CW: Electrocution
2021, it happened. At least the games that came out were really good and could keep me sane.
This won’t be an ordered list as, to be honest, this is just a list for me to let out thoughts onto a digital format. Also, because these are just my favourites of the year, I will have a different list which will also be shorter that’ll have my absolute top games of the year.
As it is more of a list for me I don’t really recommend reading it as the quality will really differ for each game and I think that would be a big headache for anyone reading. I will also put the titles of the games in the order of their appearance just underneath so you know which ones appear in the list without having to scroll all the way down.
If for whatever reason you decide to read any of what I wrote, thank you.
List of games:
Hitman 3
Nioh 2
Qomp
Pylons
Jet Lancer
Super Glitter Rush
Kero Blaster
Beat Saber
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
Entity Researchers
Monolith
Highfleet
Cadence of Hyrule
Tres-Bashers
Luck be a Landlord
Mysteries Under Lake Ophelia
Gnosia
Dungeon Encounters
PowerWash Simulator
ULTRAKILL
Death’s Door
Streets of Rage 4
Anatomy
Loop Hero
Valheim
HROT
World of Horror
No More Heroes 3
Cruelty Squad
Wonderful 101
Mundaun
Buddy Simulator
Hitman 3
I don’t know about y’all but to me it feels like the first four (4) months of this year didn’t happen. I cannot for the life of me recall what happened in that time and only feels like 2021 started in May. Only that I started a new job in January, maybe that just took up so much of my mind that I couldn’t remember much else, or I just have a bad memory. Good thing I made a Google Docs list of the games I’ve been playing throughout the year though.
But to be fair, Hitman 3 isn’t that forgettable of a game. It’s a series that’s been through quite a bit as of late that I didn’t even think it was possible that we’d get a Hitman 2, let alone a whole trilogy happening. But I’m incredibly happy we have. The Hitman series has become, for me, the forefront of game space and how they should be designed. Each space is a space that focuses so specifically on the people in it, the tools and how you can manipulate all of it to your will. Each location feels lived in and it achieves it without having to be this huge space full of emptiness, it does that by being full of lively characters and events. It’s a sandbox for carnage.
You play through all of these locations multiple times and begin to understand them so well, when this will happen and if it doesn’t happen on its own, how you can make it happen. What might start out as you fumbling and killing anyone that sees you becomes this dance that you choreograph at will. It’s beautiful and incredibly rewarding. Hitman 3 is the end of the story that was started all the way back in 2016 with Hitman, there is this sense of a game that pulls out all the stops to be this big, flashy experience and it does it so well. With some of the best levels out of the trilogy (which is no easy feat when so many are already incredible), it’s a game that never becomes tiring. With the whole trilogy keeping the same loop and mechanics you’d think it might have, but definitely not. More of the same here only makes the experience so much stronger.
Hitman 3 is an amazing end and experience to an already great series, and when you can add those two (2) previous game’s maps to it, it only becomes that much stronger as a platform for excellence.
Nioh 2
Nioh 2 at its heart is a game about fighting for a better world, that through unity and understanding only then can we move forward. Whilst you might not expect that type of story from this game, it’s the story it tells through a world with so much pain and hate. The original Nioh was an incredible game with a story that didn’t back it up in the end and while Nioh 2’s story isn’t the peak of gaming either, it’s a much more endearing story that does aid the game.
Outside of that story and its themes is a game with the best combat to ever grace the medium. No hyperbole here, this game rules. I don’t even have the mental capacity to put into words how good the combat is in this game. It all flows so incredibly well with each other and is so cathartic. It’s like that one (1) scene in Toy Story 2 where the tox fixer paints over Woodie’s boot where it says “Andy” in one (1) smooth motion. It scratches those itches in the brain and the over the top blood and gore creates this relief, an outlet for anger.
Nioh 2 is superb, it makes my heart beat that little bit faster, it’s exhilarating
Qomp
Qomp is so simple and easy to play, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t incredibly smart either. The game starts out with you playing Pong and controlling the actual square, not the paddle on a side of the screen. You break free from the game into a completely new one where you only have to press one (1) button. right until the end. You’re taken on a little adventure filled with changing mechanics that keep it fresh and make you think a bit differently about your movement. It’s something that can be played in a sitting, it’s small, precise and consistently smart.
