My Top 10 Games of 2020

2020 had some brilliant games. Here are the ten I enjoyed the most this year.
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Thanks to Nvidia for sponsoring the video and giving away an RTX 3080 Founder's Edition. To enter, click the link. Best of luck! gleam.io/ayGXZ/nvidia-rtx-308...
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Edited by Austin @ausomehd
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A Look Back At (Most Of) The Games That Defined 2020:
• A Look Back At (Most O...
Destiny 2 Beyond Light Review:
• Destiny 2: Beyond Ligh...
Cyberpunk 2077 Review:
• Cyberpunk 2077 - Review
Immortals Fenyx Rising Review:
• Immortals Fenyx Rising...
Godfall review:
• Godfall was way worse ...
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Review:
• Call of Duty Black Ops...
The Pathless Review:
• If you liked Journey, ...
Assassin's Creed Valhalla review:
• I'm angry I wasted so ...
Spiderman: Miles Morales review:
• Spider-Man: Miles Mora...
My PS5 unboxing:
• Unboxing The Ridiculou...
My Xbox Series X Unboxing:
• Unboxing the Ridiculou...
My Xbox Series S Unboxing:
• Unboxing The Ridiculou...
Watch Dogs Legion Review:
• Watch Dogs: Legion is ...
PS5 Hands On Impressions:
• I PLAYED PLAYSTATION 5...
Ghost of Tsushima Legends Review:
• Ghost of Tsushima's FR...
Immortal: Fenyx Rising Preview
• Not Gonna Lie: I Reall...
Hades Review:
• Hades Is Rather Specia...
Yakuza Like a Dragon Preview:
• Yep, Yakuza: Like A Dr...
Star Wars Squadrons Review:
• I Can't Believe EA Mad...
Risk of Rain 2 Review:
• Risk Of Rain 2 Is As E...
Serious Sam 4 Review:
• Serious Sam 4 Is A Bad...
Marvel's Avengers Review
• This Should Not Have B...
BPM: Bullets Per Minute Review
• BPM: Bullets Per Minut...
Wasteland 3 Review:
• Wasteland 3 Is A Rare ...
Ghost of Tsushima Review:
• Ghost of Tsushima Is A...
My Watch Dogs Legion impressions:
• Watch Dogs Legion Left...
My Assassin's Creed Valhalla impressions:
• Assassin's Creed Valha...
My Cyberpunk 2077 Hands-On Impressions
• Cyberpunk 2077 Deserve...
My Last of Us Part II Review:
• The Last of Us Part II...
My Last of Us Part I review:
• Here's What I Think Ab...
My Deep Rock Galactic review:
• Deep Rock Galactic Is ...
My Hunt: Showdown review:
• ...but you really, rea...
Resident Evil 7 Review:
• I can't believe it too...
Fallout 76 Wastelanders Review:
• Fallout 76 in 2020
Black Mesa Review:
• Half Life is Timeless,...
Final Fantasy VII Remake Review:
• Final Fantasy VII Rema...
My Subnautica review:
• Why Subnautica Is The ...
My GOTY video for 2019:
• The Top 10 Games of 2019
Disco Elysium Review:
• Disco Elysium - A (Mai...
Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order Review:
• Star Wars Jedi Fallen ...
Pokemon Sword and Shield Review:
• Pokemon is Nintendo's ...
CoD Modern Warfare vs Spec Ops The Line
• CoD Modern Warfare Pul...
Death Stranding Review:
• Death Stranding - A Br...
The Outer Worlds Review:
• The Outer Worlds Reviv...
Ghost Recon Breakpoint Is Terrible:
• Ghost Recon Breakpoint...
Control Review:
• Control Feels Like It'...
Wolfenstein: Youngblood Review
• Wolfenstein Youngblood...
My Anthem Review:
• Anthem - The Review (2...
My Apex Legends review:
• Apex Legends - A Brief...
My Resident Evil 2 review:
• Resident Evil 2 - A Br...
My Fallout 76 Review:
• Fallout 76 - The Revie...
My Red Dead Redemption 2 Review:
• Red Dead Redemption 2 ...
Assassin's Creed Odyssey: The Review
• Assassin's Creed: Odys...
Destiny 2: Forsaken Review
• Destiny 2: Forsaken - ...
Destiny 2: Warmind DLC:
• Destiny 2: Warmind - T...
Destiny 2 - Curse of Osiris Review (I'm Done With Destiny 2):
• Destiny 2 - The Curse ...
My Destiny 2 Review:
• Destiny 2 | An In-Dept...
No Man's Sky - The Review
• No Man's Sky - The Rev...
My Detroit: Become Human Review:
• Detroit: Become Human ...
My God of War review:
• God of War | A Brief R...
Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition Review
• Final Fantasy XV Royal...
My Kingdom Come: Deliverance Review:
• Kingdom Come: Delivera...
My Monster Hunter World Review:
• Monster Hunter World -...
The Division Review (2018)
• Tom Clancy's The Divis...
Warframe: The Plains of Eidolon Review:
• Warframe | The Plains ...
My Warframe Review (2017)
• Warframe | The Review

[@SkillUp]

Thanks to Nvidia for sponsoring the video and giving away an RTX 3080 Founder's Edition. To enter, click the link. Best of luck! gleam.io/ayGXZ/nvidia-rtx-3080-founders-edition-giveaway

[@Arriss2121]

K

[@fizzlewhizzle395]

Love the vids

[@Gluzzer]

What should we replace pogchamp with skillshare?

[@8butsideways295]

I was waiting a long time for this video.... I was also waiting a long time for the ps5... I got both within 24 hours of one another... Next gen begins on 2/2 🐵🤯💦🍷🏊💦👌

[@tobyscustoms4813]

I think you need to revisit days gone but on ps5

[@CHEFPKR]

I have to admit, a LOT of my favorite gaming moments from 2020 came from your recommendations. Have a good 2021.

