The Impact Factor's Top 10 Games of 2021

 The Impact Factor’s Top 10 Games of 2021

Another year down, huh?

I’ll keep this one short and sweet. 2021 was certainly something. More pandemic. More of the same.

I’m another year deeper into my career and predictably, unfortunately, it meant yet another reduction in my free time. I found it increasingly hard to devote myself to big games, and even more so to start new ones. Much like last year, I found comfort in lifestyle and daily play games. They were easier to play 15 minutes here, 45 minutes there. If I made a different kind of list, Genshin Impact and Hearthstone would be my one and two. I played each almost every day, if only for a handful of minutes. And I still love both so much.

In fact, this is probably going to be one of my toughest GOTY lists to write. Or easiest? I barely played more than 10 games that actually came out in 2020 (16 total). So ranking them feels a bit.. off? The sample size is so low. But I’m going to keep the format the same as previous years for consistency’s, and personal preference, sake. Just know that if this trend continues, I may have to rethink how I make these lists.

Now let’s get into it.

10. Guilty Gear Strive

What a gorgeous game. Arcsys has truly unlocked something special with their 2D-3D aesthetic, and in a sea of beautiful games, this one stood out. I’ve never been into Guilty Gear as a franchise, but early hype, beautiful graphics, rollback net code, and large timespan since my last fighter convinced me to jump in. And I really liked it! Strive is lacking in game modes, and like all (?) Arcsys has a terrible online lobby, but the actual fighting is sublime. Easy to learn, extremely difficult to master. I had a great time learning my main (Ramlethal) and dropped a quick 20 hours into online versus. But then I just… stopped playing. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted!

9. Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart

Another entry, another spectacular looking game. While Strive is style, Ratchet and Clank is technical prowess. Wow, wow, wow. From the environments, to the particle effects, to the guns, this game is a looker. It was a great way to break in my new 4K TV. Aside from that, Rift Apart is another Ratchet and Clank game. Which is fine! I love Ratchet and Clank! Super-fun action packed gunplay, simple but supremely satisfying platforming, and a cute breezy story. There were some notable improvements to the formula, specifically the rocket boots that let you joyfully zoom through the entire game. But yeah, it didn’t blow me away but I sure had a lot of fun. 

8. Deathloop

My first Arcane Studios game! I liked this one quite a bit. Deathloop is a bit of a design marvel - this looping puzzle box of an island, waiting to be solved by the player. I have never played anything quite like it. I’m not the biggest fan of stealth games but honestly? I didn’t play Deathloop stealthily at all. The game worked as a high-octane first person shooter, complete with satisfying gunplay and fun-to-use powers. The immersive sim elements didn’t do much for me, and the game was a bit too hand-holdy when “discovering” what to do next, but I really enjoyed exploring, unraveling, and ultimately executing the perfect day. Oh yeah just as a heads up, the ending isn’t great. Womp womp.

7. Tales of Arise

An interesting entry, to be sure. Tale of Arise is something I was interested in playing since it was first revealed, but like a ton of non Final Fantasy JRPGs, eventually fell off my radar. But boy oh boy did critics like this one! And kept liking it as the weeks went by. So I decided to jump in and it turns out they were right. Who would have thunk it? Tales of Arise has fast-paced and action heavy combat that delights, complete with the totally inane (and insane?) attack call-outs every two seconds (DEMON FANG! DEMON FANG!). There is a ton of depth to the combat too, from attacking weak points to a burst mode to coordinated strikes and on and on. The game is really pretty, too, and the story while not great at least tries to tread new ground. The game took me 40 hours to beat, which with my new limited game time, meant I was playing for nearly two months. I really enjoyed it throughout!

6. League of Legends: Wild Rift

Dang, who am I? LoL is on my game of the year list? Arcane was one of my favorite shows of the year? Yep. Both things are true. Wild Rift was released to iPhones this year, and was a perfect toilet, I mean short free time, companion. I’ve enjoyed MOBAs before, but the long length or complex economy of play has put me off. Wild Rift solves for both of these. Games are usually no more than 20 minutes, and item load outs make it easy to strengthen your character without stress. The touch controls work perfectly. The best games are a tense back-and-forth that can lead to elation only video games can provide. But then, it’s still LoL. Players were toxic at times, and it felt like ~80% of my games were decided before we even started playing (40% auto lose, 40% auto win). I played one match a day about 5 days a week since March, and overall I’ve had a great time. I have started tapering off recently, so I imagine I might drop it completely soon, but it provided a whole lot of fun through 2021.

5. Psychonauts 2

Psychonauts 2 is a bit of a marvel. It’s a game that fans, myself included, have been anticipating for over a decade and… it met or exceeded all my expectations? Yep. Incredible. Psychonauts 2, yes, is just more Psychonauts but it is also so much more. It had easily the best story of any game I’ve played in 2021. The game isn’t afraid to explore depression, grief, and mental illness and does so with deep respect and grace. It’s remarkable. The gameplay is improved in about every way when compared to the original. I remain baffled (read: impressed) with the level of imagination on display in Psychonauts 2. It’s so creative, and continues to surprise with its creativity. This is a special game, and more people should play it.

4. Returnal

A roguelike makes this list! (Spoiler alert - no Soulslike on this list this year!). This one was a late comer. I bought Returnal back in the summer but it sat on my console unplayed because there was no way to suspend a run. And from everything I read, runs could take upwards of 2-3 hours. Per my game time discussion at the top, there was no way I could fit Returnal in like that. But then the game changer happened — a patch dropped in the fall that allowed for runs to be suspended! So finally this December, I jumped in. And very quickly I fell in love with this gem. Returnal is a game almost tailer made to my tastes. It’s a sci-fi, 3rd person shooter, bullet-hell roguelike. Yeah, sign me up. Housemarque are peerless in their arcade style gameplay, and that both remained and evolved beautifully with Returnal. The moment-to-moment gameplay is so deeply satisfying that the feeling is hard to convey in words. I instantaneously fell into its rhythm, and quickly developed mastery of the systems. I beat the game (Act 1) on my third life, and nearly cleared a second time (Act 2) on my 6th. I had beaten most everything in 10 hours. The plot stuff is only ok and I haven’t processed the game long enough to know if the roguelike formula is the game’s best-fit, but just playing Returnal is so dang fun that it left me wanting more and more.

3. Yakuza 7: Like A Dragon

I debated whether or not to include this one on the list since it technically came last year, but it wasn’t playable on PlayStation until 2021 so I’m counting it! Like a Dragon is so freakin’ good! It was a huge departure for the franchise: Kiryu was no longer the protagonist, combat went from 3rd person brawler to turn-based JRPG-style, and the majority of the game was set in Yokohama and not Kamurocho. But yet. But yet? Everything works! And is my second favorite Yakuza title ever! Ichiban is impossible not to love - his story is so sad, and he is so pure hearted. The cast of characters is as diverse and wild as ever. The new setting, the political drama, the high steaks melodramatic story. All great. And the JRPG bits work well, too! The brawler combat of past entries has always been my least favorite part of playing. It was tedious and button mashy. The combat in Like a Dragon is still my least favorite part, but I vastly prefer the turn-based combat to brawling. And there is the foundation of something really solid for future entries. And! Summoning a prawn or a man in a diaper to attack your foes never gets old. Loved this game so much. I remain super excited for the future of this franchise. 

2. It Takes Two

Let’s get this out of the way at the top - the story and characters in It Takes Two are just… bleh. I know it’s about two divorcing parents but did they have to be so annoying? And spoiler alert — the decision to stay together because of the kid? Yikes. Ok, now that that’s done. I absolutely loved playing through It Takes Two.Why? I played couch co-op with my wife. This is a puzzle-platformer like no other. It Takes Two delivers a true co-operative experience, in which you constantly have to work together with your partner, often performing discrete functions, to solve a puzzle or beat a platforming challenge. The game is bursting at the seams with ideas. It is unafraid to introduce something new, something fun, to the player for one segment only for it never to be seen again. Behind every corner, every new level, is a gameplay surprise for the players that delights. I had forgotten how much fun it is to play games together with my wife, and It Takes Two did a fabulous job reminding me just how important working and playing together can be. 

1. Resident Evil: Village

Resident Evil: Village is the best Resident Evil game. From me, this is saying a lot. I’m a big fan of 1, 2, 4, and 7. But Village is something special. It is a love letter to not only Resident Evil as a franchise, but also to horror at large. The first-person survival horror works as well as it needs to, but the real stars are the world and narrative. Village smartly brings back the PS2-era hub world design and utilizes brilliantly. Bouncing from hub spoke to spoke, each new area transports you into a new style of horror. From gothic victorian horror in a vampire filled castle, to a creepy ghost / puppet mansion, to a back woods mutated swamp. Village embraces its B horror movie roots — it knows just how dumb its protagonist, and its world, is. It delights on pushing things just far enough you could believe they were serious, but way too far to not know that everyone involved was having a blast & being as goofy as possible. Ethan Winters is a perfect dumb dumb, and it’s a delight that his true nature is explored. I couldn’t put this one down. I played through three (?) times consecutively, spent extra time in the Mercenaries score chasing mode, and even longer just thinking about how much fun I had. Village’s rogue’s gallery is filled with all-time superstars like Lady Dimitrescu. The game knew you wanted to have fun, while being just a touch scared, and it struck that balance perfectly. I know by the time Resident Evil 9 rolls around, I’ll be ecstatic to play through this one again. So congrats Resident Evil: Village, you are The Impact Factor’s Game of the Year 2021!

