Happy New Year friends! Welcome to 2022, and welcome back to the WIRED Games newsletter. We have plenty for you to read—and I think you're going to love it. Shall we just jump right in? First off, we had some great end-of-year stories you may have missed, including a short list of our favorite games in 2021. Don't call it a "Best of" list, because it's not exhaustive by any stretch, but these are games we personally loved and couldn't get enough of, or that we thought were particularly unique and noteworthy. It even includes a couple of picks from yours truly! If that's not enough, check out Joshua Khan's look at the best indies of 2021, and boy was it hard to whittle down that list. Some of last year's standout titles were independents, and I'm willing to bet a few games on this list are either in your Steam wish list or your library. 2021 was a great year, and you'll find heavy-hitters like Inscryption and Chicory: A Colorful Tale on the list. Oh, and speaking of kaleidoscopic games, did anyone else notice that some of the best and most interesting games of 2021 were super colorful and charismatic? Lewis Gordon did, and he calls out some of the best examples of that trend. If you're looking for something new to play that shows a lot of character, he has some suggestions for you. And here's another suggestion: Tetris. Going through a tough time? Play Tetris. Experiencing a traumatic event? Play Tetris. Anxious about a big event or change coming? Play Tetris. There's a lot of evidence showing that simple puzzle games help our brains process information and emotions, and help us deal with stress and anxiety. And who can't use some of that? Finally, let's get just a little serious: 2021 was a big year not just for games and gaming culture, but for the games industry as well. As Cecilia D'Anastasio reports, 2021 was the biggest year yet for the labor movement in games. We're still a few steps away from a full-on unionization drive by game developers or QA analysts at large developers or publishers, but when it comes, it's clear that those workers will have legitimate concerns, if the past several months of workplace revelations are any indication. Also, Swapna Krishna dedicated her last Casual Gamer column of the year to a reflection on how important video games were to all of us in 2021, but also how lucky those of us who could game really were compared to those who couldn't. We gamed through the pandemic, gamed through depression, gamed remotely with friends and loved ones we couldn't see. But she also turns the focus on the fact that gaming is a privilege: one that requires money for games and consoles, and demands time and energy to snag deals, stalk availability alerts, and so on. And I think that's a great place to start things off in 2022: with a reminder of how lucky we all are to be here, how grateful we are to you for reading, and how important it continues to be to look beyond the hype and to the people, ideas, and communities that make this industry as wonderful as it is, and how much better it can be. Thanks for sticking with us! As always, we're standing by at games@wired.com for your comments and questions. See you back here next week! |
Commentaires
Enregistrer un commentaire
Thank you to leave a comment on my site