HELLO. AND WELCOME TO VIDEO GAMES POLLS. Fourteenth Coint and Plick results (best games of 2020)

https://i.imgur.com/fTGgAWk.png

It's another Coint & Plick! Which one is this? The fourteenth one! What! And the second one of not leaving your house because someone else told you to (vs because you don't want to anyway like the other 12 years. I KNOW YOU, GAMERS.)

We really stretched the definition of "games" and "2020" this year, as we always do!

I will try to roll out a bunch of them today, time permitting, hopefully leaving a nice pace to finish on Thurs/Fri.

Also side-polls! They'll be peppered in as I look up how they were supposed to be scored and I score 'em!

Woo! Games!

I didn't vote for any games that I enjoyed watching someone else play this year, all games that I actually had my own grubby hands on, thus avoiding controversy.

i didn't vote because i've only had my Piss5 for a couple of weeks and a ballot with just P5 Royal getting all my points seemed unhelpful but

yaaaay, tell me what i need to get into this year

We have less than (Cyberpunk 20)77 games voted for this year, sadly, so we will start with our least-voted-for game at rank 70:

https://i.imgur.com/gxITp2P.png
70 - Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues - 2 points / 1 Vote

oh also, the way i did these images was an idea i had a few days ago but didn't actually commit to doing until ~2-4am last night, so don't judge me if the execution is sloppy af

just to get it out of the way are you gonna list platforms on these Will?

no biggy if not, i can google

Ha, if you do can you truncate my rambling "not entirely sure what platform this is but I guess browser will do" into an actual platform? I'm sorry!

I did not include platforms, but if you look up the nomination thread you'll see most of them there!

https://i.imgur.com/6yWgY9c.png
69 - Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - 3 points / 1 Vote

Oh also there are a lot of ties coming up as there always are. This year they are in no particular order, because I basically kept reordering the list every time a new ballot came in.

(there were of course a couple of write-ins also so hopefully the writer inners mention platforms here)

https://i.imgur.com/sAloCIZ.png
52 - Haunted PS1 Demo Disc 2020 - 5 points / 1 Vote

i'm gonn have to do more than 6 of these an hour today to get thru as many as i want to lol

That one sounded potentially fun, but I am a sucker for creepypasta gimmickry.

https://i.imgur.com/70ihNOo.png
52 - Evan Birnholz’s December 27, 2020 Washington Post crossword, “5×5” - 5 points / 1 Vote

Haunted PS1 Demo Disc is a fun, free sampler of janky spookiness and the 2021 installment drops later today!

lol good stuff

sorry i didn't play any new games last year so i abstained. will try harder this year though i haven't played a 2021 game yet either and now have all these 2020 games to catch up on so who knows

https://i.imgur.com/lJ9jhHB.png
52 - The Impossible Bottle - 5 points / 1 Vote

https://i.imgur.com/crFWWDm.png
52 - Marvel's Avengers - 5 points / 1 Vote

this rollout has been amazing so far

cryptic spoiler, which you may be able to decipher and figure out some placements: there are three games in this rollout where i am furious that their ranking is not one higher or lower

i haven't seen cobra kai, i'm not interested in how the karate kid saga continues (although i hope that the karate kid does continue to win tournaments), and i don't know what system that Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues is on.

but despite all of that, i am impressed and intimidated by the results leading off with that game

banner saga at #50?!?!

i could see wanting cobra kai to come in at #69 instead of #70, but i won't make that one of my three guesses. banner saga at #50 though, that's an official guess.

Oh, ha, whoever nominated the Impossible Bottle didn't vote for it, then, as that was my five points. It was the joint winner of the 2020 IF Comp and I thought it was a fun game with a neat mechanic - you can manipulate items in the real world through manipulating doll's house versions of them. But I never actually finished it, just didn't find it quite compelling enough. I also had issues with the other joint winner (it was buggy when I played it), but the third placer I thought was wonderful, and it will make an appearance later.

love the cyberplick logo; lots of stuff i never heard of!

I can't find a Google result for that crossword puzzle thing that doesn't look like a spoiler...

xpost yes i love that header logo too!!

https://i.imgur.com/TmAjdEp.png
52 - Watch Dogs: Legion - 5 points / 1 Vote

also i love the jump from 69 to 52, which is confusing at first, not so much because of the skip but because suddenly you're dealing with the crossword guy

he's like "fuck YES i'm in a videogame rollout!"

I am Crossword Man, dooby-dooby-dooby-dooby do do do

i had no idea what to include as an image for that until i google evan birnholz, and it all became clear

that's a smile that says "i'm about to confound some folks and outrank a zelda game in a year-end kinda-about-video-games poll"

i did that crossword after it was nominated, and good lord is it a hell of a puzzle. (i actually managed to get most of the way through it before i just had to look up how to solve the end)

^^same here!!

https://i.imgur.com/EzQEUPl.png
52 - Trackmania - 5 points / 1 Vote

(see noms, this made it in on a technicality that i cannot remember. re-release i think?)

me: says he needs to rollout faster
also me: doesn't

https://i.imgur.com/hXnGSvi.png
52 - Teardown - 5 points / 1 Vote

i had to check if this was my 5 points (it wasn't)

almost made my ballot! really fun game that lets you break stuff. it's the mars game except it's actually what we wanted from the mars game! i should ahve included it, if i had given it some points it would've been ranked like idk 3rd overall or wahtever there was not a lot of consensus this year

Teardown looks fun! i'm waiting for a chance to play it

yeah, it definitely sounds cool, but I'm not so sure about the semi-voxely aesthetic in a post mincraft world.

it differentiates itself enough, somehow? idk how to describe but i wasn't really thinking about minecraft at all while playing. for one things the voxels are smaller, haha.

https://i.imgur.com/6fGPbdg.png
52 - Noita - 5 points / 1 Vote

https://i.imgur.com/FTqDtMB.png
52 - Half-Life: Alyx - 5 points / 1 Vote

fun fact: there are 16 year olds on the internet saying "half-life 3 when" guess how many of them were born when half-life 2 came out? that's right, none. or maybe i guess like half of them. none of the 15 year olds though!

https://i.imgur.com/Ur5CNbl.png
52 - Frog Fractions - Hop's Iconic Cap DLC - 5 points / 1 Vote

Ah, Frog Fractions, my beloved. I didn't get this so no idea what it entails but my love for FF will never die <3

i'm assuming that half life alyx will end up placing on the margins of some Best of the 2020s lists. it's supposed to be amazing

need to try out teardown, looks super fun

https://i.imgur.com/CYquMwI.png
52 - Cloudpunk - 5 points / 1 Vote

is that a parody game?

i don't think so! just another thing with the same aesthetic

https://i.imgur.com/cFyGafh.png
52 - Call of Duty: Warzone - 5 points / 1 Vote

https://i.imgur.com/GBKAhm1.png
52 - Bugsnax - 5 points / 1 Vote

i certainly could have included warzone on my ballot as well, really enjoyed it. hadn't played a COD game for like over 10 years but boy for what they do they absolutely are still best in class

https://i.imgur.com/BXl0U8E.png
52 - 51 Worldwide Games - 5 points / 1 Vote

@Karl this is one of the three

haha, nice!

Lol, I am imagining you tallying the results and just screaming "too low!" at this.

so is 13 sentinels at 12 or 14, then?

so is 13 sentinels at 12 or 14, then?

― chihuahuau, Wednesday, March 24, 2021 4:24 PM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

you have the right idea!

https://i.imgur.com/eaSqlfd.png
52 - Cyberpunk 2077 - 5 points / 1 Vote

lolll

great fakeout, for about 5 seconds i believed it could actually be true

i'm 100% dead serious

the rule of fakeouts when i run coint & plick is that they're near the end and they're pretty obvious

It's actually at 2076.

also, i gave it those 5 points!

https://i.imgur.com/LNwDOdV.png
52 - Genshin Impact - 5 points / 1 Vote

My dumb ballot had a lot of 5 pointers because I spent a little bit of time with a lot of games. Just wanted to make sure some of these had a chance at 2 votes, but I guess 1 vote was all it took!

Warzone rules. The gulag is one of the best additions to any shooter in recent memory.

Bugsnax and Cloudpunk have some of the best writing of the year.

I voted for Alix despite not playing it but I did watch several full runs of it. It's incredible and I hope to be able to afford to play it some day.

speaking of "this is not a fakeout":

https://i.imgur.com/2yCb0bN.png
51 - Marvel Puzzle Quest - 6 points / 2 Votes

Trackmania 2020 is a "remake" i guess but has a lot of new aspects. I really had a lot of fun with it. They updated it regularly with new tracks, and there are a zillion user-created ones.

i don't need to leave a long gap to talk about marvel puzzle quest, do i? nah

https://i.imgur.com/KW2R6x1.png
49 - My Exercise - 7 points / 1 Vote

xp honestly, you do

i was sitting here trying to think of what to say

i guess i'll just repeat what i said elsewhere, and to be frank, what many are saying

MPQ community did 9/11

MPQ - do you see the last letter, there?

