Games of the Year 2021 - Game of the Year

Reaching the end of the line of our Games of the Year 2021, we are happy to present to you each of our Game of the Year choices.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

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Pierre-Yves: ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights

I could say so much about ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights but I already have from the below review to the preview that came before it. Artistically, it was a pleasure to look at. Musically, it was phenomenal where every area not only had its own various musical scores, but bosses not only each had their own, but they also had two where one could rise into the other before falling back down once the battles were over. Gameplay was stellar and I loved the evolution from beginning to the true end as you pick up new spirits and integrate them into your strategies.

If there's one title from 2021 that I think you should play if you haven't already? It would be this one as it's a Metroidvania that keeps on giving all the way to the ending credits.

Check out our full review of ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights by developers Live Wire, adglobe and publisher Binary Haze Interactive for the PC (Steam).

Richard: Monster Hunter Rise

Admittedly I may be a little biased here, as I'm a huge Monster Hunter fan, but to see the amazing quality of life improvements, the little tweaks and changes from the older style, the fact the hunting horn is a viable option for casual players, as well as the cool wirebug stuff going on, this game hooked me in from the beginning.. The special moves, raid battles, and doggo transport were all wonderful additions. While it's by no means perfect, it's definitely at the top of my list for games I've reviewed this year.

Check out our full review of Monster Hunter Rise by developer and publisher Capcom for the Nintendo Switch.

Susan N.: Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One

Frogwares is the ultimate detective in their ability to find the right combination of gameplay elements that make a title enjoyable. They developed an open-world Sherlock Holmes game that contains different paths players could take. Not only did they expand upon the abilities that Sherlock could have in his younger years, but they also overhauled the combat system into one that fit the character. Despite that fact, they allowed players to skip the combat altogether if they wanted to focus on the investigation and intrigue of the story. Additionally, the studio did a brilliant job of livening up the story with excellent wit and a wonderfully crafted atmosphere. Considering that I had been looking forward to this title for a long time, I was not disappointed in the outcome. In 2021, nothing beats Sherlock Holmes Chapter One for me.

Check out our full review of Sherlock Holmes Chapter One by developer and publisher Frogwares for the PC (Steam).

Nick: Guilty Gear -Strive-

This is fighting at its best. It’s fast, it’s flashy, it’s accessible yet it rewards patience and dedication to improving with your preferred characters as well. The rocking soundtrack is the kind of OST I can gleefully listen to without playing the game itself, but it compliments the action and smooth visuals to perfection during gameplay as well. 

Check out our full review of Guilty Gear -Strive- by developer and publisher Arc System Works for the Sony PlayStation 5.

Robert: Star Citizen

Sure, we can technically say, “but wait! That’s not a game, that’s a tech demo!” and you’d not be entirely wrong, but this is my list and Star Citizen belongs here for the very simple truth that, as a ‘game-as-a-service,’ Star Citizen is exceptionally successful (as proven by Star Citizen having raised over $400M from crowd-funding) and is growing more successful with each quarter that passes.

Well over 100-ships currently in game and designed to a degree not seen in other video games, well beyond a dozen unique planets/moons, all with their own unique biomes, one of which is a massive ecumenopolis, hundreds of items, from lethal to non-lethal weapons, food and drink (which you need to consume to survive), and a massive, growing, and passionate community …

Star Citizen is without a doubt, a “game;” it’s just not a traditional one.

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Games of the Year 2021 - Runner Ups

Moving on from our more fun categories, we are now getting into what people really want to know. What hit the top of the list? Well for that you'll need to come back tomorrow but in the meantime check out our 2021 runners up entries to our games of the year.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

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Pierre-Yves: Echo Generation

Into one of the harder decisions that I had to make this year, Cococucumber's Echo Generation is taking my runner up spot for my Games of the Year. This RPG had it all. Aliens, Monsters, Ghosts, Horror, epic music tracks and the house cat as an ally and healer. Short and sweet clocking in around 10-12 hours, it never overstayed its welcome and everything that it did it did well making it a fun ride and a great placeholder while we wait for Stranger Things Season 4!

Check out our full review of Echo Generation by developer and publisher Cococucumber for the Microsoft Xbox Series X.