The Impact Factor's Top 10 Games of 2020

The Impact Factor’s Top 10 Games of 2020

Perspectives

2020. Sigh. 2020.

Let’s face it — this year was awful. And by most accounts, this is a new beginning of tough years to come. The evils of this year are not new. 2020 is not some monolith; it is not some extreme aberration. Most of the year’s woes have long since been at play for those who paid attention. 2020 just made them impossible to ignore. The sum total of everything that went wrong (global pandemic, shameless state sanctioned violence against BIPOC, economic crash) may be unique, but I will continue to worry about the difficult road that lies ahead. And to do what I can to try to make things better. Even if just a little.

This year did have great moments for me, too. I got to spend so much more time with my wife because of shelter-in-place. That was incredible. Priceless. We also made big changes in our lives. We bought a car, we moved into a nicer apartment, and we adopted a new cat. The love of my family, my life, grew in a meaningful way this year and I don’t want to forget that. I am extremely privileged and lucky to live the life I live with the people (and pets) I do. Plus my wife gives me professional-level haircuts now so come on, how great is that!

The year, of course, influenced the way I think about playing games. I like many others lived with a constant sense of dread, an anxiety that at any moment any one I know could get sick and I would be powerless to do anything about it. Or even see them. So at first, I wanted to use video games as an escape. That didn’t work. Reality’s grasp was inescapable. 

Instead, I found myself gravitating towards check-list games, like “games as a service” and big loot grinds. Accomplishing daily and weekly tasks gave me a sense of control. I could set small, medium, and large scale goals that were fully in my power to accomplish. They also required very little thought to do so (slay x monsters, play x games as this class, etc). I was mindlessly, powerfully in control of my world. It was incredibly satisfying and helped get me through 2020. Some of those games like Hearthstone and The Division 2 won’t show up on this list because they did not come out this year, but boy did I spent a lot of time with them.

Anyway, on to my Top 10 games of the year. But first, a special preface:

Yes I played The Last of Us Part 2

It was fine

 I did not connect with the characters

The story was fairly rote and didn’t expand upon the core “revenge is bad” idea

The gameplay was good but felt outdated

I still regard The Last of Us one of my favorite games of all time

A few categories before jumping into the main list:

Games I Did Not Get To But Seem Like List Contenders: Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Yakuza: Like a Dragon,

Honorable Mentions: Maneater, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2, Astro’s Playroom

Now let’s get into it.

10. Ghost of Tsushima

Sucker Punch proved themselves with this stellar, if by-the-numbers, open-wold samurai game. The world was beautiful and the sword combat was spectacular (though not as good as Sekiro). The game doled out new abilities at a perfect pace, transforming Jin from clunky human warrior to unstoppable god of killing. It was pleasant existing within Tsushima, and going down the list of common open world tasks to accomplish. I did take quite a while to go through the game, but I enjoyed it throughout. And though it did nothing new, what was exceptional was the combination and presentation. I platinumed the game. 

9. Fall Guys

I had been excited for Fall Guys ever since it first debuted (back in E3 2019, I believe). But what a thing it was to see it go from obscure Devolver Digital darling to global sensation. Everything about its marketing and outreach were perfect. Including it with PlayStation Plus on release date was Rocket League-level bold. It created a frenzy online for about a month; it was all over Twitch and Twitter. I loved playing Fall Guys. I’ve been dying for battle Royale games to be something other than shooters, and Fall Guys delivered. The zany, floaty platforming was perfect. Just erratic enough that losses didn’t feel bad but just tight enough that you could actually, tangibly improve your skills. I still vividly remember my first crown (victory). I jumped up and down around the apartment my while my wife watched. It was a great moment. I went on to earn plenty more crowns in my time with Fall Guys. It was comfort food during a time in which I needed it. I did not stick with the game as long as I thought I would (dropped it entirely after the first “season’) but that does not discount the fun I had with it. Fall Guys is great.

8. Legends of Runeterra

You all know me. I cannot resist a new digital card game (DCG). I am powerless to resist their thrall. But rarely do I stick with them long, as Hearthstone continues to be my go-to. For many months this year, Runeterra supplanted Hearthstone. The game is just so good. Runeterra comes with all the polish and pizzazz you’d expect from Riot Games, from nice visuals to animations to user-interface optimizations. This immediately puts it ahead of most DCG competitors. But Runterra went above and beyond. It has thoughtful new mechanics like spell mana reserves, and turns that bounce priority between both combatants. The flavor of champion cards are great, and the matches are kept to a perfect 10-20 minute length. A rapid mobile release meant I fell deep into the rabbit hole with Runeterra. It has easily become my new number two DCG and I plan to keep playing it throughout the next year (and hopefully years to come).

