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Clagnaught's Game of the Year, 2021 Edition

By clagnaught January 30, 2022 0 Comments

Just like impending doom, we still have videogames.

But first, some housekeeping.

Honorary Awards:

Best “I Didn’t Play This Enough To See All The New Content, But You Know What, The Binding of Isaac Is Still Great” Game

The Binding of Isaac: Repentance

Best “There’s Plenty of Games I Didn’t Finish, But I Particularly Wished I Played More of Gnosia” Game:

Gnosia

2021's Unofficial Eleventh Best Game Of The Year:

Loop Hero

Best Games I Didn't / Barely(*) Played:

Runners Up (Unranked):

Game Of The Year:

X) Destiny 2: Beyond Light

The Destiny 2 expansion that was supposed to come out after 2020’s Beyond Light got pushed into February 2022. While there was no new packaged content for Destiny in 2021, there’s still plenty of stuff I wanted to call out.

The seasonal content that came out between the Season of the Hunt and the Season of the Lost is some of the best story I’ve seen in Destiny. There’s solid character work between Crow, Caiatl, and Saint-14, there’s good dramatic arcs in Season of the Chosen and Season of the Splicer, and there’s enough weird space shit between Presage and Osiris to keep you guessing.

When it comes to gameplay, that was a little more hit and miss for me. The only real seasonal content I replayed was the Battlegrounds. About halfway through Season of the Lost, I lost all momentum to grind out the seasonal content. That said, there were some highlights here and there. Initially I was lukewarm on Vault of Glass, however, that raid grew on me over time. While I had no desire to grind out Harbinger, Presage is probably my favorite exotic quest. Finally, ending 2021 with the new dungeon, Grasp of Avarice, and the 30th anniversary event, Dares of Eternity, was just about the perfect sendoff.

I know talking about Destiny sounds like gobbledygook, but the short version I enjoyed the continue support Destiny 2 received in 2021. If I were to rank it, Destiny 2 would overall be a middle of the pack game for this year. However, over 80% of the stuff I talked about is tied to a 2020 expansion, so I’m just going to treat this as an old game I really enjoyed this year.

10) Inscryption:

So this is an interesting one.

On one hand, Inscryption is a solid deck building game, with enough weird stuff that makes you want to keep poking at the edges. The mood of that cabin and the presentation of the battles elevates this game to the next level.

On the other, I hit a brick wall in the middle of act two. When I reached that point, I just didn’t want to play this game anymore. The problem I have with Inscryption is the same I had with Glittermitten Grove. Sure, both games go places and it’s kinda crazy that they put in the effort to twist the game like they did. However, I kind of liked the original game more and didn’t want to push through it for the sake of seeing more “stuff”. It’s been over a month since I fell off Inscryption and, at this point, I doubt I will go back and finish it. Still a pretty cool game though.

9) Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury:

I mentioned this in passing in my 2017 GOTY list, but it felt like I was one of the few people who did not care for Super Mario Odyssey. There was just too much rinse and repeat, too many moons they all feel meaningless, and, with the exception of two standout moments, the game felt like it was trying to have a yippee tone, but just felt tired and creepy.

On the other hand, yo, Super Mario 3D World, what a game. If I was evaluating this as a complete package, this game would be higher on this list. However, just looking at Bowser’s Fury, this is a neat expansion. Nintendo took the charm and fun from 3D World and remixed it in a more open format. I can’t help but get excited at the idea of a full game in this style, with an even bigger environment or concepts from other games like secret exits and block switches. Daydreaming aside, Bowser’s Fury is a cool mini Mario experience.

8) Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!:

As a fan of the Miku, I have a confession. I think most of the Hatsune Miku games are not that great. For me, the Hatsune Miku games are nice chill and unwind games. I get to listen to some music and tap along while watching a music video play out. The main con against them is I don’t think they’re that fun to play. Hitting Circle 8 times in a row, only to press Triangle at the end is not super engaging. While it can look cool with how the notes fly in, it makes their readability more difficult. This is also one of those rhythm games where you have to meet a passing score, or else you fail, rather than simply clearing the stage, which I just find annoying.

