The top 5 games I played in 2020

In January, I had no clue what this year would amount to. COVID, lock downs, protest, elections and the year isn't over so who knows what else.

Gaming is the hobby I turn to ease my mind away from the constant daily flow of stress and anxiety that comes from the world around me.

Thanks to COVID and quarantines I was able to play a lot of games this year, so here is my top 5 list of games I played this year.

This is a list of the 5 games I think were my favorite from the past year. They did not have to be released this year just played by me at some point. This is not an in depth review or explanation of the games I played.

Also I did not put any games I just started playing or coming soon because AC: Valhalla and Cyberpunk 2077 probably would make the list but I don't have enough time on Valhalla and Cyberpunk hasn't even come out yet.

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5. Hyper Light Drifter

I got this game through a freebie on Epic Game Store I think and didn't play it for a while but it was one of those games I could tell from the art style I wanted to play.

I remember starting it up one morning, because I didn't feel like playing anything else and playing it for 8 hours straight. The art style is something that has become common among indie games with a pixel 'Oldschool' 16-bit look.

This pixel art style gets me intrigued regardless of what it is, I love pixel art in general. The game does a lot of the story telling through animated images and not words. While it can be confusing to follow at first by the end; the game shows that it does it perfectly.

The message from the games narrative mixed with a great pixel art style, and very fun combat earned its spot as one of my favorite games I played in 2020.

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4. Remnant from the Ashes

This is another game I picked up through the Epic Games Store freebie program. (EGS has been handing out banger after banger for free).

I wanted to play this game at launch in 2019, but with other games I was playing at the time I just never got around to buying it.

The moment I loaded it up I knew I was about to enjoy it a lot.

The game has a cartoony/realism mix look to it *kind of like Fortnite, don't hate me for saying that*, but the game is far from cartoony in nature. It has been described as Dark Souls with guns. I don't agree completely with that but some of the mechanics and systems in the game do work like dark souls and that is where most of the comparisons are.

I wish I had the opportunity to play this with friends, but solo it was a fantastic experience of leveling up my character to find stuff in the semi-open world locations to eventually conquer the regions' bosses and then the final boss.

I found this to be a very unique game that was very entertaining and enough of a challenge that it was exciting, but not too difficult. And there is a lot of replay potential with this one because you can experience multiple playthroughs and challenges at various difficulties.

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3. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the quarantine-saving, COVID-solving game we all needed in 2020.

Before this year, I didn't understand the hype and love Animal Crossing had over the years. I always thought it was a 'kiddy' game. I was never more wrong.

Animal Crossing is the shining example of a game made on positive vibes and chill feelings. This game is as relaxing as they come, but never gets boring or old. Pure happiness is at the core of this game and I think that's what we all needed this year. Oh and there was multiplayer. *chef's kiss*

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2. Valorant

I never liked CSGO, I tried it a bit and didn't like it, It played very different from shooters I am used too and I didn't care to learn how to play that kind of game.

That was until Valorant came around. There was a serious hype building around this game with the beta it self being one of the biggest marketing campaigns in gaming this year.

I was the first among my friends to get a code during the beta period, and enjoyed every second I played even the frustrating ones.

Between the beta and full launch me and my friends racked countless hours playing this game, and I even got to Platinum rank in competitive play.

Though I don't particularly play it a lot right now, this game is going to be big in esports and will be a fun one to watch grow.

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1. Hades

I am so happy this game was nominated for Game of the Year, though I don't think it will win it is good to see a dev team like Supergiant be recognized for their amazing work.

I bought this game back when they released it into 'early access'. I bought it mainly becuase I love Supergiant and it looked good. But I didn't play it basically at all. I did one run and I could tell the game was still working through things and I wanted to get the full experience later.

Here we are now, and it is my favorite game I played in 2020.

Supergiant, the makers of Bastion, Transistor and Pyre, released another absolute gem of a game with Hades. You play as Zagreus, the forgotten son of Hades who is trying to escape from his fathers imprisonment. If you aren't hooked already then don't worry cause this game is just downright good.

Now when I bought the game I did not know it was a rougelike. Supergiant has a couple of RPG style games with Bastion and Transistor so I expected it in that realm.

At first I was a bit turned off by this because I enjoy the narrative that Supergiant creates within their games, but they do it so well.

They managed to make a pretty good rougelike game that also tells a story over hundreds of runs into the 'depths of the dungeons' or in this case the upper floors of Hell.

The characters, the world, the story develops around you, as you push further and further on your runs through hell.

The art in this game is absolutely beautiful, the story is meaningful as you anticipate new pieces to the story each time you return home to the clutches of Hades, and the combat is thrilling and fast-paced for pure excitement.

These are a few of my favorite games I played during 2020, what are a few you played this year? Let us know in the comments below.