So, saying 2020 was an interesting year is a total understatement and I don’t know about others but if I didn’t have video games as a solace I’d probably have gone crazy. With what we can collectively agree as being a dumpster fire of a year we can celebrate as quite a flourishing year for the video game industry and the amazing titles they have been releasing.

So in saying that, it’s that time of the year again; the annual MKAU’s ‘Games of the Year’ article. What games could we not get enough of and what games did we uninstall out of disappointment?

Being an investigative journalist, or general pain in the ass as my colleagues see it, I harassed the team at MKAU to find out their feelings, grievances, and accolades of gaming in 2020.
This is what our reviewers; Jimmy, James, Shane, Simon, Adam, Caitlin, Content Creator; John and Senior Reviewer and Editor; myself had to say. Categories are as follows and feel free to tell us your favourites in the comments below or on our various social media.

 

• Stacy – Chicken Police: Paint It Red
  Such a unique little point and click adventure. The Noir style and cheesy dialogue had me hooked from the beginning.
• Jimmy – Infliction
  Infliction, man, I got to review this twice both times gave me multiple scares both times in numerous playthroughs. If you still haven’t played it, I highly recommend it.
• James – Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
  This game absolutely took over the world in 2020. An addictive puzzle/face-off style competition based game with cute, customizable avatars. With Season 3 just released, this game continues to make waves heading into 2021.
• John – Call of the Sea
  Great adventure/puzzle game. The story is great with a little mystery as you go. The puzzles are challenging at times and the setting is really nice.
• Shane – Moving Out
  Moving Out developed by SMG Studio and Devm Games, offers a great couch co-op game sadly not online for 2020, the year of social distance. It has great whacky physics and has some great laughs to be had with friends and family.
• Simon – Iron Harvest
  The game deserves recognition for such an amazing concept and bringing the RTS genre back in 2020.
• Adam – There Is No Game
  It’s a very funny game with lots of character.

 

• Stacy – The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope
  I don’t play many horror games but dear god this series has me hooked around its little finger with its great storytelling and full-on jump scares. Shoutout to the jump scares in ‘Ïn Silence’ though too, dear god they are heart attack inducing.
• Jimmy – The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope
  Oh man, there were so many I love it, but the top spot was Little Hope with its twisting tales and curator. My year was full of horror inducing games again, and Signs of Silence, Bigfoot, Folklore Hunter, and honourable mentions for Phasmophobia and In Silence. It was a good year for horror.
• James – Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
  Arguably, one of the most requested remasters/remakes of the Resident Evil series finally made its modern-day return to the gaming world. With a complete overhaul to the game, the gore, jump scares and undead villains STILL scare the hell out of me!
• John – The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope
  A great addition to the series. The story is so good, spookier than the first and the cast is great. Shout out to Anthony’s sweater at the beginning.
• Caitlin – Phasmophobia
  Horrifying with your friends!
• Shane – Phasmophobia
  Developed by Kinetic Games, it came out of nowhere but it has hit hard. I have enjoyed watching streams and ‘let’s plays’ on it. With new ghosts to hunt and locations to scout being added I hope it keeps it up and stays active.
• Adam – Phasmophobia
  Phasmo also bringing the common use of proximity chat sent it to the next level.

 

• Stacy – Doom Eternal
  This game is literally amazing and was totally robbed at the Game Awards this year. It has amazing gameplay, the weapons are so vast and fun to use and the killer soundtrack will blow your mind.
• Jimmy – Doom Eternal
  I guess I’ll go with Doom even though I’ve never played the new one, but everyone raves on about it. Gotta appreciate the violence.
• James – Call of Duty: Warzone
  The premiere shooter returns in 2020 with their latest rendition, Warzone. Dropping in with a huge 150 player free-for-all, new campaign, and season pass – this is an intense firefight you’ll want to play immediately!
• John – Journey to the Savage Planet
  This game is so much fun. The dialogue is hilarious and slapping/kicking animals 24/7 is more fun than it should be.
• Shane – Doom Eternal
  Doom Eternal developed by Bethesda and id Software is definitely the top contender for shooter of the year. It is the year to rip and tear from the amazing soundtrack to the brutal action it is not one to miss.
• Simon – Doom Eternal
  Rip and Tear!!
• Adam – Valorant
  I don’t play a lot of FPS games but Valorant would be the number one contender to be the best for me. It is totally blitzing the E-Sport scene.

 

• Stacy – Fall Guys
  I just wish you could have more than three people in a party. I would love to do this royale rumble with the whole krew but the levels are so creative, weird, and endearing.
• Jimmy – Any multiplayer
  I don’t have any actual game because the best multiplayer is any game I play with the rest of the krew where I can trash talk and irritate the fuck out of everyone.
• James – Fall Guys
  Grabbing a close party of friends and trying to master the various obstacles and challenges of Fall Guys is hours upon hours of amazing online fun! The replay value is high, the game is hilariously addictive and with constant ‘season’ based DLC being added to the game, it looks like Fall Guys will continue to entertain for years to come!
  
