Chris Tilton is a composer and he’s written music for a few TV shows (Fringe, Zoo) and video games (SimCity, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Black). You can hear Chris Tilton’s latest work on the upcoming Epix horror series, From.
When not working, he can be found playing video games, or perhaps procrastinating in chat on a Giant Bomb live stream.
Even though I made little progress towards completing games in 2021, I sure did have some fun! But first, my obligatory 2021 “didn’t get to these yet” list: Umurangi Generation. Beyond a Steel Sky. Disco Elysium: Director’s Cut. Inscryption. Psychonauts 2. Forza Horizon 5. Guardians of the Galaxy. Now, on to the games I DID play.
I jump back into No Man’s Sky about every six months, and it’s relaxing every time. 2021 saw the release of Frontiers, which added a bustling outpost for you to build up. There are also new world types to explore, which I’ve just started to get into, and I have yet to make it to a derelict freighter in space. Ah well, in 2022!
4. Unpacking
This was a delightful distraction. The pixel art is great, and I particularly loved the sound design. I played this with headphones and it does a stellar job at putting you into the space: the outside traffic, indoor electronics hum, an upstairs neighbor stomping around, etc. When it came to the game itself, I particularly enjoyed having to unpack into an apartment already occupied by other roommates. The DVDs all have to be together! And true to the title of my list, even though this is only a few hours long, I STILL have not finished it, but I love it so far!
The original Judgement was my 2019 game of the year, so it is no surprise the sequel is high on my list. The story is juggling a lot of balls and it feels a little overwhelming compared to the first one, but I am really enjoying the high school setting and the new city. My first Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio game was Yakuza 0, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’m still making my way through all the Yakuza games, but I will stick with Lost Judgment, as I like this series even more than Yakuza.
I was all set to play Forza Horizon 5, but Riders Republic captured my interest at the last minute. It’s a similar format to Forza Horizon (open world with races and lots of side activities), but with an extreme sports bent. There’s a bit of ‘tude throughout the game, and if you’re not into that, it is easily mitigated by lowering the voice over volume. First person downhill biking is pretty thrilling! With activities that often only take a couple of minutes, this was a great morning routine to get into. I still play it every day!
In preparation for Infinite, I played the first few missions of every previous Halo. In addition to being an interesting time capsule of progressions, it confirmed to me that Halo 3 really had the best combination of epic story and goofball fun, and Infinite has captured that combo better than any Halo since. The open world is the magic here. I thought about going back into that world every time I was away from it, which is a good sign. Nothing beats calling in a Razorback warthog, packing it full of marines and then going out to fuck some shit up. I could have done without the linear levels that bookend the game, but in between them is the most fun I’ve had in a game all year.