 2020 was a relentless nightmare primarily due to the completely botched response to a worldwide pandemic. I was stuck at home for the vast majority of 2020 once the lockdowns began in March and I still am as of this writing in January as the painfully slow rollout of the vaccines continues. A primary bright spot of 2020 as a result was that I was able to spend much more time playing video games and enjoying them together with my friends and family. As I have done for ten years now, I’m excited to once again share my top ten favorite games of the year on my blog. In 2019, I exactly reached my goal of finishing at least 40 games before the end of the year. When 2020 started, I set out to clear 40 games again, but I ended up smashing that goal by beating 64 games! To be an eligible game for my list the general rule is that it had to come out in 2020, so no straight remakes or simple remasters were considered. The majority of the games eligible were excellent which made deciding what would make the cut and ultimately the final order all the more challenging. As usual, this list is for my favorite games of the year, not necessarily the best, so this blog is about the games that resonated with me the most this year. Before I dive in, I do want to share some honorable mentions. First is for Yakuza 7: Like A Dragon, which took the series in a new turn based RPG direction instead of the brawler action RPGs of past games. I loved the new hero, Ichiban Kasuga, his party of friends, the excellent story and substories, and the fun minigames, but ultimately, I just never fully enjoyed the tedious and simplistic Dragon Quest inspired combat. I do hope the Yakuza team takes one more stab at making an RPG, because I think with some careful revisions to the combat and other RPG systems it could be the best Yakuza yet. My second honorable mention is for Among Us which didn’t first release in 2020, but blew up to become a huge part of it. Among Us is basically Mafia in space and a lot of my favorite memories with friends this year were tied to playing the game together. Finally, since I had so much more time for games this year my favorite genre, RPGs, dominated my list like never before. My favorite shorter games lost out, so I want to give a final shoutout to some of my favorites indie games this year including: Murder By Numbers, What The Golf?, A Short Hike, Hades, Part Time UFO, and Touhou Luna Nights. Now let’s dive into my Top Ten Favorite Games of 2020!  10: Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch) Animal Crossing came out right at the start of the pandemic and gave me something comforting and regular to latch onto in a time I needed it most. In a normal year I don’t think New Horizons would have gotten its hooks in me since the real time clock often prevented me from properly enjoying the series, but since I was stuck at home I could freely check in while the stores were open and I could catch both the afternoon and evening fish and bugs easily in the same session. While the constantly breaking tools are frustrating, I appreciate the new DIY creations in general as well as the Nook Miles system that gave more structure to a series that ostensibly lacks it beyond filling up the museum (which looks especially awesome in New Horizons). Compared to past games what kept me more engaged was the ability to place furniture not just in your house, but across your whole island. While I left good chunks of my island undeveloped since I like having some nature to wander around in, New Horizons became far more personal and freeing as you decorated and landscaped your island. As a result, I have a clear picture in my head of not just my house, but my entire island, Aqours (I had recently enjoyed a Love Live concert and wanted a water-themed name lol.) While developing my island and enjoying fishing were my primary objectives, I really enjoyed getting to know my island residents (pictured above) and sharing the game with friends. I lucked out with my two initial residents as both Iggly and Hazel are my two favorites (Iggly in particular is the ultimate bro). My most infamous villager is definitely Prince the frog who gave me a tombstone grave as his first gift to me to cement our friendship which was super weird and defined our relationship ever since. I eventually used the grave as the centerpiece of a dark shrine I built on the northern cliffs of my island (incidentally all my villagers are absolute trolls when it comes to gift giving). What gave New Horizons extra staying power beyond the regular updates throughout the year was being able to easily play it with a lot of friends and family since so many of them picked it up. Animal Crossing is just a generally pleasant world to hang out in and I enjoyed seeing everyone’s personal islands. Their islands being so cool definitely inspired me to keep developing my own. I sunk 220+ hours into New Horizons, and while my fever for it has died down, I’ll always enjoy all the memories.  