Games I played in 2020

For some reason, I had a lot of time to play games this year. Hm...

So I figured I'd write about them for a change.

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection

I'm slow, okay? Nicole won this collection from the Ellen Show before we started dating, and I finally decided to give it a shot (pun intended). I usually hate aiming on controller, but the controls were... acceptable.

The Da Vinci Code or Assassin's Creed-style urban-legends-are-true plot is fun, if not formulaic by the 3rd time. But the great cast and set pieces keeps me invested and moving forward.

Jedi: Fallen Order

This was a fun one for the weightier lightsaber combat, but the parry/deflect timings felt off to be the entire game. Even by the end of the game, I was not consistent at all.

The main character, Cal Kestis, is literally Generic White Guy. I couldn't've given less of a shit about him.

Code Vein

Anime Dark Souls baybeeeee. What's more to say? The character designs were all top tier.

The combat was also great fun. I used a great sword which felt weighty and put out the big DPS numbers. I'm glad this game took the gear upgrading system from Dark Souls and didn't try to complicate it further. There's nothing I hate more in games than a complicated crafting system.

Plot was interesting post-apocalyptic world, but riddled with the usual anime melodrama without any of the buildup of good writing.

I enjoyed the companion system. Balance aside, they made exploration more fun because it felt like I was going through this with a partner.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Ori might be the greatest platforming game of the decade. The controls are so CRISP, and the addition of melee/ranged combat adds a new dimension, although some of the hit registration can be wonky.

But nothing beats the thrill of a chase scene that I've failed 20 times, until the final attempt where I get into that flow state and every action, jump, slingshot just lines up perfectly.

Fallout New Vegas DLC

I have a habit of buying DLCs and just never playing them. New Vegas was no exception.

I finally got around to it, though, and it was just as amazing a game as I remember. The combat the most consistently fun of the modern Fallout games.

Dead Money

The Sierra Madre casino is really challenging (read: annoying) to traverse due to the environmental hazards and explosive collar that scared the shit out of me every time it went off.

But the story of obsession was truly haunting, yet beautiful.

Honest Hearts

An interesting exploration of an "urban legend" in the base game.

Zion Canyon was an awesome place to explore that added to the world building. It was a nice reprieve from the usual decrepit buildings and wastelands.

Old World Blues

I think I enjoyed Old World Blues the most from a story and character standpoint. It has an interesting twist and a certain tragic character. It can come off as "randumb xd" at times, but I still found it charming.

Lonesome Road

The set pieces and antagonist were genetically engineered to be "cool," but I'll be honest... I don't remember details about this DLC.

Persona 4 Golden

I played P4G on the Vita until Marie's dungeon, but never beat it. Now that it's on Steam, I was finally able to beat it and complete Adachi's social link as well.

This game is a masterpiece and still holds up. I wholeheartedly recommend it to any RPG fan. The intro is a little slow, like most RPGs, but it has systems in place to let you breeze through things if you really want to.

Grand Theft Auto V

Michael is generic mafia bro, Travis is the most annoying edge lord of all time, and Franklin is a cool dude. Despite Travis being the worst, the three kind of grew on me by the end.

The aiming sucks ass like usual, but the epic modern story, consistent humor, and character focus drew me in.

Bioshock trilogy

It's a mastapiece.

The controls are a little floaty in 1 and 2, but Infinite is nearly perfect. The plot of infinite involves closed time loops, which are my favorite trope of all time.

Tomb Raider trilogy

The new Tomb Raider trilogy follows a similar plot structure to the Uncharted series where urban legends are reality. It's serviceable in getting Lara to some awesome set pieces. The platforming feels more focused than Uncharted, and the controls much more precise thanks to it being on PC.

I can't wait for more in this franchise.

Destiny 2

Okay, I'm obsessed as fuck about this game now. I have over 1,300 hours since starting it mid last year. Every gun feels incredible to use, and the sounds are perfect.

After discovering Dead Man's Tale, a lever-action scout rifle, I can't put it down. Yee-haw.

The plot is generic space battle between good and evil, but the lore though? That's some good shit. I love learning about what happened to humanity or other alien races during the Golden Age, the Collapse, etc.

My only complaint is how slow Bungie is with balance patches and overcomplicated gameplay systems. I simply don't engage with the seasonal content anymore because it's so much convoluted bullshit.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

The combat balancing is absolutely whack at times and could use some tuning because it's the opposite of accessible layer. Despite that, the combat is still fun, if not repetitive by the end.

It's really carried by the amazing cast of characters. I truly loved everyone in Ichiban's crew by the end. The music is all bangers.

The ending made me cry like a little bitch with snot running down my nose. It's so fucking cheesy and epic, and I love it.

Conclusion

2020 was truly an unprecedented year that allowed me to catch up on a lot of my backlog and led me to discover some new favorites.

I still play Destiny 2 PvP almost every day, and I'm trying to find time for other new games. I'm looking forward to Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Tales of Arise, and Scarlet Nexus especially. Maybe if I could get a PS5 would I care about that lineup, but... until then... 🤷‍♂️

Hi! I'm Jeff Chheng.
This is my blog where I ramble about web dev, video games, and TV.