2020 is finally behind us, and we won't complain. If this sad year was elected the worst in history by Time, the video game has benefited from the health crisis like never before. To keep busy during confinement, or to escape into virtual universes, our favorite medium has enabled millions of people to brighten up this difficult period. In this article we invite you to come back to the favorites of the editorial staff.
Animal Crossing : New Horizons - Pierre
9
View PriceAnimal Crossing: New Horizons
- The Animal Crossing formula still just as addictive
- A relaxing atmosphere that feels good
- The craft well included in the gameplay
- The ability to enjoy the game with friends
- Graphically successful in portable as in docked mode
- An accessible game
When I was asked what was my game of the year, I answered tac-o-tac The Last of Us Part II which, even 6 months after its release, sticks in my memory like a slap in the face. print on the cheek. However, I changed my mind, and would like to take advantage of this forum to talk about what I consider to be THE game of the year 2020: Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Nintendo's latest box is not just a bestseller, it's a social phenomenon. The laid-back life sim now has nearly 30 million players, and its popularity has shattered the glass ceiling that usually prevents video games from finding their place in the popular space.
Because Animal Crossing does a lot for the influence of our favorite medium. By showing everyone that video games cannot be reduced to FIFA, Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed, it allows as many people as possible to join the wagon.
People who, before Animal Crossing: New Horizons, had never touched a video game are buying Switches to discover the phenomenon. Communities are springing up on the Internet to share construction plans, decoration tips and predictions on the price of turnips. Ideal confinement game, it also allows friends to meet up when the health context no longer allows it. So many people who, once bored with Animal Crossing, or who simply need to get away from it for a bit, will open the Pandora's box of the eShop and discover that yes, it's as varied as that, the game video.
Crusader Kings III - Nerces
9
See the Crusader Kings III review
- Successful aesthetic overhaul all along the line
- Clearer, more readable, better organized
- Comprehensive tutorial and nested tooltips system
- Phishing and intrigue to perfect dirty tricks
- More roleplay than ever (3D characters, lifestyles...)
- Countless hours of gameplay ahead
Are you going to play as a Viking jarl ready to leave his native Norway for English lands, a Byzantine king anxious to keep the heir to the Roman Empire "afloat" or a Spanish lord determined to push the Muslims out of the peninsula? Iberian? These are three of the thousands of possible scenarios through a game of Crusader Kings III. Eight years after the release of the second opus and a succession of DLC, Paradox Interactive has finally decided to give it a sequel. The concept is identical and it is therefore a question of embodying any lord, any king of the Middle Ages with two possible starting points: 867 or 1066. From there, you are completely free.
Free to be the fairest and most honest of rulers the Earth has ever borne, but also free to be a villain, a murderer or a complete psychopath. From the murder of your descendants to the poisoning of your "dear and tender", all pettiness is possible. Be careful though, if it is possible to believe that you are the only master at the head of your domain, revolt is never far away. In Crusader Kings III, you don't rule a country, but a dynasty that needs to be made to prosper through fruitful marriages and, of course, a few heartfelt wars.
Depending on the starting point, things are radically different, but that's the whole point of Crusader Kings III: there are never wrong choices. You just have to “live” with the consequences of your actions. In this regard, Paradox Interactive has ramped up and, more than ever, Crusader Kings III is a wonderful storytelling machine. Diplomacy, economic development, military maneuvers are only pretexts to advance the history of our dynasty and, through these multiple "little stories", it is History with a capital H that we rewrite... the most beautiful of ways.
Persona 5 Royal - Thibaut
9
See pricePersona 5 Royal
- This artistic direction!
- A still compelling principle
- This combat system, what a marvel
If the fifth installment in the Persona 5 saga was actually released in 2017, it was in 2020 that Western audiences were able to discover the Royal version. The latter contains several significant additions such as an additional quarter leading to several new endings and new characters. The story is all the more exciting compared to the original work.
Persona 5 Royal is a real slap in the face. His writing is masterfully managed and the surprises are legion throughout the adventure. We immediately became attached to our team of Japanese students. Each member has a complex personality with its qualities and faults. In addition, we take pleasure in leading the double life of our hero who must go to class like everyone else before infiltrating a parallel world populated by creatures to face (say no more).
With its turn-based combat system, Persona 5 Royal takes us back to the golden age of the JRPG while bringing a touch of modernity. But Atlus' game also shines with its masterful soundtrack and its gargantuan lifespan. It's very simple, there is always something to do in the world of Persona. Going out with friends and strengthening our ties with them, playing darts or billiards, taking a part-time job, fishing... We have rarely seen such generous role-playing.