9: Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch) The Origami King takes a new fourth distinct approach to what Paper Mario is and, despite my skepticism walking in, absolutely knocks it out of the park with confidence. Origami King is more of an adventure game than an RPG. You typically enter an area, throw confetti everywhere, and whack anything suspicious with your hammer to rescue Toads hidden in the environment while figuring out how to solve the area’s larger puzzles. Although The Origami King is once again frustratingly restricted from using original character designs, the world of the game is closer in spirit to the first two Paper Mario games which makes it satisfying to explore. Areas flow into each other again and aren’t afraid to be unique like a ninja themed Universal Studios style amusement park or a hot springs paradise in the clouds. One especially amazing chapter recreates the structure of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and is awesome to explore and conquer. The game’s writing is hilarious from top to bottom and I greatly appreciate the return of partner characters in the story. My favorite character is an amnesiac Bomb-Omb named Bobby who steals every scene he is in. I also appreciated the new combat system that has you sliding around panels on a circular grid to line up regular enemies and create paths to attack bosses. Both styles surprisingly remained interesting throughout the adventure. Finally, I have to say The Origami King’s soundtrack is both delightful and bold and is incorporated in such fun and surprising ways throughout the adventure. The big musical numbers are awesome and the cheery songs always made me smile.  8: Ghost of Tsushima (PS4) Ghost of Tsushima is an odd game for me. I’ve always wanted an open world samurai/ninja game and gameplay-wise I love Ghost of Tsushima. Sucker Punch regularly delivered awesome open world games with the Infamous series that prioritized fun. Sucker Punch with Ghost of Tsushima is once again very thoughtful in smoothing out the open world experience and makes their drop-dead gorgeous world a joy to explore. It’s such a small thing, but being able to direct the wind to reach your destination and avoid fiddling with distracting maps and icons is super welcome. Combat is simple, but very fun and satisfying as you switch to specific stances to tear through guys or use stealth and tools to silently pick enemy camps apart. I loved slowly developing Jin into an unstoppable force over the course of the forty hours to claim the Platinum Trophy as I systematically tackled every activity available. While I generally liked the major characters, I have to knock the game for the story and how it depicts the era. Some elements depicted are blatantly inaccurate (haikus!) and the dialogue and themes of the main story path regarding the samurai just read like what people think they were about from watching a few movies while barely paying attention. It gives off major “Japanese Culture Expert” vibes where “honor and shame are huge parts of it” and sometimes the story even clumsily becomes unintentionally nationalistic which further makes me think less of it. There are parts of Ghost of Tsushima that are stylishly fantastic and there are many unfulfilled teases of actual fantastic elements (“Yo Jin I think a ghost/kappa/yokai/etc. killed my dad! Actually, it was just some dude.”). I wish they leaned into those ideas rather than pretending and failing to be authentic. Hopefully a sequel can do some course correction, because Ghost of Tsushima was otherwise a blast.  7: Spider-Man Miles Morales (PS5, also on PS4) Unlike the rest of my top ten favorite games this year, Spider-Man Miles Morales is tragically short. While it pulls its core gameplay straight from Insomniac’s previous game, right from the start Miles feels like an inspired game. Miles clearly has family and friends he cares about and he quickly needs to step up as New York’s only Spider-Man when Peter goes on vacation/assignment with Mary Jane abroad. While all of Manhattan is open to you, the majority of the story and side missions this time take place in Harlem and you occasionally get to walk the streets as just Miles which helps you form a greater connection to his new home. I loved all the core characters in the story: Miles, his Mom, his best friend Ganke, and his Uncle Aaron. While the game’s run time is short even if you do all the side activities, Miles makes all its big moments and positive themes land from the explosive bridge set piece to an emotional scene with Miles and his Mom after he escapes a secret base (I played the game twice and that latter scene got me both times). Like Insomniac’s previous Spider-Man game, the core gameplay is just an absolute blast to play and a joy to master. Miles has his own unique powers, most prominently his electric Venom powers (not related to the villain Venom) and the ability to camouflage himself both of which are powerful tools to help you save the day. After how excellent Miles was, I really hope he will get a full-length sequel eventually because I did not want it to end.  6: Trails From Zero (PC) I’m not sure I knew Trails From Zero retained the cozy 2D art style of the Sky games, so I was delighted not only to play one of the missing chapters of Trails in the west, but to also play another game in my favorite