THE BEST OF 2021 - The Best GAMES Of The Year

- Last year I talked about how thankful I was for games that let me escape the quarantine life and be virtually transported to far-away cities, worlds, and realities. I was equally thankful for that in 2021, and spent much of the year continuing to play through some of 2020's best games, as well as games I'd missed from previous years - from The Last of Us 2 to Spider-Man: Miles Morales to the Life is Strange series (so that, hopefully soon, I can play the latest entry, True Colors). There were, of course, a lot of great new games this year (see my list below!), and my Switch and PS4 got a workout for sure.

That said, the games industry was in a weird sort of limbo this past year. Production delays and development delays led to a constant waiting game for gamers. Scores of big new releases set for 2021 were pushed back to 2022 and beyond, and the Playstation 5 console was still nearly impossible to get ahold of. For me, I took the PS5's scarcity as a sign to just concentrate, for now, on my growing pile of un-played or unfinished PS4 and Switch games - even if I did feel major FOMO around a couple of key 2021 releases, like the new PS5 exclusive Ratchet & Clank game (Ratchet & Clank, as is well documented, being one of my all-time favorite series). At the same time, it was interesting to see so many thought-to-be PS5 exclusives end up getting released, also, on the ol' PS4 - most of them handling just fine on the old reliable last-gen console. Well, sort of reliable. Around Halloween, my PS4 - which I'd owned for several years! - randomly broke, where the disc drive just stopped working. And man, even just replacing my PS4 proved a challenge, with game-starved gamers making even older consoles scarce this Fall and Winter. 

So will 2022 finally be the year that next-gen consoles become readily-available to all? Let's hope so - as it's not great for the games industry to be stuck in this mid-generation limbo. And personally, I'm going to really want that PS5 as long-awaited games that truly take advantage of the system - like Horizon 2, God of War, and more finally release. But I also hope that the industry learns some lessons from some of this year's most successful and acclaimed games, and realizes that there is a path towards a more sustainable future. What I mean is: over the last decade plus, games have become too long, too overstuffed, and too determined to create persistent and evergreen experiences that serve as long-term revenue streams for publishers. But consumers are backlashing - rightfully so - and not buying hyped-up games, like last year's Avengers, because they've had enough. So publishers - look to games like this year's Metroid Dread and Guardians of the Galaxy - long-enough games that don't try to be everything to everyone, but just deliver solid, straightforward experiences that are exactly as advertised. Plus, more focused and less bloated game experiences are great for aging gamers like me, who no longer have endless time for massive games.

With all that said, I'm excited by the ever-increasing mainstreaming of games. Game influences are everywhere in movies and TV, game-related content on Twitch and elsewhere is watched by a huge audience, and game fans continue to push for more diversity and representation in games - as well as for fairness and zero-tolerance for harassment and abuse at their favorite game publishers and studios. Games, it seems, are growing up.

DANNY'S BEST GAMES OF THE YEAR:


1.) Metroid Dread

- Believe it or not, Metroid Dread is the first Metroid game I've ever owned. So while I was never a diehard fan of the Metroid series growing up, I did become a huge fan of the "Metroidvania" games genre that was inspired by the series (as well as the similar Castlevania series) - that encouraged adventuring through a huge map in which new powers and areas are gradually unlocked as you progress. And so, in an era of an overabundance of great games *inspired* by Metroid (Hollow Knight, anyone?), how would the OG series hold up with its long-time-coming latest entry? Turns out, it holds up pretty well! Metroid Dread is pure, old-school 2D Metroid - with some new polish, new wrinkles, and a new horror-inspired vibe in which the player must evade all-powerful creatures known as "E.M.M.I.", lest they want to face the cruel hand of insta-death. Dread took me a bit of time to get used to, and some of the gameplay can feel a bit wonky at first. But once I mastered the game's unique weapons control scheme, the game really opened up for me and became fun as heck. There's a driving urgency to this game that many Metroidvanias lack - propelling you forward with a constant sense of kinetic motion. This is a triumphant return for Samus Aron and for one of Nintendo's flagship franchises.


