“2021 was a weird year for games.”
That’s in all probability a chorus you heard so much this 12 months when speaking to players. With a wave of high-profile delays scaling down 2021’s launch calendar, we had been left with a 12 months that appeared somewhat slimmer than we’re used to. Rather than having tons of spectacular big-budget video games to select from each month, the discharge calendar felt gentle when in comparison with what the 12 months was presupposed to appear to be. No God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, or Elden Ring.
But treating 2021 like a C-list gaming 12 months could be a mistake. It didn’t have as many marquee hits, however there was nonetheless a lot to get enthusiastic about. We acquired some really “next-gen” experiences in video games like Forza Horizon 5 and Returnal. RPG followers had an unimaginable 12 months, with video games like Shin Megami Tensei V and Tales of Arise pushing the style ahead. And as all the time, the indie scene offered gamers with unforgettable experiences like Before Your Eyes and Inscryption which are certain for long-term cult standing. If 2021 felt “weird,” perhaps you weren’t enjoying the appropriate video games.
With that in thoughts, the Digital Trends gaming crew put our brains collectively to select our high 10 video games of 2021. It’s a listing that stretches each nook of the gaming world, pulling somewhat one thing from throughout the spectrum. It solely scratches the floor in the case of 2021’s standout releases, however it’s a snapshot that emphatically pushes again on the suggestion that there weren’t any good video games this 12 months. That couldn’t be farther from the reality.
10. Deathloop
Deathloop, in some ways, seems like Arkane Studios’ magnum opus. The gameplay is a chic refinement of the work performed on its earlier titles like Dishonored and 2017’s Prey. The intermingling of fantastical powers, tight gunplay, and easy locomotion end in a recreation that efficiently caters to myriad tastes and rewards creativity. The means to method any encounter with stealth, blazing weapons, or hit-and-run ways (to call a couple of) has typically been aspired too, however not often executed so efficiently.
The time loop mechanic on the core of Deathloop, the place the identical day repeats endlessly, turns the sport right into a type of Metroidvania. Rather than accumulating new tools to advance, the gamers achieve data. Cole and Julianna, the charismatic leads of Deathloop, are brilliantly carried out and endlessly entertaining. From the 1960s mod setting to adversarial multiplayer to the ability development system, Deathloop is a shooter that actually fires on all cylinders. ~ Justin Koreis
Read our Deathloop overview
9. Hitman 3
On paper, Hitman 3 isn’t a lot completely different from its two predecessors. Usually, that is likely to be a knock towards a recreation, however it’s excessive reward right here. IO Interactive created a profitable components with its 2016 Hitman reboot, utilizing deduction and puzzle components to create a devilishly intelligent stealth motion recreation. That repeatable framework allowed IO to concentrate on creating sensible homicide sandboxes for Agent 47 to discover.
And Hitman 3 has one of the best sandboxes of the trilogy. Players will scale the facet of a Dubai skyscraper to assassinate targets at a swanky occasion. They’ll sneak via a winery, attempting to collect proof amongst rows of grapes. Best of all, they’ll journey to England and discover themselves in the midst of a traditional whodunit thriller, with Agent 47 enjoying the function of detective. Each stage is totally completely different from the others, providing up a few of IO’s most artistic set items up to now. The Hitman sequence was considered one of gaming’s best-kept secrets and techniques, however Hitman 3 took it out of the shadows. ~ Giovanni Colantonio
Read our Hitman 3 overview
8. Monster Hunter Rise
Monster Hunter Rise is essential to me as a longtime fan of the Monster Hunter franchise. I lastly have an installment that’s legitimately approachable to new gamers. I can hunt with my associates without having to clarify a plethora of difficult techniques. Rise streamlines most of the sequence’ most obtuse components and focuses on what’s necessary: Hunting massive, outdated monsters and sporting their pores and skin.
Rise provides thrilling wrinkles to the sequence, just like the wirebug and palamute that increase the flexibility to traverse the searching grounds. Each new function doesn’t come on the expense of the extreme and nail-biting motion that Monster Hunter is understood for. With a wholesome stream of small updates, it encourages gamers to all the time test again and see what has been added. This is the right recreation to begin with if you happen to and your folks have been interested by this sequence — for actual, this time. ~ Andrew Zucosky
Read our Monster Hunter Rise overview
7. Death’s Door
Death’s Door was this 12 months’s shock indie title, filling the identical function as 2020’s Hades (minus all of the lewd characters). The recreation is a top-down Zelda-style journey at coronary heart, one that ought to simply enchantment to anybody no matter their familiarity with the style. Death’s Door is an easy, accessible recreation, however one that also manages to be enjoyably tough.
As a small Crow who reaps souls for a residing, gamers journey via the sport’s colourful world, meet much more colourful characters (shout out to Pothead), and expertise among the finest boss fights this 12 months. But by its finish, Death’s Door isn’t about boss fights or fight. It’s about letting go. Death, and denial of it, surrounds every antagonist, and the eventual portrayal of its acceptance makes for considered one of this 12 months’s most touching moments. ~ Otto Kratky
Read our Death’s Door overview
6. Splitgate
Splitgate was a shock for me. Described because the “thinking player’s FPS,” it’s a mash-up of mechanics from Halo and Portal the place gamers can place portals round arenas and shoot enemies via them. While that appears like an inconceivable magic trick, it really works higher than anticipated on all fronts. After only some hours, it turned considered one of my favourite first-person shooters of the 12 months — and that’s saying one thing, contemplating I spent many of the 12 months buried in a variety of different shooters.
