My 5 Favourite Games of 2020

 

Finally we have my 5 favourite games of 2020!

 

Once again, these aren’t all games that were actually released in 2020 or my advice as to what the best games currently out there are. This is simply a list of 5 games that I most enjoyed playing this year and have sunk the most time into - and as you can see from this list I have played a lot of games this year!

My 5 Favourite TV Series of 2020

 

Continuing on from my 10 Favourite Films of 2020, next up are my 5 Favourite TV shows watched in 2020, along with 5 more honourable mentions at the end.

My 10 Favourite Films of 2020

 

     

     So as discussed in my previous rundown here, I will just present these 10 films in no particular order having done away with the traditional ‘countdown’ format. Not just because such a thing is largely inconsequential and divisive, but I also sometimes find myself looking back and wishing I had rejigged the order of things.

       

     Needless to say there will still be some people who will still ask me ‘why did you include this film and not that film instead…’ but be reminded these are just my favourites and not an objective ‘best of’.

 

      Anyway, without further ado – here are my 10 favourite movies of 2020.

My Favourites of 2020 - Preview

 

        Hoo-boy. 2020, eh? What a year. Without harping on unnecessarily it has been evident that this year has brought marked changes to absolutely everyone’s lifestyle. And as the time has come round once again for my yearly review it only makes sense for that to be a bit different as well.

 

My Retro Game Handhelds Collection

     For as long as I can remember I have always loved the idea of having the choice to play loads of different games on a single device. Probably the earliest instance of this was the time when I borrowed a dodgy bootleg 50-in-1 GameBoy cartridge from a friend back in school. Back then, even when playing Super Mario Land I was amazed at the amount of game that could fit in a small 6cm x 6cm bit of plastic. So then being able to choose from 50 different games on a single cartridge utterly blew my simple little mind.

My Switch Peripherals Collection

     I love my Nintendo Switch. Whilst it’s far from being the ‘perfect’ console it’s just so damn versatile, with the massive library of games available for it (old and new, triple A and indie), coupled with what you can do with a hacked unit makes it so appealing. There is something there for everyone.

 

      I’ve had it for probably less than a year now and during that time have accrued a rather unwieldy amount or peripherals and extras for the console – both good and bad – so I thought it would be interesting do a rundown.

 

      So here we go:

Some Unexpected Bangers - The Music of Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

 

     Full disclosure: I am not a Eurovision fan. I don’t watch it, I don’t follow it, I am not invested in the yearly hype, the contenders, the winners or any of it. Having said that I do have a peripheral knowledge of the event and know of some of the more memorable contestants from previous years just from how much it seems to permeate the cultural zeitgeist for the brief moment every year that it’s on. Obviously it’s not being held this year, but instead we get the Netflix comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.

Iron Maiden Puzzle Time-Lapse

 

     Here we go: another puzzle time-lapse video, this time featuring the cover art of Iron Maiden’s album Killers.

The Finely Balanced Mechanics of Cuphead

       I started shoot’em-up Cuphead back when I first got my Switch but inevitably put it to one side it due to its high difficulty and the fact that I had loads of other games to try out on the system.
      However recently I’ve been giving it another go and slowly making my way through it.

LEGO Wall-E (Set 21303) Time-lapse Build

     I completed another LEGO time-lapse the other week, this time for a more modern build: Wall-E (set 21303) released in 2015.

My Quarantine Projects

 

     So it’s been a while since my last post, the reason being that about two weeks ago I came off furlough and have been going back to work.

Lonely Mountains: Downhill - Effective in its Simplicity

      Lonely Mountains: Downhill is surprisingly effective in its simplicity. You start at the top of a mountain and you downhill bike to the bottom. It’s simple and uncluttered both in its graphics and user interface and the controls are intuitive and responsive.

Telling Lies - A Unique Narrative Delivery

     Telling Lies is the kind of game you can only truly experience once. You could argue that’s the case for most games with your first playthrough but here this statement is accurate in the fullest sense. If you are interested in immersive narrative experiences, visual novel style games and have some degree of patience in watching copious amounts of video footage then I absolutely recommend you give this a go blind as the authentic experience of it depends on knowing absolutely nothing going in.

Old School Puzzles To A Fault - Monster Boy And the Cursed Kingdom

     I was initially a bit confused between Monster Boy and The Cursed Kingdom and another game Wonder Boy and The Dragon’s Trap. Both appear to be 2D action platformers where the central character can transform into a variety of animal forms. Though the art style differs, the covers look very similar in design.

Timespinner - SOTN Lite?

       I’ve just finished Timespinner - a metroidvania indie game that’s been out for a couple of years now. Much of the buzz around the game was how much it pays tribute to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and having played this they certainly weren’t wrong.

Three Quirky Indie Games

       I’ve been playing a ton of Switch games recently and thought I would share a couple of recommended quirky titles. These aren’t exclusive to Switch - I’m pretty sure they are all available on Steam and other consoles/platforms too - and each game comes recommended in their own individual ways.

Movie Musings - Extraction - Is That Rake at the End?

       I watched the Netflix exclusive Extraction a while back. It’s a decent action flick set in Bangladesh where Chris Hemsworth stars as a mercenary attempting to rescue a kidnapped kid and escort him to safety. Now the main point I want to talk about is a spoiler for the ending of the movie, so if you haven’t seen it yet or don’t want any plot points spoiled you have been warned!

LEGO Storage - Billy Bookcase/Oxberg Combo Display

      Sorting out the little box room upstairs has been an ongoing project since we moved into our house over a year ago. As well as stuff from the initial move, I have had 16 boxes of stuff shipped over from Japan and have built one full-size IKEA Billy bookcase and one half-sized Billy to go in there for storage.