Re: My Exercise - the description is "let a chubby boy do his exercise and sink into a dog's body". ???

https://i.imgur.com/Xa5Zibk.png
49 - Deathtrap Dungeon: The Interactive Video Adventure - 7 points / 1 Vote

robert reich's games age like a fine wine

https://i.imgur.com/pqySYcT.png
48 - Super Mario 3D All-Stars - 8 points / 1 Vote

xp

These were both votes of mine. My Exercise is a "game" that consists of pressing the spacebar rhythmically to make your character do sit-ups while things happen around you and you unlock secrets. I got it for 3 bucks and enjoyed it as an art piece.

Deathtrap Dungeon is just Eddie Marsan in a weird basement in a leather chair reading you out the contents of the Deathtrap Dungeon game book and it rules.

Ha, that sounds so good.

I don't play enough games to ever vote in these, but I enjoy watching the roll out. Avengers for PS4 was the first new game I've bought in over a year, I was really surprised by how much I liked that.... up to a point. I am def a casual gamer and given that I usually only play a few hours every other week or so, I usually play on easy levels for some beat 'em up fun. But I hit a mission about 1/4 of the way into Avengers that still has me stymied and I just cannot get past it. I was heartened a little when I googled and saw I was far from alone in hitting a wall with that particular level. I'm all for a challenge, but this just seemed an incredible spike it difficulty out of nowhere. A shame, since I was otherwise really digging the campaign more storytelling.

https://i.imgur.com/cT4430y.png
47 - Spiritfarer - 8 points / 2 Votes

i threw this one 3 points, but it's one of those that i played for a few hours and then just stopped. i think forks was probably the other voter! honestly, i just started to feel like a jerk playing this game, because i could tell it was supposed to radiate warmth and i wasn't charmed or warmed or anything. i felt like a bastard! i had to stop

we've got another big log jam coming up, i think i'll try to clear that today, and give tomorrow and friday's games more breathing room.

spiritfarer holds the record for coint & plick game made closest to my home

BUT WAIT WHAT'S THIS

IT'S A COUPLE OF SIDE POLLS RESULTS TO BREAK THINGS UP? WHAAAAAAT?

TOP 5 PLATFORMS (OPEN-ENDED POLL)

https://i.imgur.com/tj3CyR6.png

5. Twitch (got a single 3rd-place vote)
T3. PC
T3. Xbox Game Pass (each got a single first-place vote, but the XGP vote was me voting for it on PC? Anyway whatever!)
2. Racial Justice Bundle (one first-place vote, which I saw, then I changed it so I also voted for it because it was great)
1. Switch... shocker!

SIDE POLL 2/5...

TOP 1 ILG THREAD (OPEN-ENDED POLL, ONE RESPONDANT)

1. DieHARD GamePOLL - Console Poll, vol. 3 - 5th Generation RESULTS

aw shucks, thanks!

top 5 disappointments, top 10 content creators, and top *mumble* non-2020 games to come up in the following days!

https://i.imgur.com/12BhLQB.png
37 - Paper Mario: The Origami King - 10 points / 1 Vote

I voted for Spiritfarer. It was the best hug simulator of 2020 in a year with very few real hugs.

Oh, I really want to play Spiritfarer, saw it a while ago and it looks like my jam. I think it's available on platforms I have but I'd spent too much on game things around the time I noticed it so couldn't justify another splash. I will definitely get it at some point.

https://i.imgur.com/KT5LV8q.png
37 - Carrion - 10 points / 1 Vote

idk what this is but i am gonna summarize it as "the opposite of spiritfarer"

https://i.imgur.com/F6GG7av.png
37 - The Prestige Tree - 10 points / 1 Vote

https://i.imgur.com/8gk9cDG.png
37 - Synergism - 10 points / 1 Vote

wasnt this the name of a karl malone original?

https://i.imgur.com/zGusgfJ.png
37 - Speaking Simulator - 10 points / 1 Vote

Oh my lord that is nightmare fuel.

haha for a second I thought I clicked on the cursed image thread

not even the creepiest one i saw while i was looking for images, haha

ok 5 left today... whew... we can do this

https://i.imgur.com/QJUusTF.png
37 - Ordinal Markup - 10 points / 1 Vote

math-loving programmers should not be allowed to vote imo

https://i.imgur.com/IU53a4E.png
37 - Lair of the Clockwork God - 10 points / 1 Vote

if you thought evan birnholz's december 27th washington post crossword puzzle "5x5" stretched the limits of coint & plick, wait til you see what i post next

Despite having quit MPQ about 3-4 years ago, I gave it a point for old time's sake.

I hope it's the house tour, which I didn't vote for, but should have.

https://i.imgur.com/naWHr95.png
37 - 8800 Blue Lick Rd. Virtual Tour - 10 points / 1 Vote

someone called it so i'm just posting it lol

I am enjoying the stretching-the-boundaries stuff being here. Anything can be a game if you approach it in the right way.

oh my god, i would have voted for 8800 Blue Lick Rd. Virtual Tour had i connected it to that experience. that was amazing

https://i.imgur.com/Kaj1B1y.png
37 - Tales from Off-Peak City, Vol. 1 - 10 points / 1 Vote

Finding the bathtub in that virtual tour was some of the best pure gaming I've ever done.

more like tales of the voluminous draw distance fog off in the night, is vol 1 of a couple posts i could make about that one, am i right

xp i was off in another 'room' when it happened, but the dawning realizing that there were so many racks of DVD porns was incredible too

i got nowheere near as far into 8800 as yall did. i guess i should try again

https://i.imgur.com/RKcZG9P.png
37 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps - 10 points / 1 Vote

i decided i'll do two more to round out the 10 pointers (after this one) and then recap! including the lowest point getting first-place-vote-getter of all time!!

Heard good things about Ori, think it might be Windows only though.

wait, make that 3. i missed one in the 5's. and it;s a good one!

https://i.imgur.com/RCzRaEi.png
52 - Deep Rock Galactic - 5 points / 1 Vote

ok, now there are 2 left

also, deep rock was totally my vote. a wonderful game to play with buds while we were all stuck at home. sadly they all started ahead of me so i had little brother vibes with them running me thru stuff/them playing their "back up roles" because they were already at the endgame... but still! great game.

https://i.imgur.com/Lrz0OzD.png
36 - Murder By Numbers - 10 points / 2 Votes

Oh I forgot I started playing Murder By Numbers, it was fun but the nonograms were too easy

xpost - it took me awhile to discover the whole second building!

im getting this game now, i had no idea it existed and danganpicross is extremely up my alley

https://i.imgur.com/U9dS9Tf.png
35 - Microsoft Flight Simulator - 10 points / 1 First-place vote / 1 Vote

curious how a 10 point getter could also get a first aplace vote?! maybe the ballot sender will explain here! there were a lot of games on that ballot!

will m, i had a weird post that i had second thoughts about, so i posted it in the wrong thread for that, and then the correct one. i just want you to know, yes it is 6pm on a wednesday and i'm obliterated

one day i would love to own a system that can play microsoft flight simulator. maybe someday microsoft will become friends with apple

hahaha wgere did you post it first? i just saw it on the other one

i always put my own ballot together without looking at the results sheet on my spreadsheet, im just not invested enough to try to shuffle things into position at least for annual ones. i've probably wanted to for console polls but never done it. however for the side polls since there's no real consensus and they're just for fun, sure i'll change my votes when someone votes for something and i'm like "oh i didn't evne think of that" (see: itchio bundle today)

oh nvm i see haha

RECAP DAY 1 - 52% COMPLETE

35 - Microsoft Flight Simulator - 10 points / 1 First-place vote / 1 Vote
36 - Murder By Numbers - 10 points / 2 Votes
37 - Paper Mario: The Origami King - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Carrion - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - The Prestige Tree - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Synergism - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Speaking Simulator - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Ordinal Markup - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Lair of the Clockwork God - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - 8800 Blue Lick Rd. Virtual Tour - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Tales from Off-Peak City, Vol. 1 - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps - 10 points / 1 Vote
47 - Spiritfarer - 8 points / 2 Votes
48 - Super Mario 3D All-Stars - 8 points / 1 Vote
49 - My Exercise - 7 points / 1 Vote
49 - Deathtrap Dungeon: The Interactive Video Adventure - 7 points / 1 Vote
51 - Marvel Puzzle Quest - 6 points / 2 Votes
52 - Haunted PS1 Demo Disc 2020 - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Evan Birnholz’s December 27, 2020 Washington Post crossword, “5×5” - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - The Impossible Bottle - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Marvel's Avengers - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Watch Dogs: Legion - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Trackmania - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Teardown - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Noita - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Half-Life: Alyx - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Frog Fractions - Hop's Iconic Cap DLC - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Cloudpunk - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Call of Duty: Warzone - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Bugsnax - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - 51 Worldwide Games - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Deep Rock Galactic - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Cyberpunk 2077 - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Genshin Impact - 5 points / 1 Vote
69 - Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - 3 points / 1 Vote
70 - Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues - 2 points / 1 Vote

20ish tomorrow and 15ish tomorrow i think!

i said tomorrow twice. and i am not even remotely obliterated oof

curious how a 10 point getter could also get a first aplace vote?! maybe the ballot sender will explain here! there were a lot of games on that ballot!

