Game Informer

Game Informer

The Top 10 Moments Of 2020

Posted: 24 Dec 2020 03:00 PM PST

Video games will always be greater than the sum of their parts, but often when we bring up our coolest experiences, we center it on some of the standout moments from our favorite games. This year in gaming was full of exciting, intense, and memorable moments, and we're here to count down our favorites.

Warning: While we always do our best to talk around major spoilers in this list, the very nature of this feature means it inevitably contains some, so proceed at your own risk.

10

Seeing Your House

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator wowed a worldwide audience with its faithful and photorealistic recreation of the entire globe. Soaring over the Serengeti or buzzing over Bali provides serene and scenic views, while visiting iconic landmarks and cities gave you the ability to travel in a year where getting on a plane was a less-common occurrence. However, the biggest thrill for us came from visiting the place we spent the most time in during 2020: home. Seeing your hometown or a place you frequently visit featured in your entertainment is often thrilling, but being able visit your own neighborhood in Microsoft Flight Simulator is a level of detail we've never seen before.

9

Delivering the Final Shot

Persona 5 Royal

The original ending of Persona 5 served as a perfect representation of the struggle and journey the various Phantom Thieves had gone on over the course of the lengthy campaign. You still experience the original ending in Persona 5 Royal, but a new post-game Palace (complete with a new final boss) adds new layers to the Phantom Thieves' adventure, with a culminating confrontation that somehow reaches new levels of excitement and style as you finish off the seemingly invincible final boss. The entire new Palace is memorable and thematically fitting, but the way you finish off the new end boss stuck with us long after the credits rolled.

8

Breaking into the Vault

Half-Life: Alyx

As Alyx races towards her goal near the end of the game, an epic confrontation leaves her nearly powerless. However, once Alyx enters a transdimensional prison, built to hold some of the most powerful beings in the universe, her world is turned on its head. Exploring this surreal space in VR is almost worth the price of admission alone. In the end, it turns out the secret to taking down the combine is a familiar face. But at what cost?

7

Catching an Oarfish

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing: New Horizons gave us the perfect solace from a chaotic outside world. The game's calming aura combined with a steady progression system to give us an island oasis to get lost in. Paying off your mortgage might be one of the ultimate feelings of satisfaction in Animal Crossing, but our reaction to achieving that pales in comparison to our reaction to pulling an oarfish out of the water. After hooking entire schools of bass and horse mackerel, yanking the monstrous oarfish inspired shrieks of horror unlike anything else on this list. Not only that, but if you want to display this horror show in your house, it looks like garbage, so unless Blathers is still looking for one, it's off to the local shop to trade it for bells.

6

The Rhino Chase

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Marvel's Spider-Man introduced us to the teacher/apprentice relationship that exists between Peter Parker and Miles Morales, and the opening sequence of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales showed that while Miles still has some learning to do, he is more than capable of being his own hero. This opening chase and fight scene shows the two Spider-Men working together to contain a runaway Rhino and gives us one of the best set-piece sequences in the entire game, culminating with a boss battle against a familiar foe.

5

Unleashing the Ghost

Ghost of Tsushima

After a long, drawn out siege against the Mongols, Jin Sakai decides to take matters into his own hands, going against the tradition, honor, and code of the samurai in the most demonstrative and brutal way possible. Not only is this moment pivotal for shaping the relationship between Jin and Lord Shimura from that point on, but it unlocks the Ghost stance, an overpowered special move that can even the odds of nearly any battle and symbolizes Jin truly embracing his role as the Ghost of Tsushima. The shock value of how it plays out combines with the feeling of true power to deliver an unforgettable moment in the journey of Jin Sakai.

4

Saving Nancy-chan

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

What starts as a seemingly innocent act from Yakuza: Like a Dragon protagonist Ichiban Kasuga kicks off a rollercoaster of a quest involving a crawfish. After throwing Nancy the crawfish into the river, thinking he's being helpful, Kasuga comes to the horrifying realization that he just released someone's pet into the wild. After finding Nancy-chan, an additional twist on the story is introduced, with the end result of the quest giving Kasuga one of the most ridiculous summons in the game. The quest perfectly epitomizes the goofy side of the Yakuza franchise.

