2021 has been a weird year in video games. Lots of crazy news stories, lots of people fighting to get their next gen console of choice. Its been a rough one. But there were plenty of good games released. Not one game really stood out above the rest for me so much so that this was probably the year where it was the absolute hardest its ever been for me to create a list. There are a few honorable mentions I have this year Neo The World Ends With You and Shin Megami Tensei V two fantastic games that I am still working through but would absolutely be numbers 11 an 12 here. With that let's get on with the list.
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The Tales series has always been one of my favorites. But Arise takes what makes Tales special and tunes it to a polish not seen in the series. The graphics are fantastic it looks comparable to the concept art something I haven't seen in a JRPG since maybe Breath of Fire 4 on the PS1. They change up the combat to be more action based and it works well. The characters are beautifully done. They have real reasons for sticking together and are written extremely well. The story isn't the best of the series but it will keep you engaged throughout. I had so much fun with this entry, it is highly recommended and the best game of the year!
The long long awaited sequel has finally arrived and its real good. The gameplay, story, characters are all better than the first on a whole other level. The story and characters are so well written dealing with psychology and mental health conditions its so carefully crafted its a absolute master piece. Not to mention the game is just super fun to play. A PS2 platformer throwback.
I am still shocked how good this game is. The voice acting and the writing of all its characters could have been bad but its done immaculately. The story is a super fun romp around the galaxy and the graphics and art direction is absolutely beautiful. Do not miss a chance to play this game. The gameplay is a 3rd person shooter with team based tactics its fun but the story and characters are what really make this game shine.
What a surprise of the year. A Dodgeball RPG set in a school dedicated to Dodgeball. Truly a unique indie title. The game is consistently adding new elements to the battles each chapter preventing anything from feeling too stale for too long. The story and characters are fun and the graphics are a mix of 2D on 3D backgrounds and it looks wonderful. I loved every second I played of this game.
Do you want to feel like a bad ass space pilot? Play Chorus. Its not easy to get the controls right in a space shooter but this game they are absolutely perfect. This game will make you feel like you are the best pilot around. It is a semi open world space shooter that reminds me of Star Fox except its a more mature setting. The gameplay is king in this game and it really surprised me. Not to mention the art direction is awesome. The characters and story are set dressing for you to blow stuff up but when the game feels this good to play that's all you need.
The latest Resident Evil is a fun thrill ride of an adventure. One that soon as you meet the cast of characters you will be smiling the whole time. There are so many great moments peppered throughout the game. It also looks amazing on current gen (PS5/XSX). There is one moment in a certain house that had me screaming in fear for my life and no game has ever done that. It will stick with me forever.
I have been a big fan of Forza Horizon for a long time even normal Forza. Horizon 5 perfects the formula. This one has added more stories in and they are more interesting than you would think a racing game would have. The map is very diverse in its regions the cannon area being the coolest I think. The racing feels amazing as usual and all the different types of races or things to do around the map will have you playing for hours and hours. You could never race and still get a lot out of this game. Its not my favorite Horizon but it is the most perfected of the bunch.
The YS franchise is a old jrpg series that has stood the test of time and its the great care that is put into the series that has made it last so long. The action combat is quick and always fun. The story and characters in this one is among the best of the series. The story has some really great twists that I don't think you will see coming. Its well worth jumping into this adventure and sticking it all the way through. From a fantastic gameplay loop to the great story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Halo is back. It proves in this entry how good it feels to play this game from Multiplayer to Single Player Campaign. The combat loop feels like nothing else still after all these years. Its such a fluid, fun and open combat system its hard to stop playing. While I think the campaign in this one doesn't do the story justice by having a lot of it take place in holograms and a lot of the same environments. The open world structure and the random combat encounters throughout makes it shine this year. Not to mention the addictive multiplayer.
Been a huge fan of the series my whole life. I remember still picking up the first one from Gamestop all those years ago. This entry is a fine tuning of all the years of Ratchet gameplay. It has graphics to show off your new PS5, great duelsense support and 60 fps ray tracing which is very rare. Story and characters are written well, gameplay is a refinement of what you got over the years and its extremely fun to warp around the galaxy with these characters. Even if you haven't played before you can easily jump into this entry. I hope we get many more entries to come but if this is the final its one hell of a finale.