I tried to play a lot of games in 2020, these are the titles I think fondly of that have helped me through the year.
Astro’s Playroom
Astro’s Playroom was my first PlayStation 5 game. It was the first game I platinumed on the PS5. This title was so much more than the tech demo they have made it out to be. At the start of this experience is a controller demo that goes through the DualSense vibration capabilities, and holding L2 and R2 to imitate a rocket engine was an experience I had most of my family go through. The controller is heavy, responsive, and a pleasure to experience Astro’s Playroom through. Since I haven’t played another PS5 game, I can’t vouch on how they feel, but I do know that Astro’s Playroom fully utilizes the controller through every terrain you traverse through as the little Astro Bot.
Sand, metal, undisclosed goo, and rubble all make for different sensations through the DualSense controller. The four worlds in the game call on different parts of the PS5’s build, from worlds like SSD Speedway, and Memory Meadow, Cooling Springs, and GPU Jungle. Astro’s Playroom creates a nostalgic introduction to the new console that encapsulates any and all memories you had with Sony consoles and paraphernalia. Little Atsro Bots cosplaying video game characters new and old, and scattered artifacts showcasing hardware like the Eye-Toy camera, and the PS Vita, all the while poking fun at them all. The gameplay is rewarding and easier than it seems, proven by my ability to achieve the platinum.
The scale of the game just works. No area is too big or too small, and the amount of things you can interact with make the experience so enjoyable. I thought I would not be able to beat levels like Memory Meadow’s touch-pad ball segments or collect 46 artifacts and 96 puzzle pieces, but the game is built in such a way that eased and encouraged scavenging these items. There’s also a gacha machine in the home-base Lab that I loved a little too much. The music in this game is so charming, paired with the DualSense vibrations in accordance to any weather or terrain changes in the levels you played through.
Astro’s Playroom is nostalgia done right, it excites you just enough to want to know more about this little world and what the PS5 is capable of. I can only hope for a fully fledged sequel to this sickly-sweet game.
Genshin Impact
After failing to get into FFXIV, playing Genshin Impact on release was imperative to feel included and secure into the beginning of the story. Over 160 hours were sinked into building my team of Noelle, Klee, Sucrose, and Fischl in the most nonstrategic way. While still overwhelmed by domains and the artifact system, I played Genshin Impact for its beautifully rendered world. It satiated a longing for Breath of the Wild, the most commonly comparable game to this title, with its game mechanics, herb foraging, and surprisingly, weapon degradation. Although weapons can only be upgraded for the better, the different array of playable characters were my form of weapon degradation with how aptly limiting a party of four can be when you’re like me and like to create teams that feel fun to play as opposed to having them be the most strategic to.
There are so many good, strong, and well-designed characters as a result of the gacha system and primogem farming in place in order to obtain them, that getting a new character created another layer of needing several more hours of grinding. This was necessary to do in order to level them up and ascend them to match my current party. Disregarding ascensions, I wasn’t all that into domains either, which explains my current halt at adventure rank 35, with a world level of 4. The world became too difficult for me to take on alone, and as popular as the online co-op is, I was not able to continue playing with anyone I knew and life took over.
The hours I spent playing Genshin Impact have been some of the most fulfilling moments I was able to experience this year. The map is exaggeratedly filled with lore, things to do, and scenic points that I would pause and stay at for moments between missions. It felt good knowing how to traverse and problem solve certain domains and side quests. The writing in this game is phenomenal, with a lengthy collection of books and items to find, the localization team’s effort is shown through each description and voice-acting on this free-to-play title.
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva MegaMix
I got into Project Diva a little later than most back in 2019, and had played a fair amount of the PS4 title, with the DLC and costume modules to attest to. I was excited about the release of the new Switch title and was surprised at how new it felt despite adhering to the same format of the PS4 version. Granted, the graphics were a little bit inferior but served as a cute stylistic choice for the Switch. A huge appeal about it being on the Switch was its portability, so I would only play it on handheld mode throughout the day. I found that docking it creates a weird lag, and I had gotten used to the PS4’s button presses that were synced differently. Handheld, though, the Switch created an exhilarating experience that pushed me into trying harder difficulty modes on different tracks.
The buttons on the Switch prompt a tight, responsive press that was easy to master. Graphically, the simplified design felt suitable for what the Switch can handle, and having over a hundred tracks to choose from, each with fully rendered or animated videos, I still kept playing the same tracks. (Notable favorites: Arifureta Sekai Seifuku, 39 Music! , and Denparadigm) I loved vocaloid songs as a teenager, so getting to play ‘Po Pi Po’ on the switch felt strangely rewarding and validating.
