The Last of Us: Part I - Naughty Dog / Sony
Horizon: Forbidden West - Guerilla Games / Sony
Elden Ring - FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Ent.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human - Techland
The Quarry - Supermassive Games / 2K
As Dusk Falls - Interior Night / Xbox Game Studios
Stray - BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Games
God of War: Ragnarok - Santa Monica Studio / Sony
Crisis Core: Reunion - Square Enix
A Plague Tale: Requiem - Asobo Studio / Focus Ent.
When I think of the games that have come and gone this year (and still need to come, in some cases), few words come to mind, words that also describe their worlds and those who live within them.
Protective. Purposeful. Persistent.
Humans that love, gods that hate. Animals, children, soldiers, survivors. Fathers, daughters, sons, brothers, sisters. Knights and beasts, queens and robots. Stories of us and of them, bringing us together in an uncertain world, journeying through bitterness, through betrayal, through dark and light, to us. To us.
It's always interesting, seeing how each year's games tend to reflect the world we live in ourselves; 2020 brought to us The Last of Us: Part II, Ghost of Tsushima, Final Fantasy VII Remake, among others. Stories of revenge and redemption, tearing each other apart while we were apart from each other in a ruthless and unknown pandemic. The following year, some of the games brought to us were Psychonauts 2, Resident Evil: Village, and It Takes Two; these gave us stories of teamwork, compassion, and care, whether you were saving your own daughter or journeying through the mental illness-ridden brains of your mentors, those games brought us back together and helped teach us a few things about ourselves.
This year was almost like a fire that 2021 had sparked to life. We were ready to get back to grand adventures and epic fights across all mediums, big or small, and we embraced the lovely little indie games along the way. And while the path ahead surely is uncertain and frightening, at least we have some pretty good storytellers to comfort us when we need it the most.
To everyone who worked to bring us these stories this year, and every year, whether an assistant, director, actor, writer, tester, programmer, animator, or anywhere in between, thank you.
You’ve never had control, that’s the illusion! I was overwhelmed by the power of this place! But I made a mistake too. I didn’t have enough respect for that power and it’s out now.
Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Sattler in JURASSIC PARK (1993)
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