Game of The Year - 2021 Edition

[Mel81x+]

I seem to remember making this thread but then again I don't remember actually making it so if I have done it twice this is a good test to see if I did it right the first time haha. What a weird year 2021 was for gaming and its partly because the SOBs at Sony still can't get their act straight for a PS5 release that works for the masses. However, having said that, some of the shining light games this year were actually imo in the cross-platform section and not actually limited to a specific console. On with the list.

The Good

• Metroid Dread (Switch) - Masterclass gaming experience which only suffered in one place and that is the fact that it seems a bit repetitive in certain levels where you have to do the same actions over and over again. Would it have been better if it was longer? I don't think so because you'd have to have added more weapons and more mazy systems for people to learn and I think it balanced all that just right.
• Forza Horizon 5 (PC/XBOX) - If you like racing sims then this is THE sim to play. Its gorgeous, the cars are properly balanced and I can't say that I have any faith for GT overturning what XBOX have done here. Superb just plain superb.
• Death's Door (Multi-Platform) - This was one of the best games I played this year. The platforming wasn't overtly complicated and the bosses all offered something unique in how they had to be approached and killed. There isn't a plethora of weapon choices to leave you confused and the game kind of guides you through the entire process. The artwork is superb and it actually lends itself to the environments very well.
• It Takes Two (Multiplatform) - When I first played this, I really thought it was going to lose its shine as time went on. But it surprised me and turned out to be quite fun with the online play aspects and how they got the two protagonists to solve puzzles and move through the game. I highly recommend it with a friend.
• Hitman 3 (All) - I don't think IO can outdo some of the last outings they've had in the series but if you're a fan this is a must play. Its very well crafted and will definitely immerse you for a while.
• Guilty Gear Strive - 1v1s aren't a very popular genre of games beyond Street Fight, Mortal Kombat and maybe Microsoft's Killer Instrinct but what Arc Systems have that none of those companies have is a purely seamless experience across the entire globe when it comes to matchmaking. I have spent over 80hrs playing this game and every match seems fluid and responsive to the point where I sometimes wonder how they achieve the magic they do. Putting all that aside, Strive builds on the concepts taken from previous Gears releases and while the roster was small on day 1 its actually more than sufficient to keep you engaged for hours. I'd even go so far as to say its the best 1v1 of all the 1v1s we've had in about 5 yrs now.
• Life is Strange: True Colors - I can't really speak about what this is about without ruining it. But, if you haven't already played it give it a try you won't be disappointed.
• Tales of Arise - If you've ever played a FF game you're going to love this. Just a shame it never came to the Switch.
• Little Nightmares 2 - If you like puzzle-based artistic platformers you're going to love this. I played the first and loved it so it was only fitting I play this too.
• Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights (Switch + other platforms) - Sounds like a mouthful but its honestly a great platforming experience. I played it on the Switch and liked it a lot. I'd imagine it translates well onto other consoles but I think the Switch is truly what this was made for.

The Not so Good

• Resident Evil Village - While a lot of people fawned over this edition of RE due to the fact that you had a tall vampire with an ass that would make any man cry I think RE:Village isn't as good as the remake nor is it is as good as the first one in this series. Yes, they went back to a more RE:1 style of horror and yes it works rather well but honestly it could have been a lot better.
• The Medium - I was honestly very excited when this title came out all the way back in Jan. The more I played it, however, the more it just seemed to lack that finesse you'd associate with a game that spanned multiple dimensions and used it quite well initially to setup so much of what was to come.
• Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart - PS5 - Once you get past the shine of the game itself and the showcase which is Sony's new toy this games mechanics fall short of being nothing but repetitive. It's a shame really as Sony has produced some absolute bangers in this series
• Valheim - If you haven't tried this and have a insatiable urge to play something regarding wilderness survival in a grand-play scheme then you might actually enjoy this. It got repetitive and honestly tiresome after a while for me.

The Ugly

• Far Cry 6 - Please stop making this series and move onto something better. While you're at it Ubisoft can you please let someone else make a Prince of Persia game for the rest of the world.
• Back 4 Blood - I didn't really think it was much more than a glorified FPS but then again what isn't with the way these game are churned out.
• PES/eFootball/KonamisFootballExperience - They should just call this WTF. The less said the better.

