2020 was a year where I did not play as many video games as previous years. It was a year of staying home, a year of lots of work, and a year of lots of spending time on the couch not thinking about much. Despite being a strange year for everyone, there are a lot of games that were released that made its way onto my gaming radar and were enjoyed by me!
With so many games to choose from, and so many games that I did end up playing, creating a list of my top 5 is no simple task — but I have done it, don’t you worry. Many of these games have multiplayer options, as I have re-discovered the love of playing with people in my family, in my own home, and enjoying the company of others at home instead of going out so much. Also, it’s just been a strong year for couch co-ops.
Cake Bash is a lovely, food-themed couch co-op where you and your friends (or bots, we aren’t going to judge) get to face off in quick and easy games, trying to get the most points to then spend on candies to decorate yourself. You are a pastry, looking to be purchased, after all. These mini-games are so fun, coming in a few different categories, and you can unlock more just by playing. One of my favorite games is actually roasting marshmallows, as when the fire gets low, it gets restocked, and you have a chance of burning your marshmallow on the surging flames, however, if you get the timing right, there is no way to beat you in the game!
This year, I actually got the chance to play a few remakes of the games that I had played as a kid. One of them was Katamari Damacy Reroll. Despite the fact that the developer’s didn’t put in any new content or even auto saving, I still really love Katamari Damacy Reroll. It’s just a wild game where your goal is to roll up literally everything you can find, creating stars in the sky with them afterwards. The father character — the King — is like a funny drunk uncle who literally has no idea what is going on – and neither do you. Which is really where the fun is in this game. It’s just random and relaxing and fun.
If you want to experience being a child, being full of curiosity and adventure, and going camping, Wide Ocean Big Jacket is so well written and well worth the time it takes to play the game. This game allows you to switch between a number of different characters, some of which are not a child, and play as them to explore more of their stories as well. It’s an amazingly well written game that has stuck in my mind — not only is Wide Ocean Big Jacket well written, but it’s also just funny and comes with nice puzzles to spend time solving and exploring.
Another food themed game, I personally am proud of their only being two on this list of five, Radical Rabbit Stew is a puzzle game about a space Chef who has had all of their friends kidnapped in a rabbit-invasion that has happened. Using a variety of different spoons and tools, you need to smash the rabbits back into their soup pots to remove them from an area, then moving you onto the next one. Radical Rabbit Stew is a challenging game, but one well worth playing if you enjoy puzzle games! Every aspect of the game is just so polished and well made.
Out Of Space is another couch co-op, though you can play it single player, I have personally not. This chaotic and challenging game is aimed at teenagers and older, providing a challenging co-op that forces you to work together, or die. Those are your options. In the game, you and your friends land on a procedurally generated ship that has been abandoned. You all need to clean and restore power to the ship, while fighting off bug-like aliens and trying to meet your needs to survive. I love the challenge in this game!