7. Spider-Man Miles Morales

The first PS5 game on the list! Oh did I mention new consoles came out this year? Wild. Anyway. Much like Ghost in the number ten spot, Miles Morales did nothing new per se, but what it did it did tremendously well. Spider-Man made my 2018 GOTY list, and this is more of the same. But with even more excellent characters. Miles is the perfect balance of shy nerd and cocky teen. Like Doc Oc before her, I thought Insomniac’s take on Tinkerer was fun and made the villain stand out as unique to the video game-verse. Miles’ venom powers add satisfying spectacle to head-to-head fights, and his camouflage ability provides a much needed safety net to the often frustrating stealth encounters. Miles Morales is a shorter game than its 2018 counterpart, and it is honestly for the better. Spider-Man Miles Morales is sleek, efficient, and fun. What more can you want?

6. Call of Duty: Warzone

Well this was a surprise. A free, Call of Duty battle royale? That’s really fun? That brought me closer to my friend and hopefully not-forgotten co-host of The Impact Factor? That defined a lot of my (albeit limited) Twitch viewing? That functionally replaced Fortnite as my go-to battle royale for most of the year? Yep on all accounts. Warzone is a neatly optimized little thing, at least from a battle royale-mechanics perspective. Looting is quick and easy. The armor/shield situation is simple. And the load outs. The load outs! Other than winning in an all-odds-against-me situation, nothing is more satisfying in a battle royale that I’ve played than calling in a custom weapon set from the sky. It makes the game go from desperate battle for survival to an offensive blitz — I feel empowered to take on any opponent with my trusty customized gun in hand. I never really got good at Warzone, but I did get my fair share solo and duo wins. The game desperately needed more map updates and weapon balance changes throughout — Warzone did get stale at times throughout the year. But when it was good it was fantastic. 

5. Genshin Impact

Yeah. I don’t know, folks. I love Genshin Impact. Like, maybe I shouldn't like it as much as I do but I cannot stop playing. This, of course, taps into what I described in the intro. Genshin Impact is so full of micro- and macro-goals to accomplish. Daily quests. Weekly quests. A near unlimited list of items to hunt down, gear to grind, talents to level. But that’s not what sold me on Genshin. Not really, anyway. Genshin is a phenomenally designed game. It takes everything that worked from Breath of the Wild’s open world playbook (a stamina meter with all surfaces climbable, endogenous puzzles and combat challenges, a true sense of exploration without quest markers everywhere) and layers its own incredible combat on top. Genshin has an exhilarating sense of speed and power to its combat, in which the player is constantly and rapidly balancing character swaps, skill cool downs, and elemental reactions. Genshin gives me the satisfaction of making (and working towards) deep RPG character builds, consistently engaging combat, a real sense of mystery and small level challenges for open world exploration, and fun dialogue and character moments to boot. Plus, as a games as a service, I’ve never had a shortage of new things to do. It’s great. 150+ hours in and I’m still excited to play every day. 

4. Demon’s Souls (Remake)

Welp. We have reached the point in the list that I feature a Souls game. Sorry not sorry! What an incredible remake Demon’s Souls is on the PS5. It maintains everything that made the original so special, so groundbreaking, but adds smart optimizations to the player experience and has jaw-droopingly gorgeous visuals. Demon’s Souls is a bit of an odd duck compared to its later Souls counterparts, but it is those wrinkles that make it so dang charming. Demon’s Souls is at times oppressively vague, demanding the player figure things out for themselves (often at knife’s edge). NPCs can kill other NPCs with no warning. Hidden walls hide key paths without any visual indication. Many enemies can one shot the player in the blink of an eye. The hub-world and level structure allows each zone to feel wholly different from each other, featuring a wide-span of uniquely Japanese western dark age horror. Demon’s has some of the Souls series most memorable bosses, though, many of the boss fights aren’t that great. Still, I love Demon’s Souls precise & punishing combat, imaginative world, diversity of play, and its peerless white-knuckle thrills. 

3. Hades

For as long as I have been making this list, Supergiant’s new game always makes the cut. Why? They are so unbelievably talented at making games. And games that speak to me. (Plus, they have a no-crunch company culture and it cannot be emphasized enough how rad this is). But Hades is a masterpiece amongst their other masterpieces. It is a rogue-lite isometric action game in which the player is rewarded for doing anything and everything. Hades reimagines what a rogue-lite can be. There is a persistent, engaging narrative throughout the grows and evolves as you do more runs. Relationships with characters are informed by your runs and the decisions made within. No run feels wasted, as you’re constantly improving Zagreus, his world, and your own abilities. The isometric action in Hades is fast and frantic, but always gives players the power to succeed. And to master. As a Supergiant game, it should go without saying that the visuals and music are on another level. Plus! I almost forgot! Hades, unlike any(?) other rogue-lite doesn’t make you suffer if you don’t want to! Hades addresses the inaccessibility of the genre with a god-mode, that makes it so all players can progress. This in combination with all the discrete goals it doles out makes Hades an endlessly playable and endlessly enjoyable time. I need to play it so, so much more. 