2.) Psychonauts 2

- Psychonauts was one of my favorite games of the PS2 era - an incredibly imaginative 3D platformer that brought the legendary humor of Tim Schaefer (one of the minds behind point-and-click classics like Day of the Tentacle) and the team at Doublefine to a big, fun, 3D action game. Now, decades later, we finally get a sequel - and it's awesome! This game reminded me how much I love 3D platformers - the feeling of freedom, immersion, and jumping around beatin' on badguys. But of course, the gameplay is only half the story here - there's also the amazing writing and storytelling to boot. This is the gaming equivalent of a Pixar movie, and it's one of the year's best.


3.) Guardians of the Galaxy

- After last year's critically-panned Avengers game, many were weary of this one - especially given that it was also from publisher Eidos. But whereas Avengers aimed to be a persistent-world, loot-based game, Guardians is just a straight-up action/adventure. Single player, story-driven, and linear - just like they used to make 'em. The result is a damn good game - a little bit Uncharted, a little bit Devil May Cry, and a lot James Gunn's Guardian of the Galaxy. The game's constant witty banter and space-faring story captures the spirit of the hit films.


4.) Eastward

- Indie games continue to be where a lot of the action was in 2021. And Eastward - an homage to classic 16-bit era RPG's - was one of my favorites. Clearly inspired, specifically, by Nintendo classic Earthbound, Eastward does a lot of interesting world-building, has a lot of interesting quirks, and has some truly gorgeous pixel art to boot. If you're looking for a nostalgia rush, this one's a can't-miss on Switch.


5.) F.I.S.T.

- I haven't seen a ton of people talking about this one, but I had a blast with it. F.I.S.T. is another 2D Metroidvania that feels great to play, with tons of fun weapons and upgrades and a really cool steampunk world to explore. The story and writing is a bit janky, I'll concede - but the addictive gameplay more than makes up for it.


6.) Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

- How to rank a next-gen remake of one of the all-time great gaming trilogies? For me, I'd been looking for an excuse to finally play the Mass Effect series all the way through, and it was great to be able to play this version with some much-needed graphical and control overhauls. In particular, I immediately noticed the smoother action controls in Mass Effect 1 - updated to be more like the more refined sequels. But man, there's no denying that this is one of the high water marks for videogame world-building and storytelling. 


7.) Unpacking

- In 2021, we all needed some calming and soothing influences in our lives. Enter Unpacking, a surprisingly therapeutic game in which you literally help to unpack an unseen protagonist's possessions following a move to a new home. Each "level" in the game brings you to that protagonist's latest living situation, and while the game relaxes you as you place various objects in rooms just so, it's also got a wistful quality as you get all sorts of hints about where this person is in their life and what's changed and what's stayed the same. A unique and low-impact indie that's highly recommended.


8.) Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

- This one's another re-release of a Nintendo game that had the unfortunate luck of being released on the little-played Wii U system. But I'm glad Nintendo is doing these re-releases, as there were clearly at least a couple of real Wii U gems. This one is a very good Mario game - more 2D and linear in nature than more recent series entries like Odyssey, but still a lot of fun. But the real kicker here is Bowser's Fury - a sort of proof of concept for what a true next-gen Mario could be like. It's an add-on that provides an awesome open-world 3D, free-roaming Mario experience - and I can't wait to see more of this sort of gameplay in future iterations.


9.) Scarlet Nexus

- Want an anime-styled action RPG that just gives you straight-up, 100 mph craziness? Then look no further. Scarlet Nexus delivers some incredibly vivid visuals paired with super-fun gameplay that makes you feel like an all-powerful badass straight out of Akira. Good times.


