New
The Last Of Us 2 (did not complete, dont wont to either) - 5/10
Ghost Of Tsushima (did not complete) - 7.5/10 (and thats being very generous, the game is not for me)
Killzone Shadow Fall - 5.5/10
COD MW - 7/10
God Of War - 9.5/10
Far Cry 5 - 6.9/10

Gamepass

Dishonored 2 - 8.5/10
Ninja Gaiden 2 - 9.0/10
Dead Space 2 - 8.6/10

Doom - 8.9/10
No Mans Sky - 2.5/10
Borderlands Prequel - 7.8/10

Replay

Hitman HD collection - 10/10

Hitman - 7.9/10

Hitman 2 - 7.4/10

Gears Of War Remastered - 8.1/10
Gears Of War 2 - insane - 9.4/10
Gears Of War 3 - insane - 9.8/10
Halo 5 - 6.5/10

• Nier: Automata (PS4) (9.5/10) One of the best stories I've ever experienced in video games with wonderfully written characters, combined with a huge amount of gameplay variety and a fun and fast-paced combat system, which had been the weak point in Yoko Taro's earlier works. Easily going to make my top 50 games of all time list this year.
• GRIS (PC) (8/10) An absolutely gorgeous 2D platformer, easily one of the best looking games I've ever played, with a beautiful soundtrack layered on top of it all. The actual gameplay is quite simple, but solid, and there are some very satisfying moments of platforming in the game, even if none of it is all that challenging. It is a very short game, but every moment I spent with GRIS was thoroughly enjoyable.
• Middle-Earth: Shadow of War (PS4) (8/10) A solid open world game made better by the nemesis system that did the same for Shadow of Mordor. The gameplay is fun, the world has a lot of nice variety to it, and although the story is kinda silly in the context of the books, but as a kind of non-canon side thing it's fine enough. Gets a bit grindy at the end, which soured me a little towards it, but it wasn't too bad. If the epilogue had been like in the original release before the balance changes and the removal of lootboxes I probably would have not been nearly as kind towards the game, but as it stands now I do recommend Shadow of War. 
• Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (PS4) (8.5/10) A charming and gorgeous and a sequel to one of my favourite games from the previous console generation. I'm not sure if I would rank it higher than the first game, though. The gameplay is vastly improved compared to the first one, with the battle system, side quests and the other side stuff available for you to do just being much more interesting and varied in comparison. The story and character are also very good, but I might still prefer the first game's cast and story to this one. Still a very good game, and well worth the time I put into it.
• The Banner Saga 2 (PC) (8/10) The Banner Saga-games (at least the first two) aren't necessarily groundbreaking tactical RPGs in any way, at least as far as gameplay is concerned. Every element of the gameplay can be found in other games in one form or another, but these are still very well put together games with a battle system that has plenty of tactical depth to it. The nordic mythology-inspired story is very well written and the characters are interesting as well. Still, perhaps the most impressive aspect of these games is the visual style. The backgrounds and characters look absolutely gorgeous, and the animated sequences always look great as well, though I wish there were more of them. Overall, Banner Saga 2 is a good game that I enjoyed playing through, just one that doesn't really bring anything new to the genre.
• A Short Hike (PC) (7.5/10) A charming little game that I finished on a single sitting. It's unlikely that I'll ever go back to the game, but the short story it tells is quite lovely, and the relaxing, low-stakes gameplay is perfect for unwinding in-between other more demanding games. If you're looking for a game to just take your mind off things and just relax for a few hours, this is a very good option for that.
• Nioh (PS4) (8/10) A very good Dark Souls-inspired games, that doesn't quite reach the same heights as FromSoftware's titles. I enjoyed the gameplay for the most part, the story was fine, if somewhat disjointed, and William is a good main character. The locations aren't as interesting as those found in Dark Souls for example, and the world as a whole also feels like a collection of disconnected places that don't feel like part of the same world very often. Still, despite my issues, I very much enjoyed the game overall, but unlike Dark Souls or Bloodborne I'll likely never replay it.
• Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince (PS4) (8.5/10) Played through the game in co-op, and as of right now it might be my favourite in the entire series. I'll have to go through it alone at some point to come to a conclusion, but even with the co-op playthrough Trine 4 is a very good game. The puzzles are better and more varied than in previous games, the gameplay much more fluid and intuitive, and while the story has never really been that important in the series outside of setting up a fairytale-like tone, it's fun and charming as well. Just an overall enjoyable game to play, and a great co-op title as well.
• My Time At Portia (PC) (8.5/10) This was a really fun and relaxing game, that in a lot of ways reminds me of Harvest Moon, except instead of building a farm you do so with a crafting workshop. I put almost 130 hours into this game, and I finished the main storyline and most of the sidequests in that time, and I enjoyed pretty much all of it. There's just so much stuff you can do here, besides crafting new machines and items there's farming, relationship building, dungeons to explore, ruins where you can mine for ore and relics, and so much more. 
• Deponia (PC) (7.5/10) Every once in a while I get in the mood to play some traditional point-and-click adventure games, and I'd had Deponia (and two sequels to it) on my Steam library for ages, so this was a good time to get around to playing it. Visually it's a very good looking game, and the setting is interesting and unique. The story and characters were pretty good too, though it does show that this was essentially just the first chapter in the story, so a lot of stuff was left unfinished. The main character can be somewhat annoying at times, especially early on in the game, but that also gives him some clear room for growth and development, which is nice. I guess the best thing I can say is that after finishing Deponia I'm still looking forward to playing the rest of the series.
• Wild Arms 3 (PS4) (8/10) It had been a while since I'd played a proper old-school JRPG that I hadn't previously experienced, and since I had bought Wild Arms 3 a while back on a sale I thought I'd give it a shot. Overall, I really enjoyed it. The music is great, I really like the world these games take place in, the characters are well written and interesting, and the gameplay has enough unique elements to separate it from the pack. The story is fairly standard JRPG fare, but the main issue I had with the game is the fact that it just doesn't really explain a lot of its mechanics to the player very well. Several times over the course of the game I had to go and find out what certain things actually meant from guides or forum posts, because I couldn't find the information within the game itself. Still, this is a good game well worth playing though, especially if you're a fan of the genre.
• Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) (9.5/10) I genuinely loved this game, and it could very well end up as my GotY at the end of the year. I thought the battle system is excellent, with a genuinely well designed take on the classic ATB system at its core, the expanded story and characters were great, and visually this is one of the best looking games of the year. I'm also very curious to see where they take this story going forward considering how the game ended. The sidequests were the one aspect I would have liked to have been more interesting, but at least the gameplay made them enjoyable enough. A great game, without question. I won't compare it to the original until the whole story has been told, but this is definitely a good way to get things started with the remake.