2. Final Fantasy 7: Remake

Final Fantasy 7 Remake (FF7R) is an immense achievement. It, of course, taps into the nostalgia for one of the most beloved games of all time (for people my age, anyway). But what really gets me is the FF7R fundamentally re-interprets what a remake can be. Sure, FF7R is kind of just the first 25% of the original FF7 with better visuals and new combat. But not really. FF7R is a conversation with fans and with the original source material. Without spoiling anything, FF7R asks questions like how fans retroactively shape how a game is seen. What the game means. It asks the player to trust that even though things may be different, it will be the same in ways that matter. All of this is on top of everything else that is exceptional. I love how the game reinvents the classic FF7 combat to make it action oriented. It is thrilling, skill-intensive, but still feels true to the original. The characters are better than they’ve ever been, with writing and performances that elevate the source material to a new level (Barrett is incredible). FF7R did the incredible— it made me reflect — does FF7 mean more to me than I thought? I think so. I cannot wait for more of the incredible vision that was shown in FF7R in part two. Whenever that may be.

1. Spelunky 2

THIS GAME IS CRIMINALLY OVERLOOKED. Ok. Now that that is out of my system. Spelunky 2 is a masterpiece. I do not even have the words to adequately describe why the game is so good. Please, first read this review that kind of covers how I feel about Spelunky 2. But in short, Plante writes, “This isn’t a sequel. It’s yet another chance to play Spelunky with fresh eyes; everything is just a little different, another stroke that proves perfection is imperfect. Even the best can get better."

Spelunky 2 is a game made, almost explicitly, for fans of the original. It uses everything that made the original so phenomenal: the discovery, the unforgiving platforming, the joy of chaos, and ups the ante. Spelunky 2 also fundamentally exploits player knowledge of the original and uses it to reinvent what Spelunky is and can be. Spelunky 2 is sprawling — I have yet to even get to every area in the game, let alone master them. Unlike rogue-lites, Spelunky 2 is a dyed in the wool rogue-like: the only progress you’ll make is your own abilities. The game can, at times, feel cruel. But for me, that makes its many secrets that much more compelling to hunt down. Makes it feel that much better when I conquer the (MANY) challenges it throws my way. No two runs in Spelunky 2 feel the same. Nor do you ever fall into a sense of complacency. I love the genre, and Spelunky 2 is a masterclass in how to make an experience that will stand the test of time. I played for 85 hours or so and only cleared the game once. For nearly two months, I woke up every day excited to get one step deeper into the punishing labyrinth. I still want to go back. Spelunky 2 is a forever game. I love it to bits. Congratulations Spelunky 2, you are The Impact Factor’s 2020 Game of the Year!

The Impact Factor's Top 10 Games of the Decade

The Impact Factor’s Top 10 Games of the Decade

Perspectives

Yep. You guessed it. Mr. (Dr.?) I love lists had to make his own Top 10 video games of the decade. Because of course I had to. Anyway. I’ll keep this super brief, since if I don’t, this will turn into a 10,000+ word essay and two-hour long podcast. So let’s avoid that, shall we?

Most of my favorite games of all time came out in the last ten years. So if you wanted to see an updated top ten ever, this is pretty close. (2005’s Shadow of the Colossus being the obvious entry excluded, of course). Anyway, here’s my list.

10. Undertale
Honorable Mention: Yakuza 0

I went back on forth on this one a lot. But I had to give the nod to Undertale. The game is part clever commentary on gaming and RPGs, part tightly controlling bullet hell. With easily one of the best soundtracks this decade. I’ve played through this short adventure 2-3 times at this point, and each time back has been great. (But I also really wanted to add Yakuza 0 to my list. IT IS FREAKIN GOOD)

9. Portal 2

Perfectly paced, perfectly challenging, perfectly funny, and a sequel that does the impossible — improving on what is widely regarded as a perfect game. Portal 2 has it all. It’s rare I remember much of anything story-wise even a few months after beating a game. I still vividly remember most of Portal 2. “Exile Vilify” also became my go to sad man song, so there’s that.

8. The Walking Dead: Season 1

Clementine is an all-time best in the gaming character pantheon. I cried at the end of The Walking Dead, and even thinking about it makes me want to cry. Decisions were tough, and the plot kept Justine and I glued to the screen with each entry. The game also kicked off a decade of shared story experiences that we enjoyed, and for that I’m also eternally grateful.

