GOTYFF7

Yep, it finally happened: 2020 was the year that we actually got a remake of Final Fantasy VII. Well, part of one, at least. It may not cover the full story, but Final Fantasy VII Remake wears its love for the original game like a badge of honour. It's as much a homage to the classic Japanese role-playing game as it is a reimagining — but those of you who have finished it will know that it's somehow even more than that.

From the brilliantly worked battle system to the superb soundtrack, Remake gets so many things right. It's both a potent nostalgia trip and a gripping adventure in its own right, and it does a particularly amazing job of fleshing out a cast of already beloved characters. It's a real achievement.

Now we're not saying that Final Fantasy VII Remake is perfect — it's certainly got its fair share of flaws — but there's no denying the sheer number of memorable moments that it parades before the player. We'll avoid spoiling any of those moments here, but there's no doubt that Remake has had a lasting impact on our views of Cloud and company.

And those boss fights! It's fair to say that Remake has some of the greatest boss battles not just of 2020, but on PS4 in general. We replayed the game multiple times just to relive some of these encounters, and that also shows the strength of the title's seriously impressive combat system, which combines action with turn based commands pretty much perfectly.

So much could have gone wrong with Final Fantasy VII Remake, but here we are, looking at a genuine Game of the Year contender. A great game, and hopefully, the start of something very special.

You can read our full Final Fantasy VII Remake review through the link.

Did Final Fantasy VII Remake deliver? Careful where you're swinging that giant Buster Sword in the comments section below.

How would you rate Final Fantasy VII Remake?

How we decide our Game of the Year: This December, our editorial team created a list of nominees for Game of the Year based on our own review scores and a variety of other factors. After much discussion, we trimmed the list of nominees down and asked all Push Square staff and the Push Square community to vote on their five favourites using a points-based system. The ten games with the most points by the designated deadline were then determined as our favourites of 2020.