Zack’s Personal Favorite Games of 2021
Despite a lot of delays moving games out of this past year, 2021 was still a great time to be a fan. A lot of fantastic games came out, even if the industry didn’t experience those “everyone stop and play this” type of releases. If you’ve listened to our Game of the Year podcast episode, you may notice a couple differences on this list. One is because I straight up forgot about it as I hastily assembled my list before the episode, and the other is because its inclusion would’ve made our GOTY debates a whole lot less fun. That’ll make more sense when you see my #1 (it’s not very surprising), and frankly, in a written format I can do whatever the hell I want!
Honorable Mention (Or 2021’s 2020 Game of the Year) – 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
This is where I’d like to mention the best game from last year I only got around to this year. 13 Sentinels is quite unlike most games. It’s a beautiful 2D side scrolling game, but it’s almost entirely story-focused. The timeline is spread out all over the place, and the 13 different protagonists each have their own storyline focused on a specific sci-fi trope. Somehow it’s beautifully brought together in the RTS-inspired mecha vs kaiju finale that is played out at your own leisure throughout the game. It has some of the most beautifully written romances and intriguing characters I’ve seen in a long while, and it’s Vanillaware’s finest offering.
#10 – Lost Words: Beyond the Page
A somber tale of a young girl coming to grips with the passing of her Grandmother. It’s a beautiful narrative told via a unique method. Most of the time you play through a girl’s journal by actually platforming on the words within. The rest is spent exploring a fantasy narrative she’s crafted to escape her pain. Rhianna Pratchett brings her writing A-game to deliver a story I recommend to anyone with a couple hours to kill.
#9 – Lemnis Gate
I would’ve assumed I’d be playing a lot more Lemnis Gate this year. It’s an incredibly clever turn-based FPS, where smart tactics come to the forefront. I’ve been describing it as shooter chess, and it really does engage your brain in much the same way. I just wish I had more friends interested in playing it, as this kind of game doesn’t lend well to randos.
#8 – Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars
A video game with an incredibly smart aesthetic, it’s none-the-less a fairly standard JRPG. A couple things hold it back such as its incredible easy combat and slow pace of play, but it comes together by the end. The Yoko Taro brand of weirdness is relatively reserved until the final moments, but even his weakest game is worth mentioning.
#7 – Super Mario 3D World: Bowser’s Fury
Now I’m nowhere near the Nintendo fan my fellow co-hosts on The Gaming Outsider are, but I can always appreciate a new Mario title. It’s surprising Bowser’s Fury is relegated to an add-on here when it’s actually the star of the show. Bowser’s Fury is a take on an open-world Mario game, and it works far better than you’d expect. I was bummed when I 100%ed it because I just wanted more.
#6 – Lake
No game has ever zenned me out quite like Lake. Going around this small town and delivering packages to its denizens was almost a meditative experience for me. The characters you meet along the way are plenty interesting and compelling in their own right, but there was just something about the simple day-to-day process of delivering mail that appealed to some sort of calm center in my brain.
#5 – Halo Infinite
I never thought 343 Industries would pull off a Halo game that was actually good. Despite a great sendoff to Cortana, Halo 4 was a slog of a campaign. Halo 5 is better left forgotten altogether with a marketing campaign that was a straight-up lie and a snoozer of a story in the final game. But the Chief is back in full form. A fantastic hub-and-spoke design was just what Halo needed to make its campaign feel fresh and alive again. It helps that this is bolstered by a powerfully human story between Master Chief and The Weapon. The multiplayer has even gotten its hooks in me in a way not seen since Halo 3.
#4 – It Takes Two
It Takes Two is a limitless fountain of creativity. Seriously, every fifteen minutes or so of this co-op adventure presents an entirely new idea, and then discards it entirely. It keeps the pace up so you never want to put it down, and it’s just an absolute blast for its entire duration. Playing through this with Scott Clark was an honest highlight of the year. Just don’t tell him, I don’t want him thinking I’m going soft.
#3 – Haven
So many stories are about two people finding love, but rare is the tale of what happens after. Haven starts just after our two lovebirds have run away from home and decided on a life together. Stranded on an alien planet, the majority of the game is about cleaning up the world to make it better. There’s clever combat where you have to play both characters simultaneously, and it’s an excellent complement to the fun traversal mechanics. But it’s those little moments where our characters read books together or surprise each other in the shower that makes this game beautiful. It’s all about the little moments in life, something most video games shy away from.
#2 – Guardians of the Galaxy
It’s fair to say Guardians of the Galaxy is the surprise of the year for anyone who played it. A weak debut and the foul taste of Avengers clouded this game’s entire road to release. Luckily, I gave it a shot, and it absolutely blew me away. In several ways, it’s even better than the James Gunn films that established these characters as household names. I definitely didn’t expect this big budget release to be entirely single-player with a focus on choices and narrative consequence. In fact, all of us at The Gaming Outsider had slightly different outcomes within the storyline, and that speaks to the game’s credit. The combat is a unique beast all its own, and it was fun the entire time thanks to it building in smart ways alongside the adventure. The story of grief at the core here is something we can all relate to.
#1 – NieR: Replicant ver 1.22474487139…
Well, I mean, it’s my favorite game of all time made even better, so what did you think would happen? I decided going into our GOTY podcast episode that I wouldn’t allow NieR: Replicant to count there since it’s a re-release of an 11 year old game I’ve played to death, and it would’ve swept every category for me. But on this list? It’s go time, baby. There’s no way you listen to our show and haven’t heard me talk endlessly about all things Drakengard and Nier, so almost anyone reading this knows what Nier means to me. This version is improved in every single way, even going so far as to add in content that was originally cut due to budget restraints. The visuals and music have been improved, and the combat was overhauled entirely (thank god). Every line of dialogue is now voiced, which helps to sell the melancholic atmosphere. Despite my sadness at a lack of Papa Nier, I had to finally admit my favorite story ever told is actually better with Bro Nier. I guess Yoko Taro was right all along. I put over 75 hours into Nier: Replicant this year even though I’ve played the original version so many times I’ve long since lost count. That should speak volumes alone.
To hear me discuss our top games of 2021, be sure to listen to Episode 379 of The Gaming Outsider Podcast. There, you can hear a more detailed account of our favorites from the year.