PYLONS
A horror game that can be played in under an hour, find it on itch.io and give it a play if you’re comfortable with jumpscares, body horror and depictions of electrocution. Be careful of the pylons.
Jet Lancer
Such a stylish game, Jet Lancer flies blissfully through the clear blue air. Paired with beautiful visuals and a smooth gaming experience, it’s got a lot of good going for it. You get the one (1) jet, however, you can customise it to your playstyle with new modules that can make it easier to use, or if you like a challenger, harder. Multiple weapons allow you to experiment and find something that feels the best for you to unleash chaos in the air. It all feels so tight to play and it’s all the best when you have complete control of your jet.
Fly high in the air, turn off your engines and blow up every jet that follows you as you fall back towards the ground. It’s a really good time.
Super Glitter Rush
Boss rush, bullet hell, shoot ’em up, good music, bright colours. Super Glitter Rush has it all, like the game I will keep this small and straight to the point. Just buy it, it’s less than £3 over here and it’s great.
Kero Blaster
From Studio Pixel, creator of Cave Story, comes Kero Blaster. If you know the history of Studio Pixel, Cave Story and Nicalis the story in Kero Blaster will make a lot more sense in that context. An employee at the mercy of a boss that is incredibly demanding, abusive all whilst not being understood by their employee.
Outside of the story, KB is still just a fabulous time. A good ass soundtrack, cute sprites with unique environments you’re taken to across the game. Weapons that are all unique and just as fun to use, especially if you upgrade them. Whilst I haven’t dug too far into it, there is extra content you unlock after completing the game, so there’s even more greatness.
Kero Blaster is superb, a constant experience of gaming goodness.
Beat Saber
This is one (1) of the games you should own if you have a VR headset. Beat Saber is just a good time, I don’t know what else to say to be honest.
You just put on your headset, get some headphones and have a great time with the music the game offers to you. Better yet, install a mod that lets you listen to music the game doesn’t offer. I’ve got a lot of time in this game listening to K-Pop and having a great time boogying down. It’s the best game for VR.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
Best part of this game is that you don’t have to watch the stupid show to have a good time here. Lots of stuff feels so interconnected and that’s not a critique of other media, but just an observation as not much is made to stand on its own anymore. So The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is very fresh in that way and also as a VR game, spoilers for the rest of the list; Half Life: Alyx isn’t on this list because this game is better.
This is a world that feels so realised and lived in despite being full of corpses. Rummaging through desks, wardrobes, cabinets all to look for supplies that become increasingly harder to find as you play through the game show that this isn’t a game that’s scared to put you through it. Zombies will mess you up if you’re reckless and so will the humans wondering if you annoy them enough. Choices will echo throughout the game and at some points they can actually be really tough as in VR it will require the action. For example, the choice to kill someone in a game will simply be seen through a cutscene or a mere button press. However, here it requires your movement and that means committing to being the character you’ve chosen to be. It’s a lot more taxing done that way and had me looking away from it sometimes as it wasn’t the outcome I wanted.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is a damn good game, there is so much to love here. The atmosphere is incredible, the sound design and lighting mix together to create this intense and threatening game. If you have VR, this is a game to look at.
Entity Researchers
Visually confident and unique. Entity Researchers is bizarre and mysterious and that’s what makes the game so interesting to me. It’s artistically unique enough that it’s always interesting to look at, but not over-detailed that nothing is left to the imagination. It lets me think about outside of playing and that’s the best thing a game can do in my opinion. There’s a lot here to love, the music for one (1) pushes the experience all the more.
There’s a certain sense of fear when exploring this world full of creatures that will never make any sense on a visual level, they are disturbing. It’s a game that is currently still in early access; however, it’s been progressively getting better. Reduction of grind, quality of life has only made Entity Researchers a much stronger game than it already was at launch.
Monolith
Oh dang, they made a bullet hell action rogue-like and it’s really damn good.
This game is really just amazing, there’s not much to say other than that honestly. It’s such a good rogue-like that I hadn’t seen or heard of until I finally played it myself one day when it was on sale (and it’s already really cheap.) It’s among the best.
Highfleet
It feels like rarely you find a game so singular in vision and that’s very understandable. Most games you’ll play will be made by so many people who all have different ideas, who fought for those ideas to be in the final product, some will have made it when lots wouldn’t have. It seems part of the course for games from what I understand. And that’s what makes Highfleet so engaging and unique.