3

Reliving the Opening

Final Fantasy VII Remake

The opening of Final Fantasy VII is among the most iconic sequences in the series, and while Final Fantasy VII Remake deviated from the original in a few ways, it remained faithful in some of the areas where it counted most. Seeing the camera swoop over Midgar, showing the incredible level of detail the development team at Square Enix put into this remake is nothing short of goosebump-inducing for those who played the original. Watching as the residents of Midgar go about their day-to-day lives is interesting, but Aerith's iconic appearance in the alleyway is the highlight of this nostalgia-fueled cinematic.

2

The Final Boss

Astro's Playroom

In addition to being a fun and clever platformer, Astro's Playroom is also a celebration of the PlayStation brand. Each collection of stages hides an impressive bounty of gaming treasures, like consoles, accessories, and memorabilia from PlayStation's history. But just when you think you've seen every reference and checked every box, an unexpected boss appears in a delightful final flourish. This encounter is the perfect conclusion a game that both recognizes the past and looks ahead to the future.

1

Liftoff

The Last of Us Part II

The Last of Us Part II has plenty of violent and unsettling scenes, but the moment that stands out the most is quiet and sweet. Joel surprises Ellie on her birthday with a tour of a museum. The extended scene showcases the relationship between them, but when the two stumble upon a section devoted to humanity's achievements in space, we get an even better look at how close Joel and Ellie truly are. As they sit together in a spacecraft on display in the museum, Ellie plays the birthday present he gave her: a recording of a rocket launch. She closes her eyes and listens reverently as the audio sends her into space – an intimate moment of escape that emphasizes Joel and Ellie's bond, and sticks out as the best moment of gaming in 2020.

Want to read more about the best games that 2020 had to offer? We're counting down our Top 10 for the year, so navigate to another entry using the links below!

Replay – The 2020 Holiday Spectacular

Posted: 24 Dec 2020 01:00 PM PST

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It's that time of year again. The holidays are a time to send love to those closest to you, get cozy on a cold winter's day, and find the craziest Christmas-themed Steam games to play with your friends. 

One of our favorite traditions at Game Informer is putting together the holiday episode of Replay, and this year didn't disappoint. Join Andrew Reiner, Dan Tack, Joe Juba, and me as we pick some truly bonkers Christmas games and celebrate the holiday the only way we know how. 

First up is Christmas Adventures: A Winter Night's Dream, a hidden objects game that not only tests our eye but our patience as well. After that, we boot up Cold Call, a horror game that tasks us with solving the supernatural disappearance of a family on Christmas eve. Next up is The Santa Paradox which...actually, I've already played the game, and I'm still not sure what it was about. There were pumpkins and a kid wanting to be a wizard. Anyway, we round out the show with one last game that I won't spoil for you, but I can promise it's one of my favorite titles we've played during my time on Replay.

Thank you so much to everyone who watched the show this year. We're taking a bit of a break for the holidays but rest assured there's more Replay coming your way. We'll have one more prerecorded episode for you locked and loaded for 2 p.m. CT next week, and we'll be back to our live shows in 2021! If you can't get enough of our live shows, remember to subscribe on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, and Facebook to get notified when we go live each week!

If you're loving the holiday fun, be sure to check out last year's holiday episode where we find even more wacky steam games to play.

GI Show – Hitman 3 And The Best Games To Play With Friends

Posted: 24 Dec 2020 12:00 PM PST

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On this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, we continue our wrap up of the year. Instead of talking about all the games we've been playing recently, we look back and talk about some of our favorite multiplayer games from 2020, such as: Phasmophobia, Call of Duty: Warzone, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Among Us, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Apex Legends, Sea of Thieves, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, Back 4 Blood, Wasteland 3, Overwatch, Moving Out, Destiny 2: Beyond Light, Jackbox Party Pack 7. 

Next we talk about Game Informer's newest cover game: Hitman 3. Developer IO Interactive shared with us what it has planned for the conclusion of its Hitman World of Assassination trilogy. Finally, we close out the show with another fantastic round of community emails. So please join Blake Hester, Liana Ruppert, Jeff Cork, Jason Guiso, Alex Stadnik, and myself for another wild and ever-entertaining episode!

Thanks for listening! Please make sure to leave feedback below, share the episode if you enjoyed it, and follow me @benjaminreeves to let me know what you think. You can watch the video above, subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes or Google Play, listen on SoundCloud, stream it on Spotify, or download the MP3 at the bottom of the page. Also, be sure to send your questions to podcast@gameinformer.com for a chance to have them answered on the show!

Our thanks to The Rapture Twins for The Game Informer Show's intro song. You can hear more of their music at their website.

