December 2020

I always enjoy winding down the year with a look at Steam's list of best-selling games.

Besides high-profile new releases like Cyberpunk 2077 and surprise indie hits like Phasmophobia, 2020 was another year of gaming dominated by old flames that we just can't seem to break away from.

These were the "top 100 games as measured by gross revenue" on Steam in 2020:

_{Note: These games are grouped up by Steam, but I've listed the individual games in each group alphabetically.}

Platinum

• Among Us
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Destiny 2
• Doom Eternal
• Dota 2
• Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Monster Hunter: World
• PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
• Rainbow Six Siege
• Red Dead Redemption 2
  

Gold

• Ark: Survival Evolved
• Baldur's Gate 3
• Borderlands 3
• Crusader Kings III
• Dead by Daylight
• Halo: The Master Chief Collection
• Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
• Phasmophobia
• Sea of Thieves
• Sid Meier's Civilization VI
• The Elder Scrolls Online
• Warframe

Silver

So you've heard about the best games of 2020. What about the worst? Metacritic has you covered, with some scientific data.

The aggregate site gathered up the top 10 worst-reviewed games of the year, which has a few obscure titles and several major releases on it. The winner of the "last-minute addition" award easily goes to XIII Remake, which kind of came out of nowhere with a bizarre art style; which even garnered an official apology from the studio that made it. It was handed to this list on a silver platter.

One "I was totally expecting this" entry is Fast & Furious Crossroads, which was torn apart earlier this year for wasting the license, among many other issues. Why can't anyone get these games right? They're basically Bond films in all but name now: oh, right, people can't do Bond games properly anymore either (but you're saying there's a chance?).

Arguably the most high profile release on the list is The Elder Scrolls: Blades, which officially came out in 2020 and was eventually released on Switch; after a lengthy mobile testing bed period. It turns out it needed more time in the oven.

If I were stuck on a desert island, I'd simply curl up and wait to die. Dehydration, starvation, extreme sunburn -- unlike Destiny's Child, I am not a survivor. I probably wouldn't even get the TV hooked up to watch my three desert island movies!

You, like Gloria Gaynor (or Cake), will survive. You will simply build yourself a gyrocopter and fly high above the sharks. It's so easy, I'm not sure why everyone isn't building themselves gyrocopters at all times. 

Stuck-on-an-island survival game Stranded Deep is free on the Epic Games Store today. Go recreate the first season of Lost and the second season of Lost but no subsequent seasons of Lost.

We'll be back tomorrow to tell you that Solitairica is free. Please try to act surprised.

Stranded Deep [Epic Games Store]

In case you missed it, Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone, developer of Stardew Valley, just put out a gigantic update for the game on PC. The operative phrase here: PC.

As is customary, the patch surprise-dropped on the platform basically when it was done, but everything else is going to get it later. While "January" was the previous target for consoles, now it's been narrowed down to "by the end of the month."

According to a Tweet from Barone, update 1.5 will possibly "be ready by the end of January," but they "cannot guarantee that yet." The mobile release is even murkier, as it has "no release estimate yet." When that actually arrives on other platforms, it'll also have to have the additive bug fixes that have since been deployed to the PC edition.

Interestingly, Barone has given us a semi-rare peek into the development process, stating that "since update 1.4," they have had a "small team working with [them] on the updates." Barone stresses that it is "really small," and that 1.5 was actually just them and game developer Mr. Podunkian.

Concerned Ape [Twitter]

What would the festive season be without a delightful, high-energy pantomime? And for video game/anime fans, there's no production more perfect for your needs than this awesome-looking Sakura Wars stage show, which took place in Japan back in late-November.

Shin Sakura Wars the Stage is a live-action adaptation of Sega's Sakura Wars - a soft reboot of the legendary RPG franchise that launched on PS4 back in 2019. The show dramatizes an abridged version of the Sakura Wars' narrative, and sees Flower Division stars Claris, Anastasia, Azami, Hatsuho, Sumire and Sakura herself perform energetic song-and-dance routines, before taking to their Spiricle units for dramatic, demonic battles.

With authentic costuming and inventive set projection - all backed by Kohei Tanaka's joyful and inspiring score - Sakura Wars the Stage looks a lot of fun. There is also a neat meta effect to the whole affair, given that Imperial Combat Revue's Flower Division are stage performers, (though this real-world show appears to go off with far less hitches than the troupe's awkward in-game productions.)

You can check out a portion of the show, complete with English subtitles, in this video courtesy of Avex Pictures. Hopefully the performance will be made available to watch in its entirety in the near future.

As someone who is embedded in tabletop and gaming culture on a regular basis; I'm amazed at the sort of things people are able to create these days at home. 3D printing has made a lot of crafting accessible to the masses, and this Switch cartridge holder is proof of that.

Themed like an innocent looking Thwomp enemy from the Mario series, the box actually opens up and holds a decent amount of Switch carts. Shared on Reddit by creator budwad, the process apparently had a "steep learning curve." They apparently used the CR6-SE printer, which is one of the more affordable (but still expensive, in my mind) 3D printers out there.  To get the finished Thwomp look, it was painted with acrylic.

By popular demand they put the base on Thingaverse, so you can try it out for yourself. A lot of similar "official" items I've seen hold around half (or less) of the carts here, which just goes to show you the beauty of 3D printing. With enough know-how, you can modify the project to suit your needs and add more slots.

After buying a 3D printer, I learnt CAD and made myself a new cartridge holder [Reddit]

CD Projekt RED has stated that it will "vigorously" defend itself against a class action lawsuit, recently filed against the Polish developer/publisher in the wake of Cyberpunk 2077's less-than-stellar launch.

