Here are our Top 5 Video Games of 2020 that we loved and entertained us while in quarantine!
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Video games aren’t one of Derek’s biggest passions, but there are a few that always manage to wiggle their way into his life when a new installment is released. Noah is a gamer for sure. Whether you love gaming or not, this one has something for everyone. Sent from the heavens at the start of quarantine was the one and only Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Here is a list of the things we love about this game: animal neighbors, catching bugs, building the museum, the sound of the water, exploring other islands, getting framed pictures of our neighbors, building stuff! We could keep going. New Horizons introduced us to some new features such as recipes and terraforming which let players add water features and land to their islands. It’s the old charm with some updates. We spent countless hours trying to perfect our islands and playing the stalk market. With lots of updates in the first year, the game keeps on giving. To feel ultimate relaxation listen and watch this theme song performance.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales
In 2018 we got the Peter Parker Spider-Man every comic book fan dreamed of; excellent web-swinging, tons of villains, a realistic New York City, and an open world. With Spider-Man: Miles Morales we got everything we loved from the last game but this time, Spanish Harlem, Venom abilities, and camouflage! There’s also something special about this one, the scale as far as the story is concerned is a bit smaller than the previous one, but you get the feel of helping people. Whether it's saving a local business owner's cat, rescuing residents in an apartment building that's on fire, or eating empanadas, Miles really is your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
The Last of Us Part 2
If you played the first installment you know that Naughty Dog’s Last of Us is not for the faint of heart and Part 2 is no exception. 2020 has been a tough year for most of us in so many ways and The Last of Us Part 2 puts you in a terrible mood, but that's what I ended up liking about it. Most stories put you through tragedy to then celebrate a victory or triumph, Part 2 wants you to sit with it and really experience it. From start to finish you are on a downhill journey with Ellie and by the time it ends, you’ll be amazed that a video game can tell this story and be heartbroken. So why play this game? If you want to feel something profound and witness possibly the future of video game storytelling, absolutely play it!
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
World of Warcraft has been on player's computers for 16 years now and it's still going strong with its 8th expansion, Shadowlands. I’ll admit I took a break for two years from playing but seeing all the new features, places to explore and the level squish from 120 to 60 reeled me back in. This expansion seems much more self-aware than previous ones and lets you play how you want. The main storyline may not be very engaging, but the Covenants are, and I found picking which one of the four a tough choice. Setting a new president for endgame content to release periodically seems like a great new philosophy for this veteran MMO to welcome old and new players to play together. Wanna run a dungeon with me?
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
At the point of writing this, I am still playing this game because it is big and I mean BIG. Possibly the heartiest entry into the Assassin's Creed franchise, this time with Norse Vikings! It does a great job of walking the line between politics, mysticism, and brutal living and it's all gorgeous! It's a lot buggier than it should be, but also impressive on multiple levels, and let's face it wielding a two-handed greatsword in each hand becoming a swirling twister of terror? That’s fun!
