Life is Xbox
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If someone asks me the question, what is your game of the year for 2021? My answer would be The Gunk.
The entire game feels like Halo’s most popular franchise level ‘Halo’, the freedom, creativity in combat and impressive art direction makes Halo Infinite not only the best Halo game to date but also the best shooter ever created.
Forza Horizon 5 is a fantastic experience in every possible way! The game looks absolutely stunning, from the different biomes you ride through to the design of the cars, everything was developed carefully with one of the best games of 2021 as a result. If you like racing games even just a little bit, this game will probably grab you and suck you into the Forza universe!
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is overwhelmingly good. Eidos Montreal managed to create an authentic and incredible Marvel game that everyone will love. An epic original story, beautiful visuals, fantastic dialogue and an even better soundtrack. I used it in the introduction, but I’m using Star-Lords quote again: ”You Said It Yourself, B****. We’re The Guardians Of The Galaxy” A must-play adventure. I take a deep bow for the developers as this is truly something special.
Wind Peaks is a decent first game from Actoon Studio and a nice addition in the hidden object genre. The charming visuals impress in the beginning but become a bit repetitive, luckily the story holds up and remains fun to follow.
Hot Wheels Unleashed feels like a missed opportunity to make Mattel’s brand relevant in the gaming scene. Players will have fun playing it but other similar games are vastly superior, so this might only be something for Hot Wheels collectors. Visually the game is fantastic and the track editor works wonders for replay value but the chance is high that the racing gameplay loses your interest.
Doctor Who The Edge of Reality uses the source material very well but fails to do anything special with it. Visually it looks dated and it is riddled with game-breaking bugs. If it wasn’t for the good story this would have been a the Silence case. Playing it and instantly whipped from your mind when you finished it.
Gleylancer is a fun hardcore Shmup with challenging gameplay and I really appreciate all the tweaks that Ratalaika made to make ik more accessible for all gamers.
This year the winner for best football game is easily won by EA’s Fifa 22. HyperMotion is a true positive difference that makes the game so much more fluid and realistic.
eFootball 22 is one of the saddest downgrades of a franchise I ever experienced. Avoid this football game, yes.. I know it is free-to-play.
Far Cry 6 is exactly what you would expect from the franchise, it has a few new elements but it is mostly the same as the previous entries. Audio and visually it is an example of how impressive things can be but gameplay feels a bit old and the story is pretty weak.
Psychonauts 2 delivers on all fronts. It’s a labor of love from Double Fine with over a decade and a half in the making. The positives outweigh the negatives in such a way that I find myself thinking that this is easily a GOTY contender. When you play Psychonauts 2, you will instantly be transported into a world of intrigue, action, great platforming, and cinematics that will make you feel you are watching a movie from Pixar, it’s just that good.
A very short and boring game that barely manages to keep the player’s attention. Plagued with performance issues and repetitive missions, this isn’t what the Spirit franchise deserved.
Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is one of the best interactive experiences, that’s including every Netflix thing too. Fantastic acting, especially from Leah Cunard makes this fun to watch and play! It features some excellent weird stories and outstanding dialogue!
Battle Axe is one hell of a great-looking retro game but that impressive first impression quickly vanishes when you start playing it. The challenging gameplay misses some fresh ideas and the combat lacks depth and tactical possibilities. Battle Axe remains a fun experience but never really becomes something that stands out, except the exquisite visuals of course.
Super Meat Boy Forever is nothing like its predecessor. It doesn’t have the same charm, level design, or gameplay. I’m not a fan of the auto-runner concept, it is such a weird decision and downgrade from developer Team Meat. It remains enjoyable but it is far from the masterpiece that Super Meat Boy was in 2010.
The story, dialogue, and the creative journal gameplay are reasons to give Lost Words a straight 100%. Unfortunately not every other aspect is of the same quality, the gameplay sections in Estoria are basic and the simplicity in both worlds reduces my overall opinion of the game. Without a doubt though, this is a game I can highly recommend!
Stitchy in Tooki Trouble by Polygoat is definitely a nice platformer. I loved being able to play a few levels at a time, without feeling pressed to play a whole world at once. Overall a very enjoyable experience. I’m only sorry that there were not more worlds to discover!
Despite the heavy influence of Belgian folklore and an interesting tactical battle system Black Legend couldn’t convince me. A disappointing visual world, annoying bugs, and frustrating explanation of game mechanics result in a game that exists but won’t be recommended by anyone. Honestly a big missed opportunity for something much better.
It is truly exceptional that a small team has been able to develop a game like Raji, Nodding Head Games can be very proud of what they accomplished. Learning more about the Indian culture while playing a gorgeous game is rare and time well spent.