Animal Crossing: New Horizons
2020 Game of the Year Contenders
Peering in from the outside, Nintendo’s latest entry in the uber-popular Animal Crossing series, New Horizons, may just seem like a simple diet version of games like The Sims or Stardew Valley, but once you dive into this world and discover the intricacies that make it tick, it’s hard to get out.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons offers players hundreds upon hundreds of hours of playtime and all of that time is spent decorating your island, designing the bedrooms in your home, and making your space the best it can be.
It’s an awfully simple premise that’s easy for any type of person, even those who aren’t familiar with video games, to comprehend. Mechanically, sure, there are issues that prevent Animal Crossing: New Horizons from being the best that it can be, like the annoying online infrastructure and the inability to craft multiple items at once.
But because that Animal Crossing: New Horizons released during the Coronavirus pandemic, the situation only helped to bolster the popularity of the title, making it one to remember once game of the year nominations starts up.
This is a game that broke the mold and hit that sweet spot for many people, which only happens every couple of years –remember Pokemon GO’s 2016 launch? Animal Crossing definitely didn’t hit the highs of that phenomenon, but boy does it come close.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
2020 Game of the Year Contenders
Final Fantasy VII Remake perfectly captured the essence of what made the original PS1 game so unique and fresh, pulling in tons of JRPG first-timers into the “niche” genre.
This remake of the PS1 classic did take some liberties with the 20-year-old narrative but the characters, combat, and world-building are still taken up a notch and are presented in an entirely different light.
The iconic Wall Market area is a huge open space that’s bustling with talkative NPCs, a bunch of mini-games to play, and a very charming dance scene with Cloud that nobody will ever forget.
Everything from the original has been blown up, and while that means there is certainly some padding here and there to stretch the experience out, you can’t deny that this game is of a higher caliber for 2020 titles, belonging in the upper echelon of JRPGs and a strong contender for game of the year votes.
Nioh 2
Team Ninja went above and beyond with this successor to Nioh, throwing in so many new elements that it’s hard to keep track of.
By adding in RPG skill trees, character customization, and a slew of new abilities, Nioh 2’s outrageous and entertaining combat is taken to a new level from its predecessor in terms of variety and difficulty.
Nioh 2 might cause you to have a controller-throwing tantrum from time to time but man, once you familiarize yourself with the enemies and get your playstyle down, you’re going to have a grand ol’ time.
Nioh 2 didn’t get as much attention as some other games on this list when it launched back in March but Soulsborne aficionados will cherish it fondly for a very long time.
Persona 5: Royal
When it first released in 2017, Atlus’ Persona 5 broke the mold for the JRPG genre, drawing in first-time Persona fans and folks who have never touched a JRPG in their lives.
With Persona 5 Royal, Atlus has managed to up the ante and deliver an even more impressive experience by adding in small quality of life enhancements, overhauling the grind Mementos area, and also throwing in a new playable character into the mix.
Our glowing review goes into much more detail on all of the upgrades that have been added and how the new Phantom Thief comes into play, but all we can say is that Royal will definitely be sticking into the minds of JRPG fans as the year goes on.
Doom Eternal
2020 Game of the Year Contenders
Doom Eternal takes the best of old-school Doom and modern Doom and mixes it all up to create an even faster-paced FPS experience that has you literally ripping and tearing your enemies.
The head-banging metal soundtrack only adds to the enraged actions of the Doom Slayer and once you get the hang of all of the unique weapons that you eventually get access to, Doom Eternal’s gameplay loop will feel more like a precise ballet dance than anything else.
It almost feels like a puzzle game sometimes, as you have to quickly switch around your arsenal to take care of specific enemy types and really think on your toes, while also moving around constantly to avoid taking damage.
Our reviewer, Tom Hopkins, simply adored the first-person shooter from id Software, stating that the game is “impeccably designed” and “perfectly balances every single aspect of its action to create one of the most challenging, exhausting, and consistently fun shooters in years.”
Ori and the Will of the Wisp
2020 Game of the Year Contenders
Ori and the Will of the Wisp is a Microsoft exclusive that serves as a sequel to the excellent Ori and the Blind Forest.
Like its predecessor, Will of the Wisp is a mechanically solid Metroidvania-styled platformer with a charming visual style, challenging boss battles, and a huge map with distinct areas to explore.
Our reviewer, Chris Jecks, scored the game a 4.5/5 when it launched back in March, and he praised the incredibly emotional story as well as the newly added side quests and spirit trials.
Sitting at an average rating of 90 over on Opencritic, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is one of the highest-rated games of the year so far and it’ll surely pop up in conversations when game of the year talk begins.
Dreams
2020 Game of the Year Contenders
It feels as if Media Molecule’s creative sandbox game, Dreams, didn’t release this year, mostly because the game actually came out as an early access title back in 2019.
Dreams lets you create anything you want, literally. You can create a musical album, an open-world action-RPG, an image of a fancy English breakfast –the potential for creativity is unlimited.
And what’s even cooler is that all creators can share their designs and projects with other creators to collaborate on a single, all-encompassing idea. It’s a novel video game concept that always blows my mind whenever I see any of the brilliant creations from the dedicated fan-base.
Game of the year winners are oftentimes video games that bring something new into the mix and Dreams might just be that.
Call of Duty: Warzone
2020 Game of the Year Contenders
When Call of Duty dropped into the battle royale genre with Warzone earlier this year, it came as a surprise to most but it still managed to grab the attention of fans everywhere, even in a time where Fortnite and other titles are grasping for attention as well.
As of April, the free-to-play title has over 50 million players, which has no doubt gone up since then, and there’s a clear reason why that is.
Warzone expertly manages to combine everything that’s enjoyable about the battle royale genre such as the cooperation and the stress of being caught outside the “danger zone,” and also the superb first-person shooter gameplay from the mainline CoD series.
It’s an incredible mix up that works surprisingly well and with the addition of the Gulag mechanic, Warzone really stands apart from other games in the genre.
As an ongoing game as a service that’s totally free for everyone, there’s sure to be discussions about its GOTY potential as the year continues and updates are added.
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