My Top 9 Games of 2020

in Hive Gaming3 years ago

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Like my top worst list of the year, I didn't play enough games to be able to make a top ten. I'd also like to say there are plenty of good stuff on this list, many of these games I don't know if they'd have had a shot in other years. PS exclusive games or any NISA titles I skipped due to censorship from those companies, meaning games I wanted to play like Ghost of Tsushima, Trails of Cold Steel, and the Demons Souls remake are not going to make an appearance here.

Despite not feeling like I walked away with a proper feeling top ten (It's not until number four I get games I really would have considered in other years) the highlights were all wonderful for different reasons. We have the return of two franchises that should have never had a chance at a comeback, and it warms my heart to see them both come back this year.

Also, the list is not at all objective, just a look at my personal favorites. That said, on to the list!

9.) Lenna's Inception

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What you get with this game is a pretty simple Zelda inspired game. It gets a bit goofy because it was one of the many indie games that tried to do the whole 'This game takes place inside a game we are so meta' thing that was a big deal for a while, but it did make some fun use of the idea later on in the game. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it was still a pretty fun play-through. If you're looking for a decent and cheap indie game to kill some time, it's worth a play.

8.) Doom Eternal

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I do not like FPS games so that I even enjoyed Doom Eternal was a statement in itself. It's true other years it wouldn't have made my list, but that has more to do with me not being a fan of the genre than the game itself. I liked that it had a lot more mobility options (I think that's a good way to describe it), and the game was a visual treat.

It does suffer when it tries to make you care too much about the lead character because frankly, they do a terrible job. The game is at its best when it just lets you be this avatar of demonic destruction because it certainly makes you feel powerful as you begin the slaughter. Rip and Tear my friends.

7.) Cyberpunk 2077

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Ignoring all the bugs, the games fine. It has some great highlights, but a lot of downtime and so many extra activities that kind of hurt the 'You only have so much time to fix the chip before you die' narrative the game was building. I feel if they made it a more focused narrative instead of the vastly open world it would have been a lot better, especially since you don't have much say over the personality of V.

The story highlights, some great characters, and a pretty great visual presentation make up for quite a bit though. Avoid playing this on any console beside the new ones or a weak PC, and it's worth playing, I just don't suggest getting your hopes up for anything amazing and you should be fine.

6.) Animal Crossing: New Horizons

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I never really put much time into any Animal Crossing game before, but playing New Horizons I can say it's a relaxing game. No real rush to accomplish anything, just slowly build up a town and home. Plenty of characters to invite, plenty of fun and relaxing activities to do, and just an overall comfy experience.

Beyond that there isn't anything to add. There is no big story going on, no deep characters, no fancy graphics. Just a relaxing experience.

5.) Yakuza: Like a Dragon

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As my first Yakuza game, I am enjoying it. This is where this list is starting to feel like there are games I am really happy to be included here. I'll say I've yet to finish it, hence why I don't have a review proper yet, but I'm at the last area so the finale isn't far off. I don't see anything coming up changing its placement on this list.

Some characters come in that seem to be there under the assumption you've played other Yakuza games, so I will say a few plot points fall a bit flat for me. On a whole, though the game can be enjoyed on its own merits, and there are a lot of great moments I've experienced in the story so far. The plot can feel a bit bloated, there are a couple of twists that come near the end of the game that feels like they either changed nothing or just prolonged the story longer than necessary. That said the plot is still really good, and the cast is pretty great overall. Throw in how absurd the game can be, and it's really enjoyable from a story perspective.

The gameplay is pretty solid, giving you plenty of ways to customize your party (It's the only Yakuza that is a Turn-Based RPG I'm aware of), and there are plenty of effects to play with. Fights can occasionally drag on though because your characters move around the field and sometimes get caught on objects as you wait for them to arrive at the enemy you are trying to hit. Using the environment like this in a Turn-Based RPG is an interesting idea, but there's no denying it's a bit of an unfinished feeling experiment. Not enough to hold the game back by much though.

Also, there are a lot of minigames, and most of them are terrible. A handful of them are fun, and you can get away with picking and choosing which ones to do though, so it's not a big detriment. Worth playing, and I hope to have a full review soon.

