Welcome, 2021. Another year has come and gone, and as we roll 2020’s flaming dumpster down the hill into the pile of years that has come before, it’s as good a time as ever to reminisce upon the games that released throughout the mess that was 2020.

While delays were rampant, many games still managed to release, such as the Demon's Souls remake, a "definitive edition" of one of the biggest recent JRPGs in the form of Persona 5: Royal, new Animal Crossing, The Last of Us, Half-Life, Yakuza, and Assassin's Creed games, indie darling hits, like Hades, Spelunky 2, Spiritfarer, and so many more.

This previous year saw the release of a brand new console generation, with both the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X|S. Those console launches also brought with them waves of scalping, to the chagrin of most gamers worldwide. But for the most part, the major titles this year came earlier in the year, releasing at the tail-end of the lifespan for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. And, of course, you can’t forget the Nintendo Switch, which exploded in popularity yet again with the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and spent the rest of the year quietly coasting along with sparse first-party releases here and there.

What wasn’t sparse, however, was the number of leaks that proliferated throughout 2020. From Watch_Dogs Legion’s source code leaking right on launch, to most of The Last of Us Part II’s story cutscenes being uploaded before the game was even publicly available—and of course, you can’t forget the insane Nintendo Gigaleaks—this year saw companies getting hacked and data being illegally distributed at a breakneck pace.

No matter what your thoughts on 2020 overall, it’s clear that it was a downright wild year, so we ask you, what video game-related event, be it a release, an event, or scandal, was your favorite of 2020?

And by the way--Happy New Year, GBAtemp!

 

[raxadian]

DOOM Eternal. That one game which not only became my GOTY, but also my newest favorite game of all time.

While the game is good... is just more Doom. Is not the huge improvement we had from Doom 1 to Doom 2.

Also of all time? The Doom formula is not hard, eventually fhere will be a better game.

 

[yoyoyo69]

Despite the bugs, my favourite games rhis year was Cyberpunk, probably. I'm not sure what that says about the industry as a whole, but I also tried not to build my expectations too high.

It is one of the buggiest games I've played in a long time, I usually don't have any patience for poor games, or buggy messes of a game.

 

[WaffleRaccoon]

My favorite Game in the past year would be Persona 4 Golden on the PC. I never played a Persona game and I used to watch my dad play Persona 5. That's when I fell in love with the game. Never knew there were other Persona games and I decided to check them out on Youtube. When Persona 4 Golden on PC was released, I didn't really care much because I thought it would be a downgrade from Persona 5 because it was old but I bought it anyway. I was a few hours into the game and I fell in love with the game. There were loveable characters, a good story, gameplay. It was all just perfect. Right now, I'm pretty close to beating the game. That's when I started to play other Persona games like Persona 5, 3, and 1. Persona 4 Golden will always have a place in my heart and will always be on the top of my favorite games list.

 

[The Catboy]

Due to lack of money, time, and energy, most of my time was spent playing Animal Crossing and Pokémon MD on my Switch. One highlight for me was when I was playing Pokémon MD and I was talking to my wife about how when I was a teen I had spent an entire summer playing Red Rescue Team with my best friend. During the conversation I mentioned that I hadn’t heard from him in years and she was like “Why don’t you message him?” Which sounded obvious but he literally never checked his Messager, even the last message I sent him was left unread for years. But I decided to anyways and he actually replied. I messaged him telling him that I was playing MD again and it reminded me of that summer and he actually messaged back telling he was in the process of messaging me with the thing! It was a great moment and I was able to reconnect with a friend I hadn’t seen in nearly 10 years just through our shared connection with Pokémon MD games.

 

[Joom]

2020 helped me fall in love with the Switch. I really didn't see the appeal of it until I got mine for Christmas in 2019, and then the pandemic hit. Animal Crossing, BotW, and Pokémon especially revitalized my love for Nintendo consoles. Those games and the fact that the Switch is a nifty little marvel of technology did it for me. The Wii U left a very sour taste in my mouth, and Nintendo titles as a whole started to feel real hand-holdy. The 3DS has an amazing library, but most of the games teach corner cutting, or have a mechanic introduced to alleviate difficulty, and I don't like that at all. Pokémon still kinda has that vibe since the focus is obviously more toward fast-tracking to competitive play, but as a whole, the Switch got me playing video games again after about two years of feeling stagnant. I especially love that it's became a hub for indie titles, and that a bunch of classics from the PS2 have been ported over (Katamari, FF X/X2, Burnout, just to name a few), because ever since I was a kid, I've dreamt of portable, 3D gaming of this caliber. I really wish I could run homebrew on it, but this is the first console I've owned where I didn't feel obligated to homebrew it to make it better. That said, though, I know one day it'll become much more practical to hack these things. I joined this site right as 3DS hacking started to flourish, and I was an active member of the PSP's entire lineage, so I know it's just a matter of time.