Richard: Tales of Arise

This is the Tales title I've been waiting for since Graces came out. The combat was great, the dynamic environments, the battle system, the unique characters, everything just came together really nicely. While I did feel the game sort of fell apart in the storytelling in the second half, and it was extremely unfortunate not having a coop mode, Tales of Arise was a game I had a lot of fun playing and that's why it's my runner up for the year.

Check out our full review of Tales of Arise by developer Bandai Namco Studios and publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment for the Sony PlayStation 4.

Susan N.: Outriders

Puzzle and Mystery games will always trump other video games on my list. Occasionally, a title knocks it out of the park, even if it’s not in my regular repertoire. I’m talking about a cover shooter being my runner-up game of the year. Outriders surprised me as a game that I would enjoy, but I'm glad that I enjoy it as much as I do. There are sporadic shooters that I play, yet Outriders is among them. Not only did they give players a free legendary weapon for continuing to play when things weren’t going well, but they added an outfit customization system that costs players nothing. Given that the story has some hilarious knee-slapping dialogue, even the twists and turns make the title exciting. Plus, rookies like me can drop the world tier down a notch or two when things get dicey. For that, I give People Can Fly a virtual medal. Outriders is a fantastic game that I enjoy playing as a solo experience or with friends.

Nick: Hot Wheels Unleashed

Tons of cars, many of which call back to my early childhood? Check. Creative environments that remind you that these are miniature vehicles? Check. Oodles of settings, modes and a high degree of accessibility? Check. Simply a blast to play? Checks all of the boxes. Hot Wheels Unleashed hooked me with its aesthetics when I saw the first trailer, but the excellent gameplay and variety of cars and modes combined with a solid progression system had me coming back time and again.

Check out our full review of Hot Wheels Unleashed by developer and publisher Milestone S.r.l. for the Sony PlayStation 5.

Robert: Star Citizen

While not quite as rich as my 2021 Game of the Year nominee, my runner up to this year’s Game of the Year is none other than Cloud Imperium Games’ absolutely massive immersive space sim, Star Citizen. When all is said and done, this massive, explorable (and fictional) wing of the Milky Way galaxy will house over 100 systems, with dozens of planets, moons, asteroids, and other space-related doodads, all without loading screens.

Pioneering some of the most fascinating and sophisticated technologies, Star Citizen pushes the bounds in every way- from the extremely high fidelity graphics to the rich and expansive universe (a part of which you can experience now in the Persistent Universe!) full of heroes, villains, and everyone in between. Having more than a few hundreds hours behind my dual VKB Gladiator NXT flight sticks in Star Citizen this year alone lands it in contention for the top spot and with Cloud Imperium Games releasing massive game-altering evolutions every quarter, Star Citizen isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

 

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Games of the Year 2021 - Guilty Pleasure

Moving on from our disappointments for 2021 we now move into a category that is always an interesting one as while we do tend to cover a lot, sometimes there are titles that just make us keep wanting to go back for more. Welcome to our guilty pleasure category for the year!

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

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Pierre-Yves: Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town

I mean come on, do I even have to say why for this one? The latest entry was not only a pleasure, and a guilty pleasure at that, to sit down to in order to cover but it was just an overall pleasure between the smooth farming simulation and the adorable graphics as you got to raise your moomoos. Yes. Moomoos.

Check out our full review of Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town by developer Marvelous Interactive Inc. and publishers XSEED Games, Marvelous for the Nintendo Switch.

Pierre-Yves (Bonus): Resident Evil Village

Ok I realize that this is cheating a bit but I did put everything together so that's my excuse to add another guilty pleasure as looking at my list I was thinking to myself, something's missing. It's not that my entire list is just about Indie based titles for this year, but there was one title that just blew me away in a fun and guilty fashion. That title would be the latest in the Resident Evil series that I was ecstatic to cover even if it meant plowing through Resident Evil 7: Biohazard which scared the living hell out of me.

So with that, I'm also adding in the wicked well paced and designed Resident Evil Village as my second guilty pleasure which once again stars Ethan Winters as he hunts down those that supernaturally split his daughter into multiple pieces. Also staring long time veteran Chris Redfield, things go everywhere from the depths of a a mad genius' lair to the soaring heights of the internet's favorite super tall lady that will shred you in two if she catches up to you.