This is why Persona 5 Royal deserves its place among the best games of 2020. Finally translated into Spanish (for the subtitles), this masterpiece is now much more accessible. It is impossible to emerge unscathed from this adventure, both light and mature, which does not hesitate to address crucial social issues. A real slap!
Streets of Rage 4 - Stéphane
9
See the priceSee the testStreets of Rage 4
- Visually at the top!
- The soundtrack (choice of modern or retro)
- Le gameplay punchy !
- Un roster "Streets of Rage Ultimate"
- Lifespan and replayability
- The "retro" winks
Last April, Dotemu, Guard Crush Games and LizardCube launched a certain Streets of Rage 4. A sequel as expected as it was feared by a horde of early fans (now in their forties), who hoped (without really believing it) a worthy successor to the Mega Drive trilogy, 25 years later...
However, if the bet was daring, the challenge was met brilliantly, since Streets of Rage 4 wants to be a modern reinterpretation of this good old beat'em up from the 90s, with the added bonus of a hell of a dose of modernity visually speaking, and a Devilishly clever overall design. A title with deliciously punchy gameplay, not to mention a fairly huge panel of characters, the "new" heroes of 2020 alongside their illustrious ancestors from the 90s.
A feast for the eyes therefore, for the hands, but also for the ears, with the return of the illustrious Yuzo Koshiro. Streets of Rage 4's soundtrack, directed by Olivier Derivière, offers a range of redesigned themes, but the player is free to enjoy period music (from the first two opuses) for a retro rendering... This without forgetting a CRT filter for a pure “old school” experience.
In short, a Streets of Rage 4 as a tribute to the cult saga of our childhood, while breathing new life into it, and without distorting the essence of the license. Hats off to the artists!
Yakuza Like a Dragon - Virgil
9
Voir le prixVoir le testYakuza : Like a Dragon
- A perfectly successful fork towards the J-RPG
- Dynamic and strategic combat
- A character development system rich in possibilities
- Tons of activities to happily waste your time on
- Lots of secrets to unearth
- Very endearing protagonists served by talented actors
- A main quest deploying an exciting scenario...
It is rare that a series-river manages to reinvent itself with as much brilliance, courage and generosity as that of the Yakuza with this seventh installment. I had the conviction quite early in my progress: Like a Dragon would be my game of the year. And the more the hours passed, the more my enthusiasm and my deep sympathy for the game and its characters grew.
Yakuza Like a Dragon develops a plot with sprawling ramifications and multiplies resounding twists, as only the best mafia fictions have the secret. Above all, it makes it possible to see and interact with a whole section of Japanese society which ordinarily never has a voice in the matter: the left behind, those whom the neo-liberal ideal of meritocracy has placed on the tile. The declassed, the homeless, the prostitutes and other innkeepers of small businesses driven to abandon play the leading role here and the game takes up their cause. With a romanticism that sometimes flirts with a certain naivety of course, but who cares. I took a phenomenal pleasure in rubbing shoulders with its cast of broken-faced gangsters and battered civilians.
And then there is obviously this old-fashioned turn-based game system, inherited from the greatest references of the genre, and which the title makes its own without the slightest complex or half-measure. A system that lends itself so well to the world of gaming that one wonders why this bifurcation was not considered earlier. Yakuza Like a Dragon is not a title that apes the hallowed J-RPG mechanics out of pure nostalgia, it is an authentic representative, solid on its feet and wildly generous.
A title which touched my heart and which opens the way to a new saga, that of Ichiban Kasuga, a terribly endearing character whose next adventures I await with great impatience.
Demon's Souls PS5 - Colin
9
JVFR
See the priceSee the testDemon's Souls
- A stunning graphic overhaul
- Exemplary fluidity
- Never more than 5 seconds to load
- A great gateway to From Software games
- Some new features exclusive to this PS5 version...
- Help features built into the console
Having already declared my love for Cyberpunk 2077 in this article, I will tell you about my other love game 2020.
For years I've been told that I'm missing out on something while running away from From Software's games. I tried to start with Bloodborne (one of the hardest according to the experts), attracted by the dark and gothic AD, but I got knocked out countless times by the trash mobs and the first boss . I sold the game illico, and decided that this type of gameplay was not for me.
What motivated me to renew the From Software experience is the Demon's Souls gameplay trailer on PS5. The visual slap struck me, Bluepoint's job in charge of the remake being incredible. So I took the time to discover a gameplay that encourages humility and caution. There is no rush here, you have to analyze, think and grope, until the fatal opening that will allow you to move forward in the game.
