The Stories I Loved MOST in 2021
Today, I’ll be talking about the top three stories that I experienced in 2021. These can be across any medium, books, movies, games, etc. I’ll list off some honorable mentions to start, then I’ll get into the top three. It’s important to note that I am selecting from stories I experienced for the first time in 2021, not necessarily stories that came out, last year. Especially since I had some catching up to do with books and the like, I mainly read, watched, or played stories that were a year or two old, rather than new releases. That said, let’s get into my list, beginning with honorable mentions! Every story I mention will be linked if you’d like to experience it for yourself.
Honorable Mentions
These are the stories that I loved for one reason or another, but they didn’t quite make the cut for the top three. There was some pretty stiff competition, this year, so some of these stories aren’t in the top three solely because they had the misfortune of going up against some of the other amazing games and books that I played and read this year. Making it onto this list is still impressive, even without placing in the top three. Additionally, my honorable mentions are not in any particular order.
Red Rising (Second Trilogy)
I am specifically calling out the second Red Rising trilogy, for this. Red Rising’s first trilogy didn’t really impress me all that much, and I especially didn’t like the first book, but the second trilogy—and Dark Age in particular—absolutely made up for the flaws in the first trilogy. I greatly enjoyed the second trilogy and even gave Dark Age the highest rating I’ve given to any of Pierce Brown’s books! There’s a fascinating story being told in this second trilogy and I can’t wait to see how it plays out when the third book is finally released.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
No Way Home was a massive blast of nostalgia. I haven’t reviewed it on my channel because that’s not really what I want to do here on a regular basis. However, I did have a great time seeing this movie and am so glad that I got to experience it. This is a story that was many years in the making, and it definitely had me laughing and crying. So much about this movie is remarkable. But, despite how much praise I have for the film, the amount that I had to suspend my disbelief for everything that made the movie possible was a bit too much for my tastes. The “spell misfire” that sets the events in motion really expects a lot from me as a viewer. I was willing to accept their magic weirdness that set the events of the film in motion, but if you look at it too closely, there’s not a solid explanation for what happened in this movie. Unfortunately, this means that while the film is an honorable mention for me, it doesn’t quite make it onto the top three.
The Last of Us Part II
Until I played Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us was my favorite game of all time. I love the story and the gameplay, and have played through the game dozens upon dozens of times, on every difficulty. I loved the game, and so had high expectations when it came to the sequel. Those expectations were met, at the very least. The story told in The Last of Us II is powerful and heartbreaking. If you’ve been here since the beginning, you probably know that I love revenge stories. There are so many approaches that can be taken with them, and I found The Last of Us II to be a perfect, masterful revenge story. It also, much like its predecessor, exemplifies why some stories are best told in games. Naughty Dog used the medium artfully and I had a lot of fun with this game.
Third Place
The Burning
And now we’re getting into my list of the top three stories I’ve experienced, last year. I’ll begin with my third favorite story that I experienced in 2021, which is going to be… The Burning by Evan Winter. This is a series of four books (though only the first two are released at the time of this writing) that follows Tau, a young man in the lower class of his society who is hellbent on vengeance against the people who took everything from him. It has a rich world, an incredible magic system, and remarkable writing. The first one has a few hiccups but is ultimately a solid entry into the series, but the second was a story I greatly enjoyed. It blew me away. The First of Vengeance is actually my favorite book I read last year, period, though Dark Age was hot on its heels.
Second Place
Last Night in Soho
In second place we have a movie from my all-time favorite writer and director, Edgar Wright. My favorite movie of all time is Baby Driver, but the latest film from Edgar Wright is a strong contender for replacing that film. Last Night in Soho is a psychological thriller in which we follow a young woman who finds the bizarre ability to enter the 1960s, where a strange mystery starts to unravel. It is really hard to talk about this movie without spoiling it, and in fact, I went into the film knowing nothing about it, which is how I prefer to go into films from Edgar Wright. So I won’t say much more about this other than that if you have not yet seen it, you need to watch it. Go do it. Seriously, now. I don’t even care if you finish my video, go watch Last Night in Soho. It’s more important than I am.
First Place
Ghost of Tsushima
You probably already know what I’m going to put in first place if you’ve been paying attention. In 2021, I finally sat down and played the game that would eventually become my favorite game of all time: Ghost of Tsushima. This game had everything that I wanted and more. I also came into it knowing nothing other than that a few friends had recommended it. I didn’t even know it was popular (sue me, I’m out of the loop). The gameplay was incredible, the story and the way it was told was deeply thoughtful and emotional, and the experience of this game overall was absolutely superb. There isn’t a single thing I would change about this game. I’m actually going to be starting a playthrough of the Director’s Cut here shortly, and I am beyond stoked for that.
Conclusion
There you have it, my favorite stories that I experienced in 2021! It’s hard to believe just how many incredible stories I got to experience, last year, and I’m even more excited for what’s to come in 2022. In fact, next Friday I’m going to be talking about some of the stories I am most anticipating, this year, so be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you can see that post when it comes out. You can also follow me on social media, I’m @TLBainter on most platforms, and will have social links at the bottom of this post.
I’d love to hear about some of your favorite stories that you experienced in 2021. Feel free to drop a comment or send me a message, maybe I’ll even get a recommendation out of it!
Until next time, bye!