I had 20 games on my ballot with 5 points each but then I removed one and gave Flight Sim an extra 5.

It fucking rules though. Being able to fly anywhere in the world in all these perfectly rendered planes is so cool.

The way it uses map data is the coolest thing in any game I saw this year.

the rollout has been great so far, imo. i say it every year, and i'll say it again: this is the best poll on the internet

i do think it's a shame that so many so-called "gamers" are parading around ILG claiming to be "gamers" but not even voting in this poll. Hey, the best poll of the entire fucking internet is happening in your kitchen! it's right by the coffee gear, that stuff you stand around for 20 minutes a day, drinking, talking, waking up, learning about what's going on. it's right there in your Gamer house, with your Gamer TV and your Gamer Chair. and then you don't even vote. yeah, "both parties" this fucking board

cobra kai at #70 is perfect. i think we all know that Will M. is cheating and manipulating the votes, that this entire poll is a fraud. but let's just say it loud: it's BETTER this way!

If we opened at 69 it would have been too OBVIOUS
U SAW THRU MY RUSE

you mean your highRULES? i get it, it's federally illegal, still. but this is ridiculous

Also I started half an hour later than I meant to because I ms paint hacked that header image together so y'all better appreciate it. It fucking rules I laugh every time I see it now

some of us tried to whip up a frenzy around the header image

some of us did not join the frenzy, and in fact, ignored it. they didn't want a frenzy. they didn't LIKE what you had made.

let's go back to the facts:

love the cyberplick logo; lots of stuff i never heard of!

― G.A.G.S. (Gophers Against Getting Stuffed) (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, March 24, 2021 1:50 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Wednesday, March 24, 2021 1:51 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

within 1 minute i agreed. i agreed with the truth. that was four hours ago. four. hours. ago. bookmarkflaglink

Dammit I miss so many xposts when I'm just trying to get images up I'm sorry I ignored this

i'm sorry, i left out something critical there:

xpost yes i love that header logo too!!

― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Wednesday, March 24, 2021 1:51 PM (four hours ago)

xpost to whom? xpost to beloved ilxor forks. he voted. he loved the cyberplick logo. so did i, less than a minute later. then, 4 hours passed.

at LEAST 4 hours passed, this is ongoing and part of a larger problem with "gamers" on this board

I'M TRYING KARL

word by word, because everything letter was critical during that time:

yes, the affirmation,
i, the only one that knows me,
love, the only thing that matters,
that, so critical,
header logo, the "lead-off batter" of the 2020 coint and plick "line-up",
too!!, shorthand for a popular sequel

you're doing the best job Will M!

it's these so-called "gamers"...

I bet they all spell AND pronounce the subgenre "rougelike"

let me leave it here, because it's time to turn this night up to 11, but:

forks, if you don't join me now for this movement, it's never going to happen again. and we'll both have to live with this. i'm gonna hit the bathroom. just think about it and i'll be back in 10-15. can you pass me the laptop cord

has there been a rougelike game though? i admit that i'm drunk, BUT: imagine a game where you gently apply make-up, and it's really detailed and accurate? with different goals? it'd be cool!

i know that cosmo and vogue have little app simulators or whatever, but i'm talking like the gran turismo 4 of rougelikes

Why stop there... Gimme open world, every face, put make up on them, rougelike legion

I def think make-up sims should be renamed rougelikes.

I also love the header and I am deeply deeply ashamed I did not speak up earlier about its greatness. Forgive me.

I, too, think the header is very much "the bee's knees" (as a gamer would say) and hope to find a way to atone for my silence on this matter earlier.

In the spirit of videogames all are forgiven. An ""extra life"" if you will

only if they have to start back at "the campfire"

xposts

emil.y, you were eternally protected under the widely recognized "emil.y rules" mandate/celebration of 2008

methanietanner: i'm gonna be honest, i'm not so sure. i am like a very, very old dog. a VERY old dog. emil.y earned the redemption during their last playthrough. this is newgame+ for emil.y. but methanietanner, i am sorry. i am sorry. i searched. i saw. you post. i know you post. i have seen it, to the left, as well to the right. and there were good things in both directions, as well as the center, and forward and behind. and above and below. fuck! but you have never posted a new thread. i saw. i searched. and i just want you to know: i am wasted, i've had WAY too much to drink, I will drink more, i will NOT go down for the count, i'm smoking weed as well, I don't care, my dad's dying, he was a homophobic racist, and I WILL be the first person to respond to your thread if you happen to post one, and if you don't post one that's fine as well, and yes, it could be argued that I'm trying to create my own seemingly unsolvable problem of which I can be the resolver.

goddamn, that was good. do you take blueshield bluecross IL?

oomph, that was so much funnier in my head, then i read it again. sorry methanie, i like yr posts in general and did that in a dumb way. trying to be vulnerable and funny and also into videogames. covid people are supposed to just go away. booooooo! luigi's mansion 4

<3 Karl

:( i'm sorry

i just re-read everything again. i'm a fucking mess, sorry

for real, when i think about SO many different things, it somehow involves ILX/ILG. for real. sorry i'm being fucking weird - in a sense that doesn't probably make sense but more to ILG people, it's a fucking game to me. just living like this, knowing that other people are, and you can't tell the difference. they call it meatspace, but that doesn't seem right

OH FUCK, I'VE HAD PIZZA IN THE OVEN FOR LIKE AN HOUR

no joke, check this out:

https://i.imgur.com/lWLHIkt.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/prtF3e1.jpg

would u

Oh man

flagposted that pizza

you better save one for this

https://i.imgur.com/mg7A33U.jpg

and THIS

Oh god, I completely charred a pizza overnight one time. At least the terrible smell of that meant that when my parents came home they couldn't smell all the cigarettes/illicit party stench. Tbh I'd probably at least try the hour-cooked pizza.

OH BOY. Karl Malone's Overcooked Pizza Challenge for game of 2021.

https://i.imgur.com/3GkRC9b.jpg

i have like 5 open challenges/confrontations going right now, no worries!

eat it Birdie! eat it in honor of the non-gamer cowards who refused to participate in this wonderful celebration! eat it so that we can move on!!!!

Birdie does not look impressed.

i passed that on to bird, but, uh,

https://i.imgur.com/7pRrXt5.jpg

i love this poll. i love the header. i voted early. i am a gamer.

*checks...*

this seems right, good name, yes, checks out

you done fucked up, KM

I was the one who nominated The Impossible Bottle then didn't vote on it -- because I hadn't gotten very far in it.
I also nominated & voted for the crossword puzzle and the virtual tour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajhfn4E1cxo

this was all me btw

52 - Evan Birnholz’s December 27, 2020 Washington Post crossword, “5×5” - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Haunted PS1 Demo Disc 2020 - 5 points / 1 Vote
37 - The Prestige Tree - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Synergism - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Speaking Simulator - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Ordinal Markup - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Lair of the Clockwork God - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - 8800 Blue Lick Rd. Virtual Tour - 10 points / 1 Vote

In every P&C poll there's a part when I go "Oh shit that's right, I did play one current game last year", still (like NV) it'd feel weird to just go 1000 points for this one game. That game was Origami King

And also Murder by Numbers.

37 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps - 10 points / 1 Vote
52 - Genshin Impact - 5 points / 1 Vote

voted for these

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a very very good metroidvania - if you like the genre at all you absolutely need to play it. not quite a Hollow Knight-level masterpiece but still so much better than 90% of what's out there. absolutely gorgeous too

Genshin Impact is a free-to-play action RPG that I definitely spent too much time with last year. it has remarkably interesting combat for its genre, all about rapidly switching between characters to do elaborate combos with abilities on cooldowns, similar to FF7R but much better realised. the world design is the real mvp though, it's very much ripping off Breath of the Wild with its climbing + gliding mechanics and does a great job at it. exploration is a similar joy to BotW as a result, with the world being dense with things to discover

irl lols @ Karl's call-out post and the burnt pizza aftermath. I am taking the mailman's words to heart and striving to be a better poster one day at a time.

