The year 2020 has had its share of disasters, and 2020 Game offers you to relive them all, in 8-Bit format. The Australian forest fires, Covid-19, the stock market crash, the quarantine, the rise of TikTok, the floods, the American elections, the second wave of Covid-19, the vaccine, etc. We tested this very nice, if a little short, game. Check out our review below.
2020 Game, a recap in video format
020 Game is a browser game, created by Max Garkavyy, where the character faces again the major events of 2020. These include forest fires in Australia, the Covid-19 pandemic, the stock market crash, midlife, the rise of TikTok, the US elections, and teleworking, among others.
Six months in the making, the title can be played for free via your web browser (on computer and mobile). The classic platform game is dressed up in retro-style graphics, where the hero advances by overcoming the obstacles in his path. A great way to kill time if you have a 20-minute break.
From 2019 to 2021, a short story
The adventure starts in 2019, where everything is beautiful, quiet, peaceful… Then comes the year 2020, and the elements are unleashed. The game starts off strong with an Australian forest ravaged by fires. Your first mission is to go to the rescue of a small koala in the flames. Events then follow in chronological order.
The Covid-19 pandemic is the next catastrophe to be faced. There is no shortage of references, such as the compulsive purchase of toilet paper or the Zoom telework calls. In addition, the character has to collect masks, which serve as his ‘life’ when he faces the virus. Incidentally, just after the stock market crash, he finds himself in quarantine.
A game littered with subtle references
When you emerge from isolation, classic telework lines (“Can you see my screen?”, “The connection is bad”, “Can you hear me?”) are used as bridges to cross a mountain of bacteria. The game’s designer has also inserted a tribute to George Floyd. Some positive references are also present, such as nature taking over during the quarantine, or the price of a barrel of oil dropping.
As in any good game, there are save points, and they are automatic. So if something goes wrong, such as a virus or a flood, you don’t have to start from scratch.
2021, a new lease of life?
The odyssey ends on a positive note. Indeed, the character, after having harvested a vaccine and faced the second wave of Covid-19, can finally breathe a sigh of relief, and says to himself that the year 2021 will be better! However, the year 2021 seems to be even more WTF, with a zombie invasion, an extraterrestrial visit and the ravages of a giant Godzilla! Let’s hope that these apocalyptic predictions are not premonitory.
In conclusion
Although 2020 has been a trying year for many of us, and on many levels, the 2020 Game remains entertaining and simplistic. A good way to kill time and to remember that despite everything, we survived this very special year. The only negative point would probably be the length of the game. It can be completed in less than 10 minutes if you get through all the obstacles the first time.
