This rule is a bit of a loose rule but it helps anchor the foundation that I was looking for. First, I had to have beaten the game this year, or in the case of any games that can’t be beaten, I had to play a majority of the game this year. There was only two real rules for a game to make this list. I wanted to write this Top 10 list to recall the year but also celebrate some of the gems I discovered along the way. I did get the opportunity to play a lot of games this year though. I have just started dabbling into Final Fantasy VIII Remastered and if I follow through I might actually make it my first completed Final Fantasy main-line game ever. While there is still a little over a week left in the month as I start writing this, I do not expect to beat many or any other games this year. Nintendo’s release schedule got really weird but we still saw some amazing AAA titles out of them and one in particular kept the world focused on something good instead of something horrible. 2020 saw the release of two new consoles from Sony and Microsoft. That consistency I mention is video games themselves. Throughout all of this, one thing has really been consistent (even though at times it really wasn’t).

Though I say ‘normalcy’ understanding that everyone’s experiences are different and ‘normal’ before the pandemic wasn’t necessarily ideal for some. The world is starting to heal and ‘normalcy’ might reappear in time.

We’re still deep in this and there is light at the end of this tunnel. It lingered and loomed until the country got too tired to care too angry at the politicization of a virus who cares not what your political affiliation is. While I do wish we had an overall response to this situation in the form of aid, such as our allies had done, we did not receive such support. I understood and still appreciate this sudden notion as an attempt to prevent hospitals from being overrun and to help save lives. Stores with essential goods were all that remained open. Suddenly I found myself working from home and the overall income of the household took a noticeable hit. All that came to a screeching halt when in March, the looming pandemic had finally hit America in a noticeable way. I had hopes of exploring Michigan, hopping over to see my friends in Canada, and after the awesome Sonic The Hedgehog film, I was looking forward to seeing more films in theaters.

Tropos owlboy map