Favorite games I played this year that also came out this year:
Metroid Dread
Psychonauts 2
Outer Wilds: Echos of the Eye
Bowser's Fury
Nier Replicant
Favorite plays this year that did not come out this year:
Yakuza 5
Disco Elysium
Paradise Killer
Spiritfarer
Dragon Quest XI
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
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@“zm1704”#p47553 Outer Wilds: Echos of the Eye
Outer Wilds was probably my favorite game of 2019, but I somehow completely missed that this was getting DLC! I take it that you would recommend it?
Looking through my games and I realized I bought very few new-release games this year, and only played a significant amount of one.
So my game of the year list is:
With an honorable mention for Get in the Car, Loser! which I've only played for 22 minutes so far but which seems cool.
@“kory”#p47555 Yes! I loved it, I don‘t know why it didn’t get more press or promotion. It fits perfectly inside the game but is like a whole other campaign, looking at the universe they presented from another angle. I didn‘t think they could replicate what they did before but I spent almost as many hours in Echos of the Eye as I did in the original adventure. Frustrating, moving, existential, it’s all the things that makes Outer Wilds the best
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@“Tradegood”#p47535 Wow, is it that good?
I really liked the bit I played but give me a little more time with it to confirm that impression! At first glance, it seems like it fixes most of the tiny issues found in the first game, and obviously the visual style really speaks to my sociocultural background (it does something more coherent with it than Sable, for instance).
I haven't played many current games this year, but I really liked It Takes Two despite its story being pretty bad.
Metroid Dread was also a highlight, and Christmas Tina is a nice gentle visual novel that got a localization a couple of months ago.
@“tapevulture”#p47537 thanks for the reply, glad you appreciated my post! Since you‘re interested, I have some more honorable mentions as well as some games that came out this year that I very much intend to play eventually but haven’t gotten around to yet.
**Honorable mentions part 2**
_The Legend of Tianding:_ Just finished this game last night. One of my favorite games of the year. A really fun, fluid action platformer. Great movement and combat, reminds me of _Dead Cells_ a bit. But what really made this special is the setting and story. This is based on a Taiwanese folk hero from the early 1900s named Liang Tianding. Sort of a Taiwanese Robin Hood. It has a great comic book art style and fun music with a lot of Chinese instruments. What's really cool though are the little bits and pieces of Taiwanese culture in here. You collect tons of little items that give you small bonuses to your abilities and they all have little blurbs attached to them about their place in Taiwanese history.
Here's one of my favorites:
[upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/JiTPSb3.png]
Highly recommend this game if you're into fluid movement and combat and/or Taiwanese/Chinese history.
_The Rewinder:_ Another cool Chinese game (continental Chinese this time) that came out this year. This one is a point 'n' click adventure where you are a sort of supernatural detective embedded in Chinese folk-myth. You have to investigate a town where a bunch of souls aren't being properly recycled into the reincarnation system. You fix things by going back in time to key moments and influencing peoples' actions. I didn't finish this one but it was really fun to play a good point 'n' click with a setting like this.
_El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron:_ Technically this is a re-release, but I feel it's worth mentioning. If you don't know about this game it's worth looking up. It is a visual wonder that came out an unbelievable ten years ago. I found the mechanics kinda wooden and unpleasant unfortunately. But I could not stop marveling at the visuals and the art direction. It really makes you wonder what it would be like if this game had been more popular in its time. A lot of games might have a very different visual style.
**Games yet to play**
_Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion:_ I've heard this game is pretty funny and looks nice, so I want to check it out eventually.
_Cruelty Squad:_ This game has been a lowkey phenomenon and a lot of people I know are saying it's going to have a ton of influence on future games and will be considered very important.
_Strangeland:_ A new point 'n' click game from the developers of my favorite point 'n' click game _Primordia_ so I have to check it out.
_Eldest Souls:_ Beautiful pixel art. Combat looks fun. Seems like it could be a great time.
_Backbone:_ Very cool looking point 'n' click noir adventure set in an analog of Vancouver. I have heard very good things about it and seen a little gameplay and I think it's gonna be good.
_Sable:_ I've seen some footage of this one and am interested based on the art direction alone.
_The Legend of Sword and Fairy 7:_ Latest iteration in a long running Chinese CRPG series. Really cool this one got an English release and it's such an important series in Chinese games I really want to check it out.
_Tale of Immortal:_ This one is still in early access but I am so excited for it I have to mention it. Another dope looking Chinese game, this one an action RPG with a lot of cool looking systems. I suspect the visuals won't appeal to everyone but I really like the look of it.
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@“Gaagaagiins”#p47439 Monster Hunter Rise
I was just reflecting on how weird it was (for me personally) to purchase a new MH and only play about 45 minutes of it. I think they just really sanded down the game into gray paste
edit:
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@“chazumaru”#p47517 Monster Hunter Rise (just under 300 hours)
maybe I was too hasty and ought to revisit....
@“TheBeigeKnight”#p47595 Backbone has a free Prologue chapter on Steam. Worth checking out for the visuals. I've been told by a few IRL friends that the game itself is lacking in story and content (in the full version…)
trying to decide if i want to get back into Scarlet Nexus or not. hard to describe but that game has unparalleled PSP energy.
@“andrewelmore”#p48002 It reminds me a lot of Freedom Wars on the Vita, a game that I loved despite big issues lol. I‘ve only played the demo but everyone who plays more of it seems to say it’s actually pretty good! On Game Pass too.
I haven't played too many released-in-2021 games either, but my GOTY list would look like this:
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@“whatsarobot”#p48279 Shin Megami Tensei V
> Densha de Go! Hashiro Yamanote-sen
My top gaming moment of the year was when I came across the train during the first couple hours of SMT, and a character asks "what's that?", I said out loud "that's a Yamanote line train, we must be in Tokyo!" and then the character said the same thing right after. Densha de GO! has been the game that keeps on giving.
Favorite game released this year: Balan Wonderworld
Favorite game not released this year: Kentucky Route Zero
@“robinhoodie”#p48396 Wow I need to hear more about this hot take. Or was Balan Wonderworld simply the only 2021 game you played so that it wins by default?
@“whatsarobot”#p48398 its a by default win. But I really think it’s a beautiful looking and sounding game. Very much a Nights sequel and Saturn era Sega game in spirit. As a simple exploratory puzzle platformer it is engrossing. It shouldn’t have been a full price release with it’s lack of polish. But at 20$ I have really loved just hanging out in the worlds it imagines. A relaxing game in an ugly year.
@“robinhoodie”#p48399 Cool! You've made a compelling case for it. I was surprised by the backlash, honestly, and suspect people are probably just piling on at this point.
@“whatsarobot”#p48400 it feels like a game that came out 20 years too late. So you kind of have to have a tolerance for what it does. It has a lot of Sonic Adventure 1 to it. But what would fly in 1999 is obviously an acquired taste in 2021.
@“robinhoodie”#p48401 Totally. On the whole, I'm way more interested and in and comfortable with games released in 1999 than games released in 2021.
I didn't really have one until I played Deathloop. So much fun. Wonderful experience.