2021 in review: games, books, music, series, films…

Year is almost over, and I want to write a brief recap of some cool things I’ve enjoyed in 2021, in no particular order (but with a «best of the year» in each category, marked in blue):

Video games

Monster Hunter: Rise

Monster Hunter Rise llegará a PC a principios de 2022 - Vandal

This was the first Monster Hunter I played since the PSP era, and boy I liked it. Quite polished mechanics, super fun with friends (even though the online with the Switch was a bit shit) and super accessible (I love how they have simplified a lot of stuff from older games).

Hades

Hades | Programas descargables Nintendo Switch | Juegos | Nintendo

100% achievement run, with additional hard challenges (that 32 heat run was epic). I can’t believe how good this game is (no surprise is the only game with a Hugo award, hehe). Hades fight with Extreme Measures is something I think I will remember for a looong time.

Loop Hero

Loop Hero | Descárgalo y cómpralo hoy - Epic Games Store

Such an original indie roguelike. Super fun, innovative mechanics, and a good story.

Inscryption

▷ Inscryption: Cómo abrir la caja fuerte - consejos y trucos

Game of the year by a small margin (Obra Dinn and Loop Hero are fantastic), but this was incredible. The game is super fun, but then you add the meta storytelling, nice visuals and music, and mind blowing twists. Easily one of the best video games I have ever played, and a work that shows the unique storytelling this medium can achieve.

Return of the Obra Dinn

Return of the Obra Dinn foto 3 - MasGamers

Super cool «detective» game from our lord, Lucas Pope. You get to the ship with some notes about a disaster, and you have to identify all the people on board, and how they died. Masterpiece.

Mini Metro

Analizamos Mini Metro, el premiado simulador de transporte público para  iPhone

Such a cool little puzzle game. Build your metro lines and help people go to work, with a minimalist style and calming music.

Shows

The wheel of time

Amazon's The Wheel of Time Immersive 360 Official Trailer Sets Up A Dark  Magical World | Geek Culture

I haven’t enjoyed any fantasy on tv since Game of Thrones season one, and I was gladly surprised by The Wheel of Time. I knew the books before but I was always afraid of starting such a long series (+15 books), so I was interested in the show as an introduction to the world. Music, scenarios, and production in general was top notch for a series, and the story was interesting enough for me to get back every week. Now I have a problem, because I want to start reading the books but time is so scarce…

Y: the last man

Y: The Last Man Season 1 Episode 5: Mann Hunt Recap – Metawitches

Loved the adaptation. The casting was amazing, and the story, while known (I loved the comic), is super cool. I was very surprised when they cancelled the show midseason, but I am pretty sure the project will come back in a different channel, because it has a lot of potential.

Avenue 5

Avenue 5' tendrá temporada 2: HBO renueva la serie del creador de 'Veep'

This was such a surprising small series. Super fun, with a lot of sci-fi details for fans of the genre, and with a short duration (which I particularly prefer). Highly recommended and a strong contender for show of the year among the stuff I watched.

Invincible

Five Thoughts On Invincible's “Where I Really Come From” – Multiversity  Comics

Very cool adaptation from the comics. Before airing, I only hoped to see some particular scenes animated, but the show delivered in every aspect. For future seasons I would love to see an increase in the budget so we can see better animation and more details in the designs, but I will gladly keep watching even if the quality keeps the same.

Fleabag

Emmys 2019: "Fleabag", la sorprendente serie que rompió estereotipos y robó  protagonismo a "Game of Thrones" en la gala - BBC News Mundo

Fun and deep in equal parts, talking about topics that are not very common in modern tv. After devouring the show in a week, I saw all the work from Phoebe Waller-Bridge, which I liked a lot. Looking forward to see what she does next.

Films

The french dispatch

The French Dispatch Review – A beautiful but hollow movie | Federal  Regulations Advisor

This was so beautiful that I had to re-watch a couple stories in it because I was not paying attention to the dialog. Wes Anderson is a unique director, and this is another exhibit.

Captain Fantastic

Pediatría Basada en Pruebas: Cine y Pediatría (483). “Captain Fantastic” y  los hijos de Noam Chomsky

Beautiful and funny on the surface, but deep and hard below it. Probably my all time favourite anti capitalism film.

Dune

Dune: Parte dos': Personaje y argumento de la secuela

Visually stunning, and a good adaptation of the first half of the book. Looking forward to the second part.

The Father

The Father (2020) - IMDb

Almost tied with my favourite movie of this year. Anthony Hopkins is one of the best actors alive, and this film gets carried to really high standards by him (with an amazing cast around). Funny at times, but with extremely tough moments, it is a movie I still think about from time to time.

