The Best, Worst & Blandest of 2020 (Zero Punctuation)

[@Shogunisdead]

Which ubisoft sandbox was the blandest? Throw a dart.

[@godminnette2]

He did kind of choose by far the least bland of them.

[@anangryninja2824]

Also why does your comment say that it was written a week ago before this video even came out?

[@sportsjefe]

@@anangryninja2824 Joining the channel gets you youtube access a week early (See the little yahtzee head by his name)

[@sirprintalot]

Watch Dogs Legion wasn't even that bland. The other two though...

[@Shogunisdead]

@@sirprintalot although there was that one character with the really punched up dialogue. He was cool

[@goldeagle1824]

I'm starting to think that yahtzee just has a thing for games about boats

[@seokkyunhong8812]

Islanders, amirite

[@Nebula.Dragon]

Perhaps, but remember how he tore into Sea of Solitude?

[@bluemcneil5883]

And his love of the obra dynn. It's boats. The cheeky fuck

[@Sorcerers_Apprentice]

Windwaker was his favorite Zelda game. He also liked Return of the Obra Dinn and Assassin's Creed: Black Flag.

[@Pingviinimursu]

He's even making a game about a boat. Well a space boat. Still essentially a boat tho.

[@SigmaSyndicate]

A 7 minute video as opposed to a 5 minute one? You spoil us, Yahtzee.

[@xavierspirit1811]

Daring today aren’t we

[@AxxLAfriku]

I HATE people that HATE other people. I get a lot of HATE comments on my amazing videos and I HATE it. Please don't spread HATE. Do I have to HATE you too, dear si

[@terrynieuwoudt8586]

It's so dense...

[@1krani]

Glad he did. Ever since he introduced the Blandest list, I felt the funnies got too few and too short.

[@TARINunit9]

Every Best/Worst/Blandest video tops seven minutes.

[@oldducky2796]

Holy shit I forgot Minecraft Dungeons released this year, damn I thought that was like a 2019 title

[@connorcampbell-bisson8721]

Same vein, I completely forgot the Avenegers game was a thing.

[@Thesaurus_Rex]

I think we can all agree it has been a long year.

[@ijustchangedmyname]

I completely forgot that half life alyx was released this year

[@insaincaldo]

@@connorcampbell-bisson8721 I think I've seen it mentioned twice and both parties gave up.

[@volcryndarkstar]

Not this year. It's 2021 friend.

[@brycesmith6427]

Yahtzee is hands-down one of the most consistent and long lasting content creators on the internet. I've been excited to see these year-end videos for like eight years now, same goes for each new episode of the show. Thank you for what you do.

[@dud5606]

Personally i feel like hes lost a bit of his edge over past 2 years but I have to agree. Putting out quality content so consistently for a decade is extremely impressive.

[@breedlove94]

Even when the Escapist was in a weird ownership/management limbo for 3-4 years he was *still* putting out a video every week

[@PsychoDiesel48]

Exactly

[@jayvanx154]

Who knows, maybe i'll be waiting 8 years too

[@LeuLeumas]

Most of the times I just have a 7 hour compilation of ZP videos from a certain year and still laugh at it

[@TheRoboKitty]

I love how Yahtzee didn't even think it was the most broken game of the year (Remothered: Broken Porcelain) or the worst written game (Battletoads reboot), it was just the game he had the least fun with

[@timebomb4562]

Maybe something to consider there

[@lucwilliams9044]

TBF even in buggy games there can be some sort of fun to be found but if the game is so stale and makes you want to stop playing then i do kinda understand his point

[@biteytarkus2684]

As Reggie once said " If it's not fun, why bother?"

[@Dethmaster64]

That’s what Naughty Dog gets for saying “We don’t use the word ‘fun’ around here”

[@HellecticMojo]

The thing is that he loved Spec Ops the Line and that's misery simulator up the wazoo. honestly LOU2 felt like what God of War 3 being hyped felt like. Play as a character you no longer like due to them casually killing too many on their way to revenge that proceeds to feel hollow and meaningless by the end once the final boss is reached.

[@turbovirgin_]

"You gonna interrupt at some point?" "I wasn't, no" That took me by surprise

[@roaringbeardragon4531]

Yep lol

[@InfiniteDarkMass]

That whole ending was great. = )

[@Ramsey276one]

LOVED IT

[@jingyulee96]

Yeah, the last bit was genius. He took a technique that *is* often used maliciously and subverted it perfectly.

[@ospero7681]

Same here. In hindsight, maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise, considering he did a very similar joke in his review of TLoU 2 ("Playing The Last of Us 2 *was* a pretty miserable experience..." (Beat) "Kinda sounded like you were gonna say "but" there, Yahtzee." "Mm...no. It's really fucking miserable and depressing...").

[@but_in_space_though2919]

Why yes Yahtzee, I did think that one NPC in Watchdogs Legion had really well punched up dialogue; how did you know?!

[@fighteer1]

I love it. If you’re going to be accused of bias anyway, why not totally own it?

[@sugarboys5423]

The line “you could deliver this ambulance full of organs to a hospital or you could become good friends with a passing dog” I’m certain was written by Yahtzee

[@sirbirbton]

WHAT HOW DID YOU DO THAT

[@sirbirbton]

@@fighteer1 YOU TOO WTF

[@but_in_space_though2919]

@@sirbirbtonDo what? Comment early? That's membership perks bay-bay!

[@00blaat00]

The game awards were a bloody joke... "Hello and welcome to the Game Awards. We've divvied up the prizes between three mediocre AAA games, and to head off criticism we also drummed up an Indies category. Hades won there."

[@sanken21]

TLOU 2 everytime and my friends are mad like some angry neighborhood

[@termitreter6545]

Yep, thats exactly what those awards are. Well, except with TLOU2 being mediocre, its pretentious garbage.

[@matthewmuir8884]

I usually only pay attention to the "Player's Voice" award since that one's actually voted on, but even that one made me go, "What?! That won?" this year.

[@dynostretch9215]

"And for one of the award acceptance videos, we have an oddly appropriate one where Druckkmann is talking in his warm house while an employee of his is literally outside in the cold of night."

[@MisterVercetti]

The Game Awards are pretty much symbolic of the rest of mainstream gaming journalism; irrelevant, taken seriously by almost no one, and too focused on collecting paychecks from AAA studios in exchange for undeserved praise for their mediocre products to give much-needed attention to games and studios actually making meaningful innovations to the medium. ...God, AAA gaming needs another '83-style crash, and it needs it five years ago.

[@phyrexian_dude4645]

You did it Ubisoft, you became such bland game factory that Yahtzee had to throw a dart to a wall to randomly pick the blandest of them all.

[@healsyeah]

starwars: a new bland

[@madmanadam1]

and now they're going to make a star wars game yaaaaaayyyyy

[@E1craZ4life]

I get the sense that Yahtzee had finally given up on Spunkgargleweewee last year. I wonder how long it will be before he gives up on Ubisoft sandbox games.

