Another year down the line.
Well, it seems I played a whopping 237 games this year.
237! While I was a bit busy this year and didn't really have all that much free time, I did make a conscious effort to play some of the shorter games in my collection as a way to start putting a dent in my backlog. This also means I played a ton of bad game, so I decided to make things more interesting this year.... longer lists per genre as well as a bonus 'worst of' per award!
Onward with the tally, shall we?
==== Gamecube ====
Smashing Drive
Sonic Adventure 2 Battle
Luigi's Mansion
Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut
Star Wars Rogue Squadron III - Rebel Strike
==== Wii ====
Sonic and the Black Knight
Dragon's Lair Trilogy
Brave
Disney Epic Mickey
M&M's Kart Racing
Super Paper Mario
==== Switch ====
Ion Fury
Unruly Heroes
Gris
The Missing - JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories
My Friend Pedro
The Sexy Brutale
River City Girls
Stranger Things 3 - The Game
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Team Sonic Racing
Darksiders - Genesis
BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle - Special Edition
Guacamelee! One-Two Punch Collection
Blazblue CentralFiction - Special Edition
Kamen Rider - Memory of Heroez
Darksiders - Warmastered Edition
Shakedown Hawaii
Final Fantasy IX
Darksiders II - Deathinitive Edition
Dusk Diver
Megaman Zero/ZX Legacy Collection
Hyrule Warriors - Age of Calamity
Chasm
G.I. Joe - Operation Blackout
Disney Classic Games - Aladdin and the Lion King
Enter the Gungeon
The Mummy Demastered
Samurai Warriors 5
Scott Pilgrim VS The World - The Game Complete Edition
BurgerTime Party!
No More Heroes III
Power Rangers Battle for the Grid - Super Edition
No More Heroes(Switch)
No More Heroes 2 - Desperate Struggle(Switch)
Risk of Rain 2
Ghostrunner
Streets of Rage 4 Anniversary Edition
Afterparty
Mega Man Legacy Collection + Mega Man Legacy Collection 2(Switch)
Hades
Bloodstained - Curse of the Moon 2
Road 96
Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1
Disney Classic Games Collection - Aladdin, The Lion King and The Jungle Book
The Takeover
Double Dragon Neon
==== Gameboy Color ====
X-Men Mutant Wars
Power Quest
Tiny Toon Adventures - Babs' Big Break
Gold and Glory - The Road to El Dorado
==== Gameboy Advance ====
Sonic Advance
Cruis'n Velocity
Hot Potato!
Crash Bandicoot - The Huge Adventure
Star Wars Trilogy - Apprentice of the Force
Franklin's Great Adventures
Shrek Super Slam
The Mummy
Ghost Rider
Star Wars Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Disney's Tarzan - Return to the Jungle
Alienators: Evolution Continues
Disney's Atlantis - The Lost Empire
Kong - The Animated Series
Star Wars - Jedi Power Battles
Pitfall - The Mayan Adventure
Around the World in 80 Days
Star Wars - The New Droid Army
Sonic the Hedgehog - Genesis
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Sonic Advance 2
Sonic Advance 3
Punch King
Wade Hixton's Counter Punch
Tony Hawk's American Sk8land
Tony Hawk's Underground 2
Top Gear Rally
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
==== Nintendo DS ====
Assassin's Creed II - Discovery
Tony Hawk's American Sk8land
Tony Hawk's Motion
==== Nintendo 3DS ====
Disney Epic Mickey - Power of Illusion
Ridge Racer 3D
==== Playstation ====
Star Wars - Masters of Teras Kasi
Star Gladiator Episode I - Final Crusade
Soul Blade
Roswell Conspiracies - Aliens, Myths & Legends
MDK
Disney's Hercules
Tenchu - Stealth Assassins
The Grinch
Syphon Filter
Tenchu 2 - Birth of the Stealth Assassins
Tiny Tank
Cool Boarders
All-Star Slammin' D-Ball
Dexter's Laboratory - Mandark's Lab?
Rugrats in Paris - The Movie
Cool Boarders 2
Punky Skunk
Tarzan
Disney's Treasure Planet
Cool Boarders 3
Cool Boarders 4
Rat Attack!
Cool Boarders 2001
Heart of Darkness
Parasite Eve II
Transformers - Beast Wars Transmetals
==== Playstation 2 ====
Robots
Avatar - The Last Airbender
Black
Capcom Fighting Evolution
Zatch Bell! Mamodo Battles
Avatar - The Last Airbender The Burning Earth
Skygunner
Beat Down - Fists of Vengeance
Avatar the Last Airbender - Into the Inferno
Devil Kings
Dirge of Cerberus - Final Fantasy VII
Urban Chaos - Riot Response
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy
Batman Begins
GUN
Jumper - Griffin's Story
Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines
Barbarian
Shrek 2
Shrek SuperSlam
Final Fight Streetwise
Shox
Splashdown
Superman - Shadow of Apokolips
The Mummy Returns
Art of Fighting Anthology
Fatal Fury Battle Archives Volume 1
Dog's Life
Fatal Fury Battle Archives Volume 2
Alien Hominid
Soul Calibur II
Tenchu - Wrath of Heaven
Urban Reign
Whirl Tour
Resident Evil 4
Franklin - A Birthday Surprise
Paris-Dakar Rally
The Powerpuff Girls - Relish Rampage
Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal
Freekstyle
Disney's Treasure Planet
Spongebob Squarepants - Revenge of the Flying Dutchman
The Mummy - Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Splashdown - Rides Gone Wild
The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Lemony Snicket's - A Series of Unfortunate Events
Spongebob's Atlantis Squarepantis
Cool Boarders 2001
Godzilla Unleashed
SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons - Globs of Doom
The Adventures of Cookie & Cream
Dark Summit
Jet X2O
Jaws Unleashed
BloodRayne
The Suffering
Rampage - Total Destruction
BloodRayne 2
The Suffering - Ties That Bind
==== Playstation 3 ====
The Lord of the Rings - War in the North
Bodycount
Lost Planet 3
Digimon All-Star Rumble
Disney Epic Mickey 2 - The Power of Two
Yakuza - Dead Souls
Ridge Racer Unbounded
Rage
Bayonetta
Heavenly Sword
Damnation
[Prototype]
Enslaved - Odyssey to the West
The Darkness II
The Darkness
Beowulf - The Game
==== Playstation 4====
Mortal Kombat 11 - Aftermath Kollection
Guilty Gear Xrd - Rev 2
Borderlands 3
Stick it to the Man!
