Author's Note: Hello there! My name is ZombiePie, and I am a Giant Bomb forum and wiki moderator. Every year I look at the various sources of entertainment I enjoyed and disliked. During my awards show, I pit games, television shows, animes, athletics, albums, board games, and movies in a fight to the death! As such, my awards are more "special commendations" and are open to any medium I consumed during the last year.

Additionally, you can expect to see classic and current works of entertainment vying for the top positions of each merit and demerit on this blog. Oh, and one more thing, there are SPOILERS in this blog! Before reading any of my justifications for each of my award recipients, keep that in mind. Also, have your pitchforks ready as things get a little "spicy" from time to time!

Finally, if you want to read a more orthodox retelling of my feelings about what I consider to be the "best" games of 2021, here's a link to my 2021 GOTY list.

Worst Example Of "Late-Game Capitalism" Other Than Bitcoins and NFTs - Jake From State Farm Appearing In NBA 2K22

As the title for this award suggests, bitcoin and NFTs slowly eroding our ability to curb the worst effects of climate change for digital funny money or 3D renders of monkeys smoking joints should win this award. However, this blog is already going to get dark, so why not talk about "funnier" attempts by our corporate overlords to put more money in their coffers? This bit may not play for those who live outside of the United States, by the way. Still, there is a series of highly successful commercials in the States starring Chris Paul and other NBA players in which they live out wild and wacky scenarios that justify switching to State Farm Insurance. One of the "characters" in those commercials is a person named "Jake from State Farm," who usually informs Chris Paul that the terrible event that has befallen him and his family is "covered by State Farm."

Nevertheless, the success of this commercial series justified the mad minds behind NBA 2K22, including Jake from State Farm as an interactable NPC! In the game's The City mode, you can talk to Jake and watch your basketball avatar act incredibly enamored that Jake is indeed "real." As if that weren't enough, meeting Jake bestows the player with a handful of "goodies." That's right; you too can be decked out in a red State Farm t-shirt with accompanying tan khakis as you become an actual digital billboard for an American insurance company! With this being 2K, special commendations should go to NBA 2K22 inundating players with slot machines, unskippable commercials, and endless reminders that progressing your online avatar is faster if you buy card packs. No matter, Jake From State Farm being in NBA 2K22 takes the cake for its total lack of shame.

Runner-up: The INSANE Amount of Product Placement in He's All That (2021) -

If you are interested in following how deep the product placement rabbit hole goes in modern media, might I recommend the Product Placement Blog. This blog does an AMAZING job annotating every example of television shows and movies utilizing product placement. One of their more exhaustive efforts involved He's All That, a gender-swapped remake of 1999's She's All That. Thus far, they have identified 42 examples of product placement in just the first half of the movie!

Best New Character of 2021 - Karl Heisenberg

Alright, internet, I'm ready for you! As I said earlier in the year, I don't think Lady Dimitrescu is even CLOSE to being the best character in Resident Evil Village. I consider Donna Beneviento, Moreau, and Karl Heisenberg better characters with more satisfying culminating moments. That's especially the case with Karl Heisenberg, whom I think is the game's best character by a long shot. Not only does he feel like an actual character with motivations, but his many attempts to interact and level with Ethan better allow you to comprehend his quirks. Heisenberg motions the player into a full-fledged series of missions, and that's far more than what the game did with Dimitrescu. Is he a fairly unabashed attempt by Capcom to parody incel culture? Sure, but even in that regard, Heisenberg crooning about random conspiracy theories ruining his sense of "manhood" was way more compelling than getting chased around by a big vampire lady in a Victorian mansion.

Likewise, as I mentioned in my other blog, I can't comprehend anyone NOT viewing Heisenberg turning into a Michael Bay Transformer as the "high point" of Resident Evil Village. The entire sequence in which you fight the fully mechanized Heisenberg is one of the best individual video game set pieces from 2021. And if you are about to tell me you didn't like Heisenberg's final battle because that's when Resident Evil Village got "too stupid," I don't know what to say to you. This franchise has always been dumb with Wesker coming back from the fucking dead eight fucking times, and you want to get angry at a dude transforming into a robot and calling Chris a "boulder punching bitch?" I, for one, am glad that Resident Evil is stupid again, and I want to thank Karl Heisenberg for reminding the world that Resident Evil can be fun AND silly. The only argument that I will hear that I am wrong about Heisenberg is from those that want to contend that The Duke is a better character. To you people of culture, I say, all hail The Duke!

