I love Kojima-isms it felt like almost too much, especially in comparison to the MGS series. Though, maybe I just need to replay those games again and remember just how much he bluntly inserts themes into his characters.
Regardless, I felt very iffy on Death Stranding. It didn't do enough with it's mechanics, and the pacing of the game made the game feel like a complete slog at times.
Regardless, I felt very iffy on Death Stranding. It didn't do enough with it's mechanics, and the pacing of the game made the game feel like a complete slog at times.
37
I went into Paradise Killer with no real expectations, and for a while, I was enjoying the game! I think going around the island, listening to the music, taking in the visuals, can be a very relaxing time. It's just that, the Detective aspect is fairly weak, along with characters that are just really just, nothing at all. The murder mystery isn't even done by any of the main characters, but instead just some guy who you find after unlocking some things. And it's a fairly lame conclusion, especially after a lot of the set up. But even then, the actual trial is very loose and doesn't give you and clear answers as to who actually did it, or who was an accomplice, you just get told you're right regardless. Which could be interesting, if I really had any interest in any of these characters. But all they do is just lie, pontificate about nothing of interest, and have sex with you (I think??)
Ontop of this, exploring the world ends up being a chore, with a double jump that's really stiff feeling, collectables that say nothing of value, and puzzles that don't direct you on where to go or look at properly.
Overall, I just felt really disappointed about this game, and was surprised to see just how many people seemed to like it.
Ontop of this, exploring the world ends up being a chore, with a double jump that's really stiff feeling, collectables that say nothing of value, and puzzles that don't direct you on where to go or look at properly.
Overall, I just felt really disappointed about this game, and was surprised to see just how many people seemed to like it.
38
I don't like this game very much. It's a very bog standard AAA studio design that plays nothing into the strengths of what makes video game stories so interesting. It's an alright story told in a way that people really seem to like, but I really had trouble liking the two main characters. Their bond seemed rather weak, up until Elle is forced to kill someone, and Joel holds her closely and tells her everything will be alright. But as soon as that happens, it's near the end of the game, and you don't get to spend much time with her after that. So in the end, it feels like a very weak bond.
It probably doesn't help that this story is a lot similar to the basic outline of Lisa The Painful, which is one of my favorite games of all time, and has an iron grip onto my emotions. The comparisons constantly ran through in my head while I played TLoU, and it may have affected my enjoyment, along with the constant reminder that this game won over 221 awards, and was called "The Citizen Kane of Gaming". It sets up a lot of expectations.
But a lot of The Last of Us is just another standard third person cover shooter with zombies, that tells an okay version of a story I've heard before.
It probably doesn't help that this story is a lot similar to the basic outline of Lisa The Painful, which is one of my favorite games of all time, and has an iron grip onto my emotions. The comparisons constantly ran through in my head while I played TLoU, and it may have affected my enjoyment, along with the constant reminder that this game won over 221 awards, and was called "The Citizen Kane of Gaming". It sets up a lot of expectations.
But a lot of The Last of Us is just another standard third person cover shooter with zombies, that tells an okay version of a story I've heard before.
39
YiiK is such an interesting case study. It gets so much wrong with it's design and story structure that it's genuinely a really good learning tool as to just how not to design an RPG battle system. It's influenced by Persona, MOTHER, and Paper Mario, but it fails to really understand what made those systems so good in the first place. I had read an article title where the creators were dissing Mother 3, and how it's combat aged so poorly. And it's really just baffling to see how they tried to do better, but just never really understood how to do it.
I've looked far more into YiiK than other people have, just by proxy of friends showing me things about YiiK like old prototypes and demos. And what's strange is, is that they had something there. They had beats in the plot that worked to make you more interested in the protagonist, art that was more appealing to look at, a full ending that was way more satisfying and emotionally resonate in redeeming your main character from being just completely unlikable. But with the death of the creator's mother, they just began to second guess themselves it seems. They changed things to make it less sad for them, but in the end, the final product is actually more sour and depressing than anything else. The game ends with the protagonist giving you control, and everything in that universe being destroyed and merging with your universe. But this is yet another example of Alex having no agency as a character. He doesn't change, he doesn't grow, he just let's the universe die for a similar one by giving up responsibility and having YOU do it. But besides the ending, YiiK is just written in such a mess that it has trouble really saying much of anything. Supposedly, the script was proofread by a fucking English Professor too, which makes me even more baffled into how they did nothing to cut down the script or pointed out it was a lot of telling not showing.
