Is 2021 a dud for gaming?

M76

[H]F Junkie
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I'm not being melodramatic, I just realized that so far there was no game released this year that I found interesting enough to buy. And here we are starting Q4 in a heartbeat.

Going back 10+ years I've found at least 5-6 games on average every year that I liked enough to finish. Even in the worst year (2014) I finished 3 games.

Any recommendations?

I know about Resident Evil Village, but until they patch out the horrible drm I'm ignoring that. Besides I'm still struggling to get through RE2 and RE3, not really my cup of walking simulators, and Village seems like more of the same.

How is Biomutant? it seemed interesting early on, but I'm not sure about it, tags like ARPG and MMO style doesn't exactly instill confidence in me.

What about the rest of the year, anything to look forward to? Strictly single player campaign based games, ofc.
 
I'm with you, I haven't really been excited for any games this year, the only one I'm truly excited for is Dying Light 2, which comes out soon.

I'm content with clearing out my backlog though, I'm current on Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Next will be Revelations, then 3, then I'm going to take a break from the series and focus on other games. I'm thinking Haunting Ground, I want to know why it's worth so much. Found it at a thrift store for $2.
 
Yup, seems like it. So far Village has been my GOTY and it's not that great, but it's still a good game. I *did* like Biomutant, but opinions are mixed. I enjoyed the size/scope of the world and the combat. That said, it's repetitious and the plot isn't particularly strong.

Looking through my list of games this year, almost none of them actually came out in 2021. I've been snagging the titles I meant to play in 2020 but didn't get around to. Looking at the next few months, I don't see a ton of home runs. Deathloop and Back 4 Blood seem good, but nothing amazing. Far Cry 6 is probably fine if you like the others, but is totally unoriginal. I don't even have anything else on my radar except the PS5 version of Ghost of Tsushima, which doesn't really count.
 
Since I can't (won't buy) afford these absurd prices for video cards, I haven't payed much attention to any video games coming out, However I did enjoy RE8. Other than that...a dud.
 
How is Biomutant? it seemed interesting early on, but I'm not sure about it, tags like ARPG and MMO style doesn't exactly instill confidence in me.
Biomutant is terrible. Covid really messed up the releases for this year, hopefully next year is better.

My top 3 hours played this year would be
1. Factorio
2. WoW:Classic
3. Hades

So 2 indie games, and a game i already played once 15 years ago. Sad :(
 
Biomutant is terrible. Covid really messed up the releases for this year, hopefully next year is better.

My top 3 hours played this year would be
1. Factorio
2. WoW:Classic
3. Hades

So 2 indie games, and a game i already played once 15 years ago. Sad :(
I'm having a blast with WoW Classic & emulators. Don't be sad, if anything the gaming industry today is the one who should be sad, their inability to create quality entertainment should be concerning.
 
Hitman 3 was a hit in my opinion (terrible pun intended).
Outriders was a huge disappointment.
Days Gone was fantastic, if you want to count the PC version coming out this year as a 2021 release.
The Ascent was also a pleasant surprise.

I think that's all I've played that released this year. Never really paid attention to how many "good games" came out each year. Plus most big titles tend to release around the holidays. We still have Far Cry 6, Halo Infinite, and BF 2042 to look forward to this year.

Hell, I just fired up the Xbox app and was reminded that Psychonauts 2 comes out tomorrow. AoE4 and Forza Horizon 5 later this year as well. Not a bad year IMO.
 
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Ive been playing the heck out of Hardspace shipbreaker



Its an early acess title, but the gameplay is excellent. I watched a streamer play it for a bit and it interested me enough to check it out. It has me completely hooked and I currently have about 130 or so hours into it so far.
 
The No Man's Sky updates (Expeditions, Companions, and Prisms) added significant content.

https://www.gameinformer.com/2021

Diablo 2, resurrected in September has some interest.

Mini Motorways is pretty fun.

Subnautica below zero should be ok when I pick it up in the christmas sale.
 
