The Best Game Animation of 2021

[@QuintessentialWalrus]

Honestly one of my favorite things about this channel is HOW GOOD Dan is at talking about animation without getting bogged down in jargon and technical details. It's a great educational skill to thoroughly cover a topic without alienating a layperson.

[@danielvutran]

"If you can't explain something simply, you don't understand it well enough." - Einsteinsfermeif

[@ICountFrom0]

I love when he gets so distracted by something he's seen in a game that he just, stops, and talks about an animation, while showing it to us, in a game, for like, 15 minutes. I learn so much, so fast, and it's also just massively charming.

[@ghostbirdofprey]

So many people fail to understand that teaching is its own, separate, skill. You can be the world's leading expert in a thing and not have any clue how to actually convey your expertise, and I really wish more people cultivated that skill like this.

[@swarth8632]

I 100% agree! This guy and the other Dan from Video Game Animation Study have become my unofficial animation mentors!

[@blarg2429]

@@swarth8632 Danimation mentors, if you will.

[@Minihood31770]

Dan's animation eyes being consistently larger than his gaming stomach is both funny and adorable.

[@limefish3681]

the sonic video, the ongoing final fantasy videos and now this. Dan is stuck in a vicious cycle of biting off too much, realizing it, and doing it all over again. and i am here for it.

[@wavesofbabies]

Not to mention making a Let's Play of *Final Fantasy XIV*, probably one of the longest games out there you could do a story focuses Let's Play on.

[@wavesofbabies]

@Flybreaker Footage He'll get to them eventually! I don't think he's gonna do the animation episodes on every other Smash Bros Ultimate character though...

[@haldir108]

I want videos. I don't want content. I hope Dan continues to make "bad" decisions.

[@hunterhalverson5198]

And it's great!

[@banjo789101]

Been a fan of the channel for years but honestly the inclusion of the blue sweater scene from The Devil Wears Prada in the showstopping villain performances bit is my new favorite thing you've ever done.

[@FlowerMcBoi]

1 day ago.?

[@mcdrums87]

@@FlowerMcBoi Patrons got early access! www.patreon.com/newframeplus

[@NewFramePlus]

Patreon early access. :P

[@justember794]

@@FlowerMcBoi probably a patron with early access

[@dserdsing]

It is... Cerulean~

[@charcharmunr]

My favourite part about Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is how, unlike the other 3D Ace Attorney games, it knows when to use a 'snap-to-new-pose' animation, and when to use a more elaborate, detailed one. Sholmes in particular has a lot of moments where he'll just suddenly snap to a new pose without warning from line to line and it's great.

[@Gamyeon]

The animation is so much more fluid than the other 3D AA games, which makes them also that much nicer to look at.

[@jcKobeh]

I started following this channel for the FF videos, but never really read the "about" section nor looked deeper into who's behind it. Dear reader, my surprise when Durmin Durami started reviewing game animation here was real.

[@suvinuoska]

I love that you included Ace Attorney Chronicles here, because the animation in them is a genuine delight

[@Jake28]

Agreed!

[@Gamyeon]

I genuinely squeeled when I heard the music and Dan mention the duology. I wasn’t sure he had had time to take a look at it and I know it’s not his go-to genre. So I was very very very happy to see them mention as I thought they looked (and sounded) so good!

[@Ganmorg]

I love how the animation in GAA compares to the other 3D games. The other two titles were consistently a bit much in terms of how much was going on with their characters, and this one does a better job emulating the feel of those classic games, what with the more mellow designs afforded by the setting

[@philippak7726]

The "Say 'No' More" animation was amazing. I know it is so hard to pull off that amount of comedic underplay, but they hit it spot on. As the saying goes "It takes a lot of care to seem carefree"

[@SpecterVonBaren]

It very much reminds me of the animation of the Katamari games.