7. Borderlands 2

Like The Walking Dead, which kicked off a long lineage of shared story experience games for Justine and I, Borderlands 2 started our shared/split screen co-op obsession. We fell deeply into the Borderlands hole, and became attached to our original heroes. We kept going back and back, replaying the story, playing as new characters, playing all DLC. I remember sitting in our large chair, snuggling, playing Borderlands 2 into the wee hours of the night. The game also came at a really challenging time in our lives that, for me at least, helped keep me afloat. So thank you, Borderlands 2.

6. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

My favorite fighting game of all time. To play and to watch. I dumped easily 300+ hours into MvC3 and still feel the itch to get back into it. I loved carefully crafting my team, designing combos, and the brutal struggle of climbing the online ladder. Like so many other games on this list, it also bonded Justine and I. She loved watching it played. We loved watching it played at EVO. I miss it. I love it. Taskmaster main for life.

5. Hearthstone

Hearthstone is far and away my most played game this decade. My most played game ever. I’m probably at 1000 hours? And still counting. Simply designed, perfectly executed. At first I loved it as a Magic: The Gathering surrogate. And then I loved it for its own merits. I’ve been playing on a near daily basis for the better part of 6 years and I’m nowhere near sick of it. 

4. The Last of Us

What a powerful, exceptional experience. I teared up something fierce after the opening scene, and felt gut punches through the adventure. In a lot of ways the journey reminds me of Homer’s The Odyssey, which is a narrative structure that just works for me. I see a lot of the headier critics pan The Last of Us’s gameplay, but I thought it was perfect. The aim sway, the minimal resources, the crafting — it was the best Resident Evil game that wasn’t an RE game. I played through The Last of Us three times back to back to back at launch, and also dumped 50+ hours into the multiplayer. The bleakness of the world and characters has made this entry slip in recent years (it has not been something I’ve wanted to return to, which has me worried about how The Last of Us Chapter 2 will land with me), but it is still phenomenonal and impactful. 

3. Persona 4 Golden

Honorable Mention: Persona 5

In the span of a few short years, the Persona franchise went from something I didn’t care about to an all-time favorite. That conversion was due to Persona 4 Golden. Critical spheres I followed at the time hyped this game to no end, and 10 times out of 10 those games don’t live up the the hype. Persona 4 Golden vastly exceeded those expectations. It’s just so. dang. good. The characters are great. Inaba is great. The midnight channel is great. The perfect blend of school life sim and RPG dungeon crawling is great. We became obsessed with Persona during, and following, our time with P4G. Persona 5 is the better game is almost every way, but I gave the edge to P4G for its main party characters and how strong an entry point it was for us. I go back and forth between which of the two is better all the time, though.

2. Spelunky

Every time I put Spelunky on a best-of list, I feel guilty not putting it at number one. It’s fantastic. I would argue that objectively (if there could be such a thing), Spelunky is a contender for best ever (maybe losing out to Tetris? Maybe?). Spelunky is a design marvel — an infinitely compelling and infinitely challenging journey deeper. I became obsessed with Spelunky very soon after first playing. I wanted to be better. I had to be better. Every run is a journey, and every death a comedy. I have played for hundreds of hours and never once got sick of it. I 100%’d the game, which feels to this day a huge personal accomplishment. Spelunky got me thinking critically about game development and game design, and was a huge influence on starting The Impact Factor itself. So yeah. It’s pretty special to me.

1. Dark Souls

Honorable Mention: Sekiro, Bloodborne

Dark Souls is the best game of the decade. There’s too much so say. I can’t condense this to a few sentences. You don’t get many new genres in games, yet Dark Souls (Demon’s Souls, really) created something new. Something forward looking. Something that challenges the player, rewards them for their work, and pushes them to be better. It trusts the player on a deep, fundamental level that beforehand big devs would never. For goodness sake, Dark Souls puts content in the game that players may never find. That’s crazy! Dark Souls and the Sekisoulsborne genre it created puts the balance of risk vs. reward at the forefront of gameplay and player decisions. The world Dark Souls created is unendingly fascinating. Dark Souls has some of the best boss fights of all time. Dark Souls will shape games for years to come — a legacy I am thrilled to see continue. Sekiro: Shadows Die twice has my favorite gameplay in the series, and Bloodborne was a fantastic reinvention of the formula, but Dark Souls struck new ground upon which the later entries built their own foundations. For that, Dark Souls wins out. And Dark Souls is the best game of the decade. 

The Impact Factor's Top 10 Games of 2019

The Impact Factor’s Top 10 Games of 2019

Perspectives

Another year, another list of my favorite games. I’ll keep the preamble brief this year. Of all GOTY lists that have been posted here, this one has the most different context. For 11/12 of the year, I was working in a new job. A job that was professionally satisfying. A job I don’t hate. That I actually *like*. It’s something that during the darkest days of my Ph.D., I didn’t think would ever happen for me. With this enjoyment came a different mindset. I was looking less for expansive escapes, and more for satisfying gameplay or some unique hook. Fewer games that would supplant my life, and more that bolstered it.