[@Shess2010]

Skill up cooking collab? :D

[@arminlutz8294]

Can only agree with this. Especially Ori is a game that i wouldve never picked up (or noticed) and it is one of the best gaming experiences for me this year!

[@sn4tx]

Aww. Good content creators can recognize other good content creators.

[@SmartFool24]

Yeah if Skillup or ACG recommend a game highly I know it’s worth checking out.

[@donaldslayer]

Finally played Nier Automata because of Skill Up in 2020. Super glad I did

[@Keln02]

Timestamps: 1:44 - Horizon Zero Dawn (PC) 6:00 - Astro's playroom (PS5) 9:07 - Fenyx Rising 12:35 - Hades 15:40 - Kentucky Route Zero 18:43 - Ori 2 22:05 - Risk of Rain 2 26:11 - FF7 Remake 29:30 - Wasteland 3 32:45 - Ghost of Tsushima

[@xXSuReaLXx]

got timestamps for the music aswell?

[@theoff8411]

Thanks

[@jiggswut1124]

I don't understand how Astros playroom gets ahead of games like last of us 2, Spiderman, Demons Souls, nioh 2, half life alyx, gears tactics, even the glitchy cyberpunk.

[@Keln02]

@@lawjef why he doesn't have timestamps in the youtube playbar is a mystery to me... maybe a matter of upload?

[@krityaan]

@@jiggswut1124 Because it's his list. Not an "objectively better than" list.

[@jonaqpetla_]

10. Horizon 1:45 9. Astro 6:00 8. Phoenix 9:08 7. Hades 12:34 6. kfc 15:38 5. Ori 2 18:43 4. RoR2 22:04 1. ff7 26:11 1. wl3 29:27 1. sushi 32:45

[@bryanjames5470]

Awesome work buddy. Fuck shill up no time stamp.

[@hectorgeoffrey6821]

Ori and the will of the wisps felt like a magical dream. I loved this game so much. I also love the ost and can’t stop listening to it. What an experience this game was.

[@tschuki121]

Nvidia giving away the entire 3080 stock, that's pretty neat.

[@JazzyUnderscoreTrumpeter]

See, I find this rather funny

[@mox9574]

Gold

[@TravisRiver]

Lmao

[@Leaddevo]

That would be really funny if it wasn't actually true.

[@erichall090909]

It’s depressing that this is like the best chance I have of getting one even with the money in my account to buy one

[@ibra.h]

"There arent many games that are written like this" Shows dialogue: "Does a bear poop in the woods?" 11:59

[@hemangchauhan2864]

It's highly philosophical, of course

[@RealDafuh]

come on the reaction of the bear sold it totally hahaha

[@morningmilk257]

Not gonna like bc it's at 222 likes and it's beautiful

[@AtrociousNightmare]

I can genuinely say nobody in the industry does this type of stuff the way you do. You value our time, make us laugh, think, sometimes even move us, even for a silly thing like a top 10. Thank you so much. Keep it up

[@curbyour____9506]

ACG and Skill Up are pretty much modern poets at this point

[@Morrinn3]

Nr. Ten - 1:44 Nr. Nine - 6:00 Nr. Eight - 9:07 Nr. Seven - 12:33 Nr. Six - 15:38 Nr. Five - 18:43 Nr. Four - 22:03 Brief intermission - 35:34 Nr. One - 26:11 Nr. One (again) - 29:26 Nr. One (the final one) - 32:45 Closing Thoughts - 36:44 Outro - 37:31

[@Morrinn3]

Brief intermission was incorrectly stamped ( should be 25:34 ). If only YT allowed you a brief window to edit/delete your damn comments.

[@WhiteLivesMatterPL]

THX!

[@andrewgomes2452]

Thank you! Also, who uses Nr. instead of No.?

[@WhiteLivesMatterPL]

@@andrewgomes2452 Poland

[@PessimisticLoner94]

Thank you…

[@TheGamerUnknown]

10: Horizon zero dawn 9: Astro's Playroom 8: Immortals: Fynx Rising 7: Hades 6: Kentucky Route 0 5: Ori and the Will of the Wisps 4: Risk of Rain 2 3 top games: Final Fantasy VII Remake, Wasteland III, Ghosts of Tsushima

[@sirbibton]

Guess he hasn't finished Cyberpunk yet, which is odd since he made a review of it a while ago. He should've waited until he finished all the games he was playing from 2020 before making this list but I'm sure he'll make up for this mistake when he realizes.

[@masutado5961]

@@sirbibton I think I'm just getting baited here, but have you considered that maybe he just doesn't think CP2077 is that good? Like, the game is a god damn mess, I wouldn't blame anybody for not even considering it when thinking of GOTY contenders.

[@ok_listen]

Thanks kind stranger

[@IWantToStayAtYourHouse]

@@sirbibton He said in his previous video that he couldnt put cyberpunk in his top 10 because of all the problems it has. He said he enjoyed it, but he enjoyed these games more

[@Ottobot2]

No Half Life Alyx? Man he missed out on a real gem.

[@archskullz2169]

If number 1 isn’t Bugsnax we gonna fight

[@c.i.a.932]

Bruh, Bugsnax, more like suksnax. lolol, also Doom is Boom, and Ghost is China in another country. “If you know that guy and you, you won boiii” -Sun fricking Zu. I already won boiiii.

[@CRIMX0N]

@@c.i.a.932 i just had a fucking stroke reading your babbling

[@Dutchfalco]

@@CRIMX0N Not just a stroke. It gave me Ebola and Winnie the Pooh’s Chinese flu as well.

[@akmal94ibrahim]

@@c.i.a.932 the fuck did i just read?

[@decentlyaverage9483]

more like the last of us part 2 🤡

[@raybrandt]

"what if?" ... And he starts describing Morrowind, made 18 years ago.

[@Mmmergon]

Or 2 Gothic games. That part of the video was very strange.