Monster Hunter Rise has been my GOTY so far, but I probably could have told you that as soon as it was announced, as a gigantic MH fan.
 
2021 was a dud for PC...consoles had a better year...but there's still hope for the final few months- Deathloop, Dying Light 2, System Shock remake, Far Cry 6
 
GPU prices are wrecking my interest in any AAA games since my current rig won't run newer names in 4k at high settings. There is no way in the world I will pay those prices.
 
I don't understand blaming GPU Prices. That has nothing to do with lack of quality games.
 
So far all I have purchased from the 2021 releases is the Mass Effect legendary edition so yeah it has been a dud so far for me. Did enjoy several games that were released late last year though and took me long into 2021 to finish so it has not been all bad, but very few of the 2021 releases interested me.
 
There aren't (m)any games from 2021 that need a primo GPU to run well, even in 4K. Most of the games that can came out last year or even in 2019.
 
Dud indeed. I'm catching up on my backlog while enjoying under the radar games/indie games.
 
Shortages are the new normal so it has been and will be a dud for a lot of things starting with electronics.
 
It has been pretty lame this year. I had to go back and figure out what actually came out this year, and there are only 3 releases that I have actually bought and played: The Medium, Outriders, and Resident Evil Village. I enjoyed Outriders at first, but it quickly turned into the same mindless slog all other games in that genre are. The Medium was short and sweet, but nothing really memorable about it. RE Village is definitely GOTY so far.
 
Definitely a lighter year for new gaming and the upcoming schedule still looks light. I've mostly been using the slow period to catch up on my backlog (which is huge). Hades, Horizon Zero Dawn PC, Spider-Man Remaster/Miles Morales, Ni No Kuni 2 are a few of the titles I've been playing through this year. Feels like I spent most of this year hunting down gaming hardware than actually enjoying gaming software - and still trying to hunt down a big screen monitor with HDMI 2.1.
 
I'm waiting to see if Tales of Arise is amazing. I also still need to play Scarlet Nexus before forming any opinion.
 
I'm not being melodramatic, I just realized that so far there was no game released this year that I found interesting enough to buy. And here we are starting Q4 in a heartbeat.

Going back 10+ years I've found at least 5-6 games on average every year that I liked enough to finish. Even in the worst year (2014) I finished 3 games.

Any recommendations?

I know about Resident Evil Village, but until they patch out the horrible drm I'm ignoring that. Besides I'm still struggling to get through RE2 and RE3, not really my cup of walking simulators, and Village seems like more of the same.

How is Biomutant? it seemed interesting early on, but I'm not sure about it, tags like ARPG and MMO style doesn't exactly instill confidence in me.

What about the rest of the year, anything to look forward to? Strictly single player campaign based games, ofc.
It's been the opposite for me. Every other year gives me two or three titles I've been interested in. 2020 gave me Cyberpunk 2077 and probably a couple other things. 2021 has been a bust so far. I'm thinking about trying Aliens: Fireteam Elite, but I'm still on the fence about it. There were more titles I was interested in, but they have all been pushed back to 2022, so 2021 is a bad year for gaming in my opinion.
 
It's been the opposite for me. Every other year gives me two or three titles I've been interested in. 2020 gave me Cyberpunk 2077 and probably a couple other things. 2021 has been a bust so far. I'm thinking about trying Aliens: Fireteam Elite, but I'm still on the fence about it. There were more titles I was interested in, but they have all been pushed back to 2022, so 2021 is a bad year for gaming in my opinion.
How is that the opposite? LOL
 
I'm not being melodramatic, I just realized that so far there was no game released this year that I found interesting enough to buy. And here we are starting Q4 in a heartbeat.

Going back 10+ years I've found at least 5-6 games on average every year that I liked enough to finish. Even in the worst year (2014) I finished 3 games.

Any recommendations?

I know about Resident Evil Village, but until they patch out the horrible drm I'm ignoring that. Besides I'm still struggling to get through RE2 and RE3, not really my cup of walking simulators, and Village seems like more of the same.