Dragon Ball FighterZ Deluxe Edition
BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle - Special Edition
Soul Calibur VI
Injustice 2 - Legendary Edition
Dead or Alive 5 - Last Round
DmC - Devil May Cry Definitive Edition
Metro Exodus
Resident Evil VIllage
Guilty Gear Strive
It Takes Two
Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons
The King of Fighters XIV
Scarlet Nexus
Dungeons & Dragons - Dark Alliance
Rage 2
inFamous - First Light
Onechanbara ZII Chaos
Borderlands - The Handsome Collection
The King of Fighters XIV - Ultimate Edition
Power Rangers Battle for the Grid - Super Edition
Hellblade - Senua's Sacrifice
The Dark Pictures Anthology - Man of Medan
The Dark Pictures Anthology - Little Hope
MediEvil
Resident Evil Revelations 2
Demon Slayer - Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles
Tales of Arise
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
==== PSP ====
Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix
Dante's Inferno(PSP)
Resistance - Retribution
Soul Calibur - Broken Destiny
Assassin's Creed - Bloodlines
Dungeon Siege - Throne of Agony
Ridge Racer(PSP)
==== Vita ====
Dynasty Warriors Next
Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends - Complete Edition
Best and Worst Beat'em up/Hack and Slash Game of 2021:
A genre I'm ever expanding on, I played a bevy of fantastic beat'em up games, mostly born out of the indie scene. I also found myself replaying old favorites, sometimes in brand new packages.
Worst) Dynasty Warriors: NEXT
Next level garbage! Wile I've always had a soft spot for the Dynasty Warriors series, NEXT is one of the worst installments. It recycles assets from 7 but omits its main campaign, which was one of the best things about it, and what it adds is forced touch mini-games, both intrusive and dull. They also toyed around with how you beat stages with could make it so that you could reach an unwinnable state. Horrid.
7) River City Girls I was in love with River City Girls from the moment I first laid eyes on it. Peppy music and fantastic spritework, Wayforward's trademark, make it quite a looker, but it was also fun to play. The combat mechanics are simple, but fun and unlocking new moves as you go along was a blast. And once you beat the game you unlock two totally different characters!
6) No More Heroes III
NMHIII had a lot to live up to, I adore the series and I consider Suda51 my favorite videogame auteur. Thankfully the game delivered for the most part. It took my a while to get used to this game's pacing, as there are no proper stages to explore, but I found the combat to be fantastic and the plot equally so. I really liked how this time around we got cutscenes delving deeper into the villains rather than only focusing on what Travis saw.
5) Urban Reign
A game much like NMHIII, as there are no proper stages, you just move from fight to fight. The game offers a fantastic combat system that could easily work as a fighting game, and it kind does considering it has a VS mode. One of the best things about the game is how easily you can juggle enemies and create combos with your attacks.
4) [Prototype]
It was a bit tough figuring out under which genre this game fell, but considering most of your abilities are based around close quarters combat.... this genre fit it best. Prototype is a brilliant super hero game because you actually play as an anti-hero, and you get all these fun powers to lay waste to your enemies with. And even outside of combat, you also get fun abilities to traverse the streets of New York with. While it was easy to fall upon your favorite powers, like the very quick and powerful Blade, the game did a decent job at presenting the player with situations in which swapping to your other powers was useful.
3) Streets of Rage 4: Anniversary Edition
Streets of Rage 4 was already a fantastic beat'em up game, and it won me over despite how I've always preferred Final Fight. But this DLC really upped the ante, 3 new characters as well as a very fun Survival Mode that allows you to unlock new moves for every playable character. Oh! And we get alternate colors to boot! I enjoyed this rerelease so much I played it even more than the original, instead of just trying out the new content and leaving it at that.
Runner-up) DmC: Devil May Cry Definitive Edition
I liked DmC a lot already, so of course I enjoyed this re-release. Smoother framerate, bonus costumes, a targeting mechanic and even Virgil's DLC campaign make it a banger. There were also small tweaks to the combat that made it more enjoyable than the original. I'm guessing that since DMC V is out more people will be able to forgive DmC and give it a try.
Winner) No More Heroes(Switch) As a way to promote No More Heroes III, the original two games were rereleased on the Switch, with LRG providing a physical release of both Wii originals. No More Heroes 1 is still a bonafide-classic, with highly memorable characters and story, coupled with a very simple but satisfying combat system that makes mowing down enemies a total pleasure. It doesn't have the best combat system among the other games in this list, even NMH III puts it to shame in that department, but everything else surrounding the game is both unique and captivating, making it one of a kind.
Best and Worst Driving Game of 2021:
I know I've said it before, but it's true, I'm slowly mellowing out when it comes to racing games. I'm still not comfortable with Manual Transmission, but hey, I'm broadening by borders and trying out new driving and racing games.
Worst) Cruis'n Velocity
A game that looks as bad as it plays, it's called 'Cruis'n' in name only. It's a shame that they decided to revive the series with such a cheap cash-in. The game runs super poorly, and the 3-D graphics, which look all garbled up and moody, don't help its case in any way. It's almost worth playing just to see how bad it is. Thankfully, Cruis'n Blast was released this year, and it's much better... although I wasn't able to finish it before 2022!
8) Ridge Racer 3D I'm happy to have discovered the Ridge Racer series, as it has become my go-to driving games after Outrun. The 3Ds release was a bit lacking, the performance particularly leaves a lot to be desired, but I like having a portable take on RR7's mechanics with a very decent track count. I just wish they could've ironed out the framerate.
7) Team Sonic Racing
I've been meaning to play the Sonic Racing games for a while now, and I don't think Team Sonic Racing was quite the ideal place to start with. That said, TSR is a very decent Kart racer, it's no Mario Kart that's for sure, but I felt like it was pretty good. A bit lacking in certain areas, but it also offered a very interesting kart customization element and a very beefy single player mode.
6) Shox
Part rally, part arcade racer, Shox was a fun, exciting racer that wasn't as fun as I had wanted it to be. It had interesting mechanics, but I think that with a bit more variety when it came to tracks and more memorable areas it could've gone from really good to great.
5) Smashing Drive
Talk about divisive! While the game was lambaste at the time of its release, and it's easy to find people calling it forgettable nowadays... I come across people that fell in love with the game, just like I did. It's simplicity and Arcadey nature seems to fill a niche that a few people, me included, just adore. It was a very exciting racer, that while shallow and simple made up for it in pure style, with bombastic stages and set pieces.
4) Splashdown
The first, and not last, motorbike racing game I played this year. Don't be misled by the generic cover, as this game is far from being a realistic simulator, featuring a slew of cartoon characters with silly personalities and racing tracks that push for fun over realism. While I wasn't particularly decent at it, I found Splashdown to be a very fun time, as I enjoyed its simple Arcadeish gameplay
3) Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild
Splashdown was a load of fun, but it's sequel was no slouch. In many ways, it's identical to the first game as the mechanics barely saw any changes, however, this one has even better track design which made it a bit more fun.
Runner-up) Ridge Racer(PSP) Ridge Racer 3D was fine for what it was, but Ridge Racer on PSP, now this was a tiny little gem. Featuring a compilation of most tracks from the original PS1/Arcade game as well as finely tuned gameplay that featured the Nitruous mechanic that made racing more exciting than the PS1 originals.
Winner) Top Gear Rally
I wasn't expecting a GBA game to be this year's best racing game, but boy oh boy was TGR something truly special. On one hand, it's a technical masterpiece, featuring smooth 3-D graphics that put most other GBA games to shame, but on the other hand, the racing was actually fun. Being a Gameboy Advance game, it's much simpler than most other games in the list, however, figuring out how to best take curves while trying to get ahead of the other races became very fun, particularly once it became second nature. For my first true foray intro rally games I was more than pleased, as the game features a ton of different backgrounds and types of roads to contend with. I hope the next rally games are half as good as this one.
Best and Worst Platforming Game of 2021:
As far as quantity goes, I played quite a few platforming games this year. This genre didn't make a strong showcase for what the genre can do, but hey, I discovered that 3D Sonic ain't' half bad!
Worst) Sonic the Hedgehog: Genesis
Oh boy! This year I delved into the Sonic series way deeper than I ever did before and I found out... the hedgehog ain't as bad as his reputation would lead you to believe! That said, Sonic the Hedgehog: Genesis is easily one of the worst games on the platform. The game doesn't play like it should and the performance is laughably bad for no reason whatsoever. That said, just like Cruis'n Velocity, this game is worth owning just out of morbid curiosity.
8) Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness is a game that hasn't aged very well but it kept its charm. It's like a very dark Saturday morning cartoon in that regard. It's trial-and-error gameplay definitely ain't for anyone, but I felt like playing it on the easy difficulty setting alleviated some of the annoyances, letting me focus on its more charming features.
7) Punky Skunk
A SNES platformer on the PS1 is what best describes Punky Skunk. For all intents and purposes, it's a throwback to a more simple time, albeit on more powerful hardware, which made for a very interesting experience. Considering the SNES is a console I adore, and never owned, this game was right up my alley.
6) Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut
Never in a million years would I have guessed that a 3-D Sonic game would make it into my best of lists, and yet... here we are. Sonic Adventure mixes a mostly decent variety of gameplay styles to great effect, since I do feel that, while I didn't like every gameplay style, the variety adds to the game as a whole. Sonic stages were obviously the highlight, as they had the right amount of substance and style.
5) Assassin's Creed II: Discovery
Asassin's Creed will never be same, but hey, at least I've still got a few spin offs to try. Discovery is, for all intents and purposes, a 2-D Sonic game but with AC's coat of paint. Gameplay is very fast paced, and it helps that Ezio is super agile, so it makes for a lot of fun spectacle.
4) Sonic Advance
The Sonic Advance series hasn't aged very well, now has it? That said, I feel like they are an important part of the GBA's life, and the original Sonic Advance is still pretty good, I'd say it's the best one in the series. It features top-notch sprite work, a nice variety of playable characters and the best level design in the series, before they'd get super cheap.
3) Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
Sonic Adventure 2 does what Adventure 1 did but better. There are more playable characters but less gameplay styles, since every character has an 'evil' counterpart, but these styles I feel are more fun and engaging than they were in SA1. Well, except maybe Knuckle/Rouge's, but they are still pretty decent in this one! Sonic 3-D has always put style over substance, and this game is no exception, but there's enough substance to justify them going all out when it comes to cool stuff.
Runner-up) Unruly Heroes Journey to the West is one of my favorite books of all time and I loved how Unruly Heroes brought it to the world of videogames. While the game isn't really an adaptation, more like a game set in its world, I feel like they did a fantastic job at bringing its fantastic world to life. And once you look under the surface you can find a very good platformer.
Winner) Gris
I think I was expecting more out of Gris, when it came to how it dealt with depression anyways, but while the game didn't resonate with me with its plot, I did find a super charming platforming game. The artstyle alone makes it standout, but the gameplay keeps you interested as you find new abilities to deal with different obstacles. What made it the best this year was how it had as much substance as it had style, and it had both in spades.
Best and Worst Adventure Game of 2021:
Sometimes it can be tough separating between adventure games and platforming games, but I think I did a decent job at it this year. I played plenty of them this year, and here are the best of them. And the worst.
Worst) Stranger Things 3: The Game
Most people turned away the moment the game was announced and it showcased its late 00's mobile phone game-like presentation. Not me, I thought it was quite charming! And, y'know, while I think Stranger Things is getting worse season by season, 3 being the absolute bottom of the barrel, I thought that it looked like a charming little game. And in the game's defense it does cover the entire storyline of the season. And that's about the only good thing I can say about it. Bland gameplay tied with boring objectives made for a harrowing experience that didn't have any really highs to speak of.
8) Chasm One of my biggest regrets is skipping out on the original Vita physical release, and Chasm was a game I was closely looking forwards to. Thankfully, I got a second chance with the physical Switch release. Chasm is a charming little Metroidvania game, with its main selling point is having randomly generated rooms for every savefile. That gimmick aside, it does little to differentiate itself from other Metroidvanias, but I think everything it did it did very well.
7) Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy
It's no wonder this game often makes it into top 10 obscure/underrated games lists, as this is a really good Zelda clone. It lacks the Zelda magic to be sure, but a mixture of decent puzzles, competent combat and an interesting, but unresolved, plot make it a fantastic game.
6) Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
Another adaptation of Journey to the West, Enslaved was a game I tried a few years ago and didn't really like, finding the character designs ugly. But this year I set out to play Ninja Theory's games and when I got to Enslaved I gave it a real chance and it completely won me over. I still think Monkey looks kinda ugly, but as a character he won me over. The plot and the world are the game's highpoints, but thankfully the gameplay is good enough to keep you invested.
5) Guacamelee! One-Two Punch Collection
So maybe I used to be more shallow back then, as Guacamelee! was another game I looked at and thought it was ugly and never gave it another glance. And, to be honest, I'm still not a fan of its Adobe Flash-like graphics, but the game is a proper Meroidvania with all the bells and whistles you'd expect. Both games are very similar, but that's OK since the game is so good. The combat is fast paced and flashy, having to fight enemies with different techniques in order to defeat them, and earning new wacky abilities that help both in combat and to deal with obstacles was very rewarding.
4) Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
I've known about Brothers for a while now, and it's been in my radar for a while, but I never had the chance to give it a try. Considering A Way Out was so good and It Takes Two was even better I decided to finally take the plunge. You can find in Brothers the same DNA that AWO and ITT have, being very charming and with a ton of little things to interact with just for the sake of it. But attention to detail is a very minute part of what makes Brothers so good, which is its premise, in which you control both brothers at once with one controller and the creative puzzles that keep you on your toes.
3) Stick it to the Man!
I was bundling up stuff for one of our three yearly 200USD packages, and had a few bucks left to spare, so looking for cheap games I came across Stick it to the Man! I didn't know what it was, but it was cheap and the art looked interesting. It was one of the best purchases I ever made. The game feels a lot like Psychonauts, featuring quirky characters in a quirky world, and the game takes after games such as Monkey Island, in which you must use the correct item in the right spot, but unlike in those classics, I never felt stumped because the game logic was absurd, as every puzzle made sense. It's a bit short, but highly memorable, I played this game very early in the year and I still remember it quite fondly.
Runner-up) MediEvil Considering how bummed the fake remake of Final Fantasy VII left me, I'm glad that with MediEvil we got a straight remake. The game plays it close to the original, most of the tweaks, which are rather few to begin with, are there to make things more convenient, something I can get behind, even though they could've made a few other tweaks to cut back on level revisits. The thing is, MediEvil was a great game that aged very well, this is pretty much a modern coat of paint over it, so it's basically an oldschool game that looks very shiny and new.
