Top 8 Games of 2021

While I did technically play eleven games that came out in 2021 I only played 8 long enough to qualify for this list. It was an interesting year. I had some of the longest lulls away from games since I can remember, then I'd bounce back and 100% four games on this list, only to have another lengthy gap not long after.

As a bonus I made a separate list of my favorite OLD games I played in 2021:

• 1. Journey to the Savage Planet
• 2. Spiritfarer
• 3. Eastshade
• 4. Supraland
• 5. Metroid: Zero Mission
• 6. Gris
• 7. Fallout 76
• 8. Hades
• 9. Umurangi Generation
• 10. Ring Fit Adventure

List items

• 

  The Forgotten City

  8)

  I felt compelled to play The Forgotten City once hearing acclaim for the writing, characters, non linear nature of the story and time loop mechanic. A game innovating on the mechanics of Outer Wilds and Majora's Mask? I thought this game had the potential to be one of best of the year, if not more. Needless to say my expectations for this game, that started life as a Skyrim mod, were through the roof. This had a negative impact on my appreciation of this otherwise fine game.

  I'm trying to force myself to see games through to completion by refusing to start something new. The downside of that is if I'm not super enthusiastic about a game I may go days without playing anything at all. That was the case here. My initial impressions of TFC were not strong. It's kind of dull, talking to each of the many characters, waiting for them to turn around, asking everyone an identical set of questions, and they don't always have interesting answers. When I wasn't quick to make progress I got frustrated, even enraged at one point. Yet I managed to give it another chance. I saw it through to see two of the four endings (including the canon ending). Only it regrettably took over a month to play 14 hours of this game.

  I'm glad I was able to see the game through, it does tell a compelling story with some great characters. It tackles moral philosophical questions and addresses how civilization and culture change through time. It's a game I may not have played if I knew what it was when I started, for better and for worse.

• 

  Twelve Minutes

  7)

  I may have finished 12 minutes (and all of its achievements) in a single day, but I'd be lying if I said it was the most fun day I spent playing a game. A small three room apartment, 3 characters and a time loop allow for a compelling little sandbox.

  Of the big stars cast for this game only Willem Dafoe's voice has the character to be worth the price. The married couple could have been anyone.

  Making progress can get frustrating. Many times I would have an idea in my head, but to execute there are many tiny, seemingly arbitrary, variables that can lead to tedious trial and error. I eventually reached a logical conclusion, but the game wants you to keep digging into the mystery to reach the credits.

  This is where it goes off the rails and I leaned heavily on guides. A good deal of my time playing was mired in frustration. Still, I felt compelled to dismantle this watch to identify all its moving parts.

• 

  The Artful Escape

  6)

  The Artful Escape excels at pure spectacle. From the vistas of a sleepy little mountain town to the neon creatures, fantastical starscapes. All with a tinge of David Bowie irreverence, a loving parody of the rock and roll imagination.

  The mechanics are simple, serving as little more than a way to engage with the world and advance the story. Platforming is blast because you're just jamming on your guitar while watching the psychedelic alien landscape unfold around you.

  The other primary mechanic nearly scared me away from playing this game, Simon Says guitar battles. Fortunately there's no penalty for missing and it never gets too challenging. These boss battles, of course, are the perfect excuse to turn up the spectacle with a neon rock show.

  The writing turned me off at first, but as the game progressed my preconceptions about the primary characters evolved and became much more complex than I initially thought. The two companion characters serve as competing aspects of the personality of the young boy who's trying to muster the self esteem to define his own identity.

• 

  Genesis Noir

  5)

  The deco noir art style of Genesis Noir and the striking dreamlike freedom of it's presentation was struck me as something I needed to play when I watched the Quick Look. I couldn't wait to finish Gris and play it when I realized it was on Game Pass.

  Puzzles range in quality, the best feature innovative mechanics I've never seen before. My favorite involved tuning a series of radio frequency devices to get their wave forms in synch. As a puzzle it wasn't the most intuitive, I had to look up a guide for the hardest solutions, but I was fascinated just playing with it.

  Story wise it's very dream like, and not entirely cohesive. They try to do a lot with it, adding layers of metaphor and characters as it goes cumulating in an ending that is a jarring tonal leap from the rest of the game.

• 

  Sable

  4)

  While Sable was unpolished and buggy when I played, it had a sense of mystery and intrigue to its world that was entrancing.

  Sable does one thing well, it makes exploration compelling. The thing I want most out of the games I play. Yet. it's rough around the edges and could have used some more time in the oven to polishing things up.

  Little things like clumsy movement, a rocket bike that won't come when you call it, confusing quest design all add up. While I still wanted to uncover everything hidden in this world, I was becoming increasingly frustrated. My time ended when I let my Game Pass subscription expire, with some regret. I wasn't too far from completing the game.

