The 2021 Backlog Awards were easily the hardest so far. But since it's an annual tradition, I've done my best to trim things down to a top 10. And even in a year when I’ve played fewer video games, it’s still time to rank and discuss my favorites.

It's hard to ignore the fact that 2021 was one of the best years of my life, even if it was another strange 12 months to look back on for my year in review.

Every ranked list deserves a few honorable mentions, and my top 20 games list is no different. Here are 10 games that barely missed the cut in 2021.

As we covered in part 1 of my Top 20 Games of All Time update, playing new games tends to shake up how we think about older games. But it will take something truly special to bust into my top 10. If Haven couldn’t do it, I doubt many other games have a shot…right?

The end of the year means it's time to look back at my Top 20 Games of All Time list to see which new entries have fought their way into contention.

The Ascent combines an isometric camera with cover-based shooting and RPG progression is one of the best-looking worlds I've ever seen in a game.

Backbone is a dystopian noir adventure with a TON of style. So if you’re into film noir, adventure games, or pixel art, I really can’t recommend it enough.

After breaking down my short-term gaming plans for 2021, it's time to focus on my other passion: writing. And more specifically, what I'm writing now.

I haven't posted a game review in awhile, but I've got a lot of games to talk about. So I may as well start by breaking down my summer 2021 gaming backlog.

E3 2021 left something to be desired, but at least we got a few great showcases out of it. So it's time to gather up the best lemons and make some lemonade.

It's no exaggeration to say that E3 2021 underwhelmed. And in a completely ironic sense, that makes it almost too difficult to choose the biggest losers…but I’ll do my best.

After two consecutive "slow news days" at E3 2021, let's cut out the fluff and focus on the handful of exciting game announcements we actually got.