Our individual Game of the Year articles allow our lovely team of writers to share their own personal PS5 and PS4 picks for 2021. Today, it's the turn of reviewer Graham Banas.
5. Deathloop
I love Arkane. Everything they make just has this certain vibe that no one else in the industry can touch. Their latest is no exception. I was expecting a vibrant world with incredible gameplay depth, and that’s exactly what I got. The gunplay is phenomenal, the world is interesting and absolutely loaded with secrets. But perhaps most surprising? The humour. I was expecting a sense of humour that bordered on irritating. Think Borderlands. But instead, Deathloop is genuinely funny. I really wasn’t expecting the game to get me to laugh out loud multiple times, but it sure did!
4. DOOM 3: VR Edition
When it first came out, I kind of hated DOOM 3. The first 2 DOOMs remain some of my favourite shooters even now, but I did not like what 3 was trying to do back in 2004. It felt like iD traded best-in-class shooting for horror elements that could be found elsewhere, and better. But revisiting it in VR was eye-opening. The DOOM I had always loved was still there, not replaced by horror but rather paired with it. I went from having disliked the game so much I never finished it, to beating the entire game and all of its expansions in just a few days. And for a port of a non-VR game, the game really translated spectacularly too.
3. Hades
I don’t like roguelikes/lites. Never really have. But I’ve noticed that these past couple years, there have been games that have finally tested that stance. And nowhere has this been more true than with Hades. Supergiant is one of a select few devs who can make whatever they want and I’ll get it no matter what. That’s why I not only bought a roguelite, but got it day one. And my faith in Supergiant was rewarded yet again. The game is unsurprisingly beautiful, immaculately polished on every level. The writing is exquisite, the voice acting exceptional, and the gameplay is so satisfying that I was hooked immediately. While this isn’t my favourite Supergiant title, I do think it’s their best.
2. Synth Riders
I have a soft spot for VR rhythm games. The genre practically single-handedly keeps my PSVR plugged in, and Synth Riders is definitely part of my regular rotation now. The emphasis on different musical genres from competitors like Beat Saber, Audica, or Pistol Whip helps to set it apart. There’s a lot more music in this game that I personally listen to outside the game, which keeps me coming back a lot more than some of the other titles of the genre. Synthwave and electro-swing hold way more appeal to me than dubstep or DnB. Plus, I’ve yet to see a game solve the problem of long-lasting notes more elegantly than Kluge has here.
1. Alan Wake Remastered
Until Kentucky Route Zero came along, Alan Wake was always my go-to answer for favourite game of all time. And for years, I wanted nothing more than to play Remedy’s amazing Stephen King / Twin Peaks send-up on a PlayStation console. And it finally happened. Yes the port is a little buggy, and the gameplay can get tedious, but the atmosphere of the game remains peerless. The town of Bright Falls is one of my absolute favourite game settings of all time, and no matter how many times I beat this game (we’re coming up on 20!) I will never stop loving it.
What do you think of Graham's personal Game of the Year picks? Feel free to agree or berate in the comments section below.
Comments 38
A game self confessed as being buggy and has tedious gameplay yet it’s your game of the year? Sounds like you like the 360 version mate
Ps I agree with you about the tedium and gameplay. It was a horrible version on Ps5. I’d never played it before and I LOVE detective/mystery games similar to this, but on Ps5 it was just bad. Dated, played (there’s that tedious gameplay) and looked very much like a 360 game which on a Ps5 version is unacceptable. I kept going for as long as I could but it just was bad. Oh and that audio…yikes. Noises were SUPER loud and dialogue was quiet as a mouse to the point you couldn’t understand it or when you could you only barely could when there was noises and talking at the same time. And that’s on my super expensive surround sound soundbar setup that is excellent on every game I’ve ever played. For me it’s a 5/10. And I’m being generous
I’d been looking forward to an Alan Wake remaster on PlayStation for ages but I’m not gonna lie, the lukewarm reaction to it when it released has left it floundering fairly low on my list of priorities.
I’m replaying it now on PS5 going for my 90th platinum
@kingbreww the fact he says Kentucky Route Zero is his favourite game EVER is even more shocking.
Great to see VR titles in a top 5.
And excited by the prospect of PSVR 2.
My mate I can't believe you picked Alan Wake and also managed to talk about Kentucky Route Zero! What a legend 👌
Cool to see someone's goat not the usual run of the mill games. Kudos.
