December 18, 2020

Our Favorite Games of 2020

It’s been a gauntlet of a year for most of us, but one thing many have been enjoying throughout 2020 is some up close and personal time with our favorite games.

Before we close out 2020, let’s take a moment to appreciate a few of the games we enjoyed over the last 12 months (when we weren’t enjoying our own).

Happy Holidays, everyone! We hope you have a wonderful New Year.

Pete Hines

Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications, Bethesda

DOOM Eternal

I enjoyed how much the team was able to improve on DOOM (2016) combat, which was already very good. Felt really satisfying to get through levels I simply thought I wasn’t good enough to complete because I stuck with the combat loop.

Ghost of Tsushima

Beautiful game, fun combat, good story, worthwhile exploration… what’s not to like? Also, apparently, I really enjoy collecting crickets, cutting bamboo, and following yellow birds.

Last of Us 2

I play, finish, and enjoy everything Naughty Dog makes. This game was no exception. Elle is such a great character and I always appreciate how much Naughty Dog gets out of simple moments like picking up a guitar or finding nostalgic items.

Susan Kath

Business Director, Arkane Studios

Spiritfarer

Such a beautiful game that made me teary-eyed on several occasions. Been awhile since a game has made me that emotional.

Rich Lambert

Creative Director, ZeniMax Online Studios

Hades

Hands down, my favorite game of 2020. I’m a sucker for roguelikes so I was already intrigued when Hades officially came out of early access in September. It’s amazingly polished, with a fantastic art style and incredibly tight gameplay. It’s more than that, though. The storytelling is absolutely fantastic – wildly clever and a real master class in storytelling. I’ve put over 100 hours into the game and have enjoyed every moment!

Jeff Gardiner

Project Lead (Fallout 76), Bethesda Game Studios

Crusader Kings III

I have to admit I found the previous iterations of this serious too onerous to get into. Crusader Kings III, however, has a great tutorial and ended up being my favorite game this year. I would end up playing “just one more turn” to the wee hours of the morning.

Hades

What an outstanding achievement by such a small team. This game is a masterpiece of design, polish and execution.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Another game I can’t put down. A love letter to everything Norse, and the best game of an incredible series.

Hugo Martin

Game Director, id Software

Call of Duty: Warzone

I generally go with the game I played the most as my game of the year. I simply couldn’t stop and haven’t stopped playing Call of Duty: Warzone through 2020. It is the best battle royale made so far (in my humble opinion), and it continues to reveal new subtle winning strategies to me the more I load it up. I find the challenge of the game to be extremely engaging. (I lose most of the time!) The feel of the gameplay – from sound design to feedback, animation, timing – it’s all incredibly well done.

Janet Priblo

Senior Content Designer, ZeniMax Online Studios

Horizon Zero Dawn

2020 was a bit of a mixed bag for me gaming-wise, but one that grabbed my attention for a lot of hours was Horizon Zero Dawn – when it was finally released on PC. A beautiful looking game, a strong female lead, an intriguing story/journey, and combat mechanics that felt nimble and were fun to execute. RPGs are my happy place, and Horizon had a mix of good storytelling, exploration, and the reckless abandon of blowing up giant robot dinosaurs and sending metallic dino bits all over the place. It was a great stress reliever in a tough, strange and exhausting year. Did I mention blowing up giant robot dinosaurs?

Dinga Bakaba

Game Director, Arkane Studios

Flight Simulator

I’d say my game of the year was probably Flight Simulator. I discovered it thanks to Game Pass, and it allowed me to “get out” of my apartment in a year when it wasn’t always possible and escape for a few trips down memory lane, flying over every place I ever lived. Not to mention that it looked like magic to my daughters – and, to be honest, to me as well due to the groundbreaking technical and artistic achievements.

Angela Browder

Studio Director, Bethesda Game Studios

God of War

I finally sat down and played through God of War and I am actually glad I waited till 2020 because it was a very bright spot in a very weird year. The writing and animation in that game was masterful, making the relationship between Kratos and Atreus feel so real.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

My other standout would be Valhalla, which had my favorite laugh-out-loud moment: Their Prodigy homage, "Smack my Bishop," took me right back to high school!

John Johanas

Game Designer, Tango Gameworks

Astro’s Playroom

I spent a lot of time playing games that didn’t actually come out this year, but for my game of the year, I’d have to say it’s Astro’s Playroom on PS5. Despite being a pack-in game with the system, it combines simple but fun mechanics with amazing use of the new PlayStation 5 controller. Also, the references for someone who started with an original PlayStation deliver such a nice sense of nostalgia. Just pure fun!

Matt Dohmen

Senior Game Designer, Roundhouse Studios

Final Fantasy XIV

An excellent example of continuing support on an MMORPG in terms of story – which adeptly makes every player feel like the sole hero, even though there are literally millions of players – and hotbar-based gameplay mechanics.

Monster Train

A very replayable card-based, semi-deckbuilding strategy game, taking Slay the Spire but adding a different kind of depth to the mechanics.

Fallout 76

My wife and I have been pretty obsessed with this, and it finally feels like a proper Fallout game but also with multiplayer.

Hades

Because of course it’s great. Soundtrack, characterization, replayable procedural elements, progression, story, visuals, immediate gameplay – it’s all here and blended expertly.

Robin Todd

Senior Producer, Arkane Studios

Disco Elysium

A gamechanger for narrative games. Elegiac and sad and contemplative and angry and hopeful, all depending on which voices you listen to your inside your head. World-building that has the depth of a lived-in, shabby mansion that's been in the family for decades. And ultimately a beautiful game about who you want to be when everything around you falls apart.

Jerk Gustafsson

Executive Producer, MachineGames

DOOM Eternal

I love this game and how our friends at id Software have managed to follow up the success of DOOM (2016) with a sequel that continues to build on that solid foundation of core gameplay to make it even better – and at the same time deliver an experience that feels fresh and different. The accomplishment is truly impressive and it's an honor that our team here at MachineGames got the opportunity to help out developing the game.

The Last of Us Part II

Looking outside our own organization, my game of the year is The Last of Us Part II. It took me about 33 hours to play through, and it's an amazing example of how gameplay, environments and storytelling can harmonize perfectly, creating this nail-biting and deeply moving adventure. It can definitely end up being Naughty Dog's magnum opus.

Chris Rhinehart

Creative Director, Roundhouse Studios

Monster Train

A great Slay the Spire clone with a ton of gameplay to explore due to the variety of characters (main and secondary) along with the innovative three-tiered playspace. Plus, the fantasy of trying to drive a train to save Hell.

Pirates Outlaws

Another Slay the Spire clone that came out in 2019, but I mostly got into it this year on mobile. When you manage to get great relics, you can have some pretty entertaining runs, especially in Arena mode. Plus, pirates.

Hades

Highly polished, great core gameplay, and wide variety of weapons and upgrades. And an insane amount of dialog: Narrative really did a great job negating the frustration of a failed run and helped encourage "just one more run..." A masterclass in early access development, too.

A Short Hike

A tiny, compelling, cozy open-world game. Was a joy to explore and live in that little world for a few hours.

Bethesda