My GOTY - Such a late entry into the mix but I think Metroid Dread really does deserve a lot of the accolades this year. The sound was remastered for a great experience and with the new Switch (if you play it on this) the colors and the environments truly pop or so I am told. Adding to all this is the fluid gameplay where you feel no lag or clunkiness in the controls whether its an undocked or docked switch and of course the closure of one of the best franchises in gaming history. Will it win it however? I don't think so.

I did play a lot of other games during the year but this would become a terribly long list haha so I figured I'd just go off memory and put some games up there. What were some of your favorite games from this year? What are some of the titles you're looking forward to in 2022? 

[Dr. Gonzo]

I liked Far Cry 6  - I thought it had a very good story & the changes they made to the traditional Far Cry setup (less emphasis on the skill tree for more emphasis on picking up good items) was a nice change. And the over-the-top gunplay mixed and madness of when shit really hits the fan mixed with the traditional Far Cry stealth gameplay (although this was the first Far Cry where I didn't use a bow a single time) ended up being really quality. I think Far Cry games are a bit like Assassins Creed games, just in first person. And I think they're really "love em or hate em" kind of games - and a lot of people hate them. But I do think they're quite good tbh. Usually an interesting story with some fun gameplay in them.

They're a bit like cheesy action flicks tbh - but they scratch a certain itch for me. I definitely don't think Far Cry 6 is a bad game.

Back 4 Blood felt dated and shit - it was fun for about a day but after playing a bit of it... it just felt very old and repetitive - because it's a dated game and it is, by it's nature, very repetitive. There are better coop zombie games, including the zombies minigame of COD & the incredibly low budget Day Z. Back4Blood just felt like a lazy remake of Left4Dead that wasn't anywhere near as good.

I didn't play the new PES/eFootball because it looks like a bit of a joke tbh.

For me, I'd say Metroid Dread or Halo: Infinite are the two best games of the year - for different reasons. But they both are new games with new ideas that also rely heavily on some older school game mechanics with some modern polish. It just makes for great gameplay.

Metroid Dread is, imo, the best Nintendo game in a while. And yes, I'm including Breath of the Wild (which tbh, I thought was a little overrated - it's a massive world, but it's also a pretty empty feeling world compared to modern open world games) in that. It's just a really well made game that does everything good about the old school Metroidvania games really well. It just feels really good to play too, like @Mel81x's said.

Halo: Infinite is basically exactly what I've been looking for in an FPS lately. The campaign is great, tbh - a lazy way of describing it is Halo meets Far Cry . It's the first open world Halo and I think they've done a really good job with it. The world is a good size, it's not too big (because if it was too big, I think it would feel pretty empty) and it's not too small - and they do a good job of mixing the linear missions with the open world in a way that feels natural and not as weird.

And the multiplayer is absolutely fantastic. I don't think there's any FPS quite like Halo multiplayer, tbh. But they've ditched a lot of the unpopular mechanics of Halo 4 (which tbh were ditched in 5) and Halo 5 (no more "spartan abilities" - although the thruster is available as a powerup) to return to traditional Halo 3 style movement and gameplay mechanics - including a return of powerups (although they're not the same as they were in Halo 3). I really like Halo's different take on FPS multiplayer - an arena shooter, with the higher TTK than most shooters, emphasis on movement, map/weapon control. Imo the series' multiplayer has led to the most unique and unpredictable gunfights and some very satisfying moments because of the gameplay elements that make Halo multiplayer stand out.

And Infinite does everything I like about Halo multiplayer and does it really well. I wish there were more maps and more weapons - but the developers have assured they are coming, as is the Halo Forge (which I can't believe they've not released at launch again)... so it's not perfect. But it is brilliant. And after 7 years of no new Halo and me probably playing far too much Warzone while in quarantine... it's nice to have a different kind of shooter that I like in a really well made game like Halo: Infinite.

[Dr. Gonzo]

Special mentions Forza 5: Horizon beautiful game (really fun easy to get into racing game), Hitman 3 (I got this with my Xbox Series X - I didnt' expect much of it despite being into the first few Hitman games as a kid... turns out it's a really great stealth game), and Resident Evil Village (the first Resident Evil game I'd played in years, thought it was really fun).

But I wouldn't say I'd call any of those games as contenders for the best game I played in 2021. I'd also have included Diablo 2 as a special mention, but I do think it's a hefty price to pay for what is essentially a fresh coat of paint on a very old game.

