My favorite backlog games I played in 2020
At the beginning of this year I promised myself I would only buy three new games (Obviously that didn’t happen). The hope was to clear out my backlog. And what a backlog it was becoming! Video games are so easy to fall behind on. For one thing, they’re massive. A short 12 hour game will typically take me around a couple weeks to complete. I know some people can bang out a game like that on a weekend, but I have a wife who I like to do things with.
I didn’t complete as many of the games in my backlog as I wanted — looking at you Skyrim — but got dam did I play some good ass games this year. Here’s my fav 5.
#5 Uncharted 4
My first Naughty Dog game yall! It was a blast! Although I could do without the combat sequences, Uncharted 4 was a trip, man. It genuinely felt like I was playing a blockbuster movie. There was the one mission where I felt like I was in a James bond movie, another mission where I felt like I was Indiana Jones movie and another mission where I felt like I was in a prison movie. Even though it was short, I remember so many moments vividly.
It’s hyperlinearity became weirdly part of the charm. You could feel the hand of the developers guiding you through the game, every piece meticulously designed. This might feel restrictive for some, but I was glad to have it. For me player choice is crushingly overrated in video games. It’s nice sometimes to plop on the couch and have your fun dictated to you. That’s what genre fare is all about.
#4 Mafia 3
Is Mafia 3 an objectively better game than Uncharted 4? No. Is Mafia 3 an objectively great game? Not really. Did I enjoy the hell out of it anyway? Yes.
Here’s what I said about Mafia 3 in my backlog journal, edited for brevity:
If you haven’t had a chance to play Mafia 3’s prologue, you are missing out. It’s one of the best opening hours to an open world game I’ve ever seen. When you start up the game you’re slapped with that iconic opening to Jimi Hendrix’s All Along the Watchtower with images of a burning jungle in the background. The preceding cutscenes unfold like a true crime documentary. I’d never seen a video game tell its story that way. I was instantly hooked.
Mafia 3 is a great game to play over a long period of time. Yes the missions are all pretty similar. 80% of the game is sneaking around a building stealth killing racists. I love repetitious games. Would I enjoy it if I had to play through the whole game in a week to review it? Probably not! But I took my time beating the game and to me that’s the ideal way to play. You know, like a normal person does.
I do have issues with the multiple endings which I think hurt the overall story, but I had a great time playing. The cutscenes are great, the gunplay is great, the driving is great, the death animations are great and the music is incredible. Oh my God the music. The soundtrack is untouchable. It’s just a joy to exist in this game. Can I find things to nitpick? Of course, but what’s the point? It’s a great time.
#4 Portal 2
Portal is, to me, as close to a perfect video game as you can get. Its sequel — Portal 2 — isn’t perfect, but it’s more Portal which is a great thing. The classic Valve storytelling and sense of humor is still there — as are the deeply clever puzzles. It’s not as tight as the first Portal, but that’s okay — if not expected — for a sequel.
There was one section in the middle that lost me for a bit. When we left the realm of clean cut, tightly designed test chambers and started navigating around abandoned parts of Aperture I started to drift away a bit. Thankfully that section didn’t last more than a couple hours.
The ending won me back though. This year I’ve become increasingly fond of things that end well. Games like Ghost of Tsushima and Mafia 3 spent tens of hours each slowly unfolding a complex story only to slam on the brakes at the last minute to give the player a multiple choice question that radically changes the main character’s arc. Portal 2 doesn’t bother with any of that nonsense. Most games don’t have the most memorable part be the ending cinematic, but I guess that’s just how Valve rolls. You’ve got to respect them for it.
#2 God of War (2018)
God of War was perhaps the most hyped game in my backlog. It played a massive role in my getting a PS4 a year ago. By 2018 I had been fully locked into the gaming media sphere. Kotaku might as well have been my homepage. I had never played the other God of War games, but the roaring chorus of YouTubers and writers told me that I must play this incredible reimagining of the character.
As a Red Dead Redemption 2 stan, it’s hard for me to sing this game’s praises too much. I’ll never forgive God of War for beating out RDR2 at the Game Awards. Back in 2018 these two games were often compared against each other. It’s easy to see why. Both are prestigious as all hell. Both are graphical showcases. Both Kratos and Arthur are scarred by the loss of their families. Both have beards.
However, this comparison is an unfair one. God of War is not trying to be a Rockstar game, much like RDR2 is not trying to be a Sony game. God of War sets out to tell a strong story about fathers and sons but it also adds on combat, boss fights, skill trees, crafting, puzzles and collectables. It adds all this standard AAA bloat because that’s what a prestige AAA game is supposed to have. It’s what gamers have come to expect. Maybe that’s played a part into why it was so highly praised. God of War gave players everything they wanted. Everything that’s here works and works well.
For me though, the best parts of this game comes when the game-y parts fade away and the relationship between Kratos and Atreus takes center stage. There’s a chunk in the middle of God of War that is as good as any 2 hours in any video game. Everything from Kratos climbing up the Thor Statue through his descending into hell to his talk with his son afterwards is unassailable. The whole game is worth playing just for that section.
#1 Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
This is a weird game to put at the top of my list, but hear me out. This is what I wrote in my backlog journal:
I really needed something like this after finishing the behemoth that was Ghost of Tsushima. Brothers is a 2013 indie game where you play as two brothers going on an adventure to save their father. It’s heartbreaking, earnest and tightly designed. Brothers manages to blend gameplay and story in a way that only the very best video games can. Even my precious Red Dead 2 struggled with this.
It’s amazing that a 7 year old game could feel this fresh. There’s a purity to Brothers that’s hard to find in 2020, even in the indie game space. Everything revolves around the clever mechanic that has you control both brothers with one controller. There’s no fat here. No extra mechanics, no unlocks, no microtransactions, no additional outfits, no side missions, no XP, nothing. It’s all game and it’s all story. Really impressive stuff.
I’m worried that games are starting to become more standardized. It feels like every game that is released needs to have eye-catching graphics, combat, skill trees, and player choice. If it doesn’t have one of those four things, then you better hope and pray that some media outlet find it wasting away at the bottom of the steam charts list.
I wish more games like Brothers existed. We need more six hour games with unique mechanics that aren’t afraid to cut the fat. In this era of bloated AAA open world games, I can not recommend Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons enough.