style of Trails thanks to The Geofront fan group. When I played Zero, I already had three Cold Steel games under my belt so while I ultimately know where the story of Crossbell and its newly formed Special Support Section leads, I was excited to see it play out and I was ultimately surprised by what Zero was. Unlike the rest of the Trails series, Zero is actually a contained adventure for the most part that focuses on the formation of the SSS and how they tackle their first big case, though it also satisfyingly resolves one of the major story threads from the Sky trilogy. I really enjoyed getting to finally know Lloyd and Ellie and getting to better know Tio and Randy over the course of my 62 hour adventure, but what probably endeared me most was connecting with the city of Crossbell and the country as a whole. While it does make it frustrating if you are being thorough, after you’ve been to all the major areas of Crossbell you can basically revisit them at any time and you better believe everyone in Crossbell has something new to say after every major event! I think more than any other Trails game, I really came to care about the extensive extended cast and all the NPCs in the world as the story felt more intimate. Zero’s combat isn’t terribly different from the Sky games and the party of four is typically locked which is a slight bummer, but the fundamentals are so solid it made playing through the game a breeze. I also have to mention there’s one very cool event toward the end of the adventure that features an awesome twist on a song you’ll frequently hear and I wish more games attempted something like it. After Zero, I absolutely can’t wait to play Trails To Azure and finally be fully caught up on the story I’ve enjoyed for a decade now. I have to say, The Geofront’s fan translation was just as excellent and heartfelt as XSeed’s amazing work, so I know they’ll do a tremendous job with Azure.  5: 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim (PS4) I became a lifetime Vanillaware fan after Odin Sphere on the PS2 and while I enjoyed their games in between, 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim is their next masterpiece. 13 Sentinels features the stories of 13 characters and their battle against an army of robots that threatens a town. The story is brought to life with gorgeous hand drawn sprites and features an excellent English dub. While the two to three hour prologue starts off in a linear fashion and introduces a handful of interesting threads, you’ll soon begin to pick and choose how you want to advance between the three primary modes: Remembrance, Destruction, and Analysis. Remembrance is the most interesting as it plays out like an old school adventure game where you walk around talking to people and present them with keywords and items to progress. The twist is that you are choosing the order in which to advance the chapters of the stories of the 13 characters that intersect with each other. 13 Sentinels occasionally gates you from progressing through each story from start to finish by locking the next chapter behind goals like seeing a scene from another character’s story or advancing through the RTS Destruction Mode, but make no mistake you are essentially traversing the greater story in a nonlinear fashion. A 14th story is essentially in the mix as well as there are story cutscenes before and after each mission in Destruction Mode. While incredibly ambitious, it amazingly all works out and the big revelations hit hard and kept me questioning where the story would go up until the satisfying conclusion. For the most part, the individual stories and characters are all great too. I really enjoyed that each one pulls its structure from famous sci-fi stories and movies and I especially enjoyed the stories that are more puzzle-like in structure (Ryoko Shinonome’s was my favorite). While not the main focus, I really enjoyed the RTS Destruction mode as well. Each mission lets you assemble a team of six Sentinels from the thirteen available. Each character’s Sentinel has different perks and abilities and by using the funds you receive from missions you can upgrade them and eventually their base stats. The presentation is stark in comparison to Remembrance mode, but I appreciate how clear it is to read even when lasers and missiles chaotically engulf the screen. I think what I most enjoy about 13 Sentinels is that despite the high number of sci-fi concepts and darkness in the story, it is ultimately its heart that makes the most impact. 