The best of video games in 2021, part 2 – Reader’s Feature

Resident Evil Village – everyone loves Lady D (pic: Capcom)

A reader offers up a detailed explanation of his five favourite games of 2021, including Resident Evil Village and Forza Horizon 5.

Here’s the part 2 of my review of 2021, the first part is here. This is the nitty gritty, my favourite games of the year. I’ve done my top five new games I played in 2021, so I didn’t include other games such as Super Mario Odyssey and God Of War that I also replayed.

Top five video game of 2021

5. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
The game didn’t live up to the hype of how its use of the PlayStation 5’s SSD would be utilised. It didn’t really add much to gameplay and wasn’t really a case of leaping between worlds. That being said, the gameplay was good fun. Traversing the world was enjoyable with the hoverboots and occasional rail grinding. Also, the combat was decent.

4. Resident Evil Village
The first few hours of the game were some of the best gaming had to offer in 2021. Being chased around a castle by the iconic Lady Dimetrescu reminded me of being chased by Mr X in Resident Evil 2. Albeit Lady D was slightly more pleasing on the eye, which didn’t go unnoticed. The way the internet reacted to Lady D you’d have thought Resident Evil was less survival horror and more a dating sim.

The house of dolls section of the game was also excellent. It’s a shame that the last few hours of the game saw a drop in quality. That being said, it was still a good game even if it didn’t live up to its predecessor.

3. Life Is Strange: True Colors
This isn’t a game I’d usually play but fancied a change of pace. I’d played Before The Storm but none of the other games. I actually had a really good time with the game. Because the game is split into chapters I could usually finish one a day.
I finished it really quickly because I wanted to know what happened next, which is testament to the writing. My only criticism of the game is that it is quite short. I think I finished in around eight hours. Personally, I didn’t mind too much but some might.

2. Metroid Dread
This, again, isn’t a game I’d normally go for but I hadn’t bought a new game for the Switch in ages and it was getting rave reviews. The game looks amazing for a 2D side scroller. It’s quite challenging but you feel genuine accomplishment when accessing a new area or skill. My own personal disappointment with the game though is that I’ll likely never finish it, as I’m stuck on one of bosses.

1. Forza Horizon 5
This is the game that prompted me to get an Xbox Series S alongside my PlayStation 5 and it doesn’t disappoint. Even if you don’t like traditional races there’s still stunt jumps, drift zones, speed limit zones or even just trying to find hidden rare cars.

The variety of things to do also extends to the variety of vehicles. Off-roaders, sports cars, rally cars, even the occasional monster truck. I don’t much care for racing games usually but Forza Horizon is one I’ll make an exception for. The game also looks stunning, at times almost photorealistic.

My only slight criticism is sometimes the amount of map markers can feel overwhelming. I urge anyone with Game Pass to give it a go even if you don’t normally enjoy racing games.

Top games I played in 2021 that were released earlier:

5. Limbo
I’ve been meaning to play this for a while and just finished it on New Year’s Eve. I think the simple black and white colour scheme is visually striking and means, in some ways, it holds up better than some big budget games of the time. It felt very much a welcome game as the simplicity of the controls and the lack of combat made it a good change of pace. I also enjoy a good puzzle game and there isn’t many of them around. I did find that some of the puzzles, especially towards the end, seemed to have slightly obscure solutions though.

4. Resident Evil 7
Another game I’d been meaning to play for a while but frankly I was too much of a wuss. I decided though, I wanted to play Resident Evil Village so needed to put on my big boy pants and actually get through the game without soiling my pants in terror.

The first part of the game is very creepy, but it does get less so the more the game goes on but remains tense and unnerving. Despite that I did enjoy myself. The first half of the game is certainly the best with the last few hours less effective. That said it’s still a good game with some memorable characters and moments.

3. Super Mario 3D World
I’d never played this game before but very much enjoyed it. It’s not on the same level as Super Mario Galaxy or Odyssey but it’s not far behind. The power-ups are great fun and there’s a lot of them. There’s also some great gameplay and a good mixture of 2D and 3D. There’s also a good variety in the level design.

2. Devil May Cry 5
I’d tried this game a number of times but never got far into it before getting bored. This time though I gave it my proper attention and wasn’t disappointed. The missions generally only take 30 minutes or so, which was perfect if I only had an hour to play.

The combat is so satisfying and fluid. I felt like I’d really got a handle on things by the end and was churning out well executed moved, though in reality I was probably just mashing all the buttons. My favourite character to play with was V, but Dante was also good too.

1. Control
This was another game I’d had a little play off but never really got into it. It was free via PS Plus so I thought I’d give it another chance. The PlayStation 5 version looks amazing with the ray-tracing and after an hour or so when you get access to more powers the game really comes into its own. It’s also worth doing some of the side missions as some of the abilities can only be gained this way.

By the end of the game you’ll have a whole host of powers. Launch enemies and debris, make shields with debris, levitate, speed boost, and take possession of enemies. I’m not sure where I heard it, but it was mentioned that Control has done Star Wars better than any actual Star Wars game. And in some ways this is true, sure you don’t have lightsaber but when you are throwing objects at enemies it sure feels like you are using the Force and it never gets old.

By reader matc7884

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