Forza Horizon 5 Is the Top Video Game of 2021 on Metacritic
2021 is coming to a close in less than ten days and given that major video game releases have essentially now wrapped up for the year, we have a better idea of which titles are considered the best of the best in this span of 12 months. While we've obviously been reviewing plenty of major video games over the course of 2021 here on ComicBook.com, Metacritic, which is an aggregate website that collects reviews from a number of different outlets, has been keeping track of the larger impression that games have made across the board this year. And based on that collected information, Xbox's Forza Horizon 5 seems to be the year's most critically-acclaimed title.
According to Metacritic's own dedicated page of 2021 video games, Forza Horizon 5 ended up taking the top spot overall for titles that have been reviewed since the start of the year. The game boasts an overall "Metascore" of 92, which puts it a full point higher than that of Psychonauts 2, which ended up coming in second place when compared to other games that were released this year. All in all, it was a strong year for Xbox Game Studios.
While Forza Horizon 5 was the top new game that launched in 2021, there are a few caveats with its win. For starters, Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, which is the latest expansion for the ongoing MMO, also ended up receiving an overall Metascore of 92, which puts it toe-to-toe with Forza. However, since this is an add-on rather than a full new game, Endwalker kind of slots into its own category.
It's also worth noting that other newly-released versions of games that released in previous years also rated higher than Forza Horizon 5. Disco Elysium: The Final Cut was technically the best-reviewed title of the year and had a 97 score. The Nintendo Switch version of Tetris Effect: Connected also achieved a 95 aggregate score, while the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 version of Hades achieved a 93. So while Forza Horizon 5 was the top new game that launched this year, some titles did end up technically ranking higher.
As a whole, what do you think about Forza Horizon 5 being the big winner of 2021 in the eyes of critics? Do you agree with this ranking? Let me know what you think either down in the comments or hit me up on Twitter at @MooreMan12.