Runner-up: Jeanette Turner (Cruel Summer) -

Cruel Summer is the definition of a show I enjoyed but cannot recommend. It is convoluted as fuck at times and has too many characters bouncing around like ping pong balls in a lottery machine. That said, the twists and turns that do work are incredible, and the show overall has some stunning acting. For example, Chiara Aurelia's performance as Jeanette Turner sold me on the show's 90's pastiche. Furthermore, her character's mid-season plight was, without a doubt, one of the show's more potent elements. If any of this sounds interesting to you, I'd recommend reading a review or two before committing to the show to make sure it is right up your alley.

Best Pandemic Pick-Me-Up - Non Non Biyori Nonstop

Trying to explain the appeal of Non Non Biyori is tough. The show's Spartan-like direction and skeletal music eschew many of the stylistic choices and tropes that drive people to watch anime in the first place. Likewise, many people know the show best for the dozens of memes it spawned thanks to its "mascot," Renge Miyauchi, who even has a superfluous verbal tic like we are living in the early 2000s desu desu-ing all over again. Regardless, Non Non Biyori's core drives people, myself included, to seek it out like comfort food. And at that core is a cast of children who behave and act like children. Yes, the world of Non Non Biyori is ridiculous, but even during those zanier moments, its ensemble of kids treat their predicaments like genuine youngsters. That's why when the show deals with heavier topics like death, the inevitability of age, and saying goodbye to friends, why it strikes a chord with its fans. The character's emotional reactions feel like something you could see with your younger relatives or own offspring.

However, Non Non Biyori is not a show to delve too deep into those more depressing elements and consistently provides its characters with an opportunity to come out on top. For example, in the final season, fans saw the conclusion to a story arc the show introduced way back in the first season, which aired in 2013. In that season, Renge befriended someone vacationing in her village. Sadly, her new friend had to depart after the two spent weeks bonding, which resulted in Renge crying because she didn't get to say goodbye. With Non Non Biyori Nonstop, the two reunited, and when they had to bid farewell this time around, they correctly sent each other off. It sounds so simple on paper, but it was one of the most satisfying moments on television. Furthermore, the third season's final episode was one of the better series conclusions of 2021. If this is indeed the last we see of these characters, things at least ended on a high note.

Runner-up: Mortal Kombat (2021 film) -

We go from the cute and meditative Non Non Biyori to the incredibly dumb Mortal Kombat movie that I think everyone forgot released this year. I'm not going to lie to your face and say that Mortal Kombat was the best action movie I saw in 2021. However, I don't think that film got enough credit for doing an excellent job of juggling the game franchise's massive cast and having some cool-looking fight sequences. It was pure fan service, and the comical geysers of blood that erupted whenever someone pulled off a Fatality got me every time.

Anime Of The Year - Odd Taxi

Odd Taxi came out of nowhere for me. After struggling to get through the first season of Beastars last year, I was kind of "done" with animes or mangas that showed anthropomorphic animals living a modernized life. Well, Odd Taxi proved me wrong with a riveting tale of a taxi-driving walrus that gets caught in a maelstrom of drama at no fault of their own. The quick conversations Hiroshi Odokawa, the protagonist, has with their passengers are minimalistic but often tell more compelling stories than what other shows accomplish in two to three episodes. Before things pop off, the show has a chill pace that perfectly embodies its main character and the life they live. It is the "slow burn" streaming experience from 2021 I would recommend the most as it does so much with so little.

On the other hand, don't think for a minute that Odd Taxi is all about relaxing conversations in a taxi cab! When Hiroshi finds himself waist-deep in a missing persons investigation, that's when Odd Taxi hits its stride. The world we once thought was "cutesy" quickly reveals itself as a criminal underbelly, and characters that we once thought were friends are revealed to have so much more going on in their lives. Everyone in the world of Odd Taxi has a "hidden role," and discovering their dark secrets becomes one of the more exciting parts of the show. Lastly, the final episode reveal is the best anime plot twist of 2021. Hopefully, all of this motivates those of you who have yet to see Odd Taxi to give it a shot. It is an experience worth having at least once.

