My 6 Favorite Video Games of 2020
By: Yaseen Al-Sheikh
Tags: Games, Gaming, 2020, Star Wars, The Last Of Us

2020 has been a complete clusterfuck. There is no way around that, and I suspect there really isn’t a more succinct way to put it, really. I know it’s been a clusterfuck for everyone, seeing as how there was this slobber-knocker of a virus that decided to upend the lives of billions, and unfortunately take millions away from us far too early. In the United States, we’ve faced a wildly inconsistent government response and a woefully inadequate support-system to boot, and we celebrated Easter, Ramadan, Passover, and Hannukah, and Christmas with socially distanced mechanisms. In between all of that difficulty and starting and restarting of normal procedures, however, some amazing video games came out and helped me get through it all.

Interactive art is a true blessing, and when it is manifested into a video game there’s really no way around it: I fall in love. Ever since I received a PlayStation 2 when I was 9 years old, I have been a fanatic, a zealot. I wish I was as devout toward God as I was toward the PlayStation as a child! From the shitty Spider-Man games to SpongeBob: Battle of Bikini Bottom, there was an endless amount of fun and aggravation that came out of those times.

So it only makes sense that during an especially strenuous year like this one, video games would once again help me through it all.

These are not in any particular order. I do not have a “game of the year” to dole out, and I have no interest in arguing with anyone as to why my opinion here is objectively correct [even though it is] and yours isn’t.

Red Dead Redemption II

This is maybe a bit of a cheating choice because I first played the game in 2019, but I had admittedly rushed through the single-player campaign, not giving it much thought on the first go around. I built my current computer in February though and picked up RDR2 on Steam a few months later. I vowed that I would play this game slowly this time. I was captivated throughout. Arthur Morgan is one of the most sobering, somber protagonists to come out of a Rockstar Games studio game. Versatile, complex, and subtly caring, Morgan demonstrates throughout that he is not just a “Great Man of History” who shifts the trajectory of the Western Age, but a regular individual raised by imperfect men, affected deeply by the political and social machinations that surround him. The knowledge that the Age of the Outlaw is coming to an end burdens his mind, and he treads carefully through the “ongoing project of civilization” in the semi-fictionalized Southwest American State.

Without spoiling anything, the story of Morgan and company isn’t just a tragedy, but a scorching commentary on ambiguity in the moral laws we hold dear, and on riding the train of life to places you cannot ever expect to be prepared for.

Plus, the game is just fucking beautiful. It was beautiful on the baseline PlayStation 4, it’s even more beautiful in Ultra-Mode on my computer.

[Also, I have played quite a bit of Red Dead Online, and while I don't really like Rockstar’s model of multiplayer, there is a solid amount of fun to be had if you have a crew to run with]

Risk of Rain II

On the flip side of Red Dead Redemption 2’s story-driven, multitudes of activities approach to video game theory, Risk of Rain 2 takes a much more simple stab at things. A roguelike with immense customization and replayability, Risk of Rain 2 found its way into my obsessive mind-space through a recommendation from a friend. This game is light on the lore but heavy on the insane gameplay capabilities you have at your disposal.

The premise is simple: you pick a character based on a combat-class of sorts, like melee cut-and-slash, or a ranged archer-sniper, and you just get in and kick ass. Along the way, you pick up these buff-inducing items, and secondary equipment. They stack, and then they stack some more, and they mix into each other and play off of each other. If you haven’t died yet, you may quickly find yourself being incredibly powerful, and that feels great. This is where things may get boring, or so you’d think. Then you don’t pay attention for a second or you get sniped from an enemy you never saw, and you die. So that’s it, right? No. You go to the main menu and realize there aren’t just dozens of combinations in buffs and playthrough styles, but hundreds.

So you go again. Again. And again. And Again. And Again. You play with a friend or two and realize you haven’t even gotten good yet. So you keep going and you pissed off, so you rage quit. Of course, you come back to it because that’s the kind of game it is. The saga continues on until you have mastered its systems.

This game will make you scream, and it made me cry when I beat the final game stage.

STAR WARS JEDI: Fallen Order