Favorite Cinematic Game Trailers of 2020
As with last year, I'm splitting up my favorite game trailers of the year into "Cinematic" and "Gameplay" lists. "Cinematic" is a very squishy term in video game industry, but here I use it to refer to trailers create their shots via either pre-rendered CG graphics, 2D animation, or in-engine using custom animation which isn't 100% reflective of what it's like when you're actually playing the game, but creates the feeling of what it is like.
What I like about cinematic trailers are how they're free to do whatever they want as far as camera angles, animation, framing, composition, cinematography, visual effects, and every other filmmaking tool under the sun. At their best, they immerse us into the distilled version of what it FEELS like to be in the game's world. Or they could just be a really well made short film which gives a vision of what the game might be like when the controls are in our hands. Without further ado, here are my favorite cinematic game trailers of 2020 (in no particular order)
Dead Cells: The Bad Seed
All of the Dead Cells animated trailers are top notch. They're full of slapstick comedy and give us a look into the world which we simply can't have via the game's pixel art. But this one in particular with the heart wrenching story of the mushroom parent leaving their child behind before going off to their inevitable death tugs at my heartstrings and makes my chest burst with feelings. The protagonist's seemingly complete domination of the situation is then undermined as they impale themselves on a rock outcropping, thus emphasizing the game loop of one moment feeling incredibly powerful, and then dying in the next. Be sure to stay for the ending!
Drake Hollow
This is a great cinematic trailer which tells a short story of a woman whisked away to another world after chasing a mysterious black bird. After finding some creatures begging for food she starts planting crops and building a base of sorts. The creatures are then threatened by a toothy creature. As she springs into action she's joined by a few other people who join back to back to take on an imposing threat. This is a tightly made trailer which efficiently tells a story, illustrates gameplay ideas, and leaves us wanting more.
Crusader Kings III Story Trailer
From what I know about Crusader Kings games, they're all about rising to power through any and every forceful or duplicitous action you can possibly imagine from medieval stories. This cinematic trailer shows just one potential journey from baby to ruler. I love the match cuts and jumps in time like the cut from a beaten child to a teenager defeating their enemy. The trailer's images and voiceover runs us through a gamut of gameplay ideas which look nothing like the game's maps and boxes of text, but the images evoke the feeling of using all the tools at your disposal.
Stellaris 4th Anniversary Trailer
This is an amazing trailer with beautiful music and lyrics about what it took to get where they are, and how much more there is to come; it's fitting for a 4 year anniversary celebration of the game. I don't know if the images refer to any specific events in the history of Stellaris, but they make the world of Stellaris feel epic and full of grandeur. You can see in the comments how longtime players appreciate the care put into this trailer as it is as much a tribute to the players as it is to the game.
Ghosts of Tsushima: A Storm is Coming
This is a beautifully made trailer which I really love for the restraint of its cinematography. Most of the shots are from locked camera angles where the characters either move toward/back from the camera or from left to right. The side angle shots in particular feel very much like an homage to a lot of classic samurai films. I think there's a very understated elegance to many of these shots which give them more impact than some sort of flashy untethered camera angle might. It's not until 40 seconds in do we get a diagonal perspective, which makes it even more striking. By the time the trailer ends on a closeup of Jin, I'm very much ready to inhabit the character.
Everwild - Eternals Trailer
This is a lovely cinematic trailer with a voiceover which nicely treads the line of narrative and gameplay concepts. The music and pace make me feel at peace and immersed in this unique world. Each image makes me curious to know more about everything from the plant life, to the animals and the role of the characters. My curiosity is utterly piqued by this trailer, and I'm dying to know more about everything I saw. I both feel like I know a lot about this world, but still have so much to learn.
Rocket League Cinematic Trailer
This trailer is a great example of what cinematic trailers can do to take the core experience of a game, and make it look as beautifully cinematic as possible. Skilled Rocket League play is already a sight to behold, but when the shots are this beautifully directed, composed, shot, choreographed, animated, edited, and sound designed you can't help but get excited and fee like "YES! THIS is what it's like to play Rocket League!"
Planet Coaster Console Edition Launch Trailer
There's a lot to love in this trailer; the rising sun makes me imagine the pride of the people who made the park starting off their day. There's so much fun and joy packed into this; it feels like an advertisement for a real theme park, with both sweeping wide shots and the personal touch of the closeup of the park workers. On top of that there's the added bonus of seeing pieces being put into place from the buildings to the princesses waving to the crowds. It both makes me want to build and go to the park!
Hades 1.0 Launch Trailer
This one is a mix of custom animation and gameplay, but I wanted to feature it in this list to give a nod to how much the animators of this 100% knew what they were doing. The shot of Zagreus emerging from a pool of blood and slicking his hair back has received special attention from the internet, and rightly so. This animated portion gives us an epic look at a battle with the Hydra and mixing it with the power and allure of the Greek Gods. Not in the cinematic portion, but the dialogue selection for the gameplay section is perfect at showing us Zagreus' resolve, the antagonists who doubt him, the supporting characters giving him a helping hand, and something to aim for. Then it ends with an encore battle with the Hydra which he handily wins as evidenced by the title key art.
So there you have it, my favorite cinematic game trailers of 2020! These represent the peak of trailers which show a truly cinematic vision of these games. If the feeling of playing these games could be summed up in 1-2 minutes, then these trailers are about as close as you can get. Next week I'll be back with my favorite gameplay trailers for 2020!