I don’t really know where to begin with this game whilst keeping it short, there’s a lot here. Highfleet is a rogue-like, strategy RPG. That’s the easiest way to tell its gameplay in the shortest way possible, but that would be a disservice to what this game does. Most of the time you will be controlling your main ship, which are these big hulking ships, they look so unfinished and beastly. They are amazing. Whilst in the captain’s seat, you will find yourself seeing all these buttons, levers and numbers. It is very confusing and I’d be lying if I said it got easier to understand as I played, but there is an amazing sense of control and depth to that part of the game. Control the speed of the ship and the others in your squad by pulling the lever, turn dials to find hidden messages you’ve intercepted. Like I said, there’s an amazing sense of control and depth, the UX in this game is unreal, there isn’t much like it.
When you enter combat things become more simple, it’s as simple as playing an arcade game. Point and aim, the best way I can describe it is imagine playing real-time FTL. Seeing parts of enemy ships dismantle in real-time, it feels satisfying and visceral, but sucks a lot when it’s your ship’s happening to.
When entering towns and villages through your adventures you will encounter people of the world, in these instances you might find yourself discussing with them. The end goal could be to recruit more people to your army, learning more about the world or just to have an increased reputation that will influence you in the future. There’s a Dune-like vibe to the world and not just because all of it is sand. It feels so grounded yet unknown, it’s got a strong sense of place yet still so mysterious.
Highfleet is a game that I found myself liking a lot, despite finding it very hard (luckily they made an easy mode that’s in beta), in the end product it really feels like they made what they set out to create. It’s really good.
Cadence of Hyrule
Banger.
All you need to do to make an amazing game is get the Necrodancer developers to make a Zelda game, it’s that easy. There isn’t much to say other than this game stands amazing, as a Zelda game and outside of that. It’s so charming and energetic, so condensed and carefully made.
Shouldn’t be a surprise to say but the soundtrack in this game elevates it so much more, sure the game is incredible to play, but it wouldn’t be anything without the soundtrack. It makes it that much more exciting to play. It took me so long to play this game, I am ashamed.
Tres-Bashers
Equip your flashlight and baseball bat as you pulverise cryptids in Tres-Bashers. A pixel art metroidvania, progress through the world by beating those cryptids up and getting a currency that can let you smash blocks to go further into the world and unlock new items. It’s so simple and straightforward that it can be a game you can come back to at any point and know how to play and just makes it so inviting every time.
The music, the sprites, sound design, the little pause my character does when I hate an enemy. It’s all so dang good.
Luck be a Landlord
Do the best with what you have to destroy your vermin of a landlord.
Luck be a Landlord is a rogue-like gambling game, roll the machine to get money in the hopes to pay rent to get the landlord off your back, only for the snake to raise the price of your rent. Earn symbols after each roll, those symbols can be mixed with other symbols to allow an even bigger payout. There’s a really good blend of playing for ten (10) minutes to relax the brain and depth that allows you to plan and strategize.
Make money. Pay rent. Destroy your landlord.
Mysteries Under Lake Ophelia
Simply incredible, it’s got fishing, it’s got atmosphere. “Dive into” this game, it’s a real catch. Haha.
Gnosia
I’m going to compare it to the game but only because the point is what made me love Gnosia so much. Among Us is a multiplayer game that relies on you having to interact with other people to actually have anything substantial happen whilst you play. In my time I have talked with people who are really just nice and kind, but it goes without saying that you will run into a lot of assholes. The general experience you have with the experience heavily relies on who you play with, if you play with friends it’s amazing, if you don’t then the game is really going to vary for you. Plus the concept of lying on the spot to protect is incredibly anxiety inducing for a lot of people and for something the game relies on a lot, those people really won’t have a good time.
Gnosia isn’t a game in a post Among Us world, it’s the opposite. Among Us is in a post Gnosia world. Gnosia is a single-player visual novel, where you either aim to find the gnosia (killer) or are the gnosia. The comparison to Among Us means I really don’t need to explain all that much what you do either in general, you lie, tell the truth and work with others to find the truth or at least hide it.
What works so well with Gnosia for me compared to AU is the single player aspect, it doesn’t require me to pray that I can find a game with the max player limit or have players that don’t say slurs to have a good time. After a certain point you can decide how many of the characters in the game will be a session, you can alter how the game will play by giving yourself roles. There’s a lot of control that allows you to moderate your experience.
