GoodbyeWorld Games have created something incredibly special with Before Your Eyes. It’s a truly great game that explores real human stories through mechanics I’ve never really seen before. It’s a wonderfully crafted indie game that demands to be up there in your must-play list for 2021.
Lust From Beyond is a terrible game with weak ideas so juvenile they’re laughable and exhausting.
Unlike the original, Little Nightmares 2 isn’t a game I can envision reaching cult success. It’s sad to see, too. Already the predecessor was quite noble, flaws aside, it just needed some upholstering. Instead, the follow up just adds more frustration and more jank over a longer time period. There’s absolutely striking imagery and wonders worth seeing in Little Nightmares 2. They’re just quite hard to recommend amongst all of the challenges the game presents.
Hitman 3 is a beautiful, wonderful and exceptionally well-made game that I’m so glad exists. IO Interactive have created something simply amazing that should be lauded for being right up there with the smartest design in the industry. Now, more than ever, their future is looking bright and exciting.
There’s plenty to love and adore out of the game’s design and it is a very good game. However, with its dare to experiment, it could leave fiercely loyal fans a bit disappointed.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 will go down in my personal history as one of the surprise obsessions I found in gaming. I’m not too much of one for anime and their tropes in storytelling. I don’t like when games try to make a campaign out of a mechanic or system that doesn’t justify it. Hell, I don’t even like my puzzle games being all that hard. Still, this game has stayed with me even after rolling credits and trying out all its current modes on offer.
It won’t really make any game of the year lists, but that doesn’t mean that Haven should be forgotten. If anything, it’s the game I’ve played in 2020 that without a doubt has the most heart in its writing and characters. That’s saying a lot, considering some of the heavy hitters to come out this year.
Celebrating black culture, community, love, and family, while championing the underdogs and offering a bombastic superhero experience, Miles Morales had the opportunity to be, well, The Amazing Spider-Man. Where it stands however, it isn’t. It’s still a great and wonderful game but doesn’t reach the all-timer status that the unique and powerful titular hero Miles Morales deserves.
Eclipsed by the greatness of Until Dawn before it, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope will never quite take off in the way you hope. There’s enough in its bones to make it a fun distraction for horror fans for a few hours but that’s about all.
Amnesia: Rebirth is one that is well worth prioritising in your ever-growing list. Take the plunge and descend into darkness… if you dare.