Beard 2021 GOTY!

BeardDuder's 2021 GOTY

Right so this I think this is my first official GOTY list and I am not much of a writer so let’s all be kind. This was a weird year for me in games and in life. In games, this was the year I broke cold turkey from Destiny. According to Wasted on Destiny I have put in roughly 2,845 hours into Destiny over the past 7ish years. I’ll get into this more down below but yea… it was an addiction. This year I played more games and more varied games than I have since I was a kid and enjoyed the heck out of it! I hope to continue into 2022 and already have a large list of games to play.

Before We get too far down the rabbit hole wanted to say if you are not a part of the GB discord then what are you doing? We have a pretty great community over there and would love for you to join! Here is a handy link to the Discord invite!! Full disclosure I am a mod over there, but am just a duder like you.

If you want find me on the internet I am just BeardDuder just about everywear! I hope you all have a super day and thanks for taking the time to check this out. Cheers!!

Quick Aside

I started keeping track of games I play in a given year so here are those games. Some just didn’t make the top 10. Some (looking at you Hades) would just not be fair to put on this list.

Hollow Knight

• This game is rad! I enjoy playing it and want to finish it, but something always comes up. I think this year I started it a week or two before a new Destiny event. Maybe 2022 will be the year?

Hades

• Just holy hell. Hades. It came out on gamepass so I stuck it on the Xbox for the kids. Little did I know it would suck me back in and I played it non-stop for a week or so. Just unfair how good Hades is.

Bioshock

• So never got past the first bit back in the day. I think this was a renter or maybe played it at friends. But I got the whole collection on steam in the summer sale. Only played through 1 but plan to head back into 2 (looking forward to Minerva’s den as I hear good things) and a replay of Infinite.

12 Minuets

• Now I think if I did a “This game made me said WTF out loud” award it would be tied between this and Inscription. This was a lot of bad WTF’s. At first, I was all in and super enjoyed it, but once I got to the spot of “ok I know that to do next” and just had to wait around or screw up one little step and then have to wait I was kinda done. THEN…THEN….the story turn. Yea I “beat” 12 minutes, but boy did it (insert words of your own choosing here).

WarioWare: Get It Together!

• Love me some Warioware. Played this with the kids and had a blast!!! Hope they put out some DLC.

Forza Horizon 5

• Just a delight. I turned on some music or a podcast and just drove. Great sounds, looks gorgeous, and just handled like a dream. Looking forward to cracking this out in 2022.

Halo Infinite

• A few hours in and it’s a Halo. The grappling is cool and I do enjoy cleaning up that map. Only made it through two missions, but will finish this up next?

Dicey Dungeons

• This was on my radar after Abby? played it and just never picked it up. It hit game pass and now I am a few runs in and love it! Just fun a silly. Looking forward to playing this more.

Crypt of the Necrodancer

• Another on my list to play. I think I just missed a HUGE swath of killer indie games and just not starting to play them. Anywho Just started, on world 2 love everything about it.

Artful Escape

• I mean is has guitar riff buttons. I got a good chunk in over the weekend and am not sure if I will finish, but I do enjoy the music and visuals. Maybe someone’s GOTY talk will push me to finish, but Good on ya Artful!

Now for the top 10......

List items

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  1. Inscryption

  This game was something else. I think I played it over a few nights and almost quit a few times but just enjoyed it too much. I spent WAY TOO long in the cabin and just could not get past the angler boss. Then it hit, I got a got tier card and just steamrolled the rest. Now I won’t go much further but man that game goes places. I remember just rolling my chair back and looking around the house saying “what the eff?!?!” multiple times. This is one of those “you need to play it” games. Just weird and quirky and as weird as it is to say…..delightful. Like Outer wilds, I wish I could wipe my brain and start it again. Now I just need to get that mod installed and play it some more.

