Instead of another post about a game I’ve played recently, I thought it would be a good idea to sort of recap the year now that it is December. 2020 definitely left a sour taste in my mouth, but it wasn’t all bad.
So let’s dive into 2020. First and foremost, I got my shiny charm in Pokémon Shield on 12/28/19, and dove right in to shiny hunting. My first shiny of the year was my baby Riolu. Him hatching from his egg sparked my itch to shiny hunt throughout the year, and I’m happy to say I have many more additions to the collection.
Also in January, I picked up the Collection of Mana for the Nintendo Switch. RPGs have a special place in my heart so I put it right in. I started with the first title in the collection, Final Fantasy Adventure. Originally a GameBoy game released in 1991, this gem of a game was a wonderful throwback. I always forget how many RPGs were really on the GameBoy and how wonderful they were. It was a fantastic experience that left me wanting more.
So, I continued on to the Secret of Mana. Now this game is for sure a contender for the top 5 games I’ve played this year. It was released on the SNES in 1993, but it still holds up to this very day and is one of the best RPGs I have ever had the pleasure to experience. If you haven’t played it, being a part of this collection makes it easier than ever. Definitely check it out!
In February, I played Code Vein on the PS4 and two wonderful titles on the switch; Transistor and Timespinner. Code Vein was good, but it got pretty stale and repetitive towards the end. I had a blast with it regardless.
Timespinner was a wonderful metroidvania, and my first one at that. It definitely made me fall in love with the genre. I’ll have to go back and play the classic ones that defined it. Transistor had been on my radar for a while and thanks to one of my favorite local game stores, I found the collector’s edition that Limited Run Games released. It was a brilliant game that tugged on my heart strings hard. It was a gorgeous game, too. Supergiant games did a fantastic job with it.
March soon came, and hit us pretty hard. That was when the pandemic started to really surge through the country, and quarantines began. I, being in retail, took a leave of absence to try and stay safe through it all.
I began March playing Final Fantasy VII. Thankfully for the Switch port, I was able to live through this classic RPG. The remake for it was going to come out in April, and I wanted to experience the original first. This is another contender for top five this year, as it was a masterpiece.
After Final Fantasy VII I played Gigawrecker, Celeste and Smoke and Sacrifice. Gigawrecker honestly tested my patience. There was a disconnect there that I couldn’t quite pinpoint, but I fought through that and finished it. I appreciated what Game Freak created here, even if the game was difficult for me. Celeste and Smoke and Sacrifice were different stories, though.
Celeste was breathtaking. I have pretty bad anxiety at times and this game really spoke to me. It was so inspirational and uplifting. It was empowering to see a game represent anxiety in such a strong way. Celeste was my first 2D Platformer, and I can’t wait to play more. I finished the story, and all of the B sides but I still need to complete the heart of the mountain and the C sides. Again, here’s another top 5 contender.
Smoke and Sacrifice was another moving title. It had a survival twist to it, which I loved, and its story was perfection. Smoke and Sacrifice was the title I started my quarantine off with. From here, because I was not at work, I powered through a lot of games. Most of them were on my Switch, as I quickly fell in love with that console.
I took the Stardew Valley plunge in at the end of March and boy did it suck me in. It was perfect timing as quarantine set it. It was a welcome escape from the scary and changing world outside. This game blended RPG elements into a farming simulator perfectly, and it easily became one of my favorite games ever.
I picked at a few other titles in April while juggling Stardew Valley. I beat New Super Lucky’s Tale, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, The Longest Five Minutes, Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rune Factory 4. I definitely had the platforming itch from Celeste, and the farm simulation itch from Stardew Valley. Final Fantasy VII Remake was the only game I played on my PS4. The rest were on my Switch. Final Fantasy VII Remake reignited my love for my PlayStation, and I began playing more titles on it as well.
May was another month that I played quite a few games in. I beat a few on both my Switch and my PS4. On the Switch, I beat Lost Sphear and on my PS4 I beat God of War and Far Cry New Dawn. God of War was a replay, but this time around I polished off the trophies and scored the platinum one. I also began my Animal Crossing: New Horizons journey, which still has not ended.
In June, I completed Bayonetta and The Last of Us Part II on the PS4 as well as Pokémon Platinum on the DS. Now, The Last of Us Part II took my number one favorite game spot away from its predecessor. It was absolutely fantastic, but it was also a mess of emotion and gut-wrenching plot twists. I will absolutely write a full post about it someday. Needless to say, it was a masterpiece and Naughty Dog outdid themselves. Also, just so everyone knows, Ellie is my favorite video game character ever. I named my first dog after her.
June also gave us the first expansion of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, the Isle of Armor. I enjoyed exploring the new area and seeing the familiar faces of the Pokémon they brought back. We still don’t have a National Dex, but it’s a step in the right direction.
July was a bit of a rough month, but I still managed to complete Shadow of the Colossus on the PS4. I had my eye on this title for a while, so it was great to finally get around to it. It was a brilliant title, one that really made me think about life differently.