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III (PS4) (9.5/10) I finally got around to playing and finishing Trails of Cold Steel III after having it sitting on my shelf since last Christmas, and it was just as great as I expected after the previous two games. This is now the fifth game in the series that I've played, and they've made the series one of my absolute favourite video game franchises of all time, behind only Final Fantasy and Dark Souls. The story and characters are among the best I've ever seen in video games, the gameplay is a lot of fun, and the music very good as well. Now I just need to wait for Trails of Cold Steel IV
• Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered (PS4) (8/10) After several huge RPGs I really needed to play something much smaller for a change, and since I had the Nathan Drake Collection downloaded on my PS4 I though I'd replay the whole series through for the first time in several years. The first game in the series is still the weakest of lot, but the remastering has improved the gameplay noticeably, which was always the biggest issue in the game. Drake's Fortune also always had problems with its pacing, especially in the latter half, and that's still the case here. Overall, this feels like a game that already has all the right elements in place, they just aren't quite polished enough or don't come together as well as they should yet. Fortunately, this would change for the better in the sequels. Still a very good game, but not as good as the follow-ups.
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Remastered (PS4) (9/10) Basically just a better version of the first game, with improved balance between puzzles, exploration and combat, great set-pieces, and just an overall excellent presentation. 
• The Messenger (PC) (8.5/10) A clever retro-style game that starts as a straightforward action-platformer in the style of old-school Ninja Gaiden that turns into a Metroidvania a few hours in. The time-travel mechanic is really clever and well-designed, and the art style shifting between 8- 16-bit graphics depending on which time period you're in is a wonderful touch. 
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS4) (8.5/10) Basically Uncharted 2, just not quite as well-thought out in terms of story and pacing. Still a great game, but some of it feels like Naughty Dog just trying to come up with ways to upstage the previous game's setpieces rather than logically leading Drake to those situations in service of the story. 
• Doom (2016) (PS4) (8.5/10) Finally got around to playing Doom 2016, and I'm very glad I did, as it ended as one of the three best FPS games of this console generation alongside Titanfall 2 and Wolfenstein: New Order. This is how you stand out in the FPS genre, by taking things back to basics and just being faster and more straightforward than pretty much any other mainstream FPS around these days.
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch) (9/10) It's a weird feeling when I finish a game and think it's both great and overrated at the same time. I finally got around to playing Breath of the Wild after getting a Switch and the game for christmas last year, and overall it's an excellent game. The world is gorgeous and filled with interesting places to visit, the gameplay mostly really fun, the story is good for Zelda-standards, the sense of adventure and discovery is impeccable, and yet it's just not quite as exceptional as it's been made out to be. For everything the game does right there is always a minor source of annoyance or frustration that put a damper on the adventure from time to time, and that keeps it from being the masterpiece a lot of others consider it to be in my mind. Still an excellent game, regardless.
• Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4) (9.0/10) Overall, I'd probably call this the best game in the series. The gameplay is the more polished and varied than before, the story serves as a wonderful final chapter to Drake's tale, and the different locations you get to visit in the game are all memorable and gorgeous. The only thing it's missing is that one mind-blowing setpiece akin to the train level in UC2, but otherwise it's a wonderful game.
• Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (PS4) (8.5/10) A great Metroidvania with a cool setting, fun gameplay, great music, and a lot of secrets and easter eggs to find. About as close to Castlevania you can get without being called that. The only real negative for me was the lack of any clear guidance at certain points in the game. There were more than a few times were I had no idea where I was supposed to go next, and had to just run around the world before I happened upon the right place.  
• Final Fantasy IX (PS4) (10/10) Still my favourite game of all time. It had been quite a few years since I last played it, and the digital version on PS4 gave me a nice excuse to go back to it once more. The only real issues I had with it were related to the port, and not the game itself. Things like less smooth menus than in the original, minor audio issues and other small things that had for some reason been made worse in the remaster. Besides that, FFIX is without question a masterpiece, and my personal best game of all time. I guess the game could have one or two more challenging superbosses, but that's just nitpicking.
• God of War (PS4) (9/10) If I had managed to finish God of War a little earlier it would have been in top 50 games of all time this year. Obviously the visuals are absolutely gorgeous, the music is great, and the gameplay is extremely satisfying and fun. However, the real star is the story, and especially the character development that happens throughout the game. It's genuinely amazing that Santa Monica have managed to somehow make Kratos of all characters actually relatable, and do it in a way that doesn't feel disjointed or at odds with how he was portrayed in the previous games. The rest of the cast is equally excellent and written wonderfully.
• Dark Souls Remastered (PS4) (10/10) Although as a remaster this isn't anything special. The improvements are generally minor tweaks and upgrades to the original, which are all definitely nice, but don't do much to actually change the game in any way. On the other hand, it is still the best console version of one of the best games of all time, so I can't really complain too much. The solid framerate is definitely a great change that makes certain parts of the game so much more enjoyable, and everything that was wonderful about the original, like the world, gameplay, lore, and music are all still there, just looking a little better than before. A masterpiece of a game, an average remaster.
• Rogue Galaxy (PS4) (8/10) I just recently wrote about Rogue Galaxy as part of the top 50 games thing running on the site at the moment, and thought I should probably replay it one of these days since it's been around 12 years since I last played for the first and only time. Unfortunately, now that I have, it isn't quite as good as I remembered, and next year it'll probably be off my top 50 list. With that said, it's still a very good game. Every element is genuinely good, but very few are anything above that. A very good game that showed the potential of Level-5 as a developer, but not the classic I had previously remembered it as.