[@philippak7726]

@@SpecterVonBaren oh so true! I always love the katamari games. They are a special breed of skill

[@ornerybrush]

man, the work you put into this. It should be considered as a legit award or something. I was actually getting excited to see what games would make it into each category, and which you would consider the best on it. I truly love your vides, the work you put on them, and the passion you have behind them. Because that, inspire me to animate even more than what I already do. Thank you for making this .

[@AidenR19]

Guilty Gear Strive's animation work is truly spectacular! Been playing for a year but I'm still surprised by how the animations look on the character models.

[@IgorTrademark]

I swear to god, before I watched this video I was convinced Guilty Gear is an actuall 2D game

[@GumshoeClassic]

The only thing that's a shame about Strives animation is that they didn't have the time, budget etc. to translate it into the story-mode. The few scenes that are fully hand-animated are stellar, but the rest is really awkward and janky. It's still fun to watch, but it makes me yearn so much for an animated series made by ArcSys.

[@RoaringTide]

Indeed. Really a joy to look at. Also speaking of fighting games and ArcSys visuals, there's DNF Duel coming this summer. The beta they ran at the end of last year really showed off how sick the animations are.

[@mattedjon-veryaccuratetabs]

This game looks soooo good, it's crazy. It makes me want to play it even if I don't like fighting games

[@IgorTrademark]

@@mattedjon-veryaccuratetabs It makes me want to buy it even if I am poor

[@BubblingBrooke]

Inscription i think does a lot with a little. Its 3d animated and it knows how to utilize its animation to emphasize the creepiness factor! From the cards in your hand shaking because they don't want to be sacrificed, to your own hand shaking because the character you embody doesn't want to be there. There's a ton of little details that help sell the tone!

[@lamceddo2275]

That's insane. Right as I was thinking "wow, it's been a minute since I've seen a New Frame Plus video", there it is. I swear I'll use my powers with responsibility. I'll wait three more days until I think the next Final Fantasy video into existence.

[@HellecticMojo]

I'm not a fan of 12:05 character design wise, but having an animation for character de-select is *chefs kiss*

[@jman2001jt]

One bit of animation I really enjoyed in 2021 was the enemy animation in Halo Infinite. All of the human characters and the Chief himself are animated with pretty standard naturalistic mocap but the aliens are all animated like they’re in a slapstick cartoon and the dichotomy is hilariously entertaining.

[@TheCanipaEffect]

Impressed how many games you managed to cover in just 20 minutes. My favourites would be Great Ace Attorney and Ratchet. I'd also add Shin Megami Tensei V. There's not a lot of them, but the unique attack animations were always fun to get destroyed by. Plus the protagonist's Naruto run and surprisingly fluid hair animation is a treat.

[@Pie_The_Man]

If only they put more effort into the area design... SMT V just makes me more and more sad the more I think about it

[@Volvagia1927]

If we're looking at The Game Awards' most recent RPG category strictly from an animation perspective? The best animation in an RPG is a close match between Monster Hunter Rise and SMT V. Cyberpunk...kind of has the same "art direction over animation" thing Tales of Arise has, just with an even bigger gulf between the art direction and the animation, and Scarlet Nexus is functional on both sides.

[@matteste]

@@Pie_The_Man Yea, seriously they were just mostly the same with some colored filter added on top. Hell even the fusion accident was just the regular one with a red filter. And with the demons, it was only the Doi ones that got any love and care put into them. The Kaneko ones were mostly left high and dry. And the less said about the story, characters and worldbuilding the better. That was pretty much just an unfinished draft than anything complete.

[@adv78]

Loved the Chicory shout-out, this game really needs it. Such a delightful game, with great animations, comedy and somehow a great art that was works at least good and every color you choose to paint it. Surprised for no mention of P5 Strikers in the "comeback" sections. The animation is as always, and i found it impressive that it worked even in an action-oriented game

[@stevejakab274]

If you're not familiar with Dan's other channel, Play Frame, he didna fun Let's Play of Chicory.

