Kinda bug and kinda snack and kinda one of the best indie games to come out this year. Craddock, Long Reads EditorĬheck out Spelunky 2 on Steam and PlayStation Store. Throw new monsters, systems like liquid physics and mounts (ridable mounts!), and Spelunky 2 delivers everything fans loved about the venerated first game, only more. The stages are layered, giving you ample reason to delve for secrets and loot.

(Think Donkey Kong Country 2 with procedural elements, and with Dixie in the starring role.) More than just an iterative effort, the Derek Yu-directed sequel does more with narrative this time around, casting you as the daughter of the first game's explorer, and in search of her missing parents.

Give me roguelike mechanics mixed with spot-on platforming controls and level design. It's also available via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for PC. Chris Jarrard, Tech EditorĬheck out Deep Rock Galactic on Steam, and Microsoft Store. Featuring the best bug shooting this side of Starship Troopers and the best beard customization of 2020, you'd be a space fool to miss out on this one. Developer Ghost Ship Games has managed to polish the experience into a smooth, glistening co-op gem that stands above all other contenders in a year where many of us spent our days quarantined at home in need of escape. Donovan Erksine, Contributing EditorĬheck out Risk of Rain 2 on Steam, Nintendo eShop, Microsoft Store, and PlayStation Store.Īfter spending what seems like an eternity in Steam’s Early Access program, Deep Rock Galactic officially launched as a complete game this year. What's more, you can team up with 3 friends as run the gauntlet. With a wide variety of items and power ups, Risk of Rain 2 has a high degree of replayability. It's challenging, rewarding, and keeps you on your toes at every second. A roguelike that represents everything that makes the genre great. Risk of Rain 2 takes everything that made the first game so amazing, and multiplies it. TJ Denzer, News EditorĬheck out Streets of Rage 4 on Steam, Nintendo eShop, Microsoft Store, and PlayStation Store. It's also available via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for PC. Streets of Rage 4 has no right being so damn good for a love letter, and yet on every front, it is. And then new things like the combo system just make this game a fun challenge to approach over and over. The music is a fantastic electronica blend of the old school riffs with new school sensibilities. The characters' movesets contain basic elements anyone can use, but also have a depth that rivals actual fighting games. The art is striking and contains reasonable to the environments, characters, bosses, and even thugs for how long this franchise has been dormant. A book could be filled on how many easter eggs are in this game, but it's also just a dang good modern representation of what a new co-op side-scrolling brawler ought to be. Streets of Rage 4 is, in every single way, shape, and form possible, a love letter to fans of the old school Sega beat'em-up franchise. Amnesia: Rebirth is available on Steam and PlayStation Store. TJ Denzer, News EditorĬheck out our Shacknews Best Horror Game of 2020 - Amnesia: Rebirth article, in case you missed it. And it will make your breath hitch when it locks its claws in and keeps you from looking away. This visceral and gut-twisting journey of love into the depths of madness and the supernatural got horror right in a way that most games in this genre only dream of reaching. Frictional Games is an indie studio, and that makes Amnesia: Rebirth all the more amazing. It is absolutely wild to think that Amnesia: Rebirth is an indie game, because it can easily stand toe to toe with all of the production values of AAA horror titles created within the past five years.

Ozzie Mejia, Senior EditorĬheck out Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout on Steam and PlayStation Store. Mediatonic continuing to iterate on the game by adding new games and themes makes it that much better and ensures that Fall Guys will be around for the long haul. The result is wild fun with beanbag people in a mad dash to the finish. That often includes races, team games, or obstacle courses. However, few have embraced what it means to be pure fun than Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout.įall Guys takes the battle royale idea and makes it more wholesome, challenging players to take on all sorts of Mario Party-style mini-games. There are now many games where dozens of players enter and only one leaves. The battle royale realm has become a crowded place. Today, for the third year in a row, we are counting down the Shacknews Top 10 Indie Games of the Year 2020. As 2020 finally comes to its sweet, merciful end, The Shacknews Awards intensify with video games being honored left and right.

Best indie games of 2020