Check out our full review of Resident Evil Village by developer and publisher Capcom for the Sony PlayStation 5.

Richard: Neptunia Virtual Stars

It's a Neptunia game featuring some of my favorite VTubers. Yes, I'm a kaigainikki. Yes, I support my Hololive and Indie VTuber scene. Shut up, go away. I mean, it also helps that the gameplay was a pretty fun 3rd person shooter style with some cool mechanics, and was pretty much ragging on egotistical social media users. Actually though, while not the best in gameplay or presentation, it was legitimately really fun, and it was great seeing some of my favorite VTubers getting more traction here in the West.

Check out our full review of Neptunia Virtual Stars by developer Compile Heart and publisher Idea Factory International Inc. for the Sony PlayStation 4.

Susan N.: Timberborn

I’m all for colony management simulators, especially against games like Banished (a challenging game even for the seasoned veteran in the genre). Add Canada’s national animals to the mix, and I’m immediately sold on it. After watching some of the gameplay of a prominent YouTuber, I decided I wanted a bite at the game. Once I streamed the game a few times, I found that Timberborn is a game I enjoy playing both on stream and off. I have a save for both instances, yet somehow I managed to survive through the second drought - but only barely! I had two beavers left and needed to recolonize. It was a long process, but somehow I managed to save my colony of beavers. Now, if that doesn’t tell you how difficult Timberborn can be when players fail spectacularly, I don’t know what does. Needless to say, I really enjoy this game way more than other management sim games - even the coveted Cities: Skylines. Am I guilty for enjoying chomping down trees without a care in the world? Absolutely. It’s something I can sink my teeth into!

Nick: NBA 2K22

I almost could have put Genshin Impact in here as well. Sure, it released last year, but I didn’t get my review for it written until this year ( https://chalgyr.com/2021/03/review-ps4-genshinimpact.html ), and it’s a large, ‘living game’ that is still seeing major content updates and probably will for years. That being said, NBA 2K22 gets the slight nod from me this year, as it and Genshin are both games I log into pretty much daily. I have ground out all but a few of the trophies in NBA 2K22, still hop online to compete against others (or with online friends) and alternate between my 3-and-D point guard and athletic, bruising center just depending on my mood that day. NBA 2K still has plenty of room to improve on the new console generation, but despite its flaws – I keep coming back for more.

Check out our full review of NBA 2K22 by developer Visual Concepts and publisher 2K for the Sony PlayStation 5.

Robert: Star Citizen

Few games can sell a dream and really nail it- some, like No Man’s Sky can start way too big for it’s britches, only to then grow into a fine game, to others like The Ascent or Tales of Arise just hit the ground running and nail it out of the park from the get-go.

My 2021 Guilty Pleasure is something of a juggernaut in the independent game development world, with upwards of 500 employees and a massive project underway, Cloud Imperium Games’ Star Citizen managed to do both- be too big for its britches while nailing it right out of the park. Few games can give the sense of scale and awe that Star Citizen brings to the forefront- stunning visuals, interesting locations, a supportive and impassioned community, and on top of it all … pure, unadulterated joy.

From the moment you first step out of your hab (your apartment/bedroom), Star Citizen is shown in excruciating detail- from working lighting modes for your hab to beautiful vistas overlooking the frost-covered domes of New Babbage on Microtech, to a cave system deep within Daymar’s crust, Star Citizen is brimming with detail, and in turn, with life. I have spent more time (and money) on Star Citizen than I have in many, many years- the closest likely being World of Warcraft back from about 2004 to 2007, and I still have not experienced all that this supposed “tech demo” has to offer.

My advice? Take a minute to hop into the game during one of its regular Free Fly events (where you don’t even have to pay for the game in order to experience 100% of what’s currently offered), or if you’re an old backer that’s not been around in a while? Spend a couple hours one night and dig into the Verse- it’s surprisingly vibrant, rich in character, and an absolute bounty in detail.

