BlueNile101's Favorite Games of 2020
- Nathaniel Hope
- Dec 19, 2020
- 20 min read
I gotta say, 2020 has been one of the craziest and interesting years I have ever experienced. There has been a magnitude of unbelievable ups and downs this year that I just can’t begin to describe here. From all corners of the globe, we’ve felt the weight of the world on our shoulders in various ways. But the one thing that seems to keep people from going completely crazy, and in many ways, bring us all together during these troubled times, has been video games. I, for one, am extremely thankful for video games this year. Not only has there been some amazing releases this year, but, at times where I have been either quarantined, or have had to follow stay at home orders, nothing helped me pass the time away quite like escaping into a different world found in video games.
From new releases, to dusting off some old favorites, to trying games that have literally been sitting on my shelf but never made it into my console, here is a list of some of my favorite gaming experiences this year.
Final Fantasy VII Remake – PS4
After that tech demo in 2005 showcased what Final Fantasy VII could look like using the power of the Playstation 3, the world was never the same.
Final Fantasy's first leap into 3D was with Final Fantasy VII back in 1997 on the Sony Playstation. Not only was it revolutionary and groundbreaking for its time, but the title ended up becoming one of the most revered games in the Final Fantasy franchise. As games and game consoles have changed and evolved over time, it's pretty amazing to see just how far they've come. Even in just a span of ten years, so much has changed. Here we are in 2005, and we're seeing the possibilities of what FFVII could be like two console generations later. It was a night and day difference in quality.
Although it was just a technical demo, it left quite an impression on the world, fueling everyone's imaginations. The Playstation 3 console would release worldwide a year later, but the game that caught the attention of the world during its showcase never happened. And fans have been dreaming of this game to become real ever since.
15 years later, we got our wish.
This game was an absolute breath of fresh air. It took what I loved about the original and enhanced it to a level I didn't expect. The story was largely the same but it added in so much more that this feels like a new game entirely. There's so much that is still recognizable from the original and yet, there is so much more that is so fresh, new, and just downright beautiful. The voice acting was absolutely stellar. It's hard to believe that 23 years ago, we were reading every character's dialog while using our imagination to interpret and fill in the rest. But hey, that was the norm back then. Now we get to see and hear these characters walk and talk, in the flesh, using today's modern gaming technologies. And it's just so darn awesome to witness. Every time I hear Barrett speak, I just find myself grinning the entire time. Not to mention, all the minor characters. A lot of them got bigger roles in this game this time around.
And that's just it, the game itself is so much bigger this time around. So big that Square-Enix decided to break up the story into multiple parts. We technically don't even have the entire game yet! This is just the story centered around the area of Midgar! How crazy is that? The new action gameplay mechanics were extremely impressive, fluid, and non-stop. During times where you would want to cast a spell or use an ability, time slows down around you while trying to make a selection. But what's cool is it feels like you are never really taken out of the action. This game feels like it takes a page out of Final Fantasy XV's combat system while mixing it it with the combat mechanics found in the original Final Fantasy VII and more. The original used a static active time battle system. This time around, you can alternate between characters and have the ability to freely move around in your environment during combat. Overall, it just feels really great to play.
The gameplay is intense!
While there are things in this game that may leave new players to FFVII a bit confused when it comes to some parts of the story, I think it stands well on its own. For those who've played through the original FFVII as well as the other FFVII stories that followed it, I feel this game also works well as a companion piece to it all. This game enhances and enriches what's already come before it and makes the overall FFVII story so much greater. It's a delicate balance that I think Square-Enix took great care in crafting. I have spent over 40 hours playing this game from start to finish and there’s so much I can still do. There are many side quests I can still play and a variety of items and summons that I can still collect. The replay value is there beyond the main story if you are the type of gamer who loves to soak up every thing this game has to offer. And believe me, they offer a lot of new things into the mix. But nothing I will spoil here. I will say this though: There was some story twists that left me wanting more! And considering that this is a first part of the FFVII story, I cannot wait for the next chapter to be released.
Resident Evil 3 Remake – PS4
Capcom released Resident Evil 2 Remake in 2019 and when it became a smash success, it was no surprise when they announced that there would be a follow up. We got Resident Evil 3 Remake in April 2020. While a little bit shorter than RE2, this game was still surprisingly good. The reimagined characters, voice acting, gameplay, all top notch, just like RE2 before it. And like RE2, it retains what I loved about the original game while still trying different things to make the experience new and fresh on today's modern consoles.
