Best Surprise of 2021 - Article
by Lee Mehr , posted on 19 January 2022 / 1,886 Views
Surprises are among my favorite aspects of gaming, regardless of whether I'm reviewing them or not. Given how much players often see about a game beforehand, via trailers, demos, behind-the-scenes information, and so on, there's a special rush when a title exceeds expectations. The reasons for how or why they're a surprise may be different, but that elation when playing them feels the same. Some nominees this year fit the usual story of a new studio attaining worldwide acclaim, while others are stories of veterans exceling to unanticipated new heights.
The Shortlist:
It Takes Two
ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
The Winner:
It Takes Two
Runner-up: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
Before talking about our gold medalist, I think it's important to highlight what Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy accomplished. Speaking as the guy who put himself through reviewing Marvel's Avengers, I'm among those who wrote off any upcoming Square Enix/Marvel stuff. The amount of praise heaped upon Guardians of the Galaxy has been surprising from community and staff (for example, the user who manages our community's Top 50 Favorite Games events has now placed Guardians as his current all-time favorite title). So it marks a phenomenal return to form for Eidos Montreal.
On the other hand, first place is a surprise to me because I thought Hazelight succeeded with A Way Out (the developer's first title). But when you think about it, most didn't expect the heights It Takes Two would reach. How often does a middle-market game beat out the year's biggest blockbusters at The Game Awards? Did anyone expect it'd reach such commercial popularity? It's after you consider those special factors that the reasoning makes more sense. Hats off to the team for catching so many by surprise.
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Oh, hi. Wasn't expecting a shoutout here. Umm.
So uhh, I'm probably posting the results sometime between today and tomorrow, so you might wanna update the link then.
The biggest, most pleasant surprise of my 2021 was that getting to meet someone special and forge a romantic but all too temporary partnership that I'll treasure having gotten to experience forever. It Takes Two was the best video game surprise though. I discovered it thanks to the recommendation of another VGC member shortly after acquiring a PlayStation 5. Playing through that game with my aforementioned girlfriend was not only the most unique, but also among the happiest and most thoroughly enjoyable experiences I had all year. I can honestly say that it brought us closer together and what more than that can you ask a video game to accomplish in your life?
GOTG????????????
No suprises here ;-)
Well deserved
Mmm no Returnal again....
I mean... Housemarque is a storied developer with several indie/middle-market hits under their belt. There's a nice narrative about their jump from indie/AA to their first AAA blockbuster succeeding, but that's an uphill battle compared to new faces delivering out of the gate.
Kena should've won honestly their 1at game and it shines bright.
Unpopular personal take - Guardians of the Galaxy and Kena Bridge of Spirits, whilst not bad, are both overrated and nothing special.
To each their own. When I started playing Kena it was beautiful but something felt just a little off in the first hour or two. I kept playing through it, and fell in love with it. It will probably be a decade before we see a Zelda game look that good, but I look forward to that day. Awesome game, tough boss battles, a lot of exploration/collectathon. The game felt part Disney/Pixar part Nintendo/Rare from the N64 days in all the right ways.