[@Shalakor]

You know what actually could use a sequel? Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. ...Admittedly, far too niche, even if the original's sells actually did turn out better than you'd expect.

[@Canadiansamurai]

They need to bring back Rayman

[@Onyx35678_Composer]

Lets all laugh at an industry that never learns anything tee hee hee!

[@cheekykunt7265]

I'm waiting for him to do one of those on the game awards

[@legoworksstudios1]

@@cheekykunt7265 maybe E3 too since Corona the Dastardly canceled it for 2020

[@andrazprelec8263]

I would ask him to fo it again but he doesnt acept requests so

[@braydenthomas6104]

Which one?

[@OfNoImport]

Tee hee hee

[@petrarcheleven8816]

I love how Ichiban's big stupid face nearly takes up the entirety of the number 3, like he just *really* wants you to know he's third best.

[@Thorrison]

Undertale going Floyd Mayweather on the Game Awards shoved up a giant butt was an image I never would have come up with, but desperately needed

[@1234-o2j]

@Khaeldranis the main dev broke his hand so not soon

[@volcryndarkstar]

Mike Tyson* Floyd Mayweather would just dance around the Game Awards for 8 rounds waiting for them to tire out so that he could feel safe actually putting in some effort for the next 2 rounds and be granted a TKO by judges he's bribed.

[@YourFatherVEVO]

@@1234-o2j he made the new characters too wankable

[@ProfessorHeavy1]

@@volcryndarkstar Game Awards don't have ears to bite off.

[@bobvella7228]

@@1234-o2j looked that up. seemed he always had a issue with it, it got worse, he started weight lifting, and it got back to "normal". that was from an article from september so i don't know about now

[@niligitur]

Spiritfarer was the first videogame that ever made me cry. I played it after my grandparents and brother died, and it gave me some real catharsis. I'm glad other people got meaning out of it, too.

[@Blastmaster321]

When the first thing that came out of his mouth for Best Game of 2020 was “sure its got a lot of bugs” my reaction was, “Wow Im surprised he put Cyberpunk in the top spot”

[@trat2053]

Using the phrase "least shit" to describe what is supposed to be a member of the top 5 really sums up this whole year, doesn't it? Edit: As the first reply points out, he did split the 2nd place. I don't think that invalidates my statement. There are about 52 weeks in a year, and for convenience sake I'll say any non-reviews he made are balanced out by double reviews (I'm too lazy to go and count the exact number). In that case, my point still stands that 6th place out of around 52 is "least shit". Screw 2020.

[@E1craZ4life]

I would think that the fact that he split the second best prize meant there were enough good games from the year to allow that.

[@Robert399]

And the last 5 years (at least) of the video games industry

[@manaulhoque6507]

fuck skill trees and inventories, why are they in every game

[@Lisa_Minci96]

Didn't he legit like GoS?

[@Athanatov]

CK3 was excellent, but not something Yahtzee bothered to review.

[@_-KR-_]

I miss the gaggle of Yahtzee's making random boo'ing noises

[@mothichorror446]

Bestie game I like this game, yes yes yum yum

[@CB0Otz]

@@mothichorror446 Blandy blandy blandy blandy

[@tekaname4188]

Don't worry do to quarantine they are all staying at home safe with their families.

[@abanustrickland368]

Right I was doing it myself the whole video!

[@hazukichanx408]

I remember that time when he did a capella versions of various theme songs with weird lyrics. "Driving about, driving about, driving about, oooo-eee-OOOO!" ... "Faaall in the naaaame - Shooters With - Faaall in the naaaame - Shooters With" And so on and so forth.^^

[@CalciumChief]

No wonder this seemed familiar, it's in the "Every ZP of 2020" video.

[@lowleypeasentmr.l8836]

Seems like a bit of an oversight

[@magentasound_]

I'd assume it was released on the escapist website in 2020 but last week wasn't 2020 so idk

[@GlalGamingPanda]

Strange, cause usually the awards video is at the start of each I'm pre sure?

[@ThomasG_]

Imagine if Hades and Spiritfarer both take place in the same afterlife. Stella sails her boat down the Styx and floats past Zagreus as he shreds his way through legions of the undead. They wave to each other before going their separate ways.

[@Catasros]

Zagreus would be excited to see her every time they meet too, most likely.

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

"I loved you in _Wall Street!"_

[@CharlemagneGuy127]

And when he inevitably dies, she just scoops up his corpse and drops it off at Hade’s wading river for dear old dad to greet him like “are you winning, son?” while bubbles rise to the bloody surface.

[@Montesama314]

I didn't know I needed that fanfiction until now.

[@AussieRider20]

Okay so this is now canon and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. Edit: I have just realised this means one day Zagreus will see someone else take him down the river Styx and that breaks my heart

[@serenity8839]

On the topic of beings discovering our civilization, i do hope they mistake all the Mcdonalds signs around the world as one unified Faith were we worshiped a clown.

[@serenity8839]

@@Jack-yo2bc Clown'ism!

[@serenity8839]

@@Jack-yo2bc MCFAITH, fuck thats hilarious!

[@bobvella7228]

think the twin tailed mermaid is more likely

[@arthurgrmg2850]

Wasn't there a game like that or was it a mod for some paradox game?

[@serenity8839]

@@bobvella7228 The war between the Clown and the Two tails Mermaid ravished the land for decades before a two likely heros showed up, a middle age college girl and an overweight 20 something odd single man on a night after a bender showed up too save mankind.

[@stormtempterf8058]

"Lets give it one more year and then if things dont improve, lets hear out those self-extinction wierdoes". .....yeah, thats probably the right move

[@azzzanadra]

@@Baeraad what is that?

[@malikoniousjoe]

@@azzzanadra Vindication mixed with self defeat and exhaustion that nobody proved you wrong like you so desperately hoped

[@azzzanadra]

@@malikoniousjoe no, I mean what is self extinction?

[@bloxmineland2]

@@azzzanadra I assume people who wish for the nuclear holocaust, as I for one do. It's more likely going to be some NWO or Matrix shit to cocktease us. Just wipe us the fuck out already, it's getting old

[@RickMyBalls]

@@azzzanadra It's just no one breeding ever again.

[@CBRN-115]

This is the true game awards in my book

[@esquiredan2702]

I had such high hopes for the Game Awards. I thought they would be the more fun version of the Oscars, and with more integrity. I was so wrong.

[@benwasserman8223]

@@esquiredan2702 Awwww you're still mad critics liked LoU2 and need to believe they were bought out rather than genuinely loved the story.

[@AscendantStoic]

Amen!

[@HellecticMojo]

@@benwasserman8223 genuinely loving that story itself is kind of the problem. It's not like the year was weak in narratives. I'm more pissed about sound design. wtf is LOU2 doing winning sound design of all goddamn places?