Currently Playing:

• The Witcher (PC) Slowly making progress on-and-off. About halfway through at the moment I think, maybe a little more.
• Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (PS3)
• Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (PS3)
• Chaos in Deponia (PC)

I tend to beat somewhere around 8 games a year, so 2020 has been more productive than usual and I may still add 1 more to the list. Anyways the list goes as follows:

Super Mario World (April 2020): Kind of weird that this is the first game I beat on my Switch, which I bought shortly before the pandemic hit, but here it is. Very good Mario game and fully deserves its praise

Rayman Legends (May 2020): First "proper" Switch game I beat, also a very good platform game. Loved the music stages, but I absolutely hated that there was no overarching story. It is not the game that needs it I know, but even something as simple as "Princess has been kidnapped, go save her" like in Mario would have done the trick. Other than that nitpick very good game.

Super Metroid (May 2020): The second of the retro games I beat this year, and an absolutely fantastic experience which is also very recommendable. Another of the SNES must plays for sure

Wargroove (May 2020): Back in 2019 I beat for the first time Advance Wars Dual Strike on my phone, and I decided to go for a similar-ish game in Wargroove. Very good game though I think the Advance Wars games are better but the series is dead so this is as close as we'll get. Still very good.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (June 2020): This is the kind of game that you play over and over online, or with friends and I still play it, but for the purposes of beating it I generally go with "beat every cup on every category". Great game, though with 12 cups instead of the usual 8, and 200cc added (which was a blast even if it is too fast), it took much longer than the usual Mario Kart. The 50cc and even 100cc categories were annoying and way too easy for me.

Super Mario Odissey (June 2020): One of the Switch must plays and a fantastic 3D Mario game. It is not my favourite, as Galaxy 1 will always hold that spot for me even if it is partially nostalgia (and tbh Odissey might be a bit too open ended), but it is fantastic still. I considered going for the full 1000 moons but ended up tired around 700 or so. I did beat the super hard final level though, which is the first time I do that in any Mario game.

Tales of Vesperia (July 2020): Good RPG which took quite a while to get through, but was still fun in the process. Good story and characters overall. I tend to prefer turn based games as more strategic but the combat was as good as I could have expected from a game like that. 

Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations (August 2020): This is kind of a weird one, as I actually began this game in early 2019, then got burned out (I had played the first 2 games shortly before) and stopped right befor chapter 4, so I really only played the finale. And the 2 final chapters were a blast and had me super excited, but I do remember liking chapters 2 and 3 less.

F1 2018 (October 2020): In non gaming things, this is the year where, after not having watched Formula 1 since 2013 or so; I began watching again. At some point, I noticed the game from 2 years ago was available for free as a limited offer, so I decided to go ahead and download it. And it makes for a nice play every once in a while when I want to get a racing fix. For the purposes of "beating" I am considering finishing season 1, where I managed to very unrealistically finish "best of the rest" with a Williams lol (it took me a long time to nail the appropiate difficulty level, so I ended up winning races early on, then finishing last before I finally got a realistic level going)

Just Finished: Resident Evil 5 (PS4)

Considering Resident Evil 4 is one of my favorite games of all time it is strange that I have never played any other mainline Resident Evil games until now. This is another one of those games I am playing through online co-op with a friend as a way to bond through Covid. For a PS3/360 era game the graphics are impressive. The African setting is horribly racist and exploitative. Chris Redfield's unbelievably jacked character model is cartoonish. All the main female character are drawn overly sexualized as well. This game took the core action and gameplay mechanics of RE 4 and cranked it up to an extreme degree. The results are mixed. The game is not scary in the traditional survival horror sense although it is still tense to be pursued by enemies when you are low on ammo. Most of the co-op elements work well and encourage teamwork. The inventory system is junk. The puzzles are less involved and fewer in number. There are a lot of annoying segments and even some bugs that hampered the experience. This game is nowhere near as good as Resident Evil, but then again few games are.

7/10

Full Completed 2020 List:

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered (PS4)
• New Super Mario Bros U (Switch)
• Resistance 3 (PS3)
• God of War (PS4)
• Call of Duty Black Ops III (PS4)
• Bioshock (PS4)
• Shadow of the Colossus (PS4)
• Killzone HD (PS Now)
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
• Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS Now)
• Kingdom Hearts Final Mix HD (PS4)
• Bayonetta (Switch)
• Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)
• Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (Gamecube)
• Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 (PS Now)
• Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4)
• Flower (PS Now)
• Trine 2: Complete Story (PS4)
• The Last Guardian (PS4)
• inFamous: Second Son (PS4)
• Resident Evil 5 (PS4)

