The following are my favorite gaming experiences of 2021. These games may not have necessarily been released in 2021, but I played them in 2021 and enjoyed them tremendously!
Metroid Dread
I honestly thought that the days of my enjoying a Metroid game were behind me. The magic of my youth, exploring the masterpiece that is Super Metroid, could not be recaptured. The gaming industry has moved on and left that magic behind, hasn’t it? No, no it hasn’t. I had a phenomenal time with this game from start to finish. I don’t generally have the opportunity or interest to finish (see credits on) video games much at this point, but I played this for a few play sessions and saw those credits roll on this one! The graphics were beautiful, the controls were snappy (especially for a 30fps experience), and amazingly the developers (Mercury Steam) successfully captured what I loved about playing and discovering Super Metroid when I was 12 years old – albeit with the fear gimmick (and why it’s called Dread) that I could honestly take or leave, but doesn’t detract from my love of experiencing this game. I’d recommend this for people nostalgic for the old Super Metroid experience, or anyone who is curious why Metroid is lauded as such an amazing game series.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
I initially picked this up to hopefully play through with my daughter, though she wasn’t very interested. I thought it would be a bit too childish in nature for me to enjoy myself, though I was wrong. The game is simple but beautiful. The developers (Ember Lab) were founded as digital content animators for shorts and commercials for companies like HiSense and Coca-Cola (according to their website). The animations are gorgeous. The gameplay is simple as I mentioned, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on the type of gaming experience you’re looking for, though taking in the world, discovering and helping the characters within this world I felt was a rewarding experience. I’d recommend this game to try out for about anyone except ‘hardcore gamers’.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
I mentioned this in my First Half of 2021 post. The Mass Effect series is a masterpiece of video games. While it’s challenging to go back and play Mass Effect 1 again, I’d honestly recommend it to anyone. If you haven’t, play the Mass Effect games (except maybe Andromeda…). Play them via the Legendary Edition. Easiest recommendation on this list!
The Ascent
The Ascent is a fun, cyber-punk aesthetic twin-stick shooter adventure. It’s a gorgeous game, not one I completed though as it struggled to hold my attention or pull me back which I see as more of a me problem than necessarily a problem with the game itself. I think if you have a good gaming buddy, this is a fun one to work through with them in the excellent co-op mode!
Jedi: Fallen Order
Fallen Order was the first somewhat souls-like type of game I was ever interested in seeing through to credits. Like many people I speak with, I also am feeling a bit of Star Wars fatigue, though the storytelling in this game is excellent. The gameplay is great, while I had bouts of frustration the issues were more with me doing what the game wanted me to do versus any kind of bug, issue, or design problem. This game got me interested in the Souls-like genre and for that I’m thankful. Due to my not playing upon release, I missed out on the myriad technical issues the game was plagued with on launch. Definitely one of the best games I played in 2021.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians was a game I did not expect a lot out of, I watched a Square presentation (which was 15 minutes) that showcased gameplay and I was not impressed. I almost didn’t play it. The game was not shown well, I personally believe that due to this the game didn’t sell well. If I did pass this one by, it would have been a huge mistake. The gameplay, graphical design (not necessarily fidelity, but contrasting colors and bringing out the beauty in the space setting), writing, and performances all elevated the experience of going through this game. I thoroughly enjoyed this game and finished it. Anyone who enjoyed the comics, or movies and wants to see another take on the characters I think would enjoy this adventure.
Vampyr
As a teen, I loved vampire lore and stories. I couldn’t get enough of them. I am still a sucker for redemption stories which are at the heart of the vampire stories and media I loved as a teen. This game rekindled my love of vampire stories for me. Placed into the perspective of an early 20th-century British physician who becomes a vampire in the opening scene of the game, you are thrust into a situation to help a group of people in a hospital while learning about your condition and faced with the choice of the easy road to power which will cost your humanity or to struggle without it to remain as human as possible. This is likely niche (and sold as such), though I really enjoyed it.
Uncharted Lost Legacy
I really delayed playing through this, though with all Naughty Dog games I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a fairly quick playthrough (less than 20 hours) with Nadine and Chloe who are secondary characters in the mainline Uncharted games. I enjoyed this adventure, gorgeous set pieces, excellent performances, and an all-around fun time. Similar pulpy adventure as the mainline games but with different characters!
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
While I think the broader consensus was the franchise was a bit tired in this installment (3rd in the ‘reboot trilogy’), I really enjoyed this game. It was fun, relaxing and pretty. If you’ve played Tomb Raider (2013) or Rise of the Tomb Raider you have a reasonable idea of what to expect. If this is your first engagement with the series, I”d personally recommend going to Tomb Raider (2013) as that game was amazing and you won’t be lost in certain story beats. All around a great play in 2021!
