In this article we discuss the 5 best games coming in 2021. If you want to read our detailed analysis of the gaming industry, go directly to the 10 Best Games Coming in 2021.
5. Life is Strange: True Colors
Release Date: 10 September 2021
Company: Deck Nine
True Colors is the fifth installment in the Life is Strange series and the third installment of the main storyline. It will be released to Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Stadia. This is the first time that all the game will not be released episodically, rather it will be split into five chapters to allow players to take breaks in between if they wish. The plot follows Alex Chen as she tries to uncover the mystery behind her brother’s sudden death and meets several other characters along the way. Alex has the power to experience other peoples’ emotions, even see them in the “auras” that surround them.
True Colors is said to have graphics that are better than anything we’ve seen from the previous Life is Strange installments. The team behind True Colors used full motion capture performance technology to film full body and facial performances. Creative director Zak Garriss believes this will help them deliver a more realistic and nuanced experience to players. This installment will also allow players more freedom in terms of being able to move around and explore the environment more than they have been previously allowed to.
4. Solar Ash
Release Date: June 2021 (tentative)
Company: Heart Developer
By the creators of Hyper Light Drifter, Solar Ash is a new third-person adventure RPG set to release on PS4, PS5 and PC. Solar Ash manages to stand out amongst other PS5 releases with its simpler color palette and minimalism compared to other highly photorealistic games.
Not much has been revealed about the plot so far but what we do know is that the game follows Rei who has descended into a black hole to save her home. Creative Director Alex Preston says that “at its core, Solar Ash is a game about movement”. And we can see this in its gameplay where Rei moves around quickly, skates across rails, moves over a cloud-like ground, scales walls and more. Scaling vertical surfaces may only be possible when they are covered in a black substance, and when that is out of reach Rei needs to be able to leap up to reach it. Being able to successfully navigate the environment seems to be the key to defeating the enemies Rei will encounter, each of whom will have their own attacks and specific weaknesses.
3. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Release Date: June 11, 2021
Company: Insomniac Games
Rift Apart is the follow-up to Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus releasing exclusively to the PS5. It is a third person shooter game that follows Ratchet as he travels through different worlds to prevent an evil emperor from destroying all life in their universe. This release also features a new playable female character called Lombax.
Planets explored in previous installments will return along with newer ones which the players will have to navigate while defeating enemies and achieving the game’s other objectives. The game will also make full use of the PS5’s system’s SSD to give players instant loading as Ratchet travels across the galaxy and between dimensions. 3D audio allows players to become fully immersed in themselves in their environment as they hear everything above, below and surrounding them. Other new features include enhanced lighting, ray tracing and a targeted 60fps performance mode.
2. Before Your Eyes
Release Date: April 8, 2021
Company: GoodbyeWorld Games
Before Your Eyes is a new adventure game that tracks players movements in a unique way, using a webcam it tracks through the movement of their eyes and advances the game through their blinking. The plot follows the newly deceased Benjamin Brynn on his journey through the afterlife. He is guided by a creature known as the Ferryman who, along with he player learns the details of his life and goes through the most important moments of it. The story may sound simplistic at first but as this reviewer found out, there is much more nuance to Brynn’s story, and the blinking mechanism adds a feeling of “there till it isn’t” to his memories as we experience them.
The graphics are very simplistic, and it is only available on PC through Steam, but it offers a truly unique experience and a phenomenal story about life and death, as seen through the eyes of another.
1. Back 4 Blood
Release Date: October 12, 2021
Company: Turtle Rock Studio
Back 4 Blood is an upcoming first-person shooter/horror game where players must collaborate (in teams of 4) to survive a zombie apocalypse. It will be released to PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S. It is somewhat a successor to Left 4 Dead as the gameplay is similar and it is being developed by the same company. There are 4 playable characters: Walker, Holly, Hoffman and Evangelo, with each having their own unique weapons and strengths.
This release features a new card system that gives players a different walkthrough each time. The game starts with a Corruption Card that tells players what they will be up against, after which the players get to draw their own cards to influence the game. Like in Left 4 Dead the game’s AI will randomly place enemies and items throughout the environment for players to collect. Enemies can spawn at any time in any place and that makes the game highly unpredictable and challenging. However, this time the players will get to see the rules for the placement at the beginning if each level so they are better prepared.
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