Summer 1993

Festival de Málaga

Spanish movie about dealing with the loss of your loved ones, from the perspective of a small girl. Beautifully shot, with clever writing and covering a relevant and usually overlooked topic. Highly recommended, and the movie that surprised me the most this year.

Books

Brandon Sanderson – The stormlight archive saga:

The Way of Kings

WAY OF KINGS: Book One of the Stormlight Archive: 1 : Sanderson, Brandon:  Amazon.es: Libros

Words of Radiance

Words Of Radiance: Stormlight Archive 02 (Tor Books) : Sanderson, Brandon:  Amazon.es: Libros

Edgedancer

Edgedancer: From the Stormlight Archive (English Edition) eBook :  Sanderson, Brandon: Amazon.es: Tienda Kindle

Oathbringer

Oathbringer: Book Three of the Stormlight Archive: 3 : Brandon Sanderson,  Brandon Sanderson: Amazon.es: Libros

The Stormlight Archive has become my favourite fantasy saga by far. What surprised me the most is how Sanderson created his characters, which are the most human I’ve ever read in the genre. Intriguing story, full of twists and epic moments (Honor is dead!). Fully recommended.

Darren Byler – In the Camps: China’s High-Tech Penal Colony

Columbia Global Reports | In The Camps · Columbia Global Reports

Super nice piece of journalism about the stories that we never see about China, particularly about how religious minorities are treated (spoiler: human rights are a joke).

Clifford D. Simak – Way Station

Way Station : Simak, Clifford D.: Amazon.es: Libros

This year I wanted to read some stories from one of my favourite science fiction authors, and Way Station was the best of them all. While below the level of City (which is probably my favourite science fiction book), Way Station was a very nice read. Space stations, teleportation, interplanetary travel, what makes us human, and the fear of total annihilation by a nuclear war are some of the topics in the novel.

James Clavell – Shōgun

Shogun: A Novel of Japan (Asian Saga) : Clavell, James: Amazon.es: Libros

While a bit clichéd, a captivating novel about an european lost in the feudal Japan. Think about The Last Samurai, but with pirates instead of USA soldiers. If you like Japan or its culture, you will love this for sure.

Jason Schreier – Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made & Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry

Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry : Schreier,  Jason: Amazon.es: Libros
Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video  Games Are Made by Jason Schreier

A couple wonderful books about the world of video game development. It was really surprising for me to read about the miracle that is when a big budget video game sees the light, and how the industry mistreats their working force (which I couldn’t help but link to the situation at academia, btw).

Music albums

Here I will just make a list of new stuff that I loved or surprised me, plus a blast from the past:

Greta Van Fleet - The Battle at Garden's Gate.png

Greta Van Fleet – The Battle at Garden’s Gate

Favourite song: Built by Nations

A Beginner's Mind - Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine.jpg

Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine – A Beginner’s Mind

Favourite song: Olympus

Mayéutica: Robe, Robe: Amazon.es: CDs y vinilos}

Robe – Mayéutica

Favourite song: Tercer movimiento: Un instante de luz

Sour : Olivia Rodrigo, Olivia Rodrigo: Amazon.es: CDs y vinilos}

Olivia Rodrigo – Sour

Favourite song: enough for you

Maduk - Transformations – Liquicity

Maduk – Transformations

Favourite song: Go (ft. Lachi)

Soothing Melodies Shine on Lane 8's Latest Album, Brightest Lights -  EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists

Lane 8 – Brightest Lights

Favourite song: The Rope (ft. POLIÇA)

Blast from the past: Madeon – Icarus – Fred V & Grafix remix

Extra ball: Favourite song in a video game, Hades – God of the Dead (+ The Unseen Ones)

Random stuff

I went running 245 times, which accounted for more than 2000 km.

Published a cool paper, and almost managed to squeeze another one in December, but it will go on the 2022’s list.

I survived my second year in Paris, managed to evade Covid, and got three vaccine shots.

Re-read The Lord of the Rings, and this time I kinda loved it. I guess it gets better with age…

Re-started the weekly recap, and had a lot of fun writing every piece.

Kept doing the podcast, and also a bit of streaming on twitch, which was quite fun.

I was able to travel a little bit and come back home to see family and friends. I spent Christmas back at my parents, where everyone is healthy.


And that’s it for the year recap. I could not help but add more and more things while I was writing it, which is always a good sign. I am pretty sure I missed some stuff that I really enjoyed, but I do not like to take notes on entertainment, so I am going to call it done for now.

Featured image from Stephen Li

Comentarios

Una respuesta a «2021 in review: games, books, music, series, films…»

  1. Avatar de
    Anónimo

    Many reviews.
    Such personal.
    Very 2021.

    10/10 paws.

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