Shacknews Top 10 Games of the Year 2020

#1 Game of the Year 2020 - Half-Life: Alyx

A lot of Half-Life fans had given up hope that we would ever see a new game ever again. Like many Valve franchises, the intellectual property had been left sitting on the shelf so long that it really seemed like we would never get to revisit City 17 again. Last year, Valve confirmed a new Half-Life game. Sure, it wasn't the much-anticipated Half-Life 3, but instead the developers brought us into the shoes of NPC Alyx Vance in a brand new adventure.

Half-Life: Alyx requires a VR headset to be enjoyed, but that does not make it any less of a game. One could even argue that the experience achieved by the game was impossible on a flatscreen experience. Playing as Alyx in the Half-Life universe is amazing, and the developers put in an insane amount of effort to make the world as immersive as possible.

Every aspect of this game is impressive. Graphics, audio design, gameplay, and narrative design are all perfectly balanced in a way that only few developers are capable of doing.

It's not just the best VR game released in 2020, it's the best VR game ever to be released. The innovations and best practices in Half-Life: Alyx will push all game design forward for the next decade, and it sits at the top of this amazing list of games released in this banner year for the video game medium. It is not just the best VR game of 2020, it's our Shacknews Game of the Year 2020. Praise Gaben.

Check out our Shacknews Game of the Year 2020 - Half-Life: Alyx article for more!

That's the Shacknews Top 10 Games of the Year 2020. Which games did you feel we left off or should have ranked higher? Let us know in the Shacknews Chatty comments section below. Be sure to check out all of The Shacknews Awards 2020. Congratulations to all of the games that made our list this year! 

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.