2020: The Year We'd Rather Forget
Most of us probably don’t have great memories of 2020, for… reasons, but it was still an exciting year to be in video games. While Sony and Microsoft were releasing their next-gen consoles, Nintendo continued to chug away with the excellent additions of Hades, the Xenoblade Chronicles remaster, Spiritfarer, and a new Paper Mario game.
But let’s be honest: 2020 belonged to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which ended up accidentally defining those first few weeks of the pandemic thanks to a serendipitous release date. Will it be part of our five picks, though?
Ollie
This game is already dead and buried, but I DON’T CARE. It’s got to be Super Mario 3D All Stars, mainly for the criminally underrated Super Mario Sunshine. I still maintain that it’s my favourite out of the 3D Mario games, although I absolutely acknowledge that nostalgia might be playing a big part here.
Obviously, Super Mario Galaxy is as wonderful as it’s always been, and although Super Mario 64 can be accessed via Nintendo Switch Online now, this is nevertheless a collection that fans of Mario games deserve to play… even though you can’t anymore. Shame.
Alana
I trust everyone to pick the game I put the most amount of time into in 2020, but there’s one other game that helped keep me sane during the pandemic; Hades.
Supergiant Games have improved with every single game, and Hades is an example of getting every single facet of a roguelike just right. It’s accessible and adjustable, difficult yet addictive, and it sucks you in with it’s wonderful writing and beautiful artstyle. Hades is one of the only games I can think of where I don’t dislike a single thing about it, and it taught me that dying and failing over and over again is okay. It got me into a genre I’d previously been terrified to try out, and now I can’t stop picking up roguelikes.
(Kate - I love that we're all dancing around That One Game.)
Gav
I thought about Streets of Rage 4, as similar to Sonic Mania it was a brilliant example of a revival done right.
However, it would be disingenuous of me not to go with Animal Crossing. As it did for millions of us, it absolutely helped me get through a lockdown or two (or three? I don’t remember at this point!) and kept me sane with its lowkey, slow-life way of doing things. Not much else to say that hasn’t been said, really. A good video game, it is.
(Ollie - Yeah, again this one is a game that simply can’t be excluded purely for the impact it had during such difficult times. A good pick, indeed!)
Tom
Well done Gavin, you did what needed to be done and, fear not! I will save Streets of Rage 4.
As someone who was obsessed with Streets of Rage 2 back in the days when TVs weighed more than a baby elephant, it was lovely to experience a new series entry that was so accomplished and fun. I love playing through it solo and in co-op with my brother just like in the old days. It’s just marvellous.
Kate
I shall be saving the utterly charming A Short Hike from the bin, because it’s one of those games that’s just so naturally at home on the Switch, even though it's on other platforms.
I thought about saving Paper Mario: The Origami King, and I probably should (because it’s only out on the Switch!), but I think A Short Hike wins because of its sheer joy-to-minute ratio. The Origami King had its moments, but they were in-between that bloody annoying battle system; A Short Hike was just lovely to play through with how freeing and pretty it was. I am sorry. (I am not sorry.)
Important 2020 games that are now in the bin:
Paper Mario: The Origami King, Paradise Killer, Xenoblade Chronicles: DE, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Clubhouse Games, Ikenfell, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, Spiritfarer, Part Time UFO, Among Us
Thoughts: 2020 was a weird year. A little quiet for obvious reasons, but then at the same time, really busy. It was 2020 that brought us that whole Among Us/Fall Guys craze, remember that? Sadly, neither of them made it into our picks – the latter because it’s STILL not out on Switch – and instead we have all defaulted to the games that gave us the Warm And Fuzzies during the whole “unprecedented times” thing.
Comments 55
I can’t believe you left Smash Ultimate behind. At least you saved Dread though.
For me personally:
2017- Breath Of The Wild
2018- Super Smash Bros Ultimate
2019- Fire Emblem Three Houses
2020- Super Mario 3D All Stars (First time I played Galaxy)
2021- Metroid Dread
Honourable mentions are Super Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition and Dragon Quest XI
No Smash, no Odyssey, no Rocket League or Fortnite, no Skyrim or Witcher. All things considered this is still a pretty damn good list.