You don’t have to think on the spot to come up with some made up scenario to pin the blame on someone else, it's a visual novel game, you select the options the game gives to you and you can take your time. It really is just like any other visual novel game but it goes a long way when you compare it to what else there is for what Gnosia is at its core.
Characters simply don’t just exist to get from A to B, they have history, some with others and you learn that as you continue to play and interact with them. Try not to get too attached however, as those people you were best buddies with last loop might be trying to get you frozen next one (1).
I keep using the word and that’s because it’s the end of the year and I’m not here to learn all the words for incredible or amazing, but Gnosia is both of those words. To me there is nothing like it, for how many games there are now like Among Us, Gnosia is the best. It’s a fact.
Dungeon Encounters
The best Square Enix game that was released in like 4 years (since Nier: Automata.) A game that streamlines dungeon crawlers and RPGs to the bone. It really just is so mechanically sound and well made that nothing can touch it. It isn’t bloated, it’s straight to the point.
It brings back the ATB system, you can play as a big cat. It’s got everything you need in a dungeon crawler.
PowerWash Simulator
You clearly don’t own a power washer.
Wanna clean some shit, but own the tools or have a cleaning service? Or just doesn’t sound appealing to do. Bam, PowerWash Simulator, gets that feeling of that one (1) scene in Toy Story 2 where Woody’s boot got cleaned in one (1) swipe with paint. It’s very cathartic just to see dirt get blasted away to see the shiny underneath.
You’ll find yourself sinking in time since this game isn’t really just point and click. You can purchase new washers, attachments for them and bottles that will help clean certain surfaces. There’s some planning and strategy involved, especially when later missions have you cleaning whole houses with so many corners and nooks.
I’m now a power washer advocate because of this game.
ULTRAKILL
My arm is sore from the booster I got. Just play the game, you know it’s the best shooter ever at this point.
Death’s Door
My arm is still sore but I’ll make an effort for this game.
Death’s Door reminds me so much of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, these are both worlds that I got heavily interested in. Where ALBW is very colourful and Death’s Door isn’t so much, there are some really vibrant areas, they feel so connected and compact. I got 100% in DD and that’s generally because I never wanted my time to end with it, it never felt like exploring the world got boring. Seeing the beauty in a world that is encompassed by death, the life that it also offers. It’s such a pretty game, despite how difficult the topic of death is for me.
Not going to stray from DD, but the discourse that came with Boyfriend Dungeon when it came out. If you are unaware of it, you’re very lucky and I wouldn’t recommend delving into it, but if you are curious here’s an article.
What I got from the discourse is that it’s good to understand the art you’re interacting with. It’s no surprise that Death’s Door might have the theme of death, it’s in the title so you know it’s upfront. For so long the concept has made it very for me to live, it’s something that would swallow my mind to the point I couldn’t cope in any environment without constantly crying. But over time it has gotten a lot better, for the reason that I am not running away from the concept at every chance I get. I’m interacting with it, seeing people’s views on it and because of that it’s not something that engulfs my mind as much and if it does I can cope with it better.
Death’s Door has a lot of good things, a lot of that I will let you discover, if you ever wish to play it. I came away thinking that death isn’t some curse that we all have, that a deathless life is instead a curse.
Streets of Rage 4
I played Streets of Rage 4 last year on my switch and thought it was an incredible game. The visuals, the music and of course the action are all just at the peak of the medium. It was so refreshing and just simply a good time. I’m not a pro player that can pull off all these combos when playing but you don’t need to have a great time here.
You can just start it up to play a level or just the whole story as it’d take you about an hour if you know what you’re doing. Playing it again has its rewards as the points you receive as you play go towards earning characters from the series.
A game that I thought couldn’t get better got a whole lot better this year with its new DLC. Mr. X Nightmare added new playable characters to SoR4, those characters appeared as bosses in the story and the main attraction for me was a rogue-like mode. The mode is the best, the combat and action of SoR4 mixed with abilities like your punches dealing toxic damage. Random rooms with enemies from the past and present, music that just increases everything that the game has to offer.
It makes a game that had so much going for it so much better, it’s the peak of gaming.
Anatomy
Spoiler warning because I really want to talk about this one (1). But definitely content warning for body horror.
[SPOILERS]
Anatomy is short but it lasts with what it does. Is this one (1) of those horror games that launches jumpscares at you? No. Does it feature hide and seek gameplay? No. Does it feature some form of an entity? Yes.
