The 20 Best Video Games of 2021 So Far

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – July 7, 2021

Which games impressed professional reviewers the most during the first half of the year? Above, we rank the best-reviewed videogames released between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 by Metascore. Games must have at least 7 reviews from professional critics to be eligible for inclusion.

Note that ...

If a game was released on multiple platforms, we included only the version receiving the largest total number of reviews (usually, but not always, the PS5 or PS4 version).

Multi-game compilations and newly released ports of games released in prior years on other platforms are excluded, unless they are substantially different from the prior release(s) (for example, an HD remaster of a previous-gen game that also adds some new content).

4 of 21 photo by Resolution Games

83 #15 (tie): Demeo

A VR-only (for now) tabletop dungeon-crawler, Demeo offers online co-op gameplay for up to four explorers—taking on the roles of a hunter, sorcerer, assassin, and guardian—who work their way through challenging, randomized dungeons. A second adventure was recently added to the base game (originally released in May), with more to follow in the coming months.

“Brilliant simulation of a traditional dungeon crawler board game with a decent variety of enemies. I can’t wait for the release of the next dungeon.” —The Games Machine

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