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  2. Outer Wilds

  Whoolph. I was not ready for this. I was not ready for OuterWilds to have planted itself soo far down deep in my soul. The second I booted this up and the music hit I became emotional all over again. The feeling hit, the memories hit, and as soon as that impending doom music started my heart raced. I still get chills when someone else talks about the game. So in all fairness, this should be #1, but just got squeezed out. I loved my time with the DLC and will admit it here: I did get stuck on the pictures in the cabin and had to look it up. But after that, I just pushed through and let the game guide me. It also got me! I yelped and got scared a few times. Those bird guy dude things are terrifying, but I did it and finished. Just a lovely time and felt smart once I figured something out before it had to just tell me.

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  3. Psychonauts 2

  So this is my first time with Psychonauts, never played the first or really even knew much about it. Just never crossed paths. But it was on game pass and people were talking good things about it so I tried. I am glad I did, the combat was iffy at times but the fun environments (outside the teeth level. Double Fine and go eat dirt for that one) and the killer music (good lord the music is good) and the story kept me going. All in all just a great little game and worth playing.

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  4. There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension

  This was 100% a Vinny game. He has said some things on a podcast and I just dove in blind with the kiddo. We had a blast with it!! Just very fun and clever use of every part of the design. This might be worth a replay.

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  5. Death's Door

  Not much of a fan of this style of game, but the Fire Escape folks talked well of it and thought I would give it a shot. The “you don’t lose your souls when you die” part was a big draw for me. I hate having to deal with that junk but removing that part helped push me over. Great combat and a beautiful game world are what won me over

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  6. Unpacking

  This was a perfect after-dinner game. Just a few short hours of some nice soothing music just putting away items. (Also between you and me, this came out a week after we moved so I got to enjoy putting away someone else’s junk instead of mine.) The very subtle way of telling the story really clicked with me and kinda snuck up and got me in a way I was not ready for. This was a delight and a great way to chill for a few hours.

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  7. The Forgotten City

  Whoa. I started this on the recommendation of many online folks. I was kinda time looped out after 12 min. and death loop but played on. I almost quit, just the first few hours did not grab me. But after a few days away I went back and I am glad I did. Not sure if I was just expecting something different or what but once I had the idea of what was going on I was hooked. Don’t want to say too much about it because I think you just need to see it, but it does some things and goes some places. I have only one small gripe with the game but that is for another time.

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  8. Hitman 3

  This is all thanks to GB and now the NXL folks. I would have never played Hitman but after the one 2016 hit and I enjoyed that I thought I got my fill. But after seeing the duders enjoy 3 and the appeal of being able to get 1-3 all for the same price I had to jump in. I spent a few weeks slowly going through every level and mission and had a blast. Still plan to “Hitmas” my way through a few levels but never did. Maybe it’s something we can organize on the discord.

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  9. Deathloop

  I hoped in the night this came out knowing almost nothing (nowadays I tend to stay clear of streams or trailers once I decided I want to play/watch something). I had a lot of fun putting the pieces together. I enjoyed looping and planning the runs and some just going in to make a mess of things. I think the back like 15% kinda dropped the ball for me. I planned on doing the final loop a few times to see the endings but decided youtube was fine. I could see a world where this goes up my list but here it sits.

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  10. Destiny 2

  Ah Destiny Destiny Destiny. Now to be clear I have put in A LOT of time and enjoyed about 80-85% of that time. I made new friends via destiny. Had lots of laughs and it/they helped me get through some shit. But I just had to let it go. I had a problem, somedays I would sink all my free time into the game. After a few days or weeks, my partner would say something and it would just break me. I would cut it completely out and be super depressed about it. And I know it’s a silly game but I felt guilty. I wanted to be there to play with my friends and if I wasn’t I would be letting them down (100% not the case) or I would miss out on something. But over the summer I quit. Cold turkey. There had been some issue inside my group with a toxic person or two plus being at my folks was miserable to play games. So I just walked away. I had two milestones on my journey to freedom. One was the 30th-anniversary event ( that has come and gone) and the next expansion. I assume one will pill me back in. So check back in Feb to see if I have caved. XD