[@thenordiqsomm]

Dude I said that also as he was describing it at the end! Morrowind is the GOAT of open world, playing it still to this day

[@-castradomis-1773]

Dude! I was thinking the same.

[@crazedzealots]

I thought the exact same as you guys. Man Morrowind was a difficult but worthy experience.

[@akragt01]

@@thenordiqsomm morrowind is the goat of all games

[@KirstenPonydaughter]

I rarely watch recommendation videos, I tend to skip through them to be exposed to games I might not otherwise run into and I would prize myself lucky if I get a good recommendation out of it. Your content has me positively surprised, you speak with passion and seem to really value the experiences these games offer. That warms my heart, and in addition it's just inspiring! Thank you for sharing your passion, I got loads of awesome games I want to play now

[@darkstarastel]

you're the first reviewer i've seen to put risk of rain 2 on a GOTY list and it makes me happier than it should. even after getting all the achievements and having almost 300 hours in it i still go back sometimes for quick runs or to mess around with mods. i love that game to absolute death, so thank you. now i should probably actually play hades at some point lmfaooo

[@xiv3036]

do you know which track was playing when the Risk of Rain 2 part started? sounded dope as hell

[@brendanhatherall720]

XIV The track is called “Con Lentitud Ponderosa”. It’s the song that plays during the lead up to the final boss.

[@Cataphract1236]

Hades is absolutely incredible, my personal goty- check it out

[@Malpheance]

@@brendanhatherall720 And if you really like how the song sounds, you have another fantastic version from risk of rain 1, "coalescence". It's beautiful and haunting.

[@smileymissiles]

is that a power pfp

[@0Gumpy0]

Glad to see Wasteland 3 getting some solid attention from a list like this. It definitely surprised me just how much I loved it.

[@BenedictMHolland]

Apart from the assets bugs crashing the game, is in incredible.

[@LargeGSX1400]

If I could play it longer than hour without crashing, I'd love it too.

[@chattw6885]

Its actually one of the only games I played through multiple times just to experience all the other plot points and multiple ways the story can lead you, instead of just watching all the endings on youtube

[@Ron_Swanson]

As someone who couldn’t properly get into wasteland 2 i absolutely loved wasteland3. One of the few games i was actually sad it was over after completing it. It feels in depth yet accessible. Despite a handful of bugs and occasional crashes, i just loved it. Will probably replay again when i get a series x (eventually) and praying for some sizeable dlc!!

[@johnwrath3612]

I love isometric RPGs and xcom combat, but i really really hate how the combat in wasteland 3 is designed so that your entire team takes its turn at once. Some of those early encounters where the enemy gets its turn first and you get absolutely massacred in a single turn are just frustrating. I wanted to love wasteland 3, i really enjoyed wasteland 2, divinity, pillars of eternity, baldurs gate, the old isometric fallout games. But I just couldn't get into it because the combat doesn't feel right. I hope someone makes a mod that implements a more traditional initiative roll system for the game. Also I hate how you get so many squad members with so many skills that you never lack for whatever skill check you need. Its never a choice. You get everything.

[@damn6039]

The real GOTY is Mr.Krabs overdoses on ketamine

[@grandrtiv26]

I see you are a man of culture

[@noob69masterxxx33]

I see you a man of culture

[@filopride619]

I see you are a man of culture

[@nelvantorres5680]

I see u are a man of culture

[@sethcomeaux7697]

i see you are a man of culture

[@cameronbambridge8085]

This is a VERY well edited and paced video. Love the work man keep it up!

[@nufh]

Supergiant Games are one of my fav studio since Bastion. Their motto "We make games that spark your imagination like the games you played as a kid."

[@naduheshan5699]

"Assassin's creed died on the beach. Ubisoft deserves to suffer"

[@rumncoke76]

@A . B Shah This is an oversimplification. Unity was a great evolution of the Assassin's Creed formula up until then. Origins was a bold new direction. Rogue was...something. Assassin's Creed is basically, potentially as ubiquitous and longlasting as any other titan-franchise like Mario or Pokemon or whatever, because it can basically take any shape or form and still have appeal and be marketable

[@dec2567]

@@rumncoke76 very true. Immortals is a good example its great game but valhalla is not so great.

[@weaverquest]

@Darth Revan Yes Assassin's Creed story ended with AC3. Ubisoft should have dropped the future stuff after that, and focus on making good period piece open world games. But at this point they have to slap the Assassin's Creed name on anything they make, case in point assassin Vikings.

[@Slayernecros]

Considering that Origins and Odissey are excellent, I don't get this circlejerk that Shillup has against it and now he's blowing his load against it just because of Tsushima. It has not died at all wtf.

[@mrbubbles293]

I thought the same and didnt touch an AC game since Black Flag... Then I got Valhalla and although its not really an AC game but I'm having a blast 130 hours in...

[@Thoric_]

Thank you for a year of reviews, let's hope 2021 blows us away with good games

[@BGNewsReporter]

Had been waiting to finally watch this video and as always, never disappointed. Fantastic stuff mate, here's to a magical 2021!

[@Pyromonkey83]

"THE TOP 10 GAMES OF 2828"

[@sicarius9156]

*top 18

[@Sonic_BoomFPV]

Agreed. Def a bad font choice... 🤣

[@bamboeng2014]

That Naoki Yoshida "dude, stop" stopping Nomura going full nomura is something i can definitely imagine

[@iaxacs3801]

Itll happen Nomura has some incredible story ideas but he needs someone to help him organize and reel in the ambition. For all the insanity Kingdom Hearts story is, some incredible story telling from Nomura has come from it. Hilariously enough the murder mystery from the gotcha app is so good it would rival stuff like Knives Out

[@nikkan3810]

Risk of Rain has such a genius music, i didn't even hear that particular song you started the segment with, and still didn't even doubt i knew where it was from.

[@nomoturtle1788]

It's from the boss stage. Yeah, Chris Christodoulou makes great music. First game's good too.