The rare intelligence of the game/level design amazed me throughout the adventure, and I can say it now: I'm a Souls fan. Besides, as a good masochist, I'm trying to move on to Dark Souls III, just as sublime (Bluepoint if you hear me, we want a remake).
Cyberpunk 2077 - Ludovic
9
JVFR
See the priceSee the testCyberpunk 2077
- An open and coherent world
- Main scenario that makes you want to move forward
- Multiple side quests
- No "filling"
- L'architecture de Night City
- Multiple approaches for the majority of missions
We – mainstream press, trade press (including Clubic) and impatient gamers – have talked too much about Cyberpunk 2077 for its own good. In fact, announced as it was, expected (at the turn) as it was... We mainly heard about its problems and flaws.
Not expecting this game as the video game messiah, being a PC player (on a recent machine) and not having suffered all the bugs listed here and there... I was lucky enough to be able to concentrate on the game. I wouldn't beat around the bush, Cyberpunk 2077 slips easily to the top of my top 3 of this year 2020, tied with Subnautica: Below Zero – which is not yet officially finished and therefore could not feature in this article – and followed by Hades which I haven't yet been able to give the playing time it deserves.
cyberpunk 2077 is a polar. Better, a series of thrillers coiled in a chiaroscuro environment of which Night City is the main protagonist - a protagonist that we like to see dressed in the rain in her evening coat.
Having grown up with films such as Blade Runner, books such as Brave New World (by Huxley) or Asimov's many references, maybe I was the perfect receptacle for this kind of adventure? Maybe. There is in any case to see behind the technical demo so much praised by the marketers of the studio and its partners.
Well anchored in the mechanics of role-playing (and reading) but also leaning, in its action phases, towards the more traditional FPS, Cyberpunk offers a number of endearing, hateful and disturbing quests and characters... Of its own avatar to Johnny Silverhand via Judy (this dive) or Joshua (ouch!).
After 60 hours of play, I'm delaying the end of my first very anarchist and all-bladed epic so as not to have to leave my character. It's a stroke of heart, yes, that I had the chance to experience as a good surprise in a universe that I adore. A trip that I therefore strongly recommend (and blow up the photos!).
Hades - Maxence
9
JVFR
See the priceSee the testHades
- Ultra nervous, precise and varied gameplay
- Solid replayability
- An indecent artistic direction
- A challenge suitable for all players
- Quality voice acting and writing
We thought we had seen everything in terms of rogue-like. We thought the action game sclerotic, and the Greek mythology too hackneyed to make us raise the slightest eyebrow. Brazen and reckless like its hero Atreus, Supergiant Games brings us back to reality with Hades, the "small" indie game that rivals million-dollar blockbusters.
To the tinsel of Olympus, Hades prefers the abyssal depths of hell to make us twirl around with its nervous gameplay perfectly supported by a clever character construction, which invites experimentation. We cling to finish the game for the first time, enticed by its superb realization and the stammering understanding of its many mechanisms. Exhausted by a few hours of fighting against a gaggle of enemies too fast, too strong or simply too numerous, Hades finally puts one knee on the ground. Victoire. What we do not know at this time is that Pandora's box has just opened.
With its perfectly dosed progression, its powerful characters and its fascinating retelling of well-known myths, Hades is of unparalleled rigor and generosity. He swallows us in one gulp only to spit us out forty, fifty or sixty hours later with the feeling of still having a trail to dig, powers to combine, a weapon to improve or a god to tame. Magnificent, tumultuous, deep, enjoyable: Hades is a masterpiece that will never get old.
Among Us - ImTheBeardyMan (RĂ©mi)
JVFR
See the priceAmong Us
- An ultra simplistic and fun gameplay
- Hilarious art direction
- An infinite replayability (or almost)
While it's not the most spectacular game of 2020, it might be one of the most beautiful surprises of the year! Yet released in 2018, Among Us is for many one of the games that marked the past year.
An unimaginable success for the entire team of developers from the independent studio InnerSloth, whose determination we can only salute. While the game had only a handful of players when it launched, the publisher never gave up, patching the game month after month to satisfy the few diligent players who had already smelled its infinite potential. It was a chance appearance on American streamer Chance "Sodapoppin" Morris' Twitch channel in July 2020 that propelled Among Us to the rank of the most downloaded game on Steam in just a few days.
And if not, where were you before we found his body?!
