@Kolbex I nearly bunged my ACTUAL games of the year under my Quarterlies list but now I’m glad I didn’t! These should be called the Actualies :)
My Quarterlies earnt their places but these are the other highlights of my 2021!
- The Longing
This would slot in just under Echoes of the Eye.
All the old king asks of you is to wake him after 400 days to end all fear and longing. Just wait and never leave these caves deep, deep beneath the earth. Boom, easy. But 400 (real time) days… that’s a long time for your gloomy little yellow-eyed shade. So you explore and have a poke around the palace and you come across a big menacing set of doors leading up… and, well, that’s all it takes to make you ask: what is outside? What happens if you have a quick look? A little peek wouldn’t hurt, right? The old king is asleep after all and just look at those doors. You might be a dutiful and obedient shade for a while but… for 400 days? The curiosity will gnaw at you but will it kill the proverbial cat? Will patience and restraint reward you?
I loved the ambiguity of The Longing (assuming you don’t spoil anything for yourself–I think the mysterious and unclear structure or thrust of the game is so exciting so the less you know the better) and the way it wove ‘idle game’ mechanics into its themes of loneliness, isolation, ennui and duty and waiting for something–indeed anything–to happen. It’s often quite meditative. You’ll spend so long walking the same halls that you’ll notice things and ask ‘was that always there?’
The visuals, music, space and bold, languid pace gave the game such a distinctive and powerful identity and atmosphere, but the slow drip, drip of discoveries kept me checking in and wondering: what is going to happen? I’m still amazed how much this strange thing totally had me under its spell, how much it exceeded my expectations and how attached I got to ol’ Shady. Just a bold, remarkable and singular experience, and one of my all-time favourites now.
I’m sure you don’t need to read more but there’s a thread about it here.
- Hunt: Showdown
2021 was the year I finally got to play this properly ie. with friends. At first with my brother then a little later we found a good tightly knit community of UK/European players so most days and evenings there have been folk to play with and it’s been fantastic. It’s unforgiving and has a steep learning curve but the showdowns can be thrilling and incredibly tense. Of course, some can be instant death, salt and misery, but that’s Hunt.
- Going Under
It feels like I played this in 2020 but apparently not! It was a long year. I might possibly have preferred it to Hades overall. Possibly. You can read more of my thoughts in this thread here.
- Tales from Off-Peak City Vol. 1
Off-Peak, The Norwood Suite, now Tales from Off-Peak City Vol. 1… While they’re very strange games, there are thematic threads or motifs running through them and they’re eminently musical experiences. I think they’re fascinating and, if nothing else, akin to enjoying a good music video, but a game instead. This feels like the most sophisticated of Cosmo D’s work but The Norwood Suite is perhaps the best place to start. Off-Peak is free, but there are demos for the others too.
- Sagebrush
I’d seen this recommended when I picked up the itch Bundle for Racial Equality and Justice. It must be one of my favourite slow-burn horror/thrillers and it can be finished in a session or two. I don’t want to say too much about it because I think going in blind is the best way but I loved the setup and how this resolved.
- Deep Rock Galactic
You know why.
- Unrailed!
Damn. What an incredible co-op design and what a bastard of a game. So so good with friends.
- Commune Corvidae
This was just what I needed when I played it. Beautiful (in a Chahi or low-fi Ueda kind of way), relaxing and melancholic but with an air of hope and an invigorating sense of… renewal, I suppose. ‘Returning home as the descendant of a long-deposed leader, you explore what has become of your family’s old domain. Though the scars of your ancestors’ influence remain, the community has turned away from the past toward a hopeful future.’ I just loved exploring this strange place, and flying makes it all the more enjoyable. It’s a bit janky at times but I believe it was made in 7 months by one guy. @divedivedive you may be interested in this!
https://twitter.com/ckunzelman/status/1440807010333716483?s=20
This is really cool!
My man!
What @Kolbex said! Also: my man! ;)
I finished the original Quake(spasm) for the first time weeks before the remaster was released. I was a bit annoyed about that! 25 years of timing there. But I enjoyed the game a lot more than I expected, despite those bastard spawn creatures in the last chapter. Didn’t enjoy it quite enough to crack a list though!