[@JosibiusZ]

I am so glad to see Ori getting some well deserve recognition. That said, I also understand 2020 ended up been a year with tons of fantastic videogames to play.

[@maxwhear1861]

Your vids are great man, one of the few quality reviewers out there

[@aeonlincoln5474]

Last year these same people called him a pretentious Kojima fanboy and a shill for being one of the few KZbinrs who said Death Stranding is a masterpiece, but whatever......

[@chubbyturtle6268]

Shillup gets payed to put out his reviews from the publishers. His brother Gayman has way better content.

[@ggs27]

@A . B Shah Yeah, because if you think differently of Last of Us 2 you can't trust someone's taste and you're wrong.

[@silverhost9782]

@@ggs27 nope, but when a reviewer has the same taste as you it will obviously make them more reliable and relevant for you personally. You're trying to make it more controversial than it needs to be

[@ggs27]

@@silverhost9782 But you don't need to 100% agree on a critic to trust them

[@pandarouge21]

man I'm so happy you put Risk of Rain 2 on this list, it deserves all the praise it's gotten. Loved the list, I'll definitely be checking out your picks

[@nickmushong2311]

Yes

[@ChumpLord]

If hades didn’t come out this year the game would have so much more talk about it. Love risk of rain 2.

[@pandarouge21]

@@ChumpLord maybe, though hades definitely deserves all the praise it's getting, it's a great game. but i'm kinda sad that RoR2 has gone under many people's radars

[@celsius2322]

Skill up, thank you for 2020 and looking forward to listen to you again in 2021. You're simply the best.

[@aliG2500]

Glad Wasteland 3 was on your list so high up. It hasn't been getting much love from a lot of popular youtubers for their best of the year lists so I'm glad your recognized it. It was my personal game of the year for 2020.

[@gilded_lady]

Astro's Playroom won me over in minutes. It's got so much life and so much charm. I love it!

[@Webrock]

I waited for your Horizon PC review after your tweet appreciating it back in August. Glad it made it to the list here, coz i loved this game

[@Hard2hit94]

Horizon zero yawn

[@Drunkenleet]

Thank you so much for the suggestion of Wastland 3. Started playing it 2 hours ago and it's a great game!

[@MrJerott]

Discovered your channel a year ago on your GOTY 2019 video. Stuck around ever since. Sort of nostalgic (can you be nostalgic for something that happened a year ago?) feeling watching this one! Cheers man, hope 2021 is a good one for you and games.

[@JimmyGoodYT]

Good list, Skill Up! Your message at the end about that style of game was great too!

[@Jandau85]

"...imagine isometric Fallout..." - So, basically, Fallout?

[@Jandau85]

@@3adir_ Yes, I know. What I was referring to was the fact that saying "isometric Fallout" is like saying "wet water". There's no need to imagine it since it's already that thing.

[@avozsaj]

The sad fact is that most people only know Fallout as the 3d games and MAYBE heard about the 2d ones.

[@Cap_The_Captain]

@@Jandau85 Water is not wet. A thing can be made wet when introduced to water but water itself cannot be wet. But to annoy & weird out alot of women out there we prefer to use the word MOIST, to describe something that is wet.

[@cadeharmon5201]

@@Jandau85 i hear you man, the og fallout games will always be my favorite. I love 3 and new vegas, but ive never gotten such a sense of dread and hopelessness then i did from fallout 1. Such an amazing game

[@PR2k9]

@@Cap_The_Captain what if I add what makes women wet into water? Will that water now be moist?

[@kaizokuonii51]

Listening to you doing what you love, which is writing about what you love, which is video games - which I also love - is just so infectuous. You really make this medium feel as special as it is, past all the bullsh*t in the current industry. I love video games so damn much. My favourite game I've ever played - The Outer Wilds - woul'dve never crossed my mind if not for you. You really help me remember why I love games so much and I feel like it's okay to love games, something often perceived as a useless passtime. Thank you for sharing your passion, we can feel it and it's infectuous.

[@tadtspencer]

Thank you or putting into words exactly what I was feeling. Both the sentiment towards Ralph's videos and The Outer Wilds, which has also become one of my favourite games because of the SkillUp recommendation.

[@1_underthesun]

@@gigachadbodypillow614 Disagree. They each have their strengths, and Ralph's is spitting essentially poetry about games. If you watch their 3 min "breakup" video, they lay it out pretty well

[@adamdangaran7825]

I subed to this channel for division content years back. You are now my favorite reviewer of all time. You need to know this!!!

[@HolyxReaper]

Your "what if" list for open world games could be summarized as not doing anything new and just "what if morrowind again"...and I fully agree with that concept.

[@Jim26D]

The past is the future

[@giampaolomannucci8281]

Actually the first game that came to my mind was Arena but, yeah, Morrowind is basically a more refined and focused Arena

[@kaingates]

Have you played Morrowind in the last couple of years? It’s Janky as hell my dude. morrowind wouldn’t make it in this climate. Open world concepts with little linear structure is eaten alive in today’s climate (no mans sky comes to mind).

[@HolyxReaper]

@@kaingates did you watch his video? I'm not referring to morrowind as a whole, just his list of how open world games should evolve in the future (no quest markers, open exploration, etc) .

[@souljastation5463]

Actually, seems to me that he described soulsborne games, in fact they had a certain influence in the direction many RPG went (probably also infuenced BOTW).

[@niki_bbb]

“Early Access should be adopted across the industry” yeeeeah I will never agree with that.

[@Ornthemycelianth]

yeah the industry basically already is producing early access xD

[@fatbroccoli8]

Adopted*

[@fatbroccoli8]

It would work but not with every game ofc

[@CatchMeNever]

At the least they should do free beta testing or a demo before release

[@Lividicuss]

It could work in the way that Hades did. Or even minecraft or subnautica. I can say, for sure, that I will buy and play any game From Soft will make. So them having bloodborne 2 for 18 months of early access allows those fans like me to participate in the building process and pledge their money early allowing for better development. It works when games come out when they are done and not on a certain date regardless of their polish/finish.

