The best games of 2020

2020 has been a year for global events, though none have been so wholesome as the unpredictable popularity of cosy life-sim Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Starting on a desert island, gamers will craft, mine, forage and fish their way to comfort and warm joy. As the island progresses, the familiar Animal Crossing cast make themselves known, and the player can trade and build relationships that only add to the game's loveliness. It's a game that requires a lot of input, but the rewards are huge and not to be forgotten. It's a healing tonic that everyone deserves.

There has never been a game with more to live up to. 2013's The Last Of Us is considered by many to be a perfect game, so Part II couldn't just be "good 'nuff," it had to be brilliant. Thankfully, it is. Switching the playable focus from Joel to Ellie, now nineteen, the story picks up four years after the first game, and the found-family surviving within a new settlement. However, things change when the encampment comes under attack, with Ellie then striking out for revenge. A darker and more refined game, The Last Of Us Part II is a worthy successor to the original. Don't miss out on this one.

Remakes are a tricky business, but remakes of genre-spawning cult-classics is another matter entirely. Thankfully, developer Bluepoint was up to this Souls-like task. It's taken its time, considered everything and executed each decision with precision and grace. Players will have to take on this same mentality as they travel to the grimdark fantasy realm of Boletaria, and throw themselves up against hours of brutally unforgiving gameplay. It's a hard game to master, but Demon's Souls is a legendary title worthy of your time.

Paper Mario: The Origami King is a weird spin-off of the mainline Mario franchise. It's a notable step away from the plumber's typical playgrounds and hits on a very different comedic tone that includes breaking the forth-wall and injecting plenty of sass and sarcasm. The game, which is a barebones RPG suitable (and enjoyable) for all ages, sees Paper Mario trying to take down Prince Ollie after he kidnaps Princess Peach (beating Bowser at this own game) and attempts to fold the Mushroom Kingdom into submission. It's a game full of silliness, joy and interesting innovation. Yes, Paper Mario is a-great.

Pro Skater 1 and 2 are icons of the PlayStation One era, allowing players the chance to pull off some insane tricks to a near immaculate punk and hip hop soundtrack. The 2020 remasters take you right back to those vert ramps and well-polished rails, but with tightened up controls and modern graphics. It's excellent, and the two games bundled together is a bargain.

Insomniac Games' follow-up to its 2018 hit Spider-Man has Peter Parker taking some well-deserved R-n-R from his web-head adventures. But Parker is no fool - he knows that NYC needs protection - so, in swings the young Miles Morales. He doesn't quite have the confidence of his predecessor, but he's going to do his best. The game polishes up a few of the previous games less-loveable elements and endears players whole-heartedly to the new Spider-Man. Plus, it's a strong contender for the best-looking release of the year.

The latest instalment of Assassin's Creed sees the franchise's traditionally romantic locales traded-in for grime of Anglo-Saxon England. Venice, Paris and Sparta soon fade into memory, though, as players take control of Viking warrior Eivor to pillage their way through the English countryside. The combat feels heavy and palpably violent, the story is gripping and the visual experience is spectacular. Bristling with content and a compelling spirit for adventure, Valhalla is a real step forward for the franchise.

Is Ghost of Tsushima the most stylish game of all time? Potentially, tied only with PaRappa The Rapper. In Ghost Of Tsushima, you take control of Jin Sakai, a samurai warrior, as he attempts to disrupt and repel the invading Mongol Empire in the year 1274. Comprising action, stealth, rewarding swordplay, a stunning open-world map, and a wholly absorbing cinematic narrative, Ghost Of Tsushima is a wonder. It's a game that deserves to be amongst the best, and amongst those worthy of signing off the PS4 generation.

Rebuilding one of the most highly regarded games of all time is a gamble, and Square Enix rolled the dice. It paid off. FFVII Remake may not have a snappy title but it's a real winner, successfully bringing together the atmospheres of 1997's journey through Midgar and fusing them with new mechanics, beautiful artistry and a little narrative twist. This instalment focuses on the first portion of the original game and promises great things for what is to come. Fans of the classic rejoice, newcomers, prepare to fall in love.

With F1 2020, Codemasters has made a vast improvement on 2019's offering with overhauled cornering, acceleration and braking physics merging perfectly with the cars' complexity and power. The new My Team mode is a big addition this year, putting you in the boardroom and paddock, as well as the cockpit. It's a holistic game mode that should appeal in a big way to those who love all aspects of the F1 industry. Split-screen multiplayer is also a more than welcome retro addition to proceedings. Oh, and it looks pristine too.

Who knew that the world needed another battle royale title? Fall Guys is insane - but a multiplayer game that draws inspiration from Takeshi's Castle was never going to be dull. It's a series of mini-games that slowly whittle down the playing field until one player is crowned the champion. There are plenty of obstacles in the way (Big Yeetus is a particular over-the-top highlight) and players can infuriatingly interfere with your progress. You'll jump into a match and fail. You'll get frustrated and feel like quitting. You'll blink, and seven hours will have passed and you'll still be there - probably losing.

