The GNamer Forum Awards 2020 (THANKS FOR PLAYING!)

The Big Gaming in the 2010s Discussion Thread (5 points, 2 votes, 1 first)



You say:
"Not a 2020 thread per se, but Cappa picked it up and ran with it.  There have been some classy discussion points and I’ve really enjoyed them."

"Whilst this thread technically launched in 2019, it was Cappa's revival of this thread in 2020 with little conversation starters that really made it shine in my eyes. I think there was something to be said for looking back at happier times in a year when focusing on the present was a bit much for most to handle at points."

I say: Yep!  Some belting discussion to be had here.  In what might have been considered a slow year across the board, not to mention what was going on outside , looking back was a thoroughly enjoyable exercise.  Speaking of which:

Last Retro Game You Finished And Your Thoughts (7 points, 3 votes, 1 first)



You say:
"Reading everybody's classic game reviews has proven to be an unexpected delight logging on to the forum this year. Whether it was Cappa's N64 reviews or other folks chiming in with their NES/SNES Online offerings, the little mini-reviews that adorned this thread were great reads."

"I enjoyed reading Cappa’s N64 reviews here and as someone that is less abreast of current-gen gaming, I’d often check this thread."

I say: While I'm not quite as much of a retro gamer as some, I can definitely see the appeal.  Same as above, right?  Look back in nostalgia and remember simpler, friendlier, less infected times.  Once again, Cappa providing some good chats.

Official(?) Nintendo Consoles Music Thread v2.0 (11 points, 4 votes, 3 firsts)



You say:
"Specifically the 31-Day Music Challenge"

"Specifically when we did the 31-day challenge. It was great to see so many people get stuck in and to listen to everyone's choices (and to piss off Balla by having the nerve to choose a game before he did - until Jay did the same to me. I wanted Cornered!)"

"I don’t think there’s any question that this thread brought a lot of joy and had me dedicating whole afternoons to hear what everybody’s recommendations were like. "

"I always enjoy this topic but the music challenge really got me in to it properly and helped me realise how much I love videogame music."

I say: Yes!  Couldn't have asked for a better start to the awards. Obviously I'm a big fan of videogame music, and it felt like the Music Challenge brought almost everyone here together to celebrate that.  I had a whale of a time: I'm glad at least four others did too. at Rum and his thieving shenanigans.

Multiple Votes:
Name That Game Picture Edition (4 / 2 / 1)
"Look: forum games are great.  That’s all there is to it.  I don’t think I’ve had as much fun anywhere on here this year as I have guessing games from punny images."

Animal Crossing We wanted a Horizon as well (3 / 2 / 0)
"The game this year needed and for a long while it was the most happening place in the forum, was great to feel so involved in a game discussion."
"I think some of the best moments on the forum are where we're all playing through a game at the same time, sharing thoughts and stories on our experiences. There's no better game for that idea to work with than AC:NH. Hearing about how everyone's islands were flourishing really enhanced the social aspect of that game and made for some great times in early 2020."

Jackbox Party Pack Fallout (2 / 2 / 0)
"I love Jackbox, if I could I'd have it at every party. Playing it at stages this year has been really fun so being able to look back on some of the best moments is a lot of fun."
"Faceless Joe Biden or Just a Face Joe Biden?"


One Vote Each:
GNamer Fantasy Games League (3): "Alphanumberic!"

Among Us (2): "Nice to see folks getting involved and enjoying this one."

Last Game You Finished And Your Four-ghts (2): "Old faithful innit? I like reading everyone's opinions on games, particularly those that I've played, but also games that I haven't! And then to JUDGE people on their wrong opinions. (I absolutely regret giving GRIS a 7. In fact, that's largely why I stopped rating games when I wrote reviews up. It's more deserving of a 4 or 5.)"

Gracklecast Episode Ten - Versus Mode: Treesmurf (1): "It was tremendous, hearing Smurf and Jay talk games and NES urination stories at the start of this year.  The dialogue felt unforced and entertaining, due to Smurf’s laid-back style and Jay’s qualities as a host.  I’d love some more GNamer Podcasts/Versus Mode in 2021, but even among the others I think this was a top episode."

Your actual top 10/20/25/50/100/200 games - have you ever? (1): I enjoyed seeing Balla and Mas’ lists and determining if there were any patterns or themes across two very different tastes.


And Finally:
https://www.gnamer.com/t1655-buy-a-next-gen-console-and-whisper-no-vember (3) - "Great chat, great times"
https://www.gnamer.com/t1654-mario-kart-in-the-living-room-s-all-good-fun-until-something-gets-kn-october (2) - "Can you believe the yucks we had in this one?!"
https://www.gnamer.com/t1630-omg-shulk-is-that-a-whopper-red-sword-on-your-back-or-are-you-just-pleased-to-see-may (1) - "Who remembers this one? Stone cold classic."


