• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The 50 best games of 2020 according to Polygon

F

Foamy

Unconfirmed Member
20. The Jackbox Party Pack 7
19. The Last of Us Part II

:messenger_grinning_smiling::messenger_grinning_smiling::messenger_grinning_smiling::messenger_grinning_smiling:

Better but just barely.
 

Ten_Fold

Member
Among us is not a top 10 game, it’s fun for like a few days but after that it’s really boring. Not much you can do. I would put demon souls remake in the top 10, shit is fire. Maybe polygon can’t beat tower knight.
 

Kagoshima_Luke

Gold Member
Doesn’t look like a generic copy paste of top Metacritic games ranked in order and it cuts TLoU2 down to size, so I can’t be mad about it.
 

50. Bugsnax
49. No Man's Sky
48. Helltaker
47. Doom Eternal
46. Super Mega Baseball 3
45. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
44. Creaks
43. Call of Duty: Warzone
42. Yakuza: Like a Dragon
41. In Other Waters
40. Wide Ocean, Big Jacket
39. League of Legends
38. Arknights
37. Desperados 3
36. Paradise Killer
35. Dirt 5
34. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2
33. Paper Mario: The Origami King
32. The Solitaire Conspiracy
31. Ghost of Tsushima
30. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
29. Murder by Numbers
28. Destiny 2: Beyond Light
27. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
26. Streets of Rage 4
25. Hardspace: Shipbreaker
24. Spiritfarer
23. Demons Souls Remake
22. Star Wars: Squadrons
21. Genshin Impact
20. The Jackbox Party Pack 7
19. The Last of Us Part II
18. Assassin's Creed Valhalla
17. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
16. Astro's Playroom
15. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
14. Umurangi Generation
13. Valorant
12. If Found...
11. Spelunky 2
10. Among Us
9. Blaseball
8. Crusader Kings 3
7. Half-Life: Alyx
6. Spider-Man: Miles Morales
5. Kentucky Route Zero
4. Final Fantasy VII Remake
3. Microsoft Flight Simulator
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizon
1. Hades
Final Fantasy VII Remake beat out The Woke of us part 2? I am legit shocked. I thought Polyfail was one of those hardcore woke sites?
 
Starting to think these websites put Hades as #1 just to act cool and interesting


they absolutely do. these nerds are treating games like underground music vs mainstream music. except you can't really...do that with games, because higher budgets tend to push things forward for the medium.

and the fact they didn't put cyberpunk on there out of 50 for the YEAR. tells me why no one should take this metacritic seriously
 
Last edited:

TLZ

Banned
31. Ghost of Tsushima
giphy.gif
 

THEAP99

Banned
they absolutely do. these nerds are treating games like underground music vs mainstream music. except you can't really...do that with games, because higher budgets tend to push things forward for the medium.

and the fact they didn't put cyberpunk on there out of 50 for the YEAR. tells me why no one should take this metacritic seriously
they said cyberpunk would be on the 2021 list
 

Fredrik

Member
Interesting, according to Polygon 18 games was robbed by The Last of Us Part 2 at The Game Awards.

Haven’t played many of those games though, I just know that Cyberpunk 2077 on PC is better than all I’ve played (except maaaybe Ori and the Will of the Wisps) and it’s not even on the list.
 

Chukhopops

Member
I gotta respect Polygon for putting Crusader Kings III in this list, this series rarely gets awards or recognition but it's a unique and fantastic game. Same for Desperados 3 which is criminally underrated.

Some of those games I have absolutely never heard of before, they really wanted their share of obscure indies for street cred.
 

Hudo

Member
"Top XX list" articles are free clicks, basically. They are very easy to write but generate a lot of interest/clicks in comparison. Other blogs will surely follow suit.
 
Read through most of the entries earlier and the game that interested me most after I checked it out more was In Other Waters coming in at #41.
At first glance, In Other Waters looks like the slick map UI from some open-world blockbuster, except that the map interface is basically the entire game. As an AI of mysterious provenance stuck in the diving suit of an interstellar explorer, you help guide your human partner through a verdant alien ocean world. You use the map UI to navigate her through unique ecologies as she catalogs each organism’s particular characteristics. You won’t be able to actually see any of these aliens yourself, however: The closest you’ll get is her rough field-biologist sketches, and even then, only as a reward for extensively studying each individual organism.

Instead, you must rely on her descriptions, and luckily, they are exquisite. You’ll not only get a vivid description of the organisms’ appearance and behavior, but the way in which they fit into the broader ecosystem. Imagination is In Other Waters’ most powerful mechanic. On the map interface you might see a bunch of little orange dots zipping through wafting yellow chains, but you know these are really towering kelplike forests, teeming with strange, alien life. The synthy soundtrack certainly helps lull you into a state of relaxed contemplation as you analyze a discarded shell and wonder what creature left it behind. Eventually, the deliberate cataloging of species makes way for a grander story of ecological disaster and human hubris that’s as affecting as it is relevant.

- Clayton Ashley
And here is Polygon's review.

I'm aware that games hinging heavily on the player's imagination isn't an entirely new concept but it's piqued my interest and in that respect I'd say this list has served its purpose; introducing interesting games that flew under my radar.
 

Dunki

Member
So given how many outlets ALREADY put Hades on 1 which is a place it can stay for sure. BUT HOW the hell got TLOU2 Nr.1 and Games Award?

Let me guess. Hades is the best because of diversity/race swapping stuff, right?
No Hades is an actual great game
 
Last edited:

edbrat

Member
Popping champagne, lining up huge rails of gear, warming up the lube because on this happy happy day HADES HAS SNAGGED ANOTHER GOTY AND IT IS SO RICHLY AND FULLY DESERVED!!!!!!!! I was very concerned that it's genius would be lost amongst the rest of the worlds shit taste in games but fuck me I'm glad to be proved wrong on that. The systems in Hades are incredible, the visceral sensation of clearing rooms ultra satisfying, the learning curve is long, the writing is amazing and the music is sensational. Hades is a game which respects the players time and commitment and even after over 50 runs I just can't stop revisiting that beautiful little thing.

Feel free to be miserable about it, Hades fans just going to do another run in celebration and enjoy life. Well done Supergiant I hope this makes you rich as fuck.
 
This list is pretty good especially the top 10. Also miles better than any list sonygaf would come up with and it game from Polygon :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
Last edited:

eot

Banned
47. Doom Eternal
46. Super Mega Baseball 3


23. Demons Souls Remake
20. The Jackbox Party Pack 7

seh6p.gif
 

Killer8

Member
A bunch of stuff on the list didn't even come out this year. No Man's Sky is 4 years old, League of Legends is ancient, Among Us is 3 years old, Kentucky Route Zero is episodic since 2013 and has only just finished this year. Even Hades actually came out in 2018 (early access exclusively on the Epic store). Yes a lot of this stuff is continuously in dev and gets better year on year, but does that warrant their inclusion every year? Might as well include things like GTAV and other GaaS titles..
 
It's much much better than what I expected from Polygon - then again if you set your expectations to below zero it's hard to not be positively surprised :D
 

Tschumi

Member
I'm just wondering why google algorithm thinks i want that page linked to me, did i do something bad in a past life, and the algorithm is that perceptive, or something?

Edit: I've got Hades, played it a bunch, it's a great, lite game, I'm really glad for greg kasavin (if he's still involved, i just remember he had something to do with Bastion) it is fucking not a general clarification goty contender.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Top Bottom