Why Anatomy is so lasting and powerful is because it gives fear to something that so many people live inside and that’s your house. The place where you might feel safe, given this threatening feeling because of the game. You’ll come across tapes from someone who will be discussing the anatomy of a house, the door is the mouth, eyes the window. As you play you’ll restart at the door, it’ll start ominous but there’s little threat but things will start to change soon enough for you.
The house will start to twist upon you, it becomes alive and consumes you.
Loop Hero
Loop Hero is beautiful, the writing, the pixel art, music and gameplay. It is a game that I find soothing, it involves strategy but to a degree that I find really relaxing. As the combat is automatic and your character moves in the loop on their own, you just have to equip new items and place cards, but can pause the game whenever you wish to do so.
Like Dungeon Encounters, it’s a game that takes a genre’s elements and grinds them down to their bare elements. And since this is a rogue-lite and RPG at its core there is a lot of grinding. Expect to sink a lot of time into this game if you want to finish it. Despite that it’s so simple and easy to get into, as it’s now come to the Switch its appeal has only increased to me.
It’s a game that hasn’t really left my mind since playing it for the first time and I can’t really think why to be honest. Maybe it’s the art, just how much of a good time I had with it. Or I could make myself seem really deep and say how it’s about fighting for a world that is already dead in the continuous hope to make it better.
Valheim
Valheim is to me what I wish Elder Scrolls could be. I’ve seen Valheim compared to the likes of Minecraft and Terraria and that is definitely a suitable comparison as it offers the type of exploring and interaction with the worlds that those games do. Valheim isn’t a heavy RPG akin to Elder Scrolls, you can level up intellect to convince people you’re Thor or something like, what I want and got here is more specific and it’s about the world Valheim gives you.
Valheim offers you a pretty damn big world, that world will be full of biomes with different difficulties. For a world so big it’s also very linear in terms of progression, craft gear to fight against tougher enemies to then craft even better gear from them to do that all over again. What might seem repetitive when reading isn’t at all here as it’s not all there is. Build a home for you and your friends, make it as big and intricate as you can. Explore as much as you can, discover some caves and try your luck at looting them. Build a farm, a garden. You can really roleplay here, there are a lot of possibilities here.
From that you can just tell your own stories and that makes the game so damn good to me, it reminds me of Sea of Thieves in how you can encounter all these events inside the game that aren’t structured to happen and can last. Almost all my playtime is with my partner for this game and that’s an extra reason why it means a lot to me. It only got better for me when I could play with them, create little houses on our journeys across the world, make a fire and cook meat. Mine together, loot caves and fight the wildlife together. It really is the best.
HROT
HROT is shooter excellence. If there was any game that recaptures the best aspects of shooters in the late 90s and early 2000s it would be this one (1).
HROT is oppressive, it’s full of little details. You can kiss a picture of Gorbachev and most importantly, dial a phone. Flush toilets too. It can be intense when it wants to, humourous too, it’s a game that is so well balanced in so many ways. It’s not even out of early access yet and it is so incredibly strong already, to think that it will get even better over time is an exciting prospect.
World of Horror
MDOS choose your own adventure horror game. All you really need to know, other than never play this game if you don’t like body horror as good lord there is a lot in this game.
As I’ve mentioned before in previous pieces I adore it when a game lets you use your imagination however it can. In this case World of Horror lets you interpret its scenarios and world. You will have visuals as you can see in the picture above, but a lot of what is happening will either be described to you or shown in little detail if people (just a picture to go along with the description.)
It’s full of so many different outcomes, it gives you a lot to go back for. With its recent update those possibilities have only gotten deeper. It’s a game that is so charming, so mysterious as it is intimidating to look at sometimes. Pure gaming.
No More Heroes 3
Wow if there was ever a time to try out a game by Grasshopper it would be this year. No More Heroes 3 is a game that will just continue to be itself unashamedly until the credits start to roll.
Full of choices that will make you question if it was intentional or not. To me it’s some of the best content I got this year, the open world is so empty and full of rinse and repeat side objectives but it never got boring to me. The combat is the best Grasshopper has ever done, I could never get enough of it. It’s story is full of pop culture references to the media and despite me not knowing all of it it never made the experience worse. The boss fights are ever changing, you will either fight in full on combat, duke it out in turn-based combat or play musical chairs. You cannot predict how this game will and that’s the best part of it. It’s never afraid to be itself, there is just an obscene amount of confidence on display here.
