My favorite games of 2020: Moon, The Origami King, and Void Terrarium

I've spent most of 2020 ping-ponging between feeling terrified and traumatized. One of the few areas of my life that has bucked that trend over the last 12 or so months has been the time I've devoted to video games.

In fact, I've both played and enjoyed more games in 2020 than I have in many years. The three games I'm highlighting here are my favorites of the 45 or so I put at least some time into this year. Or at least they're my favorites of the games that came out between Jan. 1 and now. (I'll publish a similar post about my favorite games of 2020 that weren't released in 2020 shortly.)

Moon (Switch)

Although I'm a lifelong fan of role-playing games, I'm far from a stickler for tradition. As much as I adore old-school, by-the-numbers JRPGs (think Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light), I also appreciate attempts to deviate from the norm. Onion Games' Moon--previously known as Moon: Remix RPG Adventure--is a perfect example of the second category. So much so I hesitate to call it an RPG. What is Moon then? An adventure game, I guess. But it also features a liberal dose of simulation and puzzle elements.

Regardless, it's wonderful, not to mention wonderfully chill. There's no rushing while playing Moon. Hell, you can't even run while playing Moon. You saunter. You slowly scour Moon's modest surface in an attempt to help both its earthly inhabitants and its apparitional ones. The latter are the souls of creatures slain by a video-game's unhinged hero, while you are a real-world boy sucked into that make-believe world and charged with righting said madman's wrongs through the power of love.

Moon tends toward the obtuse and melancholic, but that just adds to its peculiar charm--as do the game's eclectic background tunes, which--in another delightful twist--you can change at will.

Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch)

Although The Origami King is a more than fitting subtitle for this latest Paper Mario adventure, an even better one, in my humblest of opinions, would've been The Origami Odyssey. After all, this entry in Intelligent Systems' long-running RPG series feels like proper, globe-trotting trek. You zip from one eye-poppingly exotic locale to another while attempting to save Princess Peach (amongst other important--and far more interesting--tasks), sometimes via an appropriately recyclable vehicle.

The rest of The Origami King will seem a bit foreign to Paper Mario fans, too. In particular, this title's turn-based tussles are more like puzzles than the select-battle-options-from-a-menu affairs that are typical of the genre. I prefer the tried-and-true myself, though the new method introduced here grew on me by leaps and bounds once I became accustomed to it.

Even if you fall in love with these brainy fights from the word go, though, you're unlikely to consider them a highlight of the experience. Instead, you'll probably reserve that honor for The Origami King's witty text and wondrous soundtrack.

Void Terrarium (PS4, Switch)

Nippon Ichi Software's Void Terrarium does everything it can to turn off potential players. First there's its name, the full version of which is void tRrLM(); //Void Terrarium. Then there's its post-apocalyptic aesthetic, which seems more banal than breathtaking, especially early on. There's also its "human Tamagotchi" component, which is just... confounding--again, particularly at first.

And yet I found Void Terrarium utterly captivating. Sure, the desolate environments of this part-time dungeon-crawler can be samey, but if you're anything like me, you'll barely pay attention to them thanks to the game's heart-pounding soundtrack and surprisingly compelling story. Oh, and the robot-battling action on offer here is plenty exhilarating, too. Not bad for a title that started off looking like a real dud, eh?

Honorable mentions:

• Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories (PC, PS4, Switch)
• Mad Rat Dead (PS4, Switch)
• Part Time UFO (Mobile, Switch)
• A Short Hike (PC, Switch)

See also: my favorite games of 2020 that weren't released in 2020 as well as my favorite games of 2019 and my favorite games of 2018

Nice Package! (Moon: Remix RPG Adventure + UFO: A Day in the Life, PlayStation)

I can't say for sure which "modern" game system boasts the biggest and best selection of odd and off-the-wall titles, but I'm inclined to suggest it's the original PlayStation.

Admittedly, arguments could be made in favor of the Famicom (NES), the DS and even the PC Engine, but at the moment I'm leaning toward Sony's maiden console thanks in large part to the pair of games that serve as the focus of this post.

In case this is the first you've heard of these titles, both are wackadoodle adventures conjured up by the wizards at Love-de-Lic, Inc. That name may ring a bell if you're a fan of some other out-there games, like Chulip, Giftpia, Little King's Story and Chibi-Robo! Not that Love-de-Lic developed those titles, mind you. They were made--in part, at least--by former Love-de-Lic employees, though. (Those staffers went on to form Punchline, skip and Vanpool.)

Love-de-Lic itself produced just three games during its disappointingly brief, five-year existence. One was 2000's L.O.L.: Lack of Love, a head-scratcher for Sega's Dreamcast. The others were the titles highlighted in the headline above--1999's UFO: A Day in the Life and 1997's Moon: Remix RPG Adventure.

I spent a number of years pining for Moon: Remix RPG Adventure before I finally bought it. That's because complete-in-box copies tend to be pricey. 

I lucked out and nabbed the one you see here for a veritable steal some months ago while perusing the wares of one of my favorite eBay vendors.

It isn't in pristine condition, mind you, but it's in good enough condition that I'm more than happy with the purchase.

Anyway, I really like Moon: Remix RPG Adventure's whimsical disc label, showcased in the photo above, for whatever reason.

Don't get me wrong, it's instruction manual is nice, too. It's definitely a bit on the "uh, wow" side, as the focus of the following snapshot should make clear, but that's part of its charm, don't you think?

Sadly, I've yet to even slip my Moon: Remix RPG Adventure disc into my adorable Japanese PSone system. I hope to rectify that soon, but I've said that many times before, so who knows when it'll actually happen.

Hell, it's possible the game's fan translation, which has been in the works for ages now, will be out before give this pick-up a go. Oh, well. 

I know for sure I'll play my copy of UFO: A Day in the Life before its fan translation sees the light of day. That's because, as far as I know, no one is working on a fan translation of this curious Japan-only release.



Which is too bad, as both Hardcore Gaming 101's and Wikipedia's write-ups about the game make it sound awfully interesting.

In particular, UFO's Wikipedia entry suggests the adventure on offer here is at least somewhat Chulip-esque. That intrigues me for reasons I can't quite explain, as the month I spent with that 2002 PS2 title a couple of years ago was trying at best.

Here's portion of the entry in question, should any of you want to read it: "UFO: A Day in the Life puts the player in the role of an extraterrestrial attempting to save a group of 50 fellow aliens who have been stranded on Earth. The player must navigate areas that humans and animals inhabit, unable to actually see the alien he or she is trying to rescue. To this effect, the player must use a device called 'COSMIC,' a kind of camera, to reveal the creatures. As more aliens are rescued, more areas open up and different times of day are available for exploration."

Honestly, though, even if UFO: A Day in the Life proves to be a smelly turd of a game, I want to play through as much of it as I'm able at some point in time.

Have any of you played either of these Love-de-Lic products? If so, what did or do you think about them? Let me and others here know in the comments section below.

Also, if you'd like to see a few more snapshots like the ones above, pay a visit to my Flickr photostream.

See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts