The Suicide of Rachel Foster
The first great 2020 game on our list is The Suicide of Rachel Foster, a story-driven walking simulator. After discovering that her father was having an affair with a woman named Rachel Foster who was the same age as his daughter, a young woman and her mother leave to live out a better life somewhere else.
Ten years later and with both of her parents dead, the young woman returns to the family hotel to sort out its property. However, a storm strands her in the hotel and she is forced to explore the building and discover some pretty dark secrets.
Beautifully reminiscent of What Remains of Edith Finch and Gone Home, The Suicide of Rachel Foster will definitely have you on your toes.
Atmospheric, deep, and full of some shocking twists and turns, this game throws you into some family drama that therapy wouldn’t be able to fix.
The Suicide of Rachel Foster released on Feb. 19 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
The Longing
This one’s pretty unique. And that’s an understatement. The Longing takes 400 real-life days to complete. And no, you didn’t read that wrong.
In The Longing, you take control of a tiny little Shade who must wait to wake up his king from a 400-day slumber. Once you start the game, a timer at the top of the screen will begin to count down for that long wait.
To pass the time, you can explore the vast underground kingdom around you, read some books like Moby Dick, paint some pictures, interact with special objects, and just walk. However, literally every action is painstakingly slow.
Our little protagonist has no sprint and there is no fast forward button so The Longing takes the cake for a true idle game. Of course, time will continue to pass after you exit the game so The Longing is more of a casual and calming way to pass the time if you’re doing something else.
If you want to dabble in this unique experience, you can find The Longing on Steam.
Exit the Gungeon
Back in 2016, we were entering the Gungeon but in 2020 we’re exiting it. Quite literally continuing where the last game left off, the Gungeon has now become incredibly unstable and the Gungeoneers must now escape before it collapses on top of them.
Still just as bullet hell-y, stylized, and jumpy as the last game, Exit the Gungeon will keep you just as entertained as the first time you entered.
While technically a “spin-off,” Exit the Gungeon still follows the same characters we’ve become familiar with. However, according to the series’ original developers, it is smaller in production scale and more a collaboration with another studio than a full-blown sequel.
Regardless, Exit the Gungeon is still a blast to play and you can find it on Switch and Steam.
World of Horror
The next great 2020 game is a gorgeously stylized horror rogue-lite adventure that mixes elements of Junji Ito, H.P. Lovecraft, and retro RPGs into a crazy and cosmic experience. Honestly, that sentence alone should have sold you on the game.
In World of Horror, the old gods have now suddenly awakened, causing strange and bizarre events to occur all over Shiokawa, Japan. Players follow the adventures of five different characters as they navigate the changing world and fight against eldritch abominations.
The characters and enemies you come across will be the type to haunt your dreams for the next few weeks especially since the game is the lovechild of Junji Ito and Lovecraft. This will honestly be an adventure that fans of many different genres should experience.
If you want to have a look at the game, World of Horror can be played on Steam, Switch, PS4, and PC.
Last Oasis
Recently coming out of early access, Last Oasis is a nomadic survival MMO that takes place on an Earth that has stopped rotating. Half of the Earth’s surface is scorching desert while the other, darker half is plunged in ice and frost. A tiny section of the planet is the only habitable location but it moves as the planet orbits the sun.
Perhaps the crowning feature of this game, players need to build Walkers to traverse the land which are large wooden structures and vehicles that can carry supplies, water, and people across the vast desert. These structures can actually get pretty massive and they’re very customizable.
Other than that, Last Oasis allows you to spec into different skills, group together into clans, go Breaking Bad with some psychedelic drugs, and interact with other nomads in a player-driven economy.
MMO fans will be able to play Last Oasis on Steam.
Murder by Numbers
Another great 2020 game, Murder by Numbers is an entertaining mystery visual novel where you take control of an actress turned detective when her boss suddenly shows up dead. Teaming up with a robot, you turn into a detective duo that tries to solve murders across a number of locations like TV studios, drag shows, and award shows.
Bright, vibrant, and 90’s reminiscent, Murder by Numbers is a wonderfully stylized adventure set to a soundtrack made by the composer behind Phoenix Wright. The characters are also designed by Hato Moa, creator of Hatoful Boyfriend so you know this game is about to be wild.
Murder by Numbers really takes the “visual” part of visual novel to the next level with its fabulously designed backgrounds, characters, and dialogue while also adding a detective twist to its gameplay.
Find this darling on Steam and Switch.
Stela
Another great 2020 game, Stela is absolutely gorgeous and it’s a crime not a lot of people are talking about it. Akin to Gris, Limbo, and Journey, Stela is a cinematic, atmospheric platformer that follows the adventure of a young woman as she witnesses the last days of an ancient civilization.
In addition to experiencing challenges and puzzles, players will travel through a vast, colorful, vibrant, and beautiful environment to discover what happened to this magnificent civilization.
To top it all off, Stela has a great atmospheric soundtrack that will keep you immersed and involved in the story for as long as you play it. Overall, Stela will be a pleasant, distantly spooky, and artistic game for players to experience.
Originally released on the Apple Arcade, Stela was recently released on Steam, Switch, and Xbox One.
Kentucky Route Zero
To make it on this list of great 2020 games, Kentucky Route Zero’s long development and episodic style finished out its fifth and final act this January. Darkly atmospheric and beautifully cinematic, Kentucky Route Zero is a point-and-click magical realism adventure that really makes you think.
The game centers around various locations along I-65 in Kentucky. Once the sun goes down, however, things begin to seem strange and a little supernaturally odd along the highway. You take control of an old truck driver who visits these different locations to experience their narratives.
Akin to Welcome to Nightvale and Stranger Things, Kentucky Route Zero has gorgeous visuals and a synth soundtrack worth repeating. The stories and various characters that you encounter will be unforgettable so get ready for some feels throughout the game’s five acts.
Kentucky Route Zero’s TV Edition can be played on Switch, Xbox One, and PS4 while its PC Edition is for Windows, Linux, and Steam.
Journey to the Savage Planet
Journey to the Savage Planet is a joyful, cheery, and hilarious adventure within a weird alien world. You take control of an explorer newly recruited by Kindred Aerospace, the 4th best interstellar space exploration company. Your task is to ensure that planet Ary-26 is suitable for human settlement.
Throughout the game you’ll encounter crazy animals, huge landmarks, and really weird plants. It’s your responsibility to scan these incredibly foreign objects to catalog and gather information about them and the planet as a whole.
You also have the option to play solo or with a friend to share in the experience of finding some wild and weird creatures. Honestly, if you want a humorous sci-fi experience, give this game a try.
You can find Journey to the Savage Planet on PS4, Xbox One, and the Epic Games Store.
Lair of the Clockwork God
Our last great 2020 games is the point-and-click platformer Lair of the Clockwork God. You don’t often see point-and-click and platformer both describing a game but Lair of the Clockwork God actually allows you to take control of two separate characters, Ben and Dan, who deliberately and blatantly encompass the genres’ archetypes.
Humorously meta and happily making fun of the genres, the game literally makes it impossible for Ben, the point-and-click adventurer, to jump. All he can do is walk, have an inventory, and interact with objects and people.
Dan, on the other hand as the platformer, can’t interact with his environment other than standing on platforms, moving boxes, and jumping.
This turns into a wild gameplay experience that needs you to actively switch between the two characters to get through the level. Story-wise literally all of the apocalypses are happening at the exact same time so, overall, the game keeps you on your toes.
If you want a truly good laugh and a great time, you can grab Lair of the Clockwork God on Steam.
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