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Games of the Year 2021 – Biggest Disappointment

Continuing on from our biggest surprises, we now move onto each member's biggest disappointment of 2021. Sadly not every experience comes out the way we were expecting whether from technical issues or simply from a lack of polish as it was rushed out the door. In either case, here is our team's reflection on the topic.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

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Pierre-Yves: The Skylia Prophecy

There's one title every year that we find ourselves constantly thinking back to and wishing that it had been "more" than we experienced. There were a few others this year but The Skylia Prophecy took the biggest disappointment award for me as it had all of the potential elements to make it something great but just didn't follow through. While the core gameplay was hard as hell, it suffered from design issues of constantly needing items that you may not even have access to in order to move forwards such as healing items and keys to unlock doors. While the keys could be circumvented by making deals with a demon, I ended up restarting several times just to not waste what I didn't have or get stuck with next to zero health or mana because I accidently triggered an autosave. The silver lining here though is that... Nick's not looking? You can score 1000pts to your Gamer Score in the first twenty minutes as they can all be done before leaving the first zone.

Check out our full review of The Skylia Prophecy by developer and publisher 7 Raven Studios for the Microsoft Xbox One.

Richard: Cris Tales

Cris Tales was an ambitious game that just didn't live up to its potential. The reason it's in this category isn't because the game is bad per se, or that I didn't have fun with it despite being my Biggest Disappointment, I did actually have some hope for the title. Although some design choices were extremely poor, the fact is I really enjoyed Cris Tales, at least up to a certain point. There were a lot of aspects and gameplay mechanics that held so much promise, but just ended up falling flat because they didn't deliver to the best of their ability, were horribly underused, or were just implemented in a really mediocre fashion. Cris Tales earns the spot as Biggest Disappointment because it could've been so much more than it was.

Check out our full review of Cris Tales by developers Dreams Uncorporated, SYCK, and publisher Modus Games for the Nintendo Switch.

Susan N.: Monster Harvest

I really wanted to enjoy Monster Harvest because it was a different take on Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley as far as farming simulators go, but it completely failed to do anything it set out to do. The relationships with the townsfolk were non-existent, the combat system was absolute garbage, and the story was a figment of our imagination. I would have loved for Monster Harvest to bring a unique take on the genre, but even that concept was poorly executed. It felt like a Pokemon system which was woefully dull with a whopping three abilities and no heal to speak of. Each time a player lost their monster to fight in the dungeon, they had to level another one in order to progress. However, the four or five rooms that were in the dungeon were procedurally generated and served little to no purpose to the game, which also felt like a shell of an idea. I grew to dislike playing the game over time and for that Monster Harvest lands squarely as my biggest disappointment of 2021.

Check out our full review of Monster Harvest by developer Maple Powered Games and publisher Merge Games for the Nintendo Switch.

Nick: Werewolf: the Apocalypse – Earthblood

Werewolf: the Apocalypse – Earthblood reminded me of ‘the old days’, but for all of the wrong reasons. Muddled gameplay, visuals that looked like they were from a couple of console generations back and perhaps worst of all? Taking a known property and completely messing it up as a video game. That’s some old-school stuff right there, and none of it flattering which is why it's my biggest disappointment for the year. 

Check out our full review of Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood by developer Cyanide Studio and publisher Nacon for the Sony Playstation 5.

Robert: Star Citizen

Riddled with alleged mismanagement, feature creep, and being a bit too optimistic with timeframes is something famed developer/produced Chris Roberts and his Cloud Imperium Games studio (the folks behind the as-yet-to-be-released Squadron 42 single player title and its multiplayer component, Star Citizen) is well known for within the Entertainment Industry. With such juggernauts like Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson, Henry Cavhill and so many more involved in the project in some way or another, you’d expect to see more than a periodic update to perpetually-unreleased Star Citizen.

However, with the recent CD Projekt Red debacle with the botched launching of Cyberpunk 2077, Chris and team came out and essentially said that they're done talking about Squadron 42 beyond their once-a-month, monthly report (a very high level breakdown of some of the various tasks involved in the development of Squadron 42)- no release dates, no sneak peaks, nothing. This is monumentally disappointing while continuing to sell concept ships, something that they were sued for in the UK in 2021 due to the misrepresentation of content being sold.

From there, it’s been a rough year with a community-fracturing Ship Showdown that essentially devolved in hate being slung between three primary camps, to an awkward yearly CitzenCon event, to the money-grabbing “Intergalactic Aerospace Expo” that happens near the end of November every year and often called the “Anniversary sale” and is where you can purchase packages like the $6,500 Dominus package up to a $35,000 backer package…

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