Winner) Darksiders: Warmastered Edition
The original Darksiders is one of my favorite games of all time, so having the ability to play it on the go is quite a treat, and you can even pick a performance mode that makes it run at 60fps! When it comes to games, Darksiders is still brilliant. It offers its very own rich mythology of creatures and beings that suck you in from the very first moment, and then it keeps you invested with its blend of Zelda-like puzzles but more actiony, albeit much simplified, DMC-esque combat. And beyond its world, when it comes to gameplay very little of it is original, but does everything oh so well that it doesn't really matter.
Best and Worst First-Person Shooter Game of 2021:
Remember how last year Action/Shooting and Action/Hack and Slash got their own divisions? I played so many shooting games this year that third person and first person shooters get their own division! Growing up I never much liked games in first-person, as I've always liked looking at my characters, but that's a bias I very quickly dropped.
Worst) Rage 2
The fact that Rage 2 was the worst FPS I played this year tells you that I had a very strong showing when it came to shooters. That said, as far as gameplay goes... it was alright. My problem with it was twofold. Firstly, trying to make the game stand out only made it into another 80's inspired game, like we haven't had too many lately. Secondly... it was too buggy, I lost my savefile after finishing all the sidecontent. All that time wasted.
7) Ion Fury Doom clones are always fun, but what about one that runs in a very similar engine? Enter Ion Fury, retro to a fault, it feels like a game straight out of classic Doom's era. The game is fast and brutal, and there are a ton of levels to contend with. You could argue it's archaic to a fault, but I think it works as a quality throwback to a simpler time.
6) Urban Chaos: Riot Response
Rocksteady's first game! It's a weird one, because you are supposedly playing as a cop, but the game glorifies violence to the point that it makes you wonder just why they picked a police theme. The game offers challenging shootouts, satisfying gun combat and a great rewards system that encourages you to go after optional goals to expand your weaponry.
5) Bodycount
Bodycount's a weird one because I couldn't make heads or tails from its plot and setting. I didn't really get it, but to be honest, it didn't really matter considering how fun the game is. It's a FPS game that is all about shooting, going for the Arcadey route: Shoot fast, shoot quickly and expect a lot of action all the time, every time. You can use powers to even the odds, which you'll desperately need if you mean to even the odds against the huge amounts of baddies you have to take down.
4) Rage
Rage was something I wasn't expecting, and that's probably how it managed to win me over. It features a Mad Max-esque world that plays a bit like Borderlands meets Doom. Things are kept interesting thanks to its Doom-like shooting in which you must keep on the move if you don't want to die, but you'll also be taking missions and exploring a small overworld, akin to Borderlands but at a smaller scale. It works rather well, as the world of RAGE was one I wanted to get lost in, and fighting psychos in a barren, desolate dystopian world was a blast.
3) Black
Just like its spiritual sequel, Bodycount, Black has something resembling a story... but does it really matter? The game is pure shooting action, with some of the most satisfying shooting I have ever experienced. Like, honestly, I've never been very fond of the military theme, but shooting weapons in this game felt SO GOOD that its bland and generic story and set-up was something that never factored much into the game.
Runner-up) Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus had one of the most frustrating parts I had to deal with in a game this year. It was so bad that I had to lower the difficulty. In my defense, the long loading times made it a chore. And despite that... it was a worthy end to a brilliant series of first-person shooters. While the horror elements take a step back in this entry, as most of the game is played outside the Metros, its world-building, which was already pretty decent, went up a notch. It's impossible not to fall in love with Artyom's buddies, and the story could get quite emotional.
Winner) Resident Evil VIIIage
While it wasn't as exceptional as the hype around it led me to believe, REvil: Village was a still a very strong entry in the series. It takes a bit of inspiration from REvil IV, but it also does its own thing. I particularly enjoyed how we are introduced to the cast of villains pretty early on, and while the game never delves super deeply into any of them, it was nice having such a distinct cast of enemies to fight. The story itself was ridiculous in all the right ways, like having to collect pieces of a baby. Yes. As for the gameplay, the shooting mechanics were solid, and having meaty, interesting enemies to battle with made it interesting, but it doesn't stop there, the game has some Metroidvania-like qualities, as every time you return to the HUB, after fighting one of the bosses, you'll quite probably have new tools to find secrets with, which made backtracking an entertaining ordeal. In many ways, this was a complete package, a great, ridiculous script, a fantastic presentation and entertaining gameplay.
Best and Worst Third Person Shooter Game of 2021:
Alright, so I took some liberties here, as not all of these are in third person, but as long as you can see your character it counts, aight?
Worst) Damnation
It's a shame they wasted such an interesting premise of a steam-punk version of the American Civil War era. But the gunplay ranged from mediocre to downright bad, aided in a big way by its atrocious AI. If I can say something nice about the game is that some of the bugs and glitches were all sorts of funny.
8) Enter the Gungeon Among the rise of indie Rogue-likes, Enter the Gungeon is probably the one I liked the least, but that isn't a bad thing considering I had quite a bit of fun with it. I liked how random it really is, as it was hard to fall upon the same tactics every run since I'd probably get very different weapons in each, and that's something I can really appreciate, as even in Dead Cells, my favorite indie Rogue-like, I tend to try to get my favorites.
7) Shakedown Hawaii
What if GTA was a SNES/DOS game, that is what Shakedown Hawaii is. Back when I was younger, I liked GTA II's demo a lot, but after I got the full game... I hated it. I was cautiously optimistic about Shakedown Hawaii, and it paid off. The game oozes charm, but it also has a ton of features, from character customization, to robbing stores as well as a ton of funky weapons to toy around with, including scissors to cut NPCs' hair with!
6) Risk of Rain 2
I'm not really sure why I wanted to play this game, and I remember when I gave it a quick try and... I hated it. I played it a few minutes and I hated it. And when I set out to give it a proper try... It took me a while, but once I 'got' it and everything clicked the game became a blast. The game has a very satisfying gameplay loop of getting stronger, and unlocking new classes was so much fun because you could wind up with a new favorite of one you hated. But once you find the class that best meshes with you you'll find yourself sinking hours on end.
5) The Suffering
The Suffering was probably one of those lightning in a bottle kind of success stories. The game doesn't feel very ambitious, but however you slice it, the game is solid in every aspect. Hideous monster designs, creepy environments and solid, albeit simple, gameplay that ties everything together into a very neat, memorable package.
4) My Friend Pedro
I doubt there are cooler games out there, as this game gives 'Gun-Fu' a whole new meaning. The entire game is about shooting down dudes in style, featuring an impossibly acrobatic anti-hero. And if that wasn't enough, the story is super silly and wacky, which hit all the right notes for me.
3) GUN
Neversoft strikes me as another developer much like EA's Visceral Studios. While they got pigeon-holed into their flagship franchise(Tony Hawk/Dead Space), the studio showed that they were incredibly versatile. From one of the first really good super hero games with Spider-man to GUN, a surprisingly fun 3rd person shooter. It's an open world-ish Spaghetti-western with solid shooting and an interesting medium-sized open world.
Runner-up) Resident Evil Revelations 2 While the game's main campaign didn't feel as if it was anything special, it's in its unlockable Mercenaries mode that the game really shines. Say what you may, I feel like the third-person REvil games managed to find a niche with its slow-paced shooting mechanics, and the Mercenaries Mode in this entry is built entirely around it, with a ton of levels, enemies, character, weapons and skills you can toy around with.
Winner) Resident Evil 4
I don't quite remember why I decided to give Resident Evil 4 a chance way back when, as I still thought I hated the survival horror genre. But I did and I found one of my favorite games of all time. And now, I gave it another go and it was every bit as good as I remembered it. It was the birth of Resident Evil's third-person shooter style, and while it's lacking a few improvements that this style would get down the line, it still features its own unique set of aesthetics, environments and characters that make it stand out from future games.
Best and Worst Fighting Game of 2021:
What started as a key genre in my blogs, since it used to be one of my two favorite genres, is now just another list of games. Still, plenty of new and old this year.
Worst) Capcom Fighting Evolution
Capcom Fighting Evolution feels like a parody of Capcom's worst habits. They are known to be lazy at times, and this is a perfect showcase, they ripped out various sprites from some of its games, some which don't even fit side to side and instead of creating new mechanics they simply have the characters played like they did on their original games as if it was a 'feature' and not a corner cutting decision. The absolute display of shamelessness doesn't stop there, as they just grabbed pre-existing art-assets and threw them into the backgrounds, creating one of the ugliest, laziest fighting games out there.
8) Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2 I said it before, but for me Xrd was a disappointment in many ways. They went full anime, losing it's rock and roll edge to a very Blazblue-ish fanservice-first mindset that I feel worked against the series. That said, Rev 2, as a culmination of Xrd, features a decent amount of playable characters and a robust but simplified set of mechanics that at least makes it fun to play... if I can turn my brain off.
7) Fatal Fury Battle Archives Volume 2
While I've always had some fondness for Fatal Fury, considering Garou is one of my favorite Fighting games ever and I had a fun little chinese bootleg NES version of Fatal Fury 2, I wouldn't have said that I really liked it. But now, with Battle Archives I delved deeper into every Fatal Fury game and I can finally say that these games are really flippin' good. The games feature gorgeous, colorful sprites and very simple, but satisfying mechanics.
6) Blazblue CentralFiction: Special Edition
For as much as I despise Blazblue's oversexualized anime aesthetics... I can't deny that they are solid fighting games. In this case, it features a massive roster made up of widely unique characters with their own unique mechanics. It's a massive game that anyone that enjoys fighting games should give a chance.
5) Soul Blade
It's always interesting coming across such a feature-rich fighting game from the PS1 era. The game plays like a dream, offers a very decent character roster and even a story mode that has you finding weapons with special properties, weapons that actually have different in-game models! And the story mode goes beyond simple fights, as every stage has a different handicap or set-up. It's a fantastic package that shows just how great a developer Namco used to be back in the PS1 era.
4) Dead or Alive 5: Last Round
As with most modern Japanese fighting games, the only way to enjoy it is to acknowledge that the game caters perverts first. But if you look beyond the copious amounts of silly fanservice, you get a meaty character roster, tons of different costumes per character, a bevy of modes, and best of all, simple game mechanics. I've always liked the parry mechanic in the DoA game, it's super simple to pull off, and some might call it overpowered, but it adds a lot of excitement to the fights. Since it follows Virtua Fighter's 'one punch, one kick' formula, mashing buttons can produce all sorts of cool-looking stuff, but if you delve deeper and learn the proper combinations you'll be able to pull off even cooler looking stuff, which is one of the reasons I find the DoA/VF games so good as entry-level fighters, and games you can play with anybody regardless of their skill level.
3) The King of Fighters XIV: Ultimate Edition
XIV marks the start of a new arc, featuring a new hero and new enemies. With this new entry, SNK decided to go for quantity over quality, so while the game's visuals are rather rough we got about 50 total characters. Not too shabby! And it's not like they went style over substance, as the game features a fair amount of offensive and defensive options to work with. Ultimate Edition adds the DLC fighters into the mix, and most of them were brilliant picks, including some of my all time favorites: Rock Howard and Vanessa.
Runner-up) Guilty Gear Strive Strive felt, in many ways, like a return to form for the Guilty Gear franchise. Gone were the stupid waifus and overly sexualized designs, and pretty much every returning character got a substancial redesign, and the new characters fit right in, unlike most of Xrd's newcomers. The presentation is easily the game's biggest asset, featuring animation that goes far beyond Xrd's already stellar 3-D look, but the music, oh god, the music is so badass, pretty much every track in the game is a banger. Mechanics have been further simplified, which is not a bad thing considering how complex GG can be.
Winner) Soul Calibur 2
While the Soul Calibur has had many sequels and spin offs, none of the ones I have played have ever reached Soul Calibur 2's quality. There's something about it that none of the other games managed to replicate. From the clean character models, the snazzy, smooth animations to how swift the combat is.... Everything in this game feels right, even the sound design adds something to the combat that future games lack. It's simplicity, it's speed, it's looks... Soul Calibur 2 is one of the best fighting games ever made, period. And beyond that, it features a ton of different modes, including a story mode akin to the one in Soul Edge but even longer and more polished.
Best and Worst RPG of 2021:
As a consequence of going after the shorter games in my library, I didn't have much time to waddle around in RPGs. Still, I got to replay Final Fantasy VII at some point, not that it counts since it wasn't a new entry in the blog!
Worst) Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony
Dungeon Siege 1 and 2 are some of my favorite RPGs of all time, and for different reasons. Dungeon Sige Throne of Agony feels like a mix of both in some ways... but it fails in every way. From it's laughably bad performance, thanks to lengthy loading times that frequently end in crashes to how mundane and uninspired the Diablo-inspired gameplay was... Throne of Agony was on the verge of being decent, but it just wasn't up to snuff
6) Final Fantasy IX Among the classic PS1 Final Fantasy games, IX had always been the one I liked the least. And it some ways it still kinda is, as I think FFVIII had better aesthetics in some ways. On the other hand, IX brought a lot of interesting ideas into the mix, such as skills and skills points to taylor each character to your style or to what the dungeon could require. The game houses a few surprisingly emotional moments, as well as Vivi, one of the best characters in the entire franchise.
5) Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition
Darksiders II is still a fantastic follow up to the original, although this time around it plays closer to a Western RPG rather than a Zelda-esque game. And it worked well. This sequel did a great job at further expanding on the world of Darksiders, while keeping it fresh so as not to feel like a retread. While the addition of equipment pieces means that Death doesn't have a single, iconic outfit, I dare say that everything looks badass on him and we need more game in which different armor reflects on the character model!
4) Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
While it borrows a lot from Paper Mario, mostly the good stuff such as involving the player when it comes to attacking and defending, Mario & Luigi does its own thing. Featuring its own set of unique secondary characters as well as interesting puzzles that require the skills of both brothers to solve, Superstar Saga made for one of the most interesting RPGs I played this year.
3) Borderlands 3
Considering Borderlands 2 is one of my all time favorites I was pumped for Borderlands 3, so much so that I bought it at release. Played it for a bit and then... forgot about. To be fair, the game released in rather depressing state. That said, despite some technical short comings, some worse than others, I found the game to try some interesting new things with its tried and true formula. It may not be as iconic as Borderlands 2, but I think they found interesting ways of keeping things fresh. It's a shame the PS4 won't get a complete rerelease including all the patches and DLCs.
