Year In Review: 2021

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Another year of mini-reviews for my personal reference! Choosing a GOTY is tough – Hades, Disco Elysium, Deltarune Chapter 2 and Inscryption are all worthy though.

Gun to my head, might have to go with Disco Elysium as the GOTY, but honestly, every time I think about it, I get a different answer – too close to call. Anything that I float in the 8 - 10 range below is probably deserving.

  • Hades – [10]

    • Would have absolutely been my GOTY 2020 if I had played it then; I don't even enjoy roguelikes, but this got its hooks in deep. Amazing art with lovable characters and a frankly ABSURD amount of voice acting and reactive dialogue. Thoroughly enjoyed the story even if it ultimately ended up as a transparent excuse to “continue playing the game over and over.” Fun weapons and builds, and a perfect difficulty curve – I always felt challenged but never stuck.

      Only small nitpick I have is that, early on, getting an Athena buff feels borderline mandatory in order to minimize damage from the more “bullet hell-ish” encounters. You could always “git gud” - and you do, eventually - but point being: the Athena buffs trivialize a major gameplay element (dodging projectiles) far more than any of the other buffs help with anything else, at least in the early hours of the game.

  • Monster Hunter Rise – [7]

    • Incomplete at launch compared to World, but I really, really dig the core combat. I was a huge proponent of the Clutch Claw system from World, and the new Wirebug system here is, I think, even more dynamic (and the customization aspect is also appreciated).

  • Demon’s Souls (PS5) – [6]

    • A gorgeous remake. It is also stunningly accurate to the original from what I understand, perhaps to its detriment. Some of the game's knowledge and mechanics are so esoteric (even by Soulsborne standards!), that you would never be able to figure it out without a strategy guide. This is of course intentional, but frankly I just don't think it's very... good. Demons Souls may be the weakest entry in the series, but if nothing else, it's interesting to see how it laid the groundwork for the rest of the Soulsborne games. Also, mildest take of the century - World/Character Tendency sucks.

  • Vermintide 2: The Chaos Wastes DLC – [7]

    • A “roguelike” version of the base game. The extra modifiers (and other changes) are fun, but this really needed a new enemy faction to make it shine.

  • NieR: Replicant – [6]

    • This one didn't hit as hard as Automata did for – but then again, it did technically come first, so Automata had the benefit of improving the formula. Not much to say other than I really enjoyed it – I just wish it required one or two less playthroughs before you truly see everything it has to offer.

  • Resident Evil: Village – [7]

    • I'm conflicted as to whether or not I enjoyed this more than RE7. The initial setup is great, with the titular village and the introduction of the villains and whatnot. But there's some weird pacing, particularly around the midpoint. Although the middle missions (Beneviento and Moreau) are awesome in their own right, they felt a little on the short side compared to Castle Dimitrescu and Heisenberg's factory, and could have benefited from even just one more major encounter in each – either an extra combat or puzzle, something.
      Also, some of the big enemies (like the axe-wielding giants and large werewolves) have bad pathfinding; sometimes, they're even placed in an environment where you can backpeddle out of their aggro radius and reset them, making them far too easy to exploit. In the final hour, this game goes insanely off the rails – EVEN for Resident Evil standards. I feel like this game's story and atmosphere could have been stronger if they didn't try to tie-in RE7's story so rigidly. Still, game was a fun romp.

  • Mass Effect: Legendary Edition – [9]

    • A nearly flawless trip down memory lane. Was interesting to replay all of these games after a decade of life experience – my opinions on each have shifted slightly, but everything mostly holds up. Wish they brought back the multiplayer!

  • Psychonauts 2 – [8]

    • This game impressed me – it keeps some of the old baggage of the western “small open world collect-a-thon” formula, but the world here is so dense; there are a surprising amount of things to collect and discover within a limited space. Humor and writing's alright, chuckled a few times. The combat is fine, and the art style is obviously fun and unique. Very pleasant surprise.

  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits – [3]

    • A gorgeous world with average character design, a nothing story, and one of the most infuriatingly buggy combat experiences I've had in a long while. The control glitches and camera/lock-on issues were constant. And, when you combine the camera issues with an almost total lack of i-frames when dodging or being knocked down, AND a healing system that requires you to look AWAY from enemies to heal (opening you up to you yet more unnecessary damage), some of the encounters become nearly unplayable. You can't have this kind of fast-paced combat - based on dodges and parries - without the finesse and polish that makes other action games enjoyable; the stuttering controls and camera bugs made this game excruciating.

      For example, here's some of the most common camera/control issues I experienced:

      • Focusing on an enemy as they teleport or dodge away SOMETIMES breaks lock on and “freezes” the camera in place (i.e. stuck pointing AWAY from where the teleporting enemy) for a few seconds. I died – or at least took unnecessary damage – because of this bug so many times.

      • Lock on randomly breaks if an enemy moves too close to you (and sometimes it just felt like the lock on broke randomly for no reason?). Or, sometimes instead of breaking, it would just shift to completely different enemy on its own – extremely disorienting.

      • Ending a heavy charge attack combo makes your attack buttons unresponsive for a few frames, rather than looping into a new combo chain as any other action game would do.

      • Drawing your bow too quickly at the beginning of combat causes it to become unresponsive after firing your first arrow.

  • Deltarune Chapter 2 – [9]

    • I just really love these games – the music, the silly humor, the weirdly serious lore, the variety of combat gimmicks, the simple-yet-effective art style – it's all great. This is a fantastic expansion onto what chapter 1 built, and I can't wait to see what's in store for chapter 3.

  • Haven – [5]

    • Played this with my wife. Decent (if a little saccharine) sci-fi visual novel of lovers on the run, who settle together on a mysterious planet. Sometimes a bit repetitive, and the controls are a little wonky, but we enjoyed our time. Good couples game.

  • Back 4 Blood – [6]

    • Solid “soft” sequel to Left 4 Dead. Some of the balance is kinda rough – the jump from Recruit to Veteran difficulty is too steep, and there are times the AI director feels a little broken (not just hard, but rather buggy). But I do enjoy the “deck” system, where you build your skill unlocks in a run from a stacked deck of cards. Hope the devs continue to improve this one.

  • Inscryption – [8]

    • This game has a lot of things I love – it combines a fun roguelike shell with a simple but surprisingly balanced TCG game. Then, add on top of that: Myst-style puzzles and explorable environments, some deep lore told through unfiction-style found footage (think “Marble Hornets”), and a plethora of fun twists and new mechanics. All together, it's a slightly uneven experience, but wow – it's a surprising and satisfying one.

  • Disco Elysium – [8]

    • Finally got around to this one. The murder mystery here is actually pretty great! Just when you think you have it figured out, it adds another little twist or wrinkle to keep you guessing. And, I love the humor and dialogue – this game truly takes the piss out of most of the major political/ideological angles you'll find in our day-to-day internet hellscape, poking fun without backsliding into complete cynicism or nihilism. The game presents a cruel, difficult world, and demonstrates how people form their identities as a refuge against the harsh realities of living in that world - be it through politics, substance abuse, or some other coping mechanism. It's dark, absurd, and filled with existential dread, but there's tenacity and hope here too. Wonderful game.