Everyone has their own pick for game of the year, but Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Among Us are definitely the most important games of 2020. Both incredibly popular titles in their own right, each offered players a different way to connect with people at a time when personal interactions were difficult and, for many, impossible. Although they offer wildly different gameplay experiences, New Horizons and Among Us both deserve to be played by everyone at least once, just so all players can understand why each deserves all the recognition they have received.
Neither Nintendo nor Among Us' developers InnerSloth likely imagined 2020 would bring them as much success as it did. Animal Crossing: New Horizons' launch was in March of this year, the same day as DOOM Eternal's release, and (for some players) one of the last games they purchased before government shutdowns and quarantines became the norm. Among Us' launch was back in 2018, but it wasn't until the summer of this year players really began to take notice and share videos and streams of the game online with friends. Both came from very different studios and have very different themes (the murder and subterfuge found in Among Us, for example, would be pretty out of place in the sunny world of Animal Crossing) but both titles allowed players to interact with their friends and strangers - something many people desperately needed an excuse for.
This isn't the first Animal Crossing game Nintendo has released, but it is the best-selling one in the series. This is partially because of the popularity of the Nintendo Switch itself, which also set records for sales this year, but also because of how quickly word of mouth spread. March of 2020 was a stressful time for many people across the globe, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons offered players a chance to escape the problems of every day life, at least for a little while, to focus on something a little more calming. Games like Animal Crossing are great for anxiety, and this is likely what led to so many people flocking to the game so early on.
Among Us Lets Players Kill Their Friends
Of course, Among Us is anything but relaxing. A round of Among Us is a tense, strategic affair, with players either trying to make sure they don't get killed or make sure they don't get spotted killing at any given moment. Just playing the Impostor in Among Us is enough to get someone's heart racing, and the game has been said to be as stressful as Dark Souls. However, after spending months cooped up inside and perusing idyllic islands in Animal Crossing, this level of tension and cartoon violence was incredibly cathartic for many. Despite releasing two years ago, Among Us became one of the most searched-for names in gaming mid-2020 and now experiences daily Twitch views in the tens and hundreds of thousands.
Both Animal Crossing and Among Us have seen incredible amounts of user-made content, fan appreciation, and celebrity players. Even politicians have appeared in both games, which plainly speaks to the pair's ability to transcend mediums and reach people who wouldn't otherwise engage with a game's material. Players can see entire television shows and short films made in and about these games, as well as a ton of Animal Crossing and Among Us memes and comics, and companies have joined in too - just look at the amount of official Animal Crossing marketing islands which sprung up earlier this year.
While there's no way to tell just how long Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Among Us will stay popular, it is undeniable that 2020 would have been somehow even more of a disappointment without them. Both games offered enjoyable ways to connect with friends at a time when that connection was difficult to maintain, and that's why, despite not having the best AAA graphics or biggest budgets, both Among Us and Animal Crossing: New Horizons are the most important games of 2020 - and, as of right now, both are available on the Nintendo Switch as well.