The 2021 Backlog Awards
You know, it’s a shame my blogging slowed down so much this year. But as a result, it means I played a lot of amazing games I haven’t reviewed yet. And that means you have no way of knowing my thoughts about most of what I played.
That being said, the 2021 Backlog Awards were easily the hardest so far. I could realistically break them out into two separate lists: 10 indies, and 10 major titles.
But to preserve the sanctity of this completely subjective award, I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’ll just mention a few of the games that didn’t make it into the top 10 so you can appreciate just how stiff the competition was for the highly anticipated 2021 Backlog Awards.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake: It’s probably the foremost “industry darling,” a total remake one of the two or three greatest games ever made. Square Enix worked on the project for well over a decade; the final product reestablished Final Fantasy 7 as one of the most influential games to hit the market.
Mini Motorways: This was the long-anticipated “successor” to maybe my favorite indie gem, Mini Metro. It was never going to make most people’s top 10 lists. But for me, it seemed inevitable that I’d buy the game and play it every free moment I had. (And while I played a lot, it wasn’t nearly as much as I expected.)
Crusader Kings 3: CK3 might just be the best game in its genre (empire-building real-time strategy), spawning incredible and often hilarious stories that should be turned into short films. My interest in this game dates all the way back to Medieval II: Total War, which sort of defined two years of my life back in high school.
Three unbelievably “big” games in three very different ways...and not a single one made it into the 2021 Backlog Awards. So yeah, 2021 was a pretty competitive year.
Author’s note: You can see how this year stacks up against my picks from 2020. (And as a bit of an addendum, I’ve been replaying Ori and the Will of the Wisps as a game to entertain Graham — it’s definitely much better than I may have suggested in my less-than-ecstatic comments last year.)
Backlog Awards' Best of 2021 | #10
I started playing this game on my PlayStation 2 way back in middle school — we’re talking about the mid-2000s. I remember having the official strategy guide book, using that to overcome enemies that felt borderline impossible…at least until I got to a series of boss fights in the world Hollow Bastion.
Kingdom Hearts defeated me then, and I never went back to it.
But then the Kingdom Hearts series came to Game Pass, and I figured it might be something I could play with Kim. So we worked our way through the game this year (mostly during baby leave). And once I beat the boss who crushed my teenage hopes and dreams, I knew the game wasn’t impossible after all.
No, Kingdom Hearts is not an amazing game, and I wouldn’t even attempt to convince anyone to play it. But beating that particular fight was a big gaming accomplishment for me. And finally rolling the credits on the game was an emotional and exuberant moment 20 years in the making.
Backlog Awards' Best of 2021 | #9
Some games capture and hold my interest based purely on the style; Backbone is a prime example of that. A silky smooth “rainy streets jazz” soundtrack complements a clever combination of pixel art with modern lighting and effects. Add in anthropomorphic characters and some compelling worldbuilding, and it’s pretty much right up my alley.
Backbone isn’t without its quirks or failings, of course. (The final chapter almost feels like a different game than the first chapter.) But the overall experience was great, and I’ve already replayed it once. I’m hopeful that any sequel would build on the successful pieces and discard the less-successful bits.
Backbone in a nutshell: “Backbone is an easy sell, because I think it does almost everything right. Whether you’re into film noir, adventure games, pixel art, or some combination of the three, I really can’t recommend Backbone enough.”
Backlog Awards' Best of 2021 | #8
ABZU has always played a special place in my heart. And after I got my PlayStation 4, one of the backlog games I finally went back to was Journey. So it makes sense that I would eventually get around to The Pathless, the next game from Giant Squid (developers of ABZU who previously worked on Journey).
The Pathless took ABZU’s sense of quiet, meditative exploration and ramped it up with an absolutely enormous world. It all took some serious inspiration from Breath of the Wild, using things like boss battles and dungeon puzzles while creating new mechanics like the momentum/movement.