[@benwasserman8223]

@@HellecticMojo Ok fine it didn't have to win that one- I would have gone with Doom Eternal. But you do get absolutely terrified whenever clickers start making sounds so it still does well in that department.

[@Captainflake99]

The pepper tombstone always gets me when I see it

[@cereal_chick2515]

Wait, I missed it

[@Captainflake99]

@@cereal_chick2515 the spiritfarer bit

[@MilanousMedia]

@@cereal_chick2515 for context "Pepper" was Yahtzee's real life dog who unfortunatly passed away recently.

[@cereal_chick2515]

@@MilanousMedia I know, it was very sad when I saw the tweet.

[@MilanousMedia]

@@cereal_chick2515 then its for everyone else then 😜

[@marktaylor6491]

Was expecting 'Alyx' to get game of the year. Guess it being VR made it just too inaccessible.

[@JohnDoe-yf9wk]

Hopefully with the new stronger consoles we can at least get it on PSVR.

[@Kono_Dio-Da]

@@JohnDoe-yf9wk Valve has basically dropped console support, so it's unlikely.

[@Kono_Dio-Da]

@@HeroDarkStorn People still go back to Half-Life (the OG on GoldSource), because it's enjoyable. Alyx is an enjoyable experience that has innovated what VR games can be, similar to how Half-Life 2 innovated modern gaming by popularizing ragdoll physics and algorithm-based lip synching, as well as adding a deep story.

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

Why the hell did you expect Alyx to get GotY? Yahtzee kinda liked it when he reviewed it, but he wasn't _that_ mad keen on it, while he practically gushed about Spiritfarer. How long have you been watching Yahtzee videos for anyway?

[@sun332s7]

The fact it is VR is why I won’t play it. VR is awful

[@leonardorestrepo5196]

Holy shit, I just realized that I've been watching these since high school. I'm 26, so that's a decade of my life listening to an angry British man in north carolina.

[@TheChessicfayth]

Who are you implying is in North Carolina, you, or yahtzee?

[@connormcconnell7881]

@@TheChessicfayth yahtzee lives in north Carolina

[@fiercemushroom4840]

@@connormcconnell7881 When did this happen? I thought he lived in Southern Cali.

[@redbear8974]

@@fiercemushroom4840 he lived in Australia for a very long time too

[@rya3190]

@@redbear8974 man, I thought he still did...

[@ToonedMinecraft]

I love that even in this video, he took the chance to point out how well he did in helping Bagley's writing.

[@macabga5071]

I did like The Last of Us 2... but what I hate is the criticism gearing towards "oh, too much inclusion" or "oh, why does this character have to be a lesbian now". Dude, it's okay. The Last of Us 2's problem is that it tries to put TOO MUCH into the story, which is... honestly, very bloated. Not a matter of whether A or B character is trans, gay or bi... it's just it's so many characters, so much plot, so many arcs that it ends up being bloated. Other than that... meh, it's like the first part: intricate story, very good graphics and okay gameplay (let's be honest, TLOU was never a mechanical masterpiece). I'd say it goes more into the "bland" list, but that's just my opinion anyway.

[@flybydeath]

"I did like The Last of Us 2... but what I hate is the criticism gearing towards "oh, too much inclusion" or "oh, why does this character have to be a lesbian now"." I would actually put your criticism on its head. Its also a large problem that a bunch of people only seem to like the game for those reasons and demonize everyone else who has legit criticisms. If it didn't have lesbians and inclusion a large amount of critics and political fans would think the game was nothing special. In short both sides of the extreme are trash and if your are unable to see the zealots on your own side than you are part of the problem.

[@Raxoris]

That Undertale image... you're still sore about Undertale being snubbed for Rocket League, huh Yahtz? That's okay, I am too.

[@hazukichanx408]

Any goof that puts Sportsball+Driving: The Game ahead of Undertale in any list of meritorious things, deserves a swift cleated tyre to the tender bits and no mistake.

[@StephySon]

Any game that puts a fucking RC car against any game that has Asriel and Sans can fuck off

[@DeadDogInc]

NURDS!

[@infinitytrainbook4394]

Rocket league is funner imo

[@alexanerose4820]

You don't really have fun in Undertale unless you're killing things but it along with the fanbase discourages you from doing that so at best it's a wannabe VN with light RPG mechanics

[@john_squatson]

Absolutely agree with TLOU2, its a game that wants you to feel like shit for playing it

[@aaronatkinson3050]

Same thing goes for storytelling as well and the characters you play as

[@ivandekad7249]

on Watch Dogs: Legion: "Mind you, the one character's dialogue was really well punched up, wasn't it?" *insert 'Obama awards Obama a medal' meme here*

[@NEEDbacon]

Did Yahtzee write a character for Watch Dogs Legion?

[@shr1mpsush1]

@@NEEDbacon well, to my understanding, I think it was more of revising the script for dialogue the same way one would run their book through an Editor before publishing(Yahtzee worked on Bagley, if I'm correct).

[@takuansoho5836]

@@NEEDbacon He wrote some of the lines of the (surprisingly sarcastic) AI that speak to the player along the game

[@noragrayson229]

Only good retailers now? Gonna miss picking up Yahtz’s books from some dodgy ones...

[@MandleRoss]

LOL I'm picturing either the store from the beginning of Hellraiser, or Ben himself lurking in a dark alley in a trenchcoat he opens to reveal that it's lined with copies of his book, and he's naked.

[@scoticvsgossage9378]

I actually picked up a paperback copy of Mogworld in a Goodwill about two years ago XD Dodgy? Nah Odd? Definitely

[@Gentlemenpickleesq.]

"Thank Christ 2020 is over!" 2021: opening music plays....

[@joarnormark1814]

giorno's theme starts playing

[@Eon2641]

Being relieved about getting through 2020 is like being relieved you managed to kill Smough before Ornstein

[@CaspianMidnight]

SNK season 4 theme is morbidly appropriate.

[@greensmurf221]

"Why hasn't the boss music stopped?"

[@SnuSnuDungeon]

The Serious Sam placement could not be more accurate as I had forgotten a new one has come out at all

[@FrumpyMcDumpster]

Huh, guess Jack Packard won the debate after all.

[@Kerim9991]

the doom one?

[@2CPhoenix]

My own game of the year goes to Animal Crossing, not because it was my favorite or even because I enjoyed it, but because it truly was the game of 2020. I can’t think of anything else that better represents the year we just went through.

[@AsanpiCh]

That's a fair point, actually.

[@PhyreSpore]

I'd actually give it to Hades by that criteria. As someone who works from home, a game about being stuck in the same routine pushing towards an eventual end that's always just out of reach with your biggest encouragement to keep going being the friends you make along the way, feels pretty applicable to me. Not to mention, aside from a few characters, you only get to talk to the people who live in your house and most of your family talk to you through distant messages.

