Disco Elysium: Final Cut is the only game released in 2021 that I've purchased so far, but I'm waiting for patch 1.2 to see if it fixes the glaring issues with the PS4 release. Real bummer.
Detroit: Become Human, 13 Sentinels, Madden NFL 20, Burnout Paradise, Yakuza 0, XCOM 2, GreedFall, Nier: Automata, Civilization VI, Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition, Injustice 2, Burly Men at Sea and Middle-earth: Shadow of War have been the games I've played this year, plus Breath of the Wild and Hades over on the Switch.
Of all of those, I think 13 Sentinels left the strongest impression on me, though I probably had the most fun with Yakuza 0. GreedFall was a total flop, the first under-an-hour uninstall I've had outside of demos and betas. I had decent hope for that game with the PS+ cosign but...woah, bad! KRZ was a great one night stand, but I gave myself some space between Acts I-IV and Act V and didn't find it to stick the landing as much as others did. I'll take its level of nuance over something like Detroit any day, however, even if Detroitis more fun in most ways thanks to its unintentional humor. Burly Men at Sea is an old PS+ offering I pulled off the shelf and...the music is killer, yeah? Neat little art piece otherwise, I don't have the patience for the time loops. Madden seems like its in a fine spot, honestly, and Burnout Paradise is still comfort food - thanks for the $0.99 month of EA Play, EA!
XCOM 2 felt way more brutal from the beginning than XCOM was - I was constantly having to scramble to the barracks to buy new squaddies and just didn't feel like my boys and girls were progressing at all. I could've started a new game with that knowledge but I just don't think I have the XCOM bug right now. Nier had some incredible set pieces and concepts, unfortunately I didn't find the humor in all the gimmick endings nor fully click with the idea of playing in a sort of time loop. The story structure was never fully apparent to me, but overall it was a great ride. Give Yoko Taro a budget (and the Platinum A-Team)! Civ is Civ. Injustice 2's story is absolutely batty, gave me exactly enough of a schadenfreude cool down on the heels of Zach Snyder's Justice League. I think some of the fighters really suck in that game, though, and I don't have much need for a fighter outside Netherrealms' story stuff. The concept of the branching storylines and Multiverse seems really cool but I won't ever see it through.
I'm really having fun with Shadow of War when it clicks, but I'm finding it all more than a little directionless? I'm the sort of person that feels strongly compelled to finish what I start, but this strikes me as the sort of game you could put either 30 or 400 hours into...and with a story this bland, it's hard not to tell myself I might be topping out on orc slashing goodness. Perfect PS+ game, though. Breath of the Wild I've said more than enough about on these forums for now, but I still haven't picked it back up since putting it down about a month ago. I put in around 60 hours pretty quickly and I was at the point I could raid Ganon's castle, and I'm intrigued by Eventide and the Master Sword, but...I didn't love this game, and that kinda makes me resent it, weirdly.
Hades is my true Game of 2021, and as I presumed last year it would've been my Game of 2020 if I'd had access to it.
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