The Games That Got Us Through 2020

It has been quite the year, wouldn’t you say? In between working on Season, we have been playing a lot of games! It’s nice to sit back and disappear from the world for a bit with a good game.

Here is our studio’s list of the top ten games that got us through this year.

top 10

10. thanh’s pick: animal crossing

The first game on our list is Animal Crossing because of its feel-good vibe and relaxing atmosphere.

Animal Crossing was released at the beginning of the COVID lockdown, which helped us cope with not being able to go outside. It also allowed us to connect more with people digitally who were also fans of the series. – Thanh

Throughout the year, the game continually gets regular updates and events throughout the year, which always pulled us back into the game no matter how much time passed. Speaking of, I think I have some more bugs for Blathers…

9. richard & odric’s pick: granblue fantasy versus

We have tremendous fans of the Granblue Fantasy game.

There’s a fondness we build through a connection with the story and characters. – Richard

We also like fighting games because beating on your friends is essential. – Odric

8. ge b. & odric’s pick: satisfactory

Satisfactory is a great sandbox to play with friends, and we all needed a reason to get together (in a digital way). Satisfactory is a fun online multiplayer with huge progression and a good complex management aspect. There’s also an exploration aspect to the game that could be very promising with future updates.

The tiny factory cart’s the best – Ge B.

7. amélie’s pick: florence

I enjoyed the awkwardness of a first date through this puzzle minigame filled narrative. It’s elegant by its simplicity. – Amélie

She bought the game at least 6 times to install it on her sisters’ and friends’ cellphones.

6. benjamin’s pick: world of warcraft shadowlands

World of Warcraft is one of our go-to games when playing with friends. Obviously, it is one of the more complete MMORPG ever created and still fun more than 15 years later.

The new expansion brings more content to the game and is always a good time to come back to Azeroth and kick some asses, may it be players or monsters. – Benjamin

5. stephen’s pick: life is strange 2

We enjoyed the tightly crafted narrative experience with characters we were invested in. Our choices felt like they mattered to the boys.

The game has excellent artwork and an excellent score. – Stephen

Meg may or may not have cried at multiple points during her playthrough.

4. mathieu’s pick: return of the obra dinn

A detective game in which you play as an insurance investigator boarding a ghost ship that drifted into port on its own, damaged and with no crew on board. The game’s point is to explore the derelict, find out what happened to the crew, and write a log of each individual’s causes of death. You get clues by carefully exploring the crime scenes, by reading notes and through logical deduction, as you explore the ship and find out the circumstances of its grim fate.

We love this game because it engages the player into paying careful scrutiny to everything they come across, diving into each character’s stories and coming up with their own theories.

There is zero hand-holding. You could play this for weeks and still find hidden secrets. Although it is a solo game, it is fun to play this with your friends and have interesting conversations as you exchange back and forth to solve the mysteries. And trust me, some are very difficult! – Mathieu

3. hanh’s pick: bugsnax

It’s Pokemon, but with extra steps. It’s always satisfying to catch a Bugsnax, especially when combining multiple tools at your disposal and catching that one tricky bugsnax. – Thanh

The characters are lovable with their own goals in life, and you get to explore each of their flaws and fears, which gives a solemn feel to the cheery vibe. The story is also very engaging, with the player in charge of uncovering another character’s disappearance mystery. The music is also one of the best we’ve heard in a long time.

2. jane & ge’s pick: outerwilds

A game that is a love letter to the scientist in all of us. Outerwilds nails the feeling of exploration and discovery in a way that makes us all into children again, giggling as we rocket up into the vast unknown. – Jane

Or swearing, depending on the planet. – Ge B.

1. thanh, odric and meg’s pick: hades

Our top game of the year is Hades “cause it’s fantastic,” said Odric, and we have to agree with him.

But really, we love the gameplay loop of the rogue-like genre and how death is tied into the story. Instead of being punished for your failures (other than your father’s disapproval), every attempt to beat the game unlocks more of the story and lore.

The gameplay is fast, hectic, and ultimately always satisfying when you see improvement over time. Slowly peeling away the mystery surrounding the characters is also gratifying and encourages players to go through the game multiple times, even after completing the main story. – Thanh

special mentions

knights and bikes

We had to have a game about bikes on our list.

Knights and Bikes has a unique and beautiful art style, fun action gameplay and a touching story centred around childhood and make-believe stories. You can customize your bike, too! – Ge B.

winding worlds

A game that teaches you that you need to take care of yourself before helping others. This playful therapeutic reminder by KO_OP was precisely what we needed this year. – Meg

children of morta

Super enjoyable action RPG with rogue-like dungeon maps. There’s some neat varied gameplay style between the different characters. Classic drama story, but with a feel-good vibe because of the familial aspect. Also, pretty pixel art and the couch co-op feature was super fun. – Ge B.

legend of runeterra

The amount of depth in this game is insane. You can’t be but impressed and respect the amount of game design polish put in there. They managed to break down turns into micro-turns making the gameplay flowy, fast-paced and addictive despite its heaviness. – Simon D

Keep us posted in our discord on what games we should try next! Happy holidays, and see you in the new year!

– Scavengers Studio Team