The 20 Best Video Games of 2020 So Far

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – July 10, 2020

Which games impressed professional reviewers the most during the first half of the year? Above, we rank the best-reviewed videogames released between January 1, 2020 and June 30, 2020 by Metascore. Games must have at least 7 reviews from professional critics to be eligible for inclusion.

Note that ...

If a game was released on multiple platforms, we included only the version receiving the largest total number of reviews (usually, but not always, the PS4 version).

Newly released ports of games released in prior years on other platforms are excluded, unless they are substantially different from the prior release (for example, an HD remaster of a previous-gen game that also adds some new content).

18 of 21 photo by Valve

93 #2 (tie): Half-Life: Alyx

The first new release in 13 years in Valve's FPS series is a VR-only release that takes place between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2 rather than continuing from the cliffhanger ending of 2007's Episode Two.

“I genuinely cannot find a real fault with this game. Sound design is incredible, the visuals are stunning, the story exceeds all expectations, combat and puzzle design manage to remain true to what fans would want, while also seamlessly translating themselves to the VR space, there is humor, there is horror, everything comes together and creates the perfect Half-Life game. This is the game that VR was waiting for, this is the game that VR was built for, and if you have VR technology, you owe it to yourself to play this game. If you have been waiting for the right game to come along and make the VR purchase worth it, Half-Life: Alyx is it.” —Gaming Age

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