Runner-up: Ranking of Kings -

Ranking of Kings is another show that caught me off guard. Its cutesy veneer is a bit of a red herring as the show and its cast are often stand-ins for some genuinely dark moments. Even so, it deserves all the credit in the world for telling a story with a disabled signing protagonist. It's ultimately satisfying to watch its protagonist earn the respect of his peers through good works and the friendships of other targeted members of his community through acts of empathy.

Most Significant Disconnect I Had With The Press And Mainstream Media - It Takes Two

First, I want to establish I don't want to yuck any yums. I neither want to diminish the hard work of reviewing games or hosting awards shows for said highly acclaimed video games. Despite that, I have to say I was pretty peeved when It Takes Two won "Best Family Game" during the 2021 Game Awards. I ask you, who the FUCK is playing It Takes Two with their kids? Who thinks a highly emotional story about going through a divorce and prominently featuring the visceral dismemberment of stuffed animals is a jolly fun time to have with your kids? Who willingly subjects non-gaming relatives or friends to It Takes Two's time-sensitive platforming bits or puzzles that require two players to be absolutely on the same page? WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?! I DEMAND RECEIPTS because I don't think these people exist!

AND I HAVEN'T EVEN TALKED ABOUT THE FUCKING BOOK! By far 2021's "Worst New Character," that book sucks a whole lot of shit! Whether it is his blasé attitude about serious relationship issues being solvable with puzzles or his cringe-worthy platitudes, I wanted to fucking kill him by the time I finished the game! That book is as clever and interesting as The Balloon Guy on Twitter. When you consider It Takes Two got the nod for "Best Family Game" over Psychonauts 2 or WarioWare: Get It Together!, I cannot help but wonder if there's a disconnect between myself and the mainstream gaming press. A press, mind you, that are the ones who codify terms like "Family Game" and then don't follow that up with a reference or point of clarification. Again, I don't want this to be misconstrued as an attack on individuals or specific websites. I'm just an amateur blogger still salty about Psychonauts 2 not getting its due.

Runner-up: Deathloop -

I'll be quick about this one as I am not the only person to bring up this issue with Deathloop. Arkane Studios have made narrative-driven immersive sims before, but with Deathloop they have sanded off the edges of the genre without any alternatives. This, at least in my mind, defeats the purpose of the genre and undercuts the game's potential for player-based experimentation, which it initially sells you on during its opening sequence. As such, I cannot view the game as anything more than a "baby's first immersive sim" and feel out of touch when reading all of the glowing reviews for the game. I hate to be "That Guy," but I wish Deathloop played more like Dishonored and was as open-ended as Prey (2017).

Help I'm Trapped in Sisyphean Torment Award - Being A Sacramento Kings Fan

I don't know how I continue to be disappointed by the Sacramento Kings even before the 2021-2022 NBA season ends. With Vlade Divac and Luke Walton out of the picture, you'd think things were on the mend for the long-ailing franchise. NOPE! Recently, the Kings announced that Joe Dumars would be assigned the franchise's "Chief Strategy Officer" position. I dare you, ask any Detroit sports fan what Dumars did with the Pistons after winning a title in 2004. I double-dog dare you. It's a journey defined by pain, and now it's my pain. It is the collective pain of every Kings fan. We share this pain. We share this pain as the franchise goes a record-setting SIXTEEN YEARS without making the playoffs! Please, think about all of the amazing things that have happened to you in the last sixteen years. You accomplished more than what a professional NBA team has achieved in that time.

I sometimes look at the starting lineups for the Kings and want to puke. They start Fox and Haliburton on a good day but still have Terrence Davis or Moe Harkless as their primary dribblers. Buddy Hield getting defensive assignments because the team has zero wings beyond Harrison Barnes makes me want to die. There's nothing fun about a team that collapses more often in the third quarter than the Atlanta Falcons. I can't even begin to list the number of times I have seen the word "rebuild" tossed around, but just thinking about it makes my head dizzy. At least Philly fans got some fun when they were told to "Trust the Process." Here I am watching Buddy Hield clang buckets like he's Josh Smith and De'Aaron Fox take mid-range jumpers he's never been able to make and still can't. That's my Hell.

Runner-up: Twelve Minutes -

Special congratulations are in store for Twelve Minutes being the "Most Retired Game of 2021," according to HowLongtoBeat.com! It is a real testament to the "quality" of the game's writing and its whopper of a plot twist that it manages to cause over half of its players not to complete a roughly eight-hour game. All I can say is fantastic work all around!