13 Sentinels is thoroughly crafted with love and its message is wonderfully optimistic as well. I’ll be thinking about it fondly for a long time to come.  4: CrossCode (Switch, also on PS4, Xbox One, and PC) I knew CrossCode made a splash on PC and featured Zelda-like dungeons so I was interested in checking it out for myself when it hit consoles in 2020. It took a while for me to warm up to CrossCode as the prologue/tutorial is a bit slow, but the more I played the more engrossed I became and I ultimately did not want to stop until I completed every side quest and opened every treasure chest over my 65 hour run. CrossCode is an exciting blend of 2D Ys-like action RPG combat and twin stick shooters with 2D Zelda style puzzle solving and a very fun sci-fi story with lovable characters. I loved the combat once I got a feel for it. In addition to your normal physical attacks, you always have unlimited access to throwing energy balls around. These are important as they help you break through enemy defenses and are also used prominently in nearly every puzzle. Over time, you gain the ability to infuse your attacks with multiple elements and gain massive stat boosts. You’ll overheat by relying on this too much, so you need to swap back to regular attacks to shorten the cool down. As you fight you are constantly building a gauge to unleash devasting special attacks and you’ll regularly need them because combat can be very tough. In addition to conquering the intense boss fights, I especially enjoyed that you can enter a combat streak to massively increase the amount of EXP you get by constantly taking out enemy after enemy with no rest. There’s already a satisfying groove to combat and that extra urgency, reward, and hype music that plays when you enter a streak just adds to the fun. Over the course of the story, you’ll visit plenty of dungeons that not only put your combat skills to the test, but offer elaborate gauntlets of 2D Zelda style puzzles and I was impressed with just how difficult these could be. Most of the puzzles revolve around lining up specific energy ball throws with the right elements selected and many ask you to perform multiple actions across tight windows. As a result, conquering these dungeons is immensely satisfying. The thoughtfulness and elegance of design extends to the rest of the game as well. Most of the side quests introduce interesting situations like a hostage rescue level and even a unique Tower Defense game. Another activity that really engaged me is discovering all of the treasure chests as you frequently have to perform elaborate platforming and puzzle solving across multiple screens and areas to open them. Some areas, Gaia’s Garden especially, are so densely constructed it takes a while to wrap your head around how the land and puzzles connect let alone actually solving the puzzles. I was very impressed by the story of CrossCode as well. After a quick prologue, you assume the role of a character named Lea who has lost her memories and is seemingly stuck in the body of a mute Avatar. A group of people led by a man named Sergey are interested in helping her reclaim them since they might help point them to a friend who has gone missing. It is suggested Lea may recover her memories if she plays an MMO called CrossWorlds. The twist is that this MMO actually physically takes place on a distant planet. While the other players are logging in to Avatars to play a game, Lea is essentially really there, which means both the fictional game’s story and Lea’s advance in parallel. Over the course of CrossCode you make friends and assemble a party of characters to help you out. The big twists and very emotional moments kept me fully invested until the end. I also really enjoyed the sharp writing and the humor as well as all the fun game and anime references throughout. The item descriptions are particularly silly and I have to share my favorite for the Guacamole Toast item, “taste the suffering of a generation!” CrossCode is overall an instant classic and I can’t wait for the special episode DLC to release to continue the story.  3: Trails of Cold Steel IV (PS4, coming to Switch and PC in 2021!) Trails of Cold Steel IV isn’t just the conclusion of the Cold Steel quadrilogy, but the culmination of the story that began in the Sky trilogy and continued in the Crossbell duology. Trails of Cold Steel IV is the longest game I have ever played as it took me 140 hours to reach the credits as I was absolutely thorough in making sure I did virtually everything possible. As a culmination of nine games, I had immense expectations of Cold Steel IV and it largely delivered even with a very weak Act 1 that didn’t play to the strengths of the series. After an exciting prologue following the Sky and Crossbell teams, Cold Steel IV picks up from the end of Cold Steel III’s dramatic conclusion. Millium had sacrificed herself to protect her sister and Rean Schwarzer has been captured by his father Gilliath Osborne. This leaves both the old and new members of Class VII devastated. While Juna gets the group moving again, there isn’t necessarily a main character in Act 1 which I think was a mistake. Aside from your new home base, you’ll very quickly breeze through towns both new and old in this period and are driven by a hazy goal. This would normally be a huge problem and dramatically lower my opinion of the game, but thankfully Cold Steel IV’s biggest improvement over Cold Steel III, the combat, does impressive heavy lifting here. While the difficulty of Cold Steel III’s combat became toothless, Cold Steel IV amps up the difficulty considerably and makes all the various systems sing together again. Manipulating turn order, managing CP, and taking advantage of character positions form the fundamentals of combat in every Trails game and the Cold Steel games introduced