2020 is going down in history as one of the most difficult and controversial years in the life of the modern generation. This is a year of frustrated plans, a year of fears and hopes, a year of uncertainty, and for some, a year of losses. This year, as never before, we felt the value of video games, which have become the most important entertainment, a way to distract ourselves, forget and touch what we have temporarily lost in real life.
And it’s especially great that despite all the difficulties, in 2021 the gaming industry has pleased us with many powerful hits. Collecting the top 10 games this time turned out to be much easier than in some previous years. Enjoy, and do not forget to tell in the comments which games impressed you the most.
Cyberpunk 2077
We have not dropped out of reality for three weeks at all – and we are aware of the barrage of criticism that hit Cyberpunk 2077 . In many ways, by the way, we support criticism: there is nothing good in a situation when a game is released with poor optimization, bugs and defects. There is nothing good in the fact when the developers do not keep some of their promises – although here we will make a reservation that it is impossible to make a perfect game, so sometimes you have to cut it alive at the last moment.
But if we ignore all this very unpleasant story and dwell only on the impressions and emotions that Cyberpunk 2077 gives as a game, then our opinion has not changed since the review – this is a masterpiece and a rare project that deserves a maximum 10 points out of 10. The PLAYER ONE editorial team has shared so far into two categories: those who postponed the game for a couple of months, during which it will be patched, and those who started playing despite all the problems. So, in the second group there is not a single person who would not be impressed by Cyberpunk 2077. The history of the game, its world, characters and events are so addictive that you set your alarm at 7:00 to play a couple of extra hours before work. Cyberpunk 2077 is really about “the same cyberpunk” that we have loved since the days of Gibson’s books, “Johnny Mnemonic” and the first part of Deus Ex. The game has a convincing and unannounced main story, many side quests (some of which are no worse than the main line) and additional activities. And, of course, the beautiful Night City, the streets of which you can walk for hours.
Whether it is worth putting up with bugs for all this is up to you, of course. But even if the answer is no, be sure to return to Cyberpunk 2077 in February-March. And you will understand how awesome this game is.
Our review .
The Last of Us: Part II
Incredibly, the second most important game of 2020 was not without a scandal – and this time even before release. A huge amount of materials on The Last of Us: Part II were leaked to the network in advance, and not everyone liked what was revealed. The game was criticized for the plot, for the death of Joel and the characters of the two new heroines.
In part, these fears were true: according to our reviewer, the characters of both heroines turned out to be the worst for Naughty Dog. The girls are too cold and calculating – this is perhaps not the worst quality for the post-apocalyptic world, but it turns out to be much more difficult to empathize with them than Ellie and Joel from the first part. But the plot itself saves the situation: it has enough surprises and twists, and towards the end the game keeps in suspense literally every minute. And the production has reached a completely new level – the gameplay here is almost indistinguishable from the cutscenes, and the acting is impressive no worse than in Hollywood blockbusters.
The rest of The Last of Us Part II is also impressive. The levels have become larger and are now fun to explore. The gameplay was made more diverse – somewhere you can’t do without stealth, but somewhere you have to engage in open combat. And, of course, the game is stunningly beautiful: Naughty Dog squeezed all the juice out of the iron of the aging PlayStation 4, but if you already have a PS5, then The Last of Us: Part II looks even better on it. So perfect reason to re-run.
Our review .
Assassin’s creed valhalla
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla leaves a somewhat ambiguous impression. On the one hand, Ubisoft was unable to solve many of the series’ problems, such as a weak stealth, an unremarkable combat system, and an abundance of bugs at the start. On the other hand, even with such “baggage” Valhalla turned out to be an epic adventure, from which you get out after a hundred hours with red eyes, but very happy.
History this time brings the player to England in the IX century. The setting is not the most obvious, but unexpectedly exciting: the state is in decline after Roman times, local feudal lords constantly quarrel, and Viking tribes are pushing from the east, one of which is headed by the player along with his half-brother. Their goal is ambitious – to conquer all of England.
But this problem cannot be won with an ax and a shield. Each English kingdom in Valhalla is a separate storyline with its own interesting history and peculiarities. Somewhere you need to put your puppet on the throne, somewhere – and completely help a worthy local king in a showdown with a rival tribe of Vikings, whose leader “beguiled the shores.”
And Valhalla has a mind-boggling amount of side quests. These are side quests, and the development of your own settlement, and just a whole bunch of different activities that you come across literally at every step during your journey. So the Assassin’s Creed series is more alive than all living things – and it is interesting what the developers will present to us in the next part, which in many ways they promise to start from scratch.
Our review .
Crusader kings iii
It’s always a pleasure to include strategy in the list of the best games of the year. And such a large-scale and original, like Crusader Kings III – it is twice pleasant to include. This is a simulation of the management of a medieval feudal state, worked out to the stunning detail. Here, the player not only runs the economy, moves armies and conquers neighbors, but also, for example, develops a dynasty and enters into profitable marriages – and the relationship that the next heir to the throne enters into can turn out to be very juicy and affect the future of the state.
Thanks to the army, cunning political tricks, bribery and correct marriages, half of Europe can easily be subjugated here. And then make just one mistake and become a vassal of a more successful ruler – and spend several hours of real time figuring out how to get out of this situation. Yes, Crusader Kings III does not have the lowest entry threshold, and the game does not start very quickly, but if you like global strategies, or even just a fan of thoughtful and long games, then this is the perfect choice for you.
Our review .
