1- RESIDENT EVIL: VILLAGE ( Game of the Year)
The Resident Evil franchise is one of the most storied video game franchises in history. There’s no denying it’s impact on the gaming world. While not every game in the franchise has been stellar, the horror survival aspects of the game have always been met with great fanfare even to the point that the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 3 over the last few years have been well received. They even ended up in our top 10 Gaming list the years those games came out. So, it should be no surprise that the best game of 2021 is Resident Evil Village, a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7 Biohazard which had a lot of critical acclaim and was one of our favorite games in 2017. Fans were happy when the developers went back to their horror roots in 2017 and this year’s game was even better. It is a creepy, gothic, and suspenseful masterpiece that put gamers into an old-style village that’s perfect for a horror survival setting which continued the story of Ethan Winters and one of the most beloved characters in the franchise, Chris Redfield as Ethan must find his kidnapped daughter Rosemary while completing puzzles and finding his way around in a terrifying village with mutant creatures. For fans of Resident Evil who craved the horror survival aspects of this gaming franchise, Village is one of the best games in the series. It is our game of the year because it has an intense and well-crafted story with fantastic gameplay. It may not have been a great year for games, but there is no doubt that this is one of the best video games in the past 10 years and continues the legacy of the Resident Evil franchise.
2 – HALO: INFINITE ( Shooter of the Year)
Halo is another storied gaming franchise as the flagship exclusive of the Xbox Console. On the 20th anniversary of the first Xbox console and Halo 1, we have the sixth title in the franchise with Halo Infinite. Maybe not the best game of the series, but Halo infinite was truly built for the next generation Xbox console and its glorious. Even better it was a “day one” release on the Xbox Game Pass. The game had a great feel to it, fantastic gameplay and it brought Halo back to its roots with the Master Chief making fans feel reminiscent of the first Halo Game through the different landscapes and terrain have you had to play through during the campaign. Like most video games it got delayed during the pandemic, we wondered if this game would be worth playing, but Xbox delivered a hit as usual. The multiplayer may be less than desired by fans, but the campaign is worth playing and it reminds gamers why Halo is still one of the greatest first-person shooter franchises in gaming history. That’s why it turned out to be our “Shooter of the Year.” After all you can never go wrong with Halo and the Master Chief.
3 – CALL OF DUTY: VANGUARD
We have always had our problems with the Call of Duty franchise since the Modern Warfare trilogy. It seemed that Activision was focus on what made Call of Duty great again. They finally returned to the World War II setting in 2017 and it was a great game compared to what we had played in years past, but Call of Duty Vanguard brough fans of the franchise a world war II story that had never been played before by putting us back into a setting had always made the franchise great. We didn’t exactly have a lot of high hopes for this game, but we’re completely surprised how great the campaign is as a special forces unit compromising of soldiers from different countries who hunt down the remaining Nazis that are trying to escape the end of the war only to tease us with their future plans for the rise of the Fourth Reich. Plus, this could give us a proper Cold War series as the characters who were introduced in this game hunt down Nazis hiding after World War II. The game brought fans back to familiar warfronts in Europe, Russia, Africa, and the Pacific. It felt reminiscent of Call of Duty 2 which is considered the greatest Call of duty game. Vanguard made fans remember why we love the Call of Duty franchise to begin with. And the zombie mode wasn’t too bad either. Vanguard proved that Call of Duty is always at its best when it sticks with a campaign in a historical war setting. It turned out to be one of the best games of the year with tremendous replay value. That’s something we can’t about the last few Call of Duty Games.
4 – NHL 22
(Sports Game of the Year)
For the first time ever, NHL finally won our Sports Game of the Year. In almost 30 years we have gotten the best and most realistic hockey game ever by EA. It was the last of their sports franchise to go to the frostbite engine, but the mass improvements on the realistic gameplay made this year’s version of NHL a lot more fun to play and sometimes more infuriating, which is a good thing because you shouldn’t let the video game do everything for you. It was also the first version of NHL truly made for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X… It looks incredibly realistic and for fans of hockey games, it will be the best hockey game you’ve ever played. It’s as perfect as you can get with a hockey game. It took a while for this game to catch up to Madden and FIFA when it comes to Great franchise modes, but it was worth it. Plus, it’s the one sports game that had the most improvements this year whereas everything else was virtually playing the same version as the year before.
