In a year where most people have spent more time shut up at home than at any time in recent memory, video games sure have had our backs. Here are the top 5 games I played in 2020.
*Note: Entries are listed in alphabetical order.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Genre: RTS Meets Point-and-Click Adventure
Developer: Vanillaware
Non-spoiler plot summary: An unstoppable horde of robotic kaiju are attacking the human race at various points in time. After losing again and again, humanity makes its last stand in 1985 Tokyo—where a group of 13 teens from across centuries pilot giant robots in the final battle. However, that’s only half the story: the other half is the twisted path each one of them took to get there.
Why you should play it: 13 Sentinels is a love letter to 80s and 90s sci-fi. From Hollywood blockbusters like The Terminator and E.T. to Japanese anime like Sailor Moon and Macross, each character’s story twists and transforms several of these classics into something both new and familiar.
Told in a non-linear fashion, each of the 13 pilots is the main character in their own backstory narrative and a supporting character in many others. They are sometimes the hero, sometimes the villain. It’s only after doing all of their stories to completion that the overall “meta-story” becomes clear.
At the same time, the game is also an RTS where the 13 are united in the final battle for the future of humanity. While not exactly the most challenging experience, with four different types of giant robots, dozens of types of kaiju, and an ever-changing enemy strategy, there’s plenty of fun to be had as you battle to the story’s ultimate conclusion.
Play it if you like: 80s/90s sci-fi films, anime, and manga
Available on: PlayStation 4
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Genre: Action JRPG
Developer: Square-Enix
Non-spoiler plot summary: After becoming a mercenary, former elite soldier Cloud Strife reluctantly joins a group of eco-terrorists attempting to overthrow the evil power company that controls their city. But as their battles progress, Cloud and his allies find themselves beset by strange ghostly apparitions that both help and hinder them—seemingly without reason or warning.
Why you should play it: On its most surface level Final Fantasy VII Remake is an expanded retelling of the first few hours of one of the most critically acclaimed RPGs of all time. It’s equal parts novel and nostalgic as our heroes hit all the same story beats—but now with endless amounts of new detail. Once minor characters now have full arcs and the city is fleshed out so that it becomes the living, breathing metropolis it was always supposed to be. Add to this a new battle system that combines the classic turn-based combat with standard action RPG fair and you get something far more active than the original.
But what sets the game apart from other remakes is that it being a remake is part of the game’s actual story. The wraiths that appear throughout the story are constantly trying to push our heroes onto the path that the original game took—no matter how much they wish to fight against it. So by the end, the game is really a question of: if you knew you’d win in the end if you follow the path fate has laid out, would you give up your certain victory for true free will?
Play it if you like: Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts
Available on: PlayStation 4
Hades
Genre: Plot-Heavy Nonlinear Roguelike
Developer: Supergiant Games
Non-spoiler plot summary: Zagreus, the son of the Greek god Hades, has spent his entire life cooped up in the underworld—chafing under his father’s strict rules. But one day, he learns a secret that shakes him to his very core. In light of this revelation, he vows to escape the realm of the dead—no matter how many times he has to die in the process. Luckily, he has a whole slew of relatives up on mount Olympus just dying to help him out in exchange for a visit.
Why you should play it: Due to their random nature, most rogue-like games suffer from a lack of story. Sure, many have environmental storytelling but once you finish off the last boss, the game is basically over—when you play it again you simply start the story from the beginning. This is not so with Hades.
In Hades, the plot grows with each death. You return to the bottom of hell, chat with friends and enemies alike, and then start your next escape attempt. These characters react to each attempt—the things you encountered and the people you met—slowly unveiling their own individual mysteries and the secrets that drive them. And then, even after you triumph over the last boss, the game is far from over. It’ll take you ten more times before you see the true ending—with each run in between redefining what you thought you knew about the game so far. And even then the game is far from over.
Play it if you like: Bastion, Transistor, Pyre
Available on: Nintendo Switch, PC
The Last of Us Part II
Genre: Brutal Revenge Simulator
Developer: Naughty Dog
Non-spoiler plot summary: The years since the first game have been tough for Ellie. Now a young woman, she finds herself in the ruins of Seattle on a mission of revenge. But little does she know, her bloodlust is but the latest in a cycle of revenge and that by becoming the hunter she, in turn, becomes the hunted.
Why you should play it: Beautiful graphics, amazing art style, excellent gameplay—these are all a part of The Last of Us Part II. However, what sets this game apart is its message and the brutal way it goes about teaching it.
While the original The Last of Us is an allegory about the horrible things we’re willing to do in the name of love, The Last of Us Part II is about the fallout of those choices—the cycle of revenge and the near impossibility of ending it. We sympathize with Ellie and what she’s been through. We want to see her get revenge. However, the game works hard to show that her side is just one half of the story—that each of those she murders have their own families, friends, and loved ones. Revenge is a game with no winners, so the only logical thing to do is not to play.
Play it if you like: The Last of Us, Bioshock Infinite
Available on: PlayStation 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTunTURbyUU
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Genre: Open-world Superhero Action
Developer: Insomniac Games
Non-spoiler plot summary: With Peter Parker traveling abroad with Mary Jane, New York City is left in the hands of young Miles Morales. But no sooner has the young Spider-Man begun his first solo stint than a street war starts between the Roxxon Energy Corporation and a group of high-tech terrorist known as “The Underground.”
Why you should play it: As much as this game is about swinging around New York punching baddies in the face, it is also a personal story. Miles faces numerous issues as he adapts to the move to Harlem and his mother works to gain a seat on the city council. More than that, his best friend—who he hasn’t seen since before he became Spider-Man—is now back in the picture. Thus begins the eternal Spider-Man struggle to balance both sides of his life.
Most importantly, Miles is not perfect. All on his own for the first time, Miles makes all sorts of bad choices—often misguided by the advice of those looking out for him in their own ways. But in the end, this isn’t the story of Miles becoming Peter Parker. It’s the story of Miles becoming his own Spider-Man.
Play it if you like: Marvel’s Spider-Man, Batman: Arkham City, Infamous
Available on: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Top image source: FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE on Twitter.
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