Spelunky 2
The Last of Us 2
Undermine
CoD Modern Warfare
Animal Crossing New Horizons

We need clearer rules than this.  What a shitshow.

This is my list, even though more of the best games I've played this year are from last year.

1. The Last of Us: Part II - as an overall experience, I enjoyed it from start to finish. Haters gonna hate, but I enjoyed the parts playing Abby and the story progressed in unexpected ways, even to the point of saying fuck a couple of times at those set pieces. The combat and stealth bits were fine, but overall I enjoyed it as the toppest of what Naughty Dog can do.

2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons - this was all that I was playing at one point. Some great moments of turnip triumphs, building mazes, being amazed by ingenuity of some players on here. The mad rush when someone dropped a Twitter code and everyone killed the island. The continual dying from tarantulas and god awful creepiness of the Easter celebration made for a uniquely Nintendo experience. Even though it then fell off a cliff when most people went away from it, it's still a great departure from the usual games we play.

3. Astro's Playroom - it's the most next-gen of the next-gen games and gives a genuine, if short-lived, reason to own a PS5. The controller and controls in this game are amazing and, as has been said many times, this is a game you expect Nintendo to make. There is so much charm and character in the game world, with lovely nostalgic nods to classic PlayStation titles. News that Astro will return is genuinely exciting.

4. Half Life: Alyx - Completely forgot about this, as I think I only scratched the surface of the game. But as an experience in VR this is clearly at the top. The panic of reloading while face huggers are jumping at you is genuinely scary. I really should go back to this.

5. Demon's Souls - I don't recall much of the original version. Well I didn't until I started playing this beautiful reimagining. It is stunning to look at in places, with a density to the world that shows what the PS5 can do. I will return and hopefully finish it, once last years Death Stranding is out of the way.

6. Spirit Fairer - What a great feel good game. Keeping busy with little tasks has never been such fun.

I think that's it. Everything else I've played this year has been released in previous years, with the exception of Slay The Spire on iOS, but there are only so many times I can try and sneak that one in.

Tempy wrote:

So can I just say I played MO on Switch rather than PC to vote for it?

You could, but you'd have to live with yourself.

I will borrow someone’s PS5 and Demon’s Souls and that will be my number 1 yesssss

I don’t think I’ve played a single new game this year.

My shortlist:

Persona 5 Royal
Last of Us Part II
Hades (from what I have played so far)
Doom Eternal
Slay the Spire - cos it is perfect and transcends time

Only other 2020 release I've played so far is Streets of Rage 4 and that was shit.

Questor wrote:

Fuck, was Disco Elysium last year?

Unfortunately yes, I was gonna add it but out Oct 2019

Don't pay too much attention to the OP btw, happy for those 'rules' to just be guidelines. If Slay the Spire gets top spot again it's easy enough to just start reading the final list from no.2. Or if Tempy votes MO on Switch in/Gav backs an early access release, it's not likely to cause much drama. Go with your hearts!

I'm only giving the top 5 on any list points though.

Tempy wrote:

So can I just say I played MO on Switch rather than PC to vote for it?

What is MO?

MO: Astray

It came out last year on PC and generated absolutely Zero Buzz online. John Walker over at RPS raved about it, and he's one of like 5 reviews on metacritic. It's criminally overlooked.

I don’t think I’ve played any new 2020 games. I downloaded Streets of Rage 4, but haven’t tried it yet. Was Untitled Goose Game 2020? I played that. It wasn’t game of the year material.

Which reminds me - pretty sure it has co-op now.

Honk.