I say: A top selection of topics and silliness there.  My personal first place went to Mas' picture quiz, but I concede that I like making bad puns more than the average person.   Then we had some lovely heart-warming Crossing chat, some Jackbox pictures that were on my shortlist so I'm glad two people voted for that thread, and much more!  My main takeaway from the last three is that there were no new topics at all between the October and November Mas threads.

GJones Ranks the Machines (5 points, 2 votes, 1 first)



You say:
"gjones' in-depth ranking of all the consoles was bangin'. Much more insightful and well-written than I'd be capable of (or willing to try)."

"Great read that one."

I say: Well-deserved!  A huge amount of effort went into this one, that's obvious.  Here it reaps the spoils.

Jas replaces Mas with a Duramboros: "In the words of Buska: “That was a good one-two punch, I got a decent chuckle from it.”"

GJones' killer analogy: "I like to think that the reason Abort or A Port finished where it did, was that we all knew nobody could follow up this GJones post with anything better."

Buska indicts capitalism: "In a year where UbiSoft showed their true colours and nobody, it seems, did a damn thing about it, I have to give some appreciation to this.  It’s not as funny as my other picks for this award, but it might be the most important to read."

Jim reviews Captain Blood: ""However. It was absolutely fucking impossible, and the only thing I ever did as a kid was talk to the first alien, who requested you take him to another planet, take him to the planet, which he then decided was the wrong planet and promptly died of some kind of brain failure."
This post pops into my head every once in a while because I love the build up of the sentence so much. Gold."

Balla's list of every game picked in the Music Challenge: "The one where Balla compiled the music choices was really helpful in that thread, and I imagine took a lot of unnecessary effort. "

Muss did a console list too: "Muss did a lengthy list/breakdown of his favourite videogame systems (which inspired a stupidly lengthy response from myself) but was really interesting."

JayMoyles’ CUBE Magazine DVD #19 retrospective

Cappa passes judgement on ECW Hardcore Revolution

GJones' Super Play Guide to SNES Online

Buskalilly Urges Caution When Grazing

HORATIO THE EXCITING ROCK


And finally, this lot go together:
https://www.gnamer.com/t1648-marvel-at-these-september-games - "A classic post"
https://www.gnamer.com/t1622-march-in-which-your-debt-to-nook-will-be-eternal - "A controvesial pick, but I think it's a banger"
https://www.gnamer.com/t1667-hitmanuary-and-there-is-nothing-else - "A latecomer, but one I'm sure we'll remember for years"
All of Mas’ gaming release breakdowns: "I can’t really pinpoint one post in particular, but when Mas sets up a thread listing all the new game/movie releases. I don’t think I’ve ever thanked him for them, as they are something I always read and appreciate (a bit like the modern equivalent of N64 Magazine’s “Ultra Release Schedule” thing)."


I say: So this was a shambles.  Somebody who didn't submit any votes remarked how the Posts Appreciation Thread being sparse this year didn't lend itself to a good vote, and I agree.  That said, it was still nice for some posts where a bit more effort went in to get some recognition, and I do appreciate the (sincere) acknowledgement of the service that Mas provides to us all.  Anyway, back to the drawing board on this one next year, I think!

THE PEACH’S LETTER AWARD FOR SIGNATURE OF THE YEAR
(2 votes)

Yes indeed!  Despite it being taken off the list, I'm pleased to say that we had two votes for the finest signature anyway!  The joint winners of this award that doesn't exist, therefore, are:

masofdas wrote:

September name ideas guys?
PSN, NNID, Gamertag, Steam, Stadia, Twitter, Tumbler, Twitch, YouTube: masofdas, New 3DS FC 3110-7071-6098
Check out my Backloggery! Updated regularly.

"September tagline suggestions are always great."

Rum wrote:

5th funniest forumite, NGamer Forum Awards 2008
6th funniest forumite, NGamer Forum Awards 2009
Dishonourable mention, NGamer Forum Awards 2012
President of GNamer, 2014
Mr Consistency, The masofdas 20K Super GNamer Pub Quiz, 2020

Well done both!

Cyberpunk 2077(8 points, 3 votes, 0 firsts)



You say:
"Sigh, what a shame. I was so hyped for this game when they showed off that 45 minute demo and highlighted how the game was going to work. It looked incredible. What we actually got was that game hidden under a mountain of bugs. When CP2077 works, it's amazing. The quests and characters and the story are all engaging. It's so easy to get immersed in Night City through the different quests and the cast of colourful characters. But the game just won't let that happen. Crashes, visual bugs, quest scripting errors, performance issues... this game is a mess. I honestly think CDPR needed to scrap current gen versions, bite the bullet and go next gen only alongside another delay. Of course, shareholders wouldn't let that happen and it's really hurt what could have been a masterpiece."

