2021
Every 2021 release I had the time/money/patience for this year, ranked.
Games not in Giant Bomb's database as I write this: Retired Men's Nude Beach Volleyball League; Dot's Home
List items
-
-
Probably the best 2021 release I managed to play (not nearly enough of) in 2021, unless we're getting into the weeds of HD remasters and re-releases, in which case Disco Elysium's Final Cut sneaks past SMTV and takes off running. Should Nocturne HD be on this list if Disco isn't? I might be doomed to waffle on this choice for years to come.
SMTV is gorgeous, enough so that I'm often surprised it's running on my Switch, occasional framerate hitches notwithstanding. SMTV is the best or close to the best soundtrack of the year, not a shock coming from Persona's mother series, nailing a tone I've come to prefer over the modern Personas in recent years via both this and a Nocturne refresh hitting in the same year. SMTV's somewhat more open design feels especially freeing compared to those earlier games and it's made just enough smart systemic changes in battle, negotiation, and fusion to feel like a 2021 evolution of the formula, regardless of how long it's actually been baking in the oven.
I'm not sure right now where I'll end up falling on the story and its characters. Mainline SMTs are tone pieces, vibes, ideological studies, which isn't to say they're somehow devoid of traditional plotting and characterization - or "heart," if you will - but this take on storytelling has always been a very different animal from the various lighter spinoffs the series has spawned over the years. Whether that's for the better or the worse is subjective, and maybe the heart isn't the point.
Secondary awards: Most Comedians Per Demon Capita; Best Hair Puns; Most Annoying Pre-Release Discourse
-
In the universe in which Sable could maintain performance stability for a full session and didn't hit me with several moderate-to-major bugs, a couple of which ended up being gamebreaking, it could've upset SMTV for my favourite game this year. (But probably not Disco Elysium? Are we counting that? Final Cut? Y'know? Fine, moving on.)
Sable is gorgeous, but in a different way from SMTV. Beautiful, really. While both SMTV and Sable feature best-in-class visuals and soundscapes, I honestly feel like Sable does the better job marrying the two, and through the overall pace and flow of its traversal across the desert, the climbs through long forgotten shipwrecks, insightful and subdued and joyful conversations with its inhabitants, becomes a world more than the sum of its parts. Sable at its best is transcendent, a Spiritfarer for 2021, from a totally different angle, for a completely separate purpose.
I just wish it ran better, or at least ran well for longer stretches. It would've been nice if what I assume to be one-off audio cues didn't continuously (and loudly!) repeat themselves on contact with some unseen boundary line. I don't know about you, but I could've done without the two different menu bugs which trapped me in conversations or locked me out of the settings, and thus a proper means of exit, forcing a less savory egress to desktop. Sable is not the buggiest, jankiest game I played in 2021 - I'll get to that one later - but I was deterred from going for the full completion run as I did with Spiritfarer last year. I might still be puttering around Sable right now otherwise. Perhaps I'll come back someday to cross those T's and dot those I's, but likely not before another few patches.
Also wins: The Obra Dinn Memorial Award for Best Artistic Vision; Best Vocal Themes; Worst Pathfinding
-
-
-
Feels like someone listened to a lot of Ninja Tune albums over the last couple decades and found a way to animate a DJ Food / Cinematic Orchestra vibe into an interactive form.
Genesis Noir is as specific and singular an aesthetic experience as Return of the Obra Dinn while scratching a different kind of itch altogether. It may be an acquired taste, but boy is it a taste, and those who like it will like it a lot.
Superlatives: Best Soundtrack In Any Year That Didn't Also Include Shin Megami Tensei V; Strongest Minimalism.
-
-
-
"I sure do love Stellaris, but sometimes I wish it had the character-first systems of Crusader Kings"; "I've fallen hard for Crusader Kings 3, but what if it were in space?"
Along comes Star Dynasties, beating Paradox to their own crossover. Sure, as of the current early access period, Dynasties looks a little more Crusader Kings 2, or perhaps even more Star Traders Frontiers, with some of the flatly effective UI design of far older sci-fi games like Alpha Centauri.
These aren't bad things! They're small team things. Buy their game, give them a bigger budget, hope for mod support, and we'll see what happens. The bones and muscle of the Star Dynasties we have right now are already rock solid and fascinating and full of promise.
Superlatives: Best Spiritual Crossover; Sky's The Limit Award for Biggest Potential; Most Gingers.
-
-
-
-
-
-
you tell 'em nip
-
Load Comments