9 Best 2021 Video Games You're Not Playing

7. Alba: A Wildlife Adventure

Speaking of remarkable, how about a game that shows Nintendo how it's done?

Because Alba: A Wildlife Adventure essentially takes the idea of Pokémon Snap and re-applies it back to real-world animals, insects and whatever other creatures you come across.

Playing as the titular Alba you're visiting you're grandparents on their tiny Spanish island of Pinar del Mar, a cross-section of farmland and family-owned businesses that's suddenly beset by a large corporation wanting to wipe out a wildlife sanctuary and build a hotel instead.

As Alba then, you need to start snapping pictures of the local fauna in an attempt to show why this space means so much. The game has a very charming and important conservationist message, seeing you push a trapped dolphin back into the ocean in its opening moments, craft bird-feeders and pick up trash around the island, all in the name of looking after such a gorgeous environment.

If you liked A Short Hike and wanted something a bit more involved, Alba might have the most pure heart of anything this year.