Sunset Overdrive - PC - 9
Sonic CD - PC - Savior of the Planet run - 6 (Replay)
Shadow of the Tomb Raider - PC - 7
The Messenger - NS - Picnic Panic DLC - 9
Tangle Tower - NS - 7.5
Detective Grimoire - PC - 6.5
Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure - PC - 5
Jet Set Radio - PC - 8
The King of Fighters '97 - NS - 7
Real Bout Fatal Fury - NS - 10
Samurai Shodown III - NS - 4
Waku Waku 7 - NS - 6.5
Code of Princess EX - NS - 5
Daemon X Machina - NS - 7
Mario & Sonic at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games - NS - Story Mode - 6.5
Lara Croft Go - PC - 100% - 7
Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 - NS - 9
Samurai Shodown 2019 - NS - 8.5
Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk - NS - 10 (Replay)
Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky - NS - 9 (Replay)
Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea - NS - 7 (Replay)
Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of Salburg - 8.5
Devil May Cry 3: Best DMC Edition - NS - 10 (Replay)
Streets of Rage - PS3 - 7
Streets of Rage 2 - PS3 - 8
Streets of Rage 3 -PS3 - 5
Streets of Rage 4 - NS - 9
Super Crush K.O. - NS - 8
StarCrossed - PC, NS - 7
Them's Fightin' Herds - Chapter 1 - PC
A Hat in Time - NS - 8
Chrono Trigger - SNES - 9
Alcahest - SNES - 7
Paper Mario: The Origami King - NS - 9
Art of Fighting - NS - 6
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - NS - 9.5
Kuru Kuru Kururin - GBA - 7
Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventure of Mickey Mouse - SNES - 1.5
Sonic 3D Blast - Mega Drive - 3
Kirby's Dream Land - GB - 8.5 (Replay)
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles - Mega Drive - 4 (Replay)
Mother 3 - GBA - 10
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - 9 (Replay)
Metroid Zero Mission - GBA - 10 (Replay)
Super Metroid - SNES - 10 (Replay)
Trials of Mana - NS - 7
Valkyria Chronicles 4 - NS - 7.5
Ikenfell - NS - 8
BoxBoxBoy! - 3DS - 7.5
Crosscode - NS - 7.5
Super Mario 3D All-Stars - NS
Cuphead - NS - 8
Halo: Combat Evolved - PC - 9.5

The Wonderful 101: Ported - NS - 10 (Replay)