[@LiaraGaming]

"This is my list damn it!" Absolutely! We need to stop shaming people for the games they enjoy and insisting other games are better.

[@GrimJackal]

Um... About half a year ago this comment section was 80% people shitting on everyone that liked The Last of Us 2. If anyone needs to learn that lesson it's definitely Skill Up's community.

[@xPhantomxify]

Depends on what games you like and prefer over others. You can only stay subjective up to a certain point. For example, if you were to say that cyberpunk 2077 is your GOTY and you like it more than anything released this year, everyone has the right to shit over your opinion.

[@WrektSK]

@@GrimJackal I mean it depends. If someone comes ahead and tell me they liked TLOU2 because of the graphics and gameplay, sure that's fine. I'll take it. But if they try to convince me that they liked TLOU2 because of that dumbass story which seems like it was written by two 13 y/o teenage emo brats who know nothing about human emotions and depth of a story, I will gladly tell them that they have poo for brains.

[@edward1081]

@@WrektSK people can love the last of us 2 for anything. Not everyone has to jump on a hate bandwagon

[@edward1081]

@@GrimJackal exactly and everyone was saying how cyberpunk2077 would destroy the last of us 2, boy how the tables have turned.

[@englishmaverick2578]

Your definatly 1 of my favorite you tubers around, such a nice guy and love your content, keep it up 💪

[@SuperXrayDoc]

Glad to see my boy is still simping for Outer Wilds. More people need to play it

[@luckybuccaneer]

aw man, that game. I know its the whole point, but the 20 mins timer was just too frustrating for me.

[@xjamiec]

I played outer wilds because of Skillups recommendation last year, probably the most memorable game I've ever played. I think it's still criminally unknown but will be looked back on as something special.

[@TheBlueGoldenHawk]

Such an interesting and unique game. Shame it doesn't seem to have gotten that much attention

[@Corusame]

Even though it sounds amazing I can't stand games with enforced timers so have to skip

[@xjamiec]

@@Corusame it really doesn't come into play for the most part, you can get a lot done in 22 mins :)

[@vinayakgupta9155]

This is the closest we will get to a horizon zero dawn review

[@razvanzamfir1545]

Yep. But, all in all, I'm glad he actually got to experience it properly. It's true that it's a little tough in the beginning to get invested in the world, to experiment with the game mechanics without a guaranteed positive outcome, but I will never get tired of hyping this game (maybe I should ask the devs for a free copy of Forbidden West? :P). The graphics are great (even on base PS4), the combat is amazing and expansive (assuming you're taking full advantage of the different options; even I barely touched on the consumable traps except for one mission kinda asking you to do it), the main character is believable and I loved piecing the story together as well as the what happened with the "ancients". Most important, it still didn't answer all questions by the end of it and so leaving more to be desired. That being said, I understand it's not necessarily a game for everyone, but it's a travesty to ignore it, especially since you can get it for 10$ almost all year around.

[@akmal94ibrahim]

@@razvanzamfir1545 I like everything about HZD except for the way they present the stories. The lore is interesting but there's too many "secondhand storytelling" as in an NPC/recording telling you the interesting story that has happened. I wanna experience the story, not be told it. As such, I'm never really invested in the stories except for Aloy's personal story. I end up didn't care about the various towns and its people and didn't care about the history of the world. Then again, I was playing HZD while also playing The Witcher 3, so maybe the stark difference in storytelling quality between the two games made me not appreciate HZD. But still, all in all, if you own a PS4, HZD is a must buy.

[@razvanzamfir1545]

@@akmal94ibrahim I didn't read most logs, but did listen to most audio logs. I agree it's far from the same story telling as in the Witcher 3.

[@weaverquest]

@@razvanzamfir1545 Rost and Sylens were very believable and compelling characters imo. Hard to come by in video games.

[@ifyouknowyouknow6604]

Its personally my favourite game of last gen just cause I was so engaged with it.

[@MrBoyinabox]

Interesting, insightful & eloquent as always mate. Happy 2021.

[@l.l1017]

Omg, each time you speaks about Kentucky Route Zero I wanna cry. I've tried so many time to explain to people what it is about, but each time I can't find the proper words. But you did so well. I don't know if I can say that I ''loved'' the ''game'', but it surely has a very special place in my heart.

[@franciscofarias6385]

I love how many times you managed to sneak Outer Wilds footage in there. Such a brilliant game right

[@chucksneedlee]

GoT and Doom Eternal were probably the most fun I've had with video games in years.

[@seanseidman2017]

Excellent video! I'm so glad you included Kentucky Route Zero on the List. I hadn't heard of it till a friend mentioned it and it left an impact on me that I still feel today.

[@spiralviper8158]

This was an enjoyable experience to watch, i can't say it about much of the time youtube takes off my hands but these 40 minutes were well-worth the time. I hope to buy many of these games and enjoy them :) thanks!

[@clark2109]

Was hoping to see Pathless on the list after that intro! Def one of my top ten. Glad you finally got to enjoy Horizon and Ori though. Good list

[@Exel3nce]

i just didnt see the greatness of the pathless. it was just too same-y after some time. the music is forgetable, the world looks good and the flow is also nice

[@Kneeco69]

@@Exel3nce yeahhh, i was disopointed.

[@fatbroccoli8]

I wish he put horizon as an honourable mention because it’s not a 2020 game and gave another game a spot instead

[@boxerheadninja4281]

@@Exel3nce it's a boring ass game, I spent 6 hours simply activating towers and the bosses were really lazy and not challenging whatsoever, it's simply not worth a 40 dollar price tag

[@Exel3nce]

@@fatbroccoli8 there isnt much one could give a place for

[@gavinmueller]

Hey, your writing on that Kentucky Route Zero section really struck me and impressed me with your level of appreciation and emotional exploration. I’m new to your channel but wow you are much more than a video game journalist, my friend.