Blue's first reactions to RE3make
Some random highlights from Blue's RE3make gaming experience
I do have a minor gripe about this game though, and no, it isn’t about the game's shorter length time. While I agree that the game is much shorter than RE2 Remake, I feel the game never loses its pacing. From start to finish, everything flows and works extremely well. When the game ends, I actually felt quite satisfied. I absolutely loved what they did with this game overall. But my minor gripe is actually about the lack of a clock tower level found in the original game.
On the PS1, the clock tower is a whole area that is reminiscent of the Spencer mansion found in the first Resident Evil game. It’s a nice throwback and a fun change of pace. While there are puzzles to solve and things to collect in the beginning of the original RE3, it's overshadowed by its non-stop action. There's more guns, more zombies, and a sense of urgency that you gotta get out of the city. And that's not a bad thing either. I like that it's a bit different from RE1 and RE2. But what was nice about the clock tower, this area changes the pace of the game, furthers the plot, and ups the fear factor and scares. And you're there for quite a while. However, in the remake, while you do reach an area that features the clock tower, in this game you just fight the Nemesis in front of it.
While the fight with the Nemesis in the remake was quite epic in scale and intense overall, I’m a bit sad that the clock tower wasn’t an actual area to explore. I feel it was a missed opportunity as the original RE3 used the clock tower to change the direction the game was going. It slowed down the pacing, was full of puzzles to solve, there were lots of notes to be read to further the lore of the franchise, and more. It was the perfect halfway point, keeping you on edge, as you didn't know what was lurking around the corner. And in this area, there were a lot of things lurking around the corner. Not to mention, randomly hearing the Nemesis roaring around the clock tower in the background was very frightening my first time playing. You never knew if and when he was going to show up out of nowhere. It's this kind of fear that added to the overall atmosphere of the game and it was brilliant.
The lack of a clock tower level was a missed opportunity
I would have liked to have seen what that could have been like in this game. But other than that, this remake never loses its pacing and still executes the story in an impressive way. From start to finish, this game leaves you on the edge of your seat the entire time and is a worthy addition to the Resident Evil franchise. There's rumors that they will be remaking Resident Evil 4 next. Personally, I'm hoping for a remake of Resident Evil Code: Veronica. That one is my personal favorite. But either way, it's a good time to be a Resident Evil fan.
The Last of Us Part II – PS4
This game shook me to my core. I didn’t know what to think or how to feel when I finally dove right into this game. My emotions were ALL OVER THE PLACE! When I started, part of me was excited to be back in this terrifying world...That sounds weird saying that out loud. But if you don't already know, the first Last of Us game was a powerhouse of a gaming and storytelling experience. It's gotten 10/10 scores across the board when it came out and became one of the greatest games I had ever played. It was such a challenging and emotional journey from start to finish. I mean, the stuff found in this game are the kinds of things you get in movies or tv shows. But video games? This medium has evolved into something beyond what it once was. It's not just jumping around to collect coins or go on exciting, swash-bucking adventures anymore.
While those experiences are still fun and obviously welcome any day of the week, games like The Last of Us are one of those rare adventures that crafts an experience that would be worthy of an Oscar in multiple categories. The first Last of Us pushed the envelope in video game entertainment and achieved an experience rarely found in this medium. Now here I am playing the sequel, reunited with Joel and Ellie, the two main characters that I fell in love with in the first game. And just like the first game, this sequel is doing exactly what it did to me all those years ago. Playing with my emotions. Only this time, it’s on a whole new level that I never expected or saw coming. I played this game with anger, sadness, surprise, shock, and heartbreak. Sometimes in stages, sometimes all at once. A game like this made me FEEL.SO.MANY.EMOTIONS. There were times where I’d have to take a break, reflect, analyze, and talk to my wife about WHAT.JUST.HAPPENED. throughout the entire journey of this game.
And that happened a lot. You get invested in just about every character, the one's you like and the one's you hate. If a game can do all that to the player, to the audience, and stay with you and never let go, I’d say it has achieved something far greater than just being a great game. Kudos to you Naughty Dog for crafting this complex experience. I have no idea how you are going to top yourselves after this game. But then again, I've said that before after I finished the first Last of Us. Same with Naughty Dog's other franchise, Uncharted. I was completely surprised at the direction they took with Uncharted 4: A Thief's End by taking a page or two out of their experience crafting the first Last of Us game. Uncharted 4 ended up being one of my favorite games on the PS4 and the overall Uncharted franchise. So yeah, if they keep up the good work like they have been with all these stellar releases, then I'll be continuing to look at what Naughty Dog creates for years to come.