HEY! Where is fighting games, huh!? Where is BLAZBLUE CENTRALFICTION Special Edition, UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH Exe:Late[cl-r], BLAZBLUE CROSS TAG BATTLE, CHAOS CODE -NEW SIGN OF CATASTROPHE-, GUILTY GEAR XX ΛCORE PLUS R, and Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection? Where is Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, Crypt of the NecroDancer and Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n Fun? Oh, and where is Scott Pilgrim vs. The World The Game – Complete Edition!?
I think we can officially say that squid games style, while a fun concept, is not a super great way to make a top games list.
For me it goes like this:
2017: XC2
2018: Torna
2019: DQ11
2020: XC1 DE
2021: Monster Hunter Rise
Honorable mentions: Smash Ult, SMT V, Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8dx
@RBRTMNZ luckily, we already have a top games list! This was just for fun
@moodycat ✨ opinions ✨
For me it would be
2017: Super Mario Odyssey
2018: Kirby Star Allies (only because I realized I haven't played many 2018 games and I wouldn't mind if Smash Bros. Ultimate died)
2019: Cuphead
2020: Paper Mario: The Origami King (yes, really)
2021: Metroid Dread
Runner-ups: Miitopia, Luigi's Mansion 3, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Tetris Effect: Connected, Pac-Man 99, WarioWare: Get It Together!, Sonic Mania (Sonic Forces can die and nothing of value would be lost except for Episode Shadow)
@moodycat I like the second one better! Haha. The first one is fantastic but it’s just so easy.
Monster Hunter Rise, Age of Calamity and Dragon Quest 11s are the 3 that would burn the most to see go. There's obviously some other bangers on that bin list but those 3 are necessities too me.
2017: botw
2018: Okami hd
2019: links awakening, this was the game that made me a Zelda fan, to much nostalgia to leave it behind
2020: Oragami king, thought about all stars and ori but I can play those on other consoles. Plus oragami king is my favorite game in the series.
2021: skyward sword, I love rise but I like Zelda more.
2017- breath of the wild
2018- super smash bros ultimate!
2019- Fire emblem three houses (I love that game with all of my heart)
2020- Xenoblade Chronicles DE (also love that game)
2021- Danganronpa!!
@KateGray Yeah glad you all stuck to your guns on your picks. Fun list and great read - why not make it an annual feature updated for close of each year (adding '22 to the pile).
Odyssey, Super smash bros ultimate, yoshis crafted world, 3d all stars and 3d world + bowsers fury
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A lovely format, and the list is pretty good. Reminded me that I haven't played Sayonara Wild Hearts in a while. Time to put it on!
My list would be (I've played ~10 games from each year):
2017: Rayman Legends, for its musical levels and overall flow.
2018: Yoku's Island Express. Many good games that year, but with this one I enjoyed every single moment.
2019: Sayonara Wild Hearts obviously.
2020: Xenoblade Chronicles 1. I'm ~3 hours till the end of the bonus game, and have already bought the japanese art book. So pretty!
2021: Doki Doki Literature Club Plus. The only game (yet) that made me cry. And reintroduced me to the VN genre.
What a great console. I hope it never dies.
@KateGray totally. I'm not being critical at all. I enjoyed this article and am commenting on the method for the sake of discussing the method. It's fun for me to exam how process effects results.
2017 – Mario Odyssey out and Puyo Puyo Tetris in? I am the comments and no, I’m not happy! Jk 😉
OMG Tom Saved Sayonara Wild Hearts! I was slowly reading through hoping to see it pop up and it did! SWH Is absolutely glorious and I too play it through regularly. I bought it the night my Wife got the all clear from the hospital after surgery. After months of misery this beautiful game beamed itself into my eyes and the soundtrack buried itself in my head. I finished it that night, cried in relief as I checked on my wife who was fast asleep. I "fell back into my groove" Thank you for picking it Tom
The important thing is that you saved Xenoblade Chronicles 2, the greatest video game of all time. The fact that so many of my other favorite games ended up in the bin shall be passed over.
Fun idea! For me I'd go;
2017 Splatoon 2
2018 Hollow Knight
2019 Fire Emblem... Luigi's Mansion 3... Shield.... Astral Chain... Good year, don't know.... Fire Emblem! I'll go Fire Emblem! (I think?)
2020 Age of Calamity
2021 Skyward Sword HD (sorry Dread, extremely close second though)
2022 I'm thinking it'll end up being Arceus (Zelda/Silksong would be it's main rivals IF they launch)
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Absolutely brutal. I think we may have to get divorced NL. No Mario Odyssey. I’m sorry- It’s not me it’s you. We’re finished.