No More Heroes 3 whips. Listen to the ost as it is a constant banger.
Cruelty Squad
Divine light severed.
I am a firm believer that Cruelty Squad is beautiful. No, not in the way that I’m thinking “this game is so ugly to look at it’s beautiful” way. I mean in the same way people say Red Dead Redemption 2 is beautiful. Cruelty Squad is incredibly pretty and I adore playing it when I do.
It’s something that can only be achieved through the gaming medium. It is still so out there and unique visually and mechanically that it even made me change how I even approach art. It made me realise that art will never be stagnant in the right hands and it is abundantly clear here. It is a game that does so much to strive for what it wants to do and in so many instances you wouldn’t see that in a AAA game or even many other big indie titles. Which I guess is weird to say as this got pretty big for an indie title. It feels so specific and niche and is all the better for it, it feels like you really have to be in the mood for it when you play it. I am incredibly happy that I was in the mood for this game when I started it up.
Trade in the stock market, fish, eat corpses and steal their lungs and brains. Find secret levels inside levels. Buy new organs that will make your feet vomit as it lets you do a double jump or let your intestines become a grappling hook. There is really not much like Cruelty Squad currently.
Wonderful 101
If you asked me what my favourite game from Platinum was at the beginning of the year, I would say either Bayonetta 1 or Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. But now having played Wonderful 101 I don’t know if this one (1) has taken the lead?
Wonderful 101 seems like an acquired taste kind of game. When it was originally released on the WiiU it seemed really mixed when I saw it being talked about. I kinda forgot it existed until the kickstarter for the remaster was announced. I never backed that and somewhat forgot it existed again, until I picked it up on a sale this year. Man, why did I wait so long to play this game.
W101 is Platinum at its best to me, you start off seeing all these flashy moves with amazing music but if you’re like me, you probably sucked at the combat for the most part. From my experience this is probably the hardest Platinum game to learn as there is a lot there. But when you start to learn the mechanics and moves and how to tie them into combat it becomes such an experience that isn’t to be forgotten so quickly. It is a game that somehow keeps managing to one (1) up itself right until the end. It can make you tear up at just how bombastic it gets, it is pure gaming goodness in its best form.
Mundaun
One (1) of my favourite things about some classic games is that interconnected feeling. Like when you finish a level in Max Payne, it continues where you left off. It gives this sense of a journey that you’re going on, it’s great. Mundaun does this, it isn’t level based but that sense of progression towards the mountain feels like a journey and my lord, what a goddamn journey this game is.
Mundaun is a world that isn’t scary in the sense you would say the Resident Evil is scary, but it is definitely unnerving. Hay creatures will kill you by suffocating you with hay, beekeepers will unleash killer bees on you and another creature who I will not spoil as that section of the game is the best part in my opinion. You can read comics and notes to increases your combat skills, find ingredients to make coffee to then increase your health. Talk to a goat’s head.
Mundaun is a piece of horror you should experience, it’s up there with Devotion for me with horror games that should be experienced. It has not left my mind since playing. Its pencil art style will draw you in and its unsettling world will keep you drawn in.
Buddy Simulator 1984
I saw Buddy Simulator 1984 as a toxic friendship game. That feeling of being trapped in a relationship when the other(s) might have good intentions but they place their grief onto you, their insecurities and their perceived idea of you as if your goal is to be what they want you to be.
They give you the idea that they care about your best interests too, yet place all this guilt onto you as you are a disappointment to them and the world. It’s a gruelling relationship, to feel like your existence is to please the idea people of you can be exhausting. I saw a lot of that in Buddy Simulator 1984 and I think that’s why it stuck with me.
There’s clear manipulation here as you are guilted into actions and talked down to if you make the choice your buddy doesn’t like. Buddy Simulator 1984 is a horror game, but I never found it to be scary because of the creatures you face during the, more so for the reasons I mentioned above. As I’ve said before, I find horror the most interesting genre for storytelling as horror is anything really. It can’t be so defined like other genres and that’s clear here for me.
Buddy Simulator 1984 takes you on a story of that type of friendship you might find yourself in. Being manipulated to think the same way as if you are the problem, peer pressured into choices that are clearly wrong and if you don’t you are belittled. You can only feel progress once you leave that relationship and see the flags for the future to never let it happen again.