10.) Guilty Gear Strive

- The Guilty Gear series of fighting games is a reliable franchise for fun one-on-one combat action, and the latest iteration, Strive, is no exception. The series is known for its hyper-fluid anime graphics, its rocking metal soundtracks, and its fast-paced and over the top gameplay ... and all of that is ramped up to eleven here. Whether you're a series expert of a casual fan / button-masher (raised hand!), this is one of the year's best fighters.

THE BEST OF 2020 - The Best GAMES Of The Year

 

- Early on in the pandemic, I was sitting at home, under lockdown. I was sitting on a couch in an apartment in California. But also, I was Spider-Man. I was swinging through New York City - through midtown and Queens - soaring between buildings and through crowds of New Yorkers. I was happy and I was free.

Such is the power of videogames, and such is the reason why so many turned to our game consoles for much-needed escapism during this crazy year. For me, videogames have alway been that way. Growing up in a small Connecticut suburb, games took me to faraway fantasy worlds and made my reality feel bigger and more interesting. They gave me new places to explore, new adventures to have, and new challenges to best - all from the confines of our family living room. This year, I think many of us were reminded of just how great videogames can be. Longtime gamers took comfort during the pandemic in having these familiar virtual worlds to escape to. Lapsed gamers rediscovered an old pastime, and marveled at how far games had come in the time they'd been away. And a new crop of people turned to games to help cope with the craziness of 2020 - helping gaming - at a time when many industries were struggling - become bigger than ever. Some of the absolute biggest pop-culture launches this year were games, bar none. As some industry insiders continue to wonder why TV viewing is down even when everyone is stuck at home ... well, maybe poll some of that key demo audience as to how much couch time they're spending instead on Animal Crossing or The Last of Us.

I mean ... in 2020 we saw a Congresswoman (AOC) work to get out the vote by playing Among Us with popular streamers on Twitch. You might say videogames have crossed a threshold.

But hey, with great power ... well, you know. Games this year came under ever-increasing scrutiny for a lot of reasons. As with other media, in the wake of this summer's #BlackLivesMatter protests, the games industry was called upon to be more inclusive and to promote better representation. Additionally, a lot was written and discussed about the game industry's reliance on "crunch" work conditions - in which employees are forced to work long hours with few breaks or days off - to complete increasingly ambitious and massive games by too-short deadlines. Part of the issue is that the games industry has painted itself into a corner of unsustainable development practices, where the big Triple-A games are expected to be these gigantic, 50 to 100 hour behemoths that have single player campaigns, online play, and huge open-world design schemes. Creating that kind of game is an almost insurmountable undertaking, especially with rushed release dates - and that's how we get epic botched-launches like that of Cyberpunk, the much-hyped game from CD Projekt Red. The Cyberpunk crash and burn this December is, hopefully, a lesson to the industry. On one hand, take your time and get the game right. On the other hand, perhaps reconsider if your game *has* to be a massive open-world experience? Many are pointing to one of the clear standouts of 2020 - the indie game Hades - as an example of how to do things right. Keep games small and focused and make sure they do what they're meant to do really well - and you may just have a major success on your hands. It's why this year's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a runaway success whereas Marvel's Avengers is a bomb - Sony's Spider-Man games know exactly what they are and what their mission statement is: let you swing around New York City and, basically, feel like Spider-Man. These games tell a compelling story, have on-point gameplay, and are just plain fun and good at what they do. The Avengers, meanwhile, tried to be all things to all people. A single player adventure. An online multiplayer loot-quest. Pick a thing, game developers. 

Amidst all of this year's craziness, we also got a new generation of game consoles! But between the new consoles' scarcity, the rough economic realities of this year, and the relatively low-volume of exclusive must-have games at launch ... many were content to wait on ushering in the next generation into their living rooms. I know that for me ... even though I've been stuck at home for much of this year, I still have a huge backlog of PS4 and Switch games to play before my eventual upgrade to a PS5. And to that point, a lot of my gaming in 2020 was spent still catching up on older and recent games like Spider-Man, God of War, Luigi's Mansion, and many more. There's just too much! Even so ... I am excited to, at some point, get that PS5 and dive in, especially once games like Ratchet & Clank and Horizon 2 release.