I'm actually just finishing the first Ori this week - scribbling on the back of bills to get the sub-3-hour game - delighted but not surprised to hear that the sequel's good too.

It's incredibly fluid, both in the design and the play - coming back to an early section on a second playthrough, my speed was definitely increased by familiarity, but coming back later with all the skills, you flow through it like water.

HELLO AND WELCOME TO MORE VIDEO GAMES

https://i.imgur.com/8v7G81m.png
33 - Umurangi Generation - 11 points / 1 Vote

oh nice, this was one of my votes. This is a photography game with dreamcast aesthetics and good politics that is basically a masterclass in environmental world-building.

https://i.imgur.com/OPp1E9D.png
33 - Post-Void - 11 points / 1 Vote

another one of my votes, this combines the surreal neon vomit art style of a Hotline Miami with the nails hard FPS endurance runs of a Devil Daggers quite beautifully, plus it only costs 3 bucks on steam (i got it for 2 bucks on sale).

abanana, I like your gaming style.

Not sure either of these today seem that up my street - I always like the idea of photography games but end up not getting into them, and I'm just not into FPS generally.

of course i had an unplanned work zoom the second i posted the first game of the day

im done now tho ready to kinda work but mostly do this

https://i.imgur.com/jSO59HW.png
32 - Spelunky 2 - 12 points / 1 Vote

i didn't play this but i was surprised it ranked so low given the fervor for the first one here -- but i didn't see it on the disappointment lists either, so maybe just nobody played it?

i voted for it! if you like spelunky, you will like spelunky 2, and for people who have played the first, that's probably enough. it's still fundamentally the same, but with additions. like the original, i struggle to even get through 3-4 levels. it's fucking hard.

sadly, i bought this game on the same day i purchased Hades. i played spelunky for a few hours, then proceeded to play Hades day and night for a very long time, and totally forgot about this until coint and plick

xps methanie, glad you lol'd! when i started typing that i was trying to be funny, and then looked back at it after posting and thought i may have been a little too dry with my sarcasm there - stuff gets mixed up on the internet, especially when i have a night like that. but yeah, glad it came out ok! <3

abanana your votes so far have been phenomenal

I am also surprised at only one vote for Spelunky 2, I figured it would be really popular.

Now KM has mentioned it, I wonder if Hades will top the charts? I feel like I've seen multiple ilx people talk about it (I never got it but was tempted).

https://i.imgur.com/eTZBzii.png
31 - Sludge Life - 14 points / 1 Vote

sludge life looks... amazing? i need to know more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9AVCaTob3g

OK, another one of my votes. In this one you run around doing graffiti tags all over a small but dense open world that is filled with the 90s ugly vomit look I seemingly can't get enough of with some blunt dumb satire thrown in as well. It's short enough that I played through it twice last year and it is still free on the Epic store for another two months if you want to give it a whirl.

Wow @ that trailer.

And free?? That's my favourite price!

https://i.imgur.com/laLxTkE.png
25 - Death & Taxes - 15 points / 1 Vote

Oh yeah, this was a write-in from me. Kind of a Papers, Please type game but you play a Grim Reaper. Deciding who lives and who dies has an effect on the world as a whole, and you can get a bunch of different endings. It's v cool, and I played through a lot of times.

ooh, I haven't played this one yet, but it was in the Itch.io racial justice bundle so I imagine a number of us own it already without even knowing it.

https://i.imgur.com/dkIdqw5.png
25 - Kentucky Route Zero - 15 points / 1 Vote

Another one of mine - I know it suffers from being slowly released over a number of years so it's not *strictly* a 2020 game, but it was eligible and I've been loving playing it (I've been doing a chapter every couple of weekends as my BF wanted to play it with me so I'm not done yet).

https://i.imgur.com/hRTO02t.png
25 - Magic the Gathering: Arena - 15 points / 1 Vote

i'm looking forward to a Kentucky Route Zero playthrough soon! i've been waiting for the whole thing to come out, so now's the time i suppose. how long would you reckon that each chapter takes?

https://i.imgur.com/JGTMqhw.png
25 - Trials of Mana - 15 points / 1 Vote

Oh, I think not that long if you're playing through on your own. Our pace is really glacial as we're constantly consulting on what option to choose even when it really doesn't matter that much. I think going slow kind of suits the mood of the game but if it was just me I'd totally be all "click, click, choice choice" so much faster.

xp

https://i.imgur.com/R0CQn4P.png
25 - War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius - 15 points / 1 Vote

i'll cop to being the mark who plays and enjoys this gacha nightmare. it's just a really fucking good gacha that's also basically final fantasy tactics! they just had they 1 year anniversary this week so if it sounds good to you, it'sa good time to jump in, lots of freebies. an absurd number of freebies

https://i.imgur.com/ZMcMy3V.png
23 - Wide Ocean, Big Jacket - 16 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 1 Vote

UGH i missed a 25! will post it in a few mins

This was my co-number one vote. It's a cozy, sweet, and concise game about a middle schooler going on a camping trip with her uncle and aunt and her "boyfriend." The writing is very strong and does a great job exploring the rarely explored in gaming depths of niece/uncle relationships and of chaste middle school romances. It was in the Itch.io bundle so a bunch of you already probably own it and there's also a free demo on steam that serves as a standalone prequel to the main game if you didn't get the bundle.

https://i.imgur.com/pnBRAhm.png
25 - Vain Empires - 15 points / 1 Vote

damn a lot of games I haven't heard of in this stretch

Spelunky 2 just absolutely wiped me out. I don't think I ever got to 1-3.

here's a side poll!

TOP FOURTEEN NON-2020 GAMES (OPEN-ENDED POLL)

ONE MENTION EACH so I guess all tied for second:

Among Us (editors note - lol, you shoulda put it on your ballot, year of impact!!!)
Bloodbourne
Control
Chess
Demon's Souls
Dark Souls II
Dark Souls III
Divinity: Original Sin 2
428 Shibuya Scramble
Inazuma Eleven
League of Legends
Lego City Undercover
Night In The Woods

CONSENSUS?! THREE MENTIONS!!!:

1. Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Among Us (editors note - lol, you shoulda put it on your ballot, year of impact!!!)

That was me and I did put it on my ballot :)

oh... oops.

Many xposts - I thought I might have misremembered how many points I gave Vain Empires, but glad to see it plonked back in! This was my favourite game from the 2020 IF Comp. The description is "the memoir of a demonic spy in the Cold War between Heaven and Hell", and the tone is suitably wry. The writing is great but main thing I loved was the puzzle mechanic, where you take intentions from humans and give them to others in order to change their behaviour.

I meant to try Wide Ocean... before voting but just didn't get round to it in time. It definitely sounds like my sort of game.

https://i.imgur.com/hZRjxiO.png
23 - Depanneur Nocturne - 16 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 1 Vote

Chess

Is this an entry for a computer game that happens to be called Chess or just repping for chess as a great game? I mean, it is a great game, so...

just wanted to stop by and say I always appreciate this poll (though tbh this year I recognize so little I have no clue where to start): thank you Will and the voters

if anyone is bored can someone explain the crossword and house tour?

xp ok a game about deps sounds like something I must try

Chess definitely gets in on year of impact. lol

if Chess counts, then Yahtzee should as well, and i vote for yahtzee

what was good about 51 clubhouse games? yahtzee, number one

51 clubhouse games rules. It's a great collection of basic games.

as far as i understand, yes, that voter meant chess as the best non-2020 game of 2020, as in, chess

https://i.imgur.com/UE3Qfi2.png
21 - The Longing - 20 points / 1 Vote

if anyone is bored can someone explain the crossword and house tour?

the 8800 Blue Lick Rd. house game is hosted here:

https://3d-marketing.captur3d.io/view/keller-williams-louisville-east/8800-blue-lick-rd#

it pushes the envelope of gaming in several ways. first of all, it is a game layered onto real life, or the other way around. the UI is minimal, and there are no clear goals or missions when you start. it's a solo roleplaying experience where you're both the gamerunner and also the participant. try to find the office. definitely try to find that bathtub. take a look at that bathtub, where it is. that's a quest. think about the zoning for the building, that's more of a sidequest, but it's a game along those lines. but it never tells you that - there's no tutorial, you just walk in media res and go

achievement: think about living, sleeping, and working in the same building with a dozen friends and relatives

if Chess counts, then Yahtzee should as well, and i vote for yahtzee

― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Thursday, March 25, 2021 3:33 PM (five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

damn, is zero punctuation still a thing? anyway that's a different side poll

xps
Depanneur Nocturne was my other number one vote. It's a cozy and nice game where you are tasked with going into a kooky corner store in Montreal right before closing time to buy a gift for your partner. It has a bunch of little secrets (finding the bathroom is a thrill) and it's fully bilingual. Since I wasn't really going to stores this year, it hit me in the right spot and in the spirit of the game, I have purchased gift copies for a couple of friends who have yet to play it lol.

does the bathroom have a bathtub? are there two "finding the bathtub is exciting" games in 2020?

it's on sale on Steam right now (where it has 100% positive reviews) for $2.49 through March 29th also.