In Among Us, the principle is simple. A team of astronauts dressed in "flashy" suits are given different missions to complete in order to win the game. So far so good. But that was without taking into account the presence of one or more impostors who have an annoying tendency to suppress their colleagues at the bend of a corridor, taking advantage of a sudden extinction of the lights. Between almost perfect crimes, macabre discoveries and permanent suspicion, Among Us will plunge into a hilarious thriller, where each party will decide randomly, if you are a trusted teammate, or a bloodthirsty impostor.
Here, no RayTracing or DLSS 2.0, the artistic direction is deliberately simplistic and gives pride of place to the most accessible gameplay and omnipresent fun, so much so that we accumulate hours of play without even realizing it. realize. Not a classic or a 2020 masterpiece, Among Us is still one of my most surprising discoveries.
Final Fantasy VII Remake - Alexandre
9
JVFR
PriceFinal Fantasy VII Remake
- A dense and breathtaking adventure over 45 hours of play
- Midgar revisited from top to bottom, a universe in itself
- A rich combat and evolution system
- A simply brilliant soundtrack
- A solid accomplishment...
If someone had told me 10 years ago that such a project would see the light of day, I would not have believed it. I still remember having read at that time an article which tried to know if it would be possible one day to see a remake of Final Fantasy VII, all that was still a fantasy. In 2020, five years after its announcement at E3, this remake becomes a reality now in our hands. That said, the game is not complete, we have the right to a first part of FFVII taking place in a revisited Midgar, with a completely revised scenario. The 5 hours of introduction in the Midgar of 1998, become the 30 hours of this game today.
First thing that struck me: the gameplay. Located for me halfway between the nervousness of FFXV and the strategic side of FFXII, this game takes the best of its elders while delivering a very modern version of FFVII. It's a real treat. We find the Materias as well as their magic (very different from FFXV which included a consumable magic system) and summons, called Espers.
Second thing that contributed to my crush: the artistic direction. Although some textures are runny, it's true, the game is really very beautiful overall and doesn't struggle to make us feel the gloomy and disreputable side of Midgar... This remake even allowed me to better understand the architecture of the city, like the fact that slums survive in the shadow of beautiful residential areas and city centers… Which strongly reminded me of a certain Deus Ex Human Revolution.
In short, despite the fact that the game is a "big introduction" and that it is built on a rather "corridor" level design, FFVII Remake was able to seduce me with its gameplay, its technique and its artistic direction as well as its own questioned, with an expanded and revised scenario, accompanied by an absolutely sumptuous new soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu.
Blasphemous - Naim
8
JVFR
See the priceBlasphemous
- A good student of metroidvania
- The free DLC Stir of Dawn which brings a lot of new features
- The striking Spanish Gothic atmosphere
Blasphemous is a bit like Castevania and Dark Souls had a child in the Iberian Peninsula. Sublimated by its level design and its pixelated artistic direction which goes from the disturbing to the grotesque, the game takes us into a dark fantasy version of the Spanish inquisition. The world of Custodia is plagued by an evil bearing the sweet name of "miracle" and it is up to you, the last penitent of a brotherhood decimated by the miracle, to explore this world in ruins.
Despite a backlog that gets longer every month, I found time to finish Blasphemous not once, but three times throughout 2020. Although technically released in September 2019, The Game Kitchen's game had the right to its ultimate content update in August of this year hence my wish to include it in this list. This update brought a lot to the game: a less steep progression curve, a new game + mode, new NPCs and bosses, full Spanish dubbing, new shortcuts, enough to keep you busy for a good twenty hours if it's no more !
There Is no Game: Wrong Dimension - Antoine
JVFR
There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension
- Writing and dubbing with small onions
- Lots of ideas and great execution
- The ideal lifespan
My colleagues have excellent taste. Initially, I wanted to tell you about Hades, Persona 5 Royal and even Yakuza: Like a Dragon (which I'm finishing), but I arrived after the battle. Never mind, this is the perfect opportunity to tell you about a game unfairly passed under the radar in 2020: There Is no Game: Wrong Dimension.
I'll spare you the "this isn't a game" joke, since what we could call humorous point & click is indeed a game, and even a kind of "sequel" to a Game Jam which had a lot of talk about him in 2015 (and available for free on Steam). But I will say no more about its nature, which deserves to be discovered directly. And even avoid the trailers if you're curious enough to dive into the game blind, you'll savor the surprises all the more.
Developed by the Spanish Draw Me A Pixel, There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension is a real gem of writing, references, meta and humor. I've lost count of the number of times I've burst out laughing, been mesmerized by a gameplay/puzzle idea, or taken aback by something more dramatic than expected. This is simply brilliant work, and I am weighing my words.
I sincerely challenge you to find a better way than this genius game to occupy 5 hours of your time as there is nothing to throw away.