Runner-up) Tales of Arise
While certain things about its design made have been done to try to pry money from players, Tales of Arise is, in my opinion, one of the best entries yet. An interesting story, a good cast of characters, a beautiful new artstyle and graphic design as well as a fast paced new take on the combat is what made it so darn great. And mind you, there's still room for improvement, as enemies can soak up to much damage and the story isn't quite where it could just yet, but hey, this is the closest it has been in a while to becoming an all time great.
Winner) Borderlands 2: The Handsome Collection
Time to be controversial! Borderlands the Pre-Sequel is awful, that much is true. And this version of Borderlands 2 was kinda pathetic, since all it's got going for it is is 60FPS gameplay. That said, it's a convenient single install, something that I can't say about the PS3 version. This year I realized that picking a character class that fits you really matters, as Zer0 wasn't much fun and I don't think he works well in Single Player which probably tainted my experience with the game. But hey, it's Borderlands 2, it's a classic, and it's got all the DLC.
Best and Worst Other Game of 2021:
The wildcard category, the one where games that are either hard to classify or didn't get enough entries in their genre fall in. There were plenty of these this year.
Worst) Tony Hawk's Motion
Pure garbage, it says a lot how the 'bonus' game, which is already by itself a substandard diversion, is leagues better than the featured game. It's barely playable and it's barely got any content, people think that Tony Hawk 5 is the worst of the bunch... nah, nuh-huh, this one is one of the biggest pieces of garbage on the Nintendo DS and the worst Tony Hawk game out there. Its motion gimmick DOESN'T WORK, and with not button input alternative this game should have been axed altogether.
8) The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope Slowly but surely, The Dark Pictures Anthology is getting there. It's unfortunate how the main plot device of this game is so similar to the one from Man of Medan, but I felt like this game's plot was a bit tighter, and the gameplay was far superior, alongside some neat options to make the playthrough more comfortable. It's far from the best horror game out there, but it's a decent playthrough and works well in multiplayer thanks to its simple gameplay and multiple outcomes and choices.
7) Dark Summit
Someone out there thought that making an open-worldish snowboarding game in which you had to complete missions to stop an evil organization was a good idea. And it was. The game felt a bit aimless at first, but as I got to grips with the controls and how the game is supposed to be played... it won me over, and it's one of the most original games out there.
6) Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven
The narrative in this game was a bit weak, but as far as gameplay goes this felt like a culmination of the best things about Tenchu. It has best controls, the best environments and the best sets of tools so far, but the added extra power of the PS2 makes the game much more enjoyable thanks to an increased field of view, so that you aren't walking in total darkness and can see everywhere around you. It also felt like it didn't have as many cheap deaths. But above all, while you are still encouraged to avoid fighting, the combat system was finally serviceable!
5) Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1
While not as feature rich as it could've been, this cart offers a decent selection of Neo Geo Pocket Color games, and by decent I mean some of the best, if not THE best that the console had to offer. This selection is made up mostly of great, but simple, fighting games, but you also get a few action games and a decent golf game.
4) The Adventures of Cookie & Cream
Probably the first game to encourage two player playing on a single joystick, The Adventure of Cookie & Cream was a fun puzzle platformer that puts your multi-tasking skills to the test. The game eventually got too tough for me to play by myself, but I absolutely adored everything I got to play. The puzzles were fun and struggling not to make a finger salad out of my hands was an interesting challenge, but I look forward to giving this one another go with another player.
3) Wade Hixton's Counter Punch
While I've never been much of a fan of Punchout, I would still admit I enjoyed playing the NES original and the Wii iteration. Wade Hixton was kind of a sucker punch, as I never would've expected to like a game like this so much. It features large, detailed 2-D sprites that makes the game look like a long-lost Saturday morning cartoon, and unlike other pretenders, the game plays really well, with the kind of responsive controls and fair hitboxes a game like this one needs.
Runner-up) Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix This is more than just a port of my favorite Tony Hawk game, as it adds a meaningful amount of new stages, stages that you can choose to visit, or not, during the Story Mode. And while they are made up of reused sound bites, they do get original cutscenes as well as all sorts of new objectives. Running on inferior hardware means that it doesn't look quite as good, but I think the extra content more than makes up for it.
Winner) It Takes Two
Josef Fares has made great games before, but It Takes Two takes the cake. It feels like his previous games, Brothers: A tale of two sons and A Way Out have been building up to this one, doubling, nay, tripling down on the amount of silly interactive items that only add to the world building, but also adding a needlessly extensive amount of mini games that are only there for fun... but that's not even mentioning how the game keeps shifting things by giving both characters a different set of abilities per chapter, and with each new set of abilities come new puzzles. And unlike other games that try to offer many gameplay styles, nothing about the game feels half-baked or cheap, with every mechanic being as solid and well developed as the previous one. While there's a clear divide between what game journalists want and what gamers like.... I think most people can agree that this one getting game of the year was well deserved.
Worst Licensed Game of 2021:
I've been playing more and more licensed game every year, but in 2021 I went off the deep end, in no small part due to going after the shorter games in my collection! Regardless, since licensed games tend to be a bit... weaker, I played so much garbage that the best and worst get their very own lists!
8) Franklin's Great Adventures
The third Franklin game I had the displeasure of trying, this one was easily the most boring one. It's a platformer devoid of any challenge in which the titular hero is as slow as, well, as a turtle. The worst part about it, is that the biggest obstacle in the game... is not wasting time by randomly selecting the wrong route for the character you are using.
7) The Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage I actually hoped this game would be better. I wasn't expecting high art, but the idea of flying as all three girls together around town seemed decent. But the end result was a boring, wonky game that failed to live up to the series' legacy.
6) Jumper: Griffin's Story
One of the most soulless games I played in 2021, it's as if nobody cared. Bland graphics coupled with awful animation paint a bleak picture, but the combat is made up of mindlessly mashing buttons until enemies died. And that could've worked if the game looked cool, but it has neither style nor substance.
5) Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi
Making a fighting game set in the world of Star Wars is not an altogether bad idea, as the Jedi duels are some of the best parts about the franchise. Not that by the time of its release we had all that many jedis, but hey! They tried making it interesting by allowing characters to equip or unequip weapons, but the game is super clunky thanks to some of the most unresponsive controls I have ever suffered in a fighting game. They ruined a completely decent idea thanks to very poor execution.
4) Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal
Just like someone had the bright idea to give Shadow the Hedgehog a gun, somebody else thought that giving guns to the Looney Tunes was a great idea. It wasn't. This game has some of the dullest shooting I have ever seen in a videogame, and the game as a whole is both forgettable and boring.
3) Shrek Super Slam(Gameboy Advance)
This game feels like a Chinese Bootleg game. It has hideous graphics and choppy animations that don't play well with any lack of hitstun, it's as if people that had never made a game before were handled the Shrek license. And everybody has gotta start somewhere, but this game isn't worth ANY money.
Runner-up) M&M Kart Racing
I came to this game expecting it to be bad.... but man, it's even worse than I expected, how could that happen? It can only be played with substandard motion controls, and it features some of the worst track designs I've ever seen in a videogame. There's nothing good to be said about this one.