combat links, assist attacks (which build or use BP), and enemy break states to provide richer depth. Cold Steel III had introduced Brave Orders, but they were never an essential part of combat considering how easy the game was. Here in Cold Steel IV the rise and fall of BP becomes an incredibly important factor in determining how you want to approach a battle. A well-timed blitz can be crucial in defeating regular enemies and bosses alike so taking proper advantage of the rebalanced Brave Orders is clutch to success. With the largest cast of characters (39+!) and the immense amount of customization balanced against limited resources you still have a ton of freedom to approach battles and switch up strategies on the fly because there are actually challenges that require them. Even better, there are multiple occasions where the game forces you to use characters you might leave behind both in the story and with the return of trial chests that require preset teams to conquer. Super bosses gloriously return as well and push your teams and strategies to the limits. While it is always devastating, I liked the handful of times across my journey when my main team would get wiped out and it would be up to my reserve team to salvage the battle. Even the Divine Knight battles finally find their strategic groove as they mostly limit your team to a party of two with two assist characters. As Rean is rescued around the 40 hour mark, Cold Steel IV finds its sense of purpose for the next 100 hours. The main thrust becomes rescuing and reuniting all of your allies and participating in the Rivalries against the owners of the powerful Divine Knights while helping the citizens caught up with the impending war and a supernatural curse spreading throughout the land. With the exception of Cedric who is still lame throughout, the Rivalries all involve challenging some of the biggest legends and villains in the series so preparing your team for the big showdowns is satisfying to work towards. Most of the locations from Cold Steel III return and a substantial number of new areas are available to explore as well. Unlike most Trails games, once an area is available to explore you usually can reexplore them freely. While I sadly once again felt I needed a guide to make sure I didn’t miss any story bits, I do appreciate that for the most part, unlike Trails From Zero, areas that have updated elements/events are marked with “NEW” on the map so you actually know when something changes. The biggest draw of Cold Steel IV is definitely all the characters that assemble for the climatic adventure. In addition to Class VII New and Old, nearly the full Sky and Crossbell teams join your party at various points, in addition to an awesome legion of guest characters. Going on more adventures with everybody and having them share some of the story’s biggest moments is immensely satisfying. The extended cast is incredibly vast as you interreact with the branch campus members, former Thor alumni, and more. I was especially glad to finally have Trails From Zero under my belt because this time I was really able to appreciate seeing so much of Crossbell brought into 3D and reuniting with characters I now cared about. Bonding events with your close allies return and resolve so many of their personal journeys that get somewhat lost in the larger epic. I definitely reloaded my save a lot to see every possibility and did turn to Youtube to catch events I became locked out of. The final conclusion and revelations at the end of the story (especially related to Zemuria itself) are so satisfying and have me more excited than ever for the future of the series. Cold Steel IV is everything I love about RPGs and even though it ran a bit long, I was excited to see every bit of it. I can’t wait to play the final missing chapter Trails To Azure this year and continue the saga in the future whenever Hajimari No Kiseki is localized.  2: Magia Record (Formerly on iOS and Android) Magia Record is officially the most unusual game I’ve ever written about for my GOTY blogs. Not only is it the first game that has appeared twice as a live game, it also has the supremely unfortunate distinction of being shut down this year. Yes, one of my favorite games ever made is now completely unplayable. Following Magia Record’s first anniversary I wrote a blog gushing about why I loved it so much. Magia Record not only reconnected me with and reignited my love for my favorite anime series of all time, Madoka Magica, over time it grew to become its own thing that I came to care deeply about and it amazingly even added to the source material I loved. With live games, there is always the fear that one day they will shut down so I was already happy Magia Record did complete the first arc of its story and reached a satisfying conclusion. What made the news of a shutdown of the English version so cruel though, was that literally right before it was announced an event happened that hyped up Arc 2. I have to imagine then whatever went wrong behind the scenes was sudden, but the developers and Aniplex have not opened up about what happened and unfortunately I do not know enough Japanese to start over and enjoy the ongoing Japanese version. Before the shutdown, Magia Record was already naturally on track to be in the upper half of my list because the new content we did get this year was incredible. 