The result was excellent, an indie gem that presents a breathtaking world (with some of Austin Wintory’s best work on a game soundtrack) and challenging puzzles. I wanted to explore every corner of the map, scavenging for pieces of the lore and gaining a better sense of how such a lush realm fell to disrepair. Those two stories — the ancient past and the game’s narrative — coalesce into something wonderful.
Backlog Awards' Best of 2021 | #7
I think Dishonored is one of the best (and underappreciated) franchises of the last decade. Arkane Studios revived the immersive stealth game, fusing it with a steampunk setting with all the dystopian grunge you could ask for. But when the series failed to take off with players, the studio moved on.
Arkane’s next game was Prey, the sorta-sequel to an Xbox 360 game…but also an homage to the awesome trailer for the never-released Prey 2. However, Arkane’s take on Prey dropped players onto a space station overrun by shape-shifting (and extraordinarily dangerous) aliens.
Prey has all the right pieces. You have an Elder Scrolls-like “collect every piece of scrap paper and banana peel” system that actually rewards you for gathering junk. Or the Dishonored-inspired abilities. Or the crazy BioShock-worthy weapons. But the real magic is the level design: Talos I is an enormous location, and the entirety of it is open to the player. The immersive nature of the game meant I could go anywhere, and if I could think of an alternate path to avoid an enemy or access a locked area, I could go that route. I felt encouraged to explore in a way that few other games manage, and it’s rare to find something that walks that line while telling a very cool story.
(To be honest, the only reason Prey isn’t in my top 3 is because I was underwhelmed by the ending, but the brilliant design on display made it impossible to write off the game entirely.)
Backlog Awards' Best of 2021 | #6
Yup, Destiny was still a big part of my life in 2021. But the relationship is even more complicated this year. The campaign of the newest expansion, “Beyond Light,” was mediocre at best. But it did give us the best location in Destiny 2 (the ice moon Europa), a compelling (both mechanically and narratively) raid, and probably the best soundtrack. But why I’m really rating Beyond Light so highly is because of everything else surrounding my experience with Destiny 2 this year.
For one, the seasonal content drop this spring (Season of the Splicer) was the best thematic and narrative story arc we’ve seen in the entire Destiny franchise. And two, Beyond Light was the first time I completed a raid in Destiny 2. Those two things saw Destiny take on a new (or rather, “return to an old”) life for me.
I joined a new clan, made new friends, and chewed through the most complex cooperative content I’ve ever played, including a return to the Vault of Glass where my love for Destiny 1 really began. It was that 6-month period — not the expansion itself — that I loved.
Overall, 2021 was the best time I’ve had playing Destiny since 2015. And that’s a big deal considering my tumultuous relationship with the franchise in recent years.
Backlog Awards' Best of 2021 | #5
Firewatch was a surprise last-minute entry when the game came to Game Pass in mid-December. So after years of owning it on PC, I decided to finally play it with Kim.
It’s hard to talk about Firewatch and keep things spoiler-free. It’s a short game, with simple mechanics but a brilliant storyline. You step into the hiking boots of a man running from a complicated life, and take on the job of a fire spotter in a remote national park. (I think it was Wyoming?)
Mystery and slow-building tension are the keys of Firewatch’s success. But it all hinges on the writing and performance from the two main characters, Henry and Delilah. And boy oh boy did the game deliver. The natural flow and charisma of their relationship carries the game. In some ways, it builds the story so well you don’t even need gameplay to be captivated by the experience. Firewatch is a stroke of (indie game) brilliance.
Backlog Awards' Best of 2021 | #4
The Ascent is a game that positively oozes with style. Watch any trailer for the game and you’ll most likely be captivated. The game’s world combines dystopian cyberpunk themes with the wonder of a SciFi epic. More importantly, it packs so much stuff into such a confined space that I felt like a travel documentarian, stopping and taking pictures of the beauty (or squalor) on display.
I won’t go out there and say I think The Ascent had the best RPG mechanics or best controls of the year. And frankly, as a game built for co-op, I never got any friends interested and had to slog through it solo. But exploring the world, developing my character, and taking down bosses was a blast — the game is just so much fun to play.