So yeah, given everything I said above, keep in mind that my list of the best games of the year consists of games that are, for me, currently in various stages of completion. I always get torn between my desire to actually finish some of these big games, and also wanting to try out a wide variety of new games (and in doing so, feeling like I'm part of the conversation). But man, for all of the craziness of 2020, I definitely enjoyed some quality time with controller in hand.

And by the way, I'll end this preamble by giving a shout-out to one of my favorite weekly podcasts: Triple Click. An entertaining and informative listen, the podcast is a great way to keep up to date on the gaming industry and what's new, noteworthy, and worth paying attention to.

 

DANNY'S BEST GAMES OF THE YEAR:


1.) The Last of Us Part II

- The Last of Us Part II, to me, is just another example of why Naughty Dog is my favorite videogame development team. No one else combines great gameplay with compelling, cinematic narratives like they do. And really, with all the talk and controversy around this game's narrative, I think the fact of how good the gameplay is gets a little lost. This game just feels great to play, with seamless and smooth controls that only add to the "you are there" feel of playing through an epic post-apocalyptic film. The possible strategies for confronting enemies are numerous - you can be headstrong and aggressive, you can be stealthy and sneaky. The Last of Us 2 quite simply has some of the best-feeling and most polished gameplay around. Then there's the narrative. Look, I get a lot of the issues and frustrations. But I also think you have to give Naughty Dog credit for the sheer storytelling ambition at play here. They make one of the most interesting attempts I've ever seen at contextualizing videogame violence - and even if the second half of the game can be a bit much in that regard, I mean ... this is something new. It's something we're going to see copied and refined for many years to come. And hey, even if the uber narrative of the game gets a bit wonky, the moment to moment narrative is incredibly effective. The first Last of Us game brought emotional urgency to gameplay like I've never seen before - it's why I named it the best game of the decade last year. The sequel has moments every bit as urgent, every bit as cinematic, every bit as scary, every bit as awesome. For all of its narrative missteps and overly videogame-y facets (must we collect so MUCH loot, all the time?), this to me is, still, the absolute gold standard. No other game has this sort of narrative drive to advance, no other game creates narrative moments like this one does - or manages to infuse its narrative with storytelling that has the player genuinely invested not just in the action or horror, but in the relationships, the romances, and the personal struggles of its main cast of characters. This game, with its bleak setting, creepy monsters, and graphic violence ... in theory, this was not exactly the best game for a time when it felt like we were living in our own apocalypse. And yet ... it was so good, it didn't matter. It had to be experienced. And that's saying something.

2.) Hades

- Hades quickly redefined the "rogue-like" genre of games by making the genre's conceit of constant death a part of the fun. The game brilliantly combines endless dungeon-crawling action with a seemingly, equally-endless narrative that just constantly provides new motivation to make one more go at escaping the underworld. The game also continues developer Supergiant's penchant for awesome aesthetics - with an eye-popping art style, amazing music, and top-notch voice-acting. The gameplay is also just plain great - and addictive as hell. Action-game perfection.


3.) Spider-Man: Miles Morales

- The semi-sequel to Sony's breakout Spider-Man game from 2018, Miles Morales brings back the original's pitch-perfect gameplay - delivering more of that amazing, you-are-Spider-Man sensation that won over fans worldwide. What's more, the narrative here is even better than in the first game, with lots of heart, lots of crazy cinematic moments, and a great lead character in Miles. Even on the PS4, it looked awesome to boot.


4.) Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition

- This cult-favorite graphic adventure was originally released in chapters over a several-year period, but 2020 finally saw the final chapter's release - as well as the launch of a "TV edition" that combined all the chapters and also brought the game, for the first time, to consoles. With a haunting, surreal narrative that has definite Lynchian vibes, this tale of a roadtrip through the lost highways and forgotten landmarks of a broken-down America has moments and imagery that I won't soon forget.


