Video Games and What We’re Thankful For in 2020

Thank you readers, viewers, and community members for making 2020 such a memorable year for us at Epilogue Gaming. To show our gratitude, our staff members have compiled a list of how video games made us thankful this year. Let us know in the Epilogue Gaming Discord what has made you thankful in the year 2020. 

I have played and completed more games in 2020 than any year of my life: roughly 60 as of November. I have explored the entirety of the Witcher series, the neverending Persona 5: The Royal, and am currently on a quest to complete the Yakuza series. These three intellectual properties have skyrocketed themselves into my favorite games of all time, and I am grateful to have finally sunk my teeth into them – despite the intimidating length of each pursuit. 

Due to my time-sinking obsession with those three series, 2020 has not been a year where I’ve found myself chasing new releases. The Final Fantasy VII Remake is the only major title that stands out as a game that I played and loved at release. (Most of that love is for Tifa Lockhart, let’s be honest.) I was lucky enough to get a few advance copies of games, including Bugsnax, which was a silly treat. This has also been a windfall year for nifty indies like ITTA, If Found…, Röki, Fall Guys, When the Past Was Around, and Luna the Shadow Dust, all of which I picked up at launch. And I’ve gotten my hands on some fascinating new PC ports like Horizon Zero Dawn and Death Stranding, the latter of which was an absolute joy to revisit with the intention of earning all in-game achievements. 

Above all, videogames had a massive impact on me by instilling the courage to come out as transgender. My experiences with If Found and Tell Me Why no longer made me fear my identity as a burden to others. Later, I was delighted to see Maddy Thorson, creator of Celeste, reveal that they and Madeline are trans. Jim Sterling, an incisive if eccentric industry critic, also came out as trans. It feels like everything aligned this year, encouraging me – through the games I play, the creators I follow and admire – to embody a more authentic version of myself, and I have games to thank for that.

By Andy Webb

There is no doubt that this year has been one of the most trying and difficult years in our time, but at the center of this 2020 experience is, for me and I hope many others, a great many things that stem from my unconditional love for video games. In these dire times I am surrounded by community, engaging with thoughtful perspectives on the medium, watching the industry evolve as we move into the next generation of consoles, and on and on and on. To list everything would be silly, not only because the list is too long, but also because there’s far more to say than would be warranted in this write up.

But I will take a moment to highlight the thing I’m most thankful for: community. Not just the ones that I actively engage with, but also the ones that I spectate and care for. From budding, up-and-coming streamers to the wide net of Games Done Quick to competitive scenes across the gaming spectrum, communities – and at its core, people – are for me a reason to celebrate when otherwise we could mourn. There is a great solace and peace in my core this year, despite the circumstances, and I have video games to thank for that.

By Ben Vollmer

I’m tremendously thankful for multiplayer games – more so than I ever have been in my life. If COVID-19 has taught me anything, it’s that I have really taken interaction for granted. The emergence of games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Among Us have helped fill the void, and I’m endlessly grateful that I have friends to play them with. I’ve grown a new appreciation for games that encourage interaction, too, like Death Stranding and Dark Souls. It’s an important backdrop to games that are often labeled as pessimistic or dreary: even when things feel isolating, we always have help. I’m thankful for the games and people that remind me of that every day.

In a more materialistic kind of way, I’m so happy we got a pair of awesome consoles this year. The Xbox Series X and Playstation 5 have served as an excellent distraction for months now, as I soaked in every detail of what made each unique and eagerly anticipated being able to pick up one of my own. Now that they’re finally here, I’ve been effectively using them as a reward for my annual rush of school and writing work that comes with the fall season. Video games rule, and it’s not just because they’re fun to play: they’re also fun to think and talk about. Knowing that I’ll always have them in my life as both a social and artistic endeavor is something I truly am thankful for. 

Lastly, I’m very thankful for the Epilogue Gaming community. Our work has been kept afloat by Patrons during a pandemic and economic crisis. Our website is going to eclipse 50,000 views in the month of November, which will be our highest ever. And most importantly to me, more and more people have used our Discord and streams as a home away from home. Being able to go through a stressful election and pandemic has been made a lot easier through the support of everyone there. 

By Emilia Rose

In a year that felt like a dark tunnel with no end in sight, I found solace in old comfort games like Stardew Valley, The Sims, Minecraft, and a new yet beloved childhood favorite, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I sought familiar games to escape the constant looming dread that 2020 left me with as a means to displace an overwhelming generalized anxiety that seemed inescapable as the year continued like a terrible domino effect. You would think after playing the same couple of games over and over again they would lose part of their charm, their flaws would become more glaring. But, with each bootup of these games I found new friendships constantly growing around me. 