The Emancipation of Harley Quinn - Film Vs Animated Series

       There is a common understanding that Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Harley Quinn was the best part of 2016’s Suicide Squad by a country mile. Despite the bombing of that film it was soon announced that Harley would star in her own spin-off entry, the end result arriving this year in the form of Birds of Prey – or rather to be complete the unwieldy full title of: Birds of Prey: The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn.

Kacho On! - Game Center CX

     So I recently signed up to Twitch in order to support my buddy by adding viewership to his streams. Whilst I have been aware of the existence of Twitch as a platform for a while, I’ve not really checked it out until now.

      And I think I’ve opened pandoras box…

Ghost Puzzle Time-Lapse

      As well as the recent LEGO time-lapses I did (which you can see HERE and HERE), I had a puzzle to build last weekend and thought I may as well do a time-lapse of that as well.

Celeste - Motivation Through Mechanics

     I’ve been playing through a lot of indie games recently on the Switch, one of which has been Celeste. Although I’ve had it for ages I’ve only now just picked it up to play properly.

Pantsu Hunter - Innocence and Nostalgia

      Pantsu Hunter: Back to the 90’s does an odd thing – it gives you a hearty dose of nostalgia despite its - on the face of it at least - seemingly perverted premise.

     Ok, you’re going to have to hear me out on this one.

LEGO Rock Island Refuge (Set 6273) Time-lapse Build

       Following on from my previous LEGO time-lapse, I completed another on the weekend: Rock Island Refuge (Set 6273).

LEGO Black Seas Barracuda (Set 6285) Time-lapse Build

      I had the house to myself and full use of the kitchen table for the day so recorded a time-lapse build of this classic set. Turned out pretty okay I think!

Japan Video Done!

       So I finished that Japan clip that I was on about and have uploaded it to YouTube. As expected nearly all the music was flagged for copyright straight away but as I don’t monetize I don’t have to remove any of the tracks so that’s all good.

Movie Musings: Campy Horror - The Lair of The White Worm

      Released in 1988, Ken Russell’s The Lair of the White Worm is a great example of a campy horror flick that you just wouldn’t get today.

Video Editing Again - Imma Finish That Clip!

      Once upon a time I used to enjoy editing videos. In fact some of the very first posts on this blog are to do with some of AMV/music videos that I edited. Just had a quick look on youtube and the Threat Signal one I did has 288k views! It was from 12 years ago though.

The 5 Main Issues With Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

     Happy May the 4^th everyone! And what better way to celebrate Star Wars Day by reminding everyone how truly awful Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker was. The last main series Star Wars film to be released was a crushing disappointment to me when it came out last year and having rewatched the film again yesterday my feelings have not changed.

      So whilst there is a huge list of things that make Episode IX a pile of steaming Bantha poop, here are the five main points that were the most problematic for me.

     Spoiler warning: Major plot points of the film will be discussed.

Primal - Pure Storytelling

       Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal is a work of art - storytelling in its purest form.

    And that’s not just hyperbole – with no dialogue to speak of, the story unfolds purely through visuals, motion and sound design. Anybody familiar with Tartakovsky’s signature style (the original animated Star Wars: Clone Wars series, The Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack) will find the same thick lines and expressionistic body proportions here, but the subtle facial animations, bombastic orchestral score and kinetic action all convey absolutely everything you need to know.

Movie Musings: Maximum Overdrive - The Only Film Stephen King Has Ever Directed

      Released in 1986, Maximum Overdrive is bat-shit insane. There are no two ways about it. As stated, it is Stephen King’s one and only foray into feature film directing and was, in his own words, “coked out of my mind” the entire time. And it certainly shows.

Movie Musings: Why Cats is Such an Abomination

      Unless you’ve been living under a rock you have most likely heard about the severe drubbing the recent version of Cats received upon release. From the unfinished CGI that required the originally screened version to be recalled, to the grotesque ‘furry’ fetish designs of the characters that reportedly left cinemagoers feeling both horny and confused it was evident that there was a myriad of missteps along the way.

      However as always I like to make my own mind up on such matters so sat down to watch the film in its entirety.

Movie Musings: Gretel & Hansel - Can an Accent Derail a Film?

     Gretel & Hansel differentiates itself from the numerous other Hansel & Gretal adaptations not only by the flipping of the title but also as it focuses more on Gretal by making her older than her brother and is charged with looking after him as they are both cast out to wander the forest and... well, you know the rest.

Movie Musings: Horror Franchise Triple Bill

     Having watched the recently released 80’s horror movie documentary In Search of Darkness, it had reminded me of the many great horror franchises. Though as an avid horror fan I have seen quite a few entries in the various popular series such as Friday the 13^th, Halloween, The Nightmare On Elm Street etc… there have always been the one or two films within each series that I have missed and have always meant to catch up on.

     So that’s what I did. And here are my off the dome thoughts on them:

Movie Musings: Intro

     Quarantine is a funny time – and for someone who complains they never have time to do any writing I find myself currently with an abundance of time, strange circumstances though it may be. So no excuses. I’m going to write a short film related article every weekday to keep things ticking over. I’ve completed my initial project of digitizing my 300+ CD collection as well as sorting through two hard drives worth of additional music, so this can be one of my next projects.

     I’ve been watching quite a few films recently (new and old) and instead of any kind of structured article I thought I would instead just offer my general unedited thoughts on whatever I have seen recently, hence: Movie Musings.

     I find that I too often agonize over what I have written and edit and rewrite far too often, ultimately resulting in me not wanting to write anything at all - so this will instead be more an exercise of just getting things down and put stuff out there, with minimal stress over it. So the ultimate aim is to just write for myself, but if you can get something out of it too then that’s a happy bonus.

First article should be up now here. Enjoy!

24th April 2020