[@sfaulk136]

You should watch the whole Kentucky Route Zero "review" It's an amazing video

[@gavinmueller]

@@sfaulk136 Seems I must!!

[@Dowgle]

You're work is always fantastic, but I think your segment on Kentucky Route Zero might be my favourite. It is everything I want to say about the game but don't have the eloquence to put into words. It is an experience that has stuck with me more than any game I have played in the last couple of years and is truly a special piece of art.

[@DanDanChair3427]

I'm really happy Hades is in your top 10. It was my favourite game of last year, though there were many I didn't play.

[@MBULTRAHD]

After 2020 Ori definitely became one of my favourite game series ever. Man, that spider boss. The bad memories 😂

[@AiosPaige]

Same Bro, only the spider really made me rinse and repeat many times, only time I truly invested in learning a boss battle.

[@zeruszephuros5419]

I probably got the total opposite with what most people do: tried play BoTW, around 20 hours in and still doesn't get the game's appeal But I played HZD a year after its release date and loved every bit of it and played it non-stop lol

[@SparkySpice0911]

HZD is a bootleg BOTW

[@weaverquest]

HZD excels in every area BOTW fails in. Story, worldbuilding, enemy design, and combat is so much better.

[@thelegendofstonecoldstevea3205]

@@weaverquest combat is worse. The rest you’re right. Music in HZD is pretty bad too.

[@telltellyn]

@@SparkySpice0911 BOTW has meh combat and only a handful of different enemies. It was innovative but it's not aging well at all.

[@telltellyn]

I loved BOTW but I got bored of it pretty quick, the combat is extremely limited. I spent 4 or 5 times longer playing Horizon.

[@arylonthedancer]

Excellent commentary as always. I was really hoping you'd sneak The Pathless in there somewhere, but your review of it was service enough. Looking forward to your coverage in 2021 and hope you stay safe and well out there. Don't forget to jam Streets of Rage 4 soon!

[@ryanheemann3819]

“Controlling Ori is like steering the wind.” Wow, so well said! Thanks for describing how awesome Ori’s movement is.

[@Farozurshad]

Skill Up: "What if the next big AAA open world action game had no map markers, and you talk to NPCs to find where stuff was." Elden Ring: "Ohhhh!”

[@LEg3enDArmy]

Just play Gothic 1 and 2. Problem solved.

[@thelegendofstonecoldstevea3205]

Is that the next game we’re overhyping?

[@Farozurshad]

@@thelegendofstonecoldstevea3205, Always has been.

[@thelegendofstonecoldstevea3205]

@@Farozurshad dont be mad when you end up getting another cyberpunk then

[@AJ-pc9gu]

Haven't seen the vid yet, but what a wonderful job youve done weathering all varieties of controvery in 2020. Its a testament to your integrity. I still owe you over outer wilds tho! Best recommendation anyone has ever made to me.

[@dynamine203]

You a real one

[@And-or488]

I still owe this guy a huge thanks for his nier automata review. Would probably never have tried it otherwise. I hope everything is fine with him and his brother though! They both haven’t uploaded that many videos lately/ this game of year video seems a little late?

[@erickh555]

Hello dude, im here from your the division era, so really really long time subscriber! I love the way you shaped this channel and you really evolved from where you started! :)

[@dsb8283]

I've commented similar sentiments in previous videos. I really appreciate your writing style, it makes your videos very enjoyable

[@danielwareking]

"Immortals Fenyx Rising has a total playtime of 20 hours" **looks at save file where I'm only like a third of the way through the campaign and I have 35 hours clocked**

[@Unterhund69]

Expected Playtime times 3 = My actual playtime

[@jaredrace4599]

Yea I thought the same thing hahah I'm 40 hours in and have 3 areas done hah

[@NeroVuk]

@@jaredrace4599 you guys die a lot or what?

[@jaredrace4599]

@@NeroVuk na just play the game to complete not run thru

[@Unterhund69]

@@NeroVuk I just take my time with games, i don't rush them, ill check out every side quest i come across and generally play on a higher difficulty

[@rodf2k10]

It hurts in my heart that cyberpunk didn't make it to your list, and it hurts even more because it really doesn't deserve to be in it.

[@raveouscarlias4479]

Yes it does. On PC it does.

[@R7_Zenny]

@@raveouscarlias4479 No it really doesn't even on PC

[@gurthus9540]

Needs a year to get patches out to fine tune driving, add some features like police and eradicate the bugs. But I wouldn’t pay attention to the people who say the game is trash regardless, they just want to be “quirky”

[@laworder6637]

CyberBug 2076< Doom Eternal

[@RustCohle072]

The sad thing is the game would have been on a lot of GOTY lists if CDPR execs didn't push the game out the door half baked, and kept setting release dates that were too soon. The developers were angry, and rightly so.

[@KiIowatt]

The best thing about SkillUp is he can describe a game in the fewest words possible while still fully encapsulating what's best about it.

[@dogmaticchains6564]

Not only great and meaningful reviews but also an awesome writer. Thank you!

[@drew1753]

"What if the next big AAA open world game had no map markers and you had to talk to NPCs to find where stuff was?" They did that a long time ago. It's called Morrowind. Then they fucked it up.

[@brendan2415]

Morrowind was awesome. Bethesda games have gone downhill since in my eyes

[@eryklvl]

@@brendan2415 i mean i wouldn't say downhill every company has some fuck upgame like fallout 76 and wolfenstein young blood BUT Doom this year was So good

[@souljastation5463]

Maybe, but the modern version of that is called souls-borne games (In fact ,it's said that Demon's Souls started its development as Sony's response to Oblivion).

[@brendan2415]

@@eryklvl Doom was awesome but that was made by id, I'm referring to the decline of their open world games really.

