2021 Games-Ranch GOTY - CLOSES THIS SATURDAY

[Twiztid Elf]

Vote like this:

10 points - favorite game of the year - your personal GOTY
9 points - 2nd favorite game of the year
8 points - 3rd favorite game of the year
...so on and so forth...down to
1 point - 10th favorite game of the year

If you don't have ten, just stop where you stop.
If you have Honorable Mentions past 10, fine, list them.
If you want to say stuff about them and why they got your vote, awesome! I like reading that stuff.

Voting closes at 11.59pm on Saturday 15th January.

[GeneraL CyberFunK]

10pts - Aliens Fireteam: Elite - Xbox Series X
9pts - Returnal: PS5 -
8pts - Mass Effect :LE - Xbox Series X -
7pts - Monster Hunter: Rise - Switch -
6pts - Streets of Rage 4: Mr X Nightmare - PS4/5


That'll get me thinking at least.

[Vince]

10 points - Metroid Dread
9 points - Ratchet and Clank
8 points - Forza Horizon 5
7 points - Returnal
6 points - Psychonauts 2 PS4
5 points - Guardians of the Galaxy PS5
4 points - Mario Party Switch
3 points - Resident Evil Village PS5
2 points - Hitman Xbox Series X
1 point - Praey For The Gods PS5

[Candy Arse]

Putting my list of games here that I'll sort out prior to the closing date with more time to think -

10 points - Hitman 3
9 points - Huntdown
8 points - Streets of Rage 4 Mr X Nightmare
7 points - Total War: Troy
6 points - Forza Horizon 5
5 points - FFVII Remake Intergrade
4 points - Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown
3 points - Metroid Dread
2 points - The Ascent
1 point - Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

I've fallen off Halo Infinite so hard that I can't even give it a sympathy point.

[guttermouth]

Same....listing games as I go

Riders Republic
Halo Infinite
Forza Horizon 5
Aliens Fireteam
The Ascent
It Takes 2
The Art of Rally
Battlefield 2042
Back 4 Blood
Far Cry 6

Lol....I only bought a handful of games this year. Most of mine have been gamepass games....

[pilonv1]

10 Disco Elysium - The Final Cut
9 Hitman 3
8 Forza Horizon 5
7 Lake
6 Unpacking
5 WarioWare: Get it Together
4 The Good Life
3 Humankind

If you don't count Final Cut as a 2021 game then just bump everything up one spot.

[t0mby]

Disco Elysium will also be a 2022 game when the Xbox version releases*

*Hopes it's timed exclusive on PS.

[Twiztid Elf]

Yeah pilon, unless anyone else has a problem with it, I have no problem with Disco Elysium - The Final Cut. That version released in 2021.
Mine is arguably a 2020 game also.

[Twiztid Elf]

10 points - Yakuza Like a Dragon
9 points - Guilty Gear Strive
8 points - Shin Megami Tensai V
7 points - Returnal
6 points - Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart

I really agonized over the order of this list.
I think I'm about three quarters of the way through SMTV, and I think it's placed correctly.

[Peppermint Lounge]

Only 2021 game I can recall playing:

10 points - Hitman 3
9 points - Forza Horizon 5
8 points - The Ascent
7 points - Far Cry 6

If I'd played more '21 games I'd have Far Cry 6 further down the list.

[unfnknblvbl]

I really haven't played many games released in the last twelve months, so here goes....

10 points: Unpacking
A wonderfully well-made and extraordinarily detailed indie puzzle game made in part by one of our own. Honestly, I'd give it points just for that last part, but it really is very good.

9 points: Art of Rally
A deceptively simply top-down rally game, what can I say?

8 points: Quake 25th anniversary
It's Quake. About damn time it got some kind of remaster, and boy howdy, are the additional levels something to gawk at. Difficult to believe this is the Quake 1 engine. No, I know the game itself isn't running on an idtech engine, but you can put those .pak files into the OG engine, and it works just fine. Amazing.

7 points: Halo Infinite
Graphically lovely, and the gameplay is top-notch when things are happening, but the storytelling is terrible, and the story itself is really not up to the standards of the Bungie originals. Not by a very wide margin indeed.

[Gamma]

Friendly reminder to anyone who played Hades on Xbox or PS that it was a 2021 release on those platforms.

10pts: Astalon: Tears of the Earth
9pts: Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
8pts: Metroid Dread
7pts: Castlevania Advance Collection
6pts: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Edit: Updated, may still add a couple more or shuffle things around depending on how I go.

[Twiztid Elf]

Bump. Last few days.
I know we're only a small community, and generally it's been a rough year for games, but this is a pretty low turnout.
Thanks to the folks who've already voted.

[Gamma]

I played (and completed!) more games in 2021 than I have in a very long time... but the vast majority of them were from 2020 or earlier. Even a couple I was sure were early 2021 were actually late 2020, I'll be lucky to arrive at a top 5.

[Rorschach]

Looking back, surprised to find I didn't play many new games last year - just more of the same, Destiny 2 mainly.

