Digg's Top Games Of 2021: Jared Russo
Hi there! It's me, Jared — the Weekend Editor here at Digg. I've done a handful of these year end lists, and while they're aimed at specific platforms or audiences, this is just purely what I think are the best games you can play. Well, obviously not a full list, because "Forza Horizon 5" isn't on here, but that's just personal preference talking.
While I ranked this list, which I hope my editor Grant will allow me to keep (ed. note: Okay, fine.), you are not obligated to play or buy these games in the order they are listed. Maybe you're not into sci-fi, or fantasy, or shooters or even into fun — who knows? Above all else, you do you.
2021 was not a particularly strong year for video games, or much else for that matter, but there were some certified bangers, games that slapped and a few remasters of awesome games from the past that I enjoyed purely for nostalgic reasons. So have at it, internet, let me know what "Forza" is secretly the best release of the year. My opinions will only get worse.
P.S. I played Inscryption and it's really good, should have made this list. In hind sight, Far Cry 6 maybe took away too many of the mechanics I loved (hunting animals for pelts to upgrade your kit, skill tree, etc.) and should have been bumped. Follow me on Twitter @jaredrusso for more inane nonsense.
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Honorable Mention: Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
So I played ME2 back when it came out. I was in college, and wanted to know what all the hoopla was about. I liked it, but it wasn't until this collection of the entire trilogy that I grew to love the franchise. Having the whole story prepackaged into one install, no breaks between the story and a host of quality-of-life improvements make this the ultimate way to experience Mass Effect. And does not include playing Andromeda, you can skip that entirely.
Rated M For Mature
Honorable Mention: Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania
I LOVED the first two Super Monkey Ball games, and this inclusion is purely because they are a fun diversion away from the insanity of life. The minigames, the unlockable characters, the idiosyncratic charm of the narrator and music and nightmarish death traps your ball can get into, it's all just so weird and unlike most puzzle platformers that come out. Well, they don't really come out at all, this is a very dead genre but at least Sega is willing to make more of these games for a discounted price.
Rated E10+ For Everyone Ten and Over
Honorable Mention: Guardians Of The Galaxy
Make more Marvel games! Make them not based off of the movies, but the comics! And make more single player, narratively driven games as well! Not everything has to be a FPS or a multiplayer game or live service riddled with predatory microtransactions and loot boxes! Get off my lawn! Good writing can make a good game great and memorable, damnit, and if I had my way, the team behind the excellent Deus Ex titles should have made The Avengers too.
In Ryan Gilliam's review for Polygon, he says "I always expected to jet around blasting aliens in 'Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.' But its new place as one of the more emotionally resonant video game stories in recent memory easily makes it 2021's best surprise."
Rated T For Teen
#10 Far Cry 6
While "Far Cry 6" is the best in the series since 4, it barely makes this top ten. It's not amazing, just very comforting and fun, and I like seeing Giancarlo Esposito get a big paycheck. He always does stellar work. The few risky swings they take with this one don't always pay off, but the main formula is still very solid to zone out to and clear some parts of the map with a gyrocopter and a grenade launcher and a pet alligator. I think the series needs a reboot after this, and hopefully the executives at Ubisoft are all fired, but a man can only dream.
In his review of the game, IGN's Jon Ryan said "'Far Cry 6' is some of the most fun I've had with this series in nearly a decade. Its cast delivers strong performances across an enjoyable story, even if it's also a fairly predictable one that doesn't always land the bigger swings it tries to take. And despite some faltering new inventory mechanics and a handful of bizarre design choices, its creative weaponry means taking down an outpost, ransacking a convoy, or even just taking a ride with a buddy has never felt better."
Rated M For Mature
#9 Death's Door
The pitch for this game is so personally designed for me, it's like they tapped into my head Inception-style. Isometric indie? Why yes, I'm intrigued. Cute yet gothic art style? Now we're talking. Dark Souls inspired combat and exploration? KEEP GOING. Platformer action adventure that doesn't overstay its welcome? I'm in heaven. You play as a badass crow with a sword? Top ten worthy, for sure.
Chris Tapsell said the game was a Eurogamer Essential, declaring it "Beautiful, rhythmic, inventive and funny, Titan Souls developer Acid Nerve has delivered one of the best Zelda-likes in some time. How warm and funny and sad. How textured. And how fun! It is absolutely unmissable."
Rated T For Teen
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#8 Hitman 3
In an effort to appeal to my girlfriend, who I hope is reading this, you should all go out and buy the Hitman trilogy because it is her favorite game and it also happens to be a very good video game. You can buy 3, and get the first two games' worth of levels and missions and DLC for dirt cheap, and it all launches from one place. That's how I blazed through them all this summer, and I had a terrific time being a silly stupid assassin. Not nearly as good as my girlfriend who I love very much and dedicate this paragraph to because she has a steel trap for a mind and does every level suit only.
In his review of the game at PC Gamer, Andy Kelly writes "Hitman 3 is a sensational stealth game. Berlin, Chongqing and Dartmoor represent the series at its best, which is a fine way to end the trilogy. And if you own the first two games you can access all of those levels here, with improved visuals and the ability to use the new game's gadgets and weapons in them. Do that, and this is easily one of the best games on PC. If this was a review of the trilogy as a whole, I'd stick a couple more points on the review score. But even on its own, Hitman 3 is a magnificent videogame and a perfect swansong for Agent 47."
Rated M For Mature
#7 Back 4 Blood
I could just type the words Left 4 Dead 3 here and leave it at that, but that would me being very lazy. So I'll instead say it's more like Left 4 Dead 2.5 and call it a day. This one is free on Game Pass, too!
