The best games of 2020 so far - MW

Animals crossing: New horizon
The game alternates a deserted island on the island that Born a thousand memes, Animal Crossing brings a cute little world, no stress and easy to control to escape. Attractive and full of personality, it offers a lot of reasons to come back every day.

What we said: Cross Animal Crossing is all I've been longing for: it's lightness, mellowness, sociality and creativity [If] there's a perfect time for a game like this. , now is the time.

Eternity
The godfather kills the demons of first-person shooters with another frantic adrenaline. The monsters are bigger than ever, the world is richer, but this is Doom throughout.

What we said: After every design detail that serves to push the player forward with as little friction as possible, with enough surprise and twist to prevent the formula from becoming stale.

Rage street 4
Legendary Brawler Sega chops received an unexpected recovery 25 years after its predecessor. Returning to the dark alleys of Wood Oak City, our vigilant heroes have to use a range of new weapons and combos to fade the waves of crime.

What we said: Surpassing like a happy memory of a style of game where its suspense is visceral, not the brain, it's a victory.

Half-life: Alyx
Fans have been waiting for more than a decade for Half-Life 3, but what they get instead is this exclusive virtual reality prequel, which follows resistance leader Alyx Vance at the start of the fight against Combine aliens. Tense, dark, and thrilling, it made the VR gaming app cry out loud.

What we said: Van Valve is a master at bringing players the games they don't know they want - Half-Life: Alyx is another example of the ability to surprise, amuse and exchange. new.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps
The sequel to indie platform adventure Ori and the Blind Forest is another enchanting quest through a rich, sylvan landscape filled with myth and magic. A gentle, melancholic alternative to the year’s big shooters and brawlers.

What we said: “There is extraordinary attention to detail - the entire world feels alive with excitement and danger. A bold and ambitious sequel. ”

Dreams

Guildford-based developer Media Molecule turned us all into platform game creators with its beautiful DIY puzzler LittleBigPlanet back in 2008 - now the same studio wants us all to build our own video game, movie or musical universes with this powerful and accessible creative package.

What we said: “As delightful as Dreams is as a toolkit, what is perhaps just as important is how it teaches, and Dreams is everything a good teacher should be: generous, forgiving, thorough.”

Final Fantasy VII Remake
One of the defining games of a generation returns, looking a heck of a lot better than it did in 1997. This remake proves that Final Fantasy VII’s story has stood the test of time. An epic tale to sink into.

What we said: "Remaking a universally acclaimed classic was always a fearful responsibility, but like its own sword-wielding heroes, Square Enix has risen to the challenge spectacularly."

Kentucky Route Zero
After six years, the concluding chapter to this minimalist, magical-realist adventure game arrived in January, and cements its place as one of the defining games of the last decade. Rather subtle, rather forlorn Americana, letting you eavesdrop on the ordinary and not-so-ordinary lives of its strange characters.

What we said: "It combines the mundane and the mystical to create an atmosphere that sits somewhere along the wispy continuum between a Samuel Beckett play and a David Lynch mini-series."

Nioh 2

You could describe this as "Dark Souls but samurai", but Nioh 2 is no hollow tribute act. Carve your way through a vast Japanese folklore-inspired world full of demons and spirits using a fun selection of heavy-hitting weapons and mystical abilities. Something tough, though - if failure makes you want to throw things across the room, this could send several PlayStation 4 controllers through the TV.

Coffee Talk
You quite a barista working the night shift in a small coffee shop located somewhere within an alternative Seattle where your customers are elves, vampires and werewolves all looking to share their problems. A peaceful, funny and humane adventure game where the quest is simply to listen and serve.

Lair of the Clockwork God
Friends Ben and Dan must prevent the apocalypse in this retro-tinged comedy adventure, where classic platforming and point-and-click play styles are combined to clever and genuinely funny effect.

What we said: “Lair of the Clockwork God strikes an impressive balance between its two mashup genres, mechanically and tonally. It was a post-ironic take on point-and-click adventures. ”

Resident Evil 3 remake

After last year’s brilliant Resident Evil 2 remake, Capcom has followed the same recipe with the third instalment, keeping the narrative and setting of the original Resi 3, but tweaking the controls and adding new components, including an entertaining multiplayer side quest. A fascinating transitional title restored to greatness.

What we said: "A well thought-out and nicely executed modern refresh of a survival horror classic - and a welcome slab of (almost) escapism to enliven our current house-bound lives."

SnowRunner
This sounds like the most boring game in the world: drive huge trucks through mud and snow to make deliveries. But it is unexpectedly hypnotic: slowly, steadily navigating these hulking vehicles through steadfastly unappealing places needs patience and methodical thinking rather than good reflexes and daring.

Gears Tactics
The Gears of War series of sci-fi shooters has always been known for the brawn (and chainsaw-equipped machine guns) of its muscle-bound characters. This spin-off has the same warriors battling alien Locust invaders, but this time in a series of tactical turn-based encounters. Somehow the switch in tone works perfectly.

What we said: "A triumphant twist on an old favorite, capturing the fury and spectacle of its shooter-based brethren while also offering a more cerebral experience."

In Other Waters
This is an exploration game about deep-sea diving on another planet - but rather than seeing it through human eyes, you are the AI inside the explorer's suit, reliant on her text descriptions and sketches of alien life to embellish the sparse topography that your computer sensors perceive. Unique and peaceful.

Moving Out
Become the world’s least competent movers as you work together with friends to wrestle furniture out of houses and on to your truck - or just chuck it out the window and hope for the best. Chaotic multiplayer fun made less frustrating by options that let you adjust the difficulty however you like.

Lonely Mountains: Downhill
Newly released on Nintendo Switch, this mountain biking game is ridiculously compelling. Appar just you, a bike and four majestic mountains whose trails range from mildly dangerous to downright lethal. Come for the scenery, stay for the irresistible compulsion to shave seconds off your best times.




Paper Beast
Odd geometric creatures, Dalí-esque landscapes, and an unnatural-looking take on the natural world make this an unforgettably surreal bit of VR eco-tourism. It was difficult to describe this game, but its effect is easier to pin down in words: wonder.

Cloudpunk
Dystopian cyberpunk rather loses its appeal when Ive living through an real-life dystopia, but Cloudpunk isn’t the usual Blade Runner-inspired violence fest. You play an immigrant delivery driver ferrying packages around a 3D pixel-world that’s fascinating to look at - and eavesdrop upon.

What we said: “Overfamiliarity with the aesthetic does little to blunt the fierce appeal of Cloudpunk’s game world.

XCOM: Chimera Squad
A scaled-down sequel to XCOM 2, keeping the turn-based design of the strategy sim series, but introducing hero characters with special abilities, and an uneasy new alliance between human and alien warriors. Fans have called it XCOM-lite, which is neither inaccurate nor a criticism.

What we said: “Essentially the Agents of Shield to XCOM 2’s Avengers. It gently plays with the formula, and tells the peripheral stories of a much wider world on a much tighter budget and with much smaller stakes. Mention XCOM but chilled. ”