Best 10 played in 2021

Another year I could do without - Giant Bomb changed overnight with the departure of Vinny, Alex and Brad, Covid stuck around and showed off 2 more variant boss forms, and big games like Ratchet & Clank, Returnal and Metroid Dread all failed to stick with me.

It's the start of 2022 and I'm diving back into R&C, so hopefully you'll see that next year - but I have my doubts about the other 2. Returnal's anit-save stance killed the game pretty early on for me, though they did patch in a new suspend feature much later on. Metroid was way too formulaic for me, and the map (as well as the map system) really sucked.

We DID get a bunch of new shooters this year - which sort of made up for the 2021 nonsense. Aleste 3 is one of the most perfect shooters I've ever played. I discovered the awesomeness of G-Darius, as well and those chunky-ass pixels in Barrage Fantasia. This might be one of the best years in shooters we've had in a long time.

Astalon saved the metroidvania scene for me big time! More people need to play that game - it's one of my favorite games in the genre.

And finally, the smell of the game arrived with GG Strive.

All in all, a great year for games - but not a great year in general.