It’s time for that obligatory “Games of the Year” piece that literally every gaming website and youtuber is doing right now…or has already done. Most are already done, because we’re now in 2022 and I’ve been procrastinating on writing out mine.

When I look back on the 113(!) games I finished in 2021 I see a lot of variety, but I don’t see much that I particularly enjoyed. I did quite a few replays of some old favourites which are always fun even if they lack a certain sense of excitement that comes with experiencing something for the first time, and I managed to play a few games I’d wanted to for a long time as well.

But of the new releases from this year that I played, I had a hard time picking out a top five, and I was spoilt for choice picking out a bottom five. I think I focused on entirely the wrong things for far too long, and there is a definite trend in the worst games I played this year: three of them rank amongst my most anticipated titles for 2021, and I’m not sure how much of my lack of enjoyment for them stems from my expectations and how much is because they really weren’t very good games.

In the end there is no accounting for taste, and I’m not writing this to spark a debate (although I’m sure I would in some places) or because I feel the need to justify myself to an invisible audience who are constantly judging me for not sharing their opinions about certain games. Rather, this is an entry for the sake of self-reflection and contemplation.

So, without further ado…