Best Switch Game Soundtrack 2020
Winner: Hades
Runners-up: Dicey Dungeons; Ori and the Will of the Wisps; Kentucky Route Zero; Streets of Rage 4; Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (the new FFVII tracks)
It's been a fine year for video game fans with exceptional aural sensitivity. We were particularly taken with Darren Korb's work on the Hades soundtrack — another triumph following his work on Supergiant's previous titles. The game's audio and dialogue — including voice work from the developer's resident dulcet genius Logan Cunningham and Korb himself as the voice of Zagreus — is absolutely superb across the board.
Elsewhere, Chipzel can seemingly do no wrong and once again hit it out of the park with Dicey Dungeons. Ben Babbitt's evocative Kentucky Route Zero soundtrack finally arrived on Switch with the TV Edition, and Olivier Deriviere took on an unenviable task and succeeded in crafting Streets of Rage 4's sterling soundtrack (with support from a bevy of veteran VG composers, including — of course — Yuzo Koshiro).
And the addition of Sephiroth meant that Smash finally got some more Final Fantasy music. Truly epic they were, too, and they tipped the number of tracks in the game over the one-thousand mark. Blimey.
Best Retro Remaster Or Re-Release 2020
Winner: SEGA AGES Herzog Zwei
Runners-up: Arcade Archives Sunset Riders; Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection; No More Heroes; No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
There were plenty of old games given a new lease of life on Switch in 2020, and you can't go wrong with any of the above, really.
We've put classic RTS Herzog Zwei as the winner because it's a favourite of Nintendo Life's editor-in-chief, Mr. Damien McFerran, and we're hoping to curry favour so he'll send us one of the spare copies of Soldier Blade he uses to prop up his wobbly desk. [Not bloody likely! — Ed]
If that's a bit too retro for your tastes, though, Suda51's pair of re-released No More Heroes set us up very nicely for the incoming No More Heroes III in 2021.
Best Worst Best Worst Game
Winner: Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise
Runners-up: Nothing remotely close
As you play Deadly Premonition 2, you know that it's a woeful underperformer on a technical level. You observe the slowdown and pop-in and crude PS2-era animations and acknowledge them as objectively terrible...
And yet you keep playing. And you keep playing. You complete the game. You go back to the game when a patch upgrades the frame rate from 'laughably atrocious' to 'plain awful', and you carry on playing. Incredibly, your takeaway impressions aren't sullied by its myriad shortcomings; legitimate technical criticisms are like water off Deadly Premonitions' duck's back.
And like a duck, it's ungainly, unsophisticated and hugely unimpressive compared to the magnificent video gaming beasts in the wild... but there's something irresistible about it. We're not sure we agree that the jank in SWERY's off-the-wall horror series is somehow necessary or part of the charm, but the fact remains that we came away from Deadly Premonition 2 filled with a deep and warped affection for it.
Most Played Non-2020 Game
Winner: Rogue Legacy
Runners-up: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
With Hades approaching back in September, it seemed like a good idea to put the roguelike we'd had sitting on our Switch for ages to bed before diving into another one. This writer picked Rogue Legacy up a long time ago after seeing it on sale and reading Mitch's enthusiastic review. What a fantastic video game! Had it released in 2020, it'd easily make our personal top three. Alas, that boat has sailed. If you too let this one pass you by, get to the Switch eShop pronto — it's on sale again at the time of writing.
The arrival of Byleth, Min Min, Steve & Alex and Sephiroth have also kept NL staff members busy with Smash, too. Nothing like DLC to keep an evergreen favourite ever-greener.
Best Game We Keep Blathering On About That You Really Should Play
Winner: Horace
Runners-up: A couple of dozen indie games — watch this space...
Not much to say that hasn't been said, really. We awarded Horace a 10/10. It's something a bit special and unique, and absolutely worth paying full price for. On sale (as it is at the time of writing) it feels like you're committing some sort of crime getting the game so cheap.
