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kanelflarn

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kanelflarn's Game of The Year 2021

Weird. As with 2020 I went in to this year thinking I'd hold back on so many purchases. I mean, I haven't magically gotten more time for games. My wallet sure would appreciate it. Then here I am with quite the list of games to choose from.

Honorable mentions:

  • Artful Escape - A neat game that just rides. To be honest it's more of an experience and a lot of the platforming felt more like time filler. Hence, even though I played it through, I cannot hold it beside some of the other games I've played this year.
  • Psychonauts 2 - Wow! Almost forgot about this. Perhaps that says something of the game. Quite liked the setup though. Just haven't played that much of it.
  • Disco Elysium, final cut - Never seen external and internal dialog handled like this before. Fits perfect for this kind of game. Unfortunately I dropped it a couple of times and didn't find back to it. (Final cut is a bit of cop out by me, wishing I would get to put it on my list this year.)
  • Death's door - Certainly a good game. Mood and setting. Solid mechanics. Does a well tried genre really well.
  • Deathloop - Certainly a good game but I wasn't sold on the looping and story. Once again I badly want to like an Arcane game.
  • Eastward - Sold me on the art direction and its promise of an intriguing adventure. Lacking its own personality behind all retro graphics and RPG nods I lost interest.
  • Metroid Dread - Speaking of games I so badly want to like. Metroid wins the award of most linear "Metroidvania" of the year. :)

List items

  • Most engaging story of the year. I was quite immediately interested in figuring out the mystery of the place. When I didn't play, I thought of the story and what I wanted to do next, which lead to follow. If not for the plot, I believe there's not much else to hold you. Since what else there is pretty lackluster.

    I love that there's a game like this that embraces the interaction of dialog, discussing philosophy that made me think. In a setting striving for historic accuracy. With a story, when finished, has made me browse Wikipedia reading up on civilizations that this game involves.

    That said. The experience, that this game truly is, becomes bogged down by foremost one moment where it wants to be something else. When it loses its confidence in what Forgotten City does best and forces action on the player. These moments are only imbued by poor control and frustration of not quite knowing what to do but go forward. The biggest crime though is that I want to classify it as "gamey". A sequence or mechanic that is traditional for games, that feels out of place or designed more because "it should be there because this is a game" rather than sticking to the promise of the game or what it does better.

    Despite its flaws. In the year of loops. This is certainly the loop of the year and the best at that.

  • One of few this year I couldn't put down. The type of game that does wonders on the Switch, being able to drop out at any moment and continue from where I was. There're at least a couple of others that should have gotten the same chance on that platform as well but didn't.

    This is my Metroid of the year. Axiom Verge 2 is an adventure headed by choice and exploration.

  • An imperfect game with okay action and puzzle mechanics. It's at its best while focusing on team building and being a leader above all else. Successfully captures the mood I appreciate from MCU and handles switching between comedy and drama with care. A bit of long winded ending, a joke that just went on a bit long.

    Still not used to the idea that license games get to be good.

  • One of the best co-op games I've played. Getting to have this type of game to play with my partner is the best. Easy sell not being strictly violent, as games tend to be. Perhaps long winded and a bit of an awkward story.

  • Adventure, best served in steady company. An awesome experience at its best, a frustrating vicious circle at its worst. Best viking village building simulator to date. Too bad those pesky monsters keep picking at it.

  • Innovative, heart warming story told in a way no other medium could.

  • Delightful packing simulator which was surprisingly calming. When catching on to the life story the game centers around I saw the meaning behind the seeming time waster and got curious of puzzling together this individuals events. Experiencing this game while switching controls back and forth with my partner was ideal. (More so on PC than Switch, this time.)

  • Life is strange finally got a visual upgrade with nice animations.

  • Most innovative game of the year. This is why I tend to try out indie-like games more often. Playing up to the point where I got what the game was actually about (at least defeating first boss, and then some) was really fun.

  • An imperfect game that would have done well with more polish. Yet for what's there, it's relaxing. Up to the latter part of the game where personally I think some cutting would have sufficed, even though it's not a very long game.
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