As we prepare to close out 2021, it’s time to look back on the games that defined the year. The COVID-19 pandemic claimed release date through release date as we moved through 2021, but the games industry kept chugging away. Despite the fact that the year’s release schedule was in a constant state of flux, we still received a number of great titles in 2021. In this list, we’ll recap the Best Games of 2021 and tell you what made each one so special.
Note: While I’ve handled most of these year-end gaming wrap-ups on my own in the past, this year I have some help from one of SlashGear’s newest writers, Josh Hawkins. I’ll note who’s responsible for each entry with our initials (EA and JH) at the end so it’s clear who wrote what. Welcome to the team, Josh! Let’s get into the games.
IO Interactive took the Hitman series to a new level with its World of Assassination Trilogy, and Hitman 3 was a perfect ending to the latest saga of everyone’s favorite bald assassin. In the third game, IO builds off the interactive environments that it has become known for, and ups the ante even more by adding in new ways to take out targets, as well as new ways to traverse the world.
Perhaps one of the most exciting things about Hitman 3, though, was that it brought all of the missions from the previous two entries of the trilogy to the latest engine. This included new performance enhancements, new features, weapons, and tools. With so many options at your fingertips, Hitman 3 made playing as Agent 47 one of the best sandbox experiences you can find in gaming right now.
Few games managed to hold my attention as well as Hitman 3 did, and despite releasing at the start of the year, I consistently find myself revisiting Agent 47’s universe to try my hand at pulling off more daring and spectacular assassinations. – JH
There’s no doubt that the roguelike space is getting a little crowded here in 2021. We’ve seen the genre grow to be one of the dominant ones in the indie space throughout the last several years, and there are so many roguelike games that it can be difficult for new titles to stand out. That wasn’t the case for Loop Hero.
Loop Hero serves up a lot of fresh ideas and, like many roguelikes, is defined by “easy to learn, difficult to master” gameplay. For as good as it is, Loop Hero might be the most difficult to describe game on this list. A Lich has plunged the world into eternal nothingness and it’s up to players to rebuild it by placing buildings, enemies, and even terrain from a customizable deck of cards alongside endless loops. While the concept may be a little meta, the core gameplay loop (no pun intended) is solid and given a chance, Loop Hero will have you theorycrafting the most efficient decks and layouts in no time.
Loop Hero is a perfect pick-up-and-play game for those who only have a little bit of free time while also being a game that you can sink your teeth into for extended periods. It offers a fantastic spin on the roguelike genre, and anyone who counts themselves as a roguelike fan should check it out. – EA
