On: PlayStation 4

This game came out in fall of last year and I completed it within the first month of 2020. But damn, even in January I knew that something particularly stunning would have to come out to alter my end of year list for Completionator. Yeah, I was thinking about the end of year list all the way at the start of the year. Anyways, the story of this game is expertly crafted with a wide array of interesting characters to interact with and perform tasks for. Combine this with the actual Bureau that the campaign of the game is centered around, which heavily mimics something like the Internet's SCP foundation which involves the containment of supernatural entities and items. As someone who has been interested in the supernatural and cryptids since he was a little kid, SCP creepypastas did interest me when they first started coming out, and this game plays into that preexisting interest perfectly and snuggly. I usually listen to a bit of a games soundtrack if I haven't heard it before and then for the rest of the time I play, I listen to podcasts while I play the rest of the game and turn the audio on only for cutscenes. Not true for this game, I listened to every single bit of the game I could, even if I was just walking through an empty corridor for 10 minutes looking for well hidden collectables. I loved this game and still think about it to this day.

On: Nintendo Switch

I've only played about a week's worth of this game on and off and already I can tell how well put together and enjoyable this is. Supergiant Games also made Bastion back in the day which is a game I adore too, so I sort of knew what I would be getting into when I played Hades, but I wasn't aware that even the gameplay would be so similar. I mean, Hades is a rogue-like dungeon crawler which isn't really all that like Bastion, but the gameplay mechanics themselves, the controls, and the isometric view put me right back into the mindset I was at while playing Bastion. But Hades is so much more, delving into a mythos that most at least having passing familiarity with while also introducing a system that allows you to get close and chummy with each of the familiar figures you meet along your journey, and this unlocks lore in your journal as you do so too... there is so much to love about this game and I need to go back and keep playing more, but I already know its amazing.

On: Nintendo Switch

This game came out at just the right time, that being the start of the pandemic. People were at home and while there was no shortage of video games, what of those that don't game regularly? Why, a new Animal Crossing is coming out. What is Animal Crossing is what some were asking, and the answer of it being essentially a city/town/island management simulator without large tasks, pressing time limits, or hulking enemies to fight. And the added benefit of being able to visit and invite other people that you aren't able to see currently in the real world certainly helped. I was no stranger to Animal Crossing games, but hadn't played on since City Folk on the Wii. This was a great opportunity to hop back into the franchise and reexperience something that I loved to play growing up, especially since it gave me a chance, once again, to play something relaxing for a change. This came right after I had just completed Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Tooie, so I appreciated a laid back game that offered tons of improvements to the games I had already played before on the Gamecube, Wii, and DS back in the day.

On: PlayStation 4

I'm a fan of Crash Bandicoot as a character and a series, and I think that Vicarious Visions has been doing wonder with the franchise. Granted, this is of course their first original Crash title and everything else they have done to this point has been a remake of older Crash titles, but all of those have been exceptionally well put together and Vicarious Visions has revitalized the franchise after a constant stream of mediocre Crash games ever since the PS2 until eventually they just stopped doing anything with him. Crash 4 has its flaws, and I really wish that the voice actors for all the characters would stop changing, it seems like a lot of more prolific side characters in the series are always getting new voices even between Vicarious Visions titles, which can be frustrating. That aside, Crash 4 is fun and is just as difficult to complete as the original games are, if not moreso.

On: Nintendo Switch

The benefit of this game is that it succeeds for me where something like Wii Fit failed. Failed is sort of a harsh term, but it wasn't gamified enough to hold my interest as a kid. This game is just that: a game. Yet it incorporates the peripherals that it introduces expertly and keeps me active. I honestly haven't even been able to play it as much as I wish I could because its so fun to play that once I actually wasn't paying attention to my own limits and almost made myself sick. It's actually difficult and the exercises that the game gives you to perform in order to defeat enemies are actual workouts that make you sweat, breathe heavy, and wish you could cooldown. I would recommend this to anyone that wants to try and get healthier and be in better shape but doesn't want to go to a gym. I'm going to try and start doing this more regularly and set up timeframes in which to do short bursts so I don't almost accidentally make myself ill again.