Japanese RPGs, or JRPGS, are weird and wonderful, and the Persona series is very, very JRPG - it's properly out there. But behind all of the awesome-yet-bonkers parallel universes, demonological considerations, and psychological weirdness, sits a brilliantly constructed title that rewards exploration, experimentation, and dedication. This one is all about character growth and building meaningful relationships.

Well… this is a dream come true. Star Wars: Squadrons allows players to jump into the cockpit of dozens of iconic starfighters, from both the Rebel Alliance's and The Empire's hangers. As if piloting a TIE-Fighter or X-Wing wasn't cool enough, the player then joins teammates online for galactic battles - from smaller five-on-five skirmishes through to huge fleet battles. As a VR-compatible title, players are free to choose between the standard and VR experience.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a glorious game, taking players on a magical narrative journey while forcing them through some intense gameplay. This game offers a great deal more than the first title, with new combat mechanics and player abilities adding to the original's already accomplished fare. Plus, it's visually stunning, with animations being at once wistfully beautiful and dramatic. In a year where roguelikes have been on point, Ori still stands tall as a clear highlight.

Kentucky Route Zero has been making its episodic way to gamers since 2013, with the fifth and final instalment arriving in the early months of 2020. This is an off-kilter tale that begins with Conway, a truck driver, as he takes an unexpected journey through a realist-yet-surrealist community. The focus here is on story and atmosphere - it's a weird game, but one that will live with gamers long after the credits roll.

Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity wasn't the Zelda game we were expecting this year, but it's certainly welcome. Thanks to time-travel, Age Of Calamity takes place both before and after Breath Of The Wild and has the player reunite with many familiar Hyrulian faces. As a Hyrule Warriors game, it conforms to the '1 verses 1,000' gameplay framework, with each playable hero having their own distinct hack-and-slash style move set. Sometimes it teeters on the edge of what the Switch can handle, but it's still a fantastic romp littered with top-tier narrative cutscenes.

Spelunky 2 is a joyously infuriating. It's charming and frustrating, well-crafted and wholly unfair. In short, it's a roguelike. The levels are deep, intricate and ripe for exploration, relying on the player's memory as much as their quick controller skills. It's a definite evolution on the cult-favourite original, and it's soon getting an online multiplayer mode that's sure to be the antithesis of relaxing.

Hades has been on the radar for a while, courtesy of its early-access status. Now officially released, and the final product is remarkable. This dungeon-crawling roguelike has you take control of Zagreus, prince of the Underworld, and fight through hordes of mythological nasties to gain freedom from Hades. It offers all that there is to love about the roguelike genre and melds it with sharp and compelling storytelling. No two runs are the same, and no two load-outs. It's simply fantastic.

Microsoft Flight Simulator isn't for everyone for two very good reasons. One, the game is huge and requires considerable broadband and PC processing grunt. Two, it's a hardcore flight simulator, offering gamers the chance to pilot aircraft of all shapes and sizes with the utmost dedication to realism. Ever wanted to pilot a flight from London to Tokyo in real-time? Well, now you can. Not only is the gameplay marvellous for its detail, but the game includes the entire world. Additionally, the game runs with real-world weather simulation downloaded from the internet. If you've got the rig to run it, and the time to master it, this is a marvellous game and a compelling look at what sim gaming can offer in years to come.

This game - dare we say it - is a mood. Eternal is everything that we love about the unrelentingly brutal Doom franchise. With gore galore, the game is frantic and demands that you be brave, restless and merciless. You will breathlessly bound from swarm to swarm, fighting off the hoards threatening to overwhelm to an equally over the top-heavy metal soundtrack. Doom Eternal is adrenaline-pumping FPS action at its finest.

Before we go any further… to play Half-Life: Alyx, you're going to need a PC-powered VR headset (ideally, the Valve Index). If you're setup with this, then load it up and get playing Alyx. The game takes place in the well-loved world of Half-Life, working as a standalone but chronologically slotting in before the events of Half-Life 2. It's one of the most accomplished FPS games available for VR, crafted with precision and care that is a real triumph of the Valve development team. Truly and honestly, it is going to blow your mind.

Okay - the base games arrived way back in 2019. However, the two DLC packs, The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra, add over 200 monsters to the Pokédex in addition to new Wild Areas, gyms, towns and characters. True to the franchise's form, the game has you set your sights on climbing the Pokémon League. You'll be training in the land of Galar, a world based on the British Isles. Here, the Pokémon are affected by the phenomenon known as Dynamax. This occasionally causes standard Pocket Monsters to pump up to gigantic proportions. It's whacky, but good whacky. It appears that the move to console with Switch has allowed for gameplay improvements and a crisp art style that feels very welcome.

MultiIt wasn't released this year, but its rise as of late has been meteoric. Made for the generation of Discord and Twitch, the game has come to define the latter half of 2020. Warning: this game will give you trust issues.

MultiA remake of 1999's Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, 2020's RES3 is a great game for horror fans and another win for Capcom's rerelease catalogue. It's not as good as last year's RES2, however.