I don't think there is a bathtub sadly, but that connection did cross my mind.

Hm the only stores I go to irl are dépanneurs, but I am still curious

thank you Karl, I was a little meh about this game until I found the roadmap of England on the wall, curious how that pays off

xp
zero punctuation allowed at the end of final word is my only hard rule, and i think i just started accidentally emulating lag00n's rule on that. other people have that rule too, i think. but other than that, i refuse to play by the rules. language should always evolve, it's the only way we can stay ahead of the machines

does the bathroom have a bathtub? are there two "finding the bathtub is exciting" games in 2020?

― Kompakt Total Landscaping (Will M.), Thursday, March 25, 2021 2:45 PM (two minutes ago)

there is definitely a bathtub, i didn't see it until today! it's not in a bathroom, if that helps. (there are like 4 bathrooms i think, too?)

to find, first consider your surroundings. does this seem like a place that should have a bathtub? if so, you're in the wrong place

and not only is it a bath tub, but it's one that is evidently (proved by the photo, I mean) in heavy use

oh shit, sorry everyone! i didn't catch methanietanner's post on the Depanneur Nocturne and just saw the word bathtub and assumed it was 8800 Blue Lick Rd related

Hey if this is welcome i can maybe do it for all the winners sooner or later, lemme know.

52 - Cyberpunk 2077
Genre: RPG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk_2077
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXLohSvTKpg
$60 - Xbone
https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/cyberpunk-2077
$48 (on sale) - Steam
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1091500/Cyberpunk_2077/
$46 - PS4 via Amazaon
https://www.amazon.com/Cyberpunk-2077-PlayStation-4/dp/B07DJWBYKP

52 - Genshin Impact
Genre: MMORPG, Free to Play
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genshin_Impact
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JliVeSsajO0
FREE - PS4
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP6262-CUSA23681_00-OSRELSIEAGENSHIN
FREE - iOS
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/genshin-impact/id1517783697
FREE - PC
https://genshin.mihoyo.com/en
Coming to Switch Soon

69 - Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
Genre: Adventure
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyrule_Warriors:_Age_of_Calamity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqL7iN20duI
$60 - Switch
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/hyrule-warriors-age-of-calamity-switch/

70 - Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues
Genre: Fighting Game
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobra_Kai:_The_Karate_Kid_Saga_Continues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyX4sUzTmYY
$10 (on sale) - Steam
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1279920/Cobra_Kai_The_Karate_Kid_Saga_Continues
$40 - Switch
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/cobra-kai-the-karate-kid-saga-continues-switch
$40 - PS4
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0283-CUSA18956_00-COBRAKAISTRIKE00

oh god this is a lot to take in while I'm still in 8800 Lick Rd

https://i.imgur.com/kkYOG0f.png
21 - Disco Elysium - 20 points / 1 Vote

(ported to mac in 2020 iirc, vote explicitly noted that lol)

oh nice thanks forks! yeah that is helpful - idk what people want from the results, i usually am just looking for the results and pretty pictures myself

i'm mostly looking for a shopping list and some expert guidance tbh

will put this in the mental hopper

https://i.imgur.com/dGR16iK.png
20 - Streets of Rage 4 - 20 points / 2 Votes

this is a side question but how is genshin impact free? my kids play it constantly and i can't tell what the company is getting out of accessing my consoles for free

i guess it's like a "free" app where you can pay for upgrades. i already knew that, duh. i let my kid spend $5 of their own allowance on some upgrade they wanted.

xp
guessing it has microtransactions based off this from wikipedia.

Genshin Impact had grossed over $393 million within two months after release and over $1 billion by the end March 2021, the third highest revenue from a mobile game during that time frame after Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile, making it one of the highest grossing mobile games of all time and the fastest game to reach that milestone on Google Play and the App Store

dang must be nice to make money

https://i.imgur.com/veHwP3E.png
19 - Ghost of Tsushima - 20 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 1 Vote

xp to NA: it's a gacha game, apparently plays fine for free from what i've heard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gacha_game

https://i.imgur.com/dB1qbGp.png
18 - Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - 24 points / 1 Vote

found the blue lick bathtub and i feel accomplished today. also found the cat and the man cave, i'd say i'm getting the hang of this

yes, the cat was the last unlockable character I discovered in 8800 Blue Lick Road, definitely a highlight.

can i ask a really dumb question about 8800 blue lick

is it... is it real? i never looked into this and all of the post here either ironically or unironically treating it like a game is making me wonder if it was actually a constructed thing

xp did you see all the different kinds of product in there? that bath tub is one of the main cleaning areas

"is it real" is not a well-constructed question, let me try again

- was the place actually lived in and arranged like that?
- was it actually for sale?
- was it posted online like that as a place that people actually intended to sell?

YOU KNOW WHAT IM TRYING TO ASK UGH I CANT MAKE SENSE TODAY

i'm pretty sure it's real, i saw a few relatively reasonable journalistic-y things about it

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/this-odd-kentucky-home-s-3d-virtual-tour-turned-into-an-online-game-to-find-the-bathtub-1.5166137

Another man said he’d failed in locating the bathtub, but he did manage to find multiple boxes filled with CDs of Stone Temple Pilot’s Scott Weiland’s solo album.

Some discoveries in the home were of a more unsettling nature, with one person questioning whether there was blood in a solo cup beside the much-sought-after tub and why one box was labelled with the text “Perfect skin (body)."

Other notable finds captured in the virtual walkthrough included a fat cat resting on some boxes, DVDs of the show “Gilmore Girls,” and cases of Monster energy drinks.

cases of Monster energy drinks.

callback to death stranding!

https://i.imgur.com/3AvJKq2.png
17 - Blaseball - 24 points / 3 Votes

speaking of weird internet things that people acted like was real and confused a lot of people this year and stretches the definition of "a" "game" "you" "can" "play": ladies and gentlemen, blaseball

i type that as one of its voters

i played several levels of streets of rage 4, couch co-op with a friend. it was pretty much exactly what you expect, an update on the old streets of rage formula. it's fun! but they didn't actually do anything innovative or take any risks, so i don't think it would make my top 50 if i ever played that many games in a year

A bit late but coming back to one of my placements - I mentioned playing The Longing before, but I really want to recommend it. It's a very very slow game of wandering round underground halls for 400 real-time days, and it is beautiful. There are ways of speeding up the timer and you can definitely finish it before 400 days are up, but it's still a slowwwwww riiiiiiide.

i played blaseball for a few weeks! i had a hard time mustering up the energy to get excited about another fake thing (got my hands full with the rest of my life), so i didn't really do any of the community stuff. apparently that's where the real game is

xxp
yeah, I had a great time playing SOR4 with a couple college buddies online but never returned to it on my own and it didn't do much of anything notably better than the originals so I didn't vote for it.

xp re: blaseball
idk if i would even call the community a big part of the "real game" as it were -- it was certainly an art/lore/meme factory, and it was fun to cheer for nonsense names in a chatroom explicitly made to cheer for nonsense names -- but really the "real game" to me was the slow release of the horror physics/reality of the universe they created. biggest miss i've seen is the lack of people just, like, screencapping end-of-week drops (i did manage to find one when a team killed god, which is in the blaseball thread i think).

it has since come back for its second version, but i didn't get back on board like i did the first time around. it WAS easier when people i knew IRL were following and could catch me up on things i missed!

https://i.imgur.com/tMsS4J1.png
16 - Two Point Hospital - 28 points / 2 Votes

AND THAT'S THE LAST ONE FOR TODAY!!

top 15 tomorrow! exciting!!! and here's another sidepoll!!!