Least Improved Sequel Or Follow-up - The Great British Bake Off (Series 12)

I honestly hate joining a negative online choir, but Matt Lucas fucking ruined Series 12 of The Great British Bake Off. I am aware that he "saved" a baker that almost dropped their cake. Trust me, I know, but it is his only redeeming moment after ten episodes of some of the unfunniest shit I have seen on the program. And before people call me a "Negative Nancy," I want to clarify that I have grown to enjoy Noel Fielding. It took a while for his Never Mind the Buzzcocks comedy to gell with me, but I have come to appreciate what he adds to the show and its chemistry. On the other hand, Matt is a complete pest. I especially HATE his repeated attempts to interrupt bakers in the middle of their tasks as it breaks the Zen-like flow of the show.

It is worth mentioning, but I have never been a fan of Matt Lucas' comedic style or delivery. I know this statement will be controversial, but I think Little Britain is one of the most unwatchable programs to come out of the BBC, and its stink looms large over Matt Lucas. Unfortunately, Noel often enables Matt to employ a dry delivery to his gags and jokes, reflecting the post-Taskmater world of British competition shows. This point I know is equally controversial as my last one, but I cannot stand Taskmaster. Both Matt Lucas on The Great British Bake Off and Taskmaster come across as the most cringe-inducing shit I've seen in a while. They both employ flat deliveries to jokes that are deliberately written to be bad, and it always makes my skin crawl. Alex Horne and Greg Davies taking the piss out of each other makes me about as comfortable as an episode of Nathan for You, and the same applies to Matt. So, yeah, this last season of The Great British Bake Off was a bummer.

Runner-up: Far Cry 6 -

I'm not as adamantly opposed to Ubisoft's open-world structure as the rest of the internet. Last year, I think Assassin's Creed Valhalla made a strong case that their approach to open-world design can still lead to fun experiences and long-lasting player investment. Things are a bit different with Far Cry 6 as the franchise YET AGAIN banks on the charisma of a larger-than-life antagonist who carries the plot more than any other individual. Likewise, the game just feels "bland" with combat mechanics that don't lead to exciting playstyles or diverging approaches to the MANY combat sandboxes you encounter.

2021 Game I Enjoyed That Has ONE Mechanic Or Issue I HATED - Sable's Day/Night Cycle

As I explained on my 2021 GOTY list, Sable almost made my top ten. In fact, if you were to ask me how I felt about the game after one week of playing, I'd still predict the game would at least crack my top five. However, as I played more of it, a few recurring issues cropped up time and time again. The most prevalent of these, I fucking HATE playing Sable when it transitions to night. The game's day-night cycle is undoubtedly flashy and results in some exquisite screencaps, but playing the game when its shadow effect kicks in was never a fun time for me. For one thing, the monochromatic look of the game while it is dark makes deciphering its foreground and background an absolute chore. This is a massive point of contention when you are in the middle of a platforming sequence, and the game goes dark, and you have to re-assess what the fuck you are looking at on the spot.

And to make matters worse, the game's inability to keep its pop-in issues under the wraps gets demonstrably worse during the dark. The soft glow of lights also drops the framerate to what feels like single digits during the latter portions of the game. Likewise, when Sable attempts to jam-pack more elements into its environments, it's a visual treat when the sun is up and an absolute nightmare when it is night. It's a bummer because the first three hours of Sable are simply astounding. It has such an alluring world, even if it first appears to be a desolate wasteland. Nonetheless, the more you play Sable, the worse your overall impressions of the game become. The pop-in, framerate, and platforming all became deal-breakers when I reached my twentieth hour with it, which is a massive disappointment.

Runner-up: Necromunda: Hired Gun Not Having an Equipment Menu -

Alright, this one will take a bit of explaining. Necromunda: Hired Gun is an FPS game with light RPG elements. As an FPS game with light RPG mechanics, you can pick up equipment and weapons as you explore the world. HOWEVER, you have to equip said upgrades in-game and often hope for the best as there is NO equipment menu screen! Instead, you have to pick up stuff and then pull up your overall character sheet and remember by memory if your stats went up or down after picking up said items. It is an oversight so unconscionable I felt like I had to mention it even in passing.

