My Year In Gaming 2021: Part One

Happy New Year, all! As 2022 starts, I wanted to take the time to reflect on 2021 and all of the amazing games that I was able to enjoy throughout the year. I have already put together my top ten list of the year, but before I announce that, I want to talk about each game a little. I am going to break this into two parts and by month. Not only was it a powerhouse year for gaming, it was also quite literally one of my favorite years personally.

January

Immortals Fenyx Rising – PlayStation 5

Immortals Fenyx Rising was a game I had been pretty excited about. I have always enjoyed Ubisoft games and it was exciting to see a brand new IP from them. I ended up really enjoying this title and it was a great way to start off the year. With it being an open-world action RPG, it took up the majority of the month.

Bugsnax – PlayStation 5

Bugsnax was my favorite game of the year until another contender came along. Honestly it is still practically tied for first. It has such a unique and heart-filled charm to it. The characters and story were perfectly crafted and gameplay was fresh and fun. I honestly did not want this game to end and I am so excited for the new content to get released for it. Bugsnax wrapped up the month of January.

February

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch – PlayStation 4

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch was the only game I beat in February. It was an amazing JRPG and I am always such a sucker for monster collection games. (You’ll notice that pattern a lot with me this year.) It blended all of its elements together perfectly and I really enjoyed the game. With it being another large RPG, I took my time to really enjoy it.

Revisiting A Favorite

Outside of Ni No Kuni, I’ll admit that Stardew Valley took up a lot of my time until starting my next game. Update 1.5 was released for it and I dove right back in to my Switch save file. I have so many hours in that game and thanks to that new update, I have even more. It was a joyful experience to revisit that game.

March

Hollow Knight – PlayStation 4

As March came and went, I was fully immersed in a game that could only be described as perfection. This title was one I had been itching to get to and I am so glad I finally got around to it. Hollow Knight was in fact, my favorite game of 2021. Although my year was full of amazing games, this one won out, if only by a little bit. Hollow Knight is a game I could write about endlessly. I sunk 70 plus hours into the game exploring every inch of Hallownest. I highly recommend this title and it will certainly be one I revisit from time to time.

April

During the month of April, I didn’t actually complete a game. I had just finished Hollow Knight at the end of March, and my roommate and I were also in the middle of Monster Hunter: Rise which took up most of my gaming time. The month of April was actually quite a busy month for me personally which kept me from gaming as much as usual. I was still on unemployment, but was writing for this wonderful video game website called, Never Ending Realm,  as a way to make some money. The time I spent writing with them helped me grow both as a gamer and as a writer. I started writing for them at the end of 2019 and ended up parting ways with them shortly after I found my new full-time job later in 2021. More on that later though.

May

Bravely Default II – Nintendo Switch

At the beginning of May I wrapped up my playthrough of Bravely Default II. Aside from Stardew Valley, Bravely Default II was my first game I played on my Switch in 2021. In all honesty, I needed some space away from the console, given that it was the biggest way I played games throughout my relationship with my ex during 2020. With that behind me though, I was ready to jump back into my Switch. What better way to come back to my favorite console than with my favorite genre. Bravely Default II was an almost perfect JRPG experience for me and one I cannot wait to have again. It wasn’t quite as good as Octopath Traveler was but I enjoyed it all the same.

NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… – PlayStation 4

I am fully aware of my RPG addiction and it is an addiction I do not intend to treat. The NieR series is weird, fun and expansive. In fact, I’m still pretty new to it which is why this release was so exciting to me. I’ll need to play this game many more times to experience all it has to offer but my first playthrough of it was incredible.

Resident Evil: Village – PlayStation 5

As you can tell, I played my PlayStation 5 a lot this year. In fact, even when playing PS4 games, it was on my PS5. I adore this console and I am so eager to see what its future holds. That being said, Resident Evil: Village was a dream to play on it. Load times were almost nonexistent and the frame rate was perfectly at 60 FPS the entire time. Aside from performance though, Village was truly a wonderful game and it did make it onto my top ten list for the year.

Bastion – Nintendo Switch

What can I even say about Supergiant Games that hasn’t already been said? They make master class games and Bastion is no exception. I really couldn’t get enough of this title and I was an honor to experience their first game. Hades might be a huge hit today, but this is where it all began.

Limbo and Inside – Nintendo Switch

I played both of these titles within a day of each other and I am glad I did it that way. Both games kept me on my toes and made me question everything. They were developed by the same company, Playdead, and they are the kind of games that leave you with more questions than answers. That is a good thing though because they will challenge the way you see the world.

Sayonara Wild Hearts – Nintendo Switch

Words don’t even exist to describe this game and my experience with it. Let’s just say that during a year where healing and letting go was necessary, this game solidified it for me. I had already managed to make it to a good and positive place but this game elevated me through to the finish line. I am truly grateful to this game and full disclosure, I cried through all of it. Its soundtrack is still one I listen to almost every day. Sayonara Wild Hearts was one of my favorites for the year and honestly almost one the top spot, too.

The Pathless – PlayStation 5

Indie games have truly become some of my favorite games. They harbor so much love and care inside of them, it would be hard not to love them. The Pathless is a great example of this. I did everything there was to do in this game and I still wanted more. With unique gameplay and story that was told with almost no dialogue, this game was flawless.

Monster Hunter Rise – Nintendo Switch

I am a sucker for the Monster Hunter franchise. It has come such a long way throughout the years and with titles like World and Rise, the franchise has finally started to break out here in the West. Rise was a wonderful time and I am so glad it was spent with my roommate. He and I have played many games together but I think the Monster Hunter games might be my favorite to play with him.

There is just something so special and unique about teaming up with him to take down monsters. Our playstyles are vastly different as well, which compliment each other nicely. I love my Insect Glaive so I’m in the air 80 percent of time which gets me out of the way for him to deal massive damage with his Long Sword. I also dabbled with the Hunting Horn in this title and fell in love with it.

Gris – Nintendo Switch

Last but certainly not least for the month of May, we have Gris. Truly, this was another life-changing experience. Between this game and Sayonara Wild Hearts, I was truly transformed into a fully healed individual. Of course, time played its part in that as well. However, Gris is game about grief and the five stages of said grief. The very stages I had been going through throughout the beginning of 2021.

There was something cathartic about playing a game that guides you through those steps. And beautifully I might add. Whatever the source of your grief may be, I highly encourage playing this game if it is something you are going through. You’ll see things differently and begin to really appreciate what you still have left. I never did get around to writing about this title, but whenever I replay it I look forward to finally writing a piece about it.

A Good Stopping Point

With fourteen games and almost half of year covered, I think this is a good place to end the first part. I am eager to get to the last half of the year but I am also not really in any rush. I’ll continue with part two later and it’ll cover from June to the end of the year. I still have so many great games to touch on, but the first half of 2021 was simply amazing on its own.