I would really like there to be more tracks on the MegaMix title, specifically ‘Magical Sound Shower’ that I’m proud to have cleared on hard on the PS4. I have shilled for the current DLC available and would probably keep doing that until I can never play any other game but Project Diva.
Animal Crossing New Horizons
Earlier this March, I took two weeks off work in order to celebrate and enjoy the release of the new Animal Crossing title. Unknowingly staying in and working from home indefinitely, almost ten months later. Within these past months I’ve spent over 400 hours on my island, Rosemilk, keeping Snake, one of my starting villagers on lock. The first week of the game was the tutorial, you get flown out to a deserted island and Tom Nook appoints you as the island’s representative, and you make use of the island’s natural resources, with the help of other mystery islands, in order to create a habitable land that includes a goods store, a tailor, a museum, and a residential services building that acts as the island’s community hub where villagers are able to sit around, sing, or workout in.
I’ve been anticipating the New Horizons release for so many years, so Nintendo’s steady drip of content, evident from when you first start the game, has helped me play continuously. (Also, I haven’t been prompted to time travel! Well, not yet. Maybe one day I will be able to recreate a Ghibli-inspired island…) June through August has had a bit of a lull in events but that was compensated by Halloween, Turkey Day, Toy Day, and more recently, New Years.
With these steady updates providing a little more fun with each season, Animal Crossing has been my daily go-to game. My reservations with the game include trivial things to do with customization and the absence of the Megaphone. Although there are 391 different villagers, they’re condensed into eight different personality types, and the talking options get exhausted quickly, especially when I’ve got three villagers who share the same Snooty personality.
My favorite part of playing ACNH has been visiting my friends and families islands and bonding over how different our layouts, airports, and island builds are. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of my friends and loved ones have been restricted off traveling, so Animal Crossing provided a safe space we could enjoy together, and I will never forget how special our moments on this little getaway were.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
What an absolutely captivating game. I played through the entirety of FF7R only to rewatch my partner’s play-through and relive the experience. The story is so well written and each character has their own clear arcs and storylines that all give them their own sense of self, and being able to play as each character makes that bond even stronger. I’ve felt a few minuscule flaws with pace and graphics but those are overshadowed by how good and responsive the fighting sequences are in-game. Aerith and Tifa have been so fun to play as.
The characters really, really make it for me. I’ve grown so attached and fond of so many of them that future titles have me worried for them and their story progression. The politics in this title regarding ecological activism is handled so sensitively, Barret is an amazingly crafted character and most, if not all, of his dialogue is inspirational and exceptional in a sense that this remake seems to have adhered to the same message since the original.
The remake truly stands out as a piece of media that has acknowledged itself and updated to suit the current game-space. It is hard to believe that this is part one of many more FF7R games, the wait for the story to progress will be difficult to manage only because of how well this title was made. I’ve never played past sector 7 in the original game, so I can’t accurately compare them, but from what I’ve played in FF7R, read, understood, and experienced throughout the game, I’m so content and happy. Happy for all those who never thought a remake this grand would be possible, too! My first Final Fantasy game that I could complete was Final Fantasy XV, which introduced itself as ‘A Final Fantasy for fans and newcomers alike’, which helped with my playthrough and understanding of FF7R. I’ll try to play through the original on the Switch if the wait becomes too long.
What a great game, I think this was an ambitious feat by Square Enix for remaking a strong game in its own right, but still adding a new sense of belonging for those who’ve never played a Final Fantasy game before. If this is their new standard, they’ll only exceed it with the direction they’re going in. I am incandescently joyed that I got to experience this beautiful game all the way through. Final Fantasy 7 holds its title as a well loved and remembered staple to the series, and getting to play a revamped and ‘reimagined’ version in 2020 was surreal.
At the end of 2020, I started playing a lot of ‘shorter’ games. I’d actively seek out games no longer than 3-hours and overused ‘How Long To Beat’ to determine whether I could take on a new title or not. I played Abzu, Observation, The Gardens Between, and Depanneur Nocturne to name a few. These shorter game experiences were so grounding to play, as the open-world or action-adventure triple A titles were so demanding of time and skill. These beautifully crafted worlds brought forth a love for games I had forgotten in favor of a community-driven fad I could participate in.
In 2021, I’d like to play a lot more of these shorter games. I recently played my first run of Paratopic, a horror game with a lot to unearth through more playthroughs. I’m looking forward to more of these soft, creative games that craft unforgettable moments you’re able to make your own.
