2020 has some long-awaited games finally releasing, including The Last of Us Part II and Cyberpunk 2077, but among those heavyweights there are a host of smaller games that are unlike anything else.
From dating sims where you date your own weapons as you explore a dungeon, to a title where you control a disgraced Yakuza in turn-based combat – there are plenty of unique new games that might slip under the radar in the face of all the big AAA releases.
Each of these games bring something special to their respective genres, or try something new. Because of that, they deserve the spotlight just as much as anything else. Here are six of the most unique games coming in 2020.
Best Friend Forever
If you have a deep love of both dogs and dating simulators, then Best Friend Forever is absolutely the game for you. It lays claim to being the first game to combine pet care and dating simulation into one experience. You’ll need to groom your pup and take care of their needs, then set out to explore the city of Rainbow Bay – and meet plenty of local singles along the way, of course. This all starts with graduating from Paws Academy.
Even better is that your dog has their own set of stats, which will come into play when trying to woo potential dating partners. Best Friend Forever looks adorable in all the right ways, and it certainly has uniqueness in spades. It also strives to be inclusive, letting you approach dating any way you want.
Boyfriend Dungeon
Combining dungeon crawlers and dating sims, Boyfriend Dungeon lets you literally date your own weapons, and again strives to be inclusive. Aptly named the “Bae Blades,” each weapon transforms into a person looking for love, who you can take on dates with the cash earned from dungeon crawling. If you need any more convincing that Boyfriend Dungeon is something special, just looks at one of the character descriptions via the game’s Steam page: “Hammer (Leah): ready for a smashing good time.”
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
The Yakuza series has gained a dedicated fan following in the west over the last few years, but Like A Dragon represents a bold new step. Going from action brawler to turn-based RPG, Like A Dragon introduces a new protagonist, a disgraced Yakuza named Ichiban Kasuga.
Yakuza has a unique brand of humor and style that you can’t find anywhere else, and Like A Dragon seems to only be upping the ante. You can summon a knife-wielding lobster for a special attack, play a kart racing minigame with rocket launchers, and the classic “job system” are actually jobs fitting of modern Tokyo, like Club Host or Idol. Being a soft reboot Yakuza: Like A Dragon is the perfect place to jump onboard with the long-running series.
BioMutant
BioMutant has been delayed a few times, but the action-RPG should finally be arriving in 2020. Described as a “post-apocalyptic Kung-fu fable RPG,” BioMutant lets you create your own, well, mutant. You’ll be able to recode the genetic structure of your character to change the way they both look and play, adding on things like wings or rocket legs. It leans hard into its Kung-fu style, and looks to be a fun, unique take on the open world genre.
Sports Story
Golf Story was a surprise indie hit on the Nintendo Switch, and now the sequel Sports Story is widening its horizons. A full-blown sports RPG, Sports Story has you delving into dungeons, infiltrating bases, playing in Golf tournaments, enrolling at a Tennis academy, and more. Golf Story had a great sense of humor and witty dialogue, and the sequel’s expanded focus promises even more of that.
12 Minutes
12 Minutes is basically Groundhog Day the game, if it took place over only 12 minutes and involved a murder. You play as a man living with his wife in an apartment, when a police officer arrives, accuses the wife of murdering his father, and proceeds to commit a murder himself. The game is a sequence of playing out those 12 minute, in real time, over and over, trying to find new information and figure out what’s going on, then save your family. Its 12 minute gimmick is an incredibly unique idea, and it’ll be interesting to see if it truly pays off in the end.
