The summer season for 2020 is nearly over and with this period came quite a few good games. There usually aren’t a lot of video game releases between the months of June and August but this year we’ve seen some noticeable releases like The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima which are certainly game of the year contenders.
However, does that mean this summer was better than last summer with its quality of games? Or did summer 2019 have a lot more substantial releases?
There’s only one way to find out. Let’s compare the major June, July, and August releases for both years.
June Releases
For both years, June saw a few notable releases including the souls-like Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Persona 4 Golden on PC, Super Mario Maker 2, Valorant, and The Last of Us Part II.
The most substantial release in this month in 2020 is undoubtedly The Last of Us Part II. While it received a rather divisive response from players on release, The Last of Us Part II has a gripping and emotional story, gorgeous graphics, A+ voice acting, and noteworthy characters.
There isn’t particularly a June 2019 release that can compare to the weight of The Last of Us Part II but June 2019 is full of diverse games like Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, My Friend Pedro, Judgment, and Cadence of Hyrule that received positive acclaim.
June has always been the slow month for game releases but that’s most noticeable in 2020 with quite a few games either being pushed back in development or their release due to COVID-19.
As a whole, both 2019 and 2020 had a lot of diverse releases but despite June 2020 having The Last of Us Part II under its belt, June 2019 pulls away with its variety and quality of games.
Winner: Summer 2019
2019
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: Metacritic – 83, Twinfinite – 5/5
- Cadence of Hyrule: Metacritic – 86, Twinfinite – 4/5
- F1 2019: Metacritic – 89, Twinfinite – 4/5
- Judgment: Metacritic – 80, Twinfinite – 4.5/5
- My Friend Pedro: Metacritic – 80, Twinfinite – 4/5
- Sega Ages Virtua Racing: Metacritic – 82
- Sega Ages Wonder Boy Monster Land: Metacritic – 74
- Super Mario Maker 2: Metacritic – 88, Twinfinite – 4.5/5
- The Sinking City: Metacritic – 64, Twinfinite – 4/5
2020
- Desperados III: Metacritic – 86, Twinfinite – 4/5
- The Last of Us Part II: Metacritic – 93
- Ninjala: Twinfinite – 4/5
- Persona 4 Golden: Metacritic – 87, Twinfinite – 5/5
- SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated: Metacritic – 69
- Valorant: Metacritic – 80, Twinfinite – 4/5
- Ys: Memories of Celecta (PS4): Twinfinite – 4/5