2020 for Magia Record began with us rescuing Tsuruno from the Magius’ clutches and them swearing revenge. This took the form of them sending their Feathers to attack every Magical Girl in the city in a state of berserker rage. Here is where Magia Record really endeared me, because for the first time it started to bring in the extended cast of characters that form the majority of the gacha pulls and who previously only participated in all of the events. Through this story chapter and through the climatic battle with Eve and Walpurgis Night the extended cast joined the main characters to defend the city. It was so awesome seeing everyone work together and it felt extra special playing when the final chapter released because they made Walpurgis Night a global raid battle for the whole Magia Record community to defeat together. As players challenged the boss, each successful win would chip away at its global health and advance the story to its triumphant conclusion. In the lead up to this, all the big revelations dropped about where Iroha’s sister had been, why and how the Magius originally formed, and why Little Kyubey appeared. I especially liked the lore with Kyubey, because it turns out when you rip one off the Kyubey Network they turn from the devil incarnate into an adorable creature who would take a bullet for you which begs the question who or what created the Kyubey Network in the first place. The events this year were awesome too. First there were the lighter events such as fun summer events that covered everything from enjoying summer festivals and the beach to spooky ghost stories and exciting treasure hunts. There were also some dramatic events as well including Nagisa’s tragic backstory which was the best in the game and deserves to be adapted into an OVA by Shaft. Another really welcome type of event we started to receive regularly in 2020 were story events that covered both back story before Iroha arrived in Kamihama and epilogue content following chapter 10. Actually seeing Iroha and Ui together again in the epilogue events was satisfying, especially after how hard Iroha worked to rescue her. I’m glad I actually managed to pull Ui before the game shut down so I could have her on my team to the bitter end. I also really enjoyed participating in the final Mirrors PVP tournament as I assembled my best team (Iroha, Rena, Tsuruno, Mito, and Tsukuyo) to fight a gauntlet of extra challenging battles. I’m happy I managed to place somewhere in the top 20-40% at the end of it. Before Magia Record shut down, after clearing all the individual character stories I wanted to see, I decided I wanted to see every main story cutscene again. After rewatching 30(!) hours of fully voiced cutscenes I really understood just how special Magia Record was. The script was even tighter than I remembered with how it developed the characters and foreshadowed events. Seeing it uninterrupted by story battles, it was no wonder why I came to care so much about everyone involved. I consider it extremely unlikely, but I really hope one day Magia Record will return and find the audience it should have. If not, hopefully there will be some way for me to continue the story whether it’s by the anime or manga adapting Arc 2 or that a new game will come along. Regardless of the future, I’ll never forget my time with Magia Record.  1: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) Before the first part of the Final Fantasy VII Remake came out, I wrote a short blog about why the original Final Fantasy VII was an important game for me growing up, but had lost its luster over time. I was amazed at FFVII at the time of release, but with a lack of RPG experience under my belt I never finished FFVII back then. When I played it all the way through in high school the messy story never quite worked for me and by then I found the game far too easy. Yet I did enjoy its willingness to be bold and different, its weird humor, and how it would remember your actions throughout to personalize your experience. While I have loved many of the modern Final Fantasy games, XV was my 2016 GOTY, after X the franchise frequently lost the assuredness and execution of vision of the original games. The XIII trilogy is a prime example of this and while I loved XV for what it was, it definitely was a compromise. Final Fantasy VII Remake released early on in the pandemic and blew me away. I regard remakes in general with extreme skepticism as I’d rather creative people focus on new ideas than painstakingly recreating old ones. Without going into detail, Final Fantasy VII Remake is not a remake. It expands the first five or so hours of the original adventure into a full forty hour experience. It boldly expects you to be familiar with not just the original Final Fantasy VII, but its extended media as well, as it ever so slightly twists your expectations, introduces new ideas, and eventually loudly charts its own path. As it builds up to this, with the greatest of care and respect