Another one for the "ugly" list I think should be included is Battlefield 2022. Massively underwhelming game from a series that is either brilliant or terrible... and for the last few instalments has been more miss than hit.

[Mel81x+]

5 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I liked Far Cry 6  - I thought it had a very good story & the changes they made to the traditional Far Cry setup (less emphasis on the skill tree for more emphasis on picking up good items) was a nice change. And the over-the-top gunplay mixed and madness of when shit really hits the fan mixed with the traditional Far Cry stealth gameplay (although this was the first Far Cry where I didn't use a bow a single time) ended up being really quality. I think Far Cry games are a bit like Assassins Creed games, just in first person. And I think they're really "love em or hate em" kind of games - and a lot of people hate them. But I do think they're quite good tbh. Usually an interesting story with some fun gameplay in them.

They're a bit like cheesy action flicks tbh - but they scratch a certain itch for me. I definitely don't think Far Cry 6 is a bad game.

I didn't personally think FarCry was absolute shit its just that Ubisoft has been churning out this weird world system for 6 iterations now and they never seem, i guess the word is fresh. Then again these games sell and I bought a copy with some hope it would be different and then felt that it was a tad bit formulaic. Yes, they did some changes but does that warrant it really being something top-notch considering this is one of their AAA titles? Idk maybe but I didn't feel it. Then again I remember the classic Far Crys and what they did there before they settled on this new system coupled with story-telling so I guess its okay because you get something fresh everytime.

[Cicero]

Hitman 3 for me. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

2 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

I didn't personally think FarCry was absolute shit its just that Ubisoft has been churning out this weird world system for 6 iterations now and they never seem, i guess the word is fresh. Then again these games sell and I bought a copy with some hope it would be different and then felt that it was a tad bit formulaic. Yes, they did some changes but does that warrant it really being something top-notch considering this is one of their AAA titles? Idk maybe but I didn't feel it. Then again I remember the classic Far Crys and what they did there before they settled on this new system coupled with story-telling so I guess its okay because you get something fresh everytime.

I think that's an issue with Ubisoft open world games generally. I either really like Far Cry/Assassins Creed games... or I find them to be really boring and tedious. Take Far Cry 5, for example, I felt like that one was a chore to play - I think I actually stopped playing halfway through because I just couldn't take it anymore. The setting was boring, the cultists - while creepy - were boring and their music made the setting more than just boring but annoying (flat open plains with weird creepy religious music - just so tedious). With Assassins Creed, it's the same. And I think it's just a problem these sorts of games with massive worlds filled with shit to do have if they're not interesting enough for the player.

It's easy to feel repetitive and very samey when you consider a lot of these games involve doing the same thing shitloads of times. I think Assassins Creed suffers from it moreso, because if the story doesn't make your "assassin" sort of very different from the rest of the series' protagonist (for example, imo the best games in that series are Black Flag - the pirate one, where you're a pirate first and an assassin second - and Valhalla, where you're a viking raider first and an assassin second).

So I can understand people like you feeling like these games aren't very fresh and that they're setting you out to do what you do in all of these games. And Far Cry 6 gives you a really massive world for a Far Cry game - with a lot of content (which entails a lot of repetitiveness because you end up capturing an absurd number of checkpoints/strongholds, etc) - what I think it does well compared to other Far Crys is provide you with a variety of different settings (traditional Far Cry tropical jungle flavours, medium sized towns, the big cities), give you a lot of different ways to go about accomplishing the different repetitive tasks they set you out to do, and because it's an FPS and not a game like Assassins Creed... I think that gives the player more fun.

But these changes aren't going to be enough to feel fresh for everyone.

But IMO Far Cry 6 is a good game. It's a solid 7.5/10 - it's not the best game in the world, but it's a strong game that can provide a lot of entertainment to people who are possibly into that sort of game. Definitely not my contender for game of the year - but definitely not a bad addition to the Far Cry series imo.

[Bluebird Hewitt]

I don't think I played all that many that were released this year (not from the top of my head at least).

I'll have to think about this. The only game I know came out this year that I did play was Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, which was very good. That's also technically cheating as it's a re-release of a Wii U game.

I have asked for Metroid Dread for Christmas so here's hoping that once I've done my two assignments, I can actually play on the Switch or PS5 for a little bit.