[@drew1753]

@Bzake Yikes. Try not to have a fucking aneurism over it. It's just an opinion, dude. Honestly, not even sure why you're getting all pissy about it when they obviously didn't stick with the "geographical game" design for open world games. Just don't play Morrowind.

[@deldwath1]

Finally, wasteland 3 getting some love!

[@TheQoogle]

As i love CRPGs , i was pretty hyped for Wasteland 3, but it really was a rocky road for me. The highs were really high, but the lows ( mostly technical nature ) were driving me crazy and led to me not finishing it. But i played it on Gamepass, so i paid basically nothing for it and i hope to actually buy it at some point and come back to it.

[@deldwath1]

@@TheQoogle Yeah quite a buggy launch.Having spent many hours in fallout and TES games tho...well, can't say I'm not used to buggy games with top stories.

[@sugreev2001]

I love RPGs, but I wish it wasn’t Turn Based. I know people who love this will hate me for it, but I’ve never been into that form of combat since I was a kid.

[@GigglingStoners]

@@TheQoogle Same like the second one then; good thing I didnt try it

[@TheQoogle]

@@GigglingStoners i finished the 2nd one actually. I played the directors cut edition tho 5 years after it came out and it was in a fine technical state after all that time. I assume this will be the case for 3 as well in a bit of time.

[@zadefadhil4542]

Finally someone gave gen sakie the rewards he deserves.

[@revengeofthesynth5430]

YES!!!! WASTELAND 3 GETTING THE LOVE IT DESERVES! Underrated game of the year for sure. It's literally like New Vegas in X-Com format and it's so much fun to see how many twisting, turning, knotting variables in the narrative based on the choices you make along the way. The combat is fun and you get to have a character of every type to learn about and play with. It's such a nice balance in between simplicity and streamlined ease dealing with 6 customizable party members, while having enough depth and variation that every one of your 6 characters in your party will have a very clear and set role in battle that they will noticeably excel in relative to the others.

[@haubeck]

GOT was my GOTY aswell, amazing game.

[@claytonweaver7335]

Horizon Zero Dawn is the most uneven game from last gen. When its good, its really good. I have high hopes for the sequel.

[@EatThePath-7]

It reminds me a lot of KZ1. It's full of generic design (following trails, ubi towers,etc), a lot of limitations (0 parkour, next to none npc interaction in what is supposed to be an RPG) and an overall bland narrative (can't remember a single name of any other character other than the Zavala dude and Aloy, both of which aren't that interesting either). But it has charm to it and some strong aspects (lore and robot combat mostly). I would love to see Forbidden West be the KZ2 of Horizon and finally win me over. I think if the sequel has more confidence and ventures more into doing it's own thing instead of emulating other games in the genre it could turn out to be a fantastic game.

[@MsGers2]

@@EatThePath-7 THANK YOU the game is so fun but it's so badly bogged down by a generic story, generic characters, and some awfully generic game design. It's so full of better potential that can hopefully be fulfilled in the sequel.

[@dmann05]

They loaded all of the interesting story in the back half of the game, I think. And loaded too much open world BS in the first half. I love the game but it has flaws for sure

[@simonvoncramon1367]

I was never able to finish it. I might go back to it, but the 10-15 hours I put in just felt boring. I always felt myself mindlessly drifting from marker to marker with no real purpose. The highs were really good and made me stick through, but then I'd quickly get in another rut where the story was just boring and none of the side quest were enjoyable.

[@Shamyrl]

@@simonvoncramon1367 Totally agree with you. I put nearly 20 hours into Horizon Zero Dawn and was never able to get into it. I eventually quit it and deleted it from my hard drive.

[@chrisf1600]

Some really good ideas, thanks (Ori and Kentucky both passed me by entirely but they look terrific). I'm already immersed in Wasteland 3 and enjoying it greatly. The dialogue and story-telling is very good and it's one of the few games in recent years that has really absorbed me. I find a lot of modern games very superficial and forgettable, but Wasteland 3 feels "deeper" and more satisfying in a way that's quite hard to explain.

[@rayderrich]

Fantastic Top 10 with titles I definitely need to check out in 2021, thanks a lot!

[@dd7aa]

That was good timing, I'm self isolating and I'm bored out of my mind lol

[@Shadowzdota]

Once again, Yakuza like a dragon gets shafted

[@sabus1265]

And he put horizon zero dawn instead 🤦😆🤡

[@sabus1265]

Which released back in 2017. Nobody cares about a pc port, that doesn't make it 2020

[@gabrielgutierrez6086]

@@sabus1265 lol I actually got bored to death in HZD (which is not a bad game) and I felt like Yakuza 7 was something fresh and different than the bunch games with similar narratives I've been playing in the last years. Now the series got me hooked.

[@gabrielgutierrez6086]

@@sabus1265 ??

[@gabrielgutierrez6086]

I actually started playing it after watching his positive impressions, now I'm like wtf. I played most of the games on this list and while they are great, they were on similar level or less fun than yakuza. Also, the narrative was way better and fresh than most of these games. Maybe it's because I'm new to the series but what a game..

[@spid3rmike117]

I haven't heard of Ori and the Will of the Wisps until now. Guess I've been living under a rock lol. Looks amazing, I can't wait to try it!

[@eetdarichmarx7423]

So glad that you included Astrbot! It's in my top 5.

[@nickmcelroy527]

great to see wasteland 3 getting some recognition. It was buggy for me, but they were relatively small and didnt have any meaningful impact on my experience. I was genuinely gutted when it finished. I wanted more. I very rarely feel that way after long RPGs. it was such a surprise for me. loved the combat and RPG elements. great, great game.

