p/o5qiuz

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 6:52 PM

2

it took a lot of hemming and hawing, but ive finally decided on my top 5 games of 2020!

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 6:52 PM

this will include games i first or primarily experienced during 2020, in addition to games that came out during this year

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 6:53 PM

time has felt so fake this year that i actually had to extensively double-check which ones happened this year and which ones didn't

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 6:53 PM

anyways, straight into it

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 6:54 PM

https://imgs.plurk.com/Qyg/jHp/ZnO6wuBO1v4lIPmE03k5wBu9jXR_lg.jpg

NUMBER 5: La Mulana 2

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 6:55 PM

i have to admit that i haven't actually finished this one, but it helped me a lot during early quarantine

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 6:56 PM

there is just SO MUCH to sink your teeth into, it feels like i never run out of things to do or puzzles to solve, and i appreciate that

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 6:57 PM

and the soundtrack, while not as strong as the first game's, does have quite a few bangers

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 6:57 PM

https://imgs.plurk.com/Qyg/XoD/S4uDrOcoZEnCvADfFz9hIHmi5p4_lg.jpg

NUMBER FOUR: Lenna's Inception

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 6:58 PM

This one's i think a bit older than 2020, but i got my hands on it via the itchio racial justice bundle, so it was new to me this year

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 6:59 PM

gameplay-wise it's a pretty bog-standard zelda clone, to a point, but it's RARE that i find a game that i vibe with this much aesthetically

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:01 PM

the story is also incredibly charming and the procedural generation works weirdly well

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:02 PM

https://imgs.plurk.com/Qyg/xVC/q4JG92c8IAAB3fZ4Lj4VSxciunn_lg.jpg

NUMBER 3: Celeste

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:02 PM

technically i started this before 2020, but i set it down fairly early on and then accidentally a year happened

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:02 PM

so i played the bulk of it this year

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:03 PM

there is just so much to love here, celeste is genuinely one of the most charming games i've ever played

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:04 PM

it's hard, but it also has fully customizable difficulty so it will always meet you where you're at, and it's rewarding as hell once you get the hang of it

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:05 PM

https://imgs.plurk.com/Qyg/V4o/9veJnHBsWa6bG114Ir3TnEmRlaY_lg.jpg

NUMBER 2: Hades

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:05 PM

a few of you may be surprised to see this one not in the number 1 slot

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:05 PM

me too!

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:05 PM

Hades came VERY CLOSE to being my game of the year

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:06 PM

i just....

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:06 PM

god

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:06 PM

if i were to list off everything about this game that's good we'd be here for hours

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:07 PM

amazing soundtrack, phenomenal dialogue, incredible art, deeply satisfying gameplay loop

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:07 PM

hades has everything

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:07 PM

play hades

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:08 PM

https://imgs.plurk.com/Qyg/Cld/wcxocOhCuJsCMVrOUO9c6TofhUw_lg.jpg

NUMBER 1: Ikenfell

skerple

@songofkeys

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:08 PM

yeah I figured that'd be the one

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:08 PM

perhaps a bit of a dark horse pick! but ikenfell lives rent-free in my head forever now

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:10 PM

see above re: games i vibe with aesthetically, ikenfell nailed it there

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:10 PM

but it doesnt stop there

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:11 PM

even though it has the soundtrack, visual, and gameplay chops to seize a top spot for me pretty easily, the story and characters were really what sealed the deal for me here

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:11 PM

i cant remember the last time i was so invested in a game's story

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:12 PM

i struggle to put into words the things ikenfell made me feel but they were all good

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:18 PM

skerple sorry for being predictable but actually im not sorry at all

skerple

@songofkeys

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:20 PM

nor should you be

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:24 PM

oh before we wrap up though

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:24 PM

https://imgs.plurk.com/Qyg/tQU/KSA9pn7odaEFAlliW14xksO9iHj_lg.jpg

HONORABLE MENTION: Anodyne 2: Return to Dust

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:25 PM

honorable mention because i think i barely finished it within the scope of december 2019, but if i had played it even a single month later, it would have been a contender for this list

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:27 PM

the sequel to one of my favorite games of the preceding year, and one of the most weirdly compelling games i've played, emphasis on the weird

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:29 PM

i feel like there isnt a way to describe this game in a way that simultaneously conveys it accurately and also like.... makes any sense

thetaClysm

@thetacriterion

Wed, Dec 30, 2020 7:29 PM

but it's good