• John – Star Wars: Squadrons
  Flying around in Star Wars ships. What’s not to like?
• Caitlin – Unfortunate Spacemen
  Funny community game.
• Shane – Fall Guys
  Developed by Mediatonic, Fall Guys was another unexpected hit of the year that took off massively. It is a great online game that I can play for hours and not get angry if I keep losing.
• Simon – Iron Harvest
  The game deserves recognition for such an amazing concept and bringing the RTS genre back in 2020.
• Adam – Marvel’s Avengers
  Though it had some issues I still had heaps of fun with this.

 

• Stacy – Cyberpunk 2077
  Okay, sure it was a buggy mess for most, but it really was not bad on the Xbox Series X. (Cheers for the hook-ups Matty) I was so captivated by this world, with gorgeously animated and detailed cutscenes, and the story that unravels is so engrossing that I couldn’t put it down.
• Jimmy – Cyberpunk 2077
  CyberPunk 2077 sure it has its bugs/glitches and playing it on an Xbox One S is not as fancy, but god, I enjoy it immensely. CD Projekt Red has put so much time and effort into this bad boy.
• James – Final Fantasy VII: Remake
  One of the best RPG franchises of all time makes its valiant return to Playstation via its long requested and eagerly awaited remake of the classic Final Fantasy VII! The remake is absolutely breathtaking, with every detail having been rebuilt from the ground up.
• John – Cyberpunk 2077
  Don’t think I’ve played a new one this year. I played Cyberpunk for 3 hours. Does that count? Let’s go with that.
• Shane – Ghost of Tsushima
  Developed by Sucker Punch Productions, Tsushima has been one of my favourite Playstation exclusives for a long time. The addition of multiplayer was a great inclusion and was free also so that is always a plus for such a big release. Hours have been spent online and offline just exploring the land with a great combat system
• Simon – Wasteland 3/Baldur’s Gate 3
  It was hard to choose one from so many RPG games. Balder’s gate would have won but it still hasn’t been finished as of yet and Wasteland 3 has amazing gameplay and soundtrack that couldn’t’ve been missed.
• Adam – Baldur’s Gate 3
  Getting ever closer to being the best D&D video game.

 

• Stacy – Mario 3D All-Stars
  3 of my favourite classic retro Mario games in a cute little remastered bundle for my Nintendo Switch. I was in heaven especially with Mario Galaxy which is legit one of my favourites. Mario never looked so funky fresh.
• Jimmy – Saint Row: The Third
  Saint’s Row: The Third; I’m a saint for life. I can never get enough of this franchise over the top zany humour.
• James – Final Fantasy VII: Remake
  Playstation fans around the world cried out in joy as this remake was announced. Upon arrival, the game looks absolutely beautiful compared to its 1997 original release. With further parts to the remake scheduled for near-future release, one can only assume how detailed the remaining storyline will look.
• John – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2
  The nostalgia was real. It is a brilliant game with welcome new editions, and the soundtrack is still amazing!
• Shane – Demon’s Souls
  As a Souls fan, there was no way Demon’s Souls wouldn’t make my list at some point. With the new co-op system from Dark Souls 3 that has been improved on, it’s been made easier to play with friends over the old-style random chance of having a sign show up. We also can’t forget the new designs of favourite locations. I will be playing for many years until the next major Souls title comes to take my attention.
• Simon – Halo Master Chief Edition (PC)
  With more classic Halo games getting a remaster as part of the Master Chief Collection, this still holds up for the best remaster/remake for me this year. I do have to give a shoutout to the Command and Conquer Remaster as well.
• Adam – Final Fantasy 7 Remake
  The only other close one would be Demon’s Souls but I prefer Final Fantasy by far.

 

• Stacy – Johnny Silverhand (Cyberpunk 2077)
  A rocker from the future that is technically a terrorist for the goodness of society, voiced by the ever so cool Keanu Reeves. What isn’t there to love about this character? While Keanu is almost so cool and chilled he doesn’t even need to try in his voice acting, the character development of Johnny is such a great driving force in the game.
• Jimmy – The Curator (Little Hope)
  The Curator from the Dark Pictures Anthology just draws you in with his wit and tone of his voice. I would buy a game with him in it if he were only reading me a bedtime story.
• James – Miles Morales (Spider-Man / Spider-Man: Miles Morales)
  Comic book characters are sometimes hard to transition over to games and keep them relatable to the player (see Kamala Kahn aka Ms. Marvel from recent game Marvel Avengers) but Insomniac has done an incredible job with introducing and utilizing Miles Morales into the Marvel gaming world. He’s down to earth, relatable and kind!
• John – The Curator (Little Hope)
  The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope’s curator. Still, one of the coolest mofos to tell you a bedtime story. I want his vest.
• Shane – Ichiban Kasuga (Yakuza: Like a Dragon)
  Ichiban Kasuga from Yakuza: Like A Dragon. Yakuza does tend to mix humour and badassery to their characters, but Kasuga to me felt like the first main character that wanted to help out people and to be a hero, not just a thug.
• Adam – Nico (DMC 5)
  She is funny and endearing.