Worst Thing I Saw All The Way Through And Should Have Stopped Earlier - Sword Art Online: Lost Song

I have a sister who is really into Sword Art Online, and this has resulted in me knowing more about SAO through osmosis than I'd admit. I would never say I am a "fan" of the series, but I also do not understand the hatred and venom that is often directed at the franchise. It is a problematic but acceptable first step into sci-fi anime, especially isekai. It's not good, but it is very similar in vein to James Cameron's Titanic. Everything about Titanic to make it feel superficial or contrived to film fans was purposeful to make it more appealing to general audiences. And at some point, anime fans need to recognize that the general audience is what makes their favorite media possible as it injects much-needed financial support into animation studios, especially during economic hardship.

What does any of that have to do with Sword Art Online: Lost Song, a game initially released in 2015? Well, as part of discovering my sister's enjoyment of SAO, I decided to buy this game on a whim to try and understand what she saw about SAO that makes her so invested. I understood what that was after playing the game for three hours. However, I kept playing because I am a stubborn asshole and thought there had to be a deeper meaning to everything I saw in the game. There was no way the relationship between the protagonist and his girlfriend-wife was just a wholesome hand-holding affair that would make the colonial Puritans proud. There had to be more to this game and its characters than tropes. And yet, that's exactly what it was, and it kept going. Eventually, I saw the game's ending and just moved on with my life because it was the blandest bow-tying shit imaginable.

Runner-up: Tiger King 2 -

Do you want to watch a cash-grab sequel to a documentary that already unabashedly admits to misrepresenting its interview subjects? Do you want to watch a documentary series double-down on its immoral false equivalencies as more people legitimately question its authenticity? If you said "yes" to those two questions, then do I have a show for you! Oh, and the two people who made Tiger King even remotely enjoyable to watch as a "guilty pleasure" are absent in Tiger King 2.

Most Bizarre Thing I Saw Or Played - Drowned God: Conspiracy of the Ages

As some of you noticed at the tail end of 2021, I started another blog series featuring LucasArts' The Dig. This year, I hope to examine more forgotten entries from the 90s to early 2000s adventure game boom. One of the games that will eventually come up during this series is Drowned God: Conspiracy of the Ages. Drowned God is a game I know for exactly ONE PUZZLE, and it might be one of the most clever puzzles designed in the late 90s. However, it is also a game with some of the worst puzzles of the late 90s. For example, there's a part in the game where you need to play Nine Men's Morris against a rank 2000 ELO robot and another time when you need to decipher and input Morse Code. It's an obscure title that some people remember fondly in part because it melds all of the popular conspiracy theories at the time into a single package. And that last point is why I found it to be one of the worst games I played last year.

Drowned God has nothing significant to say about the many conspiracy theories it presents. Worse, there's no rhyme or reason to its narrative or backdrops. At the start of the game, you are in the land of King Arthur, learning about the activities of the Knights Templar. Eventually, you enter a hellscape where Alister Crowley and Carl Gustav Jung talk about the evils of the human subconscious. Next, you discover aliens constructed the Aztec pyramids. It's an encyclopedia of the most contrived interpretations of every possible grand conspiracy. I know I have spent a lot of this blog talking about shows and games with satisfying endings or conclusions, but this game ends with a wet fart. After splaying out all of its disparate and conflicting conspiracies, it completely fails to bring them all together to a satisfying end. Finally, it is worth noting that the game was conceived by Harry Horse, who murdered his family and himself in a murder-suicide. So, Drowned God is the gaming definition of "persona non grata."

Runner-up: Eternals (2021) -

I'm still in awe with what I saw in Eternals. The film is over 60% exposition, and by the time it finally gets moving, there's only about thirty minutes left. A handful of characters feel half-baked, which to my horror, means there's going to be an eventual Director's Cut that balloons Eternals' air time to over three hours. The last thing I will say is that I saw the film with a friend of mine who is both black and gay. Upon reaching the part where it is revealed the black gay Eternal gave humanity the knowledge of atomic energy, which resulted in the Atomic Bomb's creation, they replied, "Ain't that some shit."

ZombiePie's Ostrich 2021 Moment - Arcane

Every year I award my "Ostrich Award," a unique commendation to any source of entertainment that resulted in an unwarranted hostile response on my part. As I have said in the past, these works of art make me feel like a proverbial ostrich with its head stuck in the sand. For most people, Arcane is a wonderfully animated show with a diverse ensemble cast with plenty of flashy action sequences. As I said earlier, I don't want to yuck any yums on this blog; you do you if you enjoyed this show. However, as someone with severe myopia, this show gave me recurring migraines whenever I tried to watch it. I understand its framerate is a stylistic choice to allow the characters to convey a wider breadth of emotions. That said, my eyes could never adjust to it, and the few times when Arcane couldn't make this effect work, it broke my immersion. This show was a miserable viewing experience for me, and I am willing to admit I was the problem and not Arcane.

