We’ve been writing these annual round-ups for a while now (mine from 2016, 2017, and 2019). But it’s never felt more important to share some good things from the last 12 months.

Games and entertainment have never been more valuable than as escapism, enjoyment and inspiration during lockdowns. And the creative industries also need more support than ever during tough times. So let’s jump straight into some of my personal highlights from 2020.

Gaming:

It’s not surprising that many of us have enjoyed connecting with family and friends online in a variety of games. Or that titles which allow for more open world exploration have also been hugely popular.

So it’s no shock that many people have loved Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Fall Guys, Among Us, and Ghost of Tsushima. Or jumped back into older titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 or The Witcher.

One of my main obsessions is sim racing, so it’s been a great year to have invested in a new wheel and pedal set-up. Especially as developers have been pushing out content and updates faster than ever while they’re stuck working at home. So some of the highlights have included iRacing, Assetto Corsa Competizione and Automobilista 2.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time relaxing with Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator, exploring new places while streaming live radio. But there have been three surprize highlights of the year…

Pacer is basically a modern, updated Wipeout, created by many of the same people who were involved in the original games.

And around the same time, HotShot Racing was released as a call back to the classic Virtua racing games from Sega in the 90’s, and it nailed the feeling of that era pretty much perfectly.

But the biggest highlight was probably Art of Rally, which is a top-down racing game from a small indie developer, but which does something entirely new in accurately simulating the real feel of a rally car.

It looks great, is easy to pick up and play, and handles brilliantly. What more could you ask for in an arcade racing game?

As for non-driving games, I’ve dabbled with Rising Storm: Vietnam, and Football Manager 2020 since they were both free via the Epic Games Store. But most of my time has been taken up with Rocket League, as the switch to a free-to-play title with cross-play means so many people are playing it right now.

TV and Film:

Of the new releases, there’s only one choice which seems to have topped everyone’s list, including the Oscars, so it’s no surprise that I massively enjoyed Parasite. It’s just brilliant in many, many ways, and I definitely expect to rewatch it again in the future…

Released right at the end of 2019, I need to mention the cinematic epic of 1917, which felt at times like a Hobbit-eseque journey, and a gruelling comment on war. But also beautiful crafted at all times.

I also really enjoyed How to Build a Girl from the closing months of last year, and also crossing the 2019/2020 release schedule is Queen and Slim.

There’s quite a list of TV watching for me this year, as you might expect, including new series and old favourites being rewatched.

• The Boys
• Devs
• The Good Place
• Schitt’s Creek
• Hunters
• Vikings
• Sneaky Pete
• Truth Seekers
• Tales From The Loop
• The Bridge
• Firefly
• Parks and Recreation
• Upload
• The Sopranos

Something that I would have definitely picked as a massive highlight of 2020 has been the continued renaissance of my interest in wrestling, driven entirely by the brilliance of All Elite Wrestling. They’ve combined everything I loved about wrestling in the past, with a more modern interpretation of sports entertainment.

It’s essentially combination of comic book superheroes, reality TV and knowing comedy in an irresistable package. Sadly 2020 ended with the loss of leading superstar Brodie Lee (real name Jon Huber) at the age of just 41, but seeing the AEW stars pay tribute in a special show summed up the best aspects of professional wrestling.

Books and Comics:

One definite positive for me in 2020 was having the time to read more books, due to the pandemic, lockdown, recovering from an operation, and finally making the time to read away from a screen.

Standouts include the 2019 Infinite Detail by Tim Maughan, which is a brilliant Bristol-based near future scifi tale, Street Photographer, which is a collection of photos by Vivian Maier, and finally getting around to reading two giants of science fiction with Cryptonomicon and Dune.

Everything should get logged on Goodreads, as I attempt to increase my reading further for 2021.

And with my son recently discovering anime and manga, my comic reading has been largely led by him, with My Hero Academia and Sword Art Online replacing my normal Marvel and DC choices.

Music:

It’s important to be honest, and the majority of my music listening has been to accompany working from home, bring comfort and inspiration, or introduce my son to various classics of punk, metal and soul.

That’s why Last.fm reports my most listened artists as Max Richter, Dustin O’Halloran, The SCreaming Females, The Distillers, Greta Van Fleet and Rush.

From actual new music for 2020, the stands for me included Stay Alive by Laura Jane Grace, which blended the quiet anger of The Mountain Goats with the punk aggression of Against Me in a wonderful mix for raging against 2020.

Along with the beauty of Saint Cloud from Waxahatchee, which soundstracks a lot of my writing at the moment. Especially if I need to feel a little more uplifted.

And for something a little noisier and anthemic, there’s Five Finger Death Punch.

There are lots more that I’ve enjoyed over the last 12 months, so one of my aims for 2020 is to ramp up writing about music again. There’s loads of stuff from Run The Jewels, Higher Power, Porridge Radio, AntiFlag, Haim, Rosie Cunningham, Pheobe Bridgers, Idles, Nomy, Michael Kiwanuka, Nadine Shah, Anna von Hausswolff, Beach Bunny, Bury Tomorrow, In This Moment, Blackbird & Crow, and many more which was released in the last 12 months which has found places within my Spotify playlists but needs highlighting and supporting…

Looking forward to 2021

Like many people, I’ve tended to look towards 2021 as moving towards the light, and away from the last 12 months. But actually there are lots of positives and highlights amongst the struggles we’ve all faced, including local communities and online groups coming together to help each other.

And that’s something we can all build on for the next year, so I’m sure my Disposable 2021 will be an even longer list of highlights.

In the meantime, make sure to also check out Qaz’s picks from the year just gone.