What I DID NOT Play:
Immortals: Fenyx Rising
Supraland
Paper Mario: The Origami King
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Hyrule Warrios: Age of Calamity
Prinny: Exploded and Reloaded
Pikmin 3 Deluxe
Paradise Killer
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
La Mulana 1 and 2
Spirit Farer
Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate
What I DID Play:
Dicey Dungeons
Grindstone
Super Meat Boy Forever
Hades
Carrion
Mr. Driller DrillLand
Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
Lonely Mountains: Downhill
Fuser
Auto Chess
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Ghost Runner
Ghost of Tsushima
Spelunky 2
Streets of Rage 4
Doom Eternal
The Last of Us 2
Nioh 2
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Heroes of Hammerwatch
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
Unranked Top Ten:
Ghost of Tsushima
Hades
Heroes of Hammerwatch
Fuser
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
The Last of Us 2
Auto Chess
Streets of Rage 4
Clubhouse Games 51: Worldwide Classics
Nioh 2
10. Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
Sorry Animal Crossing, you got me through a few months of the pandemic, but you're less of a game than you are a Social Network meets Exterior/Interior Design Sim. Clubhouse Games was my go-to "take my mind off of things" game!
9. Fuser
If you were to look through my window on most nights in late November, you would say one of two things: "Put on some clothes! How the hell do you fit that thing in your Calvins?" or "I saw you Baby, shakin' that ASS!" Fuser has a seemingly magical way of mixing music that can make almost any genres mashed together sound good. You can't but marvel at your own creations and you certainly can't sit still while playing!
8. Nioh 2
More of the same is certainly NOT a bad thing when it comes to Nioh. This series is a more manageable Souls game with striking colors and nuanced gameplay. Play it now cause this is officially the last one in the series!
7. Heroes of Hammerwatch
Doesn't look like much, right? Whoa-boy... Little bit of Gauntlet with a little bit of Diablo with some rogue elements thrown in... Trust me on this one: it's ADDICTING as HELL!!
6. Auto Chess
Another one where the picture can't possibly do it justice! Both simple and ingenious at the same time. You compete with 8 other players online as you accumulate creatures sharing similar attributes. You merge multiple units of the same kind to create stronger versions of your minions and watch them battle it out autonomously. Just won my first match this past weekend and I am HOOKED!
5. Streets of Rage 4
After the dumpster fire that was 2020, who among can say they haven't been dreaming of simpler times? This throw-back to one the Genesis' greatest series of all time couldn't have come at a more perfect time! I'm floored at the devotion the developers had to incorporating everything they could from the past games. A true modern classic!
4. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
If you don't know by now, there'll NEVER be a time when there's a Vanillaware release in any given year where that game DOESN'T make my top-ten list! Beautiful graphics (as always) meet an intricate story told in a way you've never seen before!
3. Hades
This indie darling from the creators of Bastion, Transistor and Pyre deserves every last word of praise you've heard about it! Coulda been a contender for number one, if not for the other two games on this list!
2. The Last of Us 2
Being who I am, I have to acknowledge the inclusiveness this game brings to the table. With a story thats both as heart-warming and heart-wrenching as the gameplay is gut-wrenching, you would think it was a shoe-in for my game of the year. Any other year, it probably would have been so, if not for two-things: One, my number one game and Two, I have to admit there's a despair fatigue that sets in after you play this game for so many hours. 2020 certainly didn't need any more than it already had!
__________________
Which leaves...
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1. Ghost of Tsushima
Utterly gripping. That's what comes to mind when I think of my experience with Ghost. I set this baby on Hard, started playing and never looked back. I explored every last shrine, saved every last village, lit every last lighthouse, completed every last Bamboo challenge, finished every last Tale. It's a beautiful game, it's an insanely playable game. It truly is one of the last, best games for PS4! I put 90 hours plus into it already and WILL return to it to play Legends mode once I find the time and the people to play it with. Just what I needed to get me through the fall this year! Outstanding, Sucker Punch!!
...and a special "FUCK YOU" award goes out to these two Turd-Bombs!
...and the award for "Why didn't I play these (more)?" goes to:
...the award for "Was it always this HARD or have I gotten OLD?" goes to:
...the "How could they not have known?" award goes to:
*gross! *
What I Bought:
Dicey Dungeons
Grindstone
Super Meat Boy Forever
Hades
Carrion
Mr. Driller DrillLand
Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
Lonely Mountains: Downhill
Fuser
Immortals: Fenyx Rising
Auto Chess
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Ghost Runner
Supraland
Ghost of Tsushima
Spelunky 2
Streets of Rage 4
Doom Eternal
The Last of Us 2
Nioh 2
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Paper Mario: The Origami King
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Hyrule Warrios: Age of Calamity
Prinny: Exploded and Reloaded
Pikmin 3 Deluxe
Paradise Killer
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
La Mulana 1 and 2
Spirit Farer
Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate
Heroes of Hammerwatch
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time