GeekTyrant's Favorite Video Games of 2021

This year, we saw a ton of awesome video games released. Here at GeekTyrant, we decided to put together a list of our favorite titles from throughout the year. Each person who contributed was asked to limit themselves to three of their favorite games. Let us know your favorite games from throughout the year in the comments below.

Tommy's Picks

Favorite Time Looping Game: The Forgotten City

Honorable Mention: Deathloop

I absolutely loved The Forgotten City. It has a great and compelling story, takes less than 8 hours to complete, and really utilizes the time looping mechanic well to progress the game. It's also interesting because it's mostly non-combative. There are a few moments when you get to use a magic bow, but that's it. Most of the game is solving a mystery and I loved it. As I learned about the world I was in, I fell more and more in love with it.

Favorite Game of the Year: Metroid Dread

Honorable Mention: Psychonauts 2

Metroid Dread was incredible! In the lead up, I played all 4 previous entries in the series and Dread takes all the greatness of each of them and combines them into a killer title. The graphics look so crisp and smooth, the music and atmosphere are dead on, and the controls are very nice. This was the only Metroid game that I did not use a walkthrough for which to me says a lot about how intuitive the layout is. There are plenty of collectibles for players who want to collect a lot of stuff, or you can speed through it and finish it in under 9 hours. I cannot recommend this game enough.

Favorite Re-release: Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Honorable Mention: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2

I love the Mass Effect games and the new remastered trilogy is phenomenal. It's a great way to enjoy the games with improved graphics. In addition, they greatly improved the Mako which is a huge win for everyone.

Anna’s Picks

Favorite Story Driven Game: Life is Strange: True Colors

This game was amazing, I’ve never had a video game put me through such an emotional roller coaster before. It was beautiful to play and the music was actually really good even though I don’t listen to a lot of indie rock. I really enjoyed everything about this game and was so sad to see it come to an end.

Favorite Co-Op Game: It Takes Two

I love a good co-op game and this one really nailed it. Good, smooth animation with a fun and varied game play. Each character gets a new power in each section of the game so the ways that you play and help each other is different in each section. And the story was absolutely fantastic, a perfect blend of puzzle and action and story.

Favorite Game of the Year: Metroid Dread

What can I say, I love a good Metroid game and this one really tops all the others in the series. I know it wasn’t the next game in the Prime series, but it was still great. Fun gameplay and a really fantastic story, for me this game had it all. I ended up being a completionist and getting all the items and it was both fun and really challenging.

Daniel’s Picks

Favorite Shooter Game: Lemnis Gate

Honorable Mention: Halo Infinite (multiplayer)

While reviews and quality of combat might overall lean toward Halo Infinite, Lemnis Gate is so creative and mind-warping that I can’t help but love every moment of it. The gunplay of Lemnis Gate is really good, it feels a tiny bit clunky on controller, but mouse and keyboard responsiveness are tight. The weapons are all fairly fun and the abilities are pretty well balanced. However, the overwhelmingly amazing part of this game is the time loop strategy that gets more and more complex and chaotic as each match goes. Between 1v1, 2v2, simultaneous loops, and more modes, this game takes a lot of skill and mindfulness to play but is well worth the investment.

Favorite Puzzle Game: Mini Motorways

Honorable Mention: Murder By Numbers

The last time I played a game this soothing and therapeutic was on the PS3 with a little game called Flower in 2009. Mini Motorways is a fairly simple game; get cars to their destinations. The complexity and really satisfying gameplay come from multiple cars wanting to get to multiple locations and having limited resources to get them there. Trying new traffic patterns and using things like highways, street lights and circles allows and encourages creativity, experimentation, and rebuilding. While this may seem chaotic and stressful, it is quite the opposite. The sound design is inviting and calming, the visuals are minimalist and colorful and the gameplay is smooth and well-paced. It is great for strategists, casual players, puzzle lovers, and arcade junkies, I can’t think of anyone that would play it and not get enjoyment out of it.

Favorite Roguelike Game: Loop Hero

Honorable Mention: The Last Spell

This year I reviewed 9-12 roguelike games (depending on your definition) for GeekTyrant. I played even more on my own outside of these reviews, and yet, Loop Hero stands above them all. It has a perfect progression system that is not too fast or too slow. The card customization that lets you build what enemies, lands, and structures will appear in your runs is unique and adds loads of depth. But the best part of the game is the moment-to-moment gameplay loop. Having an automatic semi-turn-based battling system constantly going while you are making strategic decisions wouldn’t seem to work on paper, but it is wonderfully satisfying and works very well. Yes, it won’t thrill any action seekers, but the speed and attention to each battle/reward is its own type of action. It was easy for me to lose hours as I couldn’t help but try and try again. It is fantastic on PC and now the perfect thing to play while on the road with Nintendo Switch (coming December 9th). Between perfect progressions, a surprisingly good/entertaining story, addictive gameplay, and beautiful visual and audio design, this game is a new bar for roguelike games.