TOP 5 DISAPPOINTMENTS (OPEN-ENDED POLL)

T3. Trying to buy a next-gen system in a pandemic
T3. I had opportunity to play games and was too damaged to take advantage. There was time!
T3. Switch joycons
2. Cyberpunk 2020 (2 votes, 2nd/3rd)
1. Deadly Premonition 2 (2 votes, 1st/2nd)

RECAP DAY 2 - 79% COMPLETE

16 - Two Point Hospital - 28 points / 2 Votes
17 - Blaseball - 24 points / 3 Votes
18 - Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - 24 points / 1 Vote
19 - Ghost of Tsushima - 20 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 1 Vote
20 - Streets of Rage 4 - 20 points / 2 Votes
21 - Disco Elysium - 20 points / 1 Vote
21 - The Longing - 20 points / 1 Vote
23 - Depanneur Nocturne - 16 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 1 Vote
23 - Wide Ocean, Big Jacket - 16 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 1 Vote
25 - War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius - 15 points / 1 Vote
25 - Trials of Mana - 15 points / 1 Vote
25 - Magic the Gathering: Arena - 15 points / 1 Vote
25 - Kentucky Route Zero - 15 points / 1 Vote
25 - Vain Empires - 15 points / 1 Vote
25 - Death & Taxes - 15 points / 1 Vote
31 - Sludge Life - 14 points / 1 Vote
32 - Spelunky 2 - 12 points / 1 Vote
33 - Post-Void - 11 points / 1 Vote
33 - Umurangi Generation - 11 points / 1 Vote
35 - Microsoft Flight Simulator - 10 points / 1 First-place vote / 1 Vote
36 - Murder By Numbers - 10 points / 2 Votes
37 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Tales from Off-Peak City, Vol. 1 - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - 8800 Blue Lick Rd. Virtual Tour - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Lair of the Clockwork God - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Ordinal Markup - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Speaking Simulator - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Synergism - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - The Prestige Tree - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Carrion - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Paper Mario: The Origami King - 10 points / 1 Vote
47 - Spiritfarer - 8 points / 2 Votes
48 - Super Mario 3D All-Stars - 8 points / 1 Vote
49 - Deathtrap Dungeon: The Interactive Video Adventure - 7 points / 1 Vote
49 - My Exercise - 7 points / 1 Vote
51 - Marvel Puzzle Quest - 6 points / 2 Votes
52 - Genshin Impact - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Cyberpunk 2077 - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Deep Rock Galactic - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - 51 Worldwide Games - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Bugsnax - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Call of Duty: Warzone - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Cloudpunk - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Frog Fractions - Hop's Iconic Cap DLC - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Half-Life: Alyx - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Noita - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Teardown - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Trackmania - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Watch Dogs: Legion - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Marvel's Avengers - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - The Impossible Bottle - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Evan Birnholz’s December 27, 2020 Washington Post crossword, “5×5” - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Haunted PS1 Demo Disc 2020 - 5 points / 1 Vote
69 - Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - 3 points / 1 Vote
70 - Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues - 2 points / 1 Vote

I didn't think to cast a vote for biggest disappointment but I guess mine would be "not having a good enough mac to play Disco Elysium on and having to wait until 2021 for the Playstation version".

so far, i've voted for Spelunky 2, blaseball, Two Point Hospital, Streets of Rage 4, Hyrule Warriors, and Spiritfarer

emil.y, is your mac over a decade old? The Disco Elysium devs released an update that actually lowered the system requirements substantially in May of last year. https://www.pcgamer.com/disco-elysium-will-now-run-on-very-low-spec-machines/

my only ones so far are blaseball, war of the visions, cyberpunk, and deep rock galactic apparently. did i misrepresent myself as voting for something else? i feel like i did lol. plenty of things were on my shortlist and got cut at the end

I thought about getting Two Point Hospital but honestly the main thing that puts me off is that if it's a management sim I'm assuming that it works on the principle that certain hospital functions make profit, and I'm morally opposed to that view of healthcare.

xp to methanie, I think my issue was more that I just didn't have the storage space free on my computer, and the fear that even though it would theoretically work if I could free up the space then it might still be laggy and not a brilliant experience. So I guess the waiting is partly my own choice, but I think it's the right choice, even if I am itchy to play.

I feel like this has been a weirder poll than usual? Which is a very good thing, of course!

I'm not sure what's going to be top other than Hades

hades better win. i paid good money to at least one other first place voter for it. but i'd guess that animal crossing might be up there too?

and i agree, the weird results have been great!

i do enjoy the idea of some exec at CD Projekt googling for game of the year lists, finding this, and reporting back that Cyberpunk 2077 had unfortunately finished just behind Marvel Puzzle Quest for 2020 game of the year

I thought about getting Two Point Hospital but honestly the main thing that puts me off is that if it's a management sim I'm assuming that it works on the principle that certain hospital functions make profit, and I'm morally opposed to that view of healthcare.

Your assumption is pretty spot on. There is in fact a public hospital level that can be read as a critique against socialized health care, too, which is also happens to be rage-quit inducing.

although to be in even at the same tier as MPQ is quite an honor, one of them might say, after a while had passed

xp a lot of simulation genres have similar issues. civilization, sim city - the rules they choose to use are always a comment on what they're simulating

this speaking simulator game is great

I always quite enjoyed the angry man who yelled at you for raising taxes in Sim City. FUCK YOU I'M MAKING THIS TOWN COMMUNIST.

aahhh I thought disco elysium was a 2019 game?! I would've given it 20 points if I'd known it counted for 2020 (I had points going spare...)

i think it was 2019 on pc and 2020 on mac. i played it for the first time, on a mac, in 2020, and loved it. but i ended up leaving it off because i didn't want it to fall into Marvel Puzzle Quest tier (:D - sorry, i gotta get my MPQ gags in like twice a day during coint and plick)

i think if every ilxor who actually played a video game last year had voted animal crossing would win, but obv that wasn't the case

I will own up to a couple of these. Watch Dogs was mine, I felt I owed it a handful of points for trying something different with its 'you can play as anyone' thing, even though the execution didn't end up being very compelling. There are a few pretty unsettling story quests that will stick with me for a while, like the idea of the Oval cricket ground being turned into an internment camp. On that, being able to interact with a condensed and reimagined version of your own city is an interesting novelty. The Watch Dogs version of Battersea Power Station's redevelopment is probably better/less shit than it'll end up being in real life.

Ghost of Tsushima was also mine. I know a lot of people found it repetitive, but I'm so bad at combat systems that I needed the repetition to actually learn to use the sword half decently. And I really appreciated the side quests that built up stories for the main character's friends throughout the island, which was a nice way of a) encouraging map exploration (there is some really beautiful scenery to find) and b) making a deeper connection to the wider cast. This was one of those games that felt really bittersweet to finish, like, I felt good sense of accomplishment by the end, but sadness for leaving behind characters I'd become really invested in.

xpost oh right okay we played Disco Elysium on PC so I guuueesssss it would be cheating to have added it to my ballot. We played it at the start of 2020 and its ~chilly doom vibes~ were perfect for winter gaming. It was an odd feeling having finished the game just before the pandemic really became A Thing, like the game's weird apocalyptic atmosphere seeping into real life

Yeah, Will's directions (somewhere) explain that games that you're really only supposed to vote for games on the platform you played it on, and that if it were released on a different platform in a different year, you can't vote for it again. /rules lawyer

just bought kentucky route zero :)

i've had a very bad time, recently. my partner doesn't like very many games but i'm hoping they will be into this with me for a bit

it's definitely a game that doesn't lose anything by being watched instead of played

it's the great american visual novel

i was holding out for Death Stranding making an appearance, forgetting that it was 2019

to be clear, it's a cool game. i've been going through it very slowly bc i have to be in a specific mood for it.

sorry for delay! back within an hour!

ill jjst start posting during tis call and hopefully not get caught not paying attention

https://i.imgur.com/dj8W6n0.png
14 - A Monster's Expedition - 30 points / 2 Votes

a monster's expedition?!?!

just wanted to stir up the pot a little; i haven't heard of this game. is it closer to startropics or animal crossing?

this looks like a less maddening version of stephen's sausage roll, which is something I could get into cause that game broke me pretty early on even though I enjoyed it.

https://i.imgur.com/OhCil4x.png
14 - 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - 30 points / 2 Votes

I spot an infuriating placement. Do I get a prize?

hahaha bingo!

https://i.imgur.com/YkjnLwo.png
13 - Among Us - 30 points / 4 Votes

Seems sus

still need to play 13 sentinels but everyone i know who has has only superlatives for it

lol i've often thought about playing the Aegis games

but still so many Ateliers i haven't gotten to

sorry this call is lmost over

https://i.imgur.com/jPL0xkh.png
12 - AI Dungeon - 30 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 1 Vote

lmao I didn't realize votes were still allowed for MPQ, I would have voted

haven't played this, but it looks like it can be played in browser so I'll drop the link https://play.aidungeon.io/main/landing

ok i am finally 100% here good lord that took a while

so yeah among us, glad to see it rank high... a simple and goofy game but it reallllly made for some fun twitch-watching as well as a very good time with pals as we all kinda got good at it at an equal rate. never really felt like it was about winning or losing so much as it was about laughing at people's inability to lie. we've all played the kinda mafia werewolf things before but this one was just snappy and complex enough that it was endlessly entertaining. i'd probably still be playing it all of the time if my buds were still playing it. i've played on some pub games because i am a sicko and they are never good!

also, how about the fuckin ai dungeon screenshot eh

https://i.imgur.com/EZiQ1Nv.png
11 - Tony Hawk: Pro Skater 1+2 Remastered - 33 points / 3 Votes

if i didn't have 6 games on the go right now and/or this game was on sale for $20 i'd grab it immediately, i'd love to get in there and fuck around with a tony hawk remaster. just too many games!!

also, how about the fuckin ai dungeon screenshot eh

Indeed! How about when this is done we really annoy imago and start a 'Games About Farting' thread?

