Skip to content

The top 10 games of 2021 according to everyone

A count of titles receiving the most Game of the Year awards reveals a clear top three and an interesting perspective on the top ten games of 2021.

Chris Button
Chris Button
2 min read
The top 10 games of 2021 according to everyone

Despite the world continuing to go to hell in a handbasket, the video game industry showed no signs of slowing down in 2021, with plenty of brilliant games released throughout the year.

It Takes Two, the co-op 3D platformer by EA studio Hazelight, took out the coveted Game of the Year title from more publications than any other game last year, including at The Game Awards, an event considered the pseudo-Academy Awards event for the video game industry.

In data collected by informal tracker GameAwards.net, It Takes Two won 74 awards, 57 of which came from media outlets, and a further 17 readers' choice awards.

This puts it comfortably ahead of Resident Evil Village in second place, with 52 awards, and Forza Horizon 5's 47 gongs. My personal favourite, Psychonauts 2, came in at ninth, which is still a great achievement!

Obviously, plenty of people liked It Takes Two – as did I, it's a terrific game to play with a loved one – but it's nowhere near the overwhelming consensus The Last of Us Part II received in 2020, garnering a record 319 Game of the Year awards.

There was a bit of love for Aussie-made games too: Unpacking, The Artful Escape, and The Forgotten City all picked up well-deserved awards along the way.

Here's how the top 10 games of 2021 panned out, sorted by total Game of the Year awards:

  1. It Takes Two - 74
  2. Resident Evil Village - 52
  3. Forza Horizon 5 - 47
  4. Deathloop - 32
  5. Metroid Dread - 28
  6. Halo Infinite - 24
  7. Returnal - 19
  8. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart - 18
  9. Psychonauts 2 - 15
  10. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - 13

10 local publications were included among the numbers – it's always good to see Australians well-represented among the international outlets. Here's what the locals picked

A couple of other Aussies worth mentioning include Nintendo community site Vooks, who picked Metroid Dread as 2021's best game, and independent publication Player 2's team coverage of the year's best games.

In short: games are good. Let us know what made your personal Game of the Year lists!

Games

Chris Button

Chris is an award-nominated writer based in Adelaide who specialises in covering video games and technology. He loves Donkey Kong Country, sport, and cats. The Last Jedi is the best one, no questions


Related Posts

11 great panels to hit at PAX Aus 2024

So many panels, so little time. Here's a few highlights to fit in your schedule at this year's PAX in Melbourne.

Photo of a crowd in a large theatre, seated in a blue lit darkened room.

Druidic Dualities: Bringing the Cenarion family to Warcraft Rumble

The Warcraft Rumble team explains what goes into planning a whole new faction for the mobile strategy game.

A group of five characters: Onu and Moonkin left, Cenarius centre, Ancient and Brightwing right.

Exploding Kittens makes offline games for terminally online families

Making games is hard, but the Exploding Kittens company is nailing simple rules with super fun concepts that give great reasons for spending time together around the table.

Exploding Kittens makes offline games for terminally online families