by fakekisser
Note: As always, I include my favorite games I played this year, even if they were released before 2021.
What a weird year 2021 was... For all of us, of course, but I also sold a house, bough a new one, and moved my family last year. The move was a very good one for us, but it made the whole summer mostly about the move, instead of really anything else.
I did get to play some games this past year. Reading my GOTY 2020 List, I realized I didn't get to AC: Origins the way I had planned at the beginning of 2021, but maybe this year in 2022...
I played Bugsnax through to completion, but I was always hoping and expecting it to be more than it was. The characters and interactions were fun enough, and catching the bugs could be entertaining, but I never felt there was a good purpose, and the changes in the characters through their food-mutation limbs just didn't do it for me.
I had Observer in my backlog since it was first released, and I finally played through the Redux version for a Game of the Month Club. The graphics were pretty nice, but I was disappointed at the small scope, and the creepiness of the atmosphere just seemed overbearing to me and unnecessary for what I want in a cyberpunk atmosphere.
The only Panzer Dragoon game I had played before this remake was Saga on Saturn, years and years ago (which I never finished). This Remake is very short, so I finished it, but it was annoying and not very entertaining at all. The surprise, to me, though, is not that the original game is what it is but that they invested in a remake of such a small game and didn't expand on it more.
I played SR3 many years ago, and I had a lot of fun with it. I finally played through 4 with a friend, but it is what I expected... very, very outdated and just not very fun in the mission structure, humor, or environment(s). I did go back and play the Christmas-themed DLC last week, though. :)
I did complete UGG, but I put it down several times throughout the year. Parts were funny, and some puzzles were fun, but I got frustrated a few times with not understanding what I was supposed to be doing or knowing what to do and just struggling to get things to work out just right to accomplish the task.
Ape Out was very frustrating to me in several parts, and I couldn't wait to get through it, as I don't enjoy heart-pumping, nerve-splitting games like this one. However, the art style was great, and the approach to the music is what kept me going. It really felt like a violent, acid jazz work of art.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China
I am trying to keep pushing through my AC backlog, and so I started the side-scrolling games. I have 2 more to do this year, but I do want to play through them, as China was pretty good, even if I wish it would have been just an hour or so even shorter than it was.
Bully has been on my backlog for over a decade, but I finally made myself play it. I am very glad I played it, but it was every bit as dated as expected. I could totally see what an updated sequel could be, though, because, much like GTA, the essentially gameplay of Bully is still relevant for a smaller open-world game.
I didn't expect to like the RTS spin-off of the Halo games, but I really did. It was a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to playing the second one. :)
There are a LOT of problems with The Sinking City. Just on the gameplay side, it was way too long. However, I'm glad I finally got through it, and if someone is a big Lovecraft fan, looking for related games to play, Sinking City wouldn't be at the top of my list, but it would still be on there.
Watch Dogs games are like most other Ubisoft games to me... They never are at the top of my lists, anymore, but they are fun to me - entertaining in their moment-to-moment gameplay loops. I'll be playing through the DLC in the next couple months.
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Life is Strange 2 was a slow burn for me, and I liked certain chapters better than others, but the story it told gripped me, and I felt very emotionally hit in the end at the story it told and the genuine way it ended, pulling no punches.
I had heard so many things about Yakuza 3 being the worst game in the series, but I honestly still like it better than Kiwami 1, Kiwami 2, or Yakuza 4. Yakuza 0 is still my favorite, and I'm in the middle of 5, now, but 3 had great heart and nice change of pace for me.
I loved the atmosphere and gameplay of The Missing. I didn't collect everything or "torture" myself (pun intended) for every puzzle, but I really loved the game for the small, self-contained experience it is.
The Gardens Between is another game that really tugged on my emotions this year. I have been trying to get my wife to play through it, as the puzzles are engaging without being punishing, and the story is very sweet.
I played through It Takes Two with my wife, and while it was way more challenging than I expected, but I was constantly amazed at the amount of environments and different gameplay that they crammed into this game. The production was much bigger than I expected, and I was very, very impressed with how they pulled it off.
I finally started playing the GoW games in 2021. I'm still working through 3, but the first two games were much, much better than I expected. I played them back-to-back, so they are linked in my head, but the second one was a bit better. I was just very impressed on how well I think the remasters still hold up!
The one thing I'll say about the first God of War is that it surprised me at how much it gave me "Tomb Raider-esque" action adventure vibes - not just the beat-em-up violent gameplay the game is known for.
Yakuza 4 wasn't as good as 3, to me, but I really enjoyed playing some new characters - especially Akiyama, who I really enjoyed getting to know.
Sable has so many bugs and issues!!! However, for the size of the game, the exploration was fun and relaxing, the story of community was heart-fealt, and the sci-fi was intriguing.
Hylics shouldn't be on this list, but it's too unique to not be, as it still stands out more than the other games I played this year (that aren't already #1-9 above). If you have the patience to play through the 3-4 hours this game is, I recommend it. :P