Best of 2021
Here is my list for this year! See also, the Honorable Mentions which are a few silly awards I give out in another list.
List items
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(Chapter 2) While the first chapter of Deltarune was an amazing surprise and was an amazingly tight and polished single session game, it didn't really give me any idea what to expect from the rest of the game. Chapter 2 on the other hand paints a very clear picture of what each of the 7 chapters is going to be - a perfectly paced wonderfully written little adventure that fits into a single session, is wonderfully satisfying on its own, yet is also part of a bigger whole. Chapter 2 is a wonderful experience, outrageously funny and has a ton of heart. Coming out of Chapter 2 I have a pretty good idea what to expect for Chapters 3-7 and, if they keep this up, it will easily surpass Undertale.
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It's a sequel to an incredible game that's much more the complete package. Psychonauts 2 is not just an imaginative tour de force, but also a really polished platformer with a combat system that measures up. It's also got a great mystery, exciting twists, and big payoffs. The best part of the game is the reasonably non linear part where you piece together Ford Cruller's mind. That section is everything and more what I've been imagining for the last 15 years. While I do think the game has some pacing issues in the third half, it's still exceptionally good and the second best game of the year.
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Metroid Dread lives up to its name. While the EMMIs are kind of a natural evolution of the stealth sequences from the two GBA games, making it more of a gameplay loop and less of just a bunch of scripted set pieces, they're more effective than those sequences were, and more harrowing. To hide, to run, it's all thrilling and fills you with dread. And to kill one and clear the zone is rewarding. I also really love how this is a true Metroid Fusion sequel. Playing this made me realize how much I had grown to love Fusion, as everything it did that reminded me of it just made me so happy. At times I think the game was a bit hard, and I don't care for the quick time events, but still. Metroid Fusion got a sequel! I love it!
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Deathloop has really fun stealth action, and a wonderful world to explore. I had a fantastic time getting to know the world, deciding who I wanted to kill first, trying to get the various powers and figuring out which ones fit my playstyle. Of course, the teleport power was a lock for me, considering how good it was in Dishonored, but I was surprised by how fun the invisibility was. When enemies spot you you can just vanish and get away from them easy. Lot of fun! I super enjoyed that progression. Building myself up, getting cool new things and new information as well. The game was a real page turner - I couldn't put it down until I beat it. Issues with story twists and the last loop aside, it was a phenomenal game.
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As an indie DKC complete with bonus stages just like DKC2, Kaze is exactly the type of platformer I wish people made more of. While it is pretty familiar in a lot of ways, the level design is really solid in this. Plus each level has several objectives to go for, and they're all fun to play whether you're scouring the levels for its many collectibles, tearing ass through the levels to get a gold time, or trying to beat levels without taking damage for a reward. It's a game that feels tailor made for me, and its spot in this list reflects that.
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(Bowser's Fury) Bowser's Fury is inspired. It is true that it's just a small small experiment, but I it's an experiment that went oh so right. The way the open world works is super neat. Even besides being able to wander from one level to another, I loved how they would update previous levels on subsequent returns, changing the enemies, adding objectives, doing stuff to seamlessly make the old levels into new levels. It's absurdly cool, and I hope that people making both 3D and 2D platformers are out there taking note because I would love to play another game that does that. With ideas like that the game gets a ton of mileage out of its few worlds. For its small size, it's as packed with ideas as it could be. Wonderful game.
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An absurdly good time. I'm not super good at competitive shooters and tend to prefer ones which are objective/team based, so I was surprised by how much I took to Splitgate. Being able to use portals cleverly to get away with some looney tunes nonsense was super fun, and more than makes up for any lack of headshot skills I have. I also really love the variety of modes. I especially like Showdown and Fiesta - Random weapons are always fun to me. Oddball and Domination especially benefit from the portals. In Oddball you can pop out behind foes chasing you and bonk them over the head. In Dominion you can portal between two capture points and defend them both. Super satisfying to pull off. I didn't stick with this all year and do think it could use more weapon variety and a less annoying battlepass, but every time I play it even now I have a fantastic time.
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An amazing little city on the brink of ruin, it's super fun to figure out how to manipulate the world of The Forgotten City to your advantage. My favorite part has to be how you shortcut quests after you beat them - you explain in a rush the 12 things you did in previous loops to the man you meet at the start of every loop and he runs off and does them for you. It's brilliant, and makes you feel so empowered. While there were times I was stuck and didn't know what to do, or didn't know where to find a thing, I stuck with it and once I did find my way it was super satisfying. Damn good game.
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Chicory is a charming and fun little adventure. I liked how much of yourself you could put into the game. From coloring each screen to your liking, to painting art to decorate museums and displays, to designing logos, donuts and more. I also really loved the story, the characters, pretty much everything about how it went about doing things. Really well paced too. Chicory is just remarkably well put together, really glade it came out on Switch before the end of the year.
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Slipways is a game I don't think a lot of people heard of, but every time I played it this year it was a real good time. It's basically a puzzle 4X game where you create colonies and try to connect them so that the colonies can export what they produce, and import what they need from other colonies. It's really satisfying to work out the ideal trade networks and grow them. While the game pitches itself as a single session 4X because the default mode has a 25 year time limit, more my speed was the endless mode which allows you to idly grow without end. Even though the mode doesn't have much stakes, I found it enthralling to grow outward steadily. The default mode can also be super fun, but it takes experience to get your head around the 25 year limit and how not to let the end sneak up on you. Either way, the game is fun and rewarding enough that it deserves to get onto this list.
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