While the world came to a screeching halt in 2020, the games industry adapted and roared on into one of the biggest years yet for the industry. Two major console launches and the latest installments of fan favorite franchises had the big three serving meals to gamers left and right.
So with 2020 behind us, the question remains, which company was the best to gamers in 2020? Come on a ride with us as we look at the biggest highlights from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo in 2020 to decide who was best to gamers in 2020!
Sony
The Last of Us Part II
In 2013, Naughty Dog released its swan song to the PS3 era with its modern masterpiece, The Last of Us. Following the years since its release, fans debated whether the game even needed a sequel given its open-ended ending. Well, co-directors Neil Druckmann and Haley Gross and the rest of the crew at Naughty Dog had another tale to tell, and officially unveiled The Last of Us Part II at PSX 2016.
The Last of Us Part II is nothing short of an odyssey, spinning an interweaving narrative between two protagonists that culminates it one of the most gut-wrenching finales in the medium. The game not only made the majority of game of the year lists, it won game of the year at plenty of outlets, including our very own Reader’s Choice Game of the Year of 2020.
Ghost of Tsushima
As the final first-party exclusive of the PS4 era, Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima closed the book with a bang. Taking on the role of a wavering samurai, Jin Sakai, players must defend the beautiful island of Tsushima from Mongol invaders. Ghost is rife with incredible characters, satisfying narrative and combat, all wrapped within one of the most gorgeous open worlds we have ever seen.
In fall of 2020, Sucker Punch delivered a massive update in the form of Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, a co-op multiplayer mode for the base game. For a free add-on, Legends is an incredibly rich multiplayer experience full of character classes to unlock and upgrade, campaign missions, a variety of of other multiplayer modes. All the better, the base game and Legends received a generous PS5 upgrade that enhanced the experience well beyond what was capable on PS4. We thought pretty highly of Ghost of Tsushima, giving it a 4.5/5.
PlayStation 5
While there are certainly criticisms to be had with how Sony handled the launch of the PlayStation 5, it cannot be overstated how much of a success the console has gone on to become.
Yes, we are still seeing shortages due to high demand and the limitations of this COVID era. The reveal of the console could have also been handled a bit more gracefully, considering the console itself was not revealed until midway through 2020. Consumers were given little to no heads up about when pre-orders would go live. Unless, of course, you were attuned to gaming’s oracle whom we all like to call, Geoff Keighley.
Once you look past the rocky lead up to launch, the PlayStation 5 has had one of the strongest launches in Sony’s history. Exclusives like Demon’s Souls, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Sackboy: A Big Adventure made a strong case to pick up Sony’s console over the competition. Better yet, Astro’s Playroom is widely considered to be one the best platformers of 2020 and comes free with every console.
The DualSense, which Astro’s was built to show off, is such a wonderful innovation over the DualShock that it is worth considering when deciding between the big two.
