2020 was a tough year, without a doubt. And videogames seemed to be a great escape valve for all the pressure of the pandemic. It's been a while since I spent so much time playing games. Of course, I also started to learn about board game design, to rewatch Doctor Who with my girlfriend and even discovered new ones (Good Omens, I'm looking to you). But videogames were an essential technique to avoid going crazy staying in home this year.

I never was a person able to play all the new games that were launched every day... financially speaking. Although I played a lot this year, most of it was old games that were on my backlog for years now. But they also deserve a spot on my year's roundup, right?

So, this is, officially, my first POTY — the Played of the Year! I did some lists in the past, but now I have a ranking of the best 20 digital games that I played in 2020. There were not launched in 2020, but I played them for the first time this year, and that's how it counts in my heart. My pal Geoff can have his trophies, because now I have my own to give. Let's start!

20) Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge

Game Boy Advance, 2003, Rare, THQ

Banjo-Kazooie has always been a game that I played many times, but never finished. Getting to do this for the franchise's forgotten chapter is a funny fact. Grunty's Revenge tries to bring the idea of a collectathon to a 2D portable (much weaker than the N64) and... it works impressively well!? The game is obviously simpler and smaller, but it has its charm and it was really cool to get practically 100% on it. If you like 3D platformers in strange places, that's one to check.

19) Pikuniku

PC/Mac/Linux/Switch, 2019, Sectordub, Devolver Digital

I was tired, exhausted and going through a shit week when I played Pikuniku and it was exactly what I needed. A very silly and simple story, with cute visual and funny, easy mechanics: everything my mind needed to disconnect from the world a little and have a laugh. Maybe on a normal day I wouldn't have found the game so good, so here's my recommendation: try playing Pikuniku on a shitty day, when you just need to switch off and laugh at any nonsense. It's going to be a great night.

18) GNOG

PC/iOS/PS4, 2017, KO_OP, Double Fine Presents

GNOG was one of the games that I had never heard of, but that caught my attention while browsing itch.io's Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The first of some point-and-click games on the list, GNOG is very simple and fun, but SO BEAUTIFUL and SO COLORFUL. It throws colors in your face to tell slightly abstract stories, focused on a large, complex object. It's like The Room (we'll talk about it later), but with a psychedelic art direction. It only took only two nights to complete, but it was a really cool and interesting experience.

17) Picross e2

Nintendo 3DS, 2011, Jupiter Corporation

If you don't know, Picross (or nonogram) is a type of Japanese magazine puzzle that is very famous around the world. It may look like Sudoku from afar, but is very different: you use numbers around the grid to form a drawing by painting the correct squares. 2020 was clearly the year that I embraced my love for Picross and this was one of the reasons: I spent two hours EVERYDAY lying in bed listening to podcasts and solving those puzzles. It was a really cool way to relax and disconnect from the always-ending world outside.

Picross e2 also included a new mode that I loved called Micross, which is a large puzzle divided into small parts, forming more complex images. I highly recommend it, mainly due to the quality that Jupiter Corporation puts into its games (a tip: look for the Picross S series on your Nintendo Switch).

16) Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe

Nintendo 3DS, 2014, HAL Laboratory, Nintendo

The kind of game I wanted was bigger, because it ends very, very quickly. In fact, Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe is a bigger version of one of the 3DS' Triple Deluxe minigames, but bigger (in this case) is still very small. Anyway, it was one of the physics-based rhythm games that I enjoyed playing the most! I never liked the idea of having to follow a character's actions to the rhythm of the music (I've always preferred more abstract games with less delay), but DDDD is very well made and fun to play, even when it puts you in some absurd traps during the levels.

15) Carcassonne

PC/Android/Switch, 2017, Frima Studio, Asmodee Digital

Maybe this game just falls under the board game quota that a list of mine should have, but it was really cool to play Carcassonne at a time when playing boardgames physically wasn't safe. Not only because of the game itself, which is really cool, with classic but fun mechanics, but because of the digital version itself, which makes counting points and reading the board a lot easier. It's pretty rare to say this, but it's probably better to play Carcassonne digitally than physically and that's definitely a reason for it to be on the list.