Alongside the new job came big changes to my gaming time. A much longer commute + longer  work hours = less time to do anything game related. So I sought powerful experiences that were either over quickly, or could easily be broken into discrete chunks. 

All this said, my tastes are still my tastes, so I’m sure you can anticipate many of the games that made my Top 10. But I sense things are *changing,* and I’m both excited and scared to see where that takes me.

A few categories before jumping into the main list:

Games I Did Not Get To But Seem Like List Contenders: Life is Strange 2, Death Stranding, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Honorable Mentions: Super Mario Maker 2, Ape Out, Devil May Cry V

10. Remnant: From The Ashes

A roguelite Dark Souls with guns … that’s actually really good? Yep. I struggled a lot to lock in my #10, but felt that the relatively little chatter this game was garnering secured its spot. Terrible title aside (seriously, are these things computer generated at this point?), Remnant just works. The small-to-mid sized dungeons last long enough to provide a sense of adventure, but never slip into an onerous slog. The randomization provides ample incentive to explore the discrete biomes multiple times, despite the relative monotony of the actual locations themselves. But above all, the gameplay-gunplay is perfect. It’s challenging, fast-pasted, and strikes the same balance of risk and reward that are a hallmark of the Sekisoulsbourne genre. I am excited for what comes next.

9. Steamworld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech

The Steamworld games have garnered a lot of critical praise the past few years, but I’ve never been able to get into them. In fact, I disliked the first Steamworld Dig so much I deleted it after the first two hours. But Hand of Gilgamech is just fantastic. It’s a small-scope RPG inspired by JRPG classics, with a clever and sufficiently complex card-based battle system. The overarching plot is mundane, but the characters are well-written and memorable. Nothing in the game outstays its welcome, while constantly giving players the tools to innovate. Playing through was a joyful experience start to finish. More 15 hour turn-based RPGs, please.

8. Outer Wilds

No game was more hyped in the critical circles I follow than Outer Wilds. By the year’s end, it had gotten to the point that I felt like if I missed out on playing, I was failing. The world? Myself? Unclear, but what was clear was that I had to play it before making this list. I put off playing for a long time because it didn’t seem like a me game. A slow, exploration-based puzzle space-flight sim art house… thing? Especially given my drive towards compact or pure gameplay experiences, I was trepidatious about Outer Wilds. While some of my fears were well founded, I am happy to report that I had a great time with Outer Wilds. The game is a marvel, really. That the 22-minute game loop works. That the entire solar system does its own thing that you have no power over, that you can experience. That what starts as a chill exploration game turns into a frantic race against time to unravel interstellar mysteries. What I loved the most was how the only thing you gained in the game was player knowledge. There’s no other currency, or skill trees. It’s a game about learning. It’s also a game about accepting death. It’s pretty fricken cool. It’s still not a me game, but it is a fantastic little thing.

7. Borderlands 3

2012’s Borderlands 2 would shape almost a decade of co-op gaming between my wife and I. It is something I’ll never forget and can never be replicated. 2019’s Borderlands 3 did an admirable job trying. Terrible performance aside (laggy menus, huge framerate drops), I adored my time with Borderlands 3. In fact, we adored our time with it. It’s more Borderlands, but after seven years, that was enough for us. It didn’t do anything amazing, but it was a pretty darn good Borderlands game. We are 70+ hours in, and still excited to come back at some point in the future. Great.

6. Resident Evil 2: REmake

A late-comer to the list despite its early in the year release, Resident Evil 2 is just great. I had never played the original, despite being mildly traumatized by lickers after watching over my friend’s shoulder as a kid. So that means, even assessing this as a standalone puzzle-y survivor horror game released in 2019, it still easily makes the cut. The police station is an unbelievably well-designed game space. The plot is corny and fun. The combat creates an ideal balance of feeling just powerful enough to move forward, while never feeling confident that you can tackle the next challenge. And Mr. X. Yeah. He’s great. Justine and I played through both campaigns back-to-back and had an awesome time. Give me more Resident Evil, please. Capcom has been on a roll recently.

5. Pokémon Shield

There’s a chance that if you’ve heard anything about this year’s entry into the long running Pokémon franchise, it was negative. That negativity colored my initial trepidation about first jumping in — if so many people felt so strongly about it, maybe this would be a major stumble. Nope. Not at all. For the first time since Pokémon White, I got way into a Pokémon game. I was trying to catch everything I saw, played essentially non-stop until I saw the ending, and even spent a dozen hours or so making a semi-competitive online team. I loved the aesthetic, I loved making a perfect Justine replica player character, and I loved playing Pokémon again. The game has its faults and I’m dying to know what the franchise could be if it evolved (even just a bit!) But I really enjoyed what they delivered with Shield.