[@matthewmuir8884]

Yeah; that is the game that deserved the Game of the Year award. These award ceremonies are dumb and extremely out-of-touch, so normally the only award I bother to listen to is Player's Choice, since it's actually decided by people. But even that one somehow made me go, "What? That won?" this year.

[@ghostkill221]

Really getting the most out of the Stockimage of frogs he paid for I see.

[@mackielunkey2205]

Yahtzee's takedown of Last of Us 2 is as brutal as that punch Lev got from Fat Geralt

[@Alphabunsquad]

I mean he didn’t like Last of Us One so why the hell would he like Last of Us Two. His view is valid considering it’s consistent. For people who liked the first and not the second, pretty much every criticism I’ve heard completely misunderstands the end of the first game.

[@mackielunkey2205]

@@Alphabunsquad Tbf, I knew Zero might not like this game, but I didn’t know that he would despise it.

[@E1craZ4life]

@@Alphabunsquad He briefly considered naming The Last of Us 1 as his #5 best game of 2013 before deciding to give that title to Metal Gear Rising Revengeance.

[@Nyzer_]

@@Alphabunsquad The two games aren't particularly consistent. There are notable storytelling flaws in TLOU1, but they're ignorable because the relationship between Joel and Ellie is the main focus of the story. TLOU2 drops that focus on slowly building its characters' relationship - drops the greatest strength from TLOU1 - and sets up a story that aborts its climax in order to start a second campaign that's almost completely disconnected from the first one. The best way I can put it is that, even in its most generous interpretation, the difference in the very nature of the two games' storytelling is like going from Sonic 3 to Sonic Adventure; from Super Metroid to Metroid Prime; from Paper Mario TTYD to Super Paper Mario. The fundamental design of the story itself is drastically different.

[@Rory626]

Such a shit take too. He didn't like it which is fine but to act like it was truly the worst game that came out in all of 2020 is just bizarre delusion

[@Jordan-fs1ft]

This man is so consistent I’ve been watching him for 8+ years and he’s still chugging along making jokes. And I love it

[@Waffletigercat]

I like how all of the other boomer shooters he shows during the section about Serious Sam 4 are legitimately really good.

[@gsilver0]

The pile of retro style boomer shooters should have had Prodeus. Civvie will certainly want a word with him.

[@witmoreluke]

I'm in my twenties, but there have been lots of boomer shooters from little studios recently that I've really enjoyed. Dusk and Amid Evil are two that really stand out, same studio too I believe.

[@ReptileViking]

@@witmoreluke Yeah, New Blood. They've also got Ultrakill in early access.

[@deadstroyer952]

same with the roguelikes

[@deadstroyer952]

@@Danmarinja i think doom eternal and ultrakill are both kinda in their own genre, i'm not sure if it's fair to call them boomer shooters anymore

[@KeithFraser82]

Zero Punctuation indie rock track of the week: *A Veritable Rollercoaster Of Disinterest* by *Twelve Rich People And Their Accountant* Runner-up: *Christmas Themed Felching Simulator* by *The Pursuit Of The Pointless* Zero Punctuation death metal track of the week: *The March Of Entropy Will Claim Us All* by *Life Is A Journey And Death Is Coming Home*

[@MisterVercetti]

If I could describe TLoU2 in a single term, it would be "self-indulgent". It felt like Naughty Dog was making a game for itself, not for fans of the original or even the gaming public at large. I can't remember what game it was, but Yahtzee put it best in an earlier review: it's impossible to enjoy a game (or any piece of media, for that matter) in which not a single character is likeable and you find yourself not caring in the slightest what happens to any of them, and that describes TLoU2 the way "ridiculously tasty" describes bacon.

[@Nyzer_]

It's so self-indulgent, Neil Druckmann basically called out fans of the original in an interview for not realizing that Naughty Dog's headcanon for Joel during the years between games took him in a different direction than they were expecting. As if it was their fault for expecting the second game to build upon the characterization the first one had set up - to actually show that Joel had gone soft BEFORE he just stood around and got kneecapped. I think he literally says something along the lines of "we, as the creators, obviously know better than you do about how Joel has changed since the end of the last game". Like damn man, I'm sure you and your team knew about this years before the game released, but just because the idea of joel getting soft with time was old news to you by that point doesn't mean it isn't any less OOC to the audience when it just happens with no buildup.

[@ultgamercw6759]

Nice to see someone who remembered HLA came out as many others seem to have forgotten how good it was when making year lists.

[@tymmezinni]

Like he said, part of the prob was such a limited audience given the requirements.

[@Keldiur]

HLA represents perhaps the first step VR needs now. Dedicated large studios developing exclusively for it. It needs main stream apps and appeals if people are going put the money down on one. It sits in a weird place for me. Too much money for the good peripherals and not enough interesting exclusive titles to get a cheap all in one set. That is where VR sits atm. The next evolution of gaming 90% of gamers cant justify the money for yet.

[@bird3713]

I love how Yahtzee can’t talk about even the games he likes without still ragging on them.

[@explodingtomahawks7589]

It's only fair. Really we should all do that with any media we enjoy.

[@MrSmegheneghan]

Gotta keep things consistent, really. Liking a game without making mention of its flaws is one of the steps to becoming an irritating fanboy. The key is to not get so bogged down in the criticism that you can't enjoy games at all, and ZP has that down rather decently - just as the good games get token pokes at what they did wrong, so do bad games get subtle nods to the things they did right.

[@_yikesforever]

As someone that grossly sobbed at Spiritfarer last month, thank you for all the praise you give it

[@DmitriLowell]

Seeing *that game* get Worst Game of the Year was something I needed. Thanks, Yahtz.

[@imanuelthiele6935]

thanks for not spoiling the title!

[@jalpat2272]

@@imanuelthiele6935 you mean the one with steoroid user female golfer kill old man at winter resort.

[@imanuelthiele6935]

@@jalpat2272 I mean the one which was bad regardless of the physique of a character that very insecure men seem to be intimidated by

[@thewielder3445]

@@imanuelthiele6935 Plenty of reasons to hate that character other than the fact that they have a certain body type. Too bad both the games head writer and gaming journalists ignored those criticisms and put the people that didn't like them for said reasons in the same boat as the ones who threatened the voice actor who played that character for playing them

[@jalpat2272]

@@imanuelthiele6935 oh you mean the one with anti goverment activist attacked lesbian couple at theather.

[@nickweston6472]

I played last of us 2 and then played pathologic. I felt so much better playing pathologic. Walking very slowly from one side of town to the other was infinitely more pleasant than any character in last of us 2.

[@nickweston6472]

@@kingkefa7130 yeah it’s definitely unique and difficult to get into. But finishing last of us 2 felt like I was self harming. It really comes to something when you lose to the game designed to be unpleasant.

[@BamHurgr]

Dissapointed that Factorio still haven't been reviewed :,( it finally released in 2020 after 8 years in development...