With all that in mind, my favorite Hatsune Miku game is a mobile rhythm game, that’s part visual novel, that is littered with gacha mechanics and microtransactions. Spelling it out like that sure sounds like a goof, but it’s not. The number reason is because Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage has a great “hand feel”. Similar to some of the Persona rhythm games, Color Stage feels good to play and it does a good job of mapping those motions to the music and visuals. I have dabbled in mobile rhythm games here and there—namely with Voez and Cytus II—and I think Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage is the most successful at nailing this. Also, the visual novel stuff, while not mind blowing, is better than I thought it would be.

While the microtransactions sort of stink up the place, they are largely unnecessary. That aside, this is still my favorite Hatsune Miku game simply because it is fun to play. This is likely going to be a mobile gaming staple throughout 2022.

7) Tales of Arise:

In all the best ways, Tales of Arise feels like a turning point for the series. While I have dabbled with a few games here and there, the only game I finished was Tales of Graces f, which is an average game I really enjoyed. I've always had fun whenever I played a Tales game, but a few things would weigh it down. With Tales of Arise, the graphics, story, and sound was elevated to match the combat. Unfortunately, Tales of Arise was a victim of circumstance and I haven’t finished the game yet, although I do plan on returning to it in 2022.

One of the game’s strengths is how it continues to change as the story progresses. While there is an overall plot, Arise splits up its story across discrete kingdoms, each with their own tone, similar to how Persona 5 is structured with its palaces. Aside from the notable improvements with the how well told the story and significant improvement to the graphics, there’s a lot of small refinements that make this game standout. I sincerely hope Tales continues to do this well moving forward.

6) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart:

Throughout 2021, I kept telling people that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is the most next-gen game I’ve played. The cutscenes are almost unreal, the portals are a neat trick, the animation is impeccable, and the explosions…uh…explode real good. The particles that fly out when something is destroyed, the effects of the guns, and that temporal dash all look amazing. If that wasn’t enough, seeing all that pop off while time slows down when you upgrade a weapon is one of the coolest visuals I've seen in a long time.

Putting aside the graphics, this is just a fun game to play. A vast majority of the weapons feel great and the game encourages you to swap between them all, instead of using the same gun for the entire game. While the story was well told, the real highlight for me was Rivet. They were a fun protagonist who helped ground that story.

This is my first Ratchet & Clank game, and I don’t think I’m dying to see a sequel to this anytime soon. However, Rift Apart by itself is a blast to play through.

5) Life is Strange: True Colors:

I am both thrilled there is a new Life Is Strange game and also how Deck Nine has another shot at this series. Life Is Strange: Before the Storm, which was made by Deck Nine back in 2017, turned out to be a really solid package that had enough creative moments to make it stand out from the original game. Thankfully, their excellent work has continued with True Colors.

This game both warms my heart, but also made me agonize over the drama between characters. While I haven’t ranked all of the games together, I will say the character work and interpersonal drama is among my favorite in the series, particularly with Alex and Steph. On a related note, while the Life Is Strange games always looked nice thanks to its art direction, the facial animation really helps bring these characters to life. There are fun moments across both the main story and the Wavelengths side story that helps elevate this beyond the simple adventure game staples that have always been with the series. Although I loved the road trip feel of Life Is Strange 2, it was nice to set a game in one central location and explore the space as time progressed between the different chapters.

Aside from all of that, there’s just something about the vibe of these games that I continue to find endearing, even after all of these years. Similar to what Bakalar said about how he will gladly play a Resident Evil game every 2 years, if Square Enix keeps making these I will happily show up. I sincerely hope Life Is Strange continues to be a thing moving forward.

4) Hitman 3:

I have two main Hitman thoughts.

First, I think Hitman 3 by itself is a really good game. Dartmoor and Berlin in particular are really ingenious maps and the story is arguably the best executed in the series. If I have complaints, it is with Dubai—since large parts of that level just feel like a hallway with nothing interesting happening—and the final level. Although the train is probably one of the best ways to end that story, there isn't much replay value there. It is an interesting package that has some of the most clever Hitman levels, even if it isn't as well rounded as, say, Hitman 2.