To jump to a particular point in the discussion, check out the time stamps below.

Intro: 00:00:00
Best Multiplayer Games of 2020: 00:02:31
Phasmophobia: 00:02:47
Call of Duty: Warzone/Black Ops Cold War: 00:04:59
Animal Crossing: New Horizons: 00:08:58
Among Us: 00:10:52
Sackboy: A Big Adventure: 00:13:05
Apex Legends: 00:14:19
Sea of Thieves: 00:19:15
Fall Guys: 00:24:14
Back 4 Blood: 00:27:11
Wasteland 3: 00:30:50
Overwatch: 00:31:52
Discord Screen Share: 00:36:29
Moving Out: 00:37:53
Destiny 2: 00:39:45
Jackbox: 00:41:40
Exclusive Hitman 3 Impressions: 00:43:39
Community Emails: 01:05:22

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79 Rapid-Fire Questions About Hitman 3

Posted: 24 Dec 2020 09:31 AM PST

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In the first exclusive video from our month of Hitman 3 coverage, Senior Editor Jeff Cork sits down with Mattias Engström, Game Director at IO Interactive, to ask 79 rapid-fire questions about the game, including which assassinations are the series' best, what it's like controlling Agent 47 in VR, and of course, what fans should expect from the exciting conclusion of the World of Assassination trilogy. 

Click the banner below for more exclusive coverage of Hitman 3, including the 5 Things You Should Know About Hitman 3 or our full cover story from Issue #332.

5 Things You Should Know About Hitman 3

Posted: 24 Dec 2020 07:01 AM PST

Hitman 3's release is drawing close, and with it comes the end of an era for Agent 47 and IO Interactive. We took an extensive look at the final entry in the World of Assassination trilogy for our latest Game Informer cover story, spending hours in three of the game's six levels. There's a lot to process, so let's get right into it. Here are five things that you should know about Hitman 3:

1.    It Feels Less 'Return Of The Jedi' And More 'Empire Strikes Back'

Pardon my clunky Star Wars analogy, but I feel like it's an apt comparison. Agent 47, Diana Burnwood, Lucas Gray, and others have been through a lot throughout the Hitman series, with several key relationships extending even beyond the 2016 release. After rolling credits on Hitman 2, you probably thought that things were going to be coming to a head in Hitman 3 – and you're right. Obviously, since it's the concluding entry in the trilogy, we were all expecting some major events. But even still, I suspect a lot of fans are going to be taken aback at what happens.

Like I said, I was only able to play through about half of the upcoming game, but it ends in such a way that I really don't know where it's heading. I've been sworn to secrecy on much of this, which makes it extremely difficult to discuss, but… yeah. Hitman exists in a world that's at once familiar and completely foreign; I can't imagine how anyone involved is going to find peace at the end of this. If you just play Hitman to throw muffins at guards and drown oligarchs in toilets, then it may not be that big of a deal. But I'd imagine those other players, myself included, will be spending about half the game's run time with their stomachs tied in knots. 

2.    Hitman 3 Has Some Of The Best Levels Yet

For my money, the Hitman trilogy is home to some of the best all-around level design in games. Each of its sandboxes tells multiple stories thanks to smartly executed layouts that encourage emergent storytelling, and an overall focus on the little details that matter. Levels are meant to be replayed over and over again before they fully give up their secrets, and I'm honestly in awe that IO Interactive is able to deftly encourage that without becoming repetitive. That tradition definitely continues in Hitman 3.

The game's first mission, set in Dubai, is a bombastic intro worthy of a Mission Impossible film. It's set in the Sceptre, which is the tallest skyscraper in Hitman's world, and Agent 47 gets to explore both its lavishly decorated interior and dizzying exterior. Even as someone who isn't particularly sensitive to heights, snaking around its outside via beams and scaffolding made me a little woozy at times.

It's a stark contrast to the second mission, a murder mystery that's set in an English Manor – one that happens to be owned by Providence member Alexa Carlisle. The layout is already great, capturing the essence of both the English countryside and a stately family home. The level is more compact than some of the places we've explored from a purely square-footage perspective, but it's home to an expansive story. In this mission, one of the optional storylines lets Agent 47 assume the role of a private investigator who is trying to solve a murder. Agent 47 has pretended to be a barber and a real-estate agent in previous games, but this is his most ambitious attempt at putting himself in someone else's shoes. To solve the mystery, players will have to interrogate witnesses, look for clues, and piece together what actually happened. Or, you could just walk up to your target and shoot her in the face. That kind of misses the point, however.

