Welp, here we go. Another one of those damn lists of games that we clearly do not have enough of already. Just in case you’re complaining, here’s my compelling argument for another stupid list of video games: “Shut up!” Anyway, here are my afterthoughts of the year 2020 in video games…
Mildest Surprise of the Year
Wasteland 3 is a modernized CRPG. Usually, CRPGs are not very beginner-friendly, especially because of how complex they are. But also because they tend to be kind of boring. Don’t get me wrong here, it’s not that I don’t enjoy CRPGs. In fact, I love them. But I also understand why ‘normal people’ might view my love for CRPGs the same way I view some people’s love for cake-sitting. Still, it’s nice to see a game like this. Both accessible and interesting to those unfamiliar with the genre while still entertaining hard-core fans. Definite recommend.
Mildest Disappointment of the Year
My Friend Pedro is not a bad game. Actually, I enjoyed it a lot. It has also proven to me that slow-motion and gunfights still perfectly mix together just like Peanutbutter and Jelly. All in all a very solid, really engaging 2D sidescrolling shooter. Still, I think that it missed a lot of its potential for an interesting plot. It’s not particularly bad, it’s just very, very basic. Pedro is heavily underutilized. I still don’t understand how the devs just didn’t give him some more witty dialogue. I mean, come on, it’s a criminally insane talking banana who tells you to murder people. The jokes pretty much write themselves with that one.
Biggest Surprise of the Year
13 Sentinels is my new favourite visual novel. But hold your horses, it’s even more than that. For people like me, who struggle to keep their attention on something for more than one second it also features an interesting strategic defence game. In that regard, it’s a little bit like Persona. Just instead of dressing up in kinky outfits and beating up suppressed emotions you jump into giant mechas and beat the living crap out of aliens. In the end, 13 Sentinels ended up being the last game that I played on my PS4 which I ended up thoroughly enjoying.
Biggest Disappointment of the Year
If we’re talking disappointment, I might as well just mention The Last of Us 2. Look, I know that I already wrote more than enough about how I didn’t like its story. So if you got any time to waste, why not read Erik Kain’s review on Forbes instead. I will say one more thing though. I’m glad that this year is finally over because, holy shit, the people still discussing this game like their lives depend on it are absolutely insufferable. Everyone else moved on from this game a long time so ago, so how about you guys stop obsessing over “bigots”, who dare to dislike your GOTY and “SJWs”, who dare to do the unthinkable and actually treat trans people with respect.
“I’m sorry, but it’s just not working out between us” of the Year
Spiritfarer. Because I could see how much passion went into this game. Every minute I could feel how much it wanted me to like it. The art style is incredibly beautiful. The soundtrack, too, is an absolute work of love. Still, I just couldn’t get over how much the gameplay loop almost always stressed me out. I expected some relaxation and easy storytelling. But in the end, the constant need to do resource gathering and management kinda ruined it for me. Many times instead of feeling like a sea captain, smoothly steering their ship on a slow, but steady journey, I felt like a captain, sailor, cook and waiter combined on what basically was an understaffed cruise ship. It’s a very personal issue, I know. And yes, I also know that I am in the minority here. Many other people seem to deeply love this game. Frankly, I wish I could too. But I couldn’t. And that’s why this game is my biggest disappointment of 2020 still gets an overly long award because I simply felt like writing about it.
Game of the Year
Here’s an interesting question: What do you get when you take a good game and actually improve on it? You get my game of the year, obviously. Persona 5 Royal is a textbook example of how to do an enhanced edition of an already brilliant game. Its additions excel in both quantity and quality. Both gameplay parts, the school life and phantom thief life have been significantly improved. As for the plot, Royal fixes a lot of the weaknesses in the original game but also adds a third semester, including interesting new characters that are also meaningfully interwoven in the earlier parts of the game. The antagonist of Royal is one of the best and most believable antagonists I’ve ever seen, not only in video games but in general. You just know that it’s top-tier writing when you’re in that final boss fight and on one hand you are truly determined to win but also can’t help but feel sympathy for them and their ambitions. I can’t remember the last time I felt such an immense inner conflict about a fictional character. Last but not least there’s the presentation. Among other changes, portraits have been improved, fonts have been changed. Also, you didn’t really think I would write about Royal without mentioning the new songs, would you? It’s been months that I played it and I still find myself regularly humming Persona 5’s songs. Bottom line? Royal cements Persona’s status as my favourite RPG series.