This isn't your typical GOTY list, I don't play games that generally come out that year, a lot of time it's because I'm used to the GaaS style of release, games that improve in quality over time or get patched and fixed. Some of the games really fit into that concept and other games which I've really loved in 2021 have been shelved because of it (I'm looking at you Moonglow Bay).
Hitman 3 to me is more akin to a Hitman Trilogy than a singular title as I played through all the maps on my Series X, most of which for the first time. The maps for 3 in particular though really feel like IO Interactive trying out new things, testing concepts with the cluedo-esuqe fun on Dartmoor feeling like the best the franchise has ever offered.
Having sat out on the last few adventures John has enjoyed I was very surprised to find that the single-player and multiplayer offerings of Halo Infinite had me smitten since the day of launch.
Yes, the MP needs work but 343 seem committed to getting the very best from their personal brand of FPS madness and I'll log in every day for a few matches while I wait for them to deliver.
Riftbreaker had me the moment I saw the mech-based base building, a combo of two of my favourite things. The wonderful They are Billions from a few years ago scratched a very similar kind of itch and while I don't think the ending lived up to the journey, it was the bases we built along the way that truly made this title memorable.
I had heard people talk about Loop Hero since its release and I hadn't paid much attention. Just another indie hit to throw on to the backlog pile that I'll look at eventually, nothing would ever come close to the masterful Slay the Spire in my mind but then when Tim Sweeney decided to let me play it for free during the Epic Christmas Giveaway I installed it and gave it a shot.
I don't remember many days since then that I haven't thought about or done 2 or 3 loops of LH. The gameplay 'loop' really gels with the styles I enjoy most and I'm looking forward to playing it through 2022
One rainy evening my girlfriend and I loaded up Children of Morta on Gamepass, we like to take random chances on games on the service because, why not? that's the point of paying for it.
As 2 big Diablo 3 fans, Children of Morta blended the right ratio of murderous intent and character building. The family and its world were a real delight to save
Back in the era of 360, the first Gears was my big title. I played on a regular basis with friends from work and loved its combat.
Skip forward a few grey hairs later and Gears 4 ranked among the worst sequels of any franchise I had played, A disjointed cliffhanger story with boring robot enemy combat .
Skip forward a little more and you'll find me glued to my sofa playing Gears 5 on my Series X and I loved every second of it. So much so that I replayed it a second time with friends in coop, highlighting the ways the story has improved and grown since I originally used a lancer.
Fantastic weapons and combat in both single and multiplayer makes this one of my favourite entries. The DLC was pretty darn good too.
What do I need to say about the adventures of Director Faden that haven't already been said? There is little out there which humbly reminds me of the reasons I loved the X-Files as a teenager, even less in existence which draws me in so deeply with its intrigue and delivers a satisfying ending.
And the other gift Control gave me this year was a new love of an architecture form I didn't know I adored, Brutalist Architecture is everywhere around the area I grew up and so it was a fitting word to put against the harsh and industrial landscape.
The Foundation DLC is also fantastic, giving a fresh perspective on the building itself.
The original Life is Strange holds a special place in my heart for being a welcome comfort over months where I was recovering from a relationship and so I had to be very mindful of expectations when stepping into Life is Strange 2.
With its new cast of characters and places, LiS2 delivers on the same emotional gut punches that the original was well known for, opting for a blood-related sibling story over 2 long lost friends.
Part of the fun for me was watching my partner make these choices with me and seeing the laughter or drama which befell the characters afterwards. It's got a lot of different endings for the smaller decisions which I really appreciate in a narrative first title and most of them live up to the emotional choices you make.
I have played a few souls-like games but I wouldn't call myself a 'fan of the genre', I'm a fan of scenarios that games like this present to us when playing with friends, the stories they create when everyone freaks out at an unexpected boss falling from the sky.
Mortal Shell isn't like that though, this single-player souls-like by a small team in the UK is compact and compelling with its design and mechanical design, The biggest additional formula is the stone-like form you are able to adopt, essentially making you block and stun the enemy. This has a big sense of power and adds to the weighty combat in the right ways.
Its obelisk driven art also reminds me of some of the areas in Control with its brutalist architecture, black-clad and stealth-like walls offer a dark look at a world designed with an eye for madness.
I'd play as Kiryu for the rest of my life is SEGA let me, alas it was not to be. The final (currently anyway) title in the Kiryu arc left me satisfied when the credits were rolling. Happy to see how everyone's choices had played out, but if they did another one I'd jump on it in a heartbeat.
Suppose I should start playing LIke a Dragon now....