Sludge Life has a dedicated fart button, I forgot to mention this yesterday.

tony hawk is so fun

Yeah I really need to get that Tony Hawk, spent so many hours with those on the original PS - especially 2.

i played a lot of tony hawk 3 and underground, and the mechanics came back to me so quickly

https://i.imgur.com/YevpE8z.png
10 - Mortal Shell - 34 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 2 Votes

was shocked when this placed number 10 because despite how much i like to think i have heard of a lot of video games... i had never heard of this video game. seems like the kind of things my souls-liking friends would talk about a bunch!

(im assuming it's that kinda game)

haha, i gave it the other 4 points. i assume forks was the #1!

I need to spend more time with it. I kind of hit a point where I was a little stuck, and then i took a nap and drifted off into the gates of hell, at which point i was forced to abandon all hope

When I played Among Us, it was all right, but if you find the right stream, it can be gripping and hysterical. Case in point, pretty much all of Outside Xtra's Among Us streams are worth watching, but I think this is the one with the most "UH WUT" play of all time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mFFmZUVQNA

https://i.imgur.com/E27Cm9n.png
9 - There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension - 35 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 3 Votes

sorry this is taking me so long haha extremely having to work today has made this tricky! but im done so lets finish this eh

I've been meaning to play the free gamejam version of this on steam.

https://i.imgur.com/0U1pO3X.png
8 - Crusader Kings III - 40 points / 3 Votes

i sure did vote for this, what a good time. i never had the energy to get into any of these, but a combination of it being free on XGP and being extremely (relatively) accessible (for these games) meant i ended up playing in it for ages. i barely even cared about the conquest! i was in it for the ~FAMILY DRAMA~

https://i.imgur.com/SBc1DC2.png
7 - Paradise Killer - 43 points / 1 First-place vote / 3 Votes

I voted for this, but only gave it a few points because I haven't gotten super far in the story yet, but what I have played I've liked a lot.

https://i.imgur.com/99g4Rgo.png
6 - Final Fantasy VII Remake - 45 points / 4 Votes

there's the third one from my secret list from day 1!

https://i.imgur.com/e6ZADgs.png
5 - Yakuza Like a Dragon - 50 points / 2 First-place votes / 3 Votes

lol did i lose everyone on account of taking so long

WELL, we're almost at the end, which means it's time for the last side poll of the thread...

TOP 10 GAME-RELATED CONTENT (OPEN-ENDED POLL)

Some of these we've already seen of Forks's excellent year-end tv/streaming poll but many of them we did not! Since this is the games poll we get lots more games content! Twitch streamers! Podcasts! Other YouTube channels!

Some solo first-, second- and third-place votes tied at 8th, 5th and 3rd respectively, but three voters each (in the same configuration as well -- two firsts and a second each) gave us two consensus winners. And, at least in 2020, they included the same person! wow! congrats to tim.

T8. Vektroid - link
T8. Playstation Accesslink
T8. Jacob Geller - link
T5. Gary - link
T5. Matt McMuscles's "What Happened?" series - link
T5. Outsidexbox / Outside Xtra - link
T3. Videogamedunkey - link
T3. Wario64 - link
T1. Action Button - link
T1. Insert Credit Podcast - link

xp

my #1 (out of the 3 2020 games i'd played when i voted)

honestly a bit disappointing, yakuza revealing its true form as a turn based RPG sounded great to my ears, especially since i'd played DQ XI in late 2019/early 2020 and it became probably my all-time favourite jrpg, but the combat in Y7 never felt as good as DQXI and the ui issues were aggravating

still, it's a yakuza game, i enjoyed it despite not living up to my expectations but i've already put serious time into about 5 of those and if i was submitting my ballot today the top spot would have gone to 13 sentinels instead, which i began playing in the meantime

xp to the media... Plenty of honourable mentions for me in this category that i couldn't include in my top 3:

- Hbomberguy had only one 2020 video game video, but it's real good and about New Vegas!
- AOC playing Among Us with Hasan, Contra, Ilhan Omar, Jagmeet Singh, The Serfs, XQC, Hbomb and others was a distinctly surreal experience
- Limmy's Twitch, or if you live in the exact opposite sleep schedule like I do, the highlights on his YouTube
- Speaking of, plenty of comedians ended up moving to Twitch to play games. Some of these are pretty good! I've enjoyed watching john hastings (nb: irl friend).
- after the AOC thing I checked out xQc, and while it's not always for me, him trying to speedrun Who Want To Be A Millionaire while knowing very little of anything about anything had me scream-laughing by myself in my house
- speaking of blaseball, fans of the Seattle Garages made an album and it's... pretty good!
- fumble dimension from Kofie and Jon Bois is an utter delight

name some others gamefreaks!

it was also my #1 (yakuza)! although i hit a wall real hard and haven't returned yet, i should do that soon. i was so excited, and spoilers start now, when i got to majima... but then he stomped me multiple times and i realized i had to actually grind and i just haven't gotten around to it. if anyone is gonna kick my ass though, it should be him...

same here, and i agree the storytelling nailed it by making that fight such a difficulty spike

reaching top floor at yapi's (sp?) arena is enough, worked for me but even so not at the first attempt, i finally was forced to put a bit of thought into the combat vs playing on auto-pilot like i had until then. the boss run for that section is such a PITA too

There Is No Game is really funny and full of surprises. I'd recommend it as a group activity on Zoom or etc.

I was surprised by how funny Crusader Kings 3 was to me. The interfamily squabbles and scenarios that develop are great. It's a storytelling machine.

Paradise Killer was my number one at the max points available. It's set in a hellish dayglo cult society, who kidnap, enslave and sacrifice humans to eldritch gods, and you're a detective who has to solve the murder of your occult council. The detective game is fairly simple, you interview people and find clues and bring them all together in a trial (the in-game tracker is very good in a way I'd not seen in a detective game before, so plus points for that). The world is massive and immensely fun to explore while collecting blood crystals for optional extras, and chatting with the weird demon who keeps popping up is A+++ fun.

In terms of games I didn't vote for, I very much enjoyed the original There Is No Game and may well pick up last year's one at some point.

Also, you totally get to boff a couple of characters if you want to, hehehe

https://i.imgur.com/8RkbiNI.png
4 - Fall Guys - 58 points / 6 Votes

I probably should have put Fall Guys at #1 since it's the 2020 game I played the most.

I'd actually compare it to Trackmania or Astrobot's time trials, where you could see new strategies develop in real time if you played it day to day.

i threw 20 points to Crusader Kings 3. it rules - if you're familiar at all with paradox, just jump in

I probably should have put Fall Guys at #1 since it's the 2020 game I played the most.

this might be true for me too! and yet i didn't vote for it. that's how much i hated the grab mechanic. my record in games that just involve jumping, timing, and dexterity: undefeated. my record in the games that involved any sort of grab mechanic: 0 for one billion. fuck that fucking grab thing

https://i.imgur.com/J8vQQeF.png
3 - The Last of Us Part II - 60 points / 2 First-place votes / 2 Votes

we're so close to the end!

tap triangle to climb a ladder.

NO

still working on the first one!

i dunno if i'll ever get around to this one, i crashed out hard on the first game... who knows, maybe someday. it took me years to finally get to uncharted.

two people sure did like it! talk about a weird year. third place has two votes, each 30 points.

OK HERE YOU GO

YOUR ABSOLUTELY

REAL

TOP

2

GAMES

OF

2020

...

heh heh heh

https://i.imgur.com/Zilji4I.png
2 - Obligatory Quarantine Joke - 77 points / 6 First-place votes / 6 Votes

https://i.imgur.com/0dQX4IV.png
1 - Second Quarantine Joke - 177 points / 9 First-place votes / 9 Votes

omg wow did april fools come early on march 26 or something! i feel bamboozled that totally got me

haha just kidding it didn't get me. i made the joke! i didn't trick myself. i bamboozled you AGAIN.

