10 Best Video Games Of 2021 (So Far)

7. Knockout City

I didn't believe this game could be anywhere NEAR as good as it actually is.

The Fortnite-aping art style, the fact everyone has gliders - it just felt so synthetic; so safe; so manufactured for mass consumption of a media product.

Then... you play it, and realise two things:

1. With Unravel, Josef Fares' work and this, EA's Originals program is the best thing about their company, and

2. What tiny team Velan Studios have created, is the most easily accessible multiplayer game maybe since Fortnite.

With gameplay literally being all about dodgeball - left trigger catches something thrown at you, right trigger charges a throw - depth comes from balling yourself up to create a ranged smartbomb attack.

You can dodge into oncoming volleys to neutralise momentum, pass between teammates to charge faster shots, or do flips and spins then throw, to curve shots or lob them over the environment to score a hit.

When it comes together - and player numbers are now over five million, with everyone figuring out new tips and tricks - it can be some of the most fun, "just one more match" gaming in 2021.