Owing to the Coronavirus pandemic, 2020 has been a roller coaster ride for the gaming industry. The developers had to push their limits to work efficiently from home, and as a result, fans could witness the release of amazing titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and CoD: Black Ops Cold War, among others.
Surprisingly, games like Fall Guys and Among Us also broke records of popularity in 2020. These games do not come under the AAA category, but still impressed fans around the world.
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All these factors lead to a mind-boggling question, which game actually defined 2020? Was it AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077, or indie productions like Fall Guys and Among Us?
Rami Ismail, on Twitter, recently answered this question. The ED at gamedev.world firmly believes that Cyberpunk 2077 is not the defining game of the year. Apparently, constant delays and a below satisfactory post-release performance have hindered CD Projekt RED’s latest title from doing so.
The developer simultaneously credited games like Among Us, Fall Guys, and Animal Crossing New Horizons for connecting people in 2020. While the year has been a nightmare for everyone, these games played a huge role in spreading joy and smiles.
And: Cyberpunk 2077 is not the defining game of the year. Crunch, rushed launches, over-hyped games – issues that don't define 2020.
The defining games of the year are games like Fall Guys, Among Us, Animal Crossing – games that brought folks together in this weird horror year.
— Rami Ismail (رامي) (@tha_rami) December 24, 2020
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The following Twitter thread explains the several parameters that Rami considered before deriving the aforementioned conclusion. These include community building aspect of the games and viewership records:
The defining game of 2020 is the game you introduced a non-gamer friend to and now play together every weekend online. It's the game you bonded over discussing the story for two weeks. It's the game a parent stuck at home played to calm a sad and restless kid.
— Rami Ismail (رامي) (@tha_rami) December 24, 2020
The defining game of 2020 is the game for which the community felt like friends. The defining 2020 game is the one you watched your favorite streamers play & felt less alone through. The defining game of 2020 is the game in people celebrated their holidays in together, apart.
— Rami Ismail (رامي) (@tha_rami) December 24, 2020
No one game is "defining" this year. Sure, there were tons of good, inspirational games, important games – but Games were the way a lot of people stayed happy & healthy & connected in an awful year, so for me pretty much any game that helped anyone at all is "game of the year".
— Rami Ismail (رامي) (@tha_rami) December 24, 2020
Is Among Us better than Cyberpunk 2077?
As expected, Rami Ismail’s comparison of Cyberpunk 2077 with Indie titles has dismayed the fans of the former. Despite being well aware of the bugs and glitches in CDPR’s action RPG, they feel that the title is good enough to define 2020.
The developer believes that games like Animal Crossing New Horizons and Among Us defined this year because they provided a sense of community to the people. On the flip side, Cyberpunk 2077 fans are proud of the benchmarks it has set for future games.
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Declaring a winner amidst the two factions is an unachievable task, primarily because everyone has a distinct taste in gaming. While some fans are adamant about judging a game from its production quality, others prioritize user satisfaction over everything.
Which game do you think defined 2020?
