Had genuine difficulty with this year in terms of what to include beyond my top 4 or 5. WRC10, F1 2021, Ender Lilies, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Death's Door were all considered but when push came to shove these were my 10 top picks for what came out in 2021.
The best game of 2021, the best RPG I’ve ever played and maybe one of the best games I’ve ever played. As with Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Divinity: Original Sin and Pillars of Eternity, there’s something in the sequel that just takes flight from the original into the truly magical. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so captivated by a world and its characters, so invested in my choices and their consequences. A true epic, but where its scope and scale are matched in the nuance of its characters and plotting. My game of year by a very, very long distance.
A game I was actually good at, which is pretty rare for me. Amazing setting and beautifully alien environments, precise controls and elegant combat, isolation, brutality and an air of overarching mystery. I’ve never been a fan of roguelikes so it was always going to take something special to make me fall in love with one. So bottle it and spread it all over my morning toast Housemarque, for this is most surely, my jam.
A melancholic yet and optimistic adventure about finding a home in the midst of grief, with every stripe of nerd one might imagine. Hard then for me not to find value in its story and characters. The picture postcard setting and soundtrack help give the experience an almost therapeutic quality as it plucks away at the heartstrings.
Playing Outriders was like dancing on a knife edge. Battle after battle of being on the cusp of death only to recover through mass liquefaction and immolation. Combat was such a thrill that all the risible dialogue and characterisations just ended up being amusing before falling into the background, an amusing sideshow to the gloriously over the top violence. The RPG and gear collecting elements were fun but the slow inexorable crank of the difficulty and the temptation of a greater challenge really made the experience stick.
Despite living in the shadow of Age of Empires II, AoE4 manages to be a great game in its own right. The history lesson style campaign is a nice alternative from the usual story based approach and I even learnt a few things from it. The mix of factions and gameplay styles was another nice touch and it just became addictive to play another mission or another skirmish to play around with. It’s nothing particularly new or innovative, but it’s just really well made and easy to get to grips with, a vital aspect for those like me that enjoy the idea of the RTS but just don’t have the aptitude for dancing around hotkeys and control groups.
The novelty isn’t quite there as it’s a sequel but the elements that made the original oh so magical are intact and with an extra story focus layered on it doesn’t feel like just another re-tread. I’m still petrified of the deep ocean but it’s a testament to the awe and wonder of its exploration and discovery that Below Zero manages to bypass my craven instincts and keep me hooked from beginning to end.
Barely a game yet a remarkable experience, an ode to imagination, as you are thrust into gaming’s most extraordinary space rock opera. Gameplay is rudimentary at best but the delightful worlds you explore and the creatures you encounter make this coming of age tale highly entertaining and memorable. A real treat for anyone who envisions the galactic superhighway in myriad colours whilst shredding interdimensional guitar solos across the universal voidscapes of time.
Given its size and population it’s more of a forgotten village or hamlet, but sure, call it a city. It is forgotten though, and it is a very smart little adventure with a time loop that actually allows for greater discovery and helps you uncover the truth in some interesting ways. A fascinating tale with lots of uncommon themes to explore.
Environmental storytelling distilled through emptying boxes. Each object filled with implication as does each space into which they must be placed. Incredibly mundane but therefore highly relatable and with enough detail to pick apart the emotions connected within each scene. A perfect counter to those who dismiss the value of earthly possessions and what they mean to us. AKA ‘Plushies: A Journey’.
To say it’s just another Horizon game would be to do a disservice given how accomplished the series is with its beautiful open worlds, mix of activities and generous amounts of content. The encroaching greed of live service gaming continues its slow creep but just enough of the body remains uninfected for now.
