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Polygon - The 50 best games of 2020

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www.polygon.com

The 50 best games of 2020

From big to small, we rank them all
www.polygon.com www.polygon.com
Over the past month, the Polygon staff voted, debated, and resigned itself to the series of compromises that is our top 50 games of 2020. Any video games that were released in 2020, updated in 2020, or achieved renewed cultural relevance in 2020 are eligible for this list. You may notice one major absence: We did not have enough time with Cyberpunk 2077 before assembling this list. It will be eligible for our 2021 top 50.
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50. Bugsnax
49. No Man's Sky
48. Helltaker
47. Doom Eternal
46. Super Mega Baseball 3
45. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
44. Creaks
43. Call of Duty: Warzone
42. Yakuza: Like a Dragon
41. In Other Waters
40. Wide Ocean, Big Jacket
39. League of Legends
38. Arknights
37. Desperados 3
36. Paradise Killer
35. Dirt 5
34. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2
33. Paper Mario: The Origami King
32. The Solitaire Conspiracy
31. Ghost of Tsushima
30. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
29. Murder by Numbers
28. Destiny 2: Beyond Light
27. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
26. Streets of Rage 4
25. Hardspace: Shipbreaker
24. Spiritfarer
23. Demons Souls Remake
22. Star Wars: Squadrons
21. Genshin Impact
20. The Jackbox Party Pack 7
19. The Last of Us Part II
18. Assassin's Creed Valhalla
17. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
16. Astro's Playroom
15. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
14. Umurangi Generation
13. Valorant
12. If Found...
11. Spelunky 2
10. Among Us
9. Blaseball
8. Crusader Kings 3
7. Half-Life: Alyx
6. Spider-Man: Miles Morales
5. Kentucky Route Zero
4. Final Fantasy VII Remake
3. Microsoft Flight Simulator
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizon
1. Hades
 
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Nugnip

Nugnip

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Oct 25, 2017
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I'm so happy Paradise Killer is in there, even if it's "only" 36. What an amazing game that nobody played.
 
Mr. Poolman

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Oct 27, 2017
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I was not as in love with FFVII Remake, but that is a solid list.
Glad Crusader Kings and Hades are getting their due!
 
MisterAnderson

MisterAnderson

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Oct 29, 2017
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Alyx should be number one realistically, but not gonna argue with Hades. I'm moreso arguing Alyx at SEVEN. Just...no.
 
SunBroDave

SunBroDave

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Oct 25, 2017
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They say they didn't include Cyberpunk because it came out too late, but I'd like to think it's just not good enough to hang anyway
 
OP
OP

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congrats to supergiant
love the murder by numbers nod too, great game.

edit: same for creaks. great game but was massively overlooked this year.
 

ZeeAyKay

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Oct 25, 2017
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Man, I'm not sure if it's because it was released early in the year but Ori is really not getting much love in these year-end lists (and in The Game Awards).

Nice to see Jackbox get a shoutout!
 
Damn Silly

Damn Silly

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Oct 25, 2017
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Ori at 30 is a little low (high? it should be closer to number 1 is my point) but that's a good mix of stuff.

Oh, and if you're gonna put 13 Sentinels that close to being 13th in your list, just do it. Dooooo it.
Stall_19 said:
How does Among Us keep making these lists? It didn't come out this year.
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For Polygon at least: Any video games that were released in 2020, updated in 2020, or achieved renewed cultural relevance in 2020 are eligible for this list
 
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Akumatica

Akumatica

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Oct 25, 2017
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Nice to see-
29- Murder By Numbers
36- Paradise Killer
42- Yakuza: Like a Dragon

No Moon: Remix RPG Adventure tough.
 

dep9000

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Mar 31, 2020
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Great list by the looks of it. I've only played four of the games in the top ten but I've heard great things about most of them. CK3 did not click with me at all, but that is just not my type of game and by all accounts it's phenomenal. I really gotta check out Kentucky Route Zero on the Switch. I think someone made a thread about it making him/her fall asleep playing so I'm a little hesitant to buy it.
 
Squid Bunny

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Jun 11, 2018
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Oof, just saw Murder by Numbers in 29 and that is... a choice.

I thought it was underwhelming for both Ace Attorney and Picross veterans.
 
Rodrigues solitaire

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Oct 28, 2019
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18. Assassin's Creed Valhalla
19. The Last of Us Part II

*chef's kiss*

Crusader Kings far too low YET AGAIN ROBBED YOU HEAR ME ROBBED
 
Lowblood

Lowblood

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Oct 30, 2017
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This'll probably end up as my favorite list. They hit all the big names but remembered stuff that fell through the cracks on other lists, like Flight Sim, Alyx, Spelunky, and 13 Sentinels.

Stall_19 said:
How does Among Us keep making these lists? It didn't come out this year.
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They set a rule that games that "achieved renewed cultural relevance in 2020" were eligible. You can call that the Among Us rule. I'm okay with it, honestly. It's basically an ongoing game now anyway, so you can call the original release "early access" if that helps. :P
 
Nugnip

Nugnip

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Oct 25, 2017
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Stall_19 said:
How does Among Us keep making these lists? It didn't come out this year.
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So what. Videogames these days are all service games, patched games, DLCs, remasters, early access, betas, etc. The actual release date sounds more and more like a technicality. Among Us was one of the biggest games of 2020 and if you disagree you were paying attention.
 
RoKKeR

RoKKeR

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Oct 25, 2017
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Hades is amazing. Ori at 30 is a bit whack but whatevs, I can appreciate this list.
 
Lobster Roll

Lobster Roll

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Sep 24, 2019
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Damn. I feel like I played a completely different game than others when I see where Ori lands.
 
Nquoid

Nquoid

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Jul 25, 2019
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Lots of stuff for me to check out from this one.

Very intrigued how many of the bigger sites end up giving the top spot to Hades. Feels like a lot of sites that put out long lists like Paste and Slant have put it at the top.
 
Parthenios

Parthenios

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Oct 28, 2017
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Just casually looking at the lists that get threads here, TLoU2 seems to either win or be way down the list (versus something like Hades that is consistently near the top).

I keep forgetting to buy Hades when it's on sale. Maybe after I finish Ori that's next.
 
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