The year 2020 threw a lot of challenges at people just going about their lives, and video games provided an escape for a lot of people. But there was only one game that literally transported players to a different world in virtual reality. Half-Life: Alyx is our Shacknews Game of the Year 2020.
It is nothing short of a miracle that Valve actually shipped a new game set in the Half-Life universe this year. Many fans of the series had given up hope that we would ever see a third installment. While Half-Life: Alyx is not Half-Life 3, it still deserves high praise for pushing the video game industry forward with its amazing environmental design and vast array of gameplay mechanics that are tied together with a perfect story. It is rare that a video game hits this massive of a homerun, and the developers over at Valve should hold their heads up high with pride as they accomplished what many thought might not be possible.
2020 was an extremely challenging year, and that was true for the video game industry as well. The Shacknews Staff assembled online this year to celebrate video games with a whole slew of content that will run while we are on our Holiday Break. 2020 was packed to the brim with amazing game releases for fans of literally every genre imaginable. It s for that reason that we created The Shacknews Awards. Over the next 10 days, we will have individual articles hitting the front page of the site leading up the countdown of the Shacknews Top 10 Games of the Year 2020. We are kicking off the festivities today with some smaller awards, but keep checking back on this article as it will be updated as all of The Shacknews Awards 2020 are announced.