2020 could have put most of us to a greater or lesser extent, but it was a surprisingly strong year from a gaming perspective.
Of course, in recent years it has become Nintendo’s MO to focus discussions on the projects it has underway for the year in question, so while we’re all desperate to hear about the upcoming big games like Metroid Prime 4 and Breath of the Wild 2, we do not expect to receive any chewy details about them until they are a few months away.
Although this silent approach could be frustrating, it also led to delightful surprises this year, with excellent games such as Paper Mario: The King of Origami and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity announced and launched in a relatively short succession.
In the article below we will recap some of the most significant stories and games of 2020 covered by our top news and review teams, as well as highlight the most popular Nintendo Life article and review of each month from this period, long year. (You can check out the longer readings from the last twelve months by looking at our selection of Best of 2020 features).
So while you may be hesitant to take a trip to Recent Memory Lane, we promise to include this 2020 recap. especially positive memories. That being said, there will be some inevitable negatives to touch – we will try not to stop.
So try and take a look back at twelve eventful months.
January – Pokémon Direct, Byleth Direct, but not directly “appropriate”
Pokémon CompanyLooking at the Nintendo 2020 list, it existed Brain training early in the year, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore in mid-January, late The passage of animals coming in March … and not much more on the horizon. While many were starving for a full Nintendo Direct (something we wouldn’t get to see all year, actually), the January Pokémon Direct revealed a lot of detail around Sword & Shield Expansion Pass, Pokémon HOME, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX and more, with over 200 months old returning to the extensive Galar National Dex.
Elsewhere, Byleth was revealed as the 5th DLC fighter for Smash Bros. last (as well as a new Fighter’s Pass), Bethesda’s retro DOOM received an update that made them essential purchases for rip-and-tearers, Masahiro Sakurai revealed that he played a lot of Playstation games in 2019, suggests a prolific leaker we would see a Paper Mario game and a 2D Metroid game later in the year (we are still waiting for the latter, of course), and Hideki Kamiya started the year in excellent shape with his opinion on Switch Home Menu (and Switch fans have started making fun of their own themes and folder ideas).
The January games included the excellent Kentucky Route Zero: TV Editionalso excellent 198X, and triple-excellent Until the moon.
The most popular news article: Remember that Zelda: Breath of the Wild Clone that killed a PS4? Approaching switching
Most Popular Review: SD Gundam G Cross-Radiation – Brilliant Strategy Action RPG with Content
February – The wonderful 101 returns while we wait for the big one next month …
© Platinum GamesThe same leaker who mentioned a Paper Mario version made an oblique reference to a planned launch for the 2020 holidays with “tires” – not exactly much to do, but Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit came to launch in November. Platinum games have been teased The Wonderful 101: Remastered just before the official announcement, Nintendo was optimistic about the future competition of the next generation consoles and Sakurai reacted to the accusations of too many Fire Emblem characters from Smash, pointing the finger in the direction of Nintendo.
Elsewhere, we wondered where Pikmin 4 got into the world, and NL readers voted for their favorite Pokémon starters ever (with somewhat predictable results!). More details about Animal Crossing have grown, people have been annoyed by the lack of Nintendo Direct, Witcher 3 on the Switch it received an impressive update, and a story about Nintendo customer support going beyond and beyond an old Tetris fan gave us all the hot fuzzies.
The most popular News Article: Nintendo and the Pokémon company launch a joint statement about the Leaker sword and shield
Most Popular Review: Two-Point Hospital – Probably the Best Version of an Acclaimed Modern Classic
March – A dear old favorite reappears in time
NintendoThe gravity of the global situation that will dominate the rest of the year began to become apparent as events began to be postponed, adapted or canceled. I got an Indie World Showcase, the Nintendo PlayStation was sold at auction, Nintendo hit a legal road in the Joy-Con drift fiasco, and everyone and their dog tried to get their hands on Ring Fit Adventure before the crash and the calendar of gaming events had a significant blow, as E3 2020 was canceled three months after the planned slot in June.
However, there was no bad news in the gaming world. March announced the significant and very welcome return of an old favorite around these parts: we are, of course, referring to the resurrection of our dear sister site, Pure Xbox. I’m glad I’m back, old friend.
In other news, Nintendo has released some small random life games, where you can do nothing too much. All eyes were on him, except on the other platforms on which he stood DOOM Eternal, and even those were occasionally distracted by the enchanting art of Doomguy / Isabelle fans and memes.