How is Biomutant? it seemed interesting early on, but I'm not sure about it, tags like ARPG and MMO style doesn't exactly instill confidence in me.

What about the rest of the year, anything to look forward to? Strictly single player campaign based games, ofc.
I think you need to reassess what a walking simulator is, if you think RE2 is that ;)
 
Go play RUST now that they have updated the art assets and the graphics engine. It looks pretty damn good. If you like grindy open world, it is a fun time. Best to play with a friend though. Solo play can be a real PITA. They do have solo-only servers however. Picked it up during the summer steam sale for $20, and have 120 hours into it. Still a ton of stuff to learn however, as the curve is HUGE. But if you are into that kind of thing....

20210819191838_1.jpg
 
I think you need to reassess what a walking simulator is, if you think RE2 is that ;)
I think you need to, as 98% of the game is spent walking around in circles painfully slowly looking for random crap, in the same effing building no less. Just because every once in a while you need to shoot a zombie doesn't make it any less of a walking simulator.
 
I think you need to, as 98% of the game is spent walking around in circles painfully slowly looking for random crap, in the same effing building no less. Just because every once in a while you need to shoot a zombie doesn't make it any less of a walking simulator.
If you want to know what a walking simulator is then play Dear Esther, Firewatch, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, or What Remains of Edith Finch.
 
I haven't bought much this year. I'm looking forward to the new Pathfinder game and hopefully the new SWTOR expansion is good. Not much else I've found interesting this year.
 
Maneater Truth Quest DLC

Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous

Deathloop

Battlefield 2042

Cod WWII Vanguard

New World

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2

Rainbow 6 Extraction


Last year was pretty bad except when Cyberpunk finally hit. Doom Eternal carried 2020 and stuff like Baldurs Gate 3.
 
Portal Reloaded

Enderal released for Skyrim Special Edition. So, Enderal now has all of the enhancements native to Special Edition.
 
In all honesty, I didn't hate Death Stranding. I didn't like it either, but I didn't hate it. I just kept waiting for the part where the "real game" began. Outside of weirdly out-of-place boss fights, it never really did. It was filled with lots of neat ideas and beautiful visuals, though.
 
Death Stranding's director's cut is due in a couple of months and adds quite a bit to the game. The upgrade for existing owners on Playstation, is $10. I'm guessing the PC version will be the same (however, I do not think the PC version has a confirmed release date, yet).
 
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I just finished watching Microsoft's Gamescon video and now I'd say Dying Light 2 is on my radar. I didn't really like the first game all that much, but this one looks completely different. So different that I had no idea what game I was watching. It's currently scheduled for a 12/7/21 release, which means it might end up being a 2022 game, though.
 
Maneater Truth Quest DLC

Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous

Deathloop

Battlefield 2042

Cod WWII Vanguard

New World

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2

Rainbow 6 Extraction


Last year was pretty bad except when Cyberpunk finally hit. Doom Eternal carried 2020 and stuff like Baldurs Gate 3.
I didn't like Doom Eternal all that much. Too much platforming and it feels like you have to constantly conserve ammunition.
 
Maybe opposite isn't the right word but you mentioned getting 5-6 games you like a year. I get half that if I am lucky.
I'm not saying that I find 5-6 games that I love every year, but at least interesting enough to have a go at them.

2020: 8 games, 3 good, 2 mediocre, 3 weak
2019: 5 games, 2 good, 1 mediocre, 2 weak
2018: 5 games, 4 good, 1 mediocre
2017: 10 games, 5 good, 3 mediocre, 2 weak
2016: 6 games, 4 good, 2 mediocre
2015: 6 games, 4 good, 1 weak
2014: 5 games, 2 good, 1 mediocre, 1 weak
2013: 6 games, 5 good, 1 mediocre
2012: 5 games, 2 good, 3 mediocre
2011: 8 games, 8 good

You get the idea
 
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