5 – ANIMAL CROSSINGS:
“NEW HORIZONS”
HAPPY HOME PARADISE
Animal Crossings is one of the best Nintendo games created. I truly great game made for the Nintendo switch. Is it any wonder that even the DLC of Animal Crossing New Horizons, would end up in our top 10 video games of the year. Happy Home Paradise is a great addition for fans of this series it is certainly worth the purchase. Sometimes the DLC of a story franchise ends up being better than most of the games created every year. This game is a must-have for the Nintendo switch.
6 – MASS EFFECT: LENDENDAY EDITION
Normally we don’t talk that much about remastered versions of great games. and they generally don’t end up in our top 10 games of the year, but the Mass Effect franchise is different. The Legendary Edition which contains a remastered HD version of the first three Mass Effect games is glorious and a must have for the next generation of consoles. Gameplay with enhanced graphics are far superior and if you love the first three Mass Effect games then you should definitely have this among your collection because it will certainly make you want to go back and play those first three games. It is truly one of the best game releases of 2021.
7- FORZA HORIZON 5
Another sequel to a storied Xbox franchise, we got Forza Horizon5 released this year which was also another “day one” release on Xbox’s Game Pass. Forza Horizon 5 was developed for the new Xbox and you can certainly see the improvements made in this game from Forza Horizon 4. This game took racing fans to the streets of Mexico as well as the jungles for off-road racing. Everything you love about the Forza games was put into this one. The driving is smooth, and the look is fantastic in 4K or 8k. It’s one of the best games to play on the Xbox Series X.
8- HITMAN 3
The revival of the Hitman Series a few years ago met with critical acclaim. A beloved video game franchise made for the new generation of consoles in all of its HD and 4K Glory is a no-brainer. Some games just have to be revived for each generation of consoles and Hitman is one of them. Hitman 3 is the next sequel of the series which took Agent 47 to new locations and new missions. Just as good as the previous two games they made, Its, obvious that it would be one of the best games of the year and if you’re a fan of the series then you can never get tired of playing more missions in the Hitman series. The gameplay was so good that it makes you feel like you’re actually there with Agent 47.
9 – ALIENS: FIRETEAM ELITE
(Multiplayer of the Year)
Zombie games are always fun, that’s why we love the mode in Call of Duty and it’s great for “squad” play, but what can be better than a zombie survival game, how about Aliens? What if you had to be a Colonial Marine as in the movie Aliens and then survive alien hordes that also crawl on the ceiling and spit acid. Yes, Aliens Fireteam Elite was released this year and it’s on Game Pass. It’s our favorite multiplayer of the year. Of course, we love surviving zombie hordes, but as fans of the Alien’s movies, sometimes it’s a little bit better to have to survive an alien infestation. It’s truly an out of this world game and great for any gaming squad. It may even be better than playing zombies in Call of Duty or at least just as good. So, get your four-person squad together and start playing because it’s worth it and it just might make you feel like you are a Colonial Marine in James Cameron’s Aliens movie.
10 – DEATHLOOP
Deathloop is one of the most unique games created in the last decade. As first-person shooter where you have to survive a Time loop and doesn’t really have an autosave feature so if you don’t complete a level, you’ll have to start all the way at the beginning as if you’re playing an old school game. Plus, you get to play as two different characters, the one who’s hunting down the main protagonist and trying to disrupt the time loop or the one trying to survive. Unfortunately, this game doesn’t rank any higher on our list because it was only made for the PlayStation 5 so only a limited number of gamers really got to play it. This year saw two different games where you had to go back to the beginning if you didn’t survive. One is “Returnal” and it was interesting, but the other game, “Deathloop” had a better story, and definitely has the better game to play. Hopefully more gamers will get a chance to play it as it goes to the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox later in 2022, but it does round out our top 10 games the year for its unique concept and gameplay. And any game that makes you feel like you’re paying a first-person shooter on the Nintendo 64 has got to be a pretty good game and worth playing
WATCH OUT GAME OF THE YEAR SHOW