 

• Stacy – Division 2 ‘Warlords of New York”
  To be honest, I was a bit of a tight arse handing over my hard-earned cash for DLC this year. It had to be something grindy that I would spend hours playing, and believe me The Division 2 is definitely content for your buck.
• Jimmy – GTA Heists
  Same as last year, anything to do with GTA Online. Their content is always decent, with a bit to do with the best part being it’s still free.
• James – Fortnite: Marvel DLC
  Fortnite had incredible gaul this year, with their latest catfight showcasing a defense towards Apple! Their latest run of DLC continued to dominate and impress, with their new drop being dedicated to Marvel Comic legends! – including a very touching tribute to the Black Panther character.
• John – Gears of War 5: Hivebusters
  Gears 5. More Gears and looks amazing doing it. The setting is kind of different for Gears, which is a good thing. Great set pieces too.
• Shane – Ghost of Tsushima: Legends
  Legends has been a solid DLC drop for this year as it was not expected at the launch of the game and its being free was amazing. From a two-player story mode, four-player survival, and the newly added raid it has lots to offer.
• Simon – Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods
  That cliff-hanger ending left me gobsmacked!
• Adam – Control: AWE
  The Altered World Event or more commonly known as the Allan Wake Expansion was some epic content.

 

• Stacy – Hades
  Yet another game that came out of nowhere and took the streaming world by storm. This Greek god inspired indie title by Supergiant games is a roguelike death trap that actually utilizes your flaws in gameplay to progress you further. It also is so uniquely gorgeous to look at.
• Jimmy – Getting a Crown in Fall Guys
  Dude if you see how I play, no one would have ever expected that! I goof around so much while I play but I still managed to clinch a win when the game was in its prime.
• James – Hades
  For a game that sat into early access for close to 2 years, Hades finally released in 2020 to much critical acclaim, selling close to a million copies in 3 days! Captivating story, smooth gameplay, and (my favourite) high replay value made this a crucial, yet surprising, success of 2020.
  
• John – Minecraft Dungeons
  Didn’t really know what to expect but I enjoyed it immensely. Great fun, especially with friends.
• Caitlin – Agrou
  Super fun with friends!
• Shane – Microsoft buying Zenimax
  Here’s hoping they start pulling the exclusive card with future titles.
• Simon – Fall Guys
  That game came out of nowhere and took the world by storm.
• Adam – Demon’s Souls
  Demon Souls for the spot-on remake.

 

• Stacy – Marvel Avengers
  With an IP like Avengers, I expected an engrossing, story-based, epic action game, not the boring, grindy, loot goblin mess that it is in its current state. It’s dead to a lot of people already and that’s a shame; they could learn a lesson or two from Insomniac’s Spider-man: Miles Morales, now that’s a freaking dope game.
• Jimmy – Fast and Furious Crossroads
  The trailer had me super pumped, then getting a copy was a massive let down from graphics down to controlling the car. A junkie has better control over their addiction than I had over those vehicles.
• James – Warcraft 3: Reforged
  As a fan of the Warcraft series, this was an absolute train wreck of a game. With constant delays, removed features, and a nearly unplayable product upon release, this game has sadly done damage to the once respectable brand of Blizzard.
• John – Bright Memory
  An 8 euro demo. GTFO. I’m still mad.
• Shane – Star Wars Squadrons
  Had a good concept but for me just failed to hit anything short of what I would expect, the ships felt too slow, the controls were junk and the graphics were just bland. Also with no extra modes or maps being added just felt like a rushed game.
• Simon – The year 2020 itself!
  Does that count?
• Adam -Toxic gamers in 2020
  The amount of toxicity in gamers from the Laura Bailey incident in TLOU2 to The Avengers Square Enix account issues, it’s been disappointing.

