Popular Mechanics - USA (2020-11 & 2020-12)

GAME & TOY AWARDS

Final Fantasy VII

Remake $60

Final Fantasy VII is one of the

most influential titles of all time.

Fans had high expectations for

the remake, and it manages to

meet them. Square Enix took a

chance by expanding the story

into multiple parts and including

characters and elements not

seen in the original game, and the

gamble paid off with a title that

celebrates the source material

without being constrained by it.

Ghost of Tsushima $60

Ghost of Tsushima breathes new life into open-world games by drop-

ping players into a gorgeous recreation of 13th-century Tsushima

Island. Samurai warrior Jin Sakai works to restore order to the land by

dispatching the invading Mongols armed with his katana and an array of

stealth weapons. Like a Kurosawa film come to life, it’s simultaneously

arresting and beautiful in its violence, and there are dozens of hours’

worth of content to wade through.

War of the Zombie $3

Fans of challenging civilization

strategy sim RPGs will take

to War of the Zombie. They

maneuver an expandable air-

craft carrier-like ark around a

world map to missions. Once on

the ground, they control a four-

person strike team to complete

objectives that include wiping out

zombies, rescuing hostages, and

infiltrating underground bases,

among others. The size of the

world grants WoZ massive scope,

with both turn-based and live-

action elements.

Sunless Sea $20

Failbetter’s visually appealing (and brutal) exploration game came to

Nintendo Switch this year. In it, London has sunk into the Neath, a sub-

terranean world filled with a mix of ancient civilizations, retired corpses,

actual devils, mechanical dynamos, and horrifying realizations. You

trade resources, carry passengers, fight ship-sized crabs and sea anem-

ones, and find out one unsettling origin story after another. Combining

the best parts of roguelikes, exploration, and narrative elements makes

Sea one of the deepest and most replayable games.

Half-Life: Alyx $60

Even though VR is arguably the most exciting gaming development to

emerge recently, there aren’t a ton of killer apps for the tech yet, lead-

ing many to believe it’s a novelty. But Half-Life: Alyx proves how AAA

gaming in VR can be satisfying, providing an immersive experience that

can’t be matched by playing with a standard gamepad. Fling a blood-

thirsty headcrab from your face using your actual hands. Reach around

cover to pop off a few shots to clear the room of enemies. You don’t so

much play Alyx as you become her—an impressive feat with VR still in

its relative infancy.

November/December 2020 61

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