Super Mario 3D All Stars – Switch
Nintendo really surprised everyone when they announced a new All-Stars game. There hasn’t been an “All-Stars” game since the SNES!
Back then, All-Stars remastered the original NES Super Mario Bros. games, 1-3, going from 8 bit to 16 bit graphics, color, and sound. It even included the original Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan dubbed "The Lost Levels" in the U.S. It was one of those game collections I remember fondly as a kid, playing for hours on end, repeatedly.
Fast forward to today, this new All-Stars collection comes complete with three powerhouse Mario titles: Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy. It’s been a fun nostalgic trip playing these games on the Nintendo Switch. Especially Super Mario 64. I've found myself just curling up on the couch, running around collecting stars like I’m 12 years old again, and I absolutely love it.
Overall, the games in this collection are a straight-forward port of their original releases. But what's cool is, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy have been bumped up to 1080p with a 16:9 widescreen ratio, and it looks stellar. Interestingly enough though, Super Mario 64 didn't get this upgrade. While it's optimized at 720p, it's still running at a 4:3 ratio. It is curious why Nintendo didn't optimize it at 1080p widescreen. It is possible to do it as this has already been achieved on gaming emulators. It's even found running at 4K with 60fps on YouTube.
It's amazing what gamers can do with old games
However, that being said, what is amazing about this collection is the games play and feel as they did when they were originally released. And let me tell you, it feels good. Even though Super Mario 64 isn't optimized at a full 16:9 1080p scale or beyond, it's still darn impressive at 720p. And with the 4:3 ratio, it still looks like it did back in 1996. And I think that just adds to its overall charm. Nintendo even recently added in GameCube controller support for Super Mario Sunshine in this collection, which is a nice touch. Super Mario Galaxy gives you both the option to play as it did on the Wii with motion found in the Joy-Con controllers. But if you prefer a standard controller experience, they've included that as well. It's nice to have options. But it's also nice to be able to play these games as you remember them as well.
The package comes with a small, but fun extra. It comes with the soundtracks to each game, a total of 175 tracks in all! The catch is, it's built in to the game cartridge itself and is accessible from the main menu. As a fan of video game soundtracks, I thought this was a nice touch to this already awesome collection.
Overall, I thought this was a fun way to celebrate Mario's 35th Anniversary. It's hard to believe that he's been around for so long! I've been playing Mario since his original days on the NES. I've watched Mario grow and evolve throughout the years and have joined him on countless adventures in just about every console he's ever been on. It's been fun to take part in his ever evolving legacy. Even though I look forward to the future of Mario's next adventures, I will say, it's nice to go back and revisit some old favorites in a collection like this. It reminds me of why I fell in love with Mario, and with gaming, in the first place.
Poker Club – PS5
I’m just going to say it right here; I enjoy playing poker. In real life I play with friends often and I repeatedly play Poker Night at the Inventory and Poker Night 2 on Steam. It’s kinda my thing.
So yeah, as you can see, I enjoy a good game of poker. Plus, I found the Poker Night series to be both fun and entertaining with the variety of characters you can interact with. While it is a poker game through and though, it's the extra elements that keep you interested beyond the main game. But I will say, after playing these two titles for so long, I felt it was time to mix things up. Queue Poker Club. I found this game while randomly searching the Playstation store on my PS5. I saw the words "poker" on my playstation, clicked the link, watched the trailer, and right after that, I knew I just had to try it.
What's also cool is this game is available on just about every platform out there, all except for the Nintendo Switch. What mixes this game up for me is the fact that you play poker with real people. You create your avatar, join tables, win in-game money, and spend it on your appearance, poker chips, cards, and more. The best part? This game is extremely chill, something I need in this crazy year we call 2020. It’s just you, up to six people to a table, and the glorious game of poker. What I like to do is mute the in-game music, pop up my Spotify playlist on my PS5, sit back, relax, and just play. I've spent hours playing this game and it's the most chill I've felt playing games in a long time.
Marvel’s Spider-Man – PS4
I missed out on this game while the rest of the world played it. For the longest time, anytime I would mention that I haven't played it yet, I would get the deer in the headlights look like "whaaaaat?! How have you not played this yet?!" And honestly, the answer is really simple. I just had way too many other games I was in the middle of playing. Sometimes it's just really hard to find time for every major release that comes out. Especially with the amount of things I juggle. Work, wife, life, Twitch, video editing, graphic designing. I'm all over the place. But in the end, I finally came around to it which, surprisingly was this year. It's kinda funny cause I didn't even pick it up. My wife surprised me with a copy of this game. She got it for about twenty dollars on Amazon about a year or so ago and it's been sitting on my shelf ever since. I knew I would get to it eventually. That eventually would be when I picked up my Playstation 5. It was one of the first PS4 games I tested on Playstation's newest system. What amazing load times, let me tell you.