"I played this on the Series X so obvious caveats that I played a version that mostly worked, but this world is fantastic, the stories are great, the characters interesting and the gameplay is just good fun. Great."

"Good game, slightly overstays its welcome."

I say: Obviously I'm going to struggle to say much about most of these games.  Cyberpunk 2077 is not one of them, so mired in hell has its year been - but in the interest of relative optimism, I'll keep this brief.  I'm actually quite glad it placed: we'll get onto why later.

Ghost of Tsushima (10 points, 3 votes, 1 first)



You say:
"Not a game I was expecting too much from, but a wonderful trip around Japan in a refined classic Assassin's Creed experience. Good stuff."

"An excellent open-world adventure that I ended up platinum-ing. Quite a lot of collectable nonsense, but the story and the world itself was brilliantly conceived and the combat, in particular, was a breath of fresh air."

I say: One of the few games I'm rather envious of missing out on this year.  It'd probably have been too hard for me, but it looked pretty swish!

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (13 points, 5 votes, 1 first)



You say:
"Took the world by storm for a short while, a simple concept that anyone can pick up and instantly lose themselves in for one game or ten. One of those online games it's easy to return to for a long while and still have fun."

"I remember seeing a preview for this a long while ago, and thinking "that almost looks good, if they can do it right and get everyone on board". And oh boy did they! Putting it on PS+ was a great idea. Just silly enough to be entertaining - I had a load of genuine LOLs for this, and it also managed to be a spectator sport as well - but not quite infuriating that you wouldn't blame things on your own mistakes (mostly)"

"A bit of an AC:NH scenario with this one in my eyes. It was great to play this when it first launched and it came at a perfect time too. It was so easy to pick up and play and really made battle royale style games fun again in my book. Again, it didn't have the legs to be something I'd keep going back to, but for that brief month, it worked brilliantly."

"I think it's super rare to have a multiplayer focused game that you can just laugh at no matter what, even though there might be shouting and swearing along the way it's hard to stay mad for too long with how ridiculous every is. One of the best party games in long long time."

"Good, clean fun."

I say: The game I'm envious of missing out on this year.  I'm not a big online gamer, but this!  It's so cute!  Look at the beans!  Look at the adorable beans!  Thoroughly justified in my clueless eyes.

The Last Of Us 2 (15 points, 3 votes, 2 firsts)



You say:
"Made some bold decisions which for me knocked it out of the park, you feel the story is gonna go one way and by the end of it you're questioning every little bit about this and the previous game. Gameplay feels very satisfying, could have done with being a little shorter and scenarios can sometimes be a little rinse and repeat but ultimately this is a must play for any PS4 owner."

"Not an exciting choice but it really was a phenomenal game. Gameplay leaps and bounds ahead of the previous game and the story was a truely brilliant experience. Wonderful."

I say: Here we are at the other end of the scale.  Unrelenting grimness, or so I've heard.  I've got no interest in going anywhere near this myself, but it sounds like it's a great game for those who have room for something a bit bleaker in their lives right now.

Final Fantasy VII Remake (17 points, 4 votes, 3 firsts)



You say:
"One of my favourite games of all time reimagined into a modern masterpiece. It plays with your memory and expectations perfectly to be both an homage to the original without being a direct remake. The combat and characters are beautifully modernised and the story goes to nuts places and i love it."

"Managed to make me feel incredibly nostalgic even though I barely played the original game, that in turn helped make the more fleshed out story really enjoyable for me. Gameplay felt spot on and made battles both short and long feel engaging, music is outstanding."

"I wouldn't even consider myself the biggest FFVII fan going, but there was still something wonderful about seeing these characters and the city of Midgar portrayed in non polygonal PS1 vision. FFVII really does have a brilliant cast and the Remake allowed for them to shine like they've never shone before. It was effortless falling in love again with this cast and I even found myself caring for side characters like Jessie and Wedge more than I thought I would. They did a great job with the combat system too, taking the somewhat flawed FFXV battling, marrying it with a bit of Kingdom Hearts and FFXIII to create a fun and engaging combat system. I'm also very much onboard with where they're taking the story in the Remake, even if others aren't. Top work, Squeenix."

I say: Another one I've looked on at eagerly: not because I have any experience of playing the original, but because of what it apparently does to subvert expectations about the original.  Throw in what looks like a really engaging battle system, and... worthy winner, I'd say.  Although that said...

Nothing (25 points, 8 votes, 3 firsts)



You say:
"I haven't played enough new ps4 games in 2020."

"These were the only two new games I really played on PS4."

"I think I might ignore this section this time round, I haven't really played much other than my Switch the past year!"

I say: Look, I got enough comments on not having played many/any Nontendo games so I thought I'd add up the points.  Even if you remove my fiver, it still comes out higher than any one game!  Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing for other releases, or just me laughing at something nobody else thinks is funny.  Probably that.

