Hello from beyond the grave. I will still probably never post things consistently, but hey, no one really reads or comments on these. So no harm done. This is mostly just for me to look back on as time passes and I'd like not to forget everything.
My top 10 games of 2021
In order of 'Last Played' on my Steam library. Definitely not all games are from 2021, I just played them this year. Starting from January 2021.
- Salt & Sanctuary [2D, Souls-like + Metroidvania]
I probably started this in December of 2020, but finished it in January, so it makes the cut. This one is a bit of a rough gem, and I loved what it was doing. It wasn't super polished, it had the feel of a NewGrounds flash game circa 2006 with its skeletal animation and generic looking no-nose hero. But the world was huge, the backgrounds and sound track were very pleasant (as pleasant as horror lends itself to), and the bosses looked awesome. The controls felt very good to me, heavy weapon loadouts felt heavy and clunky, mages felt much more agile. I recommended it to a friend, and he HATED it, but he was definitely high as a kite when he played, and this game demands some precise inputs, especially early on when your armor is made of wet paper. Not for everyone, but definitely for me.
- Ittle Dew [2D top-down, Zelda inspired, comedic puzzle game]
I played both Ittle Dew 1 & 2, but I love the first one. It takes a few hours to play, great for a single stream session, if you are so inclined. World record is like 10 minutes or something crazy like that if you optimize the snot out of it. I think I got down to 20ish. There is an achievement for 15 minutes that I gave up on. This game was made by Ludosity, and I love pretty everything they've made. Card City Nights will always be a favorite.
Ittle Dew 2 is very similar, different weapons, 3D instead of 2D, but also a good time. I am a 2D kinda guy, so 1 takes the top spot. - Valheim [3D Survival Crafting Viking Simulator.]
Man I wish I got to play more of this game. I started solo in the midst of the pandemic lockdown, then started playing with some friends on their discord server, then I hosted my own local server with a new character with another group of friends. I got real good at making up to iron, then they all slowly stopped playing and it made me sad to keep playing all by myself in these little empty villages. Either way, it is an amazing game.
- Gwent: the Witcher card game [The Witcher inspired CCG]
I played this a lot in the beta in 2018(?), but then stopped. Then I started again with a buddy who loves the Witcher. It's a solid game. I don't play enough to keep up with the new sets, so its something I dust off to play with him and catch up. I have a few decks, the one I like playing is a Nilfgaard lockdown that was made during the Viy takeover. It is not fun to play against, and I dont have the dust to make something new, so I drifted away from this after a while. Still a very fun game when the mood strikes.
- Enclave [Fantasy hack-n-slash/run-n-gun (magic missiles)]
I won this from a Twitch live stream event called Bragging Rights on iMonters channel. There was a raffle and I won this. Its a 20-year old (2002) 3rd person hack n slash. You play as one of a half dozen or so characters, with the ability to chose which one at the start of each level. Each character has a giommick, there's 2 melee weapon users, 2 rangers, and 2 mages (so far, I dont think I beat it or unlocked them all). Each level adds to your gold budget to buy better and better weapons, armor, and potions, which I felt was a cool mechanic. The story is kinda generic, but I like the world they created, a world literally dived by a canyon created to stop an old war, but now the war in resuming and you need to stop it. The graphics are definitely of the time period, this game is dingy and muddled like Morrowind was (a much better game than this one). But there is a charm to this game. It feels like something a few friends made in college for fun. (Or at least, a small <10 person team.) A decent array of mini games to breakup the levels from feeling to samey. Overall, nothing overly special about the gameplay, but for $5 (and it is almost always on sale for less), it will give you a dozen hours of gameplay. Blasting orcs is almost always a fun time.
- Tails of Iron [2D, mouse/rat themed souls-like]
Easily one of my favorite games of the year. The flavor and story is practically dripping off of this game. The art is fantastic, The controls are tight, the weapon variety is fun, and weapon damage scales well. It feels like a LOT of care went into this game, and it shows. The story is cute, frogs invade your rat kingdom and steal your family and you need to rescue them. The story is really just a vehicle to get you to explore this beautiful world. The characters are wonderful, the biomes diverse, and I cannot recommend this game enough. 10/10, would replay. (In fact, they released some free DLC called Bloody Whiskers and now I probably will!)
If you are an achievement hunter, this is a good one for you as well. The game isn't terribly long, and I managed to get all of the achievements in my first play through.
- Puddle Knights [3D puzzles]
This one was a cute fun puzzle game. Not a brutal as Baba is You, but some of the puzzles twisted my noodle a lot. I dont think I have completed the final world yet (There are 10 worlds, with ~20 levels per world.) A cute aesthetic, and the puzzle premise is great: a noble person needs to get to a ball but has to cross a muddy path. Your job as their knight attendants it to use your cloaks to get them there without getting muddy. The later puzzles were quite difficult, but the early stages really hit the feel good button when you solve them.
- Inscryption [Horror, Roguelite Card and Deck Builder]
This was the last game I bought for this year and I devoured it. It is amazing, everyone who has played it knows its amazing. I am sure it will win awards if it hasn't already. This feels like a master class in story telling, tell by doing, game design, color theory, and just so much amazing things packed into a single package. It is creative, suspenseful, and exciting. Daniel Mullins and Devolver Digital REALLY delivered with this one. If you like card games, play it. It you like immersive story telling, play it. If you like Roguelites, play it. 11/10. Always take the Mantis God.
- Across the Obelisk [Fantasy Roguelite deck builder]
Another card game? Yes. I have a type.
Unlike Inscryption, this one is lighthearted and whimsical. The story is inconsequential (for now, its still early access). You have a team of 4 characters, the default being Warrior, Scout, Mage, and Cleric, but you can have 3 Cleric 1 Scout, or 2 Warrior 2 Mage, or any combo of classes. Each class has a unique card pool, and each character has a preference for a play style within that pool. Endless replay value, very inspired by Slay the Spire. Each run can take 1-3 hours, and win or lose, your characters gain EXP to level their meta-perks. AND it supports multiplayer! Which is a HUGE plus. I play this with a friend or two every week or so, and each run is unique and we have a blast.
- Super Auto Pets [Emoji Autobattler]
This one has consumed my free minutes between tasks, and many evenings. Low commitment, totally free, plenty of achievements to get, cute animals, and the gameplay is as fast as you want it to be. Like most autobattlers, there is a bit of a learning curve figuring out what animal does what thing. But once you figure it out, you can turn on fast foward, and play a dozen rounds in minutes. Endless animal configuration, the ability to play on the same account on my phone, Kindle, Steam, AND any browser is wild to me. The future is now and its a smiling turtle that puts a watermelon on my fish. My favorite part is the no-wait between fights. Other autobattlers have you waiting on other live-right-now players. This one stores your team to the server, then sends you one that someone else sent off before. You have a match within 15 seconds most days.
TLDR: I like cards and 2D Souls games. Shocker.