In his review of the game over at Kotaku, Zack Zwiezen said "Guns in Back 4 Blood feel excellent and powerful. Even some of the weaker peashooters can quickly make short work of a crowd of undead. And more powerful shotguns and rifles not only sound deadly, but they also drop zeds efficiently and satisfyingly. Moving around while fighting or exploring also feels nice, even better than the stiff feel of Left 4 Dead."
Rated M For Mature
#6 Psychonauts 2
What a year for Game Pass, huh. Most of the best games this year are available for free, and while this long awaited sequel is on other platforms, it's too much of a delight and total joy to play to miss out on, so get it while it's free! The use of colors, mental illness, inventive levels, sense of humor and quirky characters make it a unique combo of platforming and story telling.
In his glowing review of the game, Game Informer's Andrew Reiner had to say "I adored almost every second of 'Psychonauts 2.' It achieves something I don't often see in games – a continual sense of awe as each of its worlds unfold. It took 16 years to reach release, but Double Fine has delivered an incredible sequel. I hope we get a third installment that doesn't take nearly as long to create." The game is available on Game Pass on PC and all Xboxes.
Rated E For Everyone
#5 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
You could repeat everything I said from above and just paste it here, there's a very specific formula for games being good and me liking them, and it never fails to make me happy. I've been playing R&C games since the very first, and while they haven't changed a whole lot, that's because if it ain't broke Insomniac better not try and fix 'em. Rift Apart is a PS5 must have just for the lack of load times, which is a next gen feature I hope everyone steals from.
Jeff Grubb of Venture Beat said this was the best PlayStation 5 game ever, and also said "Rift Apart is a special game. And as long as Sony Interactive Entertainment has Insomniac releasing games like this for the PS5, I'm going keep showing up on day one with $70 in hand, ready for the next adventure."
Rated E10+ For Everyone Ten and Over
#4 Metroid Dread
Almost 20 years since we got a 2D Metroid, which was Fusion and that might (secretly) be the best one. It came out on the same day as "Metroid Prime", which is hard to calculate in your brain that Nintendo had the time and effort to do that. But Dread isn't just a return to form, it's the best feeling and playing title in the series, and while it can be brutally hard and confounding at times, it's also just a thrill to go through start to finish. The propulsive nature of the game makes you forget a lot of its (not many) shortcomings.
Mollie L Patterson of EGM said "Metroid Dread is a superb mix of action and exploration that brings Nintendo's classic series into the modern era in a way that feels like a new beginning even as it positions itself as an end to a 35-year saga. Samus, her abilities, and the challenges she faces have changed and expanded over time, but the excitement and satisfaction her adventures provide continue to this day."
Rated T For Teen
#3 Halo: Infinite
This is the best thing 343 Industries has ever done, by far, and is a total 180 from Halo 4 and 5, which aren't even close to being worthy of Bungie's premiere flagship IP. Halo feels as good as ever, and this is the best game since Reach, as long as the story doesn't completely suck.
In her impressions for Paste, Grace Benfell writes "Perhaps also though, this return to basics will ensure that the game is a hit. It feels exhilarating to be riding the wave of something I know will crash to the shore with bombast. Still, what Halo Infinite will most likely be for me, and for many other people, is a space to spend time with friends, without expectation outside of play and chatter. Games like Halo are merely vessels for something far more powerful and precious."
Rated T For Teen
#2 Deathloop
Innovative doesn't even begin to describe this one, folks. Arkane has had several attempts to get people to play in their trippy, stealthy sandboxes now and with "Deathloop" they must have said 'screw it, let's just let them do everything at once and whatever they want' while dressing it up in a totally one-of-a-kind candy-colored shell. The result is an experimental hypnotic quixotic adventure that is so enrapturing and enthralling, you'll likely never see someone attempt to top it in terms of creativity any time soon.
It's rare for a game, especially one that isn't a sequel and is a completely new original idea, to receive so many perfect reviews. But in Tamoor Hussain's 10/10 review at Gamespot, he says "Perhaps the most laudable part of 'Deathloop' is how it takes so many seemingly disparate things and creates harmony between them. Gameplay systems that feel isolated become pieces of a bigger puzzle, and when you see how they seamlessly connect together, you realize how special an achievement it really is. Similarly, on paper, the different aesthetics should be like oil and water, but they come together effortlessly to be part of a greater whole, and, for me, that's what 'Deathloop' is really about."
Rated M For Mature
#1 Resident Evil: Village
It really didn't take much for this to win me over. As a fan of Resident Evil games for 20+ years now, taking the new template brought to us with RE7, and adding in a ton of touches from RE4, in gaming math terms, makes RE8 a perfect ten. The setting, the twists and turns, the upgrades, the scares, the fights, the secrets, the puzzles and Lady D, it has it all and does so much with a clever smile and a wink. It just hits you with moment after moment that makes you want to call up your friends and say "DID YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENED? DID YOU GET TO THAT PART YET?" It's Capcom's crown jewel, and I hope they just keep going for it because RE is back and better than ever.
In his review at The Washington Post, Gene Parks says "I love when "Village" leans into camp and slapstick goth violence. I love when it magically, without logic, gives me the tools I need to fight against the madness. I love how many aesthetic cues it takes from the fourth game. I love how many gameplay mechanics "Village" borrows from it too, especially the return of the attaché case. Resident Evil games are as much about inventory management as they are about killing zombies, and "Village" allows you to play "Tetris" with your items. My Ethan Winters took plenty of breaks to play Marie Kondo, decluttering and rearranging until the joy sparked."
Rated M For Mature
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