Halo 2 - PC - 8.5

• Nier: Automata (PS4) (9.5/10) One of the best stories I've ever experienced in video games with wonderfully written characters, combined with a huge amount of gameplay variety and a fun and fast-paced combat system, which had been the weak point in Yoko Taro's earlier works. Easily going to make my top 50 games of all time list this year.
• GRIS (PC) (8/10) An absolutely gorgeous 2D platformer, easily one of the best looking games I've ever played, with a beautiful soundtrack layered on top of it all. The actual gameplay is quite simple, but solid, and there are some very satisfying moments of platforming in the game, even if none of it is all that challenging. It is a very short game, but every moment I spent with GRIS was thoroughly enjoyable.
• Middle-Earth: Shadow of War (PS4) (8/10) A solid open world game made better by the nemesis system that did the same for Shadow of Mordor. The gameplay is fun, the world has a lot of nice variety to it, and although the story is kinda silly in the context of the books, but as a kind of non-canon side thing it's fine enough. Gets a bit grindy at the end, which soured me a little towards it, but it wasn't too bad. If the epilogue had been like in the original release before the balance changes and the removal of lootboxes I probably would have not been nearly as kind towards the game, but as it stands now I do recommend Shadow of War. 
• Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (PS4) (8.5/10) A charming and gorgeous and a sequel to one of my favourite games from the previous console generation. I'm not sure if I would rank it higher than the first game, though. The gameplay is vastly improved compared to the first one, with the battle system, side quests and the other side stuff available for you to do just being much more interesting and varied in comparison. The story and character are also very good, but I might still prefer the first game's cast and story to this one. Still a very good game, and well worth the time I put into it.
• The Banner Saga 2 (PC) (8/10) The Banner Saga-games (at least the first two) aren't necessarily groundbreaking tactical RPGs in any way, at least as far as gameplay is concerned. Every element of the gameplay can be found in other games in one form or another, but these are still very well put together games with a battle system that has plenty of tactical depth to it. The nordic mythology-inspired story is very well written and the characters are interesting as well. Still, perhaps the most impressive aspect of these games is the visual style. The backgrounds and characters look absolutely gorgeous, and the animated sequences always look great as well, though I wish there were more of them. Overall, Banner Saga 2 is a good game that I enjoyed playing through, just one that doesn't really bring anything new to the genre.
• A Short Hike (PC) (7.5/10) A charming little game that I finished on a single sitting. It's unlikely that I'll ever go back to the game, but the short story it tells is quite lovely, and the relaxing, low-stakes gameplay is perfect for unwinding in-between other more demanding games. If you're looking for a game to just take your mind off things and just relax for a few hours, this is a very good option for that.
• Nioh (PS4) (8/10) A very good Dark Souls-inspired games, that doesn't quite reach the same heights as FromSoftware's titles. I enjoyed the gameplay for the most part, the story was fine, if somewhat disjointed, and William is a good main character. The locations aren't as interesting as those found in Dark Souls for example, and the world as a whole also feels like a collection of disconnected places that don't feel like part of the same world very often. Still, despite my issues, I very much enjoyed the game overall, but unlike Dark Souls or Bloodborne I'll likely never replay it.
• Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince (PS4) (8.5/10) Played through the game in co-op, and as of right now it might be my favourite in the entire series. I'll have to go through it alone at some point to come to a conclusion, but even with the co-op playthrough Trine 4 is a very good game. The puzzles are better and more varied than in previous games, the gameplay much more fluid and intuitive, and while the story has never really been that important in the series outside of setting up a fairytale-like tone, it's fun and charming as well. Just an overall enjoyable game to play, and a great co-op title as well.
• My Time At Portia (PC) (8.5/10) This was a really fun and relaxing game, that in a lot of ways reminds me of Harvest Moon, except instead of building a farm you do so with a crafting workshop. I put almost 130 hours into this game, and I finished the main storyline and most of the sidequests in that time, and I enjoyed pretty much all of it. There's just so much stuff you can do here, besides crafting new machines and items there's farming, relationship building, dungeons to explore, ruins where you can mine for ore and relics, and so much more. 
• Deponia (PC) (7.5/10) Every once in a while I get in the mood to play some traditional point-and-click adventure games, and I'd had Deponia (and two sequels to it) on my Steam library for ages, so this was a good time to get around to playing it. Visually it's a very good looking game, and the setting is interesting and unique. The story and characters were pretty good too, though it does show that this was essentially just the first chapter in the story, so a lot of stuff was left unfinished. The main character can be somewhat annoying at times, especially early on in the game, but that also gives him some clear room for growth and development, which is nice. I guess the best thing I can say is that after finishing Deponia I'm still looking forward to playing the rest of the series.
