Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue

GOTY 2021

Editor Top 10 Picks 2021

Learn which games rose to the top for our editorial team as we celebrate the differing opinions across our staff.
by Game Informer Editorial on Dec 24, 2021 at 02:00 PM

Earlier, we announced Game Informer's official Top 10 Games of 2021, but that list doesn't paint the whole picture. That list was compiled after a hard-fought battle over many hours as we struggled to squeeze our collective favorites onto one official list. Unfortunately, many of our favorite games of the year couldn't be represented in the official Top Ten, which is why we put together these editor-specific top 10s.

Below you'll see the top 10 games of the year for each editor. Check out our personal favorites and see which staff members' tastes most align with yours. While you're here, feel free to drop your own top 10 in the comments!

Andrew Reiner Editor-In-Chief

  1. Halo Infinite
  2. It Takes Two
  3. Deathloop
  4. Psychonauts 2
  5. Forza Horizon 5
  6. Metroid Dread
  7. Returnal
  8. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
  9. Kena: Bridge of Spirits
  10. Resident Evil Village

Matt Miller Magazine Content Director

  1. Halo Infinite
  2. Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut
  3. Destiny 2
  4. Forza Horizon 5
  5. Back 4 Blood
  6. Deathloop
  7. The Artful Escape
  8. Metroid Dread
  9. Returnal
  10. Griftlands

Ben Reeves Online Content Director

  1. Deathloop
  2. Resident Evil Village
  3. Metroid Dread
  4. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
  5. The Forgotten City
  6. Inscryption
  7. Psychonauts 2
  8. Life is Strange: True Colors
  9. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
  10. Chicory: A Colorful Tale

Kimberley Wallace Features Editor

  1. Resident Evil Village
  2. Life is Strange: True Colors
  3. Deathloop
  4. Psychonauts 2
  5. Tales of Arise
  6. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
  7. Persona 5 Strikers
  8. Shin Megami Tensei V
  9. Back 4 Blood
  10. Nier Replicant

Brian Shea Senior Editor

  1. Forza Horizon 5
  2. Deathloop
  3. Halo Infinite
  4. Returnal
  5. Far Cry 6
  6. Inscryption
  7. Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut
  8. Metroid Dread
  9. The Forgotten City
  10. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

Daniel Tack Senior Editor

  1. Returnal
  2. Library of Ruina
  3. Little Nightmares II
  4. Monster Hunter Stories 2
  5. Wildermyth
  6. Forza Horizon 5
  7. Resident Evil Village
  8. Scarlet Nexus
  9. Shin Megami Tensei V
  10. Melvor Idle

Blake Hester Senior Associate Editor

  1. Resident Evil Village
  2. Hitman 3
  3. Deathloop
  4. Resident Evil 4 VR
  5. Death Stranding Director's Cut
  6. Fortnite
  7. Psychonauts 2
  8. Back 4 Blood
  9. Halo Infinite
  10. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury

Jason Guisao Associate Editor

  1. Tales of Arise
  2. Nier Replicant
  3. Halo Infinite
  4. Forza Horizon 5
  5. Deathloop
  6. Returnal
  7. Life is Strange: True Colors
  8. Psychonauts 2
  9. Death Stranding Director’s Cut
  10. Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Marcus Stewart Associate Editor

  1. Psychonauts 2
  2. Death’s Door
  3. Before Your Eyes
  4. Deathloop
  5. Resident Evil Village
  6. It Takes Two
  7. Chicory: A Colorful Tale
  8. The Forgotten City
  9. Returnal
  10. Inscryption

John Carson Associate Editor

  1. Metroid Dread
  2. Inscryption
  3. Halo Infinite
  4. Monster Hunter Rise
  5. Death’s Door
  6. Returnal
  7. Guilty Gear -Strive-
  8. Loop Hero
  9. Diablo II: Resurrected
  10. Dodgeball Academia

Jill Grodt Associate Editor

  1. Life is Strange: True Colors
  2. Sable
  3. It Takes Two
  4. Death’s Door
  5. Darkest Dungeon 2
  6. Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut
  7. Inscryption
  8. Valheim
  9. The Artful Escape
  10. New Pokémon Snap

Wesley LeBlanc Associate Editor

  1. Inscryption
  2. Returnal
  3. Halo Infinite
  4. Deathloop
  5. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
  6. Forza Horizon 5
  7. Before Your Eyes
  8. Resident Evil Village
  9. Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life
  10. Death’s Door

Alex Stadnik Video Editor

  1. Halo Infinite
  2. Psychonauts 2
  3. Metroid Dread
  4. Resident Evil Village
  5. Before Your Eyes
  6. Returnal
  7. Deathloop
  8. Life is Strange: True Colors
  9. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
  10. Little Nightmares II

Alex Van Aken Video Editor

  1. Deathloop
  2. Halo Infinite
  3. Death’s Door
  4. Resident Evil Village
  5. Hitman 3
  6. Inscryption
  7. The Forgotten City
  8. Pokémon Unite
  9. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
  10. Loop Hero

Want to read more about the best games of 2021? We're currently dishing out our genre awards, so navigate to another entry using the links below!

On
On
Off
Off
 

Thanks for reading.

I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.

Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.

We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.

It’s not possible without support.

In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.

Thank you.

Game Informer Editor-In-Chief Matt Miller
Subscribe to the print magazine

Popular Content