I’m really enjoying the game so far. There’s so much to do. Main story quests, side quests, collecting things, exploring the vast city of New York, taking pictures, you name it! It’s been a fun, much needed distraction this year. I know they just came out with a remastered version for the PS5. But with the whole controversy of the changing of Peter Parker’s face and the fact that I already owned the game to begin with, I decided that I’m just going to skip the remastered version. Either way you play though, if you haven't checked out this game yet, I highly recommend it.
World of Warcraft – PC
Okay, I never saw this one coming. I haven’t played World of Warcraft since the Burning Crusade expansion and I have skipped out on MMO’s altogether for the last ten years! But it’s 2020, I’ve been stuck at home, and I needed a change of scenery. After watching the Shadowlands reveal trailer at Blizz Con 2019, not to mention all the hype my co-workers and the Paradigm Gaming community have had for this new expansion, I found myself getting completely sucked back in.
This changes everything!
I’ve been out of the MMO game for a long time. But getting back into it, it's like riding a bike. Those mouse and keyboard reflexes are all coming back to me. As of this writing I’m a level 28 Death Knight. I’m currently trying to make it to level 50 so I can enter the Shadowlands. But I must say, even just spending all these hours getting to where I am now, it’s been really fun getting reacclimated with the world of Azeroth. There's so much I've missed out on. But I’m excited to see where this rabbit hole goes.
The Playstation 5 Release
If there’s one thing I miss the most, it’s community. It’s the gathering of people in celebration of things they're excited about. Like a new movie being released worldwide like Star Wars or something from Marvel. Like a midnight release of a big game everyone’s been waiting to play. Or in this case, a midnight release of a new gaming console. People show up, rally, and get amped up in excitement. You feel like you are a part of something. Sometimes, it feels as if you are a part of something greater than yourself. It's pure magic. And it's something that I miss the most and what I feel has been missing from this entire year. Community, camaraderie, and celebration.
But it's 2020, we're in a pandemic, and life is much different now. Large gatherings are, in a sense, a thing of the past. At least, for now. And while I completely understand the "why", it still doesn't take away the fact that I miss in-person events, gatherings, and so-forth. Though I did get a dose of that sweet-sweet feeling when the Playstation 5 console was first debuted online in June.
It's beautiful
My friends, co-workers, our Paradigm Gaming community, we were all hyped. The excitement, you could taste it in the air. For over three months, this is all you could see across the internet. Everyone was talking about it. Everyone was excited about it. The possibilities, the future of gaming, this was the feeling that I was missing, and it was awesome. And in September, we'd get a PS5 gaming showcase from Sony that featured what kinds of games we would be playing on the console. Derptaku and I had a live viewing of the event on Twitch and we had such a blast watching all the gaming reveals. If you want to see our first reactions to the entire event, you can watch it here.
I gotta say, this rallying sense of community over the latest and greatest in gaming was one of the biggest highlights for me this year. I feel it brought a lot of us together as we had a lot of fun sharing in our excitement for this console and all the games.
And when Sony finally announced when the the console would be released and when pre-orders would go live, suddenly, the PS5 became that much more real. The date given for launch was November 12, 2020. The date given for the start of pre-orders was September 17th, 2020, the day after the gaming showcase. This was it. We had the word. It was given and Sony had spoken. The hype, the excitement, it was all becoming more real by the minute. But little did we know that a few hours after PS5 pre-order date was announced, that PS5 hype bubble would eventually turn into a panic. Without warning, many retailers decided to open up their pre-orders early and everything changed in almost an instant. The internet panicked in a frenzy as everyone tried to claim an order for themselves before it was too late. But trying to get one, trying to actually load the website, proved to be a challenge. When Derptaku and I got wind that this was happening, we were in the middle of streaming on Twitch together. I ended up pausing the game to take a look and see what was going on.
Trying to pre-order the PS5 a day early. What a time to be alive!
