As the world and all of civilization continued their downward plunge toward their inevitable collapse, I had a great year playing videogames in between heartbreaking news reports and my own truckload of personal tragedy. Videogames are an escape and few years have been as escape-worthy as 2020.
In addition, the epiphany I had in March to pull away a little from shiny new releases and finally get around to playing classics that had passed me by in the last four decades really paid off, as a slew of mini retro consoles and resources like the Internet Archive and Myabandonware came to my full attention and appreciation.
Time is ticking, and this middle aged gamer could use up his last life any day in the next 40 years, so it was definitely time to approach the hobby this way. Case in point, here are all the games I beat in 2020:
Full Games:
Assassin's Creed Origins (XBox One)
Untitled Goose Game (Switch)
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch)
Golf Story (Switch)
Beyond Oasis (Genesis)
Gears of War: Judgment (XBox 360)
A Boy and His Blob: The Rescue of Princess Blobette (Game Boy)
Ys Book 1: Ancient Ys Vanished (Turbografx 16 CD via Turbografx 16 Mini)
Ys Book 2: Ancient Ys Vanished The Final Chapter (Turbografx 16 CD via Turbografx 16 Mini)
Job Simulator (PSVR)
Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Xbox One)
Marathon: Durandal (Xbox 360)
Tass Times in Tonetown (Apple IIGS via Windows 10 via Internet Archive)
DLC
Dying Light: The Following (PS4)
As 2021 begins I am reminded that, even though I first played Pong in 1975 or so, it was 40 years ago this year that it all clicked and I was hooked for life on this silly ass passtime. In the fall of 1981, when our local bowling alley added Galaxian, Asteroids, and Space War, that's when it really began for me.
So, here's to a better year for the world, and meanwhile, there will always be great games to escape into when it is not.
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