Video Games I thought were Pretty Good, 2021

The Longing - There will be no game that is a better metaphor for quarantining, and is probably the best game for games as an artform I have played in awhile. This list isn't in order, but this probably would my GOTY if I played it mostly in 2021 instead of 2020

Warioware Get It Together - I originally had Adios here, but playing Warioware as I am recovering from Covid is just closer to my heart, and brought me more joy.

Astro's Playroom - The PS5 is pretty cool. 

Miles Morales - Probably the AAA game that made me believe I can enjoy AAA games again.

Cyber Shadow - It may not stand out in a world full of 8-16 bit tribute games, but Cyber Shadow has execution on its mechanics that other games wish they were as sharp and fun. Even the story has the right vibe, which for a lot of these types of games, falls super flat.

Bowser's Fury with the 3D World - Open world Mario is cool, and the changes to 3D World make this just a definitive package.

Fitness Boxing 2- Probably should be my GOTY as it probably lengthened my life expectancy.

Hyper Light Drifter- Vibes + Fun, Rewarding Gameplay = must play for anyone looking for a combat heavy action adventure.

No More Heroes 3- This game was trash, but so was 2021, so it was the perfect panacea for my ennui.

Hades PS5 -I actually played this on the Switch in 2020, but when I got a PS5 in 2021, I decided to get Hades on there and give it another shot. Hades on Switch I liked, but felt off. The challenge curve never quite making me enjoy the game. When I started from scratch on the PS5, the game just felt better. I was getting through the story quicker, and unlocking things at a pace that I never did on the Switch version. I appreciate the randomness on some level, but it is just weird to realize my Hades experience on Switch was like a 7, but on PS5 it is like a 10. I don't know if that was due to updates on the game, me just being better from the start, or the power of 4K, but Hades on the PS5 was my GOTY of 2021. 

No More Heroes 3 Review

No More Heroes 3 is a game that relies on you putting as much of yourself into it that you can. It isn't just about it relying on you grinding money and experience, playing the past 3 games, or the Silver Case series, or other Grasshopper games. It asks you to know about Takashi Miike films, 80's mecha shows, game development and modern internet culture around video games, story clichés,  Japanese wrestling, and a big dose of both suspension of disbelief and benefit of the doubt. It asks you to look at the open world and think both "this is cheap and bad" and "this is something I want to play in." It asks you to go through wave after wave of enemies with a combat system that, while fun, just doesn't have a lot of variety (though the deathglove powers you get do help). Much like the first No More Heroes, it is a lot of grinding to get to a boss fight that is usually crazy, and tries its best to surprising and delightful. It is a game that I found frustrating at parts, charmingly boring at others, and there are peaks that are so wonderful that I found myself cackling at the idea of it all.  In a way, No More Heroes 3 is the pinnacle of video game story telling as it relies on you to really put the parts together to make a narrative about one sad man trying to talk to his wife while a CEO and his alien childhood friend want to kill you. In another way, it is a mess that sort of falls apart if you pull at the wrong blocks. Suda51 has indicated that this is going to be the last Travis Touchdown game, and while it was not how I really wanted it to end, it is hard for me not to say that it ended exactly how it should have. While I'm not sure if I would recommend this game to anyone, it may just be my game of the year, which for all I gave it, maybe I am just giving myself the "GOTY." But is there anything better than a game giving you the feeling that you accomplished something more than just pressing the buttons at the right time?