Alex Green and How Gaming Found Its Quiet Place in 2020 | Winter Spectacular 2020

Congratulations to those reading this, you have made it to the end of the hellish nightmare that is 2020. In a year full of pain for so many, we have found ourselves retreating indoors and seeking solace and escapism through so many mediums. All whilst trying to retain any semblance of a normal life.

I found myself in the same situation as many, trying to maintain stability despite the year that was. On a personal note, I have found myself finishing a uni degree in lockdown and on the subsequent painful job hunt whilst also trying to find time for writing. I found plenty of solace in the comfort of friends and family and my own personal escape from stress in gaming. Gaming has enjoyed a darkly profitable year and the next generation of consoles have arrived. Upon reflection of 2020 though, what stood out was how video games in some areas grew up through a desire to be a quiet refuge.

We’ll let you guess which Sony AAA-murder-revenge-game we’re talking about.

As the world outside had become so grim and the news cycle felt like an ever-increasing anxiety machine, I found myself shunning big AAA titles for the most part. Doom Eternal came and went, and despite getting most of my games through Xbox Game Pass, I still find myself avoiding it. Despite loving last year’s remaster of Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 has passed me by. As have all of Playstation’s exclusives including the one about revenge (not that one, the other one). 

This isn’t me trying to proclaim AAA gaming as an uninspired medium. Far from it, I was genuinely considering investing in Watch Dogs: Legion before the reports of Ubisoft’s systemic sexual harassment scandal came to our attention. However, in a year in which we found ourselves in a truly awful historic moment, I found myself yearning for more peaceful games.

I had never heard of this game before editing this but this gif has sold me on LUNA.

It started in February with LUNA The Shadow Dust. A beautiful puzzle debut from Lantern Studio that wordlessly tells the story of a boy and his round ball companion ascending a tower by solving various puzzles. Whilst occasionally flawed in its puzzle's logic, it was one of the more underlooked debuts of the year. It certainly was the start of my trend of embracing quieter experiences this year. 

And from there, we saw tranquil places become a breeding ground for some of the year's best games including my game of the year, Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Whilst its launch was a rocky one, with performance issues to put some triple-A games to shame, it eventually got to a good place. Once it did, it became clear few games this year were as tightly put together as Moon Studios' latest platforming adventure. Every aspect, from its silky smooth platforming, the story of evolution and the utterly stunning environments is on point. For me though,  the forests of Niwen and the serene water environment of the Luma Pools were locations that effortlessly drew me in away from our real-world troubles. Moon Studios crafted a world with a wonderful visual fidelity that's impossible not to be completely absorbed by. 

The muted hits didn't stop there for the year, with buoyant building sim Spiritfarer exploring humanity and death within a building and management sim. Thunderlotus crafted an utter gem of a game here full of heartbreak and yet bursting with warmth. All of this with the most relaxed atmosphere of any game this year. Post-uni, this felt almost invaluable to me when it launched on Xbox Game Pass. A game that showcased its themes in an upfront but mature manner, using its many characters to craft personal stories built on simple dialogue options. Truly a breakout hit for the team.

This is just a nice scene tbh.

Also passing by was another strong entry for Dontnod in the form of the mystery-thriller Tell Me Why. While it mainly attracted attention for its attempt at telling a story with a transgender protagonist, underneath that lay an intriguing mystery that hinged on the fragility of memory. However, similar to the landscapes and locales in the Life Is Strange universe, Delos Crossing itself became a lush backdrop, its cabins and the lake backdrop against the Ronan house providing a natural escape. In a light spoiler, the fishing scene between Tyler and Michael is a beautiful example of the power the game finds in character interactions within naturalistic environments. 

This isn’t counting other indies that are in my backlog for Christmas like two coffee-infused visual novels; Coffee Talk and Necrobarista and even games at the tail-end of the year like romantic adventure Haven by The Game Bakers. Again, this isn’t to say that AAA gaming has been a rut or that louder automatically means worse. Merely that this raft of experiences has seen the gaming industry leaning into more tranquil places. Experiences that I am all for.

Peaceful.

All this is to say that within 2020, gaming found power in the smaller scale. Whilst many AAA games have felt louder, whether it be The Last of Us: Part II, Doom Eternal or Cyberpunk 2077, some of the loudest moments have been found in the quietest experiences.