Some people have their own preferred genre, a type of game they like best. Today’s awards are for those people, who want the best games of their kind to grace that genre this year.
- Best Platformer
- Best Action Game
- Best RPG/Action-RPG
- Best Strategy Game
- Best Graphic Adventure Game
- Best Puzzle Game
- Best Simulation Game
- Best Driving/Racing Game
- Best Sports Game
- Best Music/Rhythm Game
- Additional Commentary – Day 4
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Best Platformer
Wunderling – I really struggled with this one. I absolutely loved A Short Hike as a moving, emotional experience, I thought Ori was a gorgeous and immersive Metroidvania, and Horace was full of so much wit and charm… but when I think back to the game that I had the most fun doing the actual platforming, against all odds I have to give the award to Wunderling, a game that manages to take a sub-genre I hate, Auto-Runners, and turn it into a joyful deconstruction of the genre through clever level design. And while I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s the best game on this list, it is my pick for best Platformer.
Runners-Up:
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Best Action Game
Hades – There are some strong contenders in this category this year. Still, while every game in this list is fantastic, there was really no contest here. Hades’ combat is so smooth, so varied, so enjoyable, and so endlessly replayable that it is easily the one game in this list I most want to keep diving back into over and over again.
Runners-Up:
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
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Best RPG/Action-RPG
Journey to the Savage Planet – Nintendo Switch owners spent another year in 2020 waiting for Metroid Prime 4 in vain, but we got the next best thing in Journey to the Savage Planet, which combines the puzzles and exploration of Metroid Prime with a brilliant colorful world and a wicked sense of humor. No games in 2020 had me as delighted to explore their world, meet their characters, and empower myself to explore further than this game.
Runners-Up:
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III
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Best Strategy Game
Pikmin 3 Deluxe – Ordinarily, I wouldn’t feel right giving this award to a game that first came out seven years ago. However, I felt that the improvements made to this version of the game are significant enough that it absolutely deserves to be highlighted here. The improved controls and added content are both excellent, but what really puts this version over the top is its new campaign co-op play, which is an absolute joy and takes an already great game and makes it one that’s easier to share with a friend.
Runners-Up:
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales
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Best Graphic Adventure Game
Coffee Talk – This was another difficult call, with multiple games in this category being strong contenders. If Found told a poignant, relevant, and moving story, Jenny LeClue was superbly well-written and witty, Roki had a serene beauty to it, Lair of the Clockwork God was clever and funny, and Do Not Feed the Monkeys deserves mention for being unique and original. However, when I think about which of these stories I most enjoyed sinking into and becoming a part of, Coffee Talk’s chill, relaxed atmosphere and the simple human stories of its not-so-human characters were what most delighted me in 2020.
Runners-Up:
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Best Puzzle Game
Grindstone – This year, my selection for Best Puzzle Game came down to two main contenders, with Grindstone just barely edging out Manifold Garden. While I thought the reality-warping gameplay of Manifold Garden was mind-blowing, Grindstone’s compelling gameplay of slicing through monsters in rapid-fire succession was just too compelling to resist.
Runners-Up:
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Best Simulation Game
Animal Crossing: New Horizons – This was really no contest. While both of the other contenders in this category absolutely deserve recognition, the easygoing town/island simulation of Animal Crossing was immensely delightful, and the new additions to the series that allowed crafting and full island customization make this the first time the series has truly made you feel like you have complete control over everything that goes on in your little village. As a result, this was my clear choice for the winner of this category in 2020.
Runners-Up:
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Best Driving/Racing Game
Lonely Mountains: Downhill – Many of the best racing games on the Nintendo Switch in 2020 were ports of older racing games that, while still excellent, didn’t bring anything new to the table (and as such are not listed here). Lonely Mountains: Downhill, on the other hand, brought an atmospheric experience that transformed the Racing game genre into not only a test of skill, but a puzzle of sorts to test players to see not only how quickly they can descend the game’s challenging mountains, but also whether they can do so without crashing. Of all of the new racing experiences on the Nintendo Switch this year, I feel like this one was the most memorable.