LETS DO THIS FOR ACTUAL

https://i.imgur.com/1N3eslR.png
2 - Animal Crossing: New Horizons - 109 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 6 Votes

https://i.imgur.com/9dqSYEI.png
1 - Hades - 168 points / 4.5 First-place votes / 7 Votes

FLAWLESS VICTORY

Thanks to everyone who voted and kept me company during this accidentally very long rollout!!!

DAY 3 RECAP - 100% COMPLETE

1 - Hades - 168 points / 4.5 First-place votes / 7 Votes
2 - Animal Crossing: New Horizons - 109 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 6 Votes
3 - The Last of Us Part II - 60 points / 2 First-place votes / 2 Votes
4 - Fall Guys - 58 points / 6 Votes
5 - Yakuza Like a Dragon - 50 points / 2 First-place votes / 3 Votes
6 - Final Fantasy VII Remake - 45 points / 4 Votes
7 - Paradise Killer - 43 points / 1 First-place vote / 3 Votes
8 - Crusader Kings III - 40 points / 3 Votes
9 - There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension - 35 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 3 Votes
10 - Mortal Shell - 34 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 2 Votes
11 - Tony Hawk: Pro Skater 1+2 Remastered - 33 points / 3 Votes
12 - AI Dungeon - 30 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 1 Vote
13 - Among Us - 30 points / 4 Votes
14 - 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - 30 points / 2 Votes
14 - A Monster's Expedition - 30 points / 2 Votes
16 - Two Point Hospital - 28 points / 2 Votes
17 - Blaseball - 24 points / 3 Votes
18 - Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - 24 points / 1 Vote
19 - Ghost of Tsushima - 20 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 1 Vote
20 - Streets of Rage 4 - 20 points / 2 Votes
21 - Disco Elysium - 20 points / 1 Vote
21 - The Longing - 20 points / 1 Vote
23 - Depanneur Nocturne - 16 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 1 Vote
23 - Wide Ocean, Big Jacket - 16 points / 0.5 First-place votes / 1 Vote
25 - War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius - 15 points / 1 Vote
25 - Trials of Mana - 15 points / 1 Vote
25 - Magic the Gathering: Arena - 15 points / 1 Vote
25 - Kentucky Route Zero - 15 points / 1 Vote
25 - Vain Empires - 15 points / 1 Vote
25 - Death & Taxes - 15 points / 1 Vote
31 - Sludge Life - 14 points / 1 Vote
32 - Spelunky 2 - 12 points / 1 Vote
33 - Post-Void - 11 points / 1 Vote
33 - Umurangi Generation - 11 points / 1 Vote
35 - Microsoft Flight Simulator - 10 points / 1 First-place vote / 1 Vote
36 - Murder By Numbers - 10 points / 2 Votes
37 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Tales from Off-Peak City, Vol. 1 - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - 8800 Blue Lick Rd. Virtual Tour - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Lair of the Clockwork God - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Ordinal Markup - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Speaking Simulator - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Synergism - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - The Prestige Tree - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Carrion - 10 points / 1 Vote
37 - Paper Mario: The Origami King - 10 points / 1 Vote
47 - Spiritfarer - 8 points / 2 Votes
48 - Super Mario 3D All-Stars - 8 points / 1 Vote
49 - Deathtrap Dungeon: The Interactive Video Adventure - 7 points / 1 Vote
49 - My Exercise - 7 points / 1 Vote
51 - Marvel Puzzle Quest - 6 points / 2 Votes
52 - Genshin Impact - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Cyberpunk 2077 - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Deep Rock Galactic - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - 51 Worldwide Games - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Bugsnax - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Call of Duty: Warzone - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Cloudpunk - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Frog Fractions - Hop's Iconic Cap DLC - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Half-Life: Alyx - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Noita - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Teardown - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Trackmania - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Watch Dogs: Legion - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Marvel's Avengers - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - The Impossible Bottle - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Evan Birnholz’s December 27, 2020 Washington Post crossword, “5×5” - 5 points / 1 Vote
52 - Haunted PS1 Demo Disc 2020 - 5 points / 1 Vote
69 - Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - 3 points / 1 Vote
70 - Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues - 2 points / 1 Vote

for everyone wonder if animal crossing or hades was gonna win... it wasnt even close lol

is Hades the greatest game of all time?!

Wow, no Doom Eternal?

Called it. I almost gave a couple of points to Last Of Us 2 in a "watched my BF play it and enjoyed doing so" style, but thought I had enough that I'd played myself to leave it.

Thanks, Will! A great rollout as usual.

Also, I appreciate that your joke placements were actually jokes rather than very confusing feasible placements. Thank you!

is Hades the greatest game of all time?!

― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Friday, March 26, 2021 7:21 PM (five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

it is according to this certainly the greatest game of *a* time. that time is 2020. a bad time to be sure. but apparently a good game!

i got it at the same time as another game (actually i just looked it up, i got a buuuunch of games around then) so it kinda fell to the wayside. never got anywhere in it. once i clear some of the stuff off of my current list i'll have to jump back in!

Also, I appreciate that your joke placements were actually jokes rather than very confusing feasible placements. Thank you!

― emil.y, Friday, March 26, 2021 7:25 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

that's my style! no confusion! just dumb goofs!

that sure didn't stop me from being trolled by that cyberpunk placement, guess that means i'm a fake gamer

thnaks for the organising this, great work as usual!

thanks even

Fall Guys easily the game that made me the angriest of last year, it was my #3 I think?

FFS I SHD'VE MADE MY P5 ROYAL BALLOT YOU MONSTERS

Is P5 Royal massively different from the previous iteration? I mean, not that I stick strictly to first release dates either, more just wondering if there was anything hugely 2020 about it.

(I don't think I expressed myself well there. I know Royal was a 2020 release but I'm just wondering how much new content there actually was.)

i've only put a couple of (working) weeks in yet so i'm about a fifth in but yes it's definitely different enough, not sure in totally good ways always but fuck it it's Persona they stole my heart

Lots of interesting stuff on this list, I haven't heard of at least 50% of it. Good work will!

A little sad that we got stuff in the Top 10 with only 2 votes, but that's how this year went, I suppose. Let's try harder for 2021!

Though not totally unexpected, still surprised Hades beat Animal Crossing!

I voted TLOU2 for GOTY. I'm fairly sure it's going to be one of those games that sticks with me a long time. Also glad to see others saw Fire Emblem: Three Houses in the same light I did.

Who voted for Trials of Mana? Considering getting that on the cheap.

I did, it's a neat action rpg where you pick a party of 3 out of 6 selectable characters with their own interlocking storylines, the first one you pick being your main character and each party member can be leveled across 6 (?) different classes

it's relativley short, it took me about 30 hours for one playthrough and i usually take 2 to 3x longer than the consensus average. yakuza 7 was like 90 and i didn't even do all the side stuff nor the secret dungeon

the music is excellent, the english VA is charmingly weird in a 32 bit era way and online people making fun of it was what tipped me over to giving it a try

i played it on switch because i had just got one at the time but i regret it, i think the other versions are 60fps. still a fine port, nothing that ruined my enjoyment or anything

Nice job Will!

Yeah, thanks for this!

re: Yakuza,

i hit a wall real hard and haven't returned yet

Yeah we walled in Chapter 9 at one of the major boss fights and I don't have the patience to grind or replay the fight over and over so that might be it for me and this game. I think we just weren't levelled up enough, even with me insisting on doing as many side quests as possible.

I still gave it points because I love how bonkers these games are, but I think I prefer the non-RPG Yakuza system, and I didn't find Yokohama to be a super compelling as a setting - possibly just suffers from being a bit too spread out.

I voted TLOU2 for GOTY. I'm fairly sure it's going to be one of those games that sticks with me a long time. Also glad to see others saw Fire Emblem: Three Houses in the same light I did.

Twins!

I didn't find Yokohama to be a super compelling as a setting - possibly just suffers from being a bit too spread out.

otm, the city's way too big compared to how dense kamurocho and sotenbori are. so much pointless running around, i've used the taxi more times in 7 than in all the other yakuzas put together

i'd actually prefer the turn based fights if the ui wasn't a mess and animations were skippable or at least snappier

similar complaint applies to FE:3H monastery sections but at least the combat system's well implemented in that one

man i know everyone loves hades but i'm so hesitant to try it bc i suck at twitchy action and i don't like feeling stressed

It definitely has a cool way of taking the sting out of losing. It's fun to go back to the start and talk to all the npcs again and get your new powers.