5.) Streets of Rage 4

- As a kid, I was obsessed with beat-'em-up games - those classic, side-scrolling arcade brawlers that rewarded button-mashing and expertly-timed special moves. One of the classic series of the genre was SEGA's Streets of Rage - a stalwart of the Sega Genesis era that had classically over-the-top characters and best-in-class brawler gameplay. Well, lo and behold, in 2020 we got an all-new Streets of Rage game - and it rocked! The game is a total early-90's throwback in the best way possible - except with a shiny new coat of brightly-colored paint. The game looks awesome, plays awesome, and is one heck of a nostalgia rush for those who grew up on the mean virtual streets.


6.) Final Fantasy VII Remake

- FF7 was a seminal game for many. For me, it was the game that made me ditch my childhood Nintendo fandom for the CD-ROM-powered stylings of the Sony Playstation. The game's graphics were revolutionary for the time, and its storyline twists and turns were still talked about by fans for years after the game's release. Now, decades later, we get a ground-up remake that features new graphics and a whole new combat system. Revisiting one of the best games ever was a lot of fun, and its crazy anime narrative is still entertaining all these years later. The craziest part is - this is only the first part of the remake! When will subsequent installments arrive? We don't know. But as always, the fantasy is never, actually, final.


7.) Ghost of Tsushima

- This open-world samurai game was a fitting closer for this generation of consoles. Sony's final PS4 epic looks amazing, and features epic sword-based combat that's right out of a Kurosawa movie. While I'm still early in the game, I'm very impressed so far - a lot of the clutter of other open world games is gone ... instead, we get a more streamlined experience that, first and foremost, is focused on making the player feel like a badass samurai roaming the countryside in search of adventure. Mission: accomplished.

8.) Life Is Strange 2

- The original Life Is Strange is one of my favorite videogames ever - a graphic adventure that told the kind a teen sci-fi story that, for all of its quirkiness, felt in many ways more affecting and more genuinely heartfelt than anything similar I'd seen on TV or at the movies. I loved the characters, the story, the aesthetics, and just the overall vibe of the game - as well as the way that your choices felt meaningful and consequential. The sequel is more so a spiritual one, with new characters and a whole new story - but there are a lot of similar themes and, once again, that particular emo vibe that's somehow both authentic-feeling yet also highly stylized. Additionally, the story - about two brothers on the run - hits on some very interesting social/political themes.

9.) TIE: Super Mario 3D All-Stars / Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2

- For a long while, I was a Playstation-only gamer. I missed the N64, the Gamecube, the Wii, and WiiU (though I dabbled with the DS), and only in the last few years have I, the proud owner of a Switch, come back into the Nintendo fold. So for me, getting to go back and play some of the classic 3D Mario games - in particular the superlative Mario Galaxy - on the Switch was a more-than-welcome opportunity. And while I do sort of question why Galaxy 2 was not included in this collection, I did have a blast finally playing through the first Galaxy game and seeing what I'd missed out on. Now, Tony Hawk, on the other hand - I spent a lot of time with the original game in my dorm room back in college. While I never really mastered it, it was one of my favorite "pick up and play" games of that era. And the music - no other game has ever made me a fan of so many bands I hadn't really even heard of prior to playing. So playing the new remaster/remake of the two OG Tony Hawk games was an absolute blast. I still sort of sucked, but man, just getting into that groove again really took me back.


10.) Crash Bandicoot 4

- I was *all* about Crash growing up. As the Playstation mascot character, Crash sometimes got made fun of as the poor man's Mario or Sonic. But the fact is, his games flat-out rocked - providing some of the absolute best, best-looking, and most polished platforming gameplay of the 32-bit era. After several less-than-stellar spinoffs, Crash 4 is a back-to-basics homage to the original Crash trilogy - and it's pretty great. Lots of old-school 2.5D platforming challenges straight from the Playstation 1 era. If that's your jam, then this one is well worth checking out.