OUR FAVOURITE GAMES OF 2021!

Is it just us or has 2021 felt like one long decade? However, despite the ongoing global pandemic, it’s been an exciting year here at Ratloop Canada. But before we totally move on with 2022, we wanted to take a chance to talk about some of our favourite games in 2021! So without further ado, here are our picks!

HALO INFINITE

Brennan: Level Designer

“Within the first few rounds of play, I could feel the echo of FPS sandbox fun that captivated me for so many hours during the days of Halo 3. The moderately paced but snappy and satisfying gunplay and arena level design strikes the cool balance I remember the Halo series for, all while striving forward new toys that feel finely polished and right at home.”

RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2

Britany: QA Tester

“My favourite game this year was Red Dead Redemption 2 / Read Dead Online. I know this game came out in 2018-2019, but I found myself playing almost every day without fail. The beautiful open world landscape, gameplay/quests and optimization were all strong points for me! Top reason(s) has to be the horses and overall quality of the horse riding/mechanics!”

DARK SOULS 1

Carl: Character Modeler

“This year, it’s Dark Souls 1 for me! The hype for Elden Ring has revived my easily revivable passion for the trilogy. So, I bought a new controller just to play DS1 – it was the last one for me to finish since I’ve finished DS2 and DS3 with keyboard and mouse. Best game of 2022? Elden Ring!”

LEMNIS GATE

Charles: 2D Artist

“I love Lemnis Gate! I may be a bit biased, but I really enjoy the novel time loop with character layering in first person!! It’s a fun challenge and people are already so good at it. I'm very competitive and this games scratches that itch well. Watching twitch streams teaches me innovative tactics and there is always a creative way to approach a problem, whether it be by changing the order in which you deploy your operatives, or how you set early traps around the empty map!”

SEA OF THIEVES

Corey: 3D Artist

“This sandbox adventure game flies under the radar a bit, however after years of passionate support from Rare, I feel it's gotten to a point where it deserves more love than it gets. Initially, the game did certainly lack a bit in content, especially in a world so vast. Rare didn't sit idle though and clearly had a plan for this game right out of the gates. From its stunning visuals and humorous narrative, it never fails to generate hours of entertainment for myself and my crew.”

DIVINITY: ORIGINAL SIN 2

Hanseul: Programmer

“This game is full of surprises (including the bugs)! Every action that you make is tightly bound to the story. Small events that you pass by can cause serious consequences later in the story. Hidden items can be used later in the story to save a character or even to get a better ending. I didn't have to force myself to explore every area to find these items, the game gently leads me, as if it was a part of the main story. f I played again, I’d still find something new that I hadn’t before!”

KENA: BRIDGE OF SPIRITS

James A.: Game Director

“I really enjoyed the simplicity of the mostly linear game and ingredient-based puzzles and challenges. In a phase where everyone is going online and open world with their games it's nice to have a simple title, well executed, that doesn't require an insane time commitment. I do think the combat was tuned a little high on the difficulty scale compared to the perception of the game but you can switch difficulties mid game so not a showstopper by any means!”

ASCENT

James W.: Audio Designer

“I tend to enjoy things based on environments and aesthetics just as much as gameplay. If I can get immersed in a foreign and fantasy world of some sort, I'm as happy as an earth peach on The USG Ishimura! I'll say that my favourite game from this year would be Ascent. It has a really fun, dark and dingy sci-fi environment which is absolutely my sort of thing. The NPCs in the background all seem to have purpose as they mill around the environments. It has great sound and visuals, and I've really been enjoying the voice acting!”

SUBNAUTICA

Josue: Character Modeler

“The underwater world has always been a font of great inspiration to me, and playing Subnautica just took it to another level by guiding me through an alien planet full of wonder and danger. As if this was not enough, the game presents a good story along with a smooth and fascinating way to present it to the player. Exploring the different deep-sea environments and surviving through the story was an experience that I will cherish in my memory for a long time.”

ROCKET LEAGUE

Justin: 3D Artist

“I'm a latecomer to the Rocket League party but got hooked almost right away. It only took a few rounds of psychologically addictive gameplay to get me wanting more and more. As an adult, I can enjoy addictive things like Rocket League, and no one can really say otherwise. As long as no one knows how much I spend on car cosmetics and I can still pay my mortgage, so, what's the problem right? Highly recommend this competitive multiplayer experience!”

MASS EFFECT: LEGENDARY EDITION

Marc: Technical Director & Programmer

“My game of the year is Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. Yeah, it's a remaster but it's simply the best game series of all times. The remaster brings up the first game a bit as it had indeed aged quite a bit, and merging all 3 games into one full saga, as it was always meant to be. Including all DLC means the amount of content is just impressive. The journey is breathtaking. If you have played it before you should play it again, you're going to love it. And if you've never played it before... well... it's like never having watched Star Wars!”

DAYS GONE

Melissa: Community Developer

“When the game was originally teased with that crazy horde demo, I was instantly hooked and to this day, it’s one of the only games I’ve followed that intensely to release day. Everything from the ease of riding out on Deacon’s bike, to it’s perfectly timed soundtrack moments and chemistry between Sam Witwer and Courtnee Draper just makes everything about Days Gone a story I’ll find myself coming back to forever! I’m still holding out hope for a Days Gone 2 one day…”