[Viva la FCB+]

You guys reminded me I need to buy Hitman 3 as Ive literally played all of the rest 

[Mel81x+]

All this tells me is that I need an Xbox Gamepass when I get back home so that I can actually give Halo Infinite a little run. I forgot to also give an honorable mention to Death Loop which I am currently playing. Its fun but is it GOTY material? I dont think so.

[Dr. Gonzo]

On 21/12/2021 at 17:26, Mel81x said:

All this tells me is that I need an Xbox Gamepass when I get back home so that I can actually give Halo Infinite a little run. I forgot to also give an honorable mention to Death Loop which I am currently playing. Its fun but is it GOTY material? I dont think so.

I'll give some negative feedback too.

Which, I think for the record, makes my pick for Game of the Year in 2021 Metroid Dread. It's a game that's really close to perfect for what I wanted in a new Metroid game. So it's probably the best pick I can think of.

And also for the record - I think Halo: Infinite is brilliant. The multiplayer is fucking quality - I like what they've done with the campaign and I think it's the best campaign since Halo 3 (but again, I thought the campaigns for 4 and 5 were a bit shit).

I'd probably give it a solid 8/10 for a score because of how good I think it is.

So here's some negative feedback: despite how fucking great I think this game is... I can't help but think that 343 is a terrible developer. This game had a very long development time, has a massive team (which maybe is a good thing, maybe is a bad thing), and was delayed twice... and I think it's a very good game, but considering it's a MS/Xbox gaming flagship game, I think there's some gripes to be had:

• It's not really finished
  • Campaign was supposed to be released with co-op... that's been delayed until later next year
  • The Forge (the map creator) is a big part of keeping the Halo community live and thriving (more on that later) - the release of the forge is also pretty heavily delayed. This is the 2nd time in Halo's history that a Halo has launched without the forge. I think it's a mistake for a game that relies on having a huge multiplayer population
  • Firefight mode - the online PvE mode that's super popular is again... not with the game at launch
  • These things have all been promised - and I think they're things most people would expect in a Halo game at launch. It's good they'll come eventually, but it still irks me the game took this long and is missing these elements
• Multiplayer mode is really pushing microtransactions - probably a huge part of this is because they made multiplayer free to play
  • F2P games have made a lot of developers a lot of money, so maybe this is the new normal. Just would be nice to get some more stuff unlocked without having to pay money
• Not enough maps/gametypes/weapons - this is mostly a multiplayer complaint
  • There's a lot of really good maps in this Halo - almost all of the 4v4 maps except for Launch Site; again though - we are told more maps are coming
  • Halo games have often relied on popular community maps hitting official Halo playlists - without the Forge at launch, we don't get these community playlists
  • Custom games/party games made on forge hitting community fiesta playlists is a big miss
  • Game modes like Griffball (a community gametype that became an official game mode)
  • FFS give us classic Halo maps too - this plays a lot like older Halos compared to Halo 4 and 5... games where the best maps were classic maps from the original trilogy
  • They're going to add weapons to the game - but it feels like they've left off weapons from previous games so they can reintroduce them at a later date
• My biggest gripe with the campaign is the open-worldedness and the "do it your way approach" kind of takes away from some of the "iconic Halo moments" you'd find in the original trilogy of the campaign - I think there's a balance between how they could have done the open world approach and when they could have kept the game a bit more on the rails and linear for some COOL MOMENTS. 
  • It's a fun campaign, but I think something newer Halos have struggled with is recreating moments like the first time you have to fight a wraith in Halo, or storming the beach with marines - I think there's times where the game should force the player on the rails a bit more. Also the grappling hook takes so much of the intensity out of fighting vehicles in the campaign

Having said all of that, I still love the game and I think it's brilliant. It just falls a bit short in some respects - which in fairness, will eventually be added to the game. But it begs the question of why a AAA developer with one of the highest budgets and a very long time between games has had some of these struggles.

But being hyper critical with it - I think there's plenty of reasons why it shouldn't be considered game of the year. But I'm still having a lot of fun with the game, I think it's the best multiplayer game around right now tbh + it has a great campaign. Definitely my "shooter of the year" - but perhaps not the best game I played in 2021 because Metroid Dread did not really leave me wanting more.

[Bluebird Hewitt]

Also, we all in agreement that Advance Wars Re-Boot Camp will be game of the year 2022?

Ok, good. 

[Mel81x+]

The Game Awards gave it to "It Takes Two" which isn't a bad shout at all considering it really is a superb co-op game.

[Harry]

I may have to check out Metroid dread