best of 2020: video games

 A few notes before I begin:

• Not all of these were first released in 2020, but that's when I played them.
• Since this is a short list, these ARE in preferential order.
• In addition to these games, I also finished The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan, Unravel 2, and The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope.  Unravel 2 is the best of those three, assuming you have someone to play with (which is optional, but highly encouraged); the Dark Pictures games both had their moments but were disappointing.  Of course, I continued playing Hidden City on a daily basis, as I have for the past 4 (!) years, and also began playing Sherlock, a combination hidden object/match 3 mobile game that is enjoyable enough but didn't make the cut.
• And as always, your mileage may vary.

1. The Last of Us 2:  I don't really want to go into much detail on this game, since it would be a crying shame to spoil it; suffice it to say it's tense as hell, heartbreaking, and a more than worthy successor to the first game.  It wound up in my top ten video games of all time, so as you can guess, it's my favorite game of the year by far, and an absolute must-play.

2. Telltale's The Walking Dead (final season):  I was really sad when Telltale Games announced that they were closing up shop, thinking it meant we'd never get a proper ending for Clementine.  Fortunately, another company took up the reins, and they did an amazing job.

3. Life Is Strange 2:  After tragedy fractures their family, brothers Sean and Daniel Diaz go on the run, trying desperately to hide Daniel's special abilities.  The free-to-play DLC, The Adventures of Captain Spirit, is well worth playing too.

4. Resident Evil 3:  This reboot of the iconic 1999 game still follows Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira as they try to take down the evil Umbrella Corporation, but they've changed so much that even old school gamers who have played the original numerous times [raising my hand here] will find much to enjoy.  It ain't easy, but it's a blast.

5. Shadow of the Tomb Raider:  Lara Croft accidentally unleashes a Mayan apocalypse on the world, so she dutifully slings her bow over her shoulder and tries to fix it.  Great fun.