During the Covid-19 pandemic, video games provided an escape for millions of people. The best games let players visit another world, live out their fantasies, or just hang out with friends over a game of FIFA or Call of Duty.
This year, while the volume of hit games has been relatively low as creators catch up on slow development time, the variety and intrigue continues. So supervillain simulators, hand-drawn horror, and co-op couples therapy, here are our best video games of 2021 so far.
Bulletstorm developer People Can Fly is tackling the fashionable ‘looter-shooter’ with this awesome sci-fi blaster. It immerses itself in the familiarity of games like Destiny, while its third-person action has the definable crunch of Gears of War. But those familiar hat tips allow the game to focus on its own characteristic that defines the dynamic celestial powers spread across four definable classes. The encounters are exciting and the loot is satisfying. This is exactly what this type of game strives to provide.
The cult villain simulator returns after a decade-long hiatus with Rebellion at the helm. Players build their underground lair, provide their casino cover operation, and train throwable minions before sending them out into the world to do their bidding. Evil Genius 2 is hugely fun, reminiscent of the halcyon simulation days of Theme Hospital and Dungeon Keeper, and executed with abundant devilish charm.
Hazelight’s brilliantly bizarre co-op escapade has divorcing parents May and Cody shrinking into the bodies of two dolls and getting wrapped up in a Honey, I Shrunk the Kids-style adventure, working together in pillow mazes, snow globes and peekaboo dungeons. . It Takes Two is heavy on the use of metaphors as mechanics, and its narrative tone is surprisingly deranged, but its consistently inventive duo gameplay provides some of the finest co-op fun since Portal 2.
One of the best things about the Monster Hunter series is that the name really tells you everything you need to know. You play as a nameless monster hunter who rides into town and is tasked with, you guessed it, killing monsters. To battle the gargantuan elemental forces of nature, you’re equipped with massive weaponry, a helpful cat, and a dog you can ride, and that’s basically it. It’s up to you to track the monsters, find them, kill them, and use their body parts to upgrade your weapons and armor. What appears to be standard action RPG actually hides a strategy underneath, as you have to think about exactly how to defeat the monsters you face, with different weapons working better on some monsters than others.
Extraordinary horror drawn in pencil by Swiss one-man band Michel Ziegler, Mundaun sends you to the Alps to investigate the death of your grandfather in a barn fire. The art style draws the eye – the dark lines both picturesque and oppressive as you learn about the diabolical events unfolding in the remote town – but its unsettling terror and earthly enigma make for a memorable experience.
A rather extraordinary jazz-backed murder mystery that covers all of creation. As a trilby-toting gumshoe, you ostensibly investigate the set of a jazz singer, but Genesis Noir’s abstract investigation sweeps you from the birth of the universe and through human history, connecting on static radio, building molecules and rotating planets. All the while, cymbals roll softly and saxophones vibrate to its surreal, singular background.
Sir Arthur and his spotted boxers are revitalized in this modern take on the ’80s side-scrolling classic. Despite all its spit and polish, your trek through hordes of demons and dragons is as ruthlessly challenging as ever. But a tall order isn’t all Ghost n Goblins is good for, with your bashing skeleton taking part in sneakily clever 2D environments.
The accessibility of the Oculus Quest 2 has pushed virtual reality back into the minds of the general public. More importantly, the headset provides a terrific frequency of excellent games. The Climb 2 is arguably the pick of 2021 so far, building on the original’s climbing core with a wide range of different scaled environments. From crumbling mountains to towering office buildings. As you reach arm-over-arm, straining your neck to find the optimal route, the handles drop and move to create an exciting, challenging and varied climbing simulation. The kind of overwhelming experience that can only happen in VR.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
Nintendo’s refinement of its wonderfully insane Mario multiplayer is a welcome addition to Switch in and of itself. But the new Bowser’s Fury adventure is one of the most intriguing additions to the Mario canon in recent years. Taking place on a vast open area – the shimmering Lapcat Lake – you traverse its scattered islands that are full of challenges and inventions. This is Mario at his most experimental – with manic energy and a bounty of ideas – and all the more impressive for him.
Loop Hero is a curious and inventive RPG in which direct control of the armed adventurer is taken away from you. Instead, you’re tasked with laying down cards to equip the hero with weapons AND create the path and enemies they’ll face. Once you’ve set up the environment, the hero is released onto your loop where these decisions will play out. Smart and compulsive.
While survival game Viking Valheim is still in early access, its Norse sandbox has already been a huge hit for players and stream viewers. You play as a slain Viking, waking up to a world where you must prove yourself worthy of moving on to Valhalla. You start with nothing, crafting weapons and building shelter to survive in its hostile nature. A real breakthrough whose strength lies in the creation of varied and unscripted stories.
Creeping terror abounds in Tarsier’s slim and twisted puzzle-platformer. As a little paper-headed Mono boy, you must flee through decaying hells – a forest, a school, a hospital – as terrifying embodiments of childhood fears rush after you. Clever physical diversion is the linchpin of Little Nightmares 2, but its rapid descent into darkness will stay with you.
Agent 47 slips into the shadows for a break after this terrific finale to Io’s World of Assassination trilogy. Hitman 3 is quirky network simulator at its finest, offering a delicious selection of murder sandboxes for nefarious experimentation. Infiltrating a slew of Dartmoor countryside as a private detective, sending agents on the hunt at a bustling Berlin nightclub, mingling with hoi polloi is a beautiful Argentinian vineyard. All armed with a silenced pistol, a fiber thread and the talent of 47 to slip into unnoticed roles. Shiny Stuff and its updated modifications and High Score Chase are also added retroactively to the first two games in the series.
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