Mike Drucker is a writer and comedian living in New York City. He’s currently the co-head writer and co-executive producer of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee on TBS. You can follow him on Twitter @MikeDrucker and on Instagram @MikeDruckerisDead.
Man, thank fucking God for video games. As cynical as I want to be, and as unjustifiably bitter as I am as a human being, I have to admit that video games really did some heavy lifting this year. In a time when every article has to use the phrase, “in a time,” video games have been a source of incredible comfort. They’ve given us a way to spend time together, to travel somewhere that isn’t the inside of a quarantined house, and perhaps most importantly of all, make fun of Cyberpunk 2077.
As with any “Game of the Year” list, I was a bit limited by what I had the time to play. As much as I wanted to / want to / and let’s be honest, never will, I didn’t get a chance to spend enough time with Crusader Kings III, Ghost of Tsushima, Gears Tactics, or Hyrule Warriors to develop my identity around them and yell at people online who don’t enjoy them. But I can 100% do that with Hades if anyone wants to fight about the best builds.
10. Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Yakuza’s worlds are smaller than tedious open-world empires and dead-eyed retro-future landscapes, but they feel so much more alive. If a game tells me I can just fuck around, it has to give me something to do while fucking around. I could skip the entire story of Yakuza and just hangout in arcades. Or ride in a go kart. Or go to school to learn a vocational skill, apparently.
Beyond the world, Like a Dragon is a fucking fun RPG with a good story and characters that actually matter. Every game that imitates Earthbound goes for the aesthetic style first and the charm second. Like a Dragon is a completely different game--don’t get me wrong--but there’s something in it that reminds me of the joy there. Turning the modern and the mundane into a goofy roleplaying world. Yet it still treats its characters with respect, handling issues like homelessness with surprising grace.
It’s a good game that doesn’t take place in a future that somehow has flying cars in the air, but only three or four models of car on the ground at any given time.
9. The Last of Us Part II: Even More of Us Last
I wasn’t really a fan of the original Last of Us! I recognized why it was a good game. But to me, it felt like I was trying to earn movie cutscenes by moving a ladder back and forth across various beautiful landscapes. Although, now that I describe it, that kind of sounds like a good indie game. It’s also Death Stranding. What is it about games and ladders?
By my count, The Last of Us Part II only had one significant ladder moving area, and for that, I applaud them. The story here is also incredible, and the (spoiler) switching between characters halfway through the game. In a movie or show, the turn would have worked. But making us play the same events from two opposing sides with legitimate points of view is genius. By the end of the game, I was not expecting to see some fucking villains where I saw heroes before.
It’s the Uncut Gems of games and runs great on the PS4, base or pro. Gotta love companies that optimized their games for the PS4. Not every PS4 game is perfect out the gate, but most of them actually do run on the system marked on the box. Just a thought.
8. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
I dunno, it’s Fall Guys. Jump around, get angry at cute rubbery characters, play another round and lose again. It’s Fall Guys. You know, Fall Guys. You’ve all played Fall Guys. And if you haven’t? Then… It’s Fall Guys.
Really all I got on this one.
7. Streets of Rage 4
Brawlers have a weird feel to them now. Doubly when their aesthetic still reaches back to the mid-'80s when every gang was expected to have a specific theme. There’s a pure joy to Streets of Rage 4. It’s a game that’s happy to exist made by people who are clearly excited that it does.