[@Artista_Frustrado]

-Ace Attorney & Say NO! More are perfect examples of the "Right tool for the right job", if either of those games animated like Kena or Life is Strange it wouldn't be able to convey the "this is a genuinely unexpected thing that just happen" feeling -oh the flack EA Sports gets is never on the visuals, those studios have perfected the art of "this is just the Sport on TV" up to having the actual Fox Sports commentators

[@ludicseanchai]

Gotta give it up for Inscryption. Dark, gloomy, intimidating, sinister, without ever crossing into pointlessly depressing grimdark territory. More and more animation tricks are pulled out of the hat as the game goes on and it's an absolute delight to experience. Favorite game of 2021 by far.

[@Skyfox94]

What I love the most about your videos is that, not only do you take the time to appreciate and explain each games animations separately but you take the time to highlight the amount of work that goes into each and everyone of these games.

[@pickupthelantern6395]

not to say that the stylised 3D games were chosen poorly or anything, the yearly roundup has been a pleasure like always, but I am still sad about you not talking about Solar Ash :( (I did notice the clip you showed at the beginning :D) Thanks as always and may this year be a good one!

[@okanut]

I look forward to this video every year! So much cool stuff!

[@IonicNebula]

I'm throwing a big shout out to NEO: The World Ends With You. The animations can be rough at times, but it had such a tall task of translating such a distinct, stylized 2D artstyle and putting it not only in 3D, but then animating an entire new battle system in that style. Not only does it manage to feel just at home with the original, but also convey the power and strength of each attack in a way the original couldn't do. It's telling when all the cutscenes are in 2D and yet there's basically no whiplash when you see them as 3D models.

[@BlankPicketSign]

I'm new to Final Fantasy and I have fallen deeply in love, So your FF Animation series has been such a wonderful treat! I'm playing the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV (which comes with a free trial that includes the award winning Heavensward expansion, unlimited play time, and all Classes unlocked to level 60.)

[@thesquadron7571]

With how many big games are coming out this year (Pokémon legends Arceus, Sonic Frontiers, Eldin Ring, KOF 15, Splatoon 3, Zelda BOTW 2, etc.) the 2022 animation roundup is going to be something to look foreword to

[@Ten_Thousand_Locusts]

>foreword

[@Cuix]

Darkest Dungeon 2, potentially

[@NearyDead]

I think one game worth mentioning is inscryption. While I don’t think the animation was super insane on its own, it manages to convey each of the characters personalities and the tone of the story so well. There’s so many great little details and it really helps sell the mysterious atmosphere of the game.

[@FlynnTheRedhead]

True Colors really surprised me with the facial animation. I had moments where Steph felt so alive I forgot I was playing a video game, even with the artstyle. Everyonems eyelids also felt a lot more 3 dimensional than a lot of other games for some reason

[@blue3895]

The enemy designs and animation in Returnal really caught my eye. The dozens of tendrils and tentacles smoothly and dynamically following through on all those behaviors look really amazing and creepy. Also the effects animation in that game is genuinely unbelievable, at least to me.

[@sajanramanathan]

Awesome video! I love how you always emphasize interesting and effective game animation along with pretty animation. I’m also glad you got to take a picture of your favorite Pokémon ever at 20:20

[@nomi-non]

something i see a lot when people talk about animation on youtube is how quick they are to find flaws first, but what ive always loved about your channel is the dedication to looking for positive qualities first and considering their context, instead of only judging things on technical quality

[@dabundis]

I loved how the Reaper's idle animation in Death's Door includes them cocking their head this way and that to look around

[@RicochetForce]

Yup, they leaned into them being a crow and I love it.

[@Aeiouaaaaaaaaa]

I was looking through the comments to see if anyone else pointed this out! I love the little animation details for all of the characters, but they really nailed the birdlike idles on the Reaper

[@MallowyGoodness]

Not mentioning Inscryption at all is a curious thing. It doesn't have a ton of animation but what it does have carries a lot of feeling I think. Bosses slamming their hands on the table when losing is such a fast and subtle thing that adds so much flavor. There's also Unsighted, which I would describe as THE sleeper hit of the year, which sticks out in my mind as being one of the most fluid feeling movement in games. I haven't payed enough attention to the detail of its animations to know how much of that fluidity is animation based, but you'd think they'd be highly connected things. Worth checking out regardless.