 

• Stacy – Preorder Debacle
  The absolute BS a lot of us had to go through to get next-generation consoles. From stores downright lying, websites crashing but taking your credit card details, scalpers bumping up prices to even Playstation dropping their release date only a day before, they knew this was going to happen and did nothing to prepare for it. Greed pure greed ruled in 2020.
• Jimmy – Producing the game “The Suicide of Rachel Foster”
  Anyone who had The Suicide of Rachel Foster greenlit to be made, especially after that story glorified grooming a 16-year-old girl with learning disabilities by a 40-year-old man, come on, dear lord. No wanted that we already had the Harvey Weinstein trial.
• James – Mixer streaming platform shut down
  Instead of standing their ground and legally finding better ways to continue, Mixer decided to shut down in favour of Facebook Gaming, arguably a still BETA phase streaming platform. Many of the Mixer stream users were Microsoft-based and lost a ton of exposure, and possibly respect, for this terrible handling of the situation.
• John – Mixer closure
  Mixer closing down. RIP Mixer. I miss you.
• Shane – PlayStation 5 pre-orders
  Not having a set time any time after the announcement of the price was just a nightmare.
• Simon – PlayStation 5 and NVidia not having enough units on release
  Not limiting sales to one per customer was a huge mistake and the limited number of 30 series graphic cards available on release from NVidia. What a proverbial shit show that was.
• Adam – CyberPunk 2077 old-gen console release
  Probably the release of Cyberpunk on the old generations. At least until they could test it more they should have been held back still. (**Editor: irony is that there is an Xbox One X Cyberpunk themed console that probably can’t run the game**)

 

• Stacy – ChrisBenJammin is formerly known as PwnyPlays
  One of my best friends in the industry always produces such amazing live content, be it with games or instruments, it’s always done in such a creative way. He has such a big heart for his community, and while he is on a rebranding discovery at the present moment, I cannot wait to see what 2021 delivers.
• Jimmy – StacefaceMayhem
  Everyone is going to know the answer to this, but MKAU’s own Stacefacemayhem. Mixer closed down. She was worried about switching to Twitch, but she has been smashing it. I spend most of my time there, or any of the MKAU Krew streamers or stream teams. Take your pick.
• James – Corpse
  From reading horror stories on YouTube to creating music that has just hit 50 million plays on Spotify, to now streaming on YouTube with an average viewing size of 80,000-105,000 per stream, the faceless YouTube known only as CORPSE has completely changed the game in 2020 — without even trying to! With support from online celebs such as PewDiePie, James Charles, Jacksepticeye, and Valkyrae, the world clearly is CORPSE’s oyster in 2021.
• John – Alcohol
  (**EDITOR: huh, wait, what?)
• Caitlin – Corpse Husband
  Became super popular super quick, and all the loveable.
• Shane – GuitarDashiell
  He’s a stand-up guy and a very talented music artist. I feel he needs more acknowledgment for the work he does.
• Simon – StacefaceMayhem
  Can I say that? (**Editor: Yes, yes you can!**)
• Adam – Offline TV
  That’s a tough one as I am currently following quite a few, so besides the great people at MKAU. I would have to say Offline TV & their many friends, are all unique and bring something different which gives the diversity in content.

 

• Stacy – Ghost of Tsushima
  This game is just so polished the WHOLE way through. It is graphically breathtaking, the story is heart-wrenching and the samurai gameplay and combat are so developmental as an RPG I just can’t fault it. I started it so late in the year because of ‘review life’ and I am so thankful I have, it’s a game everyone must experience.
• Jimmy – Fall Guys
  My best game of the year is Fall guys. I’m probably going to cop it for this, but when I bought a PC earlier in the year, I’ve slowly been dabbling in some PC games, this being a highlight, especially when I won my first crown (before Cat). It’s fun, ragey, and silly, with the added enjoyment when grouping with friends.
• James – Assassins Creed Valhalla
  The highly demanded era of the Vikings was finally released in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Depicting brutal fight scenes, accurate map and location history plus continuing on the storyline established in both Assassins Creed Origins and Assassins Creed Odyssey, this game was an absolutely majestic experience to play through.
• John – Ori and the Will of the Wisps
  Fantastic in every damn way. Story, visuals, music, gameplay. I love this game so much. It’s the right amount of difficulty. It doesn’t feel impossible but feels like a real challenge.
• Caitlin – Phasmophobia
  I racked up 100 hours in Phasmophobia in 3 weeks. That’s definitely telling you something!
• Shane – Ghost of Tsushima
  As much as I would love to put in Demon Souls, Tsushima has done great things this year and deserves all the praise.
• Simon – Cyberpunk 2077
  Without any doubt Cyberpunk 2077, hands down!! Even with all the bugs I’ve been playing it on PC and the game looks great, but what do you expect from a game that was made for PC!
• Adam – Final Fantasy 7 Remake
  For me as a massive Final Fantasy fan, it’s an easy choice. I absolutely loved the game and what it brought back to gaming this year.

MKAU Gaming would also like to thank all the developers, publishers, fans, and our amazing community members for all the love, support, and amazing opportunities you have provided us this crazy year as content creators and media. We wish you all a happy holiday and a prosperous, merry, and safe new year! –MKAU KREW