My Favorite Games that I Played in 2021

As I mentioned at the top of my list in 2020, my end-of-year lists will now contain games released in any year. In years past, I stressed myself out trying to play everything I had interest in that was released in a given year, and often published my end-of-year list well into the year following. Although it's a never-ending battle, I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that I am unable to play everything I'm interested in and still maintain a sense of balance in my life.

Even so, I did want to note some of the 2021 releases that I wish I would've been able to get to prior to putting this together: Eastward, Inscryption, Guardians of the Galaxy, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - Aiko's Choice, Bright Lights of Svetlov, Dap, Hindsight 20/20 - Wrath of the Raakshasa, Age of Empires IV, Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Far Cry 6, NUTS, and GTFO.

Without further ado, let's get to the games!

List items

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  Cyberpunk 2077

  #10 (Release Year: 2020)

  Although I ran into a graphical glitch, a few crashes, and a quest progression issue during my time with Cyberpunk 2077, I ended up enjoying my time with it overall quite a bit. I played a few months after release on a higher-end PC. The game features excellent writing within its main and side stories, and Night City was a well-developed and immersive locale. I appreciated the character work and voice actors in the game, which only enhanced the exploration of exciting cyberpunk themes. While the game required a little grinding to access the highest level of cars and equipment and the skill tree was perhaps not as interesting as I'd hoped, the gameplay was solid. Outside of instability (which was a serious issue for many), players let their disappointment with what Cyberpunk 2077 wasn't, prevent them from enjoying what it was.

• 

  Sea Salt

  #9 (Release Year: 2019)

  How would you like to build an abominable army of minions as an embodiment of the will of the Elder God Dagon? For me, this was a slam dunk of a premise! Visit destruction upon the townspeople in your quest to show the Archbishop the folly of meddling with forces beyond his control or understanding. I enjoyed creating my nefarious army, and choosing the particular combination of minions that would effectively tackle whatever challenge the game was currently throwing at me. Outside of army composition, the game also required a very particular hit and run approach to handling certain enemies and the unique boss fights. Although your minions are deadly, they aren't always the most hardy.

• 

  Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

  #8 (Release Year: 2016)

  Although I ignored Shadow Tactics when it first released, I revisited it after playing and falling in love with Desperados 3 in 2020. Shadow Tactics contained much of the same DNA that I found in Desperados 3, and so I again was left in awe of developer Mimimi's ability to execute on this genre in a way that no other studio can. However, I disliked the way that "Shadow Mode" does not pause the game (in the way the Desperados 3's similar "Showdown Mode" did). It makes the game more reliant on reflexes and timing, which I personally did not appreciate (I'd rather my ability to create an effective plan be the sole determinant of my success or failure). In fact, I never did finish the final level of Shadow Tactics (Sunpu Castle). However, the game features Yuki, a more compelling character than any of those featured in Desperados 3. I found her combination of self-deprecation and her desire for approval to be very psychologically-realistic given her background. I found myself attached to her in a way that I never did with other characters in these games, who I view more as a combination of abilities and mechanics.

• 

  Golf Story

  #7 (Release Year: 2017)

  I've been wanting to play Golf Story for years. When I finally received a Nintendo Switch Lite for my birthday this year, it was one of the first orders of business. From the outside it seemed to be a mechanically-sound golf game, but one that was consistently amusing and didn't take itself too seriously. This doesn't happen often in life, but when I finally got around to playing it I found my outside impression to be entirely accurate. I loved acquiring new clubs and developing proficiency with the game's shot system, and was surprised at just how many ways developer Sidebar Games was able to shake things up. For instance, you might be required to hit fiery golf balls into frozen characters to thaw them out, or to bounce a golf ball off of the back of a turtle in a lake to get a bit of extra distance. The game is also genuinely hilarious, and you'll encounter numerous amusing characters and situations. Despite my irritation with my inability to quickly restart challenges I'd essentially already failed, I couldn't put this game down. The developer's next game, Sports Story, will for me be an instant buy.