I'd keep all the Indies and throw most of Nintendo's titles in the bin.
My Switch is an indie machine and I'm fine with that.
I'd save:
2017: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
2018: Night in the Woods
2019: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
2020: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
2021: Mutazione
2022: Pokémon Legends Arceus
As a someone who lives in the bin, I very much appreciate this initiative. Thank you for all the delicious video games. Celeste and Splatoon 2 alone will keep me very happy for a long time, and Smash will be a pleasant palate cleanser.
I live in a bin - my palate needs a good cleanse. So does the rest of me.
I’m incredibly triggered now after seeing what’s in the bin.
Guuuaaaaaarrrrrrghhhhh…….
I can forgive Splatoon and Smash, but I can’t believe you left out the Untitled Goose Game.
How could you!
Hmm… here’s my list:
2017 - Breath of the Wild (Odyssey is much better in my opinion, but I haven’t finished BotW so I would want to play it more)
2018 - Probably Celeste. Or Undertale. Smash would be 3rd place.
2019 - Mario Maker 2. One of my favourite games of all time and one of the only good games from that year (that I played)
2020 - ACNH, no doubt. Or Deltarune Chapter 2, but that was technically just an update.
2021 - SM3DW+BF. The only game I’ve played from that year, so no choice there, even though I don’t even own it.
Nice to see some love for AI: The Somnium Files on here.
If I had to pick a favorite Switch release from every year (ignoring whether or not games are exclusive)...
2017 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
2018 - Valkyria Chronicles 4
2019 - Cuphead
2020 - Paper Mario: The Origami King
2021 - The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
My picks are Mario Odyssey (the question of wether it’s better than BOTW is up for debate, but what’s not is that it’s much more replayable), Smash Bros Ultimate (the best fighting game ever made), Mario Maker 2 (I my most played game of all time), Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (my favorite of the year, I suppose), and Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (my favorite video game of all time).
Runners up:
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (I like it much more than BOTW, sorry)
Undertale (one of my favorite games of all time, and one that deserves the praise it gets)
Luigi’s Mansion 3 (simply atmospheric perfection, and one of the best looking games on the system)
Animal Crossing:New Horizons (I guess? Or Paper Mario? Maybe 3D All Stars? 2020 was really barren)
Deltarune Chapter 2 (lots of 8/10 games on the system that year, but this is the only game I’d really consider phenomenal:
@BabyYoda71
The fact that Deltarune Chapter 2 was released in 2021 sort of clears up the list a little bit.
2017: Splatoon 2 (my favorite bar none)
2018: Super Smash Bros Ultimate
2019: Ring Fit Adventure (my daily exercise)
2020: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
2021: Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
2022: ???
You guys put Three Houses in the bin!? Criminal!
Leaving smash and fire emblem behind burned me in a way I never expected an internet list to be capable of.
Here are my save picks if I could.
2021 Mario party superstars, so great to have classic Mario party. One of my favorite games growing up one of my favorites today.
2020 Hades (sorry nexomon bloodstained2 and hero hours)
2019 Fire Emblem Three Houses. Blue Lions 💙
2018 There are too many amazing games that came out this year to apologize to but I HAVE to save Smash
2017 If Skyrim weren't multiplatform I'd save that, but since it's only switch that we're killing I'm gonna save Zelda
@JakedaArbok Haha, forgot that. People always say Chapter 2 was released 2 years after Chapter 1 and it always throws me off because it was actually closer to 3 years. It drives me nuts and ruins my timeline.
2017: Super Mario Odyssey. Why didn’t you do this?
2018: Smash Bros. Ultimate. Easy Peasy.
2019: Super Mario Maker 2. I hate you guys for not doing this.
2020: I wanna say Animal Crossing but I only got it for Christmas in 2021 so I have to go with Paper Mario.
2021: Oof… so many good games… WarioWare… Miitopia… 3D World + BF… I think WarioWare? Yeah. WarioWare.
2017: Breath of the Wild (Xenoblade Chronicles 2 comes so close!)
2018: Smash Bros Ultimate
2019: Astral Chain
2020: Xenoblade Chronicles DE
2021: Metroid Dread
2022: Kirby and the Forgotten Land
2023: Breath of the Wild 2 (yeah it's not making 2022)
Here is my list.
