As we get closer to wrapping up 2020, it’s understandable to get a bit reflective. This year has, after all, been a big one for gamers. So, how does the PCG community feel? Have big publishers eroded a substantial amount of consumer faith? Have your gaming preferences changed at all? Oh, and what’s your pick for Game of the Year?If you’re in a less reflective mood and just looking for some free stuff, we’ve got you covered there too. Until the end of the month, the PC Gamer forum is running a couple of huge giveaways involving two major titles. Collect em’ all As of yesterday, we’re now giving away two massive Collector’s Edition prize packs on the PCG forum. Both our Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla giveaways are running until December 31, 2020, and they each come with a ridiculous amount of extras. Statuettes, collectible steelbooks, a metal keychain, exclusive artwork, and more digital extras than you’ll know what to do with—it’s all up for grabs! Check out this thread for our Cyberpunk 2077 sweepstakes and this one for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. AAA fatigue Speaking of big titles, 2020 has been an interesting year for splashy releases. There have been both hits and misses, which leads Frindis to wonder: has your trust in AAA publishers decreased at all?I don’t trust AAA publishers and I generally buy games based on independent and user reviews. Bethesda in particular is a bit concerning right now. Fallout 76 was just unacceptable. Sadly, based on their comments, it looks likely that they will nuke another beloved series in The Elder Scrolls. When they said the new Elder Scrolls game was on the same engine, I simply lost all hope. They have no desire to innovate or make good games any more. It’s just an exercise in churning out the most streamlined, lackluster titles to appeal to the widest audience possible to profit immensely. I’ll be stunned if the next Elder Scrolls game is good.—RyzengangI don’t really trust AAA publishers like EA, Ubisoft, 2k, blizzard/activision or much of the older publishers these days. They’ve become more corporate and its more noticeable how seriously greasy these companies have become; We’re adding xp boosters to our games to make leveling faster! “surprise mechanics” makes games more fun and its not gambling! We made record profits last year but we have to sack a load of people and up the price of our games!—JohnwayHere’s the full thread.(Image credit: Rockstar)Decisions, decisions… Maybe you haven’t quite gotten the chance to explore some of the bigger games this year. Perhaps you’re looking for some advice on which ones to try out? The community has a variety of gaming interests, but one title sure seemed to stand out when gamer3105 needed recommendations.Out of all those games, I’d probably go with RDR2. Cyberpunk is great, but it will not be pretty on your hardware, and it will not run well. RDR2 is a great game, pretty long, looks great but it’s well optimized. Plus there is the online, which isn’t great but it’s still fun. I haven’t played Anno but I hear it’s great. However, you can get access to Anno with Ubisoft+, so that’s a good way to play it and save some money.—DrunkpunkRDR2, which I’ve just finished, is by far the best game I’ve played in years. You won’t be disappointed. It took me a few months, but worth every minute.—BadmanCheck out the full thread here.(Image credit: EA)Game of the Year Whether you thought it was a down year for big releases or a good time to revisit classics, we’re wondering what game made your year. If you’re having trouble thinking back over the past 12 months, check out the nominees for PC Gamer’s Game of the Year to jog your memory.C&C Remastered. Been my staple for the last 6 months, just finished, phew! Only game I’ve bought new in forever. I played most of the franchise from ’95 to ’05, so what drew me in then drew me in again. Slow RTS with the emphasis on base building and strategy, nice QoL improvements since originals, same campy charm, ~150 SP missions all told.If there’s been a better remaster done, I’m surprised—full marks to EA for allowing this to be done properly. Some of the original devs worked on it, and the outstanding soundtrack was re-recorded by the original composer. All-round class job by everyone.—Brian BoruLooking back over this year I seem to have at least touched quite a lot of games Most of them are a few years old, so I’ll just call out Prey (2017), Xcom 2, Titanfall 2 and Battle Brothers as some of my favourite new to me games…—Kaamos_Llama Top Trending ThreadsCan this rig run Cyberpunk 2077?Upgrading your GPU.Good purchase or cancel the order?Use gamers as testers.