14) The Room Two

PC/Android/iOS, 2013, Fireproof Games

The Room is one of the best point-and-click / "escape room" series available today, from the construction of puzzles in super complex mechanical boxes, to the mystical setting of the entire plot. I'll talk about it again later, but The Room Two is very competent in bringing a good and fun experience. I recommend!

13) El Tango de la Muerte

PC, 2018, Hernán Smicht, YIRA::

Another hidden gem from the itch.io's bundle, I knew how much I would like El Tango de la Muerte just for its unusual premise: a 1920's Argentine soap opera about a forbidden love, filled with music and tango dancing, wrapping a sliding rhythm game with visuals based on old Monty Python animations. Few things make me happier as a player (and developer) than seeing different stories being told in the best way possible. It's not perfect, but it's definitely an experience I've never had and it's worth having too!

12) Super Mario Bros.

NES (Nintendo 3DS), 1985, Nintendo

Fight me if you want, but 2020 was the first time I finished a 2D Mario game — and it was the most classic of all. Really, even with the 80s controls, even with the simplest plot possible, it's incredible how fun and inventive Super Mario Bros. is. It shows how new levels manage to bring new features using just a few sprites and how it's possible to get really invested in a game from 35 years ago. SMB is not only a game that went down in history for the impact it had, but it is still a (not perfect but) really cool experience to have.

11) Frog Fractions

Flash/PC, 2012/2020, Twinbeard Studios

Frog Fractions is a short, strange, funny and memorable experience. Anything I say will ruin your gameplay, so just play now. Maybe using the "Game of the Decade" port available on Steam for free?

10) BOXBOY!

Nintendo 3DS, 2015, HAL Laboratory, Nintendo

My only problem with BOXBOY! is also the reason why I liked the game so much: it has SO MUCH content that it's tiring! Because it has such simple, yet cool and useful mechanics — being able to create blocks using the character you control —, you basically have hundreds of levels, on different difficulties. Without a doubt, it is a game that focuses on being a good puzzle platformer and it succeeds.

09) Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy

Nintendo 3DS, 2013, Level-5, Nintendo

Professor Layton is one of my favorite game series and the end of the original trilogy (Unwound Future) is one of my favorite games of all time. Azran Legacy, also in its role as the end of a trilogy, is not such an exceptional game, but it manages to bring new elements (and an ending) to the great story of the Azran, as well as concluding in an incredibly beautiful way a series that brought me a lot of happiness. We'll talk more about Layton on this list, so stay tuned!

08) The Room: Old Sins

PC/iOS/Android, 2018, Fireproof Games

As promised, we're talking about The Room series again, specifically the best game in the franchise. Old Sins not only takes the series' formula to a very high level of quality, but also brings different mechanics and ways of seeing the world, now interconnected. If the series was about unraveling complicated mechanical boxes, it is possible to see the entire game as one big box, a natural and very welcome evolution. If you like escape room games, you now know what to play next!

07) Picross 3D: Round 2

Nintendo 3DS, 2016, HAL Laboratory, Nintendo

And we will also talk about Picross again... kinda? When I tried Picross 3D for the first time on the DS, it had such different gameplay and the game was so busy with the different mechanics that I simply put it aside within a few minutes. However, Picross 3D: Round 2 does an incredible job of introducing those new mechanics, making the game way more cozy and relaxing. Before long, I felt more comfortable playing in 3D, especially in more difficult puzzles, as the idea of destroying blocks made more sense in my head sometimes. I need a new one on the Switch!

06) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

PS2/PS3/Wii/Xbox 360/PC/Mac, 2007, Neversoft, Activision

I'm a big fan of rhythm games, but I'd never actually played the famous plastic guitar franchise until this year — I was a PC boy and didn't had a PS2. However, after all, I have to say that Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was the best way to start. Even though I'm not a rock fan, it was really cool to be able to follow the songs and get better and better on the scores, follow the band's story in career mode and even play with my brother. It took a while, but I finally understood why Guitar Hero was always so acclaimed (and why people miss it so much).

05) Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions

Nintendo 3DS, 2017, ALPHADREAM, Nintendo

I've always been a big fan of Mario RPGs and Paper Mario will always be one of my lifelong favorite games, but I've never really had the opportunity to play something from its sister series on handhelds, Mario & Luigi. Starting from the beginning, Superstar Saga was an incredible start, in a remake with several changes to improve the game's quality of life without leaving aside the great story and battle system. My experiences with its sequels weren't so good, but this one is worthy of a Top 5 recommendation. (P.S.: Bowser's Minions is boring, I played 5 minutes and never touched it again)

04) Professor Layton and the Last Specter

Nintendo DS, 2011, Level-5, Nintendo

In the last double feature on this list, we're going to talk about Professor Layton again. Specifically Last Specter (or Spectre's Call in Europe), the first game in the prequel trilogy and the last one before the transition to 3D. I like it more on 2D, in fact: the games on the 3DS were slower, the puzzles were slightly less creative and the absurd focus on trying to take advantage of the 3D screen was a burden. That said, Last Specter doesn't hold a candle to the end of the original trilogy, but it has beauty in its visuals, in the story and in the creativity of its puzzles, being one of the best in the series.

03) A Short Hike

PC/Mac/Linux/Switch, 2019, Adam Robinson-Yu

Such an incredible game that entered this year's POTY as one of those moments in which I managed to forget the cruel reality that 2020 had in store for us and FINALLY was able to relax. A Short Hike, with its extremely beautiful visuals, its simple and fun dialogues, and a series of things to do on the island was my perfect escape valve. There's no way to play it and not enjoy the game, have lots of fun and be excited about what those 3 hours of play would bring. If you need a cuddle in some difficult times, I think you need to do this short hike too.

02) There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension

PC/Mac, 2020, Draw Me A Pixel

Ever since I first saw this game, I knew it would make this list (which is being written hours after finishing it). The first There Is No Game was an incredible idea, well executed within its small scope. Wrong Dimension, in other hand, expands the concept incredibly, both in story and gameplay, showing what is perhaps one of the most innovative and interesting point-and-click games ever made. A masterpiece made to be played without any kind of spoilers, it is a game that I highly recommend and made me finish the year very well. Some jokes are not THAT funny, but they can be perfect, you know?

01) PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX+

PC/Xbox 360/PS3/Windows Phone/iOS/Android, 2013, Mine Loader Software, Namco Bandai Games

And the 2020's Played of the Year goes to… Pac-Man. Amazing, right? Elegant games always fascinated me, it's so beautiful to use simple gameplay rules to awaken so many emotions. That's where my love for board games comes from: I'm fascinated by how paper and half a dozen rules can make people have fun for hours. PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX+ left me hyped and excited, with a crazy feeling of victory and fun using the rules of one of the most famous and popular games in the world. It's still Pac-Man, but it's the best Pac-Man can be and I loved it. May in 2021 I discover another game as elegantly incredible as this one.

Honorable Mentions

• Cookie Clicker remains the best clicker ever made in history and gets even better when played on its mobile version.
• This year I discovered and played several games from Rusty Lake, a team focused on making point-and-click escape games. After playing a dozen of them, my favorites were Cube Escape: Seasons, Samsara Room and Cube Escape: Paradox.
• Incredibly, the "worst" game I played this year was also theirs — Cube Escape: The Lake —, by far the weakest episode in the Cube Escape series and one of the most boring escape room games I've ever played.
• 2020 was when I learned to play solitaire for the first time, actually! The one I played most was Solitaire: Decked Out on Android.

And that was my 1st Played of the Year! 2020 was a very difficult, complicated and painful year and 2021 won't start much different. At least, I was able to reconnect with a hobby that I really enjoy - safe at home, of course. You can see a more complete list on my Backloggd, if you want. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and see you on POTY again next year!