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ReviewsYear in ReviewThe Worst Games Of 2020 According To Metacritic
2020 was a terrible year in many, many ways, but we did get some great games too. Hades, Ghost of Tsushima, Fall Guys, Miles Morales, Crusader Kings III, and more all released this year. But as usual, it’s not all good and this year saw the release of some games that weren’t well-reviewed by critics…
By Zack Zwiezen Published January 2, 2021 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe 12 Best Video Games Of 2020
2020 is over, which is great, even if it doesn’t mean everything terrible about this year is now in our collective rearview mirror. Video games played a bigger role in many of our lives than they have in years past, which made picking Kotaku’s top games pretty tricky. But, as always, here are our favorite…
By Riley MacLeod Published January 1, 2021 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewWhat Are Your Video Game Resolutions For 2021?
Gaming resolutions? Well, I’m hoping to really go all in on 4K for…Hold on. What’s that? Ah, my editor tells me we more or less cracked this exact joke last year. And that it’s bad. And that I should feel bad. (I regret nothing.) New Year’s is usually a period of fresh starts and tuned…
By Ari Notis Published December 31, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe State Of The Sims 4 In 2020
We are six years into The Sims 4, and with 2021 around the corner, it will be exciting to see what’s next from this franchise. But before we enter a new year, I want to reflect on the best and worst aspects of Sims 4 content this year. The main game has improved in some…
Robin Mosley Published December 31, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewNathan Grayson’s Top 10 Games Of 2020 (That Aren’t From 2020)
Wow, what’s a year it’s been. I memorized the pattern of tiny paint bubbles on the wall behind my computer monitor. I also re-watched the same three TV shows one thousand times. I’ve become convinced that the outside world is a hologram, and I’m about to embark on a lucrative YouTube career persuading flat earthers…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 31, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe Gamers Of The Year, 2020
As many year-end articles will remind you—not that you needed reminding—2020’s been rough. That made it harder than usual to pick specific people for our annual list of influential game-players. Anyone who brought a smile to a friend, a loved one, or even a stranger this year by playing a game with them did a…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 30, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewFahey’s Top 10 Games Of 2020
In the 2020 gaming judgment system, year-end lists are determined by two separate but equally important groups: the players who play the games, and the games they enjoy playing. These are their stories. Bah-Dum. Everyone knows what happened in 2020, at least the broad strokes. What they may not know is that 2020 was a…
By Mike Fahey Published December 30, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewEthan Gach’s Top 10 Games Of 2020
2020 was a shit year for a lot of things, but a bunch of really good games came out during it. And not just your run-of-the-mill, extremely playable, very good games, but a ton of truly special ones. This is another way of saying that I liked a surprising number of games this year that…
By Ethan Gach Published December 29, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewAfter 2020 Decimated Live Fighting Game Events Great Online Play Is No Longer Optional
2020 sucked. You know it, I know it. It was amid this chaotic year that the fighting game community found itself pushed out of the arcades, hotels, and convention centers to which competitors had grown accustomed and into the unpredictable world of online play. Early on, organizers were unsure if the community could survive, but…
By Ian Walker Published December 28, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewPeter Tieryas’ Top 5 Games Of 2020
I can’t believe the year is almost over. 2020 has felt interminable. Between work, taking care of my kid, a new book release, various writing assignments, and all that life has thrown at me, my free time has been really limited. I usually only get a chance to play games after my kid falls asleep…
By Peter Tieryas Published December 27, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe Video Game Music That Helped Us Through 2020
2020 was tough. There were nights we wondered where and how this year would end. Just when things seemed like they couldn’t get worse, they did time and again. On every level, it was difficult just to get through the day. One of the things that helped us through was music. Specifically, video game music.…
Peter Tieryas & Narelle Ho Sang Published December 26, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewAri’s Top 10 Games Of 2020
The past year has been one endless, pitch-black night with a single burning, incandescent star: video games. I mean, can you imagine what 2020 would’ve been like without video games? I, for one, cannot. Better yet, it’s not like the annual release calendar was a dry spell, either. From tip to tail, the hits kept…
By Ari Notis Published December 25, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe Biggest Video Game Disappointments Of 2020
God, this year sucked. Video games were supposed to be a reprieve from that, and in many ways they were. But in other ways they were just as messy, ill-fated, and broken as the year itself. Some of 2020’s big video game disappointments were minor setbacks or run-of-the-mill annoyances—the type of thing that might loom…
By Ethan Gach Published December 24, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewJohn Walker’s Top 10 Games Of 2020
The eternally burning tire fire that is 2020 hasn’t exactly been a laugh riot. And yet, as I reflect on what have been some of the most gruelling times I can remember, it’s interesting how much video games have played a part in getting me through. As pure colorful distraction, or even daily pursuits completed…
By John Walker Published December 24, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe Biggest Video Game Surprises Of 2020
Every year, we run down the best annual surprises from the world of video games. Needless to say, 2020 was not like previous years. That’s why, this year, we’re reorienting our annual tradition to focus on the biggest—not necessarily the best—ones. 2020 was full of shockers. This was the year Sony held a virtual event…
By Ari Notis Published December 23, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewIan Walker’s Top 10 Games Of 2020
This is the first time I’m doing one of these…well, professionally, at least. I was hired at Kotaku right before the world went to shit, and despite a tumultuous year, I’m still here. I broke news. I reviewed the PlayStation 5. I wrote about a digital dog’s butt Here are my favorite games of 2020,…
By Ian Walker Published December 23, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewAsh Parrish’s Top 10 Games Of 2020
Ahh! My first “Top 10 Games” post for Kotaku, so exciting! Arriving here has fundamentally changed my relationship with gaming. I have a lot more time to play a lot more brand-spankin’ new games, versus the slow arrival to already well-beloved titles that was typical of my pre-Kotaku life. So if you see some non-2020…
By Ash Parrish Published December 22, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewLuke Plunkett’s Top 10 Games Of 2020
It has been a bad year. A bad year with, mercifully, some very good video games. Last year I remember struggling to scrape together even 10 games for my list, so sparse had my good times been, but in 2020 I’ve had no such trouble. And no, it’s not because I’ve been stuck inside all…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 21, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe State Of The PS4 And PS5 In 2020
Despite the harrowing circumstances impacting the world, 2020 was a stand-out year for PlayStation. Over the course of 2020, Sony published more than half a dozen top-shelf games, a huge step up from last year’s scant offerings. Beyond that, the company pushed out two models of an ambitious gaming console, and boosted support for the…
By Ari Notis Published December 21, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe State Of The Nintendo Switch In 2020
It’s hard to imagine what the state of the Nintendo Switch would look like right now if 2020 hadn’t been so horrible. What could have been one of the hardware’s more stagnant years turned into one of its most memorable, when the soothing escapism of Animal Crossing met a world desperately in need of a…
By Mike Fahey Published December 21, 2020