Mary Kish is a producer at Twitch. She's @merrykish on Twitter.
You’re gonna read a lot this time of year about how bad 2020 was, but you already know this. You’ve seen it, experienced it, and you’ve felt it. So I’m not going to talk about that, I’m going to talk about how this year, video games saved me. Video games helped me stay close to friends and family I cannot see. Video games helped me feel connected in a world where I can’t travel. Video games helped keep me safe and sane in a world where murder hornets were a thing, but somehow not even in the top five of this year's Worst Things. My list this year expands beyond the traditional boundaries of 2020 releases, because there’s no real rules to this and Navarro can come for me if he’s really upset about it. I picked these games because they helped me this year in some way, and I want to make sure others read about them in any event these games could help someone else too. Thanks for taking the time to read my list, I enjoy writing them.
10. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Fall Guys is self aware stupid. In Fall Guys, there’s a minigame where it shows a fruit and you have to stand on that fruit--that’s it. People somehow fail this game, and I’m reminded that this was probably made for really young kids to run around and laugh when they fall. But little did they know that I like to laugh at people when they fall! And thus my love for Fall Guys was instant. A game I enjoyed watching others play as much as I played. I laughed when they ran into a false door, fell off the seesaw, and had their tail grabbed at the very last moment. Now, of course, these things are less funny when they happen to me, but I kept finding myself itching for one more go. I wanted that damn digital crown on my round, bulbous head. I deserved it after all those hours. I’m really good at standing on the correct fruit, it's not my fault someone bumped into me and knocked me off the ledge.
The colorful world tricks me into thinking its just a silly fun game, when in reality all I see is cutthroat preschool murder happening in front of my eyes. These players are mean! They are trying to harass me any moment they get, to the point where I really just want to win to spite them all. Spite is one of my greatest motivators! So you can imagine the joy I felt when I got my first crown. Running up that mountain, dodging fruits (fruits can be good or bad depending on the situation, just like in real life) moving swiftly like a bean disguised as a fox. I waited for the perfect moment and grabbed that crown. Feels good, man.
I don’t play as much as I did several months ago, when the game was hot hot hot. But if I see a streamer I like going for a crown, I’ll still watch and have a laugh. I love their reactions to incredible moves followed by getting the boot. They can’t all be winners, no. Sometimes you just gotta run full speed and hope for the best. This is probably the run.
9. ScourgeBringer
ScourgeBringer is a stressful rogue-lite platformer that has no chill. Set to an incredible heavy metal track that gets more intense as the heat of battle ramps up, you’d swear you had entered the Doom Zone. But ScourgeBringer has its own style and creative direction that really sets it apart. With random drops that alter your character, you never know which type of run you’re going to have. I’ve died off quickly from a few mistakes, only to have my next life take me farther in the game than I ever have been before. Either way, I was always down for another go. And for a year when everyone is raving about Hades (see below for more love on Hades), I can’t suggest more that you give this slash-'em-up a go.
Something I really love about this game is its insistence that you be in the air. When you’re attacking an enemy you can get your jump back, allowing you to flawlessly skip, hop, and jump from one demon eye to another, in an elegant dance of destruction I loved partaking in. The platforming was more than enemies, with stressful spaces that put your fingers to the test, and again, that heavy metal music makes your heart race just a teensy bit more as your scraping to take the last bits of life away from a boss you were certain would kill you dead.
This game is addictive and fun. It's a treat for the eyes and ears, and one of the best main character silhouettes I’ve ever seen. I’m like a zippy cotton ball running around sniping bats. Accumulated blood juice can be spent on a skill tree to strengthen your character for the next go around. Even if you have a bad run, you’re always progressing and learning. There was no doubt the first time I took out a boss, that I had learned heaps from my first attempt. And more than any upgrades, its always the best feeling to know you’re getting better at a game that’s quite good at kicking your ass. It's for these reasons--and the heavy metal, of course--that I must recommend ScourgeBringer with all my being.