More fundamentally, I do not understand the hype that surrounded Arcane. Every review I consulted said it was a show worthy of people's time, even if they didn't know anything about League. As someone who doesn't give a rat's ass about League, I can tell you first-hand that's a load of shit. Because the characters blow past you at sometimes a breakneck speed, I never felt like I had a great grapple on Arcane's world and what many of its characters were driving for during the story. When the more dramatic moments happened, I never felt like the characters at risk were all that interesting or worthy of empathy. When the cast performed their flashier maneuvers, I was again bewildered and often confused about what I was looking at on my screen. I sometimes felt like I had accidentally skipped an episode because I thought the show didn't foreshadow or pre-empt major scenes or character introductions enough. This show flat out did not work for me from top to bottom, and I do not think it ever will.

Runner-up: Metroid Dread -

I have mentioned this on the site before, but Castlevania and Metroid games don't "work" for me because I have an unexplainable aversion to backtracking. The way some people break out in hives when they are presented with loot boxes, mobile games, card-based combat systems, or always-online multiplayer games is how I feel about backtracking-based item collection. Only a few games that rely on this mechanic ever resonate with me, and Metroid Dread is not one of them.

John Waters Presents: The 2021 Subversive Art Award - Cruelty Squad

To come back to the issue of my shitty eyes, Cruelty Squad hurt my eyeballs. I could only ever play it in short, ten to twenty-minute spurts, and I wouldn't exactly say I enjoyed my time. The world of Cruelty Squad is ugly, and the people you sometimes interact with are total scumbags. What you need to do and perform in the game is heinous, and if you were to explain your activities in Cruelty Squad to someone who had never seen the game, I'm sure they would think you are crazy. I would also struggle to call the game mechanically pleasing. Its interface and UI are nonexistent, and much of the game is designed to make the player gasp in horror.

Nevertheless, I believe that's the point, and I admire the game's unabashedly subversive nature. The game wants you to feel gross about your actions, and it accomplishes that goal. The hellscapes and nightmare people you encounter fit almost perfectly with its subject matter: assassination. As such, the world of Cruelty Squad is genuinely upsetting to look at however long you play it. Yet, as repulsive as it is, Cruelty Squad is a work of art with a message to share. That said, I played the game to completion once, and I honestly do not think I will ever return to Cruelty Squad again. The same way I respect the works of John Waters without actively watching his movies more than once in a blue moon is how I feel about Cruelty Squad.

Runner-up: Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1 -

After avoiding this game last year, I finally decided to check out Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1. What I found was a different kind of "nightmare fuel." Tales From Off-Peak City has far fewer rough edges than Cruelty Squad, and it is undoubtedly a better playing experience. As such, I would recommend it to those that want the nightmarish experience of Cruelty Squad but in a less repulsive package.

Worst Plot Twist/Story - Whatever WWE Attempted with Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, Alexa Bliss, And "Lilly" in 2021

Where do I even begin with this shitshow of a storyline? Way back in 2019, Bray Wyatt debuted his "Fiend" gimmick after a series of surrealistic "Firefly Fun House" promos. After years of being wasted on the main roster, it was the most invested I had gotten with Bray since his debut and feud with Daniel Bryan. Then in Hell in a Cell (2019), he lost a Hell in a Cell match against Seth Rollins due to "stoppage." The Fiend gimmick saw a rapid decline in quality booking from that point forward. Yet again, WWE had a red-hot gimmick, and after fucking it up, did not know what to do with it. But how do Randy Orton and Alexa Bliss tie into yet another sad page in WWE's tome of "What Could Have Been?"