Multiple Votes:
Streets of Rage 4 (7 / 2 / 0)
"I must admit, I was a bit dubious about this when it was first unveiled. The art style looked a bit iffy and I was concerned how they'd manage to recapture that arcadey goodness of the original games. But they nailed it. I blasted through this with Jas in a single sitting and had a whale of a time doing so. The visuals work well in motion and the brilliant soundtracks really ramps up the familiarity of the game. Great stuff."
"Me and Jay battered through this in co-op and like THPS 1+2 it scratches that itch of great arcade fun."

Assassins' Creed: Valhalla (7 / 2 / 0)
"I’m not usually someone who loves massive open worlds (I tend to stay away for Ubisofts usual stuff) but Valhalla has really got its teeth into me. Trampling around England as dual axe wielding Viking is just fun. The sieges feel like Helms Deep everytime and its just enjoyable to murder a bunch of people after a long hard day of working a retail job…"
"A surprise banger, I always enjoy AC but this one is one I'd recommend to non-fans. The story and characters are genuinely good and the world is not overcrowded and a joy to pick apart piece by piece."

Football Manager 2021 (6 / 2 / 1)
"Look, i know. But if we're all being honest here, There's a reason Football Manager still sells so well. As the pandemic interupted the football season, took the Euro's away from and even stopped me playing 7 A-Side on a monday night a few times, FM21 has been there, making sure i got my fix. It make look like Excel to some (Sold! - Balla), but to me, its the most immersive RPG ever made."
"Genuinely the best FM game, this year's match engine is sublime"

Spider-Man: Miles Morales (5 / 2 / 0)
"Much like it's 2018 predecessor but with its own brand of web swinging that's more varied thanks to Miles' powers. Story is really enjoyable with some very good characters and nice messages behind a lot of their actions."
"More Spider-Man is a good thing and Miles stepped into the spotlight in incredible fashion."


One Vote Each: (starting with 5 points/first place and with each sub-section dropping a point)

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time: "A mixture of gaming styles that gels together very well. This isn’t the same Crash Bandicoot as it was in the late ‘90s - it's better."
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2: "Until Hades got it's teeth into me this was far and away my favourite game of 2020, it's just a fantastic remaster of the original playstation games that focuses on pure arcade fun which I feel like some games forget about these days."

Jackbox Party Pack 7: "The best party pack: 4 belters, 1 dud."
Mafia: Definitive Edition: "Yeah so 2020 is the year of the remakes it seems.... and heres anotehr good one. Graphically the game is stunning, the characters are all wonderfully acted and the setting is masterfully realised. It's a shorter game but i think this benefits the solid third person action without it overstaying its welcome."
Pro Evolution Soccer 2021: "Was it the same as PES 2020? Probably. But it was a better-balanced game of football that fixed a bunch of annoying issues with the previous few titles (like blind referees and frog-like goalkeepers). It’s been a while since I’ve played it, but you can’t go wrong given the discounted price. "
There Is No Game: "It’s actually funny! An actually funny game! Where the narrator isn't even speaking his first language. Took a bit of a weird turn at the end. And The Castle loved it apparently. So what do ya want? Give it a go, peeps."

Crusader Kings 3: "It's really... ahh, none of you would get it."
Delores - A Thimbleweed Park Adventure: "Not nearly as good as the proper version, but the end credits are left-y as all heck."
Ori and the Will-o-the-Wisps

Astro's Playroom: "More than just a tech demo, a really fun platformer in its own right than I'd love to see fleshed out in to a bigger game. Does a cracking job of showing off what the Dualsense can do and it's filled with loads of fun references to PlayStation history."
Empyrion: "Someone wants to be No Man's Sky I think - We built a big spaceship, did a quest about soda which the developers probably think is hillarious, then hit a difficulty spike, then my famously calm brother-in-law rage quit."
Minecraft Dungeons: "If i'm being honest all of Gamepass could be my list but as for games that actually released this year Dungeons is one of my favourites. It's a simple game but sometimes thats what you need. I played this in Co Op with some buddies over a couple of nights and it was fun to chat and mindlessly crawl some dungeons. It won't be on many lists but i enjoyed it a fair bit"
Doom Eternal

Tell Me Why


I say: A nice range of games there, 23 in total (not including Nothing), but with a few standing out from the crowd.  I have to admit, I was quite glad Cyberpunk 2077 placed and pushed ACV out of the top 5: CDPR are hardly saints, but they’re a lighter shade of murky grey than Ubi. The surprises for me are Astro's Playroom, Doom Eternal, and Tony Hawk ranking as low as they did.  One thing to note is that JPP7, SoR4, and Ori 2 should all technically have been Nintendo games.  Will that split any of their votes...?