 

[Taleweaver]

It was certainly a great year for indie sequels. New spelunky, new Ori, new rogue legacy, and though I was about the only person on the planet caring for the planet: a new cook, serve, delicious as well. Okay...and a new torchlight, but I hear it doesn't hold a candle () to the previous games. I'm also sure Hades and spiritfarer are great games in their own right.

Same with triple A titles. I'm still baffled that I've bought an AAA-game around launch price...from EA of all people. But C&C remastered is a dream come through.

Second place goes to tabletop simulator. Oh boy have I (re)discovered a treasure trove within that game/toolkit. I've learned and played many board games either solo, against myself (to properly learn it), or against some colleagues from work (over the internet). Many, many great experiences.

Still...my tastes have changed since I was young. Despite the lockdown, I was very busy renovating the house and fathering my daughter. So gaming was often interrupted and cut into smaller segments. And along came my most anticipated game of the last two years. A mobile game that's a...spiritual successor to my favorite mobile game ever (and also a board game): roll for the galaxy. I've played it hundreds of times, which isn't that hard since it plays in about 10-15 minutes. But I love the decision making process, analysis and dice mitigation.

Oh, right...I've also publicized a list about it like I do every year. So those reading my blogs probably aren't surprised.

 

[Alexander1970]

Hello.

2020 was my Assassin´s Creed Year.

I have played "Odyssey" over 60 Hours and started "Valhalla".
Taked also short "Excursions" into Part III and Origins,a little longer into Black Flag.

Also for the "Wolfenstein" Games it was a good Year.
Exccept for "Youngblood" I have played all Games through.

These Titles where my Highlights 2020.

Games I have also enjoyed very much was "Serious Sam 4" and "Poly Bridge 2".


But as always,where is Light there is also Shadow...

The greatest Disappointment in Gaming for me in 2020 was.................Resident Evil 3 Remake.


Thank you.

 

[FAST6191]

As with the last few years I played very little that was new, or new to me, and owing to sitting around my game collection did not grow too many sizes either.

Still I wandered through a Linux program repo looking at the game sections as they usually have some amusing time wasters/occupy my fingers while videos play type deals. I installed something called Endless Sky, basically a trading simulator (think those ones in a boat) but in space and has some real time elements.
https://endless-sky.github.io/
I started playing around midday and then next thing I know the sun is coming up and my eyes are heavy. I did something like it the next day too.
That is so rare these days and I usually get one or two of those on a good year. For it to happen from a random open source game... this is why I still continue to look at homebrew.

It is terribly unfinished compared to what I would expect to see in a full game but even at this stage for it to do that...

 

[HarveyHouston]

Best gaming moment? Personally, it was getting my own NES (finally!). For years, I had been playing off of my parents' NES consoles, then we moved and lost them (long story). This year, I got one for my birthday, complete with Super Mario Bros. 3 and some other titles I have never played before. It was AWESOME!

Now, some of you might be like "A NES for your birthday in 2020? That's, like, soooo ancient technology!" Yeah, but being a Nintendo fan, I love Nintendo's hardware and games. A lot of it really stands the test of time, and the NES is no exception. I already have all the other consoles; I was just missing the "Grand-Daddy Of Them All".

Publicly, as far as news topics go... Well, that's kind of hard to choose. All the stuff related to Animal Crossing: New Horizons is great, but there's also the PS5 launch (which, IMO, seems to outshine the two new Xbox Series' launches). I'm inclined to say both. Unfortunately, I still haven't gotten a AC:NH Switch console yet, and more than once I nearly fell for scalper's schemes to rip me off. As for the PS5... I don't know. I want one, but I'm kind of afraid to get one due to some of the things Sony has done in times past. It's not that I have a grudge or anything, but I just don't want to participate in something that will give me as many (or more) headaches as Nintendo has given me.

So, there you go. My two cents. Enjoy.

 

[havip503]

Cyberpunk 2077 flop is my favorite one even though I hyped for it since 2018.

 

[Deleted User]

Probably that we got working PSX and N64 emulation on the (N)3DS.

 

[Avalyn]

Half Life Alyx was my best gaming moment of this year. Such an immersive experience.

 

[gargvarun041]

I spent it almost entirely working and barely had the time to actually play anything.

 

[AdenTheThird]

Most likely getting to try out Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. I've never really gotten to play a game as it's being hyped up before, due to time or money or other things, but by gamesharing with a friend I got to this time. It was, and still is, such an awesome experience, working through the mind-boggling campaign, exploring the next chapter in Zombies, and pretending Warzone doesn't exist. This game was the perfect escape from this twisted, upside-down world we're in right now.