As reported by Bloomberg, New York's Rosen Law Firm filed suit December 24, alleging that CDPR misled its investors in regards to the quality of the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the highly anticipated RPG. The suit states that CDPR did not accurately disclose details that the last-gen edition of Cyberpunk 2077 was "virtually unplayable" and that the developer's statements were "materially false and misleading," which Rosen alleges led to damages for CDPR's investors.

The suit asks the court to ascertain whether CDPR intentionally hid the PS4/Xbox One edition's performance and quality from the company's investors and shareholders. Whether there is any actual evidence of this remains to be seen, though many have raised eyebrows at CDPR's decision to only supply PC review codes to the press. The lawsuit itself reportedly contains errors, which may also hamper chances at a successful trial.

Overall Best Game of the Year. The big trophy. The gold medal. It's a lot of pressure!

Over the years, many polished AAA titles earn that honor due to their sheer popularity (notice how I added polish in that as a qualifier, sorry Cyberpunk 2077!): if everyone has played it, it stands to earn more votes. But it's not "AAA Game of the Year," it's "Game of the Year." Enter Hades.

Independent developer Supergiant Games did pretty much everything right with this one. They entered a lengthy early access period in late 2018 to shore up the game and add fan-requested features. Over time, they got it up to an acceptable amount of polish, but also kept a ton of secrets to themselves. In September of 2020, they were ready for the world to see the fruits of their labor: and it paid off.

Having seen the true ending in-game for myself, I can attest to the raw power of Hades. Like a roguelite siren's song, it called players of all walks of life, even those who didn't enjoy roguelikes. Progression, even in failure. Rich, lore story rewards, even after dying a quick death. Supergiant pulled off something very few genre staples have to date: encouragement.

This is a world that inspired many; a universe that people have been pondering long after their last run, whenever that may have been. You only need to play it for a few minutes to see why this is Destructoid's 2020 Game of the Year.

On paper, it shouldn't have worked. In fact, it should have been a rose-tinted disaster.

For many years, fans clamored for a remake of 1997 PlayStation classic Final Fantasy VII – a title so beloved by the people and so deeply embedded within the legacy of gaming itself, that it felt Square Enix was frankly saving these fans from themselves by not taking on the project, an undertaking seemingly destined to produce nothing but ire and disappointment from those who wanted it most.

Still, with deep breaths and furrowed brows, Square Enix took on perhaps the most thankless task in the industry, announcing that one of the most iconic titles in gaming history was to be remade for modern platforms and audiences. The project got off to an auspicious start with Square Enix's revelation that Final Fantasy VII Remake would be episodic, with doubters getting louder still as years of development rolled by and the studio remained tight-lipped in regards to gameplay, story, and the all-important release date.

But when Final Fantasy VII Remake finally released on April 10, it became quickly apparent that Square Enix had risen to a seemingly insurmountable challenge. FFVII Remake captures the spirit, engagement, and character of its forefather with brilliance and passion. The high-gloss title invited newcomers to dive headlong into one of gaming's most epic and sweeping stories, while embracing the FFVII faithful like a long-lost friend returning from decades of absence.

I'm going to be honest with you: this wasn't even a close vote.

While mobile platforms saw a large variety of great games throughout 2020, there was just no topping the worldwide phenomenon that is Genshin Impact. Dismissed as a mere Breath of the Wild clone when it was first revealed, Genshin Impact proved it wasn't merely an anime retread of the Nintendo masterpiece when it launched this past September.

MiHoYo's sprawling adventure raised the bar for what players can expect from gacha games on the platform. Honestly, it's going to be hard to go back to those free-to-play RPGs where I just pick a spot on the map and fight a few waves of enemies. I know not every mobile developer has the funding to match MiHoYo's creation, but hopefully, its success will push those publishers who've been coasting along for far too long to step their game up a bit.

With a Switch port on the way and some highly anticipated update and content drops in the works, there's a decent chance Genshin Impact will dominate the free-to-play scene in 2021, just as it did in the back half of 2020.

This year was mostly bad for everyone -- and that's a thing that's usually said very hyperbolically because a couple celebrities died or whatever, but in 2020 it feels appropriate for once -- but it wasn't without its silver linings. We got a new Half-Life game! If you're not fortunate enough to have a relatively high-end PC and a virtual reality setup, this silver lining does not apply to you. What a brutal year.

For those lucky few though, Half-Life: Alyx was worth the wait. (And that itself might be hyperbolic because 13 years is a very long time to wait for a video game.) It's a high-profile showcase of the best VR has to offer. It's also a stunningly good Half-Life game. Swapping protagonists and strapping on a headset didn't force Valve to make any concessions with regard to quality. It only amplified things.

Yes, Alyx gives us a continuation of that sweet sweet Half-Life lore, but its legacy is in how effectively it transports players into City 17. The uneasy trepidation of meeting a Vortigaunt for the first time. The tense and tactile way that you reload Alyx's humble arsenal of guns. Squishing an Antlion Grub canister in a health station and then watching as the pins prick your hands to instantly nurse you back from the brink of death. 

You feel as though you're in Alyx's shoes, and that's exactly what Valve set out to accomplish. Half-Life's world is more magical the more immersed you are. VR makes it all possible by really making you feel the whole game. It also helps that Half-Life: Alyx basically came with assurances that we're getting a Half-Life 3 at some point... if you trust that Valve wouldn't leave us dangling from an unbearable cliffhanger again.

Today developer ThinkingStars and publisher Lightning Games announced that Anno: Mutationem has been officially delayed.

The PS4 version of the charming pizel-art/3D hybrid game will now be released in Q3 2021 and will be joined by a brand new PS5 version.

The PC version doesn’t have a release window just now and ThinkingStars plans to reveal more details at a later date.

Basically, feedback from the demo gave the developers the signal that the game requires some more time in the oven.