Games I bought (or had access to through Game Pass):

Halo Infinite
Forza Horizon 5
Farcry 6
Guilty Gear Strive
Deathloop
Hitman 3
Mass Effect Collection
Hitman 3
Humankind
Metroid Dread
The Ascent
Rider's Republic
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

Games I actually had time to play:

Halo Infinite
Forza Horizon 5
Farcry 6
Humankind
Metroid Dread
The Ascent
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

2021 I just added more games to the pile unfortunately. I did play through Halo Infinite and finished the campaign. If I had to rate my 2021 haul:

Forza Horizon 5 - 10 points. Just no real soft points - everything is well done and the biome looks beautiful.
Halo Infinite - 9 points. The campaign was a let down but the multiplayer really shines through. Lot of fun with the right fireteam. Only scored so high because of the fun I had with it in MP initially.
Farcry 6 - 8 points. It's Farcry 5 but just better.
Humankind - 7 points. Decent game but it has a lot of jankiness to it still. Played it for about 15 hours but still find Civ games more fun. Hopefully with updates it will develop into a better game.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury - 6 points. It's Mario in 3D. Always preferred the 2D games but enjoyable.
The Ascent - 5 points. Beautiful game but the gameplay loop is pretty boring after awhile.
Metroid Dread - 4 points. Enjoyable but the controls let it down for me. Also, the chase sequences are annoying. Would have been a much better game without them.

[Rorschach]

Bump. Last few days.
I know we're only a small community, and generally it's been a rough year for games, but this is a pretty low turnout.
Thanks to the folks who've already voted.

Gets less and less every year unfortunately.

[Ambrose Burnside]

Bump. Last few days.
I know we're only a small community, and generally it's been a rough year for games, but this is a pretty low turnout.
Thanks to the folks who've already voted.

Yeah sorry Twizted, I've been away from the Ranch for a few weeks.

10 Quake (PC)
9 Far Cry 6 (PC)
8 Forza Horizon 5 (Xbox Series X)

Honourable mention: Cricket Simulator (EDIT: Oops, actually a 2022 release )

Then there's a bunch of games I haven't played enough to vote for them, like Age of Empires 4 and Mass Effect. And I've installed Halo Infinite but have yet to play it. Three games that would probably fill the top three spots but for some reason I haven't devoted time to them. I've also enjoyed Hot Wheels Unleashed from what I've played of it.

My most played games this year have been older games. FIFA 21, Age of Empires 2 (still) and even Duke Nukem 3D

[unfnknblvbl]

Bump. Last few days.
I know we're only a small community, and generally it's been a rough year for games, but this is a pretty low turnout.
Thanks to the folks who've already voted.

Yeah, I just don't have the time or passion to be an active gamer anymore. Although as much as I hate Microsoft's approach, this past year has been better than most, since i got to catch up on a lot of excellent games that I'd missed previously - Horizon Zero Dawn, for one!

[Froggy]

Somehow didn't even see the thread!

10. Hot wheels unleashed - was great
9. Yakuza Like a Dragon
8. Dark Pictures - Little hope
7. Phantasmagoria
6. F1 2021
5. Halo Infinite
4. Forza Horizon 5
3. Walking dead saints and sinners if it's 2021
2. Last stop
1. Sonic colours

[t0mby]

10 Halo Infinite
9 Aliens Fireteam
5 Forza Horizon 5

[Twiztid Elf]

Congratulations to Forza Horizon 5!
Winner of the coveted Games-Ranch Game of the Year Award for 2021.
Race away winner. It won by miles.

[Twiztid Elf]

Top seven with vote totals

Forza Horizon 5 - 58. 8 voters.

Halo Infinite - 31. 4 voters.
Hitman 3 - 31. 4 voters.
Metroid Dread - 25. 4 voters.
Far Cry 6 - 24. 3 voters.
Returnal - 23. 3 voters.
Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart - 21. 3 voters.

[Twiztid Elf]

Full Results. Thanks to everyone who voted and wrote up commentary.

Forza Horizon 5 - 58 (8+6+8+9+10+8+4+5)

Halo Infinite - 31 (7+9+5+10)
Hitman 3 - 31 (2+10+9+10)

Metroid Dread - 25 (10+3+8+4)
Far Cry 6 - 24 (7+8+9)
Returnal - 23 (9+7+7)
Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart - 21 (9+6+6)
Aliens Fireteam: Elite - 19 (10+9)
Yakuza Like a Dragon - 19 (10+9)
Quake 25th Anniversary - 18 (8+10)
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury - 16 (1+9+6)
Unpacking - 16 (6+10)
Streets of Rage 4: Mr X Nightmare - 14 (6+8)
The Ascent - 13 (8+5)
Humankind - 10 (3+7)

Astalon: Tears of the Earth - (10)
Disco Elysium - The Final Cut - (10)
Hot Wheels Unleashed - (10)

Art of Rally - (9)
Guilty Gear Strive - (9)
Huntdown - (9)

Dark Pictures - (8)
Mass Effect :LE - (8)
Shin Megami Tensai V - (8)

Castlevania Advance Collection - (7)
Lake - (7)
Monster Hunter: Rise - (7)
Phantasmagoria - (7)
Total War: Troy - (7)
F1 2021 - (6)
Psychonauts 2 - (6)
FFVII Remake Intergrade - (5)
Guardians of the Galaxy - (5)
WarioWare: Get it Together - (5)
Mario Party - (4)
The Good Life - (4)
Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown - (4)
Resident Evil Village - (3)
Walking Dead Saints and Sinners - (3)
Last Stop - (2)
The Ascent - (2)
Praey For The Gods - (1)
Sonic Colours - (1)

[Twiztid Elf]

Y'know, it's easy to be down about things, but in retrospect, looking at these games, this is a pretty good list, and the metrics are comparable to last year.
43 different games received votes.

guttermouth, you didn't put scores against your list, so I couldn't count them.
Wouldn't have changed the winner, but likely would have changed placings.

[Froggy]

This list makes me realise my backlogs gonna be long for a while.. I'm surprised as a group we didn't have Resident Evil Village really rated compared to the various game of the year shortlists.