Runners-Up:
Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 3
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Best Sports Game
What the Golf? – While What the Golf likes to sell itself as “the golf game for people who don’t like golf”, I tend to think it’s really a golf game for everyone, golf-lovers and golf-haters alike. This game is so wild and varied, it’s like an exploration of the possibilities of videogames as a whole, all through the lens of “what if X… but golf?”. Add to that a delightful sense of humor, and What the Golf becomes a game I’d recommend not only to those who don’t like golf, but to those who don’t like sports in general. This is just an all-around great game… that happens to also be a great golf game.
Runners-Up:
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Best Music/Rhythm Game
AVICII Invector – I’m always wary of single-artist music-rhythm games, as musical tastes are an individual subjective thing and limiting a game to one artist can lead to it being monotonous, but the late AVICII’s frequent collaborations with other artists and explorations of various musical styles do a good job of addressing this issue, and the game that contains this music is an eye-popping and highly enjoyable trip that follows in the footsteps of genre classic Frequency. As a result, this game was by far my favorite in the genre on Nintendo Switch in 2020.
Runners-Up:
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix
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Additional Commentary – Day 4
Best Platformer – I realized after making the list of runners-up that I didn’t technically list A Short Hike’s genre as Platformer in the original review. And I’m… actually pretty okay with that. It’s not really a Platformer, but at the same time, there certainly is Platforming in it that’s very enjoyable, much as all the nominees. But yeah, no game in 2020 made jumping on platforms as enjoyable as Wunderling.
Best Action Game – Didn’t even have to think about the winner in this one. Hades by a mile. However, each and every one of the other games is phenomenal, and you should check them out too.
Best RPG/Action-RPG – I know some wouldn’t consider Journey to the Savage Planet as an RPG or Action-RPG, but I tend to be more inclusive of what I include in that category, and this is a game that has you doing exploration, puzzle-solving, and building up your character in ways that I feel place it squarely in that category. And yeah, it’s the best one of those I played in 2020.
That said, A Short Hike comes damn close, and if it wasn’t such a short experience I might’ve given it the win. It’s just such a pure bundle of joy, and I wish it lasted far longer than it did. The other games on this list are all excellent, but in my opinion none of them were quite on par with those two.
Best Strategy Game – Yeah, stretching definitions a bit again. When you think of “Strategy game”, you probably don’t think of the stuff I listed in this category, but as far as what the Nintendo Switch got in 2020, this is what I felt was the cream of the crop when it comes to strategic thinking, resource management, and careful positioning.
Best Graphic Adventure Game – There were a lot of good games in this category this year, and just by pure luck, the majority of the best ones I reviewed were ones I only got around to playing in December.
For fans of the genre, every last one of these games is well worth playing, but I have to highlight If Found for its moving story, and of course Coffee Talk which got the win over If Found for being more consistent and having an overall welcoming vibe.
Best Puzzle Game – Man, I reeeeeally wanted to give this win to Manifold Garden. Few games really mess with perceptions like that one does. However, in the end, I have to admit if I’m gonna’ keep going back to one game on this list, it’s Grindstone.
Best Simulation – Animal Crossing was the clear winner here, no question. The other stuff was good, but it wasn’t even close here.
Best Driving/Racing Game – If I didn’t limit myself to games first released in 2018 or later, Burnout Paradise Remastered would have won this category. But I did, and it didn’t. Still, Lonely Mountains is absolutely deserving of the honor, with some really compelling and fairly unique gameplay.
Hotshot Racing was pretty good, and did exactly what it set out to do, but I really do wish it didn’t have such terrible rubber-band physics.
Best Sports Game – This was a race between What the Golf and Super Mega Baseball 3, and in the end I have to give it to What the Golf for not only being absurdly clever and inventive, but also far more accessible than most sports games. It’s also a lot less expensive than Super Mega Baseball 3, which helps.
Best Music/Rhythm Game – Not sure if this category will be a regular fixture, but I guess we’ll see what future years have for us. I should point out two notable releases in this category I wasn’t able to play in time – Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory and Deemo Reborn. Perhaps next year they’ll make my 2020 Second Chance Awards.
As for the games I did play, this one wasn’t a hard choice – I thought AVICII Invector’s music was more varied and gameplay was more compelling than Hatsune Miku, and while I love the concept of Fuser, I feel like the gameplay feels too detached to be enjoyable as a game instead of as an interesting deejay sim.
That’s all for today! to keep up with all of the eShopperReviews 2020 Game Awards, be sure to check back at the Awards’ Start Page, which I’ll be updating throughout the week!
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