If you’ve read even half of my game reviews this year, you’ll know that 2020 was a year in which I expanded my horizons far beyond first-person shooters and action/adve🐼nture games. Being stuck at home meant more time to branch out and experience new genres, ♑while reintroducing myself to genres that had slowly gone by the wayside over the years.
Year after year, I continue to be surprised by my end-of-year list, and 2020 is no exception. It’s safe to say my Game of the Year selection is the least surprising p♓ick, despite its surprise announcement that came just a few mont♛hs before its release. The rest of my pick, however, are titles I never would have expected to have made the cut if I had been asked to predict. And, honestly? We kick things off with what I would consider the hands-down most surprising title on the list.
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Empire of Sin
If there’s a single genre that I’ve always avoided, it’s tactical strategy. This isn’t to say it’s a bad genre… it’s just a bad genre for me. I’ve been pretty terrible historically, especially with the backend managerial aspects of these types of games. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Empire of Sin is different, though. It was the prohibition-era mobster focus that drew me in, but everything else about the game has kept me playing. The tutorial made it easy enough for a noob like me to pick things up quickly, while the surprisingly tense turn-based combat actually holds my interest as I work my way to the top of the food chain in 1920✨s Chicago.
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The Last of Us: Part II
The 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Last of Us: Part II may not be a surprising title to find on most, if not all 2020 end-of-year lists, but it’s placement in MY top ten is. You see, prior to its release, I would consider myself to have been more excited than the rest of my TheGamer colleagues. However, after its launch, roles were reversed and I ended up be🌊ing the one who was a b꧋it more critical of the game overall. However, the emotional♎ impact of the game’s final scene is one that I still think about on a semi-regular basis, while Abby was one of the strongest characters that I’ve encountered in a very long time.
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Coffee Talk
Coffee Talk was one of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:first games I reviewed in 2020, receiving TheGamer’s first perfect score of the year. The Indonesian-based indie game developer, Toge Productions, created something incredibly special and emotionally deep in this pixelated visual novel. What makes it perfect for me, though, is the originꦍal soundtrack that continuously makes its way to my headphones on a regular basis.
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Fall Guys
With its meteoric rise in popularity, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Fall Guys was definitely one of the top games for everyone to check out this year. As frustrating and chaotic as it can be, the welcoming party atmosphere has b﷽een a fun and great way to stay connected with friends during the global lockdown. And let’s not forget the awesome fact that a bidet company almost had its name a🅷dded as a branded in-game cosmetic.
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Granblue Fantasy: Versus
Along with the racing genre, 2020 was a year in which I came back to the world of fighting games. Mortal Kombat 11 helped ease me in last year, but it was 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Granblue Fantasy: Versus that allowed me to dive head🅰first back into the genre. Easy to pick up and play, but hard to master, Granblue Fantasy: Versus is just fun to play as any of the wonderfully designed characters.
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Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin was a game that I never knew I needed prior to playing. I unexpectedly received a physical copy of the game, and from the second I entered the gorgeously designed world, I was hooked. From the visuals to the audio, there’s really nothing not to like about 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, which extends to the rice cultivation that takes place throughout the va🃏rious in-game seasons. Even with its 2.5D combat, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is one of 2020’s coziest games.
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Five Dates
I could genuinely talk about 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Five Dates ad nauseum without ever tiring of doing so. Everyone - especially fans of romantic comedies - should play this FMV title immediately. Although I still stand by my opinion of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the game’s best ending, multiple playthroughs to watch the game’s othe💝r endings just makes the game all the more 𝐆enjoyable.
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Cloudpunk
Let’s forget about Cyberpunk 2077 for a second and bask in the glory that is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Cloudpunk, from de𒈔veloper ION LANDS. 🌠Winner of multiple gaming awards, Cloudpunk should go down as the most successful cyberpunk-genre title of the year with its beautifully-designed dystopian open world to explore. If the big triple-A title has got yo🅺u down, why not give this indie gem a chance?
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Worms Rumble
The Worms franchise is one that I hold near and dear to my heart. In fact, it might be the oldest franchise that I’ve actually stuck with since my early gaming days. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Worms Rumble does away with its staple tu♏rn-based combat, and instead has players battling it out in fast-paced, real-time action. Team17 took a major risk in completely switching up its formula, but it’s one that has paid off handsomely. I can’t stop playing it.
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Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2
The surprise announcement of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 turned the typically divisive gaming community into a rather excited collective. Of course, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:ingrates still pined for Skate 4 (and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:even Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, for some reason), but that didn’t take away from the game that developer Vicarious Visions ended up giving us. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 was,⛦ in essence, the perfect remaster. The wave of nostalgia that continues to wash over me as I play is nothing short of amazing not to mention its updated visuals, music, and flawless online multiplayer. I’m certainly in the camp of wanting an eventual Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 release (cruise ship level, FTW). Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 proves that it is well within the realm of𓃲 possibility.