  What initially drew me to this game was the Moebius inspired look. When gazing upon the horizon this game truly is beautiful. Up close it's not as impressive. Indoors at nighttime all that gorgeous colour is lost and everything just turns grey.

  I'm tempted to return some day, but for now it's time to move on.

• 

  Death's Door

  3)

  After Forgotten City I wanted to play something right inside of my comfort zone, and Death's door is exactly that. An action adventure game with plenty of exploration.

  This game's grim monotone atmosphere with fun, quirky characters was a vibe that made me want to play from when I first saw its announcement trailer. Initially I assumed it was a roguelike, my hopes were dashed. When I discovered it's more of a zeldalike it rose to the top of my wishlist.

  The game itself doesn't reinvent the wheel. It's uniquely satisfying to explore. It hits those familiar notes I love about Zelda or Metroidvania world design without feeling too much like anything else I've played. Combat could be pretty difficult, but not to the point I became overly frustrated and stuck too long on any one boss.

  The game shines at fun and silly characters, like a man with a pot for a head, trash talking frog king, or a secret octopus chef. Some have stories and personalities that are quite human well realized in some cases. The story has a reverence for death and its essential inevitability.

• 

  Chicory: A Colorful Tale

  2)

  As an artist colour is something I think about a lot. I have a fondness for colouring books from my childhood. I even bought a Looney Tunes colouring book for myself as an adult years ago. I didn't colour in it very much. Using art, creativity and stroke making in a video game is something that resonates with me. Games like Okami, Eastshade or the DS Zeldas (they let you draw on the map) have superficially dabbled with the concept. I've wished there was a game that really took that premise and ran with it. Chicory is that game.

  It's straight up a Zelda overworld, but a colouring book. If you were so inclined you could just colour in every screen of the game. I didn't quite have that level of commitment, but I did colour in many screens. Not because I had to, but for the fun of it. Sometimes, if it was an area I frequently traveled I'd fill it in more because I wasn't quite satisfied. Or I'd add a splash of colour where there was none.

  The drawing tools aren't always perfect, but they work well enough to do what I want most of the time. I was annoyed, most of all, by how the fill tool fills objects outside of an area if they touch. The colours available to you in each area are limited at first. It's good to challenge yourself with a set palette, but I was frustrated by how limited the options could be at times.

  A few years ago the game Blossom Tales came out, it was inspired by and compared to Link to the Past. An unfair comparison for any game, although it got me to play. I found the world design to be lacking. Chicory really does inspire fond memories of the best 2D Zelda games. It's worth while to explore every corner of the map, you'll be rewarded for your curiosity.

  There are a remarkable variety of characters in Chicory. They add a lof of personality to the world. It's become a bit of a cliché that indy games have a stories about depression or anxiety, but I'm happy it's being talked about. It tells an important story about forgiving yourself and compassion for others. A message that is so important for anyone today, but something artists are particularly vulnerable to.

• 

  Psychonauts 2

  1)

  Psychonauts 2 was my most anticipated game of the year, for 3 years running, ever since a trailer announced a 2019 release. It's finally out and it's great!

  That said it's tough not to think of the phenomenal Milkman Conspiracy and Velvetopia from the first game. Those were singular experiences that Psychonauts 2 does not try to recreate, but instead does it's own thing. The concept of jumping into the minds of the characters of Tim Schafer and Double Fine's colourful world is too rich not to go somewhere brand new.

  The levels this time around are generally more linear theme park rides than the higher concept open levels of the first game. This way they can pack more crazy ideas into a level. They find ways of mixing things up with branching paths to be completed in any order and small open areas. The levels are more confident and focused than the first game, when they didn't always succeed with the high concepts. Psychonauts 2 also features several large open areas out side of the minds, it's not lacking for exploration.

  The main draw is the creative set pieces and sharp humor. A hospital casino is a striking visual juxtaposition made better by the personified medical equipment gambling with the human body. Another level presents the fear one characters has of what others will think with a full fledged cooking show judged by puppet versions of his friends. All this humor is in service of a sensitive look at mental health that can benefit anybody. The story as a whole is an intimate and touching look into the fractured relationship of old friends.

  Combat is more varied and engaging than the first game. Each of the abilities can be used in a fight, but swapping them out can be a chore. I chose to set the hover ability as a triple jump to cut down on ability management. This resulted in many accidental deaths, but it was worth it. Equipping badges in limited slots, shared between combat and cosmetic abilities, was a frustrating design choice. I barely engaged with it, but it was far from essential.

  I'm really happy Microsoft has decided to invest in the creative Double Fine team. I'd love nothing than more studios willing to bring cartoon art and clever humor to AAA games. While I may not have loved all of their games in the past I'm a huge fan of Double Fine for doing what they do. With the support, I hope for the best for them in the future.

  This was a big return to playing game for me after a slow period. The first of four games in a row I would go on to earn every achievement for.