2021 is a year of huge changes for me. New job, new place to live, lots of personal life events really showing up and surprising me in many ways. As such, I did not play as many games as I would have liked this year. I never got around to games like NEO The World Ends With You and SMT V. But regardless, I found time for some incredible games this year. These games found me at the right time and the right place, and I would like to share what they meant to me with you.
5 – Metroid Dread
It’s so good to be back. After a few rough entries in the series after the incredible Metroid Fusion, we finally have a direct sequel to one of the finest Search Action games ever. While it doesn’t quite hit the same as that title before it, what we have here is an extremely solid and fun Metroid game, and I couldn’t ask for anything more. It’s one of the finest action games on the Switch that adds up to more than the sum of its parts. Metroid Dread is an incredible return to form for the infamous bounty hunter.
Set on a new desolate world, the game is an exciting, short and sweet adventure through some beautifully designed levels and steller boss fights. The power ups feel meaningful and interesting, and while the game as a whole is pretty linear, it offers a wide possibility space. It’s just good to see MercurySteam get a chance to do their own thing, and really build a really engaging adventure. Metroid Dread is like putting on an old comfortable shirt. It’s just like you remember it, and that’s all it needs to be. Metroid Fusion is one of my favorite games, and experiencing a follow up after so long was needed in ways I can’t adequately describe.
It has some problems, that’s for sure. Little things like not being able to rebind buttons really hurts this game’s accessibility, and the story kinda peeters out in the end. But the experience is still incredibly fun and is a reminder why this series makes up one half of Metroidvania. Personally, I can’t wait to see how the speedrunning community takes to it. It’s short, sweet, and definitely well designed for future revisits. I cannot wait to see Samus’ next mission.
4 – Mahjong Soul
“Mahjong again?” I hear you cry. Well, two things. One, it’s my list, and I can do what I want. And two? Mahjong got big for me in a major way in 2021. Mahjong Soul is a gacha game for PC and Mobile that is extremely conductive to the act of just playing Riichi Mahjong. The gacha still is an absolute nightmare, and free draws are about as common as Robbing the Kan. It’s definitely a money sink if you wanna get more characters and cosmetics. However, the act of playing mahjong is as enjoyable as ever. If you wanna play and learn this legendary game, Mahjong Soul is the perfect place to start.
One of the things that surprised me about Mahjong Soul this year is how well it is conducive to teaching the game. Frequently in 2021, I would host games with the explicit goal of teaching a new player the game. And as such, the custom options in private lobbies are incredibly helpful. You can play with open hands, set the turn timer to as long as five minutes, and other helpful features. Plus the built in mechanics of Mahjong Soul help with making the game accessible. Players can highlight tiles to see what was previously discarded, the game will surface the number of possible tiles that can lead to victory, and not allow you to make mistakes that prematurely end the game. It’s full of smart decisions that make the act of playing this deeply complex game much more accessible and approachable.
Plus, I’ll just say it. The girls are cute! There is something to the aesthetics of the game that makes the game have a fun and enjoyable atmosphere. Every character is voiced, so you get to hear your character make calls in their own way, adding an incredible amount of personality to the proceedings. Add in things like the music that kicks on when a player calls riichi, or the effects that go off when you make certain plays or call a win, and you have a game with a great sense of atmosphere and style. But even if you don’t get any of that extra stuff, the game is perfectly suited for friends to get together and play one of the deepest and engaging tabletop games in history.
3 – Melty Blood Type Lumina
It’s kind of incredible how well this game turned out as well as it did. How do you follow up one of the most classic-yet-obscure fighting games ever? The original Melty Blood is the king of kusoge, with endless jokes about how tournaments could be run out of hotel bathrooms or in the alley next to the venue. Known for expressive mechanics and goofy characters, how do you make a follow up that stays true to its roots while bringing the game to a new audience? I don’t know the full answer, but French Bread made the result look easy. Melty Blood: Type Lumina is an extremely polished and accessible fighter that shows why it has such an enduring legacy.
Melty Blood: Type Lumina is the result of decades of refined fighting game mechanics, with French Bread revisiting the franchise that put them on the map. Tied loosely into Tsukihime -A Piece Of Blue Glass Moon- with a guest crossover with Saber from the Fate series, this game feels like a serious reconsideration of what makes their fighting games so engaging. This game feels like the source material: a reimagining of a classic. Melty Blood: Type Lumina retains the absurd combo strings and fast movement, while including more modern sensibilities like Auto-combos and rollback netcode. The shield mechanic is steller, allowing for top players to counter their opponent’s counters, leading to an intense game of back and forth that makes matches exciting to watch and participate in.
Not to mention, this game is drop dead gorgeous. The sprites are some of the best in the business, showing that 2D sprite-work can hit just as hard as 3D animation. The presentation is just stellar, and looks great no matter where you play it. While you can’t quite run this game on a toaster like you could with the original Melty Blood, the game is still humble and true to its roots. Be it you’re a seasoned pro or total rookie, Melty Blood: Type Lumina delivers.