Half-Life: Alyx
We’ve all been listening to stories about the imminent victory of virtual reality since 2012, when Palmer Luckey launched a loud Kickstarter campaign to fund the development of the Oculus Rift helmet. Alas, the reality turned out to be not so colorful: the first helmets turned out to be much more expensive than the promised price, required a powerful PC, did not give an ideal picture, and most of the games for them were fun for a couple of hours from small indie teams – large studios simply did not go to such a small market …
But the situation is gradually improving. The new helmets are cheaper, more comfortable, provide better images and run small games even with an integrated processor. Finally, AAA projects have come up. In 2020, we saw two of these at once: Medal of Honor: Above & Beyond and Half-Life: Alyx . Both turned out to be worthy, and Alyx even earned a place in our top.
Why? For starters, because this is the new Half-Life. Even if not a sequel, the plot of Alyx tells about the events that took place five years before the start of Half-Life 2. The main character is Alix Vance, beloved by the players, who has to save her father from the clutches of the Resistance.
Equally important, Half-Life: Alyx is also one of the most advanced virtual reality games out there. Valve did an excellent job of the controls, thought of a bunch of small tricks – and as a result, Alyx is a breeze and looks like the best advertisement for VR capabilities at the moment.
Our review .
Wasteland 3
While Bethesda continues to experiment with Fallout (online Fallout 76 got a story expansion in 2020), fans of a more classic game should pay attention to Wasteland 3 . The authors of the first two parts of Fallout took part in the development of the series, and in Wasteland 3 they were able to both preserve the signature atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic RPG and correct their past mistakes.
The events unfold 100 years after the nuclear conflict between the US and the USSR, and the player this time controls a squad of Rangers “November”, whose formal task is to help the Patriarch, the leader of Colorado, stay in power. However, no one bothers to go their own way: any task in Wasteland 3 is performed in several ways, and the choice affects both the balance of power in the world and the attitude of the main factions to the player.
Plus Wasteland 3 is also a very interesting tactic: there are many options for pumping fighters, a bunch of weapons and equipment – and all this affects the opportunities that will be available to you in battle. Or Out of Combat: As with any self-respecting RPG, Wasteland 3 is full of ways to avoid a fight.
Our review .
DOOM Eternal
Back in the spring, we wrote that DOOM Eternal will probably be the best shooter this year. Slightly underestimated – paired with The Ancient Gods add-on, this is the best shooter in general for the last few years. According to the traditions of the series, it is meaty, dynamic, moderately difficult and able to throw a choice.
In DOOM Eternal, the authors have fixed nearly every bug in DOOM 2016. The most important novelty is the passing dynamics. Now in the game there are no tight sections or, for example, stages when you are already so cool that you are not afraid of any of the enemies. Nearly every combat in DOOM Eternal is a new challenge, as you have to decide on the fly how to use the available weapons and level architecture to deal with your enemies.
Our review .
Demon’s Souls
2020 is also a year of amazing surprises. It turns out that the main game in the starting line of the new console (and not just any one there, but the PlayStation 5) can easily be a remake of the far from the most sensational game of the past. And then – also enter the top ten of our best games.
Demon’s Souls turned out to be an excellent game for getting to know the PlayStation 5. It is not as difficult as the later games of the souls series – you will have to sweat, of course, but the difficulty of passing here is more likely not annoying, but a pleasure, especially when you still manage and move on …
In addition, it is also a very high quality remake. Demon’s Souls is one of the most beautiful games to date. Bluepoint Games fully loaded the latest PlayStation 5 hardware: 60 fps, huge detail, excellent lighting system, in many ways not inferior to ray tracing. At the same time, the graphic style of the original is sustained with great precision (only some of the decisions of the designers can be called controversial), all the spectacular scenes of the original game and its unforgettable atmosphere are in place.
Our review .
Ghost of tsushima
It was Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima that was honored to close the PlayStation 4 era, becoming its final major exclusive. And the authors of inFamous coped with the task one hundred percent. Ghost of Tsushima does not raise any difficult questions, does not try to surprise the player with revolutionary gameplay ideas. Instead, she just entertains us, doing it as well as possible.
The plot is an epic story set in the scenery of Medieval Japan. Its heroes are full of courage, villains are insidious, every dialogue is full of pathos, and preparation for a duel necessarily begins with a long look of enemies in each other’s eyes. The gameplay is not far behind: the story is long, and the additional tasks will be enough for one more playthrough. Fencing is excellent in Ghost of Tsushima, and if you get bored, you can retrain as a ranged fighter or switch to stealth, which is much better here than the latest Assassin’s Creed. Well, or combine all the styles: when you cut out a couple of opponents from an ambush, throw a knife in the throat of the third, and deal with the rest in open combat – Ghost of Tsushima fully justifies its title of the main samurai game in recent years.
Our review .
Final fantasy vii remake
Many years later, Square Enix has reinvented its own hit of the PS1 era, a game that once convinced millions of foreign players overnight that Japanese RPGs are beautiful, dramatic, sometimes crazy, but always very cool. Final Fantasy VII Remake – an opportunity to fall in love with the genre anew, without making allowances for “well, then they could not carefully prescribe the characters of the characters” and “well, 3D always gets old badly.” The remake was made from scratch, completely transforming the graphics, modernizing the battles and giving the characters more opportunity to show their character – even those who were in the background in the original.
It turned out spectacularly, on a high budget and very thoroughly – so much so that the remake comes out in several parts and so far we have received only the first one. Moreover, for the first time in many years, we do not know for sure exactly how everything will end. In the course of events, they strongly hint to us that the heroes are fighting not just with fate, but with the fan’s ideas about how exactly events should develop. The authors are diligently looking for a balance between literal retelling of a familiar story and creative rethinking – and, judging by all, is clearly on the right track.