Loser) Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Star Wars is an interesting license because for every hit it's also got a miss. Attack of the Clones is one of their most egregious misses, it's barely a game considering how insipid the whole thing is. It's another GBA game that looks and plays like a Chinese Bootleg, so it's no wonder THQ lost the Star Wars license. And it's funny, because about 10 years ago when I first played rom of this game I dropped it after 10 minutes because I realized how putrid it was. And now, so many years later... it's gotten even more rotten.
Best Licensed Game of 2021:
And by the same token of having played so many licensed games, I also came across plenty of really good ones! As per usual, these aren't necessarily the highest scoring games, but rather, a mixture of quality and fanservice.
8) Power Rangers Battle for the Grid: Super Edition
When Power Rangers Battle for the Grid first released it felt like a promise. It was unfinished to the point it was even lacking voice acting. Slowly but surely, the game got beefier and beefier, thanks to a mixture of free and paid content. Super Edition offers a sizeable roster, a proper story mode and voice acting, and while it might pander a bit too hard to the OGs, it's still a love letter to Power Ranger fans.
7) Shrek SuperSlam The living meme, Super Slam. What should've been a pathetic cheap cash in turned into a decent Power Stone clone. I don't like Shrek, not really, but playing this game was so much fun thanks to decent physics, something most low-effort fighters of this kind lack and a plethora of content to go through.
6) Disney Epic Mickey
It's not as dark and scary as word of mouth would lead you to believe, but it was an interesting direction to take Mickey and the world of Disney in. Epic Mickey had its heart in the right place, the paint and thinner mechanic while not ground breaking offered variety when it came to solving puzzles and the platforming itself was pretty entertaining.
5) Injustice 2: Legendary Edition
In some ways, it was a step back from the original Injustice and even Mortal Kombat X when it came to animations. But despite my personal issues with developing the story and having most of the characters themed around Batman... It was still a fun fighting game, and I enjoyed the new redesigns.
4) Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
Despite my grievances with this iteration of the characters taking after their MCU counterparts... a lot of love and care went into making this game. It feels like a triple A release despite being a licensed game. There are tons of Marvel characters and references, tons of wild looking alien locations, a beefy campaign that even contains a lot of free alternate costumes as well pretty decent gameplay that ties everything together. I enjoyed my time with the game so much I actually went after the platinum trophy!
3) Disney's Classic Games Collection: Aladdin, The Lion King and The Jungle Book
The original release was pretty lackluster when it came to gameplay, as none of the games it contained had aged pretty well. This re-release adds The Jungle Book games, which haven't aged very well either, but Capcom's SNES Aladdin version, which is leagues above the other games. And, y'know, there's been an eternal debate on whether the SNES or Genesis version of Aladdin is better, so wherever you fall in that divide, the game also includes a fair amount of art assets and mini-clips with behind the scenes to sweeten the deal.
Runner-up) The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
While it's fairly derivative, considering we play as a party of heroes made up of a human, an elf and a dwarf as they fight parallel to the fellowship of the ring... when it comes to gameplay, it felt like an evolution of the PS2 LOTR games, adding RPG elements into the mix. Coming back into the world of Middle Earth was made even more exciting thanks to how pretty the game looked.
Winner) The Darkness II
It's a crime how this game is so often overlooked by people who only care about the first game. While the plot is as interesting as the one in the original comics(Meaning, not at all), the new cell-shaded look makes it feel like a proper comic-book, and the ease of using your powerful Darkness abilities makes you feel like the anti-hero Jackie is supposed to be. What made this one rise on top of the other games in the list is how much fun the game actually is, and how it makes you feel as if you were playing as a comic book hero.
Most Disappointing Game of 2021:
Not a ton of disappointing games in 2021, but man, some of these stung. The category which celebrates dead dreams, yay!
8) Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance
Well... I was prepared for the worst, but still... I hoped that despite it being poorly made I could've enjoyed it. And it had some decent things about it, but you can't mess the loot system in a Dungeon Looter, you simply can't. Obtaining new loot should be exciting, but it's so cumbersome not being able to see or equip what you found until you finished a stage, you don't even get to toy around with your level ups until you finish a stage! And stamina? Stamina in a game like this? And the performance.... yeah, it wasn't a good experience, and it was one of the worst disappointments of 2021.
7) Rampage: Total Destruction
In Rampage's case I had seen gameplay before, and I swear it looked like something I could enjoy. But I wasn't ready for some of the worst controls I had to contend with this year. I really thought I could enjoy this one. But in this case just listen to the reviews and avoid, avoid, avoid.
6) Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2
Curse of the Moon was a top notch throwback to the original Castlevania, so I knew what Inti Creates could do. Curse of the Moon 2 was... disappointing. Lackluster, cheap level design coupled with a necessity to replay the same levels over and over again to see the ending... it left a lot to be desired, and it was such a shocking step back from the original...
While Sonic Advance isn't a perfect game by name means, between my nostalgia, its quality and the fact that there's a third game.... I thought 2 would improve on everything the first game did right. And at first it feels like so, sporting spiffy new sprites. But half of the game is made up of some of the worst level designs that feels like a parody of the worst traits about Sonic.
4) Kamen Rider: Memory of Heroez
Silly me, expecting a licensed game to be actually good. But I don't know, between the way it was marketed and how it'd contain itself to only three riders... it seemed like Namco aimed to produce a high quality Kamen Rider game. Mind you, it wasn't awful, but boy if it wasn't mediocre. I think the idea behind it was brilliant, and with a proper budget and a tighter game design it could've been something special.
Since it was revealed pretty close to the next gen videogame consoles, Scarlet Nexus was marketed as the next big thing. Reviews came out praising the game, and some people even compared it to DMC. It's noting like DMC. The combat system was shallow and repetitive, and the story was overcumbered with its original anime terminology. But worst of all, the story was told through anime stills, making an already boring story even duller. Scarlet Nexus was alright, but it didn't meet the hype.
Rage 1 took me by surprise, so after I finished it I set out to get Rage 2 ASAP. It's funny how they tried giving the game some personality by adding 80's inspired aesthetics, but only managed to make it seem even more generic. But the cherry on top was how it killed my savefile and made me waste the dozens of hours I spent finising all the optional content.
I finished off 2020 with Mortal Kombat X, and it was bloody great. So great in fact that I rushed over to play MK11, skipping over Injustice 2. What I found was a super lackluster story and a hideous live-service design that locked unlockables behind an Internet Connection. As a fighting game it might be decent, but as a package it's a complete and total letdown. No other game frustrated me so much this year, and it's a perfect encapsulation on how modern videogames are going down the drain,
Most Surprising Game of 2021:
It's not all bad though! I came upon a few games that surprised me this year too, and most of them made up for the disappointments.
8) Hades
The only reason it's so low is because, well, this game received a ton of high scores. But even so, Hades didn't look like a game that would appeal to my particular tastes. 20 hours later... we can say that I kinda liked the game, didn't I?
I bought the game thinking that I had read it was good... the article said it was the opposite. Non deterred by it, I put the disc on my Wii and.... I had a smashing time. Smashing Drive is very hit or miss, and thankfully, it was a hit in my book.