On: PlayStation 4

I played this in October as part of the horror month of games that I put myself through most every year, and boy am I glad that I did. It's hard for me to find point-&-click games that I actually enjoy. Grim Fandango, the titles put out by Harvester Games, and this game are the only ones I've found that I've ever really been hugely impressed by. That's actually funny to mention Harvester Games, as Detention has lots in common with The Cat Lady artistically, and the style did do a lot for me. The horror elements, the underlying themes, and historically accurate story laid out are primary reasons that I had to put this game on my Top 10 list.

On: PC/Windows

This game isn't really outstanding by any means, but I respect it for a few reasons. It came at just the right time for me, when I was getting burned out on attempting to complete various AAA games with trophies and tasks that were pretty difficult and taking up substantial chunks of time. But the true charm of this game is the fact that its just 10 bite-sized games by independent developers all with different takes on horror gameplay. One game is a take on Tyger Electronic handhelds with sounds of doors shutting and people walking around coming in through your headphones as you play, giving you the feeling that someone is in the real world behind you. Another is a first person shooter in a factory of zombie like demon horse skeletons. Yeah, the last one is pretty bizarre. But still, I digress, this is so a great collection of different types and styles of gameplay and its interesting to see multiple takes on horror. It's of note that there is one game in the pack I wasn't able to fully play because my computer couldn't handle the graphics (and that is the only thing keeping me from 100% completing the Collection) and that there is a second Dread X Collection that I'm looking forward to purchasing and playing through in the future.

On: PlayStation 4

I honestly meant to play this when it first came out, as I was a huge fan of Limbo, but I never got the chance until here recently unfortunately. But hey, better late than never, because I did enjoy it. The unnerving atmosphere and creepy human-monster hybrids that you encounter, along with the mind control element always kept me inferring and theory-crafting as I was playing. Perhaps the best part of the game is the last section, which can take roughly 10-20 minutes to play through, but I won't spoil that here (already spoiled it in my Game I've Completed: 2020 stack. Just be known that its simulatensouely a largely empowering experience and a vulnerable one all together. I can't wait to see what else Playdead puts out in the future.

On: PlayStation 4

This one may be cheating a bit, as I feel that I've completed this game once a year since it came out back in 2016, so this will be the only (or last I can't remember) time that I put it on this list, but The Witness is the perfect puzzle game to just lay back, put on a podcast or some music (whatever suits your fancy), and starting solving. Its so atmospheric and the draw of the game is that its pure puzzle. There is an underlying story you can find hints of if you dig deep into a hidden area that can only be found by solving lots of specific puzzles throughout the course of the game, but its by no means necessary. Just you alone on a beautiful island and 100's of panels for you to solve, audio tapes to pick up, and environmental puzzles that legitimately make you feel like a genius whenever you see one to solve. Many still think the Braid is Jonathan Blow's best work, but for my money it is and will continue to be The Witness.

On: PlayStation 4

This is sort of the same thing that happened last year when I made the 2019 top ten, in that a new Kingdom Hearts game came out and I put it on my list at the bottom as I am a fan of the franchise and I enjoyed the game, but that isn't to say that I necessarily think that either are too great. Kingdom Hearts III had plenty of room to improve and there were design elements and decisions that I didn't agree with either. On the other hand, for Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, I think the game is well put together, but its a fairly simple rhythm game. I like rhythm games as well, but it doesn't provide much to the Kingdom Hearts gameplay I and most others expect, and thats even taking into account the fact that a lot of the handheld games in the franchise introduce new gameplay elements. However, I still had fun with it and am still enjoying it and getting better at it. I have only 1 (very grindy) trophy left before the platinum trophy will unlock and I am well on my way to finishing up all of the "feats" in the game too, and though I may take a small break since I've now been playing the game for two weeks constantly as I'm writing this, I may also want to play something else for a bit.