At the start of 2021, Alexa Bliss feuded against Randy Orton after Orton set The Fiend on fire during a match. When Alexa Bliss was rearing to fight Randy Orton, The Fiend returned but with a costume featuring the worst burn scar makeup I have ever seen in my entire life. At WrestleMania 37, Randy Orton and The Fiend, who no longer had burn scars, wrestled a match before Alexa Bliss appeared out of nowhere and began bleeding black tar. Bray lost the match, because when I think of WWE wrestlers that need a push, I think of Randy Orton, and following WrestleMania 37, Alexa Bliss started cutting promos with a weird doll named "Lilly." This doll seemingly had magical powers as Alexa Bliss used it to hypnotize and intimidate other wrestlers. So, it's anyone's guess why she didn't use it earlier to help The Fiend during his Wrestlemania match against Orton. This inevitably led to many terrible promos in which other wrestlers acted scared and freaked out when they encountered Bliss' toy doll. And then, after Charlotte Flair destroyed the toy, everyone moved on with their lives and pretended the storyline never happened. Oh, and Bray Wyatt got released after 12 years of dedicated service to WWE.

Runner-up: Twelve Minutes -

As Jeff put it on the Bombcast a while back, Twelve Minutes is kind of unique in how quickly it goes to shit. For so much of the game, you tolerate its fiddly mechanics and almost get swept into its melodrama. Then, the plot twist happens, and you are just left there, mouth agape, saying "Oh God no no no no no" repeatedly. So, again, mission accomplished Twelve Minutes!

Blogger Of The Year From The Giant Bomb Community - LostSol

I honestly will keep this quick as I think their magnum opus speaks for itself. LostSol's blog "Demolishing Dick — How A Real Domestic Terrorist Spawned Rogue Warrior, One of the Worst Video Games Ever Made" is the best blog ever written on Giant Bomb. Their impeccable research and dozens of cited sources weave one of the most compelling stories you will find on the entire internet. I thank them for transforming what I previously thought was a one-off source of Giant Bomb hilarity into something more. That "Demo Dick" was a terrible person whose actions loom large over American foreign relations and public policy. Both the game that fictionalizes their life and the actual person warrant every bit of condemnation they got then and now.

It is equally worth noting that 2021 marked the passing of Richard Marcinko. This passing received tributes from various sources heralding the man as a "freedom fighter" or a "patriot." If you take the time to read LostSol's work, which I understand requires a significant time commitment, you will know Demo Dick warrants zero of these accolades. The only way I can think of how to react to news of his passing is to call him out in words I know he would understand. Demo fucking Dick, I hope you rest in fucking shit you, cock-sucker. You should have fucking spent more time in goddamn jail for all of the fucking war crimes you committed, you sick motherfucker.

Runner-up: bigscorates & Mento -

Both of these tremendous Giant Bomb personalities debuted new blog series and provided the community with weekly examples of quality writing. Their consistency was, without a doubt, awe-inspiring and honestly highlights how I need to stop fucking up and get my shit together this year.

Best Thing I Discovered For The First Time In 2021 - Suikoden I

This is the one award where my winner and runner-up (i.e., Grandia II) could be swapped. Suikoden and Grandia II have a lot of similarities. Both games had meteoric rises in popularity before their respective franchises became dormant. Both games have novel mechanics that people still cite as highlights to the JRPG genre. Suikoden gets the nod because its mechanics and ideas translated into a better sequel and were sustained for longer than Grandia II's. First and foremost, I appreciated Suikoden being a JRPG experience distilled in about twenty hours. The game is incredibly simplistic in design and, unlike its successor, lacks an in-depth story, but the heart of the JRPG genre is here and intact. I know JRPGs, especially on the PS1, have a reputation of being massive time sinks, and discovering that was not the case in Suikoden was a pleasant surprise.

Oh, and Suikoden might have a better "Auto-Battle" feature than anything modern Square-Enix has managed to cram into their AAA titles, short of Final Fantasy VII Remake. The game knows when to heal rather than pure hardline DPS and makes informed decisions about equitably removing debuffs and spreading damage. Likewise, people love to talk about Suikoden's massive cast. While this point is impressive when you look back at it in hindsight, it is worth noting how acquiring every character isn't necessary for completing the game. Similarly, the game doesn't punish you when you commit to a troupe of characters. Other mechanics are wildly impressive when you compare the game to what was available at the time, such as the duels and war battles. The scope of Suikoden impressed me, and I am looking forward to (maybe) checking out Suikoden II this year.

Runner-up: Grandia II -

Grandia II is a good time; you heard it here first. I fell in love with its timeline-based combat system, even if it was hilariously unbalanced. With any Grandia II playthrough, there comes the point when you murder everything that stands before you via AOE spells or specials. That said, its gameplay is a breezy and enjoyable time, and its largely low-stakes story feeds into its carefree gameplay.