![Under Night In-Birth EXE:Late[cl-r] brings stylish anime fighting to Switch | TheSixthAxis](https://i0.wp.com/i.ytimg.com/vi/HUZ4KJRFxPc/maxresdefault.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
2 – Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late [cl-r]
In a year when a new Guilty Gear game left me wanting more, Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late [cl-r] (aka UNICLR) stepped up and showed me the way forward is to take a step back. This revision of the French Bread fighting game masterpiece gave me feelings of community and reignited my competitive spirit in a way I didn’t think was possible. During this ongoing pandemic, I was without a community. I couldn’t safely go to locals, and while I was excited for Guilty Gear -Strive-, it wasn’t the game I needed it to be. Then, a friend of mine extended an invitation to an online tournament, made for beginners of the game, and my life was changed. I found a community of passionate and kind people who just had a love for the game that was positively uplifting. It also helps that UNICLR is a spectacular game in it’s own right.
UNICLR is a deeply satisfying and approachable game that allows for players of all skill levels to experience the joys of anime fighters. Each character is unique and strong in their own ways, with a wide breadth and depth of styles that means that there is going to be a character that feels tailor made for you. It’s less I found Akatsuki, the electric charged temporally displaced soldier, and more Akatsuki found me. Akatsuki gave me the vocabulary to experience the game’s systems with his deceptively simple toolset and gameplan. With universal mechanics like Smart Steer and Passing Links, every character can be experienced easily, allowing players to find the character that fits them. On top of that, the unique GRD system makes the timer an integral part of your strategies. There are so many cool mechanics and things that make this game tick that makes the act of playing and learning about this game feel so rewarding.
In truth, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with this game without the community I found to go with it. I’ll never forget sitting in a Discord call for over an hour with an incredibly skilled Akatsuki player, where he showed me the ins and outs of the game. I felt supported in ways I had not felt since my days of competitive DragonBall FighterZ. This game is special to me in ways I didn’t think would be possible, and it hit me harder than just about anything else this year. I have not competed in tournaments for a while, as life started getting very busy for me. But I know I will be welcomed back with open arms. I know this game will be there for me, and I can’t wait to show how strong I can really be.
1 – Monster Hunter Rise
Monster Hunter Rise rose to the occasion in every way. I initially wrote off this game as just another Monster Hunter. I had tried for years to get engaged with this series. Version after version, the games never stuck to me in a way I found satisfying. But in 2021, the wires crossed in just the right way. The timing, the new setting, and community surrounding Monster Hunter found its way into my heart in 2021, and this game was easily my most played game of 2021. Everything about this game just struck a chord with me, resonating at frequencies I didn’t think I could respond to. This game would open my eyes to a series I didn’t think I could have passion for, and turned me into a true believer. If nothing else, this game made it clear: Monster Hunter rules.
Kamura village, nestled deep in the world, is being besieged by monsters. As an up and coming monster hunter, your job is to go out there and defend the homestead from all manner of beast. Every monster in this game is a unique challenge, pushing you to really understand the ins and outs of your weapon and skills. Famously known for overwhelming the player, Monster Hunter Rise offers ways to slowly ease yourself into the game. The dedicated single player missions feel like an extended tutorial to the real meat of the game, the multiplayer hunts. The multiplayer sessions of this game are some of the most exciting and dynamic parts of this game, and has given me the motivation to keep returning to the hunt. Even the underwhelming Rampage mode, where you fight weaker versions of monsters with tower defense mechanics, becomes that much more fun when you’re coordinating with human players. This game is meant to be social, and the tools are there to make that happen. Be it guiding lower level players through the early hunts, or taking on some of the meanest and toughest fights in the game, there is always something to come back to.
So much around this game also makes the experience that much more engaging. The presentation and art style is incredibly strong, where Kamura village is full of colorful characters and bursting at the seams with detail and charm. The wirebug mechanics add complexity and depth to the movement and combat, allowing for that much more player expression. The new monsters fit right in, and look incredible. There is a spectacle to this game that is unmatched, and Capcom makes it look effortless. Constant title updates also meant that there was a reason to come back time and time again to unlock new cosmetics or new missions. This game is so compelling, so thrilling, and so well made that I am giving serious thought into picking up the recently released Steam version, just so I have an excuse to play more of this game.
Monster Hunter Rise is a triumph, and is my game of the year of 2021.
If there is one thing that spoke to me this year, it is that even the biggest challenges can be met head on. I took a long, hard look at myself and committed to major changes. I got a new job. I moved into a bigger place. I committed myself even more deeply to the art of podcasting, editing, and writing. I sought new challenges; challenges in my personal life, professional life, and everywhere in between. I am glad you’re with me on this journey as the new year brings a new cycle, a new chance to change and grow. I am excited to face the challenge of 2022 with you, the audience that has supported me and given me the confidence to grow. I will make sure your confidence in me is not misplaced, and I cannot wait to see where I grow next. Later.
-Kyrie