Yes, Animal Crossing: New Horizons will dominate the news cycle for several months, fueled in part by its horror and in part by the global circumstances that led millions to find comfort and escape to Nook’s escape island. Islands full of creatures, the ability to poop, Isabelle and Doom Slayer in animated form – you call it, Animal Crossing provided.
The most popular News Article: The fan-friendly website allows you to create and share songs of the city crossing animals
Most Popular Review: Animal Crossing: New Horizons – An Accessible and Captivating Masterpiece
April – Blockade, overhaul-bombing and return to the Streets of Fury
DotemuAnimal Crossing fever has taken over and people have been busy showcasing their talents with incredible island projects and custom designs (and crying Bunny Day). The beginning of April was also full of ordinary pranks, Super Mario Maker 2 received the “final” update, thousands of Nintendo accounts were reported to have been compromised, and the Lord of the Rings star and the good egg everywhere Elijah Wood visited randoms on the internet to beat his cookies.
A series of online summer 2020 presentations have been announced to fill the void left by the cancellation of E3 2020. The Japanese rating organization CERO has temporarily stopped while the world reacted to COVID-19, although Nintendo’s biggest launch of the year did not could cease to appear headlines, the game making the front page of the Financial Times among all the news related to pandemic articles.
In terms of games, Jupiter released 472 Picross title, Hand trials offered a famous classic RPG beloved and long in the West, in a reinvented 3D form, Sam Barlow continued to push the boundaries of the genre of FMV detectives with To tell lies, and Dotemu, Guard Crush Games and Lizardcube took us back to the ’90s in the brilliant retro revival The streets of anger 4.
The most popular News Article: A month later, Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ Review-Bombing is only worse
Most Popular Review: Cooking Mom: Cookstar – Definitely Need More Time in the Oven
May – Surprise announcements as Animal Crossing mania grips the globe
Nintendo released some very healthy sales figures and also revealed Paper Mario: The King of Origami scheduled for release in July. The Nintendo Switch Online offering has been expanded by four more titles, Pikmin 3 rumors have dropped and the company has also suffered a massive leak of development material.
The news, however, was dominated by Animal Crossing, as the game exceeded Nintendo’s full-time sales forecast in its first six weeks of sales. Toom Nook grabbed the zeitgeist by the throat and didn’t give up, with Gary Whitta’s Animal Talking chat show, which attracts huge celebrities, artists who reinvent characters as people, players who exploit mistakes before they are fixed, and even the person who wrote the Sea Bass joke acknowledging that he was tired of it.
Elsewhere, Pac-Man turned 40, Indivisible slipped on Switch eShop without the knowledge of the developer and Xenoblade Chronicles: Final Edition released at the end of the month.
The most popular News Article: Have you ever wondered why a villager left the island for animals to cross? This last Datamine reveals them all
Most Popular Review: The Elder Scrolls: Blades – A Grindy Free-To-Play Bastardisation of Bethesda’s RPG Classic
June – Isle of Armor, Clubhouse Games, LEGO Mario and, yes, more Animal Crossing
NintendoA Pokémon Presents show (the first of the two, in fact, although the second was kind of wet) accompanied the release of the first Isle of Armor DLC for Sword and Shield Pokémon and unveiled a number of new Pokémon-related games and products (including We Pokémon Snap). People got a little confused about what DLC they should buy, but the expansion itself was pretty good.
In other news, Min Min has been revealed as the next Smash fighter, the Joy-Con drift saga has continued, the opening of Super Nintendo World has been postponed until 2021, the supply constraints that hindered the production of the Switch have eased a bit, and Nintendo and Lego have lifted the lid on their Super Mario collaboration.
Fans began to create their own live presentation, the developer of Ori, Moon Studios, threw us from the scent of a Switch port from The will of the Wisps, Earthbound turned 25 in the US, and Sega unveiled the Game Gear Micro, impossible to cute (and completely useless). Animal Crossing also continued its rage over the news offices, a series of brands jumping on the bandwagon of the band Nook.
Nintendo Clubhouse Games: 51 classics worldwide landed on Switch in June, as did the free downloadable title Jump Rope Challenge to help you stay active while blocking. Other notable versions included XCOM 2, Bioshock: The collection and The legendary Borderlands collection.
The most popular News Article: Here are the seven EA games that will change next year
Most Popular Review: The Outer Worlds – Obsidian’s Fallout RPG Worth a Look at the Switch