2020 was not a great year for massive AAA games. Numerous delays and problems with the largest scale games marred many releases. But Indie Developers, small scale experiments and long running games concluding meant the competition for Game of the Year 2020 is filled with quality.
In games, Christmas is a festive tradition that’s normally confined to online games and special giveaways where we stick some mistletoe to a soldier’s hat. But Belfast based Whitepot Studios is here with their own small scale spin on the tradition in Ho-Ho-Home Invasion.
A systems driven game with a cool aesthetic, filled with Eurojank, Cyberpunk 2077 should have been right up my alley. Why’s it currently up there for the most frustrating game of the year then?
If you’re already on the Dontnod adventure game wagon, Tell Me Why is the latest game to follow that trail. It just doesn’t really know how to stick to a straight path to get to anywhere satisfying.
Hades is exceptional. Supergiant Games’ latest work excels in every area possible. An absurdly polished mix of morish combat, note perfect music, humanistic writing and textbook worthy narrative design.
Let’s start as we mean to go on. Squad is a very niche experience. How niche? Military Simulation niche. But get past the friction and Squad is an incredible experience.
Star Wars Squadrons is not a sequel to the classic Rogue Squadron games. Or even the more direct inspirations and more classic X-Wing or TIE Fighter. Instead, it’s a much more simple package. A chaotic, multiplayer focussed 5v5 dogfighting game that feels amazing, when it works.
I have a lot of time for deceptively simple murder mystery games. The newly popular Among Us is an absolute highlight of the genre. Released in 2018, Among Us comes from the studio Innersloth. Following launch, it ticked along, gathering fans, mobile versions and additional maps and costumes for your tiny astronauts. This picked up with fans in both Brazil and South Korea becoming enamoured with the game, before English speaking game streamers popularised it even further. From there it’s skyrocketed. So what’s making people so interested?
There was an idea. An idea for a game that would let you play as a group of remarkable characters. A combination of multiple genres in one title to see if they could become something more. Marvel’s Avengers is not quite that game.
Singular in intent and action, Carrion sees the monster of the story take revenge on so many men. An interesting take on the idea of reverse horror, if not an entirely successful one.