• Wild Arms 3 (PS4) (8/10) It had been a while since I'd played a proper old-school JRPG that I hadn't previously experienced, and since I had bought Wild Arms 3 a while back on a sale I thought I'd give it a shot. Overall, I really enjoyed it. The music is great, I really like the world these games take place in, the characters are well written and interesting, and the gameplay has enough unique elements to separate it from the pack. The story is fairly standard JRPG fare, but the main issue I had with the game is the fact that it just doesn't really explain a lot of its mechanics to the player very well. Several times over the course of the game I had to go and find out what certain things actually meant from guides or forum posts, because I couldn't find the information within the game itself. Still, this is a good game well worth playing though, especially if you're a fan of the genre.
• Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) (9.5/10) I genuinely loved this game, and it could very well end up as my GotY at the end of the year. I thought the battle system is excellent, with a genuinely well designed take on the classic ATB system at its core, the expanded story and characters were great, and visually this is one of the best looking games of the year. I'm also very curious to see where they take this story going forward considering how the game ended. The sidequests were the one aspect I would have liked to have been more interesting, but at least the gameplay made them enjoyable enough. A great game, without question. I won't compare it to the original until the whole story has been told, but this is definitely a good way to get things started with the remake.
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III (PS4) (9.5/10) I finally got around to playing and finishing Trails of Cold Steel III after having it sitting on my shelf since last Christmas, and it was just as great as I expected after the previous two games. This is now the fifth game in the series that I've played, and they've made the series one of my absolute favourite video game franchises of all time, behind only Final Fantasy and Dark Souls. The story and characters are among the best I've ever seen in video games, the gameplay is a lot of fun, and the music very good as well. Now I just need to wait for Trails of Cold Steel IV
• Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered (PS4) (8/10) After several huge RPGs I really needed to play something much smaller for a change, and since I had the Nathan Drake Collection downloaded on my PS4 I though I'd replay the whole series through for the first time in several years. The first game in the series is still the weakest of lot, but the remastering has improved the gameplay noticeably, which was always the biggest issue in the game. Drake's Fortune also always had problems with its pacing, especially in the latter half, and that's still the case here. Overall, this feels like a game that already has all the right elements in place, they just aren't quite polished enough or don't come together as well as they should yet. Fortunately, this would change for the better in the sequels. Still a very good game, but not as good as the follow-ups.
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Remastered (PS4) (9/10) Basically just a better version of the first game, with improved balance between puzzles, exploration and combat, great set-pieces, and just an overall excellent presentation. 
• The Messenger (PC) (8.5/10) A clever retro-style game that starts as a straightforward action-platformer in the style of old-school Ninja Gaiden that turns into a Metroidvania a few hours in. The time-travel mechanic is really clever and well-designed, and the art style shifting between 8- 16-bit graphics depending on which time period you're in is a wonderful touch. 
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS4) (8.5/10) Basically Uncharted 2, just not quite as well-thought out in terms of story and pacing. Still a great game, but some of it feels like Naughty Dog just trying to come up with ways to upstage the previous game's setpieces rather than logically leading Drake to those situations in service of the story. 
• Doom (2016) (PS4) (8.5/10) Finally got around to playing Doom 2016, and I'm very glad I did, as it ended as one of the three best FPS games of this console generation alongside Titanfall 2 and Wolfenstein: New Order. This is how you stand out in the FPS genre, by taking things back to basics and just being faster and more straightforward than pretty much any other mainstream FPS around these days.
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch) (9/10) It's a weird feeling when I finish a game and think it's both great and overrated at the same time. I finally got around to playing Breath of the Wild after getting a Switch and the game for christmas last year, and overall it's an excellent game. The world is gorgeous and filled with interesting places to visit, the gameplay mostly really fun, the story is good for Zelda-standards, the sense of adventure and discovery is impeccable, and yet it's just not quite as exceptional as it's been made out to be. For everything the game does right there is always a minor source of annoyance or frustration that put a damper on the adventure from time to time, and that keeps it from being the masterpiece a lot of others consider it to be in my mind. Still an excellent game, regardless.
• Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4) (9.0/10) Overall, I'd probably call this the best game in the series. The gameplay is the more polished and varied than before, the story serves as a wonderful final chapter to Drake's tale, and the different locations you get to visit in the game are all memorable and gorgeous. The only thing it's missing is that one mind-blowing setpiece akin to the train level in UC2, but otherwise it's a wonderful game.
• Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (PS4) (8.5/10) A great Metroidvania with a cool setting, fun gameplay, great music, and a lot of secrets and easter eggs to find. About as close to Castlevania you can get without being called that. The only real negative for me was the lack of any clear guidance at certain points in the game. There were more than a few times were I had no idea where I was supposed to go next, and had to just run around the world before I happened upon the right place.  
• Final Fantasy IX (PS4) (10/10) Still my favourite game of all time. It had been quite a few years since I last played it, and the digital version on PS4 gave me a nice excuse to go back to it once more. The only real issues I had with it were related to the port, and not the game itself. Things like less smooth menus than in the original, minor audio issues and other small things that had for some reason been made worse in the remaster. Besides that, FFIX is without question a masterpiece, and my personal best game of all time. I guess the game could have one or two more challenging superbosses, but that's just nitpicking.
• God of War (PS4) (9/10) If I had managed to finish God of War a little earlier it would have been in top 50 games of all time this year. Obviously the visuals are absolutely gorgeous, the music is great, and the gameplay is extremely satisfying and fun. However, the real star is the story, and especially the character development that happens throughout the game. It's genuinely amazing that Santa Monica have managed to somehow make Kratos of all characters actually relatable, and do it in a way that doesn't feel disjointed or at odds with how he was portrayed in the previous games. The rest of the cast is equally excellent and written wonderfully.
• Dark Souls Remastered (PS4) (10/10) Although as a remaster this isn't anything special. The improvements are generally minor tweaks and upgrades to the original, which are all definitely nice, but don't do much to actually change the game in any way. On the other hand, it is still the best console version of one of the best games of all time, so I can't really complain too much. The solid framerate is definitely a great change that makes certain parts of the game so much more enjoyable, and everything that was wonderful about the original, like the world, gameplay, lore, and music are all still there, just looking a little better than before. A masterpiece of a game, an average remaster.
• Rogue Galaxy (PS4) (8/10) I just recently wrote about Rogue Galaxy as part of the top 50 games thing running on the site at the moment, and thought I should probably replay it one of these days since it's been around 12 years since I last played for the first and only time. Unfortunately, now that I have, it isn't quite as good as I remembered, and next year it'll probably be off my top 50 list. With that said, it's still a very good game. Every element is genuinely good, but very few are anything above that. A very good game that showed the potential of Level-5 as a developer, but not the classic I had previously remembered it as.
• Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (PS3 (9/10) Another game I decided to replay when it came up on my top 50 list, and I wanted to make sure it still held up as well as I remembered. And for the most part, it very much does. The gameplay, both in terms of combat and traversal, is very straightforward and quite simple, but a lot of fun nonetheless. Ultimately, it's the story, and especially the characters that make Enslaved one of my all time favourite games. The relationship between Monkey and Trip is wonderfully written, and the two are still some of the best video game characters I've seen.
• A Plague Tale: Innocence (PS4) (9/10) I'd been wanting to play this game since before it was even released, but until recently I just hadn't gotten around to it for whatever reason. However, I am extremely happy that I finally did, because it is without question one of the best games I've played all year. I absolutely loved the setting and time period, as plague-ridden France isn't exactly the most common video game setting around there, and A Plague Tale takes advantage of it perfectly. The story, the characters and their changing relationships, the melancholic music, the gorgeous visual design, and the stealth-based gameplay are all excellent. I loved every single moment I spent with the game. It really feels like a story and game that could only come from a smaller studio like Asobo. If I'd had to make some complaints, it took a while to get used to the voice acting, probably because of the french accents, but once I did I really liked the actors. The game's budget limitations can also be seen in its graphics, but the exceptional visual design makes up for all of that. Just a wonderful game, and I wish I had played it much earlier. 

