Alright I am back with the Part 2 of my 2021 Game of the Year list. This Top Five was very hard to nail down, I knew what games I wanted but not the order that I wanted them in. There are probably three different versions of this list with a different #1 at the top, but it has finally been settled. Before we get into the five best games that I played this year, lets talk about 2021’s Most Disappointing Game…
Most Disappointing - Twelve Minutes
Man where to start with Twelve Minutes. When they finally showed this game again last year with the updated visuals and the Hollywood voice acting in William Dafoe, Daisy Ridley, and James McAvoy it really looked like it was going to be a banger. It really is a great concept: being stuck in a time loop that lasts twelve minutes, trying to figure out why this man is breaking in and hurting your wife. It has classic adventure game elements to it and an intractable environment. On paper it seems like it has all the pieces to be the next breakout indie hit, then everything actually comes together.
Like I wrote in my review of Twelve Minutes, the writing just lets down everything else around it, ultimately resulting in the promise of the game just collapsing into itself. It leans too much into the classic adventure game style, having to redo multiple things over and over again. Hearing the same dialogue from the characters over and over again. A concept that should be interesting becomes laborious very quickly and that is all before the final twist of the story. Usually I am the type of person that won’t let an ending or twist ruin the enjoyment I had along the way, but this is one of the few exceptions. When your game is going to be this narrative heavy, you have to make sure that part hits the mark and Twelve Minutes is not even close.
I am glad that Twelve Minutes got made, even if just to be a reminder to keep expectations and hype in check when you are watching trailers and press conferences.
Alright now that I have talked about what disappointed me the most this year, let’s finish my Top Ten list of 2021 with the five best games that I played this year.
#5 - Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Chicory really came out of nowhere for me and hit me upside the head with how emotionally impactful the story it told was. Mental health is something that games do not always get right, but Chicory handles it with such care, providing a realistic view into how things like imposter syndrome impacts even the most talented people.
It also has some of the best music in a video game this year, done by Lena Raine (Celeste) and has some of the best accessibility options in a video game this year. If a small indie team can make their games this accessible, then bigger studios have no excuse.
With all of that, it is a really fun game to play. It has a classic 2D Zelda style to it, exploring a pretty good sized map and has some fun abilities that involve painting to play around with. Now that it is on Switch, and already on PS5/PS4, I would definitley give this game a look.
#4 - Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
I swapped Chicory and Ratchet back and forth multiple times trying to figure out what order I wanted it. Ratchet won out because it came out at a pretty horrible time in my personal life this year and really helped me disconnect from everything. It provided a world that really helped me escape into and for that I will always be grateful for.
It also helps that this is the best PS5 exclusive to come out to date and one of the first games that made me realize we are in a new generation of consoles. The loading times, the visual effects used, and facial animations on these characters are extraordinary. All of that comes with a story that is surprisingly deeper than what I would have imagined from a 3D platformer. All of this drove me to make this game one of my platinum trophies I got this year. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on a Playstation 5, this is a must have!
#3 - Psychonauts 2
Seeing Psychonauts 2 even be made is just an awesome experience. Double Fine is a developer that I don’t always jive with what they are making, but everything that comes out of there studio is unique and interesting. I had never played Psychonauts or Rhombus of Ruin (the VR game) so I did not know how I was going to enjoy Psychonauts 2. To be honest, it did not make the best impression, I did not enjoy the combat that much and thought it got in the way of the unique world and interesting story that Double Fine had created.
This is way accessibility and difficulty options are so important. I was able to turn on a narrative combat mode that did not eliminate combat entirely, but just made it easier to get through. The cast of characters are amazing and the game is just plain funny. Rarely do games that try humor land for me, but Psychonauts 2 was one of the funnest games I have played in a really long time.
Like I wrote in my review, you can really tell that this is the ultimate Double Fine game, their Magnum Opus and that company really deserved for this to turn out as good as it did. Now with the backing of Microsoft, I can’t wait for the next experience that Double Fine creates.
#2 - Life is Strange: True Colors
Picking the Top Two was pretty hard this year and Life is Strange: True Colors really made a push for the top. I have talked about this game a lot, whether it was a written review on this blog or a recent episode of JK! Games! I was on were we did a deep dive into True Colors.
This game makes a lot of improvements to the Life is Strange formula, given you a tiny version of an open world to walk around in, and all the episodes coming out at once instead of having to wait months in between.
The way this game handles grief and dealing with the passing of a loved one is fantastic. Like Chicory does with imposter syndrome, True Colors shows a realistic view of how people go through grief and the many forms that it can take. This also has the best cast of characters of any Life is Strange game I have played, with the biggest difference being that the side characters feel way more fleshed out than in the original Life is Strange. Enough can not be said about Alex Chen, who is my character of the year by a wide margin. You have to have a strong main character for a narrative game like this and with Alex they really nailed it.
This game really became the perfect night game for me, to just sit down and play one episode at a time like a tv show. Deck Nine have shown they can pick up where DONTNOD left the franchise and it is in good hands.
#1 - Death’s Door
Death’s Door has been up near the top since I played and reviewed it back in August. This is the best playing game I have played all year. The controls feel extremely tight and fair, knowing that any mistake that happens is 100% my fault. Once you unlock all the abilities and you are switching back and forth from magic to bow to melee, it all just clicks together.
It also has some of my favorite boss fights this year, with my favorite two coming at the very end of the game. That is always something games struggle with, is sticking the landing but this game does that extremely well with how it ends. I usually don’t blow through games like this, but played it every chance I got till it was finished.
This is made by Acid Nerve, who also made Titan Souls and you can see a lot of that DNA here in Death’s Door. They have crafted an interesting world that has some Studio Gibili artistic influence cast upon it. Hopefully more people play this game now that it is on Playstation consoles and Switch, because it deserves a big audience.
Well there is the list! I think the biggest takeaway this year after making this list is how many surprises are on here for me. If you asked me to make a pre-GOTY list at the beginning of the year, it would not look anything like this. It also has a good mixture of AAA games and indie developed games, hopefully 2022 has just as many surprises in it!