Vinny Caravella is starting to think they may never stop making video games. He's not sure if that means he might also never stop trying to order them in lists. He currently works at Giant Bomb from his basement surrounded by his collection of toys.
Before we get into the games, let’s talk about some other things that are not games. Let’s talk about possible things for next year! Will Fans Toys release the rest of their Stunticons and Aerialbots in 2021? (Those are Transformers). Will I finish painting my Stuffed Fables minis? Will I ever show my wife how many boxes just arrived from that Bloodborne: The Board Game Kickstarter I backed? Can I figure out how to build the right shelving in my basement that meets my needs but doesn’t feel too permanent so I won’t mind tearing them out if we redo the basement someday? Will I beat Assassin’s Creed Valhalla in 2021? Will I beat Assassin’s Creed Odyssey?! High on my list of 2021 to-dos is sitting in a diner and eating a turkey club. Yum.
There, I’ve gotten through the first paragraph without dwelling on what 2020 was. Whew. Now games. Let’s start by talking about the two games that I played more of between locking this list a week ago and writing it today. They are Ghost of Tsushima and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. 13 Sentinels would be on this list somewhere, though I’m not sure where. I’m just about done with it and I’m loving it. Ghost of Tsushima I’m also really enjoying but have put less time into, so can’t say if it would have knocked anything off.
I looked at over 80 games I had played enough to consider for this list and it was more difficult than I had initially thought it might be to cut them down to just 10, let alone order them. I feel pretty good about where it is. It’s definitely a snapshot of what I was thinking at a certain time, but of course things are always fluid and subject to the wheres and whys of any given day. That all being said, I’m confident these ten games represent how I spent and enjoyed the majority of my gaming time in 2020.
10. Deep Rock Galactic
I played a good chunk more of online multiplayer this year for obvious reasons and Deep Rock being on this list is a direct result of that. It’s the co-op game I played inside and outside of work and that I wanted to go back to over and over again whenever there were enough people around to play it. The differences between the classes and how they work together, the progression systems, and the general flow of the game all lent themselves to keeping me not only engaged with the game but provided a fun venue to catchup and chat with friends. I had heard a lot of great things from people about Deep Rock Galactic while it was in Early Access and turns out they were right!
9. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
At the time of this writing, I haven’t finished it. I’m pretty far along, I think, with maybe another sitting or two until I’m done. I love exploring the world and I love looking at the world. You know, I love listening to the world as well. It’s a game that scores at least 9s in Graphics, Sound, and Gameplay for me. I find the difficulty to be right where I need to be. It’s challenging but rewarding, with a deep enough toolbox that I feel like I’m solving combat challenges and traversal puzzles in a way that suits my playstyle. Also, did I mention it looks and sounds amazing? It does. Though Ori is possibly too glowy. I stand by it.
8. Destiny 2 – Beyond Light
Well, I’m not sure if Destiny or Destiny 2 has ever made my personal lists, but I don’t think it has. It is the game my brothers and I switched to from Red Dead Online this year and we’ve had a lot of fun digging into all the nonsense. It’s a bit tough for me to parse what is actually new in Beyond Light outside of the campaign because I’ve been away from Destiny 2 for a long time. What I can say is that I’ve actually enjoyed the Beyond Light content, though I think the way they handle resolving the Darkness is... meh. Even Stasis is growing on me the more I play, though it has not replaced Void as my Warlock power of choice.
7. Satisfactory
While Factorio is the game that hit 1.0 this year I spent a lot of time in the similar-yet-different game of Satisfactory, which is still in Early Access. I rebuilt my whole factory, connected my power plants to water, started digging for oil, and paved over ungodly amounts of the landscape. It can be tough to find time to squeeze in a game like Satisfactory which requires large chunks of it but I somehow managed to do it. I couldn’t tell you where that time came from, but I can tell you it was never enough because there’s always something else to pave, refine, or build. Can’t wait to see what they’ve got next... just... please stop adding stuff that breaks my entire factory.