3.    Agent 47 Has Some Nifty New Gadgets

When you're able to dispatch enemies with weapons as varied as rubber duckies, poison, and sniper rifles, there's not really much of an incentive to add to your toolbox. Well, too bad! Hitman 3 gives Agent 47 a new tool, as well as some interesting additional options while he's in the field.

One of the first things you do in Dubai is to scan a security keypad with a camera so that your field support can open it up for you. That's right, Agent 47 has a camera. That tool not only lets him scan keypads, but he can use it to send visual info to his handlers, such as when he's investigating the murder in England. Or, he can use it as a camera, including different visual filters and zoom levels. It's a great way to check out those little details that might otherwise pass you by. And, since the trilogy has been designed to be played seamlessly, the camera will be incorporated into legacy Hitman 1 and 2 missions, too.

After getting passcodes, players will have to enter them digit by digit on keypads, which is a new detail for the Hitman games. It's not a world-changing event by any means, but it does make Agent 47 feel like more of an active participant in his surroundings. Similarly, he can interact with computer terminals, such as using a kiosk in Dubai's skyscraper to learn more about its construction and – more relevantly – its floorplan. 

4.    It Makes Good On The 'World Of Assassination' Promise

IO Interactive took a big risk with its World of Assassination plan. Starting with 2016's Hitman game, it was conceived as an umbrella under which several Hitman entries would reside. As new installments were added, they could be accessed with the same executable, giving players who bought all three a seamless experience between all entries. It didn't start smoothly, however.

People were skeptical about the plan at launch, and publisher Square Enix wasn't quite as keen on the idea as much as IO Interactive was. Add in the fact that Hitman 2016 launched as a series of monthly episodes, and it makes sense that customers were a little wary. Now that Hitman 3 is just about here, I'm able to say that the studio has absolutely delivered the goods.

I replayed the first two Hitman games in preparation for the story and slid right into the third. One of the coolest things about the experience is how you're able to bounce between levels at will. If you play through sequentially, it's a seamless experience. As IO Interactive added new things like foliage that Agent 47 could hide in or better visual cues for surveillance cameras, the team went in and implemented those changes into the legacy missions.

5.    Save Scummers Are Going To Appreciate The New-Gen Upgrade

Yes, Hitman 3 on new-gen consoles will have fancy lighting and reflections and all that good stuff. But the most welcome improvement – at least as I see it – comes courtesy of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S' SSDs. Thanks to their faster read-write speeds, the act of saving and loading games is much quicker than on last-gen. So? Well, if you're an unrepentant save scummer like I am, it makes a difference.

When I play Hitman, I'm always pushing my luck, seeing just how far I can manipulate guards and other A.I. as I explore and take down targets. Can I neutralize that guard even though his co-worker is just a few feet around the corner? Save. Let's see. What would happen if I threw a hammer at that guy? Save. Let's see. Those guys can't possibly know that I'm not supposed to be here, right? Save. Let's see. I know there are plenty of people who love to live with the consequences of their actions. I'm not among them. And now I'll save more than my progress. 

And before you judge, Mattias Engstrom, Hitman 3's game director, gives the green light to my fellow save scummers: "That's part of the gameplay, so don't apologize," he told me. Then again, maybe he was just trying to make me feel better. Oh well.

Listen To Game Informer's Favorite Songs From 2020

Posted: 24 Dec 2020 07:00 AM PST

What a year. Luckily we had games to get us through it all. If you haven't yet, check out our 10 favorite games this year, including our Game of the Year. 

But here at Game Informer, we're not one-trick ponies; we like all kinds of stuff! We took the time to compile all our favorite songs of 2020 into a Spotify playlist for you to listen to. Over the course of more than 100 songs, you'll get a pretty full picture of our staff's musical taste. From video game music to San Jose hardcore, from Haley Williams to Code Orange, and from Tame Impala to Megan Thee Stallion, this playlist has more than enough for everyone. So sit back, relax, and vibe out with Game Informer's Favorite Songs From 2020. 

A note: Some of the music in this playlist is very NSFW. Listener discretion is advised. 

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What songs, albums, and artists did you keep on rotation this year? While we're at it, what are the best songs on our playlist? Sound off in the comments below! Make yourself heard! See what I did there? 
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