During months of social isolation from everything, the greatest comfort was finding new friends to visit daily on tropical islands in Animal Crossing, mailing gifts, writing each other letters, wishing on shooting stars. All of this created a new sense of normalcy and new friendships that may have never existed otherwise. These friendships only grew with games like Among Us, Mario Kart, utopias built in Minecraft, and my first ever co-op game of Stardew Valley. There’s nothing I could be more thankful for during time of isolation than all the new close friendships made through games I hold dear to my heart. I want to extend the biggest thank you to everyone who worked to make this year a more positive one and all the new friendships that were made. Here’s to many more years ahead of us.

By Marcos Carmona

I’m forever thankful to the various multiplayer games that allow me to get together with longtime friends as well as finding new people to add to that ever-growing list of people I appreciate vibing with. Games like Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops – Cold War always release around the holiday season just in time for me to enjoy running rounds of zombies with the homies every year – including 2020, even with the looming pandemic locking us down in our homes. It’s always a treat booting up the system and seeing those party notifications telling me it’s time to run some games. 

The Fighting Game Community is another huge source of entertainment that never ceases to end, despite having gone through one of the most trying years we have ever fought through. Posting up in rounds of Dragon Ball FighterZ and Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core Plus R with new faces always brings me great joy and knowing that more names start popping up to the usual FGC group keeps my smile everlasting.

Of course I can’t end without giving my thanks to EG for putting up with my nonsense every year and even giving me a platform to shit on games like Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima with no resistance. These are people that I can pretty confidently call my friends despite never sharing the same space with them, but knowing that I can boot up the Discord and run some fade has become a highlight in these recent nights. Here’s to looking towards tomorrow.

By Barry Irick

This has been a trying year for all of us. Despite this, we have all had each other to keep us company. Whether through new trends like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Among Us, or tried-and-true classics like Super Smash Bros. or a randomizer, I am most thankful for our Epilogue Gaming community and the games I play with them for keeping things relatively normal throughout the pandemic. This has been a year of community, banding together digitally even though we remain far apart physically. 

During 2020, I have found ample time to visit a plethora of games I missed out on over the years. While some, such as NieR: Automata and Halo, I didn’t quite connect with, I finally took the dive into Persona 5: Royal, and then shortly after, Persona 4: Golden, both of which have made it into my all-time favorites seemingly out of nowhere. Amidst the current climate, the Persona games are the perfect solace, promoting a sense of day-to-day life and normalcy while crafting intricate stories that are more relevant than ever. With these and more, 2020 hasn’t been nearly as gloomy as it could have been, and there is hope for a brighter future.

By Nina Salenius

2020 has been a rough year. Not only have we had to deal with COVID-19 sweeping across the world as a horrible disease, but it has had an effect on pretty much every aspect of our lives. I’m thankful that the people I know and the Epilogue Gaming community have stayed safe and mostly healthy. While social distancing has been hard, being able to stay connected to others through games has been incredibly helpful. But on the other hand, I have one of those jobs that does not care if the world goes to shit. All that work and less play left me precious time to enjoy games this year. I had to make careful choices and really think about which games I wanted to play. I’m thankful for those games for various reasons.

I was finally able to tackle some games that I’ve been looking forward to for a while, such as the Quantic Dream games Beyond: Two Souls and Detroit: Become Human. Player choice games are some of my favorites and these two certainly qualify. Beyond: Two Souls is often seen as one of the less popular games from the developer, yet I found the story gripping and interesting. Detroit: Become Human however is in a league of its own. It’s hard not to notice how much thought and effort was put into the game, most notably the incredible web of player choice options and possible consequences. I can’t help but be thankful for such an experience, and it was all made even better because I streamed it during our EG48 event and was able to share that experience with the community.

I’m also thankful for games that allowed me to stay in contact with friends across the world. 2020 has been a strangely good year for multiplayer and co-op games, with major successes like Fall Guys, Among Us and Phasmophobia. It’s been great to see smaller developers do so well and they have provided us with hours of fun during tough times. I also finally got the chance to jump into Sea of Thieves with some of my favorite people in the world as my crazy crew. All in all, these games and the people I played with helped me deal with daily anxiety and exhaustion.

Finally, I’m grateful for two games that gave a group of people representation, strength and a louder voice. If Found… and Tell Me Why feature characters that are transgender, who are some of the most underrepresented people in games. Not only am I happy they finally get more positive attention, but I’m thankful these two games helped a dear friend and fellow EG staff member step on the road to embrace who they are.

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