Year
2020
ends
and it is time to stop for a moment and assess what the last twelve months have given of themselves in the video game sector.
Culture also gives space to interactive leisure based on works each more experimental, a language that is expressed in an open, abstract and lively way;
despite the circumstances.
2020 has marked the end of a generation of consoles and has given the baton to a new one that will accompany us for the next seven or eight years.
That is why, as every year, from 1UP we have counted on our experts so that, among all of us, we can choose the video games that we have enjoyed the most, those that have marked us the most and those from which we have learned the most things.
Each editor offers their own top-10 with their favorites and explains the justification in a short paragraph.
The result, including the general top of the newsroom, you can see below.
The conclusion, regardless of the winners, is clear: 2020 has been an unforgettable year for the video game world.
1.
The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / PlayStation Studios)
Naughty Dog returns with his most mature and complete work, a title that bets on a courageous and necessary narrative writing for our environment, where blacks and whites do not exist.
PlayStation closes the generation in style, with many of its releases represented on this list;
but it is
The Last of Us Part II
that puts the finishing touch on a story that began seven years ago.
Subject to interpretation, confident in the idea of awakening a critical and reflective spirit in the player, Joel and Ellie's adventure reaches a new ceiling for the Californian studio.
Round for many, excellent in playability.
Recommended, above all, for everyone.
2.
Astro's Playroom (SIE Japan / PlayStation Studios)
3.
Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)
4.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon (SEGA)
5.
Demon's Souls (Bluepoint Games / PlayStation Studios)
6.
Hades (Supergiant Games)
7.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios)
8.
Persona 5 Royal (Atlus)
9.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla (Ubisoft)
10.
Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (Cardboard Computer)
The best for each copywriter:
Francisco Miguel Espinosa: 'Yakuza: Like a Dragon'
It is not the first time that in an annual top my heart has been divided between two games.
In this case it will not be a surprise if I say that
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
and
The Last of Us Part II
could share a first place, but I have decided on the Japanese adventures of SEGA for a decisive reason: it runs the risk of being covered in all the tops and annual awards, and I don't want to miss the opportunity to claim such a great game and a saga that does everything SO WELL.
Yes, it has somewhat outdated mechanics, it is not a pioneer in graphics (although it is not far behind with respect to this list) and the franchise has struggled to gain a foothold in the West.
But this makes him even more deserving of a top spot.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
has surprised, excited, impressed, amused, moved, and put to the test.
What else do I ask of a game?
1. Yakuza: Like a Dragon
2. The Last of Us Part II
3. Demon's Souls
4. Astro's Playroom
5. Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
6. Dreams
7. Assassin's Creed Valhalla
8. Genshin Impact
9. Persona 5 Royal
10. Immortals Fenyx Rising
Francisco Miguel Espinosa is a journalist for El País, JotDown Magazine, and a writer.
Sergio Carlos González Sanz: 'Hades'
From 2020 I am left with the repeated proof that the video game is a prominent element in the cultural offer of our days, an artistic manifestation capable of giving us works like the ones we are collecting here today.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
is the video game that I will remember the most from this course because it is the title that accompanied us through the most difficult days and, at the same time, the one that reminded us that everything can be a little less difficult.
The Last of Us
made bravery a virtue, excellence a standard;
but the best video game I've experienced this year, the one I've enjoyed the most, is
Hades
.
The celebration of a style, that of Supergiant Games, that with very little has managed to elevate the independent scene to another category.
The
hack 'n' slash action
embraced procedural design, but with order;
a story of rebellion in which the escape is only the end of a path that builds, in the meantime, a narratively brilliant skill.
The good work, as a whole, of a loop that you don't want to end.
A title that reminds us of the purest nature of the video game.
1. Hades
2. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
3. The Last of Us Part II
4. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
5. Yakuza: Like a Dragon
6. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
7. Demon's Souls
8. Paper Mario: The Origami King
9. Astro's Playroom
10. Streets of Rage 4
Sergio Carlos González is a journalist specialized in video games at MeriStation, El País, GTM, and a writer.
Jorge Morla: 'The Last of Us Part II'
There is little to say about this game that has not already been said or written, but after the disaster that
Cyberpunk 2077
has
caused
, the feat that involves at all levels (narrative, technical, media and cultural impact) something like
The Last of Us Part II
is magnified, and Naughty Dog confirms the importance of meeting expectations, something that in this medium is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve.
2020 will forever be the year of the rivalry between Ellie and Abby, a rivalry that transcends the format in which we are shown to soak up discomfort, moral justifications and rejection of the violence exerted to achieve any achievement.
The Last Of Us Part II
reaches out to us, moves us and, most importantly, transforms us.
It confronts us with the darkest and most hopeless corners of ourselves.
And it makes us uncomfortable by exposing our contradictions, which is the most important thing that art can hope to make.
2. Persona 5 Royal
3. Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge (Oculus)
4. Final Fantasy VII Remake
5. Doom Eternal
6. Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
7. Nioh 2
8. Ghost of Tsushima
9. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
10. Among Us
Jorge Morla is a journalist for EL PAÍS and editor of 1UP.
Borja Ruete: 'The Last of Us Part II'
In a world like
The Last of Us Part II
there are no heroes or villains, the line between good and evil is blurred, and Manichean behaviors are out of place.
We got an idea of what Ellie and Joel represented, we thought they were the good guys in the movie, although we had already seen them act in a questionable way on occasion.
That the world has gone to shit is reason enough for the survivors to do their best to live another day.
What Naughty Dog teaches us is that in those circumstances not everything is black and white, life passes differently, at the mercy of the dangers that twist around every corner of this post-apocalyptic America.
In
The Last of Us Part II
, Ellie is driven by hatred, a feeling that saps her humanity as the adventure progresses.
The narrative structure that Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross have drawn is brilliant, because it reflects human nature with painful intent.
Ellie looks in Abby's mirror, two different protagonists, but with a common background and goal: revenge.
Through their eyes, their own points of view, we glimpse their reasons, the reasons why they act as they act.
And all this duality is clad in a robust and brutal playable system, which make this work a real delight at the controls.
2. Final Fantasy VII Remake
3. Astro's Playroom
4. Assassin's Creed Valhalla
5. Tell Me Why
6. Call of the Sea
7. Immortals Fenyx Rising
8. Paper Mario: The Origami King
9. Star Wars: Squadrons
10. Streets of Rage 4
Borja Ruete is a journalist specialized in video games. He works at MeriStation and collaborates with EL PAÍS and GTM magazine.
Ángel Luís Sucasas: 'Astro's Playroom'
5, exactly half of my top, belongs to one company: Sony.
This year more than any other, Sony has shown that it is leading the industry not only in sales but also in vision.
The excitement in
Astro's Playroom
, looking at the legacy built over a quarter century, rivals the excitement I felt in New Donk with that unforgettable 2D homage to
Super Mario Odyssey
.
If Nintendo is the Disney of video games, I have no doubt that Sony is already its HBO.
It remains to be seen if Microsoft will manage to be Netflix.
2. The Last of Us Part II
3. Final Fantasy VII Remake
4. Demon's Souls
5. Ghosts of Tsushima
6. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
7. Yakuza: Like a Dragon
8. Hades
9. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
10. Call of the Sea
Ángel Luis Sucasas is the narrative director of the Spanish video game studio Tequila Works, a novelist at Planeta, a university professor and a collaborator of EL PAÍS, among other media.
The best of the decade
The best games of the year have been selected by the editors of 1UP.
Next week we will publish a special with the best of the decade, a vote in which the editors and several invited experts in video games will participate.