The Ascent in a nutshell: “The Ascent was a game I played for months, and usually at the expense of other games. I loved exploring the world, building my character, and watching the story (and the worldbuilding) unfold. I can only imagine how much better a sequel will be thanks to the success of Neon Giant’s first game.”
Backlog Awards' Best of 2021 | #3
I’ve talked about this in my recent Top 20 Games post, but I hadn’t played (or really even thought about) Pokémon in almost 20 years. However, I borrowed my brother’s copy of Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! after my birthday…and proceeded to spend 60ish hours getting lost in the Kanto region all over again.
But I didn’t just play the game for 60 hours. I went on Reddit and found a community of online Pokémon traders, then continued my journey to catch ‘em all. After completing my Pokédex of original the 150 Pokémon, I started helping other people finish theirs. It really did remind me of playing the games in middle school with linked Game Boys…
Sure, the gameplay is a far cry from what I remembered playing in the original Blue and Yellow (and later Gold) Versions. Pulling mechanics from Pokémon GO was a smart way to pull in new players, but in doing so it watered down the magic of the old-school games. Still, there was something special about retreading familiar places and chasing familiar Pokémon that gave me a big old dose of nostalgia.
Backlog Awards' Best of 2021 | Runner-up
Haven is an indie game that probably doesn’t look very impressive. The “character animation” is mostly in the style of visual novels, and the overall presentation is pretty simple. Combat is super streamlined and turn-based. Most of the gameplay is spent exploring (via gliding through environments) and building the relationship between the two protagonists.
And yet, both of those areas are where the game shines. Exploration gives you time to enjoy the masterpiece of a soundtrack (which I can’t recommend enough). And the quiet moments let the dialogue shine, which… I mean, I think Haven is the best-written relationship I’ve seen in any game, and better than most I’ve seen in books or shows or films. The exchanges between Kay and Yu reminded me of my relationship with Kim in an almost visceral way. And their situation forces them to navigate their worries, passions, and fears.
The writing is absolutely top-notch, and the performances from the voice actors elevate that even higher. Gameplay is simple but fun, and the soundtrack is something I listen to when I’m working or writing. Haven pretty much nailed every item on my recipe for a successful game.
(Also, I played Haven late at night in the days and weeks after Graham was born. That particular window of my life is packed full of positive memories, and Haven will always be a part of them.)
Backlog Awards' Best of 2021 | Winner
While talking about this game with a friend, it occurred to me that Marvel’s Spider-Man might be the bestencapsulation of this character. In any medium. I love the Batman Arkham games, but they build off the Animated Series and popular comic arcs; Marvel’s Spider-Man sets out to be its own thing.
Yuri Lowenthal brings the character to life, successfully playing Peter Parker and Spider-Man. (That dual-role acting is something few if any superhero movies have managed.) While most other superhero stories play off the most popular archetypes or try off-the-wall interpretations, Marvel’s Spider-Man finds a sweet spot. The characters feel different yet familiar.
In addition to being the best Spider-Man experience out there, the gameplay is just…well, perfect. Swinging around New York City is fluid and instinctive, and the combat plays off of the movement mechanics. It’s addictive and flexible with just the right level of challenge involved in bigger fights.
To be honest, I still jump into the game at least once a week just to swing around and stop crimes. And that’s why it was an easy Game of the Year winner for me, despite loving so many other games this year.
The 2020 Backlog Awards in a nutshell
I’m just going to start this off and say that the Mass Effect Legendary Edition was far and away my top game of 2021. But that’s not fair to the other stuff I played, since it’s three games in one. And they also happen to be my three favorite games of all time. So, I decided to remove it from contention so I could celebrate the new games I fell in love with instead.
What about you? Which (if any) of these games did you play? What are your favorites of the year? And, maybe more importantly, what’s in your backlog that you plan to tackle in 2022?
As always: Keep on gaming, even when life gets in the way.