Currently Playing:

• The Witcher (PC) Slowly making progress on-and-off. About halfway through at the moment I think, maybe a little more.
• Hollow Knight (PS4)
• Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (PS3)
• Chaos in Deponia (PC)

Sunset Overdrive - PC - 9
Sonic CD - PC - Savior of the Planet run - 6 (Replay)
Shadow of the Tomb Raider - PC - 7
The Messenger - NS - Picnic Panic DLC - 9
Tangle Tower - NS - 7.5
Detective Grimoire - PC - 6.5
Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure - PC - 5
Jet Set Radio - PC - 8
The King of Fighters '97 - NS - 7
Real Bout Fatal Fury - NS - 10
Samurai Shodown III - NS - 4
Waku Waku 7 - NS - 6.5
Code of Princess EX - NS - 5
Daemon X Machina - NS - 7
Mario & Sonic at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games - NS - Story Mode - 6.5
Lara Croft Go - PC - 100% - 7
Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 - NS - 9
Samurai Shodown 2019 - NS - 8.5
Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk - NS - 10 (Replay)
Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky - NS - 9 (Replay)
Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea - NS - 7 (Replay)
Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of Salburg - 8.5
Devil May Cry 3: Best DMC Edition - NS - 10 (Replay)
Streets of Rage - PS3 - 7
Streets of Rage 2 - PS3 - 8
Streets of Rage 3 -PS3 - 5
Streets of Rage 4 - NS - 9
Super Crush K.O. - NS - 8
StarCrossed - PC, NS - 7
Them's Fightin' Herds - Chapter 1 - PC
A Hat in Time - NS - 8
Chrono Trigger - SNES - 9.5
Alcahest - SNES - 7
Paper Mario: The Origami King - NS - 9
Art of Fighting - NS - 6
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - NS - 9.5
Kuru Kuru Kururin - GBA - 7
Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventure of Mickey Mouse - SNES - 1.5
Sonic 3D Blast - Mega Drive - 3
Kirby's Dream Land - GB - 8.5 (Replay)
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles - Mega Drive - 4 (Replay)
Mother 3 - GBA - 10
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - 10 (Replay)
Metroid Zero Mission - GBA - 10 (Replay)
Super Metroid - SNES - 10 (Replay)
Trials of Mana - NS - 7
Valkyria Chronicles 4 - NS - 7.5
Ikenfell - NS - 8
BoxBoxBoy! - 3DS - 7.5
Crosscode - NS - 7.5
Super Mario 3D All-Stars - NS
Cuphead - NS - 8
Halo: Combat Evolved - PC - 9.5
The Wonderful 101: Ported - NS - 10 (Replay)
Halo 2 - PC - 8.5

No Straight Roads - NS - 8

Halo 3 - PC - 8.5

Finally completed the Kiryu Saga of Yakuza! What a journey and what a fantastic series of games! I will wait until I get my hands on a PS5 and then until March when Yakuza 7 releases on it, to play it.

Finished:

The Last οf Us Part II (PS4)

Call οf Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered (PS4)

Call of Duty: WWII (PS4)

Vanquish Remastered (PS4)

Yakuza 3 Remastered (PS4)

Yakuza 4 Remastered (PS4)

Yakuza 5 Remastered (PS4)

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (PS4)

Currently Playing:

Zelda: Breath of The Wild (NS)

Days Gone (PS4)

Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4)

Plan to finish:

Vampyr (PC)

Call of Cthulhu (PC)

Completed:

Captain Tsubasa:  Rise of New Champions  - (Nintendo Switch)
NBA 2K20  - (Nintendo Switch)

Currently Playing:

G.I. Joe:  Operation Blackout  - (Nintendo Switch)

After Gears Tactics I burned though some games on EA Play. Black, Battlefield4, Need for Speed Heat. Onto Crysis 3.