Top 5 games on Stadia in 2020

What a difference a year makes! It is hard to believe that Stadia has only been out for a little more than a year—Celebrating Stadia’s 1 year anniversary. In just this past year, more than 120 video games were released for Stadia and there are 400 games in development in the pipeline from 200 developers.

Since launching in November 2019, Google has made numerous improvements to Stadia. New features like Crowd Play and Crowd Choice allow you to interact and play with your favourite streamers on YouTube with a click of a button. Now, with the addition of iOS support, gamers have even more choices than ever before where they can play their favourite games.

As the year comes to a close, I’ve come up with my list of the top 5 games on Stadia in 2020. With such a wide variety of games to choose from, I had a difficult time making my choices. Without further ado, here is my list of the top 5 games on Stadia in 2020.

5. Super Bomberman R Online

Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Action, maze
Modes: Multiplayer
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)

Super Bomberman R Online is a 64 player battle royale where players compete across multiple stages at the same time blasting their way to victory. What makes this one of the top Stadia games in 2020 is the frantic action that takes place. You begin in one area and as the clock ticks down and areas close, you must move to the remaining areas and take out your enemies before the timer runs out.

Customization of your character is key to victory in Super Bomberman R Online. There are numerous characters you can choose from and there are bomb skins, which each come with their own unique bomb blasts. And, Super Bomberman R Online features Crowd Play. This feature allows you to play with your favourite streamer on YouTube by seamlessly joining their game. Finally, Super Bomberman R Online is completely free! All you need is a free Stadia account and you can play! It truly is the ultimate party game on Stadia and one of my favourites this year.

4. Orcs Must Die! 3

Developer: Robot Entertainment
Publisher: Stadia Games and Entertainment
Genre: Tower defense, action
Modes: Single player, multiplayer
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

In Orcs Must Die! 3 you take on the role of an apprentice war mage who must defend rifts from an incredible onslaught of orc hordes by using weapons, special abilities and setting traps. As a direct sequel to Orcs Must Die! 2, OMD3 features brand-new War Scenarios that you can play with your friends and mountable War Machines that give you the firepower to stop the orcs dead in their tracks.

Trust me, you’ll need everything you can to stop the orc armies, which can consist of up to 1000 enemies! In addition to the campaign mode, Orcs Must Die! 3 includes Weekly Challenges and Endless mode. The two player cooperative mode is some of the most fun on Stadia this year as you work together to eliminate the orcs one by one. Finally, the first expansion pack called Drastic Steps was released in November and adds a new story campaign, 5 new scenarios, an endless map, weapons, traps, enemies and hero cosmetics.

3. Outcasters

Developer: Splash Damage
Publisher: Stadia Games and Entertainment
Genre: Action-adventure
Modes: Multiplayer
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)

Outcasters is a chaotic highly competitive multiplayer combat game from Splash Damage. Up to 8 players compete across a variety of maps and game modes. In addition to using your character’s abilities and items you pickup to take out your enemies, you can surprise your opponents and curve your shots. This interesting element takes gameplay to a whole new level and mastering the curved shot is essential for victory.

Your characters are fully customizable from head to toe including voice and dances. You earn tokens by completing challenges, which refresh daily and weekly. Once you earn the tokens you can use those to unlock parts for your character. Outcasters features three game modes that are all equally fun: Last Caster Standing, Gold Rush and Team Battle.

In Last Caster Standing you battle against 7 other players to be the last one standing. And, in addition to having to contend with your opponents, you must deal with the shrinking Ring of Doom, which closes in on the centre of the map as the time ticks by. In Gold Rush, it’s two teams of 4 who race to be the first to 50 coins and bank them. Banking is what makes this mode particularly fun. The Bank randomly spawns and you must capture and hold it to deposit your coins. However, your opponents can capture it from you at any time from right under your nose. Finally, Team Battle sees two teams of 4 battle it out to be the first to reach 10 eliminations.

2. Immortals Fenyx Rising

Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: Third-person, Open world, Action-adventure
Modes: Single player
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

It’s no surprise that Immortals Fenyx Rising is number 2 on my list of the top 5 games on Stadia this year. It was one of my two game of the year choices and an unforgettable experience. You take on the role of Fenyx who is on a quest to save the Greek gods from Typhon who has escaped from his imprisonment. He has stolen the essences from the gods and is trying to reform the world in his own image.

Gameplay contains a diverse mix of fight, puzzles, exploration and traversal all in one. Throughout her journey, Fenyx proves that she is a mighty warrior and has what it takes to succeed. In addition to the captivating story of Fenyx, both Zeus and Prometheus provide comedic relief through their banter that includes classic mythological stories.

1. Cyberpunk 2077

Developer: CD Projekt Red
Publisher: CD Projekt
Genre: Action role-playing
Modes: Single player
ESRB Rating: M (Mature 17+)

Quite possibly the most talked about game in 2020 has been Cyberpunk 2077. Originally slated for release on PS4, Xbox One and PC, a Stadia version was announced in late August 2019. However, the Stadia release of Cyberpunk 2077 was not set to launch the same day as consoles and PC. As the release date of Cyberpunk 2077 drew near, the game was once again delayed. This time the game was set to launch across all platforms on December 10.

In the months leading up to release, Google ran a promotion that if you pre-ordered Cyberpunk 2077 on Stadia you would get a free Stadia Premiere Edition with it. The promotion became so successful that in the days leading up to and a few days post launch it sold out across the globe. Little did we realize, this promotion along with Cyberpunk 2077 helped bring Stadia to the spotlight.

Cyberpunk 2077 launched, and on consoles, the performance was so bad that many gamers took to social media to complain. The game was riddled with bugs and sub-par graphics on PS4 and Xbox One, and gamers were demanding a refund. However, both Stadia and PC had substantially less issues and were deemed the prefered platforms to play Cyberpunk 2077 on.

The game takes place in Night City, which consists of six regions. You play as a mercenary named V, whom you can choose between three lifepaths. As you make your way up in the ranks in Night City, you get hired to steal a mysterious biochip from the Arasaka Corporation. During the heist things don’t go as planned and things begin to unravel as you witness the death of Araska’s corporate leader. The game’s story is intense and is second only to Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II.

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