2017: LoZ Breath of the Wild
2018: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
2019: Super Mario Maker 2
2020: Animal Crossing New Horizons
2021: Metroid Dread
2022: Pokemon Legends Arceus (so far)
If I have to save one more from each year, it'd be Mario Odyssey, Smash Ultimate, Witcher 3, Xenoblade DE, and Skyward Sword HD. But since this list is mostly things I didn't even bother to play, here's mine.
2017- Mario Odyssey, SteamWorld Dig 2, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
2018- Hollow Knight, Smash Ultimate, Dark Souls, Just Shapes & Beats, Bayonetta 1/2
2019- Witcher 3, Astral Chain, Dragon's Dogma, Boxboy+Boxgirl, Link's Awakening
2020- Xenoblade Chronicles DE, Mario 3D All-Stars (also mainly for Sunshine), Animal Crossing, Foregone, Pokemon Rescue Team DX
2021- Skyward Sword HD, Sky: Children of the Light, Metroid Dread, Monster Hunter Rise, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond
I spent most of last year catching up on older games, so the last three are still sitting there waiting for me, but I don't want them getting deleted before I even give them a chance.
Almost all of these are indies! No thanks. I'll stick to my Xenoblade, Fire Emblem and Pokemon. These are the reason I own a Switch.
Breath of the Wild 2017
Smash Bros 2018
Fire Emblem Three Houses 2019
Paper Mario the Origami King 2020
Metroid Dread 2021
Breath of the Wild 2 2022
Three honourable mentions, Super Mario Odyssey, Cruis'n Blast and Streets of Rage 4.
They didn’t take their job seriously.
(And neither did I, relax.)
But for Link’s Awakening and Odyssey’s sake, shame on you lol. You could’ve all worked together to make the world a better place, but you (mostly) just selfishly picked your lil quirky pleasures.
Ha, I liked the content, do more like this.
EDIT: As revenge, I’m going to pick 5 games and delete all others (ignoring release year).
Rabi-Ribi - Yes, that one! 😈
Captain Toad - Because no one supported it, and now you’ll all be forced to suffer!
Mystik Belle - See above!
Pocky & Rocky - It’s the future now! Enjoy it, scum!! 😅???
Cotton Reboot! - Another anime witch girl! Miss Odyssey yet!? 😜
And last but not least, Kero Blaster! Because it’s a damn fine game, and I like to break the rules with a 6th entry! 😁
Yes @Ralizah! Valkyria Chronicles 4 is one I would never miss.
Woulda loved to see Skyrim and Rocket League saved too.
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Surprised by the amount of hate in these comments, this is a super solid list. Most switch owners I know bought it for either breath of the wild or animal crossing alone; even if this were the whole.catalog it would be a banger console. Also love the praise for Disco Elysium. Even if the Switch port is the worst version, it's still easily a must-have game.
@aSmilingMan VC4 was such a solid iteration on the first game, and it's one of those PS4 ports that's almost indistinguishable from the home console version. A real pity the DLC never goes on sale for the Switch version, though.
Picking one game a year definitely distorts the list. While The Origami King was my favorite release in 2020, for example, there are a number of 2017 and 2019 releases I'd optimally choose to keep first.
@tseliot I mean, Elden Ring isn't on Switch. No real reason to keep posting about it.
I literally stopped reading after Ultimate was thrown in the bin. Later, lol!
@KateGray
I reckon if the five of you each got 1 bin diver pass you could turn this into a pretty definitive list!
Articles like this really demonstrate which games have had a truly lasting impact.
I understand that it's sad to see Smash Bros and Mario Odyssey get binned, but this would have been an incredibly boring list if we'd all picked the first party Nintendo games 😅
I'm glad we chose a mixture of blockbusters and weird indies, since that's what the Switch is all about!
I love that A Short Hike and Yoku's Island Express made the list since they're probably both in my top 5.
Wrong, wrong, wrong! You heartless monsters! Nobody chose Astral Chain for 2019!
My list would be:
2017 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
2018 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
2019 Astral Chain
2020 Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
2021 Metroid Dread
@Axecon
Just read your comment and realized our lists are near identical ha ha! You have great taste!
@TheRealMr_Carpainter Excellent picks! Of course it's too hard to pick just one game per year, this console is just hit after hit!
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