2021s been a pretty weird year for video games, first full year of new consoles and nothings really blown me away like previous years, (Titanfall and destiny I'mm looking at you). But that doesn't mean there hasn't been great games this year there has been! Of The 25ish games I've rolled credits on this year it's been fairly difficult to whittle it down to a list of 10 and even harder to agree on the final list order. But before we dive into the list I just want to give some special mentions to games that didn't make the list but I had a lot of fun with.
Call of Duty: Cold War - I had so much fun with cold war this year, its a pretty subpar COD compared to 2019s modern warfare, it lacked maps at launch, and was consistently buggy with graphical glitches but it was such much fun hanging out with my mates every night having a laugh especially during the winter lockdown.
Bravely Default 2 - I absolutely loved bravely default 2 it's a lot of fun, and tells a great story I fell off it about 40 hours in because it makes you do a load of filler tasks just as the story is coming to conclusion. I hate this JRPG trope, I do however hope that square give this team the budget to make a big RPG because they've got some wild ideas!
Final fantasy 7 remake intermission - final fantasy 7 remake is my favourite game of the last 10 years, so this dlc was great because all I want is to play more and more. It sets up part 2 very nicely and I eagerly await what's next.
1. Halo infinite
Halo infinite is one of 3 games that felt like a next generation game this year. Although the story it's telling is a little messy the game play is that halo formula that I love mixed with some far cryish elements of you clearing towers, which then populates your map with a bunch of side stuff to do, each one usually rewards you with something it's a rat wheel but the whole thing feels worth while. It looks fantastic at 4k, and the voice acting is fantastic and the cinematography of every cutscene. I fell in love with the Halo universe 20 years ago and have loved almost every game since (Halo 5 I'm looking at you) this is definitely a return to form and the open world elements are great. Excited to see where they go in the future.
2. Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium was one of them games I knew I'd like when it was first released but the idea of having to read hours upon hours of text didn't appeal to me. When it released on PS5 this year with full voice acting I knew I'd want to give it a try. I started playing and I couldn't put it down. It's a tabletop style RPG with every decision you make based on dice rolls and stats. At first it seems quite complicated with all the different systems but it's super simple. The game tells the story of a down and out cop (who you play) and he's been sent to piece together a murder. The only problem is you start the game hungover and no memory the next three days you have to piece together what happened to you and figure out who the murderer is. It all comes together in one climatic ending. The soundtrack is amazing and I've listened to it plenty of times this year. Really recommend people check this one out.
3. Yakuza like a dragon
Yakuza like a dragon is a modern take on old school RPGs specifically Dragon Quest games, the game constantly references it throughout, poking fun at its self and breaking the forth wall. It tells a pretty serious story but is able to make light of situations as well, it had me laughing and crying. The cast of characters are great and it's an all round fun time. Excited for more games like this in the future!
4.Psychonauts 2
Psychonauts 2 genuinely made me feel like a kid again. It's a platformer with a lot of heart and it's genuinely belly laughing funny. The idea of the game is you jump in and out of people brains exploring their mind, it touches on some pretty heavy mental health issues. It's such a great game and one of the games of this list that i recommend everyone play if they like having fun.
5. Resident Evil Village
Resident Evil Village is great, it's the culmination of Resident Evil over the years, taking what it learnt from 7 and adding in the best bits from 4 and 5. It's like a greatest hits of resident evil games. There's definite closure for Resident Evil 7 and ties it all nicely into the events of Resident Evil 1. The dolls mansion is genuinely one of the scariest experiences in a video game. Excited to see where they go next with the franchise.
6. Guardians of the galaxy
Guardians of the galaxy is 100% the biggest surprise of the year. It's probably the only game on this list I could recommend to anyone who plays video games. Gameplay wise it isn't anything special think 2013 Tomb Raider 3rd person action game with some super light RPG elements. The combat never gets any real depth. BUT the writing in this game is fantastic, the story it tells is so compelling and the whole cast do a fantastic job of bringing these characters to life. They've as good as their MCU counter parts. It's a pretty long game at about 17 hours but it never feels like it's over staying it welcome. There's post credits and what they do with them is super clever!
7. Persona 5 strikers
I'm gonna be honest here, I love Persona 5, so any excuse to spend more time with this cast of characters I'm going to jump at. Strikers exchanges the turn based elements for a more hack and slash style combat. Although it never hits the highs of the original it's still a great 50 hour RPG that if you're a fan of the series you should play.
8. 12 minutes
Okay yes 12 minutes is on my list, and it's one of those if you know you've probably got some things to say about it. But story ending aside i had a lot of fun and think the game does a great job of mixing up point and click games with a time loop mechanic. It's a short game I think I got through it in about 4 hours and never really and any issues of being stuck but I can see how people would be frustrated having to retrace the same steps over and over to figure out what to do next. I really enjoyed it.
9. Deathloop
Deathloop has one of the best openings to a game that you'll play, although about 4 hours in I hit a bit of a wall with it and nearly stopped playing. One more loop I said, and everything sort of fell into place and I couldn't put it down. Again Deathloop is a timeloop game with the story being you're stuck on an island and at the end of every day it starts back at the beginning again (think groundhog day). The only way you can break the loop is if you can kill all the targets in the same day. The game has you figuring out how to get the perfect day to kill everyone in one loop. The game is super smart at pieces together the puzzles and giving you a path to follow. The abilities you get are super fun, seeing it all click into place and getting the perfect day is great.
10. Tales of Arise
Tales of Arise is a brilliant JRPG, I've only played about 10 hours but loved what I've played so far and can't wait to find the time to be able to properly dig into it. If you've played previous tales games they've made some improvements to the combat and it looks stunning. Story is going some interesting places and I recommend more people check out tales games!
