Brutal Game Awards 2020: Game of the Year

Here we are, and not a month too late:

The BGA’s concludes with our Awards for Best Game by Platform…and of course, the most important nomination: Overall Game of the Year.

I’ll spare you anymore introductions. Here you go.

Xbox One

Our nominees for the best Xbox One Game of 2020 are:

• Journey to the Savage Planet
• Gears Tactics
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps
• Doom Eternal
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon
• Call of the Sea
• Skully

And the winner is…

Doom Eternal

Just how good are shooter campaigns going to get? Doom Eternal leaves nothing off the table with its arsenal of guns, gadgets, and gut-goring demons. An excellently-unique multiplayer mode doesn’t help, but let’s be honest: the true, mutilated cherry on top is having Doom Eternal available on GamePass.

Playstation 4

Our nominees for the best Playstation 4 Game of 2020 are:

• Ghost of Tsushima
• The Last of Us Part 2
• Fall Guys
• Final Fantasy VII: Remake
• 13 Sentinels: Aegis of the Rim
• Persona 5 Royal
• Skully

And the winner is…

Final Fantasy VII: Remake

How do you bring Playstation 1 RPG sensibilities to the modern era? Final Fantasy VII: Remake. The Playstation 4’s final Final Fantasy (probably) is also one of its best thanks to excellent, updated characterization, phenomenal visuals, and an exhilarating new style of combat.

Nintendo Switch

Our nominees for the best Nintendo Switch Game of 2020 are:

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• Hades
• Paper Mario: The Origami King
• Hyrule Warrios: Age of Calamity
• Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
• Super Mario All-Stars
• Super Mario Bros 35
• Skully

And the winner is…

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Without a doubt, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a defining title in the Switch’s library. If you didn’t get to run to friends’ islands, chase stalk prices, and design your own dream island, you hopefully at least got to enjoy the incredible creations shared by the community. Animal Crossing is a long-lasting tonic that came at just the right time.

PC

Our nominees for the best PC Game of 2020 are:

• Cyberpunk 2077
• Fall Guys
• Crusader Kings III
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Phasmophobia
• Iron Harvest
• Command & Conquer Remastered Collection
• Hades
• Skully

And the winner is…

Command & Conquer Remastered Collection

EA, Petroglyph and Lemon Sky hit it out of the park with this remaster of arguably two of the greatest RTS games ever made. Just as addictive as it ever was and packed to the brim with extra features, this will delight both newcomers and old hands alike.

Playstation 5

Our nominees for the best Playstation 5 Game of 2020 are:

• Spider-Man: Miles Morales
• The Pathless
• Demon’s Souls

And the winner is…

The Pathless

The Pathless is an exquisite, colorful, and sometimes somber world of puzzles. Included? Mesmerizing maneuvering and wondrous hints of world-building. Not to mention the heart-warming relationship at the core of the entire experience: your pathless wanderer and the beautifully-animated bird.

Xbox Series X

Our nominees for the Best Xbox Series X Game of 2020 are:

• Cuberpunk 2077
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
• Warhammer Chaosbane

And the winner is…

Warhammer: Chaosbane

Warhammer Chaosbane isn’t really a typical GotY for a debuting console, but then again the Xbox Series X|S didn’t have the most typical of launches. Nevertheless, this aRPG take on the Warhammer license looks great, plays well, and most importantly is tons of fun. That’s what makes it our pick for the console’s first Game of the Year.

Platform of the Year

Our nominees for Platform of the Year include every aforementioned machine, but here’s a reminder:

• Xbox Series X
• Playstation 5
• Nintendo Switch
• PC
• Playstation 4
• Xbox One

And the winner is…

Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch is the perfect gaming machine for 2020. The gaming lineup has everything from first and thirty-party heavy-hitters to hidden gems. Some are perfect for intensive solo sessions. Others are great for locked down families. Either way, there’s something for everyone (especially when you can find one in stock).

Game of the Year

Last by design and certainly not least, our overall Game of the Year is the one voted by the team to stand above all others.

Our nominees for 2020’s Game of the Year are:

• Ghost of Tsushima
• 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• Half-Life Alyx
• Doom Eternal
• F1 2020
• Hades
• Skully

And the winner is…

Ghost of Tsushima

What more is there to be said of Ghost of Tsushima that hasn’t been said? We don’t have to turn a phrase to say it: Ghost of Tsushima is our Game of the Year for 2020. Stunning environments help the game to deliver a compelling view of Tsushima, Japan, and the people, lives, and stories therein.

That concludes our Brutal Gamer Awards for 2020! For an even closer peak into the individual tastes’ that were averaged out into the awards you’ve seen throughout the week, be sure to catch our staff lists starting on Monday!.

Until next year, let us know which 2020 game was your highlight, which game console should have taken the crown, and every other title that made 2020 survivable.