Alan Wake used to be one of my all time favorites, but after replaying it this year it became pretty obvious that it's mostly nostalgia. The game itself is ok (a solid 6 or 7), but nowhere near as good as it was in 2010.
@redcorpuscle yep I thought Kentucky Route Zero was a load of pretentious twaddle
Lots of backlash on this one haha, it is just one person's opinion on the games they enjoyed the most this year
I still want to try Doom 3 VR. I love Doom 3 and playing it in VR would be terrifying.
Very nice to see VR getting some love! Great to see people enjoying the platform.
@dBackLash nostalgia belongs in the past. So many peeps are calling for it on older games but when remakes are done they’re rarely if ever great
Satisfyingly unusual list. Really need to grab Alan Wake Remastered eventually. It was one of the cooler Western exclusives on the 360.
Technically speaking 4 of the 5 games are between 1-17 years old with only one actually being newly released this year 😅 it's certainly a interesting list, thanks for sharing it.
Interesting list and it shows how good it must be to have such a diverse team of staff as each list so far has been pretty different to say the least.
I got Alan Wake for Christmas, never played it on the 360 so looking forward to it. Control was probably my favourite game this year so if it is half as good I will be happy.
@kingbreww So many peeps keep calling for remakes and remasters because different people have different tastes.
I don't know why it bothers you so much that other people enjoy something different from you.
Maybe I should get Deathloop. I don't really like FPSs that much though.
Varied opinions are what make these lists (and in turn, this site) great. An excellent read.
@Richnj im calling it because they’re not my tastes and that’s my opinion on the subject
@kingbreww If they aren't your tastes, why did you buy Alan Wake?
@Richnj because I felt like it
@kingbreww That sounds like a you problem, not a remaster problem.
@Richnj clearly you don’t know the game then. As I said in my original comment and as even the poster of this article said this remaster has many issues. So quite clearly it’s a remaster problem 🤦🏻♂️
@kingbreww And Cyberpunk, along with numerous other AAA brand new releases, have released in far worse states than Alan Wake.
I have concluded that all new releases are not worth making.
@Richnj cool bro. Good luck with that 👌
Alan Wake. Love to see it. Bring on the sequel.
Fair play to picking your fave games and not picking the usual ones that will get you the most up votes 👍...alan wake though 😳
I'm not coming round to your house to play video games. I can tell you that now! Somebody @pushsquare buy this lad Kena.
Cool.
I just got Guardians Of The Yxalag and I’m so glad I waited because going for quality mode with RT.
I’m surprised I don’t see this game mentioned more often though. It has GOTY written all over.
Edit
OMG
Just installed it and the wallpaper tune is already giving me goosebumps on my PS5. 👍
Well that’s a curveball 🥴 I played through it; but in reality we should be playing next gen Alan Wake on our new consoles not some decade old thing. And so we shall be ~ eventually…
@Deadlyblack I really didn't like Doom 3 back in the day, but I LOVED playing through it now in VR haha. You might get a lot out of it!
@dBackLash The narrative and world-building elements definitely do more of the heavy lifting than they did this first time I played it haha
@kingbreww Yeah that's why the bit where I mention the setting being one of my all-time favorite gaming locations is important. Cuz ultimately, it is still a 10-year-old game haha.
@AFCC 🤣
@Loftimus Well, now I'm rescinding my invite! Kena is actually on my wishlist though
@Northern_munkey Whatttt, but this comments section has been 100% people in agreement about these selections! hahaha
@Akimi That game awards announcement was verrrry exciting haha. Couldn't believe it!!!!
@Jango-Forest IF you don't normally like shooters, Arkane's games are definitely a better way to experience to genre. There's a lot of stuff around the shooting you can do that would otherwise not be there on shooters from other devs, but it is still definitely a shooter, so you might still come away from it without liking it haha
@Mostik After Control's last DLC, those 2 games are VERY connected so that could be fun to see too!
@Juanalf Hades I didn't touch till the Playstation releases so that was brand new for me. Likewise Synth Riders. Alan Wake and Doom though...no comment lol
@gbanas92 Thanks, I've just ordered it. I won't blame you if I'm not a fan!
@Jango-Forest Haha, I hope you do like it! I love Arkane's stuff!
Yeah i wasnt saying they were not..i was trying to make a point that you could have chosen safer games to choose but you didnt..you picked what you liked and didnt join the herd..really was it that hard to understand?
@Northern_munkey It was not, and it was said in a jesting tone...
Ahh i see you were joking..its not always easy to see when something is written in jest..happy new year..
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