While not everything we were looking forward to for 2021 came to fruition, this still ended up being a pretty solid year for video games. This was a year of anthropomorphic animals, high-quality remakes, time loops, dystopian settings, pixel art galore, and a whole bunch of games with the word “death” in the title.
Now, 2021 was a tragic year for a lot of Half-Glass Gaming staffers, and life pulled us away from gaming far more often than we’d have liked. Plus, we have a pretty small staff. This means we didn’t get to play everything we would have liked to in 2021. We’re sure that when we go back to catch up, we’ll end up finding some hidden gems that should have made the cut but didn’t. But such is life.
So without further ado, here are our 2021 Game of the Year nominees.
Hitman 3
Hitman 3 came out at the very beginning of the year — on January 20, to be exact. Throughout 2021, it’s been constantly worth going back to. Part of that is because the post-launch support has been so robust, but it’s mostly because the gameplay loop is so compelling. Hitman 3 might be one of the best stealth games ever made, and that makes it one of the best games of 2021.
You can read more about our thoughts on Hitman 3 here.
Deathloop
We almost passed over Deathloop this year, for some reason expecting an asynchronous multiplayer shooter. While there are asynchronous multiplayer elements to the game, Deathloop is primarily a single-player experience that tasks you with assassinating eight targets in an endlessly repeating time loop. While a lot of the game’s individual elements feel familiar, it blends those together really smartly, feeling like a strange combo of Hitman, BioShock, Portal, and Dishonored. More importantly, the gameplay loop is compelling, the writing is sharp, and the art direction is absolutely stunning.
You can read more about our thoughts on Deathloop here.
Biomutant
While Biomutant was something of a controversial release, we absolutely loved it here at Half-Glass Gaming. This open-world game drops you into a post-apocalyptic wasteland ruled by fuzzy raccoon-like creatures who are on the brink of a second apocalypse. You can choose to usher in that destructive event or save the world from it, and you’ll be making a whole lot of furry little friends along the way. It’s not a perfect game by any means, but it’s a pretty darn enjoyable one, especially for fans of brightly colored open-world environments.
You can read more about our thoughts on Biomutant here.
Loop Hero
Loop Hero is a card-collecting roguelike auto-battler. Yes, once you set up a run, the game will pretty much do the rest for you. But that means the strategy comes into play during the setup phase.
While Loop Hero definitely looks and feels like it came from a different era, it also has some modern quality-of-life features that reduce the tedium. All in all, this is a really satisfying game that the strategic-minded should definitely check out.
You can read more about our thoughts on Loop Hero here.
Eldest Souls
If you’re a fan of boss-rush games, you owe it to yourself to check out Eldest Souls. In fact, even if you’re not a fan of boss-rush games, you should still give Eldest Souls a chance. The word Souls in the title perhaps sets expectations of something that’s on the difficult side, and we definitely think that’s fair. Even so, success comes from trying, failing, and learning, and those successes are incredibly satisfying once you do finally earn them.
You can read more of our thoughts on Eldest Souls here.
Backbone
Backbone is a pixel-art detective story set in a dystopian version of Vancouver. While this one is filled with anthropomorphic animals, it’s certainly not cuddly, as this is a bleak story that fans of detective fiction will really enjoy. What starts as a simple job — snapping some photos to catch a cheating husband — quickly devolves into a seedy, unpredictable nightmare. We don’t want to say too much, as the less you know before going in, the better the experience will be.
Even so, you can read more of our thoughts on Backbone here.
Alan Wake Remastered
While Alan Wake came out more than ten years ago, it came back in 2021 stronger than ever. While this came in the form of a remaster instead of a full-on remake, the base game was so strong that it really didn’t need much more than a fresh coat of paint. With Alan Wake Remastered, we were reminded just how good Alan Wake always was.
The game, we mean. Alan Wake the character is kind of a jerk.
You can read more about our thoughts on Alan Wake Remastered here.
Death Stranding Director’s Cut
While a lot of us here at Half-Glass Gaming attempted to play Death Stranding when it launched back in 2019, it didn’t really stick with us. Fast-forward to 2021, and the release of Death Stranding Director’s Cut changed everything for us. Not only were we able to actually finish it this time around, but we also gained a whole new appreciation for what it was trying to do.
Death Stranding is a true masterpiece, and the Director’s Cut is the game at its absolute best.
You can read more about our thoughts on Death Stranding Director’s Cut here.
Lake
Lake is a quiet little game, but it’s one that sat quietly in the backs of our minds for weeks after we finished playing it. In it, you play as a character who returns to their small hometown to take over mail delivery duty for two weeks while their father is on vacation. Over the course of those two weeks, you can reestablish old relationships, get to know the sleepy old town a little better, and even stoke the flames of romance. The things the game does best are subtle, and it definitely leaves a lingering, pleasant aftertaste.
You can read more about our thoughts on Lake here.
Firegirl: Hack ‘n Splash Rescue
A late entry on our list of nominees, Firegirl: Hack ‘n Splash Rescue came out at the tail end of 2021 and really dazzled us with its addictive gameplay loop. Firegirl is a roguelite, which has you fighting fires, rescuing civilians, and earning yourself a massive fanbase as a result. It’s a simple title, but the premise is great and the gameplay is delightfully arcadey.
You can read more about our thoughts on Firegirl: Hack ‘n Splash Rescue here.
Final Fantasy XIV
This is such a weird entry to put on a Game of the Year list, since it came out back in 2010 (and relaunched in 2013), but we also can’t deny that Final Fantasy XIV was one of the most important games of 2021. This is the MMO that finally overtook World of Warcraft to be the most-played subscription-based MMO in the world. Final Fantasy XIV was the fastest growing category on Twitch over the summer, with many longtime WoW streamers dabbling in Square Enix’s multiplayer masterpiece.