Very soon we'll be looking specifically at 2020's most overlooked games, but do yourself a favour, get ahead of the game and download Horace this instant.
That's all for our awards today — we hope you enjoyed them. Check back soon for more GOTY goodness as we look back on a surprisingly great year (games-wise) and look forward to what's ahead in 2021.
Comments 31
Not sure what my favourite Switch game icon from this year would be but I can safely say that that Control icon wouldn't make my top 100 at least.
I picked up Horace with my gold points today. Only £1.90!
I haven't gotten around to playing Deadly Premonition 2 yet but the original is one of the best (and worst) games I've ever played.
Definitely agree with the Horace recommendation, the mushroom scene caught me unaware and made me laugh coffee across the bed.
@BenAV I assumed that was a joke when I read it, because that is one ugly icon.
@Dr_Corndog @BenAV Zoom into the Control icon, it’s a lot more complicated than it looks. It also completely represents the game while being simple and stylish, I’ve got the platinum in it and it totally screams ‘Control’ to me. Well, the icon doesn’t crash and delete my save file so it doesn’t completely represent the game 😉
the florence icon to me is the best, i really dig the simple artstyle as well as that lovely yellow that just seems to pop
Ha ha. Enjoyed that read.
The Switch eShop is a beast!
@nessisonett @Dr_Corndog @BenAV It's not bad, it's just hella boring.
Everyone, please pick up Horace on sale. It's a beautiful game that deserves much much more attention and I'm super glad that NL are showing the game some love.
Thanks to this list, I have purchased Horace. I hope yall're happy.
"Incidentally, blandest title of the year goes to Immortals Fenyx Rising. Ergh"
Truck Driver:
What's the game in the middle of the first image?
@okimoki
Deadly prominition...or promenition or something like that...its in the article
@okimoki
Premonition!
Cool article, my fav switch icon must go to Among us, thought it was really funny:)
Best weird article of the year award: this one. Really funny. Keep up the weird stuff NL!
Horace is brilliant!
These alternative games (except doom eternal) look like a blast from the early 90's
Ah, deadly premonition 2. What fond memories i have from this past summer. Somehow I beat the game when it was in its worst state too.
@dartmonkey Opinions are opinions, for sure, but to call Control and Florence two of the best icons is curious to me when those types of designs are exactly what fueled fans to push for icon changes; bland, lazy designs with nothing to look at leaving only the vaguest, if anything at all, ideas of what to expect from the game. I am Dead is good, water well designed and the mysterious statement of being dead prominently displayed. A Short Hike is just average.
Going through my own list of icons, my top ten (not in order) looks like: BotW, MK8, Smash, Bloodstained (all three), SteamWorld Dig 2, A Robot Named Fight, Enter the Gungeon, Carrion (original, but the current is good too).
@Kilroy Yeah, that Florence one is awful. I can appreciate the simple, clean design of Control, but it certainly doesn't stand out. I Am Dead is the only one that actually looks good.
@TheFox I haven't played Control, so don't know the significance of the upside-down triangle. I'm basing my opinion on the game's artwork on other systems.
I like the icon on Age of calamity... altough is the contrary of minimalistic.
@nessisonett it’s currently £1.09 without the use of gold points!
I haven’t really been able to get into Horace myself - the story seems good but I don’t really play games like that for the story. The platforming parts don’t seem like anything special and you have to sit through a lot of cut scenes to get to them.
@BongoBongo That’s right, £1.09, not £1.90! Essentially got it for free 😂
How was Origami King not a runner-up for best soundtrack
Totally agree about Horace. Picked it up on sale for virtually nothing and within 20 minutes I was feeling absolutely guilty. This is GOTY material and they're practically giving it away.
I call BS. Age of calamity’s music is actually the greatest score. All the battle themes are a bop
Horace is dog *****
Come on Age of Calamity deserved a mention in soundtrack
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