20 best new video games to play in 2020

Gamers are waiting patiently for the launch of Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Sony’s PlayStation 5 later this year, but in the meantime there’s plenty of fresh titles to enjoy across the various platforms.

From sci-fi role-playing games and fantasy adventures to sports and looter-slashers, there’s a new release to suit any player.

Ahead of the festive console launches, we look at the best new games to play in 2020 on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons

• Release date: out now
• Platform: Nintendo Switch

The new Animal Crossing game for the Switch has been given strong reviews by the gaming press, including a 9/10 rating by Games Spot. In New Horizons players escape to a deserted island and create their own paradise.

Doom Eternal

• Release date: out now
• Platforms: PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

Game Rant’s Nicholas Wilder sums up this new Doom title as “fast-paced, smooth, action-packed gameplay, accompanied by intense, raw, heavy-metal”. The first-person shooter sees players taking on “the demonic forces of Hell”, spanning multiple worlds including Earth and Mars.

Half-Life: Alyx

• Release date: out now
• Platforms: PC

This first-person shooter is set between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2 and is playable only in virtual reality. The Guardian’s Rick Lane gave it a five-star review and called it a “spectacular immersive experience”.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

• Release date: out now
• Platforms: Xbox One, PC

The highly anticipated sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest has been described as an “irresistible challenge” by The Guardian’s Tola Onanuga while Den of Geek’s Megan Crouse says despite some technical troubles the game is “enchanting”.

Final Fantasy VII remake

• Release date: out now
• Platforms: PS4

Square Enix’s remake of the 1997 classic is being hailed by critics. CNN praises the “sparkling” graphics and gameplay while The Verge calls it “messy and beautiful, thrilling and confusing - which is to say, the remake is 100% Final Fantasy VII”.

Journey to the Savage Planet

• Release date: out now
• Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

This first-person adventure game sees players dropped onto an uncharted planet. The review by PC Gamer’s Phil Iwaniuk describes it well: “It’s a comedy-metroidvania-survival-shooter-platformer, then, a kind of Subnautica among the stars with extra bells and whistles.”

Dreams

• Release date: out now
• Platforms: PS4

Create your own dreams in games, art, films, music or anything in-between and beyond. Stephen Tailby of Push Square calls this title a “thing of wonder” and says: “Describing it as a game almost undersells what’s been achieved here; Dreams is so much more than that.”

Minecraft Dungeons

• Release date: 26 May
• Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass

Two editions - standard and hero - will be available for this brand new, standalone game set within the Minecraft universe. The developers say: “Minecraft Dungeons is our new action-adventure, dungeon crawler-style game in which up to four players fight together to defeat the evil Arch-Illager and his relentless swarm of new-and-nasty mobs – one action-packed level at a time.”

Tour de France 2020

• Release date: 4 June
• Platforms: PS4, Xbox One and later on PC

The official game of cycling’s premier event introduces its new first-person gameplay and will be available on PC for the first time. With this new camera perspective, the game brings players closer than ever before to the experience of becoming a real pro cyclist with a highly-realistic perspective. Breakaways, steep slopes and high-speed sprints will be more staggering than ever this year.

F1 2020

• Release date: 10 July
• Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Google Stadia

The official game of the 2020 Formula 1 World Championship gives players the chance to drive on new circuits and take part in the new “My Team” game mode. There will also be a Michael Schumacher Deluxe Edition.

Ghost of Tsushima

• Release date: August (TBC)
• Platform: PS4

Sucker Punch’s upcoming PS4 game was meant to be launched on 26 June, however, Games Radar reports that the PlayStation Canada website is now listing a release date of 1 August. Away from the launch date delay, the visually stunning game sees one of the last surviving samurai forge a new way of fighting - the way of the Ghost - to wage an unconventional war for the freedom of Japan.

Marvel’s Avengers

• Release date: 4 September
• Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, PC

The game features iconic heroes as you’ve never seen them before, notable villains, recognisable locations, and awesome powers set in an original Avengers story.

Cyberpunk 2077

• Release date: 17 September
• Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Google Stadia

It’s been seven years since the original teaser trailer for Cyberpunk 2077 was released. But the wait is almost over, as the sci-fi role-playing game (RPG) finally arrives in September. Developed by CD Projekt Red, the Polish games studio behind the acclaimed The Witcher franchise, Cyberpunk 2077 takes the form of a open-world RPG set in the fictional Night City – described by Polygon as “a coastal metropolis lodged smack dab between Los Angeles and San Francisco”.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

• Release date: late 2020
• Platforms: Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC

Microsoft’s Flight Simulator franchise has allowed PC gamers to live out their aviation fantasies for over two decades, but the series has never wound up on consoles. That changes later this year, though, when an all-new version of the simulator launches on Xbox One and Microsoft’s next-generation console. It’s due to launch alongside the Xbox Series X in late 2020.

Dying Light 2

• Release date: late 2020
• Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC

The sequel to 2015’s Dying Light is expected to be released later this year. Set 15 years since humanity lost to the virus, the game’s main character Aiden Caldwell, an infected survivor, must enter places no one else dares in this decaying metropolis.

Halo: Infinite

• Release date: late 2020
• Platforms: Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC

The Master Chief returns once again in 2020 as Halo: Infinite becomes a launch title for Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox. It will be the sixth instalment in the sci-fi franchise’s main-line series and it will mark the arrival of the Xbox Series X. Bonnie Ross, head of Halo: Infinite developer 343 Industries, told IGN that the game would be a “spiritual reboot” of the franchise.

Godfall

• Release date: late 2020
• Platforms: PS5

Keith Lee, CEO of Counterplay Games, confirmed that the PS5 will welcome a new genre: the looter-slasher. Announcing Godfall, which will be released in late 2020, Lee said: “Our game is uniquely one-part gear driven and one-part player-skill driven. Godfall retains the desire for offense-oriented, mastery-driven combat, rewarding you with head-turning, powerful loot that then inspires your next set of character builds.”

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

• Release date: TBC
• Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC

There’s no official release date for this anticipated game, which features all nine saga films. Games Radar says players will be able to roam the galaxy at their own pace and locations will adapt depending on what Star Wars era the player is in. The website also says Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is “on track to be the best Star Wars game ever… yes, really”.

The Last of Us: Part II

• Release date: TBC
• Platforms: PS4

Games Spot reported earlier this month that Sony has delayed the game’s launch indefinitely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Sony director Neil Druckmann said: “Internally, we know we have a great game. It’s just we have to wait a little bit longer to get it out there to fans. I know fans are disappointed. Believe me when I say this: we’re just a disappointed if not moreso to not be able to get the game out on time.” Once the title does get released it is likely to be one of the biggest PS4 games to launch this year, says Tech Radar.

Overwatch 2

• Release date: TBC
• Platforms: TBC

Not much is known about when Overwatch 2 will be released, but the sequel is in development and could be unveiled this year. Developer Blizzard Entertainment says: “Reunite and stand together in a new age of heroes. Overwatch 2 builds on an award-winning foundation of epic competitive play, and challenges the world’s heroes to team up, power up, and take on an overwhelming outbreak of threats around the globe.”

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