4.) Hades

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I've been wanting to like SuperGiant Games for a while now. Something about their games just never quick did it for me, and that changed in a big way with Hades. The game is procedurally generated and only features four bosses during a single run of the game. Like other games of its type, you lose most abilities you gain each run, but certain things you keep for buying permanent upgrades.

The combat just ends up being very fast and fun, with so many ways to play each time you run the dungeon based on which weapon and aspect you chose to start with, as well as what Boons you get as you advance. Indeed, you could just end up with a bad draw of boons, but it's not that common of an occurrence.

Throw in all the great characters, and it's a fantastic game. It's another game though I don't rank as highly as some people purely because I”m not as big on procedural generation as others, and this game doesn't quite manage to escape all the problems I tend to have with them.

3.) Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition

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After playing through Xenoblade Chronicles again my opinion of the game has lowered since its original release on the Wii. I do still really like the game, It's in my top three after all, but the flaws became a lot more apparent this playthrough. The biggest being there is just so much stuff filling this game, and most of it just isn't at all interesting. Travel can take forever as you cross large areas, so while each area you travel to has a great and unique feel to it, some of them you end up looking at for so long it becomes rather monotonous.

That said, there are a lot of great characters, a really good story, and a great combat system. Plenty of customization for your characters, a lot of challenging fights (Well, certain abilities start to trivialize later encounters, but it's not too bad), and you have just an overall great experience.

2) Rune Factory 4: Special

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You know what? No. I'm not going to sit and here justify to you people why the Farming and Social Life simulator ranks higher than Xenoblade and Hades. I love the Rune Factory Games (Well, not one, and I never played 2, but all the others I like), they are a really fun mix of the Farming and Life simulation stylings of the original Harvest Moon Games (Now known as Story of Seasons, newer Harvest Moon Games are from different devs under Natsume, long story there) and some solid Action RPG elements, all mixed with great characters and a pretty fun story.

You'll notice that the description of the game is similar to that of Sakuna of Rice and Ruin, which I put on my worst of the list, but the difference here is the farming aspect of the game I find far more enjoyable. This is good because that takes up even more of this game than the rice harvesting of Sakuna (As mentioned on my worst of the list, Sakuna is still a good game overall. I just couldn't jive with that aspect of the game).

1) Brigandine: Legend of Runeseria

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And now you have probably seen the only Top Games of 2020 list to put this game squarely at number one, and to be honest I don't think it's debatable for me. It is a pretty clear winner of the year. Even in overall better years, I would be likely to place this at number one, or at the very least give it high consideration. And it's more than just being a great game, which it certainly is.

Somehow we got a worldwide release of a sequel to Brigandine: Legend of Forsena. While overall I think Forsena is a bit of a stronger title, the point is that was a PS1 RPG that did not do all that well outside of Japan, and while it was more successful over there it wasn't something that was a huge hit either. Brigandine was this weird one-off game that shouldn't have had a hope of a sequel. But here we are, twenty-three years after it's an original release with a new game. I even remember seeing a post from the dev team saying they are opting for the worldwide release because they were aware of the following this game got in North America.

The other big thing is there are not other Strategy RPG's out there that play like the Brigandine games, they are a unique experience among the genre, and just for managing to do that and still be a really good game, this is a series worth checking out. Stories are entirely unconnected, so you don't need to have played Forsena to get into this one, so if you are at all into SRPG's or getting into them Runseria is worth your time.

With all that said, I'll just leave you with a list of games I am looking forward to in 2021, I am excited about gaming the rest of this year:

The Medium, Humankind, Cybershadow, Persona 5 Strikers, Harvest Moon: One World (Giving the HM series under Natsume one more chance), Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, Balan Underworld, Deathloop, Black Book, Black Legend, Boyfriend Dungeon, Digimon Survive, Ghostwire: Tokyo, Greek: Memories of Azure, Little Witch in the Woods, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, No More Heroes 3, Rune Factory 5, Saga Frontier Remastered, No Place for Bravery, Atelier Ryza 2, Shin Megami Tensei V, Shin Megami Tensai Nocturne Remastered.

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I don't know, for me Cyberbugs was a failure.