When it comes to dueling works, we usually take a side. Marvel VS DC, Disney VS Warner, Star Wars VS Star Trek, Sega VS Nintendo, inFamous VS [Prototype]. I had played a bit of [Prototype] before, but I always gave the edge to inFamous and kinda somewhat blindfully looked down on Prototype. What a fool I was! Prototype turned into one of the most fun Sandbox type games I have ever played.
5) Wade Hixton's Counter Punch
I can't quite remember what compelled me to get Wade Hixton's Counter Punch, but I'm glad I did. What looks like a quick game made on the cheap is actually one of the most impressive games you can find on the system. It features some of the best sprites I have seen too,
I didn't really like Risk of Rain 2 when I first tried it out, but for whatever reason I pushed through, and te more I played it.... the more I liked it. I came so far with the game that I almost can't fathom how much of a bad first impression it made on me.
Considering it's a game I knew nothing about and only purchased 'cause it was cheap... I'd say I lucked out. It reminded me a ton about Psychonauts which is a good thing, and provided a wacky adventure, filled with a memorable and quirky cast of characters and puzzles to solve
I've always felt like Rage was a simpler take on the same ideas that spawned Borderlands, but while there are some similarities here and there, Rage veers strictly into the arcadey shooter gameplay why Borderlands is an RPG. Regardless, the moment I decided to give it a try and let go of my prejudices against it I found a fast paced shooter that plays the way I like it it. I found it so much fun I immediately set out to get the sequel, mc to my disappointment.
Winner) Sonic Adventure 2 Battle
Easily, the biggest shock this year was finding out that I didn't hate Sonic. While Sonic and the Black Knight gave me the first taste, it was with Adventure 2 Battle that I was sure of it. A game I've been blindly making fun of for so long.... turned out to be really fun. So... I'm sorry, 3-D Sonic, you are quite alright.
Best New Character of 2021:
Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough, but I didn't feel as if there were many new great characters this year. Still, these ones left a mark.
5) Fujin
I've liked Fujin since his first playable appearance in MK 4, but in MK 11 they brought him to the next level. He looks better than he ever did, but they gave him a proper personality! He enjoys Johnny's movies and is the one to talk down Jax!
4) Tiny Tank
A character I remember fondly from my childhood... because he looked so badass in magazine ads! While I wasn't the biggest fan of the game, Tiny Tank himself was the highlight, thanks to his cute, memorable design and his funny personality.
3) Kyoko & Misako
The River City Girls are so cool! I couldn't possibly pick one over the other, although I find Misako's style more attractive, but I loved them as a pair. They look really cool, and the smooth animation probably played a big part in that. But it's also their story that I found so great, the original ending is where it's at!
Runner-up) Rayne
Easily the coolest, sexiest and most badass vampire hero out there. It's not just her one liners, but the amount of cool stuff she can do that makes her so darn imposing. She might not be racking up juggling combos, but the sheer brutality in the ways she tears down the opposition prove she'd take out Buffy an day of the week.
Winner) Vivi
While I can't say that FFIX is among my favorites, I'll admit that Vivi is probably the best character to come out of the franchise. Vivi's struggles coming to terms with what he is makes him endearingly sympathetic, you just want to give the poor guy a hug. His story arc was pulled off exceedingly well, and he is probably the thing you'll remember the most about FFIX.
Worst Videogame Cover of 2021:
To be absolutely fair there weren't that made bad covers this year.... but I love videogame covers, so here we go.
8) Wade Hixton's Counter Punch
While I like hand-drawn art, I mean I always favor hand-drawn videogame covers when it comes to these categories, this cover looks... cheap. If I saw this cover in an aisle I would avoid the game, thinking it was shovelware.
7) Scott Pilgrim VS The World
I don't know, I just don't like this cover, and I can't tell you why exactly, but the moment I got the game I used the alternate cover. I guess it's just too boring considering how fun the game is.
6) Streets of Rage 4: Anniversary Edition
Same deal as before, it's a weird cover for such a good game. It's particularly egregious considering how good and simple the original cover was. I understand why the X is there, but it doesn't make for a good looking cover.
5) Dragon Ball FighterZ
Goku throwing a punch. That's the cover. That's it. Considering this is supposed to be a fast-paced, kinetic, 3-on-3 fighting game.... what the hell is up with such a boring cover? Is this the best they could come up with? The shading looks so weird too considering they went for a very anime look.
4) Final Fantasy IX(Switch)
I mean, I get it.... SNES FF game covers were meant to be looked at on their side. But this just looks weird on a Switch case. Having full character renders, like the original PS1 release, would've made more sense too. It even stands out, in a negative way, next to the Switch release of FFVII/FFVIII. Just a poorly thought out cover.
3) All-Star Slammin' D-Ball
Besides the awful title, besides how uninspired they made a flaming volleyball look.... this cover is an awful representation of what the game is: A crazy anime volleyball game. I'm sure plenty of people skipped this one because of how bad the cover was.
Runner-up) Hot Potato!
In this case, the cover does represent the game well... it's just so ugly. The rendered blobs don't even look like potatoes! I don't think anyone who came across this cover would've given the box a second glance.
Loser) Shrek 2
It's never Ogre, is it? I mean, just look at this, it's a piece of Shrek's face. That's it. That's the whole cover. Maybe it could have worked if many characters, like Donkey and Fiona, were fighting for space on the cover too. But this? Nah, no thank you.
Best Videogame Cover of 2021:
...but let's end on a high note with my favorite covers of 2021. There were a ton of covers I adored, so coming up with this list was tough!
8) Avatar: The Last AirBender - The Burning Earth
I'm only putting it last 'cause it keeps popping up in these lists. Nothing else I can say, it looks incredible.
7) X-Men: Mutant Wars
Simple but effective, Wolverine and Sabertooth looked, and probably were, as if they were ripped out of a comicbook. Yeah, two cool characters drawn really well, back when I was younger seeing this cover was all I needed to know that I wanted that game.
6) Guilty Gear Strive
Guilty Gear covers tend to be weird, but they went for simplicity with this one... and it works really well. Badass looking art, but elegantly simple.
5) Fatal Fury: Battle Archives Volume 2
Colorful, striking and kinetic, this cover is perfect for a fighting game, and makes these old Fatal Fury games look even cooler than they really are.
4) Samurai Warriors 5
Koei is so proud of their new artstyle that they decided to showcase it right front and center. Not only is it well designed, but it also tells you all you need to know about this latest entry: A shift in art, main character and plot.
3) G. I. Joe: Operation Blackout
It's almost unfair that such a middling game got such a cool cover. Nice use of color as well as excellent art showcasing a decent amount of characters ready to battle. If only the game was half as good!
Runner-up) Art of Fighting Anthology
Remember how boring Goku's punch cover was? Here comes another orange-gi wearing blondie to show him how it's done. Beautifully drawn, and features a fair amount of characters from all over the series.
Winner) Darksiders: Warmastered Edition
This cover is perfect. Beautiful art, simple, and does a great job at conveying what Darksiders is all about. You look at this cover and it's all over: You are purchasing the game.
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