What a crazy experience. Just about every online store practically crashed as people were trying to order their own console. But I pressed on, literally, for hours, just trying to make sure my PS5 pre-order went through on Best Buy’s website. It was nuts, seriously. I can't stress this enough, I clicked on "checkout" for hours, just to get to the payment screen. There were times where I'd finally end up on the payment screen only for it to promptly kick me back to the home page after clicking "Next". There were times where the website would tell me that the PS5 was "out of stock". I laughed when the site sometimes told me that I needed to take the PS5 out of my shopping cart because it was out of stock. I didn't. I left it in my shopping cart. I just refreshed the page and tried again. There were other times where the next page wouldn't load and I'd be stuck on a blank screen. When selecting local pick up at my home store didn't work, I'd select shipping instead. But it's funny when the site would tell me that shipping wasn't available and that I needed to select my local store instead. Sometimes the map to select a store would load, but stores wouldn't load on the map for me to choose from. Man, it was all over the place! I watched the entire site crash multiple times and tell me to "come back later". I'd try five minutes later, get back in my cart, and keep at it. After a while, I had an idea and got a bit creative. I started alternating between devices to double my efforts. If my order couldn't go through on my laptop, I'd try ordering it immediately on the Best Buy app on my phone. It really mixed things up for me. Made the experience a bit more interesting to say the least.
I know all this sounds crazy. And honestly, it was. I have no idea why I kept at it. I could have quit trying ages ago. But I was on vacation, I had nothing else better to do, I was determined, and I thought it would be funny if it actually went through. So as mindless as it was trying to complete the checkout process, I just kept at it. Thankfully my persistence paid off as my order eventually went through! Telling this story is crazy and fun and all. But I'll be honest with you, I never want to experience what I just went through again. Site crashes because of a popular item is not a new thing. This could have been avoided and it could have been handled better. Even Sony admitted that it could have gone better.
I do think it's kinda funny telling my story. But only because I was able to snag a pre-order. Had I not get one, this story would probably be saltier. I only hope that in the future, everyone involved in manufacturing and distributing of a new item such as this will have a better system to get them in the hands of consumers going forward. That being said, actually getting the console, and I mean physically going to the store to pick it up, was as much better experience. Better, but also a bit bittersweet.
Yes, I got the console, I own it, and I'm happy. But due to the pandemic, stores weren’t trying to have mass quantities of people trying to wait or camp outside to acquire one. Nor did they have an old school midnight release, which makes sense. Stores don’t want to be responsible for getting people sick because they’re trying to get their hands on a gaming console and I'm all for it. What they did do instead was if you pre-ordered a PS5, you were the only one’s guaranteed to get one. My order was confirmed, never canceled, thankfully. I say that because Best Buy has been known to do that in the past due to over ordering. But thankfully, that didn't happen to me and it showed up at the store on launch day. I stopped by, picked it up, and went home. That was about it. The bitter part of this sweet moment was the fact that I wished we weren't in a pandemic. I wished I could have shared in this moment with people. I wish I could have experienced an actual console launch like we used to have. But alas, such is life.
But even as I may miss the legacy of game and console launches, I still had a lot of excitement. I now own a Playstation 5. And as soon as I got it home and opened it, I felt like a kid on Christmas, that feeling of pure magic. It’s an amazing machine, let me tell you. I absolutely love it. It’s everything I love about the PS4 but better, sleeker, and more importantly, faster. It’s got an amazing response time. Games load so much faster, menu systems pop up in an instant, and you can do so much while your game is still running. Apps just open, they don’t really load. At least, not like they used to on other consoles. Videos just play, no waiting or buffering. The controller is my favorite part. Futuristic looking, comfortable, grippy, and sleek. And the haptic feedback is pretty revolutionary. The resistance it adds to the shoulder buttons while playing Borderlands 3 makes me feel like I’m actually pulling the trigger on a gun. It's wild and immersive. The graphics of Demon’s Souls have my jaw dropping to the floor. And I don't even own a 4K TV. But I tell you, even on my 1080p Samsung Plasma TV, the detail on even my character’s outfit, the details in the armor and the stitching, it's just so darn beautiful.
This game is beautiful
And PS4 games feel like they run better on the PS5. I've tested out Spider-Man, PGA Tour 2K21, Resident Evil 2 Remake, and more. From what I've experienced so far, PS4 games played on the PS5 run so much smoother and load so much faster. Sony has done an amazing job on this system. If you were lucky enough to snag this console, I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am. If you haven't yet, I hope you get a chance. There's some fun games on the horizon and I can't wait to play them and talk about them with all of you.
2020, you were a dumpster fire of a year. It is a year I'll never forget and one I'm sure we'll all be talking about for years to come. But for all the things that may have transpired and challenged us throughout the year, it wasn't all bad. There was pockets of light that helped get me through some dark times. And I am truly thankful for friendship, community, all the video games that brought us all together, and all the video games that helped me get through some tough times. As we enter a new year, I have hope. I look forward to a future that is much brighter that this year. A future where we may all one day come together and experience all the fun things in life, and in-person. Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
BlueNile101
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