Put merely, Splitgate is enjoyable. The characters deal with properly, the weapons really feel distinctive and completely different sufficient to make capturing persistently partaking, and the number of modes preserve issues recent whether or not you’re leaping right into a matchmade recreation or organising a foyer on your associates. It felt like Halo with out all of the layers of bloat the sequence has amassed through the years. If I closed my eyes, I may nearly think about I used to be again in my highschool’s pc lab, enjoying Combat Evolved with 15 different individuals. That’s the very best praise I can provide Splitgate. ~ Emily Morrow
Read our Splitgate overview
5. Bowser’s Fury
Leave it to Nintendo to utterly reinvent considered one of its franchises through a by-product recreation packed in with a rerelease. Bowser’s Fury is a facet recreation that was bundled in with the Nintendo Switch port of Super Mario 3D World, however it’s the principle attraction of the package deal. Building on Super Mario Odyssey, it’s an open-world experiment the place platforming challenges are splayed out throughout a sequence of islands. Imagine your traditional Mario worlds which are break up up into ranges after which mix all of them into one seamlessly traversable area.
Toss in some kaiju-sized showdowns towards Bowser and also you’ve acquired one of many freshest Mario experiences in years. Best of all, it’s a compact recreation in comparison with most bloated open-world adventures. Clocking in at below 10 hours, gamers can absolutely discover each nook and cranny of the world with out spending months obsessively logging in. It’s each a brand new imaginative and prescient for what a Mario recreation can appear to be and a time-friendly reimagining of gaming’s most demanding style. ~ Giovanni Colantonio
Read our Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury overview
4. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
For over a decade now, massive recreation studios have tried to convey Hollywood-quality thrills to video video games. With Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Sony has efficiently created an interactive model of the summer season blockbuster. Impressive technical feats made potential by PlayStation 5 tech flip it right into a pure spectacle on par with the costliest Marvel films.
Most notably, it doesn’t sacrifice its personal identification as a Ratchet & Clank recreation to perform that. Instead, it takes every part that’s made the long-running sequence so enjoyable and maxes it out. The set items are larger, turning worlds into full-blown platforming amusement parks. The weapons are unpredictable, making fight right into a slapstick comedy routine. Best of all, there’s a powerful emphasis on characters as the sport tells a energetic superhero story about two Lombaxes discovering their place in a chaotic universe. ~ Giovanni Colantonio
Read our Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart overview
3. Tales of Arise
For followers of Japanese role-playing video games, 2021 may simply be dubbed “The Year of the JRPG.” Tales of Arise sits atop that throne, within the sae method that earlier entries of the Tales of sequence have topped their very own respective launch 12 months. It’s an RPG that steps even additional towards the evolution that Final Fantasy 7 Remake sought. It’s so grand and enjoyable that even somebody who’s not into JRPGs can leap in and have a very good time straight to the top.
Tales of Arise has a lot going for it, and it’s exhausting to encapsulate all of it in a brief blurb. The colourful visuals are attractive, exploring the massive open world feels seamless and immersive, the characters ooze attraction, and the fight … my goodness. Even the story, as easy and generic as it’s at instances, may be very sensible about topical points. I may suggest this recreation to gamers on the lookout for the following nice JRPG, these on the lookout for a deep and artistic motion recreation, and even these wanting a very good story with enjoyable characters to latch on to. But above all, I’d suggest Tales of Arise to anybody that wishes to witness the evolution of a style that’s recapturing mainstream audiences, simply as Final Fantasy 7 did all these years in the past. ~ De’Angelo Epps
Read our Tales of Arise overview
2. Returnal
Returnal in all probability isn’t the PS5 unique you anticipated to see this far down the checklist. While the sci-fi shooter acquired robust evaluations at launch, it was overshadowed by Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Deathloop, each of which gained out-of-this-world reward from critics and followers alike. And but, Returnal is the one PS5 unique I haven’t stopped excited about because it got here out.
The recreation is most instantly notable for its hellishly tough roguelike gameplay, which creatively combines components of Metroidvanias and “bullet hell” video games. It’s additionally one of the best showcase of the PS5’s DualSense controller, which makes its alien planet really feel actual with slimy haptic suggestions. But it’s the story that makes it stand out probably the most. The deeper you get into Returnal, the extra it reveals itself as a recreation about PTSD. Selene, the sport’s tortured astronaut hero, isn’t simply caught in an alien timeloop; she’s trapped in her personal head, reliving the occasions of a private tragedy again and again. That added layer takes Returnal to a a lot darker place than any massive -udget online game dared to go this 12 months, including thematic weight and justification to its glorious gameplay. ~ Giovanni Colantonio
Read our Returnal overview
1. Metroid Dread
It’s nonetheless shocking Metroid Dread even got here to be in any respect. What began off as a Metroid Fusion sequel idea in 2005 went via quite a few iterations earlier than being positioned on the again burner, after which ultimately being revived forward of its 2021 launch. Nearly 20 years because the earlier 2D entry, so much was using on Dread’s success, however fortunately, it not solely met expectations, however exceeded them handsomely.
Whether it’s the sensible stage design, satisfying development system, eerie sense of atmosphere, or spectacular visuals, Dread has a lot to like. Even the identify itself — Dread — is spot-on, serving as the right approach to describe the underlying feeling the sport evokes. Even nonetheless, that dread isn’t sufficient to discourage the participant from progressing, however somewhat, its a motivation to press on. For that cause, Dread all the time feels rewarding due to the sport’s excellent design and pacing. ~ Joseph Yaden
Read our Metroid Dread overview
Editors’ Recommendations