The editorial team of TechGameWorld.com has drawn up its top 10 for the best video games of 2021: in what order will it be paraded on our red carpet?
Certo, i Game Awards 2021 they may have ended, but if you are on the hunt for one top 10 ordered differently by us techgameworld.com we have drawn up a ranking of our own for what we believe to be the best video games of the year. Interesting titles continued unabated, in what turned out to be another phenomenal year for this medium. We don’t want to imply that it was all plain sailing; after all, as Geoff Keighley reminded us at the beginning of the ceremony, some very unpleasant truths emerged about the working environment that characterizes this art form.
For the rest, however, it seems that just when we are ready to believe that we have seen the best, the videogame world surprises us with pleasant curved balls. Whether it’s a Slavic matriarchy or a rift between dimensions, it is undeniable that the arrival of the new generations is bringing with it surprises that we would hardly have called imaginable when we took our first steps with the controller in hand. Limit ourselves to ten titles, too not to mention the remakes and remasters (which, playing on nostalgia, a little “cheat”), was still very complicated, but in the end our internal survey turned out to be fruitful.
Tenth place: Resident Evil Village
Let’s open the top 10 of TechGameWorld.com with a bang: of all video games, from the worst to the best, there was one capable of making people talk about itself in 2021 more than Resident Evil Village? The eighth installment of Capcom’s horror saga is best known for, yes, Lady Alcina Dimitrescu, the game’s junoesque and gigantic antagonist. As much as the internet has loved courting her, however, in reality she is certainly not the only flagship of Ethan Winters’ adventure. The merits of this title are other, and despite the emphasis both on action in this episode as well as in the fourth, the tense atmosphere has already consecrated it in the eyes of fans as one of the high points of the series.
Ninth place: Kena: Bridge of Spirits – the top 10 of the best video games of 2021 according to TechGameWorld.com
It may be that we at TechGameWorld.com have a weakness for more artisanal game design, but it is not only this that has elevated it Kena: Bridge of Spirits to one of the best video games of this 2021 on the avenue of the sunset: the game entered the top 10 for all its merits. The guys from Ember Lab, previously known for the short film Majora’s Mask: Terrible Fate, have crafted an action-adventure title devoted to exploration like few others. Guiding Kena in the world of spirits called Rot is a joy for the eyes (and for the fingertips) at every frame… but, if you have already tried it with your hand, we will hardly have to tell you.
Eighth place: Tales of Arise – the top 10 of the best video games of 2021 according to TechGameWorld.com
The ranking continues with Tales of Arise, the youngest son of the Bandai Namco RPG saga, who has earned his place on the charts. The series has never failed to combine its purely “anime” artistic style with a deconstructive approach to role-playing canons, but this time the more adult approach to storytelling has been able to put the conventions of the genre under greater scrutiny. Among planets revered as gods and swords capable of burning those who wield them alive, this jewel has been able to surprise us with a few punches in the stomach. So good.
Seventh place: Returnal – the top 10 of the best video games of 2021 according to TechGameWorld.com
Have you ever seen the movie Start Over, starring Andie MacDowell and Bill Murray? If so, the narrative premise of Returnal it should be familiar to you, up to a point. Take the third-person shooter genre, season it with bullet hell shootings, blend it all with a touch of roguelike and you will get the first “triple A” title of Housemarque, developed exclusively for Sony. The heterochromia in the eyes of the protagonist Selene is one of the signs of the traumatic experience that marked her, and of which we will become aware as the story unfolds between one twist and another.
Sixth place: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart – the top 10 of the best video games of 2021 according to TechGameWorld.com
Despite what we would have otherwise feared, Sony’s last bastions of the golden years not only endure over time but also know how to get back in great shape. To prove it to us is Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, where the two eponymous heroes change partners following a disaster on a multiversal scale. Ratchet is paired with the robot Kit, while the female lombax, Rivet, takes care of Clank. The use of gaps between dimensions paves the way for many different gameplay ideas, from the new RYNO which mentions many other Sony franchises to instant travel between different dimensions.
Fifth place: Forza Horizon 5 – the top 10 of the best video games of 2021 according to TechGameWorld.com
We swear it’s pure chance, but Forza Horizon 5 he ended up finishing in fifth position. Microsoft’s automotive simulator series greets Xbox One for the last time, plunging irreversibly into the next-gen. The narrative pretext sees us returning victorious from the competition in the previous game, and then throwing ourselves on the streets (and on the circuits) of Mexico. However, beyond the undoubted visual impact, the customization tools to embellish the whole are also provided to set up the races we would have always dreamed of experiencing. Ah, and in all of this our avatar has the gift of speaking!
Fourth place: Deathloop – the top 10 of the best video games of 2021 according to TechGameWorld.com
Have you ever seen the movie… no, wait, we’ve already said that! Deathloop brought us back to the idea of a great infinite loop, in which Bethesda’s choice to publish the game exclusively on PlayStation 5 (on the console front) is perhaps the most normal thing. As in Fortnite, we find ourselves having to eliminate all the other “players” (who are in the plot, of course) in the role of Colt during our stay on the island. Contrary to Fortnite, we will have to deal with Julianna, a girl with afro hair intent on eliminating us to keep the loop going … no, wait, this also brings us back to Fortnite. In any case, the approach to the roguelike genre was handled with a more light-hearted air than seen in Returnal, making it more palatable.
Third place: Psychonauts 2 – the top 10 of the best video games of 2021 according to TechGameWorld.com
The return of Tim Schafer at the helm of the brand that remained in limbo for thirteen years was a real triumph, and that is why Psychonauts 2 wins his bronze medal by right. Double Fine took us back to the psychedelic world of Raz and company. Schafer’s interpretation of the platformer genre fills the experience with many modern “conveniences”, such as an autosave system and unlimited lives, thus allowing the player to focus on the fun of the experience. Taking great advantage of the immense lore built up over time, this remains a mental trip to be experienced at any cost.
Second place: It Takes Two – the top 10 of the best video games of 2021 according to TechGameWorld.com
The title of the game can be translated in two ways: either “it takes two”, or “it takes two”. To us it seemed rather that It Takes Two at the Game Awards he was an ace catch, but it certainly represents a real crowning glory for the journey of the Swedish-Lebanese director and actor Josef Fares (try to see Kopps, by the way: it’s worth it) in the field of game design, after Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and A Way Out. In this action-adventure, local and / or online co-op is the only way to progress: after all, the plot sees a couple in crisis trapped in the bodies of two dolls at the behest of their daughter. A fairytale metaphor that blends a very real problem with a phenomenal gameplay idea.
And the winner is…
To finish at the top of the top 10 of the best video games of 2021 is Metroid Dread. The fifth episode in chronological order of the side scrolling Samus Aran saga has been able to emphasize the strengths of Metroid Fusion, at the time penalized by the niche audience of portable consoles. The survival horror soul of Fusion is back to finalize its marriage to the metroidvania formula, filling the exploration of each new sector with tension for the most daring bounty hunter ever devised by the Great N. A title definitely worth trying … literally: there is a demo on Nintendo eShop. We summarize the ten placings below:
- Resident Evil Village
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Tales of Arise
- Returnal
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Forza Horizon 5
- Deathloop
- Psychonauts 2
- It Takes Two
- Metroid Dread
Now it’s up to you to tell us yours: how would you have drawn up the ranking? Let us know below, and as always don’t forget to stay on TechGameWorld.com for all the most important news for gamers and more. For your purely gaming needs, you can instead find the best discounts in digital format on Instant Gaming.