• 

  Defense of the Oasis

  #6 (Release Year: 2005)

  I found Defense of the Oasis when it suddenly appeared on the Steam store, years and years after its release. Something about the description, calling the game a combination of Minesweeper and Civilization, pulled me in. When I started playing, I found this to be a rather apt summation. You're attempting to locate cities, which you can do by paying close attention to the crops found in each square. You'll then connect these cities together by roads, so they'll grow, and use their armies to defend against the encroaching barbarian hordes. You'll also locate "Great" people to aid you in your task, and you'll mine materials to develop technologies to improve the combat performance of your armies. Defense of the Oasis was yet another game that I simply couldn't put down, and is the very definition of simple to learn but challenging to master. I had a blast optimizing my strategy and reacting to different climates, topographies, or hazards (such as a city containing a plague of locusts). Although I finished the game on the easy and normal difficulties, I found that the high difficulty was a bit too reliant on getting a favorable procedural configuration of squares.

• 

  Before Your Eyes

  #5 (Release Year: 2021)

  To date, I think this is the only game I've played that has webcam integration built in. Surprisingly, this mechanic actually serves the story in a meaningful way. In the game you'll play the soul of a deceased person, being ferried to the afterlife. The game involves chronologically visiting formative moments within your life. However, these moments (sweet and compelling as they are) will only last as long as you can keep your eyes open. Before Your Eyes is a poignant meditation on life, reminding us not only of the inevitable march of time but of the importance of being as present as we can within each moment.

• 

  The Last Survey

  #4 (Release Year: 2020)

  How can we explain something crucial to someone when their income (at least in the short-term) is dependent upon them not understanding it? How can they conceive of a monumental change occurring in the world when for so long the status quo has reigned supreme? The Last Survey attempts to explore this question, putting the player in the position of a geologist meeting with the CEO of a multinational corporation. The comments and choices presented by the game struck me as quite believable - developer Nicholas O'Brien has written an excellent piece of interactive media.

• 

  The Corridor

  #3 (Release Year: 2020)

  Another tremendously thoughtful piece of work, The Corridor explores the creation and play of a video game. How many obstacles must we overcome as a player before we feel satisfied? Before we feel that we've gotten our money's worth? And how precarious it is as a developer to pour yourself into a game (especially a solo developer). How do we maintain motivation when critiques of our game can feel like critiques of ourselves? I always find myself drawn to "meta" works like this, and The Corridor is substantial but simultaneously as compact as they come.

• 

  Wildermyth

  #2 (Release Year: 2021)

  I must confess to "sleeping on" Wildermyth for much of 2021. I've historically had two main gripes against "procedural" games. One, I've found that procedural storytelling has never been as compelling to me as "crafted" content, and two, I find it harder to talk to friends about our experiences with games that have procedural elements. I've long been skeptical of whether a procedural game could produce truly mind-blowing moments, like Bioshock's "would you kindly" or Half-Life 2's "pick up that can." Only recently did I begin playing Wildermyth with a friend. We've played now for eight hours or so (across three sessions), but I've yet to complete any of the game's campaigns. And although I'm not sure that Wildermyth will be the game to truly make me change my mind about procedural games, I love the consistent nods to the choices you've made and the way your characters have developed. I've found that the rivalries, romances, transformations, and pets add so much texture to my experience. Not to mention that I love the Mystic class, and I don't think I've seen anything quite like the interfusion mechanic in any previous game I've played. The Mystic can "interfuse" with environmental objects, and then gains specific spells that can be cast from the object depending on the Mystic's interfusion ability and the object in question.

• 

  Stonefly

  #1 (Release Year: 2021)

  While I can't say that I found the story of Stonefly exceptional, I liked virtually every other element of the game. I loved the loop of collecting resources, then developing new abilities and upgrading my ship. I liked the concept, a world in which humans are smaller than insects and pilot ships that resemble them. I liked the music, which makes the world feel all the more enchanting, and the graphical style, which reminded me of children's author Eric Carle (of Very Hungry Caterpillar fame). More than anything, though, I loved the combat. While a friend of mind commented on how frantic it could be (which is certainly the case), I found it immensely satisfying to gain competency here. Often when I was having problems, I'd realize that I'd been neglecting an ability that would turn out to be a game-changer. I also found the way that your ship "blows" hostile bugs off of leaves and logs to eliminate them to be satisfying in a way that simply killing them wouldn't be. I was constantly luring or pulling enemies to the sides of the arena, and would punctuate the demise of more irritating foes with a hearty "get the fuck out of here!" Stonefly is an outstanding ARPG, and well-worth your time if you have a soft spot for the genre.