I said I'd have a hard time doing a top 5 list last week, but now I am thinking....naw, that's not entirely true. Here, then, is my short and sweet Top 5 video games as preferred by Camazotz the Death Bat for 2021 (as usual you can see my gaming biases implicit in my choices):
#5 Returnal
Damned if I will probably never finish it, but this is the most atmospheric and enjoyable experience I have on the PS5 right now, and if you can tolerate the roguelite element which causes your character to "reset" at the beginning of the game with a new procedural map after every death, then its quite an experience. In defense of that notion you do have story elements which progress over time, the death-reset is core to the narrative experience, and there are some ways you learn over time to carry over some improvements/assistance but the real reason, ultimately, to play Returnal is because its got a damned fine creepy storyline intermixed with some frenetic run-and-gun gameplay and exploration. It's formula could only be improved by removing as many of the roguelite elements as possible to make this game more accessible to people who lack the vigor of youth. I do imagine if I wanted to polish off any of the game's bosses the smartest strategy I can take is to hand the controller to my son, who will probably do it in a manner I never even considered.
#4 Crysis Trilogy Remastered
Okay this is cheating a bit, but only a bit. The Remastered editions of Crysis get the entire trilogy back onto consoles with 4K resolution supported, and Switch fans can take it on the go, too (not at 4K, of course, though the versions on the OLED look sharp and snappy). This series has stood the test of time and remains a solid experience in FPS shooters with story.
#3 Aliens Fireteam Elite
My son and I finished the Aliens Fireteam Elite campaign together, and while its post-game modes are a tad anemic (a horde mode and point defense mode), this is a solid and fun experience for fans of the Alien franchise, especially those who liked Aliens and Prometheus, as the game draws heavily on both for its core story and game mechanics. If your idea of fun is dealing with tense and overwhelming waves of aliens (or, later on, pathogen-infected mutants) then this game is worh it. Bonus kudos to the developers for a solid and substantively smart level of story integration, in a manner that feels tonally consistent with the movies and novels, and carefully avoids any mis-steps as some other less distinguished games in the franchise have taken in the past. This is a solid #2 behind Alien: Isolation in terms of capturing the feel and universe of Alien.
#2 Back 4 Blood
Anyone who plays this will immediately recognize its intent as a sequel to Left4Dead. The game has so many similarities that the differences stand out all the more. I admit, I don't fully grokk the card system it deploys and try to ignore it as much as feasible, but the overall play experience is solid, and the campaign mode is as fun as the old days of Left4Dead was. Very much enjoying this game.
#1 Halo Infinite
On the one hand this came out in mid December, so I hesitate to include it as I am far from done playing the campaign, but on the other hand it is clearly the best iteration of Halo to date, and the campaign mode is amazing. This game, and this alone, are probably the highlight of the year and well deserved in its top slot for gaming in 2021 (and onward to 2022 and beyond). The fun and engaging (and free) multiplayer is just icing on the Halo cake.
Honorable Mention: Shin Megami Tensei V - more on this one later, as I am getting into it quite late, but can say its probably deserving of the Top 5 list if I had only started playing sooner! Its only on Switch right now, but my understanding is that SMTV will be appearing on other consoles and maybe PC soon.
Bonus Special Mention: I can't believe I keep forgeting it, but Outriders came out this year. Outriders is a trip, a third-person perspective shoot'em up from Square Enix that is at time a bit janky but is actually a pretty compelling co-op game with perfectly serviceable solo elements and a broad campaign story that is fun to play through. It's downside is: overtly crapsack world issues (Hey, I love Fallout and wouldn't want to live in that game world but it makes me like visiting; Outriders' universe just suuuuucks); and its apparently easily forgotten, but that's not fair to the game because I have enjoyed playing it quite a bit this year, and feel its another example of a game that would have been better served as a campaign-story focused title that wasn't also trying to compete in the "endgame content" loop so many titles get stuck in these days. You know...it's okay for a game to have a definitive ending sometimes, yeah?
There are other games out there well worth playing, but for many they just aren't my style of game (I found it very hard to enjoy Vornheim, for example). So...take this as the top list from someone who is deeply in to shooters with an emphasis on science fiction, space marines and alien stuff!
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