[@glendogdangler]

Great game but buggy as hell on consoles unfortunately, can’t play more than 1-2 hours without a crash

[@Exel3nce]

coop seems buggy as fck

[@frogg4711]

I didn't see anything about it but it seems amazing

[@chasesmay7237]

I generally wait 3 months before picking up a new game and it worked out really well for wasteland. It’s a great game though, I’m having a blast with it right now (I admit I haven’t tried co-op tho:)

[@nickmcelroy527]

@@glendogdangler agree. although I only had a few crashes with wasteland 3. Playing this game started to make me think about the general state of games in 2020. I had bugs on Ori, Spiritfarer and this during a small period of time in 2020. was frustrating on all three (spiritfarers bug actually killed the game for me) but with wasteland, they were luckily ones that I could overcome, albeit frustratingly...

[@SocalSolider91]

Had to relisten to part of the Ghost Of Tsushima section when the Outer Wilds music came on and gave me goosebumps.

[@sullyy2k1]

Completely agree with HZD. They struck gold and then bogged it down with busy work. Something about it makes me feel this is one of my all time favourites. But it’s hard to go back to once you stop as it can feel like a chore or completely overwhelming. Hopefully, they’ll sharpen up the experience in the sequel because it really is an amazing world with amazing combat and enemy design 🙌🏾🙌🏾

[@mistaawesome9739]

At the beginning when you spoke about the Russian roulette analogy was very smart and true. You are a fantastic game reviewer!!

[@thenerdbyrd7026]

I don't know why seeing ori and the will of the wisps made me so happy but oh my god you have no idea

[@NixonAxi]

Yoshi-P : Dude, stop. Couldn't say it any better LOL.

[@damiancrowley569]

The way you explained ori and the will of the wisps totally sold me. I'd heard about it, but was unsure. I'm gonna get it now though. You made it sounds phenomenal

[@plaguedtyphoon]

Once i hear the risk of rain ost i always get chills. Man its sooooo good

[@mikeg5039]

Thank you! Someone who knows what Dino Riders is!

[@l4zrh4wk]

I’m afraid you forgot the real GOTY: Deep Rock Galactic

[@blortbugman8722]

Rock and Stone brother!

[@wixardo]

This. To see ror2 on his list and not drg is seriously questionable, the co-op genre has been starved for a new good game for years, we had l4d2, then payday2, risk of rain's co-op mode hardly feels like co-op, while DRG feels like the best designed co-op game on the market, and I doubt that will change anytime soon, back4blood certainly isn't going to do any better.

[@Ian-hi5vz]

And not just the co op is perfected. Drgs procedural generation is a technical marvel, with every meter of every cave feeling fresh and unique.

[@Railstar1976]

I came here to say this. I was deeply disappointed not to see it on his list, but co-op and multiplayer games don't seem to be his favorites to begin with. Rock and stone!

[@alistairpaul9681]

Rock and Stone!!

[@misterskaught]

I was anticipating this list for weeks.. Once again, you did not disappoint! Thanks for the great view points and hot takes this year! See you again going forward!

[@guibleme]

Unbelievable quality content. Thanks for making this!

[@ScreamingTc]

The backstory to Horizon Zero Dawn is a joy to discover and piece together. It's actually pretty damned smart to let the pieces come to the player out of order, because the questions become more pertinent as to why certain things took place, and it makes the big reveals even more emotionally powerful as everything starts to slot together.

[@vintagemonte]

You definitely just put me on risk of rain 2

[@LordofAoD]

Ghost of Tsushima is my favorite game of the year and one of my favorite games of all time. Very happy to see it so high on this list. Also, you're the reason I got into Risk of Rain 2. I've never been a fan of Supergiant's gameplay, so no one has been able to convince me to try Hades, but I bought Risk of Rain 2 because of your review and put an irresponsible amount of hours into it.

[@broliy2100]

I really like what you did with your game of the year, I find myself in the same predicament where there was no one game in 2020 which I was like this is it, I thought cyberpunk might be the one but we also saw how that turned out. If I had to say my goty, it would probably be TLOU2 but then there's also P5R and Yakuza like a dragon which honestly is shaping up to be my GOTY of 2020, a very hidden gem.

[@snyperheadshoot]

For me, what took Wasteland 3 from a good game to a god game was that amazing soundtrack, so beautiful...

[@sabus1265]

Better than Undertale?

[@sexyfish3455]

wow man, you're language is beautiful, it almost brang tears to my eyes the way in which you describe some of these games

[@saceurai6629]

He's one of - if not the best - reviewer/writer TBH. And he doesn't bend to sponsors etc to write fake reviews. If he doesn't like it, he just says it so, and if he likes it, he says it so too. But in a way that it is worded so beautifully, that you end up sitting through 40 minute of a "bad game" review, just to listen how and why he felt that way in a very pleasant way XD

[@packers12to80]

That was a interesting list lol. Thanks for the video

[@ArunPandianApk]

Wow, finally someone gives Wastelands series some praise which deserves much more. I still remember the time in Wastelands 2 when one of my character was wearing a dog collar for stat bonus, when I entered the ranger base, the ranger leader asked me "Ranger, What are you wearing there?". Still amazed by the amount of detail in those games.

[@GlazednConfused]

After that intro I want a top 10 videos of skill up ... chop chop

[@kj5600cool1]

Did he say 20 hours playtime for Immortals?! I'm 25 hours in and haven't even freed 2 gods yet 😂

[@Nikelaos_Khristianos]

20 hours at a speed-run! 😂

[@TheFloodFourm]

It sound like B-lined past a lot f optional content. How is the variety holding up for you?

[@MetalGamer666]

These reviewer types play games very differently from most people. I don't play that many games, so I take my time with the ones I decide to play.

[@kj5600cool1]

@@TheFloodFourm Aside from it probably needing more enemy variety, the gameplay loop is great for me. Love the vaults and puzzles etc. I'm a big mythology guy so just walking around discovering stuff I know is all part of the fun ha

[@StayFractalesque]

boomers calculate game length by speed running the campaign, nothing else.. this is the way

[@utgardekeep2972]

Discovered this channel since Warframe and you have been my second favorite reviewer ever since. (after Sam)