[@Kieferson1]

I doubt he will its very RTS like and yahtzee doesn't really do RTS

[@BamHurgr]

@@Kieferson1 that's fair, but i feel like the fact that its in the top 5 highest reviewed games on steam, should at least promt him to give it a go.

[@SebTheGreat84]

IGN reviewed it 2 hours before your comment

[@LiquidSpider]

@@BamHurgr I think its the fact that Factorio appeals to a certain type of person and everyone who's not that type of person wouldn't give the game the first morning rays of day It's competent and well designed enough that literally everyone who is that certain type of person would recommend it so ofc its 99% positive reviews signed, that certain type of person

[@Sleksin]

@@LiquidSpider It is indeed a game with a very particular appeal. He might like it how he (I think) found Stardew Valley alright, or it might be more like Doki Doki Literature Club where he simply doesn't care for the type of game and so it doesn't work.

[@jeremyf493]

The difference is that Spiritfarer is a game that builds its story and its most moving moments through the interactive nature of gameplay while The Last of Us 2 is a video game that wishes it was an overindulgent Emmy bait series on HBO. And sure enough, that's what it's going to become. Also, it's hilarious that Yahtzee took a drive-by swipe at Avengers: Endgame and nobody seemed to notice.

[@GAMBANJUJJJ]

sooth sayer you happy now?

[@yasenyaso9739]

A prediction. the no1 game on his list will be an indie game few have heard of......or hades, hades was awesome Edit: I was partially right but holy shit I didn't see the no1 worst game coming, I always thought it would be no1 blandest or not mentioned love you yahtz, never change

[@android19willpwn]

of all the things that can be said about TLOU2, I don't think anyone can accuse it of being "bland" with any level of honesty. It has a very clear vision that it commits very hard to.

[@willichtenstein7071]

He did say in his review that it was a depressing slog to get through.

[@yasenyaso9739]

@@willichtenstein7071 he is not wrong, the game had great VA and graphics but MAN did it feel tedious and boring. never understood why people likes that looting mechanics in the LOU franchise

[@mazaaaya4283]

@@yasenyaso9739 they didn't like the game on support that game for alternative motives

[@NoSoupForYouu]

@@android19willpwn The lack of gameplay progression (meaning it's the exact same thing in every fight ever), a 25 hour long completion, and nothing but the same "lol the world sucks cause zombies and drama" for that whole way through? Yeah, it's definitely bland

[@lordfrostwind3151]

Im pretty convinced Amnesia Rebirth was someone developer's preggo fetish simulator that accidentally got mixed up for the actual game.

[@matthew1882]

Press X to hold your baby is kind of hilarious.

[@InkubozuNikki]

Thanks jerkass, I can't unsee that now.

[@lordfrostwind3151]

@@InkubozuNikki What can I say except YOUR WELCOME

[@E1craZ4life]

I think a “preggo fetish simulator” would be better executed as a reversal of Death Note if that makes sense (which it probably doesn’t). I still think it would suck bad enough to seize the ZPLAATA from Ride to Hell: Retribution.

[@Corpseplower]

@Starless It was written by a guy, but... ok.

[@CanadianHoneybadger]

I'm actually with Yahtzee on this one. The Last of us 2's story managed to be fucking awful AND utterly predictable. Like there were no plot beats that really surprised me beyond drawing out noises of disgust. -without the story? What do you have left? A generic linear game that doesn't really build on mechanics from the last game. All the while the devs pat themselves on the back for a job well done and take best game of the year. Yeah, probably one of my worst experiences this year if not THE worst

[@wolfVFV]

Well it looks (sometimes) good and rope physics..

[@Nyzer_]

@@StrazdasLT Come now, not all of them were paid off. Some of them simply heard that bigots hated this game, and decided that means the game must be awesome.

[@jamesmckeon8896]

He's right, that one character's dialogue was rather punched up

[@quartzossie]

Fitting that the worst game of 2020 is the one that best embodied 2020: depressing, pretentious, and ultimately unwelcome.

[@jonathankeen793]

5:33 RIP Pepper 🥺

[@fighteer1]

Oof. I didn’t catch that until you pointed it out.

[@MrSplic3r]

Gotta be honest, I'm so used to Pepper being used as the butt for these types of jokes that I don't actually know if Pepper passed away, or he's just being crotchety

[@MrSplic3r]

@@jombilywobbily ...fuck

[@razorhog8]

Abruptly opening the Best of 2020 section with "this year I coined the term Jiminy Cockthroat" proves his genius.

[@redred5194]

Damn, I don’t always agree with Yahtzee’s tastes in games, but his content is just *chef’s kiss*

[@Sm1ley1987]

I'm actually insanely happy to see Spritfairer claim the top spot here - genuinely a fantastic game and I implore anyone who has not played it to please do so!

[@dihyaneverforget5163]

But TLOU 2 says that killing people is wrong... and that's deep... and a debatable somehow...

[@JohnDoe-yf9wk]

The game has more narrative dissonance in the US here has cognitive dissonance. It's like killing is bad now let us force you to kill every person you come across and feel bad about it and you don't have any control over that.

[@jeskler]

@@JohnDoe-yf9wk The game says killing and revenge is bad and shows you why it's bad, over the course of the game Ellie goes from a likable person who'll do some bad things for people they care about to becoming a monster that'll kill for no other reason than it's just easier.

[@Anddroiden]

TLOU 2 has me so conflicted, because there's things in there i love and gobble up like candy, playing as the opposition is always something i enjoy. There's just so many irritating decisions in there that thoroughly ruin all the good parts. I think what bothers me most is that in the end it is an extremely inferior NieR: Automata who has gotten all the praise NieR: Automata deserves.

[@Just_Matty]

The game also came out during a shit year where death is a constant looming threat for literally anyone thanks to a virus. Maybe a game with a miserably depressing story- not to mention the worrying amount of detail into the mechanics of how badly you can murder a few dozen dudes and their dog- maybe 2020 isn't the best year to have to slog through this game.

[@jeskler]

@@Just_Matty Ok that I completely understand, this year ain't the best for depressing games.

[@cmigbear]

The absolute guts in that Worst of the Year pick.

[@a.monach7602]

I can't help but respect someone with the balls to say that someone who likes TLOU2 is "wrong."

[@insaincaldo]

Meh, he can't be that wrong when fans of the first just didn't talk about if after playing it.

[@reed1645]

There's so much salt in this thread lol

[@M0rphKing]

@@magmos6346 Man, if you got the message “revenge is bad, except if you’re Abby” from TLOU2, then I question if you even played the game at all. Her entire half of the game is seeing the consequences of seeking that revenge and giving into that violent cycle.