4. Control

Now this one was a surprise. I’d never played a Remedy game before. Leading up to, and even slightly after, the release of Control I was whelmed. It looked like a standard action-filled 3rd person shooter. Boy was I wrong. Control is a gem. I liked just about everything: the Lynchian world, the lore about objects of power and altered worlds events, the brutalist architecture of the oldest house, the dream-like characters and story, and of course the ultimate superhero-sim combat. Seriously, floating around a room, telekinetically dislodging a huge chunk of concrete wall and throwing across a room at an enemy never gets old. Control has such a strong sense of place, such a strong identity, it couldn’t not stick with me long after I finished playing. Plus the live action bits! Dr. Caspar Darling! The boss fights! Yeah, Control rocked. I don’t often come back for DLC, but I’m kind of chomping at the bit to play more.

3. Card of Darkness

This game needs way more attention. Card of Darkness is a wonder of game design. It is the only game I put significant time into from my one month of free Apple Arcade. What is there to say about Card of Darkness? The odd-even card-based dungeon crawling is on one hand exceedingly simple, and the other, a complex and challenging dance of balancing risk and trying to mitigate losses. Card of Darkness captures the thrilling feeling of clearing out an intense RPG dungeon while just looking at a grid of cards. The design borrows a lot of from classic rogue likes, in which you learn by experience and how every steep deeper feels like it is one step closer to death. But the game’s aesthetic is colorful and joyous, assuaging difficulty fatigue. I was enraptured, pushing further than I ever thought I could — even to the very end of the game. That’s right. I beat Card of Darkness. I don’t have access to the numbers ( total wins / total played) but I can imagine it’s pretty freakin low. But I felt so rewarded for every single second I invested into playing. Plus, the short discrete dungeon level structure made this a perfect commute game, and a perfect “when I have a couple minutes” game. More people need to play this one. It’s a travesty more lists don’t feature it.

2. Fire Emblem: Three Houses

My first Fire Emblem game. My first real tactics game in… half a decade? Maybe more? The genre scares me. I suck at tactics and strategy. Like many other games on this list, I was hesitant to get this one. And like other games on this list, yeah, I’m glad I fought myself on this one. While I mostly enjoyed the tactical battles in Three Houses and the satisfying feeling of crushing my foes with an overpowered battle mage (Lysithea) or griffin-riding lancer (Leonie), my true enjoyment came from school-life. Three Houses features a Persona-lite school life sim, complete with social links, romances, stat boosting, etc. I fell deep, deep into this rabbit hole. My passion was driven by how unbelievably charming the majority of the cast of characters were. Sure, most started out (& even ended up) super anime-tropey, but they wormed they way into my heart and refused to be ousted. It was a thrill getting to know them, understand their motivations, and recruiting them to my unbeatable squad of heroes. I enjoyed meticulously planning their growth, their proficiencies, their class specializations. I’ve heard a lot of critics complain how easy Three Houses was, but for me, that was part of the charm. A reward for my excellent tutelage. Plus, the story goes places and that was fun to see unfurl. If you were ever on the fence about Fire Emblem or a tactics RPG, Three Houses is unquestionably a good place to start. Golden Deer forever. 

1. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Sorry. Not sorry. Sekiro was easily the best game of the year. Holy moly. HOLY MOLY. I’m over the moon for this good game about a very sad ninja man. At this point, I’m convinced From Software made some deal with a nether god that prevents them from making anything other than mind-bogglingly good games. Sekiro is a masterpiece. Sekiro has the best sword combat that there has even been in a game. Unlike previous Souls entries that gave the player many tools and asked them to be pretty good with a few of them, Sekiro demands that players become masters of a very small toolset. The journey to that point is tough, but once it clicks, there is nothing more satisfying in games. And I feel like it clicked for me pretty fast. As a big fighting game fan, reading opponent behavior, timing parries, studying attack animations, and footsies (placing yourself at the exact distance that most benefits your offense and least benefits your opponents’) all felt natural to me. In past games I felt like I could get away with cheesing the game to steal unearned victories (which, to be fair, fit with the theming and world of past entries), but not here. Speaking of worlds, I was initially put off by the more rote feudal Japan setting, but From Software put their own spin that elevated it for me. Sekiro also experiments with having more direct storytelling, which worked! Character progression was light, but great. Exploration was light, but great. The emphasis on stealth was great, and when stealth went wrong it was great. From Software has now proven they understand the true core to what makes Souls games work, and I cannot wait for them to apply it to more, and different, contexts. Oh yeah. It also has some genre-best boss fights and moments. There’s just too much to say. Sekiro is my second favorite Souls game ever, only losing out to the original Dark Souls. (PS: Yep, I got the Platinum Trophy). Congrats Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, you’re The Impact Factor’s 2019 Game of the Year!