BEST OF GAMING

With all the free time people have had these past few months, games have gotten bigger than ever. Regardless of your platform, there has been an explosion of things to play, from casual to hardcore titles. In this anniversary issue, we take a look at some of the best games we’ve had the pleasure of playing, and a few that we just can’t wait for.

- Ren Alcantara

THE LAST OF US PART 2

While deeply polarizing, one cannot deny the fact that this is now one of the biggest sellers in PlayStation history. The game, a straight sequel to the 2013 masterpiece, picks up a few years after the events in the first title. Life has continued in the post-apocalypse, and while the dangers are still there, people have found a way to move forward— most of them anyway. The game puts together the tried and tested stealth- and cover-based shooter and injected a massive dose of story, making you connect with characters unlike any other game in the past, while dredging you, kicking and screaming, into the events that the writers have laid out.

I’ll be honest and say that there isn’t really anything particularly groundbreaking about the gameplay— it’s standard fare at this point, but for better or for worse, the way the story is handled almost certainly assures it a place in “best of” lists for generations to come.

ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS

With everyone stuck indoors, people needed an escape. Nintendo’s Switch and the title Animal Crossing delivered just that. The fifth in the series of the same name, New Horizons is a life simulator that puts the player in the shoes of character who moves to a deserted island to settle in. It’s then a big, open sandbox that lets the player explore in a non-linear fashion, doing all sorts of things, from the usual gathering, fishing, and crafting, to building and customizing their homes, and developing a community.