best of 2021: video games

And now it's time for my favorite video games of 2021!  A few notes before I begin:

- Not all of these were first released in 2021, but that's when I first played them.

- All of these were played on the PS4.

- This list does not go up to ten, which hurts my OCD, but I couldn't bring myself to take two off.

- Aside from the first title listed, which was my absolute favorite, and number two, the runner-up, this list is in random order.

- And as always, your mileage may vary.

1. Judgment:  Private detective Yagami Takayuki gets in way over his head when he investigates a series of murders that lead to unexpected suspects and motives.

Friends, this game ATE MY APRIL.  It's funny because a couple of years ago, I saw a trailer for this game on Kotaku and thought it looked cool, but it was too expensive, so I saved it in my Amazon cart.  Once it got down to twenty bucks, I bought it, and boy was I glad I did! The story was intriguing, the graphics were great, the voice acting was top notch, and I loved the characters.  Not only that, but the side stories were fantastic and I loved the open world aspects like fighting dickheads on the street, playing the crane game in the arcade, and buying and eating tasty treats in restaurants and convenience stores.  I loved this game so much that I wound up playing several of the Yakuza games, which share a developer and location.  I'm waiting to buy Lost Judgment until any DLC is released, but I can guarantee that will happily eat another month of my life too.

2. Yakuza 0:  After finishing Judgment, I promptly bought this game, which follows series regulars Kiryu Kazuma and Goro Majima during Japan's incredible prosperity in the eighties.  Break dancing!  Discos!  Kicking any and all asses!  Training hostesses to be the best they can be and making your club profitable!  Folks, I loved this game damn near as much as Judgment, and for the same reasons.  As a bonus, this was my introduction to Goro Majima, who quickly became one of my favorite video game characters ever (though, FYI, he is MUCH different in later games).  Also, I will always have a soft spot for this game because I was playing it when we first adopted Momo, and many a game session was spent with him sleeping in my lap or on my rack.

3. Telltale's Batman:  The sadly defunct studio's take on the legendary Batman had typically excellent writing, voice acting, and difficult moral choices.

4. Persona 5 Strikers:  P5 is one of my favorite games ever, so I was thrilled when G bought me this game as a present, especially since I didn't even know it existed until he gave it to me!  The gang gets back together for a camping trip, but find themselves sucked back into fighting thanks to a supposedly helpful app that does way more harm than good.  I loved spending time with my "friends" again; the Persona series does an amazing job of making you love the characters.

5. Yakuza 4:  I can't really review any more of the Yakuza games without spoiling their predecessors, but suffice it to say I loved all of them.  (And for clarification, my favorite games from Ryu Ga Gotoku, the developer, are ranked thusly:  Judgment, Yakuza 0, Yakuza 5, Yakuza 6, and Yakuza 4...the ones I've played so far, of course.  I was not originally going to play Yakuza 1-3 but goddamn it, now I have to.)

6. Yakuza 5:  See above.

7. Yakuza 6:  See above.