The weird thing is, is that despite all of this, YiiK is getting a new update that tries to fix a lot of the problems I had issues with, which may end up changing how I feel about the game. But the version of the game I played is one that is just riddled with baffling design flaws, awful dungeons, and a really sloppy story with a protagonist that never gets redeemed.
I've looked far more into YiiK than other people have, just by proxy of friends showing me things about YiiK like old prototypes and demos. And what's strange is, is that they had something there. They had beats in the plot that worked to make you more interested in the protagonist, art that was more appealing to look at, a full ending that was way more satisfying and emotionally resonate in redeeming your main character from being just completely unlikable. But with the death of the creator's mother, they just began to second guess themselves it seems. They changed things to make it less sad for them, but in the end, the final product is actually more sour and depressing than anything else. The game ends with the protagonist giving you control, and everything in that universe being destroyed and merging with your universe. But this is yet another example of Alex having no agency as a character. He doesn't change, he doesn't grow, he just let's the universe die for a similar one by giving up responsibility and having YOU do it. But besides the ending, YiiK is just written in such a mess that it has trouble really saying much of anything. Supposedly, the script was proofread by a fucking English Professor too, which makes me even more baffled into how they did nothing to cut down the script or pointed out it was a lot of telling not showing.
The weird thing is, is that despite all of this, YiiK is getting a new update that tries to fix a lot of the problems I had issues with, which may end up changing how I feel about the game. But the version of the game I played is one that is just riddled with baffling design flaws, awful dungeons, and a really sloppy story with a protagonist that never gets redeemed.
40
I hate the original Sonic The Hedgehog game. A lot of the game is designed in a way in which your memorization of all the enemies and traps is relied upon with multiple playthroughs. But while the other games after this take a much more fair approach to this, this game's approach feels almost purposely unfair in contrast. A lot of things just come out of nowhere and blindside you. It's just frustrating to play through as a result. It's funny, but it reminds me a lot of the same design philosophy used in Dark Souls 2 compared to other games with the Souls series. But where Dark Souls is difficult but fair in it's first entry, it's sequel is the one to suggest that being unfair is apart of the fun.
On the more positive side though, the pixel art is great, the background art is fantastic, the music is really good, and the Special Stages have given me a strange, transcendence feeling that only something like DK64 has given me with it's boss room doors. So I can't really say I hate the game if it's given me such a strong emotion, can I?
On the more positive side though, the pixel art is great, the background art is fantastic, the music is really good, and the Special Stages have given me a strange, transcendence feeling that only something like DK64 has given me with it's boss room doors. So I can't really say I hate the game if it's given me such a strong emotion, can I?
41
I love Persona as a series, but I do not like the original game much at all. I played the Portable version over the span of multiple years, and finally managed to beat it. A lot of it was just grinding, walking around confused in a dungeon crawler type maze that made everything look the same, stopping every few seconds to be hit with a random encounter. I'm really not a big fan of random encounters, mazes, or grinding. I can handle them by themselves to a certain degree, but to the level of degree that Persona 1 does it, it's just a gigantic headache.
In a more positive note, some of the story stuff was interesting, some of it felt lost in translation. I love Shoji Meguro's music, so hearing his take on the soundtrack was nice. The original ost has some good stuff in it too. I do like Philemon as a concept, I find that character to be extremely interesting, especially with his absence in the later games.
In a more positive note, some of the story stuff was interesting, some of it felt lost in translation. I love Shoji Meguro's music, so hearing his take on the soundtrack was nice. The original ost has some good stuff in it too. I do like Philemon as a concept, I find that character to be extremely interesting, especially with his absence in the later games.
42