This was a struggle for me to get to five 2020 releases. I would have expected to play more video games this year than usual all things considered.
- Retro Bowl—This is probably the 2020 release I spent the most time with and was a near constant presence for me throughout this trying year. While it is not quite the Tecmo Bowl clone I’ve long wanted, it is a simple phone-based gridiron football game that is an excellent way to burn a few minutes, or longer if you’re so inclined.
- Super Mega Baseball 3—SMB is still the most fun (non-sim, obviously) baseball game I’ve ever played, and this version is as ever slightly better than the previous, now featuring a career mode and snazzy new New Orleans-based stadium.
- Bloody Rally Show—Some dude on the forum kept hyping it. Was not a space game, so it couldn’t have been the usual suspect. Turned out to be pretty good.
- Hades—I am not really a fan of rogue lites and the repetition does get to me at times, and yet here I am still playing it and here it sits at #4.
- Golf on Mars—Adding more stuff to Desert Golfing (spin! That’s not essential!) is counter to my understanding and appreciation of the peerless Desert Golfing, but Golf on Mars is still mostly the same game with a different color palate so to #5 it goes.
The game I played the most was probably Out of the Park Baseball, but it feels like a cheat to put it on an annual list. In the non-video games space, shouts out to Mouse Guard for getting me into TTRPGs and Band of Blades, which worked out wonderfully for a solo playthrough during Spring lockdown even if the ending was a bit underwhelming. Also, on my (theoretical) table is Blood Bowl: ‘Second’ Season Edition, which I’ll play once the painting is done.