2021 has been an interesting year in the gaming world. With the planet still enduring a pandemic, the games industry has been hit by countless delays and development problems, and gamers have experienced ongoing challenges in even getting hold of a modern console.
However, the year has still seen a slew of new titles, with enough huge releases to keep fans more than well-occupied, especially given the vast size of modern AAA games. Players may have therefore overlooked some undiscovered gems over the course of the year, with the following titles potentially slipping under their radar (listed below in no particular order).
The Artful Escape
Some games borrow from others, and some are the unique brainchildren of creators with a vision. The Artful Escape falls into the latter category, with Australian former musician Johnny Galvatron leading its development with his studio Beethoven & Dinosaur. The side-scrolling platform game is a love letter to his favorite musical influences, with psychedelic visuals inspired by such stars as David Bowie - and his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust - and Bob Dylan.
The game also features a stellar cast including Lena Headey of Game Of Thrones fame, along with Carl Weathers, who recently starred in The Mandalorian. Fans of visually stunning games with great soundtracks are sure to enjoy the surreal September release published by Annapurna Interactive.
Before Your Eyes
Released on PC in April, Before Your Eyes tells the story of a person who has died and is entering the afterlife. The adventure game, developed by GoodbyeWorld Games, further differentiates itself from competitors by utilizing eye-tracking webcam technology to spot when the player blinks. Each blink triggers the end of a scene from the protagonist’s life, which might range from a childhood piano lesson to a bout of severe illness suffered in adulthood.
The ingenious title gives new meaning to the phrase “your life flashing before your eyes,” and its narrative was highly praised by critics. For players with access to the necessary webcam technology, the game is most definitely worth a playthrough, particularly for fans of innovative adventure experiences.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Another indie title that may have escaped players' attention is Chicory: A Colorful Tale, which was created by American-Canadian developer Greg Lobanov. The game casts its player as an anthropomorphic dog with a magic paintbrush, who is named after the player’s favorite food (or given the default moniker “Pizza”). The talented pooch uses its brush to both color the world and solve environmental puzzles.
Unveiled via Kickstarter and funded within a single day, Chicory: A Colorful Tale is now one of 2021’s most highly-rated games. Despite its cute visuals and fun premise, the game’s story packs a powerful emotional punch. Fans of heart-wrenching stories and original gameplay concepts should check out the game on Mac, PC, PS4, or PS5.
Death’s Door
The latest in a long line of excellent releases by publisher Devolver Digital, Death’s Door is a Soulslike game with one key difference from its competitors: it isn’t burdened with brutal difficulty. The action-adventure title, which borrows from games like A Link To The Past as well as FromSoftware’s modern classics, is most definitely inspired by the challenging boss fights of the Souls series, but fans have found it much more accessible.
Its mildly more forgiving challenge hasn’t stopped the game from becoming one of the highest-rated releases of the year on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X, but as an indie title, Death’s Door has understandably sold fewer copies than its big-budget rivals. Fans of Dark Souls looking for something to keep them busy while they await Elden Ring’s February release should consider checking out this visually stunning game.
Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights
Binary Haze Interactive released its dark fantasy Metroidvania platform-adventure game in June for PC and Switch, with ports for PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S following shortly afterward. It’s no surprise to see the game making its way to multiple consoles, because reviewers agree that Ender Lilies: Quietus Of The Knights is a strong addition to 2021’s lineup.
The title transports players to a realm known as Land’s End, which has fallen victim to “the Blight,” leaving villages little more than crumbling ruins and a landscape riddled with worms, witches, and hostile creatures. Fans of the melancholy, desolate worlds of games like Dark Souls will find much to enjoy here, as Ender Lilies: Quietus Of The Knights pays clear homage to FromSoftware’s influential epic.
The Forgotten City
Developed by Australian team Modern Storyteller, The Forgotten City began life as a humble Skyrim mod. Its writing was so good that its creator won an Australian Writers Guild award and has since completely overhauled the original expansion to become a standalone game set in an ancient Roman city. It explores the use of “collective punishment” where the sins of one were inflicted upon the many.
Packed with twists and multiple different endings, The Forgotten City offers much to fans of Bethesda’s open-world games, with its dialogue and writing arguably surpassing the giant developer’s blockbuster releases. Available since July on PC and all modern consoles, this is certainly one of the year’s best-hidden treasures.
GRIME
Released on PC in August, GRIME is a Metroidvania game created by Israeli developer Clover Bite. Although it is primarily a 2D platformer like Hollow Knight, it shares a lot of the DNA of Dark Souls, including a fascinating amount of lore about its hugely original game world.
Casting players as “the chiseled one,” the game is set in a society obsessed with perfect anatomy, and its realm of half-complete limbs and organs combines RPG elements with grotesque body horror. GRIME is sure to delight fans of the macabre, as well as admirers of challenging side-scrolling gameplay.
Inscryption
Sometimes, video game mash-ups work so well that it seems strange they were never attempted before. Another title published in 2021 by Devolver Digital is the brainchild of Daniel Mullins Games and perfectly showcases the innovative marriage of two very different styles. Inscryption is a roguelike deck-builder with a horror theme, set in a cabin where a card collecting enthusiast is forced to battle a demonic force.
The game even includes an ARG element, which grants players more information about its backstory as well as its links to Mullins’ previous release, The Hex. Fans of creepy, fourth-wall-breaking meta-narratives are sure to enjoy Inscryption, which was released for PC in October.
Tales of Arise
What makes Tales Of Arise interesting is that it’s the seventeenth game in a long-running franchise, yet many western gamers might have never heard of it. Indeed, it's one of many games that have endured the JRPG curse in the west. The fantasy RPG series started as far back as 1995 with Tales Of Phantasia on the Super Famicom, a Japan-only release that was subsequently ported to the PlayStation in 1998. But, arguably, it's becoming more and more recognizable if not quite at the Final Fantasy level yet. The latest title, Tales of Arise, sets out to create a darker narrative than its predecessors, combining sci-fi elements with the series’ usual high fantasy.
Critics praised Tales of Arise’s technical performance, as well as its accessibility to players who have never experienced the franchise before. For JRPG fans looking for a new challenge, or just RPG fans in general, Tales Of Arise might be the undiscovered gem they’ve been hoping for.
Unsighted
Unsighted is a top-down, roguelike Metroidvania game with a stunning pixel art style, released in September for PC and Switch. Developer Studio Pixel Punk has crafted an intelligent genre mash-up with fun gameplay as well as an enjoyable co-operative mode.
Aside from its gorgeous 16-bit aesthetic, the game has also received praise for its inclusive writing and well-developed game world. Players searching for a challenging title combining the best elements of retro and modern games in an intriguing post-apocalyptic world need to look no further.