[@southparkkenny2]

@@M0rphKing But in the end, Abby escaped with Lev to live on while Ellie lost everything despite Abby's actions. What should have happened is either: Ellie finds the crucified and dying. Ellie gives into revenge and kills Lev to hurt Abby (also punishing her for her actions against Joel and Ellie) then leaves Abby to die on her post. Then when Ellie returns home she finds Dina has left her for going after Abby. Or Ellie finds, frees and fights Abby before sparing her (before losing her fingers) and letting her leave with Lev, breaking the cycle of revenge. When she gets back home she catches Dina before she leaves and explains to her that she didn't go through with it and is ready to put it all behind her now, her 'reward' for not giving into further violence and revenge.

[@ArcienPlaysGames]

1. Absolutely thought MC Dungeons was a 2019 title for some reason. Didn't know it was released last year. 2. I was kinda expecting to see TLoU2 on either the blandest or the worst list, but at the same time, I wasn't expecting it to take a significant place on either list. My jaw fucking dropped LOL. I commend you for going all the way, Yathzee

[@robing9967]

the Mount Everest joke caught me off guard, good one

[@prw56]

Yahtzee didn't like the original last of us either, so it makes sense to me that he'd hate a worse sequel to it.

[@TrickyJebus]

Bullets Per Minute gets recognition! respect Yahtzee. you're the only one who actually didnt forget about it. Unlike a certain Australian "reviewer" out there.

[@MsQueenOfDance]

Gotta have that one last reminder that he helped write some for watch dogs

[@SpikedHairedPirate]

The only thing I've been looking forward to in 2020. ;D

[@gokusondbz]

Same

[@trystanbrewton4219]

And even the best of 2020 comes in 2021

[@bernardoheusi6146]

Again Undertale IS a reference for good gaming.

[@erusenin]

The only? Yatzee now has parental responsibilities to assist you in having a purposefull life 😂

[@rory8182]

The end?

[@Facebones2391]

Haven't watched yet but Yakuza HAS to be up here. I got it pretty much on his word alone and it's my game of 2020 frfr.

[@reed1645]

It's a great series. Yakuza 0 and judgement are both a lot of fun too.

[@sanken21]

Good English dub Good new mechanic Good story

[@matthewroddick9737]

Yahtzee: "I know you're all gonna lose your collective minds when I say TLOA2 was the shittiest game this y-" Everyone: "We know." Yahtzee: "...oh."

[@Alphabunsquad]

Nah fuck that. Definitely my game of the year. I get why Yahtzee didn’t like it. If he didn’t like the first one and had no investment in the characters then yah you’re not going to give half a shit about the story and it’s going to feel way too long. He certainly has genuine complaints about the gameplay which is definitely verging on repetitive by the end though I didn’t want it to stop so I didn’t care. But for the rest of you fucks who liked the first game and hated the second. I will never understand what the hell is wrong with you. It seems like half of the community missed the point of the first game entirely

[@mayonnaise3959]

@@Alphabunsquad my game of the year? How could you say that in front of the REAL games of the year Doom eternal Ghost of tshemia (I know I spelled it wrong fuck off) Hades And half life Alyx

[@mayonnaise3959]

@Buffeting I’m not because those games are better than TLOU

[@Cobalt360Degrees]

* Getting further and further into the video and realizing TLoU2 hasn't been mentioned yet. * *hehehe oh boy here we go.*

[@Toporshik]

I genuanly thought that it would never make an appearance. An appropriate fate for this game, I think.

[@thestabbybrit4798]

I can already hear Twitter calling him a white supremacist and demanding the Escapist fire him for this video.

[@rya3190]

@@thestabbybrit4798 I swear, the day Yahtzee gets fired for reviewing a game is the day I fully dedicate my existence to destroying who ever dare bad talk him...

[@wrongtime9097]

@@rya3190 the funny thing about Twitter manchildren is you have to be a regular Twitter user to even give a shit about what they say

[@rya3190]

@@StrazdasLT did he ever apologize?

[@paulleoleo]

Totally agree with the best and worst choice... Spiritfarer crept up on me in a subtle and delicate way like no other game.

[@paullaing5921]

"Ooooh, look at Mr Controversial Opinions..." is pretty much the response I got when I said the first The Last of Us wasn't actually that good :D

[@jito_]

the story is pretty great but yea its gameplay is essentially survival uncharted with fungus zombies which bothered me a bit with the first one.

[@lilguava70]

@@jito_ The story is pretty shit (at least 2/3 of it). Filled with plot holes, bad writing. The only good things about it were on the technical side.

[@termitreter6545]

@@jito_ Story is definitely shit. Everything about it is extremely forced, the pacing is some of the worst ive ever seen and all just in order to create an overly naive attempt at conveying "revenge bad". Like, Ill always admit Spec Ops The Line was a depply flawed game in many ways, but it still effectively conveyed something about games and even war. That elevated it. TLOU2 is deeply flawed and doesnt even got anything interesting to say; most of its supposedly deep moments are comically stupid and primitive. And thats the bits where it doesnt look like a giant hypocrite.

[@jito_]

@@termitreter6545 I was talking about last of us 1 I never bothered with 2

[@termitreter6545]

@@jito_ Ah fuck youre right I missed the point xD Agreed tho, gameplay in first is pretty pedestrian.

[@britmachine722]

Seeing Noita pop up at 4:23 makes me sad that Yahtzee never covered it (to my knowledge) because its might be my GOTY just ahead of Hades but hey I can't blame him for not bothering to wander through even more roguelikes.

[@EspressoStalinist]

This may be the darkest Yahtzee video I've ever seen. Perfect way to sum up 2020.

[@Anonymos185]

Is it just me or has Assassins Creed actually managed to escape the bland-list every single year of it's existence, despite being a ubisoft blandbox game?

[@dimanoetske6303]

It's so bland it doesn't even get acknowledged as bland.

[@thewielder3445]

Wasn't Assassin's Creed Odyssey in his 2018 bland list?

[@RKnight96]

my theory is that yahtzee didn't even play it, because let's be honest, who needs to play an assassin's creed to judge him? for each nearly original game there are 3 others that look the same

[@Kimtroverted]

In fairness I reckon he just avoids saying AC because he covers it pretty well in the actual AC reviews and it's just extremely low hanging fruit that doesn't even generate comedy, just a sort of... Disinterested shrug? "AC on the bland list again. Yep. That's it. That's the skit."

[@rolerroleris533]

I mean, if it was always on the bland list, it would suggest that it has at least one good thing going for it which is consistency, and we cant have that can we?

[@voxsynn]

Funnily enough I agree with yahtzee's choice for worst game, I didn't even like the first in the series so the sequel just didn't even blip my radar unless it was to set off my desire to say the series was overhyped beyond belief

[@THENAMEISQUICKMAN]

A Yakuza game finally making a Yahtzee top 5 is very nice indeed.