Second, 2021 was dominated by Hitman for me. I imported all three games and went through all 20+ maps multiple times. I completed challenges I’ve never done before and discovered various fine details throughout all of these levels I never noticed before. As a collected work, the Hitman trilogy is my Game of the Year. Some maps I can point to and say I don’t care for this as much, but at the same time every map has its place. There are so many environments, so many ways to complete your mission, and somewhere in between the well told cloak and dagger story is one of the funniest games I have ever played.

Hitman 3 by itself may not be the best game in the series, but the entire World of Assassination trilogy is a masterpiece.

3) Resident Evil Village:

What I’m about to say is going to sound stupid, but it is also one of the best ways to sum up my time with this game. Resident Evil Village feels like the game where the developers had the strongest idea of what they were making. It is a wonderful hodgepodge of absurdist camp, body horror, and monster of the week energy. It is a gorgeous game with various locales all surrounded by imagery you would see from an album cover of an obscure Norwegian black metal band that still only puts out music on cassette.

Usually Resident Evil games have a similar tone throughout. In Resident Evil 2, you largely feel cornered and out numbered, while Resident Evil 4 feels like you are able to fight back against a constant danger. On the other hand, Resident Evil Village feels all over the place. Within the course of one game, I went from from feeling overwhelmed to being able to take on the world. I went from feeling like I had enough firepower to destroy anything that crossed my path to being so exhausted I was praying I didn’t have to fight anymore monsters. While there are times I was frantically running for my life, the game also adds several quiet moments and sections that are nothing but puzzles. This pacing helps keep Resident Evil Village feeling fresh from beginning to end.

From the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 3 to Resident Evil Village, it’s clear that Capcom knows exactly what they are doing with this series. What helps elevate Village above those other games is how they blend everything together into a greatest hits style mashup, all while not going straight back to the well with Umbrella research laboratories.

Also, that vampire lady is tall. Like really tall.

2) The Forgotten City:

Out of all the games on my list, The Forgotten City is the number one game I want to say, “Just play it”. Part of it is because the game has multiple mysteries running in parallel, and it’s really fun to piece everything together. Part of it is the setup is both really fascinating and unique, and it's fun to go in blind to see the pitch for yourself. Part of it is this game sure does go some places, to the point where on the title screen there is a disclaimer asking people to stream a certain section.

What I will say instead is that this is a wonderful game. It is an insightful game that applies philosophical discussions in a way I have not seen before in a game, while also having plenty of funny moments. It is also arguably the perfect time loop game; one which also knows when it is appropriate to do some hand waving to help you have a better experience. Finally, everything coalesces into an excellent, hopeful ending.

There’s a lot more I could say about The Forgotten City, but again, it’s one of those things I think you should just see for yourself.

1) Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy:

Sometimes you can’t help but sit back and think, “Man, this game is good”. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy just clicked in a way that kind of snuck up on me. The reductive way to describe it is it’s like Mass Effect. You roll with a squad across the galaxy, you tell them when to use their powers, and when it’s done you hang out on your ship and talk about their lives.

One paper, there isn’t anything revolutionary about what this game is. That’s not to say anything is disappointing about it either. The game looks great, particularly the characters and many of the alien environments. While it takes a minute to get moving, the combat is satisfying, especially towards the end of the game where you and your fully leveled up squad just bulldoze almost everything in your way. While some character work is a miss—for example, Peter can be a bit whiny at times—basically everything else is fantastic.

Arguably the best achievement with Guardians of the Galaxy is its story. By the end of the game, I cared for all of the main cast of characters. It is also confident enough to let scenes play out. The Guardians and several other side characters have multiple standout moments. There are some pivotal character moments—whether it is characters coming to terms with their grief, accepting that somebody has passed, or overcoming their fears—that are done exceptionally well. All of this falls neatly within a story that has multiple threads that seem unrelated, until they get bundled up together.

While that sentiment is especially true for the characters and narrative, that’s how I feel about the entire game. From hanging out on the ship, to exploring environments, to how the combat works, to the entire game’s presentation, it all just works.

If that wasn't enough, Guardians of the Galaxy also features Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For A Hero”, one of the greatest songs ever. Need I say more?

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