it brings the world of Final Fantasy VII to life in a way it never could have been at the time of release. Wall Market and the Hell House are two of my favorite examples and I especially applaud the outrageously excellent soundtrack. Classic tracks like The Airbuster are gloriously reborn with full orchestration and new tracks like Hollow Skies are wonderful as well and fit right in. With exception to some of the hand drawn sky boxes, the graphics of Remake are amazing and I can’t believe how smoothly it runs. I especially loved seeing the classic characters and monsters brought to life in stunning detail. My biggest surprises of FF7R were in regards to the combat and some of the new additions to the story. Unlike Final Fantasy XV, FF7R is not afraid to put you in full control of an action game. The combat is simple, but a ton of fun as you swap between members according to your situation. Cloud for example has big sweeping sword attacks perfect for taking out multiple enemies, Barret can shoot enemies from a distance, and Tifa can quickly overwhelm enemies 1v1 with a flurry of punches and kicks. I especially liked how it incorporated the spirit of the original ATB battle system by limiting your special attacks and magic to ATB gauges. While it does an amazing job in normal fights, combat really shines in some of the spectacular boss fights as it puts your skills to the test. As for the story additions, aside from everything tied to the new ending sequence which I absolutely adored, I especially like the greater focus on the members of Avalanche outside the main party. I actually came to care about Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie, especially during the new chapter where you visit Jessie’s parent’s house. 2020 was really an excellent year for games despite everything else going wrong in the world. The competition for my game of the year in 2020 was especially tight. I could slot CrossCode, Cold Steel IV, and Magia Record all for the top spot and feel good about it, but all throughout the year I knew Final Fantasy VII Remake stood above the rest to a degree. It’s odd because for much of its runtime FF7R is looking back to something else, but yet it still feels so fresh and forward looking. No other game this year did I so thoroughly devour quite like FF7R. The combat is amazingly fun, the characters are wonderfully brought to life with awesome voice acting (well, Barret aside), and I just couldn’t wait to see what was coming next all the way through. Unlike the rest of my top contenders, the ending of Final Fantasy VII Remake filled me with such wonder and excitement for the future of not just this new Final Fantasy VII series and the future of Final Fantasy in general, but also for the future of gaming as a whole. Final Fantasy VII Remake is my 2020 game of the year. … That concludes my 2020 GOTY blog! I hope you enjoyed it! I’m always interested in hearing your opinions so let me know what you thought of my list and be sure to share what games you enjoyed this past year and what you are looking forward to in 2021 with me on Twitter @JustinMikos. Listed below are the games I beat last year in order. Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 and Yakuza 7 Like A Dragon I finished in 2021 and were eligible for my list as well. Until next time! 2020 Games I Beat Kingdom Hearts III Remind Murder By Numbers (100%) Control: The Foundation Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore Animal Crossing New Horizons Final Fantasy VII Remake Devil May Cry 3 Switch Trails From Zero Hatsune Miku Project Diva Mega Mix What The Golf (100%) Xenoblade Chronicles Future Connected Clubhouse Games Magia Record Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition Death Come True Paper Mario: The Origami King Ghost of Tsushima (Platinum) A Short Hike Giraffe and Annika Control: Altered World Events Picross S4 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Remastered Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 Remastered Minoria CrossCode Hades Shantae and the Seven Sirens 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim (Platinum) Astro’s Playroom (Platinum) Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory (100% Stars) Part Time UFO Spider-Man Miles Morales (Platinum) Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Touhou Luna Nights Super Meat Boy Forever Trails Of Cold Steel IV Old Games I Beat In 2020 Astral Chain River City Girls (co-op replay) Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order Metal Wolf Chaos XD Box Boy and Box Girl (co-op replay) Yakuza 3 Devil May Cry Devil May Cry 2 Daemon X Machina Picross S Blue Reflection (Platinum Trophy) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Picross S2 Kirby Super Star (co-op replay, 100%) Puyo Puyo 2 Donkey Kong Country (co-op) Pop’n Twinbee Yakuza 4 Super Mario 64 (100% Replay) Super Mario Sunshine (100% Replay) Super Mario Galaxy (100% Replay) Super Mario Galaxy 2 (100% Replay) Among Us The World Ends With You Final Remix Luigi’s Mansion 3 Scarescraper Donkey Kong Country 2 Donkey Kong Country 3 (103% Replay) Comments are closed.
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