[@GamerTime_2002]

I didn't even hear about this "immortal phoenix riding"

[@Fir7shadow]

@@supermysticsonic2 Ain't that the fucking truth. I work at GameStop, and all we had was a poster. Just the one. They didn't even bother to show the launch trailer on the TV until like half-way through December. Same with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (a pretty good game as well, as surprising as that can be to some people). You'd think Nintendo would market their only damn first-party title in November, but no, we got a box and a poster, and that's it.

[@hazukichanx408]

Ah yes, it is like unicorn riding but with phoenixes, so if you crash, you get a second attempt. Assuming you don't die in the fall, I suppose.

[@SnivyTries]

Congrats, you've made a name that sounds better than most of the stuff on the bland list.

[@matthewmuir8884]

@@supermysticsonic2 Funny enough, all the trailers I've seen for it on KZbin have been for the Switch version, when the game is a blatant rip-off of Breath of the Wild. I imagine there are some higher-ups in Nintendo having a good smug laugh about it.

[@thel0gcabinYT]

I have to say I fully agree with Yahtzee’s choice for worst, even though I played through Tlou2 twice, I can honestly say I wasn’t having a good time, every character was flakey, unlikeable & irritating, the choice to make us play as the villain for the larger part of the game was a fucking mistake, they made Ellie into a completely irredeemable character who left behind everything for the pointless pursuit of revenge for no benefit at all, the pointless gameplay sequences like the snowball fight, the arrow shooting etc, it all just adds up to a game that felt so deliberately pleased with itself about how fucking sad & depressing it was.

[@Dovoline3]

So honestly, I have to give credit to WD Legion for at least making an effort to feel like it's actually taking place in London. There's black cabs and giant red busses and the pubs all play 1998 satire music about England's abysmal World Cup streak. Meanwhile, Cyberpunk never really does anything to make you feel like you're in a dystopic near-apocalyptic Californian Anarcho-Capitalist city-state. On top of that, Cyberpunk never really felt like it gave me that much to play with in the way of fun abilities - the grenade arm simultaneously one-shots you and did little damage to enemies, the Mantis Blades do so much damage and have such ridiculous range the game basically isn't a challenge anymore, the Gorilla Arms are mostly just there so you don't have to invest points in an otherwise largely useless Strength tree since all the katana perks are in the same tree as pistols and ARs, and the charge jump kind of just sucks. I had a really fun time platforming around the city with the double jump, but really that was it. Meanwhile, while WD: Legion kind of lacked on the mechanical complexity side of things, fucking with drones never got old, and though it doesn't really get used for anything except some disguises which barely work, the way it does all the random NPCs is actually legitimately really impressive. I've had times where I'm just walking down the street when the therapist of some random dude I blew up tries to sucker punch me, I've had tons of fun just fucking with shit in the middle of an intersection to see how much trouble I could cause, and while the characters are largely meaningless it's the little touches of meaningless personality that actually makes you want to not just use them as cannon fodder. I found a spy for example whose personality quirk was that she loves spy movies, which I thought was neat. The one caveat to that though is to get the most out of Legion I do think you need to play with permadeath on. Do that, and it really does force you to put a bit of forethought into approaching a mission, as you might permanently lose a character you like, or that had a unique set of abilities. On permadeath mode, it really does hurt to lose for example a hitman or a spy, since they're not easy to find and are quite powerful.

[@Thule-ob1vm]

Hatred for the Last of Us 2 always makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

[@yeonkyuchoi6877]

That tense you get when you haven't seen TLoU2 and CP2077 even after 2nd list

[@muhwyndham]

Spoiler alert. Cyberpunk will never bee in this list.

[@brendanmccabe8373]

The last of us 2 is completely overhated people are acting like it killed their dog

[@nk-pj2yw]

@@brendanmccabe8373 it kinda did

[@brendanmccabe8373]

@@nk-pj2yw I’d like to know how

[@CrazyAceking]

@@brendanmccabe8373 with multiple sclerosis and anthrax galore

[@Vanillastump]

That grandparent joke hit me really hard, as my grandfather died like a week ago. From Covid. They said his lungs were pretty much ruined.

[@StarkRaven59]

@@KyoshiLonehearted Grandfather at the start of January for me. Looking back I'm glad he passed away when he did as we could actually hold a memorial with people, but it was surely a sign of things to come. My condolences.

[@MrBillybobyeah]

"Its Minecraft. Without mining or crafting" 🤣🤣🤣

[@Ramsey276one]

It's up there in the first line NOT MINECRAFT!

[@megaman0011]

I'm so glad Spiritfarer is on this list. By far my GotY this year!

[@BioshockChicken]

“Was there no six year old around that could explain the problem to ya Microsoft?”

[@whydoistillusethissite8626]

damn, it's already been a year since this video came out huh... Quarantine has messed up my sense of time completely

[@warriorofcelestia]

6:22 that probably would be funnier if that angry nerd was instead neil druckmann. because i'm pretty sure that's the reaction he'd give if he saw this video.

[@Ramsey276one]

Fully agreed

[@josephabrams8529]

Nah man, Neil would probably say something condescending that he thought was reasonable or witty and then back off in fear. You're thinking of Troy Baker, he's the one who would lose his damn mind and be a general twit about it.

[@milktoast9140]

The ending is brilliant holy hell

[@rasmustagu]

Spiritfarer's easily my favorite too, sucks that whenever I tell it to anyone now they'll think I took it off of you. Great video, these are my favorites from you!

[@Xatzimi]

I thought TLOU2 as worst game of 2020 would be a really controversial topic in the comments, but it isn't. Does everyone agree? Not care?

[@azzzanadra]

They would disagree in another video

[@ligtningdog6399]

Most people either completely agree with Yakuza; or can understand his disliking of it but still like the game anyway.

[@skittleshooter]

Honestly I loved tlou2 thought it was a great game but not GotY material. I beat it and have no desire to trudge through it again...ever. I loved the story and everything wrapping up. I thought it did the first game and all that jazz justice. But again I have no desire to play it again. I am looking forward to the factions addon to see if they cut down on the microtransactions of weapons. Honestly to me even though I'm enjoying the game, cyberpunk is the worst and tlou2 should've gone in the bland section.

[@ViceCommando]

Its not goty, even on a bad year. It might as well be the worst then also. And I dont dislike it a bit. Its fine I guess.

[@Richard-sy1ej]

The majority of people who think TLOU2 should be game of the year and would be outrages by Yahtzee's take are too busy virtue-signalling on some other channel.

[@doomguy_vr9797]

“Are you gonna interrupt at some point, are ya?” No, because you said all I needed to say for me.

[@jordanj809]

Had they made that Avengers game 10 years ago, it would have been a nice 8-12 hour romp through linear levels and set pieces. Maybe even throw in some co-op to get the people going. Only a select few can cash in on the live service model, everyone else fails horribly. Wonder how long it’ll take the industry to realize that. We need more games like Jedi Fallen Order, Alien Isolation, and Shadow of Mordor that just do their job and get out

[@MrAsaqe]

Disney doesn't care, as long they have the keys to the most popular franchises and WB at their vice grip they believe they can get away with blandness because their mindless fanbase will eat up anything made by them

[@IncoherentRampage]

I love this yearly romp around Yahtzee's mind.

