August Releases
We swear this wasn’t designed to be tied going into the final month (in fact, we changed our mind a few times on both of the first two months). Whether you believe us or not, though, it does come down to this.
Last summer Fall Guys burst onto the scene and was a phenomenon, capturing the hearts of both hardcore battle royale fans, and even casual gamers that just wanted to play a silly, low-pressure game featuring Teletubby-looking things competing in ridiculous events. It was so popular, in fact, it wasn’t long before Epic Games swooped in and added it to their portfolio.
Summer 2020 also featured another excellent indie in Spiritfarer. The vibes are totally different in this game though as it deals with pretty difficult topics such as getting closure in life and death, but does so in a very charming and heart-warming way.
Finally, flight-sim lovers were treated to, finally, the return of the king, the granddaddy of them all: Microsoft Flight Simulator. And fortunately for long-suffering fans, it totally lived up to expectations and then some.
The main highlight of August 2021 on the other hand is without a doubt Psychonauts 2. It’s a legitimate GOTY contender for 2021, one of the best platformers in recent memory, and a proper follow-up to a cult classic.
This summer also featured a handful of solid indie games such as Road 96, Boyfriend Dungeon, and Twelve Minutes, but it’s not quite enough to top August 2020 in our book. We’ll have to give the slight edge to August 2020.
Winner: August 2020
2020
- A Total War Saga: Troy: Metacritic – 75, Twinfinite – 4.5/5
- Battletoads: Metacritic – 68, Twinfinite – 3.5/5
- Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions: Metacritic – 70, Twinfinite – 4/5
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout: Metacritic – 80, Twinfinite – 3/5
- Fast & Furious Crossroads: Metacritic – 35
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition: Metacritic – 61, Twinfinite – 2.5/5
- Microsoft Flight Simulator: Metacritic – 92, Twinfinite – 4.5/5
- Mortal Shell: Metacritic – 77
- Remnant: From the Ashes Subject 2923: Metacritic – 78, Twinfinite – 4/5
- Spiritfarer: Metacritic – 88, Twinfinite – 4.5/5
- Tell Me Why: Metacritic – 78, Twinfinite – 3.5/5
- Windbound: Metacritic – 65, Twinfinite – 3/5
2021
- The Falconeer: Metacritic – 65
- Boyfriend Dungeon: Metacritic – 70, Twinfinite – 3.5/5
- Humankind: Metacritic – 79, Twinfinite – 3.5/5
- Twelve Minutes: Metacritic – 78, Twinfinite – 4.5/5
- Psychonauts 2: Metacritic – 88, Twinfinite – 4.5/5
- No More Heroes 3: Metacritic – 74, Twinfinite – 4/5
- Aliens: Fireteam Elite: Metacritic – 69, Twinfinite – 4/5
- Marvel’s Avengers – War for Wakanda: Metacritic – 73
- Road 96: Metacritic – 79, Twinfinite – 4/5
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: The Siege of Paris: Metacritic – 73, Twinfinite – 4/5
Overall Winner: Summer 2020
It was really close, but summer 2020 takes it. While both summers were surprisingly above average as far as summer gaming droughts, especially when you factor Covid-19 into the mix, Summer 2020 just had better variety and better quality games from top to bottom.
Disagree with us? Agree with us? Let us know in the comments below what your favorite games were from the last two summers.
