Blue-collar games were great in 2020 because they’re about perseverance

Before writing about games, I had a lot of different jobs. I sorted packages at a FedEx facility, I built delivery pallets at a Kroger distribution center, and I worked as a courier. Now that I spend all day at a desk thinking about video games, I definitely harbor a slight longing for something more physical. But games are actually fantastic at emulating the world of blue-collar jobs, and I found myself turning to that more this year than ever before. And I also realized that it’s because these games are so good at replicating a certain kind of real-world failure.

Games that look like work are nothing new. People have loved Farming Simulator and American Truck Simulator for years. But 2020 was especially good for this peculiar genre. PC gamers saw the return of the excellent Microsoft Flight Simulator franchise. And Focus Home Interactive launched SnowRunner and Hardspace: Shipbreaker, which are my top two games of the year.