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@“chazumaru”#p47517 I am not sure I’ll get the opportunity to enjoy Forza Horizon 5 so quickly (I barely touched FH4 so I have a lot of catching up to do) but I am glad it has a great chance to amass many GOTY awards in mainstream outlets, for once
["_Paragraphs that have aged very poorly_"](https://thegameawards.com/nominees/)
@“chazumaru”#p48465 The guy who voiced Heisenberg in RE VIII isn't up for Best Performance tells me everything I need to know about these “awards”.
I shouldn’t get phased by this sort of industry-sanctioned marketing fluff but no recognition for the soundtrack of No More Heroes III also kills me a little bit inside.
Seems Deathproof is somehow this year’s inexplicable TGA darling (I guess it released at the right time for the nominations?) so at least maybe a French game will get all the awards this year.
I shouldn’t get fazed by this sort of industry-sanctioned marketing fluff but no recognition for the ART DIRECTION of NEO THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU also kills me a little bit inside.
EDIT ok well actually maybe the art direction in general terms is kind of in conflict with itself, but there are things about the look of this game that I love (the character illustrations, the Dreamcast-ish walkin-around-town graphics)
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@“chazumaru”#p48478 Seems Deathproof is somehow this year’s inexplicable TGA darling
Deathproof? Did you mean Heathcliff?
Oops. Never been able to remember this game’s name properly, for some reason. I obviously meant Deadpool.
I'm watching Natalie and Rob from Waypoint playing Inscryption. This is my game of 2021.
Been awhile since I posted here, but I thought I‘d add even though I haven’t played or loved a ton of new stuff this year, so I guess I'll have a list of 2.
#1 without a doubt, Cruelty Squad. I _love_ Cruelty Squad. Traditionally, I don't even like Immersive Sims, Dishonored, Deus Ex, stuff like that I could never get into. Cruelty Squad is unpleasant to look at, to hear, and somewhat to play with unusual controls, but it all fits in this abrasive bowl of anti-capitalism.
#2 is Forza Horizon 5, because i like cars and it's the most fun I've had driving around in a game since Forza Horizon 4.
I realised when this thread dropped that Metroid Dread is the only 2021 game I have played, so I guess that wins by default!
In terms of games I played for the first time this year, I think 2021 has been the year of shmups and adventure games for me (weird combination I know!). I set a personal goal to 1CC a bunch of shmups this year and I managed to beat Blazing Lazers, Star Parodier, Battle Mania 2, Steel Empire, GG Aleste, Harmful Park and Jamestown. Had a lot of fun with most of them, I think Blazing Lazers was the best of the bunch.
For adventures I played Thimbleweed Park, Kentucky Route Zero, Snatcher, Gemini Rue, Technobabylon, Firewatch, the Stanley Parable and Disaster Report. Had a great time chilling out with these games, KRZ is probably the standout for me - it just has the most amazing _mood_. I remember barely any details about the game, just sort of abstract emotions and hazy bizarre imagery. Really an incredible achievement, there's nothing else quite like it.
I've mostly been playing old 3DS games this year. But I have played a few 2021 games.
**It Takes Two**
This game was amazingly fun to play with my wife. The story was a bit stupid because >!the two characters clearly should divorce!!< But the game play was just a non stop roller-coaster of fun gimmicks. And the co-op aspect wasn't infuriating or relationship destroying.
**NieR Replicant**
I mean what can I say, this game is weird and good. Still need to play through a couple more times for the additional story.
**Shin Megami Tensei V**
I've only played about 14 hours of this game so far, plenty more to go. But it's safe to say this will be my GotY. It's SMT, it's great. Demons for days.
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@“KennyL”#p48511 Inscryption
I haven't played this, but I watched my wife play it. Holy heck what a game!
@“matt”#p48606
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I’ve mostly been playing old 3DS games
i nominate matt for insert credit forum mvp 2021.
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@“KennyL”#p48511 I’m watching Natalie and Rob from Waypoint playing Inscryption.
Watched part 3 of their run of **_Inscryption_**.
👉👉"Holy heck what a game!" ~ @matt
I'm gonna watch [Jenna's run](https://www.twitch.tv/the_jenna/videos?category=1147745783&filter=archives) (SPOILER thumbnails! Looks like this game goes to some wild places! 👀👀)
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@“KennyL”#p48807 Looks like this game goes to some wild places!
Yeah it sure does haha.
I'm glad to be among friends in the “oh I played ~ 1 game from this year” camp.
I played
On my _beautiful game that came out before this year_ list is 999, which has a fair amount of coverage, and Neo Cab, which blew me away in really subtle ways that I feel are exactly what the panel clamors for. It was about 3-4 hours, heavily story based, has some ambiguously consequential dialog options, and a really easy to grasp sci fi narrative. I think it just has the right blend of cool characters, art, and music to really get me in the good time zone
Looking back on it, I haven‘t actually played all that many games which came out this year, and I also still have a few to finish playing through before I can really actually put them on a list. That being said, here’s my top 5:
Metroid Dread
Nier Remastered
RE VIllage
SMT III Nocturne Remastered
SMTV
I still need to finish SMTV but I've played enough to say its definitely in my top 5. Others I need/want to finish are Great Ace Attorney, Neo: TWEWY, No More Heroes III, and Haru to Shura. Also, my above list isn't ranked, but if I had to pick a #1 for this year I think I have to give it to Metroid. Just really surprised me how good it was.
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@“connierad”#p47177 I don’t play many games in their year of release and usually just pick them up later on at a cheaper price so my list is tiny:
Unsighted
> Overboard!
> Steel Assault
If I counted Umurangi Generation (Switch Edition) as a 2021 release it would be #1 or #2.
Just played _Before Your Eyes_ last night and it might be my new number 1.
@“chazumaru”#p47565 & @Tradegood I went on a limb and checked Curious Expedition 2 out based on your mentioning it, and the art convinced me to buy. Hadn‘t played the first one at all, but I’ve been having a great time. The amount of content isn‘t insanely deep (can sorta get a read for the main types of events after about 5-8 hours), but the variety in play styles and the degree to which the minor narrative elements step it substantially away from something like Darkest Dungeon while also providing challenge has really kept me going. Finished the main campaign on medium after about 12 hours, now at 19 hours. Still unlocking some stuff and trying out different main characters. Thanks for putting it on my radar and I would recommend it if you haven’t tried it out!
Can we collectively make the choice of completely ignoring Geoff's circus and make our surely more interesting and comprehensive list?
https://twitter.com/Kotaku/status/1466880749928435712
Sixteen hours later the dude does a 180º in a thread in which he doesn't acknowledge the previous stance and makes it seem like this was the official position all along.
https://twitter.com/geoffkeighley/status/1467008293860429825
Yeah... it feels a bit too yucky, sorry.
The Game Awards is the cringe-and-so-less-worthy Oscars of the videogames, so…
As for me, I think that making a list for games released during 2021 in the final stretches of the year seems unfair for those games that have been released in November or specially December of this year. I don't know if those are worth it (like Mechajammer or Solar Ash), but to ponder all this one needs a considerable amount of time to play them.
@“JoJoestar”#p49997 If the rewarding of Naughty Dog for all their crunch last year was any indication, I'm surprised they even bothered to acknowledge it at all…
I can't quite fathom how people can still take this giant advertisement fest seriously.