The summer of 2021 is nearly over and, well, Covid-19 is still a problem, and for many around the world, life is still not completely back to normal. The same can be said of the gaming world too. Developers are still working remotely in some companies, and Covid-19 is still impacting development and production times. Hopefully, by next year we can call summer “normal” for video games again, but we’ll have to wait and see.
All that said, the summer came and went as usual and games were still released. Let’s look back at the last two summers, and see which one was better for gamers.
Obviously, your preferences will vary, and we’re not going to compare every single game that was released because there’s a lot of video games out there, but instead, we’ll look at a few highlights (and lowlights) to try and get a feel for which summer was better.
June Releases
Last June really kicked summer off with a bang. The Last of Us 2, our GOTY winner for 2020, was released last June and followed up the 2013 hit with an even darker tale if you can believe that. Persona 4 Golden finally was free of the PS Vita, and released on PC much to the joy of JRPG fans all over. Valorant also made its debut and is still a force in the competitive gaming/FPS scene.
Between those three very different games and other unique titles like Desperados III and Ninjala, there was a little something for everyone in June 2020.
June 2021, though, was no slouch either. Doki Doki Literature Club Plus, although not a sequel, was released this June as an updated version of the original with substantial new content that makes one of the most creative horror games of all time even better.
Final Fantasy VII: Remake fans also got an excellent follow-up in the way of Intergrade, a stand-alone DLC of sorts that bridges the gap between Part 1 and whatever is coming next by telling the story of how Yuffie enters the picture.
In addition, Anime/Action game fans got a solid new IP in the way of Scarlet Nexus and Nintendo sports fanatics got to enjoy a new version of Mario Golf for the Switch.
This is honestly a really close call, but we’ll have to go with June 2020. It was the month that housed our GOTY after all and the moment everyone with a decent gaming PC was treated with the ability to finally play one of the greatest JRPGs of all time in Persona 4: Golden
Winner: June 2020
2020
- Desperados III: Metacritic – 86, Twinfinite – 4/5
- The Last of Us Part II: Metacritic – 93
- Ninjala: Twinfinite – 4/5
- Persona 4 Golden: Metacritic – 87, Twinfinite – 5/5
- SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated: Metacritic – 69
- Valorant: Metacritic – 80, Twinfinite – 4/5
- Ys: Memories of Celecta (PS4): Twinfinite – 4/5
2021
- Chivalry 2: Metacritic – 82
- Doki Doki Literature Club Plus – Metacritic – 85, Twinfinite – 5/5
- Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade: Metacritic – 89 , Twinfinite – 4.5/5
- Ghosts ‘n Goblins: Resurrection: Metacritic – 75, Twinfinite – 3.5/5
- Mario Golf: Super Rush: Metacritic – 70
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart: Metacritic – 88
- Scarlet Nexus: Metacritic – 80, Twinfinite – 4/5