[@calvin1864]

I'm gonna have to give Spiritfarer another try. The trailer hyped me for it, but the demo made me reconsider. A game like that flies or sinks on its story alone and I was afraid the busywork was going to supplant the story

[@Arthas771]

It will depend wheter you care for the characters or not. If you do, then you'd likely will get emotional.

[@jordanj809]

The Last of Us 2 discourse isn’t even fun like it was for Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem. It’s just tiring

[@muhwyndham]

I mean, ME: Andromeda and Anthem is good idea with bad execution, like making burger from excess fat. TLOU2 on the other hand is bad idea with great execution, like polishing a turd.

[@pablossjui]

@@muhwyndham not really, more like dulling and cutting a really good looking sword made of diamond

[@leowei771]

@@muhwyndham I would say it's the opposite, it had a good idea but they failed completely in telling the story. There are games that succeeded in ways that TLOUS 2 story wanted to tell (Nier, RDR2, Mafia, GTA, Spec Ops.). It's just that they fell flat on telling it in the worse way possible.

[@newdivide9882]

Probably because the act of playing TLOU2 is tiring in itself. Shoot, I quit watching someone else playing it halfway through because it’s just absolute misery porn

[@Richard-sy1ej]

Nah, TLOU and TLOU2 were just tiring because they were miserable shit accompanied by fuckdead boring gameplay. At least Andromeda and Anthem were fun to make fun of because they were so fucking terrible. TLOU is miserable and predictable as fuck yet everyone masturbated over it for some fucking unknown reason. TLOU2 was just as fucking miserable, but even more bullshit incoherent than the first game. Anyone who thinks these games have great writing must not have consumed any fucking media beyond toilet rag stories previously.

[@DJCooL4]

I bought bpm because of his review so I'm glad it was on this list

[@willmiles7978]

I got both BPM and Hades as they were both on Steam sale at Halloween and they've been the rest of my year. Perfectly complementary roguelikes, one a quick, indie-4-man-made, intense, difficult shooter, the other a slower, beautiful, engaging long-term story and progression experience.

[@hendersongalbreath1072]

"Christmas-themed felching simulator" got an audible laugh. Have a like!

[@SPM0717]

TLOU2 must be the only game to reach the number one worst spot that actually received some praise from Yahtzee (in this case for its stealth gameplay). Additionally, he didn't give it the accolade for objective reasons that automatically results in a bad game; he simply found the tone too bleak. Shame there are so many completely missing the point and using the video to further their own cognitive bias.

[@mnasr6732]

What point you are talking about? “The revenge is bad” point?! 😂

[@beeeffgee10k]

"Once all the unnecessary story and skill tree bullshit wears off, it's just another Serious Sam game." Well, what else does Serious Sam need to be?

[@DPCP-h9u]

I would say serious, but that failed twice with Serious Sam 2 (not the cartoony one) and Serious Sam 3 BFE. And Serious Sam 4 also failed to be serious, so I say go like Serious Sam 2 (the cartoony one) and go bonkers already. Either that or join Duke on the "classic FPS heroes who will never comeback" (thanks Randy)

[@beeeffgee10k]

@@DPCP-h9u The non-cartoony "2" is called The Second Encounter, which was still pretty cartoony. Sam 2 was pretty widely poorly recieved by players for years until Civvie made his video talking about how good it is, which got a few people spouting similar takes, and ruined a lot of people's perception of the Sam series, reducing it to being widely known as an "S+M1 simulator". I don't know how you would expect Croteam to explain the next game going back to Sam 2's cartoony nature properly without it being incredibly jarring.

[@Anonymos185]

Let's not pretend Serious Sam has a serious reputation to upheld, that has been tainted by Yahtzee's *gasp* slander! It's the video game equivalent of a 1$ cheeseburger. Liked by some but loved by no one. Feel free to buy games such as that, but don't be surprised when others find them to be uninspiring, boring and creatively bankrupt. Just because previous Serious Sam games followed this formula, doesn'tmean that new Serious Sam games get extra points for doing the same shit again.

[@TheKrossRoads]

Serious Sam is a relic. He's pretty much the same as he was back in the 90's; and that counts against him in the eyes of a lot of people. If you were to get an AI to make a 90's era FPS game, and set everything else to default, it would pop out Serious Sam. If you're the kind of person that doesn't mind a handjob from nostalgia, that's all Serious Sam will ever need to be. But not everyone is satisfied being with nostalgia. Steam has dozens of 90's era FPS nowadays, so Serious Sam fails to set itself apart from its peers. Then again, you could argue that last bit is another trait that Serious Sam kept from the 90's.

[@beeeffgee10k]

@@TheKrossRoads I doubt an AI could just spit out a level-progression based horde FPS in which the player is slower than every enemy around them, and has to strafe and jump for their lives to avoid the tidal wave when it overpowers them, thinking that's what any 90s shooter with careful enemy placement was like.

[@txt5220]

Wow, I'm surprised DOOM Eternal didn't get any mention

[@ThePe5e]

It did, in the credits. Never miss those in ZP vids my guy.

[@oniakuma2392]

It deserved a Top 5 Best spot. I'll forgive Yahtzee because 9 months ago seems like 9 years ago and how awesome the game is probably faded from his memory.

[@HellecticMojo]

@@oniakuma2392 eternal is a step down from 2016.

[@Santti1989]

It's not that surprising. He didn't award Dark Souls 3 either, as it was a sequel that just had more of the stuff he liked before (you can see him say that in Top Games of 2016). It's something of a rule he made for himself. Plus, he seemingly disliked the added gameplay elements, like I did. Still, it is an awesome game.

[@VNdoug]

​@@Santti1989 Doom Eternal would easily be a 9.5/10 for me, were it not for several baffling design decisions. A few being: - enemies that require you to stop moving and just play a boring parry/riposte routine (Marauder, Gladiator, Doom Hunter) - annoying timed encounters - purple goo that disables your movement (IN A MOVEMENT-BASED FPS GAME. WHY.) - mind-numbingly boring platforming and swimming sections where you spend more time looking around for where to go than actually moving - cluttered UI that makes it difficult to gather information at a glance - ridiculously low ammo pool that forces you to keep using the chainsaw all the time. In harder difficulties, this means that all the enemies can reposition to fuck you up, so crowd control is useless None of these issues are a big deal, but the combination of all that really starts to grind my gears after a few minutes of gameplay. No matter how much I'm having fun, there is still that tiny voice in the back of my head saying that there might be another marauder or purple goo level ahead. Sometimes it feels like they were scared of making the game too similar to DOOM 2016, so they just kept piling features on top of features without caring much about how they worked together.

[@salemgelidi3266]

that final two seconds before the outro really got me