Worst Game Of My Year - Atlantis: The Lost Tales

When I published the first episode of my adventure game series, some people pointed out my rankings for The Dig seemed especially harsh. Now that I have played Drowned God and Atlantis: The Lost Tales, I know those users were right. The turtle bone puzzle in The Dig is child's play compared to what I had to do to finish Atlantis. For a bit of context, Atlantis: The Lost Tales is a game by Cryo Interactive Entertainment released in 1997. Cryo Interactive is a weird fixture from the PC adventure game arena as they were a studio that made countless titles during the genre's "Golden Age." Still, few, if any, of their works were wholly original ideas. During the studios' first phase, they made SCUMM-like knockoffs of LucasArts titles before surprisingly striking gold with the 1992 Dune adventure game. Following the release of Myst, they made a bevy of historical slideshow-style adventure games in the same manner as Riven before making more ambitious titles like Atlantis: The Lost Tales.

The key there is the word "ambitious." Despite all its faults, and there are many, you can't say Cryo was not trying with Atlantis. While the character models are nightmare fuel by today's standard, in 1997, fully voice-acted 3D polygonal characters blew my goddamn mind at the time. Sadly, the actual video game part of Atlantis is by far the part that has aged the worst. To underscore that point, let me detail one of the worst puzzles in the game. During the game's mid-point, you need to rescue a princess and then transport her to a getaway vehicle. There is exactly one correct series of inputs during this sequence that does not result in an instant "game over." The correct path to the airship is left-left-escape-right-forward-left-forward-forward-right-forward-forward-click-forward-forward-left-forward-right. That's a sixteen-input sequence that you need to figure out through brute force, as the game does not provide any hints if you are going in the correct direction. Likewise, you die after inputting two wrong directions and start from the beginning. But here's the kicker; that's just the first part of the escape puzzle. The second part requires you to input left-forward-forward-forward-forward-right-forward-forward-left-forward to be completely done with the escape sequence. That's a ten-input sequence, and if you fail the second part, you start at the beginning of the ENTIRE puzzle! That, my friends, is pure Hell.

Runner-up: Drakkhen -

Drakkhen is one of the most mean-spirited games ever made. If I ever snuck in a recommendation for Giant Bomb's "Ranking of Evil" series, this is my go-to pick. The road markers are dog heads that will murder you in seconds. Dragons will randomly spawn from the sky and bring immediate death. The first dungeon is protected by a shark that will eat you if you mistime your entry into it. And the game overall provides none of the resources necessary to succeed at it. HOWEVER, it is a game I played for six hours and managed to raise over $700 towards the site's Extra Life account. Therefore, I can never say I didn't put the game to good use.

Best Game Of My Year - Grandia II

When I think about all of the games I played in 2021 that I enjoyed the most, Grandia II takes the cake. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is the game I played the most of, and while I love the game, its flaws and shortcomings are no secret. Suikoden I is the game I respect the most and whose mechanics I think are more influential than Grandia II's. However, Grandia II was an absolute blast, and I loved every minute I played it. Even when I felt the game lacked any semblance of difficulty or went on far longer than it should, I was still having a pretty good time. If ever you wanted to play a game that represented the Dreamcast aesthetic that wasn't Sonic Adventures or Shenmue, this would be the game I tell you to play.

Grandia II's timeline combat system is one of the most satisfying combat systems I have seen in an RPG. Stun locking bosses or random goons to where they don't even land a single hit before wasting them away was incredibly gratifying. While I found some aspects of the leveling system to be fiddly, I respect how there's virtually no way for you to "incorrectly" level up your characters despite all of your choices. While I wouldn't call it the most compelling story, the game features a pleasurable journey with far more highs than lows. Each character has an arc, and the game leaves no stone unturned by the time you reach its epilogue. I have no idea if I will ever get around to conveying my love for Grandia II, but if I do, it would be a largely positive recollection of the game.

Runner-up: Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous -

As mentioned on my 2021 GOTY list, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is one of the most authentic translations of a tabletop experience into a video game. That's not to say the game is without fault, but credit should be given to the game for exhaustively putting every possible player choice on the table. It also helps playing the game is has some exhilarating sequences if you are willing to sink in the necessary time. When examined alongside Pathfinder: Kingmaker or attempts to translate D&D or The World of Darkness into digital forms of entertainment, Wrath of the Righteous stands supreme as the clear winner.