If it weren't for the astounding number of glitches and lack of mission variety, this would be my game of they year. The story is captivating, the world is immersive (yet lacking content), and the gameplay is nearly flawless.
Dying Light 2 is good in spite of struggles.
Alan Wake Remastered's improvements are subtle and won't dramatically change the experience, but that also means it retains what made it so special in the first place. The atmosphere is chilling ,and the story holds up after over a decade, meaning it doesn't need a full-blown remake to still feel worthy of a modern retelling. Even with its flaws, Alan Wake Remastered is worth playing in 2021, especially for those who missed it the first time around.
MLB The Show 21 is yet another solid entry in Sony's now multi-platform sports franchise. The consistent tweaks to how the game functions and its quality-of-life improvements each year have helped create a balanced, solid foundation for each iteration to improve on. Even though MLB The Show 21 lacks in delivering a truly engrossing current-gen experience on the new consoles in some ways and has a few typical sports franchise pitfalls, it's still an enjoyable game that has a high degree of craftsmanship.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War had a rough development. From switching developers to being made during a pandemic, it was bound to be flawed. Somehow, though, Treyarch and Raven Software have still pulled it together for the most part. With a series-defining campaign, a classical return to Zombies, and a flawed but still fun multiplayer, Black Ops Cold War is yet another worthwhile entry.
While enjoyable and filled with plenty to enjoy, Resident Evil 3 unfortunately feels like an uneven mishmash of horror and action. It wants to do two things at once and while it does them in a passable way, it doesn't always feel like it reaches its full potential especially when following in the footsteps of Resident Evil 2 Remake.
Doom Eternal's issues feel like a victim of ambition. They wanted to double down on the balls to the walls craziness and instead of saying no to some ideas, it feels like they crammed absolutely everything into the game. While Eternal manages to still be very fun and a worthy entry in this legendary franchise, it needs to realize there is such a thing as too much of a good thing sometimes.
When Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is operating at its peak, it's performing at a level the series or genre hasn't seen in over a decade. When Infinity Ward lets their many flaws show, it's painfully disheartening and only makes the potential for greatness feel that much richer. Perhaps this blinding contrast in their strengths and weaknesses will allow the team to come back and execute a sequel that will hit all of its marks without fail.
Even though Concrete Genie frequently fails to meet the heights of its gameplay potential, it's the kind of game that I'm glad Sony is pushing as a small but strong exclusive for PS4. It sets itself apart from all the other games coming this fall both in its sense of positivity and lush beauty making it a welcome pallet cleanser.
While Control doesn't exactly stick the landing on its ambitious mind-bending sci-fi story, there's still plenty to enjoy. Remedy creates one of the most well-developed worlds ever crafted for a video game and takes the opportunity to learn from their past and craft their most well-rounded gameplay experience to date.
Despite a troublesome companion that can sometimes bog this stealth title down, A Plague Tale: Innocence is still a very interesting, unique, and haunting tale. It's one that will likely get overlooked due to not being an AAA game but it's one that is worth giving the time of day when it's hitting the right notes.
Even with its shortcomings, Rage 2 is super fun. If you're excited for Doom Eternal, Rage 2 will be the perfect appetizer as you wait for that game. It's like someone mixed a bunch of powerful drugs together with what can only be described as FPS porn and said: "Inject this into your veins". It's endlessly gratifying to play but may lack the substance some gamers require in a AAA game released in 2019 via story and open-world longevity.
If it weren't for some technical aspects and mechanics held back by their age, Shenmue would be easy to recommend to just about anyone. So long as Shenmue 3 really adapts itself for the modern gamer while still remaining Shenmue at its core, it could be something incredibly special. After hearing about this series for so long (both through praise and criticism), I can safely say I am a believer in Shenmue and can't wait to play 3 next year.
While it's disappointing that Octopath Traveler doesn't fully succeed on delivering a meaningful narrative or giving us any characters that will be remembered throughout gaming history, the game has enough meat on its bones to prevent itself from being below average.
It may not be a perfect game but it knows how to execute on its unique premise and gameplay concepts well enough that it's one I can't help but recommend.
If you have yet to play this masterpiece and only own a Nintendo Switch, I'm happy to report that Wolfenstein II on Nintendo Switch is handled with great care despite its issues and is still an effective way to experience MachineGames' alternate history epic.
While the price might be a bit steep, Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality is a worthy game to add to your VR collection.
If it weren't for the plethora of bugs plaguing this great game, it would score much higher. If you can look past those issues, this is a must play for everyone.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare delivers a phenomenal campaign filled with rich characters and a stylish zombies mode, but the multiplayer feels unpolished, stale, and it fails to innovate.
Kingdom Hearts III is a confusing and sometimes tiring fireworks display of ambition and passion. The charm and wholesome nature of the Disney worlds, the flashy and frenetic battles, the gargantuan scope and scale of it all, all of this works in its favor to be something really unique but there's a lot dragging it all down too.