End of Year Wrap 2021
2021, pandemic year 2.0 and again a feast of video game goodness was to be had. Join us in the End of Year Wrap to pick over some memories.
| No. | Richard’s Top 5 for 2021 | Guy’s Top 5 for 2021 | Gerard’s Top 5 for 2021 | Barrie’s Top 5 for 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | BioMutant | Guardians of the Galaxy | Guardians of the Galaxy | The Ascent |
| 2. | Football Manager 2022 | The Ascent | Psychonauts 2 | Psychonauts 2 |
| 3. | Halo Infinite | Golf CLub Wasteland | Death Stranding (PC) | Forza Horizon |
| 4. | Flight Sim | Chorus | Hitman 3 (PC) | BioMutant |
| 5. | Deathloop | Insurgency: Sandstorm | Death’s Door (PC) | Hot Wheels Unleashed |
2021 was a year an a half, that was for sure. For gaming there was another bumper swathe of options to cater for all tastes. While the team have put together their favourite experiences, its worth mentioning the ‘also-rans’ like Returnal. The punishing sci-fi shooter that did lots right, but didn’t stick with the team. Alternatively, there are always older games that take up time. Guy is never far away from Destiny in some form, and I’ve spent a valuable amount of time helping my daughter through Bugsnax.
On a personal note it was a busy year and let’s not forget the team (including occasional guests) are all hardworking professionals that do this in their spare time. Which makes the 81 reviews and features we delivered still quite satisfying. Now we’ve had a break and some well earned downtime, the keyboards are firing up for another long haul. Let’s see what 2022 brings.
The choices we make
It’s always tricky to distill a full year of gaming into a few highlights, for me Biomutant delivered as the first open-world game I’ve completed in a very long time. Being a regular bounce-off on games like this, the light hearted nature and gameplay got me. The customisation of weapons to a Borderlands level of function was great fun, and I’ve actually Platinumed it. It’s also a game I can happily play with my 5 year old, swapping controllers when we need to. As for the other top picks, with Guy and Gerard loving Guardians of the Galaxy as the year closed. You’d think a fan of the movies would jump on it, but no, I’ve been playing an unhealthy amount of Halo Multiplayer. While Barrie picked his all round experience as The Ascent, a great game no mistake, I just need to get back to it with some decent available time.
Everybody’s choices through 2 to 5 are quite varied, I’ve loved letting Football Manager get its hooks back into me. Guy obviously had his sci-fi fix this year with Chorus, The Ascent and Guardians. Gerard has been cranking his PC, and Barrie (newly anointed Xbox Ambassador) maximising his Gamepass time. I know I should play Psychonauts 2, its been downloaded on my Xbox since day 1, but am yet to fire it up. I did spend a good amount time playing The Ascent too, but the priorities took me away.
Conclusion : End of Year Wrap 2021
It’s not all about games of course, including hardware in our reviews is always fun. With thanks to companies like JBL and EPOS, that allow us to pass on our thoughts on their products. Headphones, Speakers and Mice all accessorise and enhance the gaming experience, we love to write about them. Not forgetting the occasional features like my Arcade Machine Build (part 3 still coming), Nina’s Rainbow Six opinions and more.
I know the Team appreciate being read and enjoy putting thought and effort into their content. Thanks for supporting us and being along for the journey – we’ve actually been doing this for well over a decade now and apart from getting older and wiser, won’t be going anywhere soon.
Heartfelt thanks again to all the PR teams we deal with, and the crews that represent Xbox and PlayStation both here and in NZ.
So, enjoy 2022 as best as you can, look back on our End of Year Wrap 2021 with ‘some’ fondness and stay along for the ride.
