10 Most Overlooked Video Games Of 2021

Despite being something of a critical darling, Returnal didn't attract the audience you'd expect from a big first-party PS5 game.

A rogue-like shooter (and the second time-loop game on this list), Returnal puts players in control of Selene, a woman who has crash landed on an alien planet and is forced to fight through waves of tentacled creatures in order to escape the purgatory of re-living the same day over and over.

It's the gameplay where Returnal really clicks, with its bullet-hell shooting demanding every ounce of attention from the player. Enemies hit hard, progression is slow, and one death sets you right back to the beginning. Fortunately, the combat is fair, and accentuated at every turn by imaginative enemy design, silky-smooth controls, and next-gen bells and whistles that make every projectile pop from the screen.

Returnal is the kind of game that you can live on, where even a late-in-the-day death that resets your progression only encourages one more try.