[@kpwu]

the game that stumped me with it's animations was shin megami tensei 5. after the very simplistic animations of smt4, due to it being on the 3ds, it really feels like the animators went ham on the battle animations. each demon and character has a very distinct way of moving, and their personality is conveyed extremely clearly through their idle animations, and from their battle animations.

[@amala1333]

Yeah even on the switch the animations looked great.

[@bukachell]

Okay that character selection detail in destruction all stars is so awesome and funny

[@Zenju__]

I love that low-poly look epitomized by Megaman Legends, it's great to find out about indies using it today

[@Spooks_FGC]

When I stop and look at it, I just remember how good strive looks.

[@RubenGarcia-pt8tp]

I like how not a single one of the games I hoped to see were here (I’m looking at you, returnal). It just comes to show how good animation in video games is getting

[@chriscroft2323]

I always look forward to this because you always highlight some great games that were off my radar. I'm going to get Webbed and Say No More. Thanks for the hard work!

[@untuxable5076]

Since you asked, Death's Door had some unexpectedly great character animations for the silent protagonist. I realized halfway through a certain repeating event/cutscene that it was an entirely new animation because it was the 2nd time it had happened and the character knew what to expect. So good! Great video, love your stuff!

[@Aeiouaaaaaaaaa]

If you’re talking about the Avarice bits, I 100% agree. I loved seeing that detail

[@fieratheproud]

Seeing that clip of NEO: The World Ends With You made me really happy. I haven't played it yet myself as I'm trying to finish the first TWEWY (final remix) before starting it, I just keep getting distracted by other things. Like Legends Arceus, which I beat within a week because I just got that obsessed. Anyway, back on track, both NEO TWEWY and the original TWEWY have beautiful styles and seeing the 2D style of the original so perfectly translated to 3D makes me really happy.

[@benchguy5940]

Your mention of Miranda Priestly in the Entrancing Villains Montage has earned you my respect forever.

[@jonathanharsh7434]

Great roundup as always! Always fun to be introduced to new games I hadn't heard of but really want to try now. The dance alone has convinced me to try Webbed. Wasn't actually expecting this to happen, but I was kinda hoping for a mention of Skul: The Hero Slayer. Game's got some darn good pixels, especially when it comes to the effects animation. Also, did you know that Ember Lab's original claim to fame was an incredible animated short film based on Majora's Mask? It's on their KZbin channel; startling levels of polish doesn't even begin to describe it.

[@adambierstedt920]

If you haven't checked it out yet, Dan, you should try "The Legend of Tianding" - another 2D Taiwanese game that's got just incredible animation. It's a 2D platform fighter with incredible wuxia-styled animation, all wrapped up in Chinese manga styles. It's so stylish and feels just incredible and fluid to run around in. Top tier stuff.

[@VidelPC]

A friend and I went through It Takes Two. The character animation is so smooth, yet you get the different art materials that compose each of the protagonists' body. Also, there's so much detail in the environmental animation it's kinda crazy !

[@RamenKingRoshi]

I just came across this channel recently but I'm very grateful to you for making a wholesome, respectful, complimentary place to highlight the accomplishments that we're seeing in video games big and small. Your videos are a delight and your commentary is insightful.

[@matthewjones6786]

I often hear people say, “they don’t make (insert artistic medium here) like they used to, they just don’t care anymore.” They’re wrong. We are blessed to live in an era where great art can come from anywhere, and there is no shortage of it. I love videos like this that revel in such artistry! :)

[@RicochetForce]

Yeah, more often than not those people have allowed themselves to become bitter and jaded. They've limited their idea of what is good to X, and anything that is not X is automatically bad and no worth their time. When the reality is we are spoiled for choice with things that we could only dream about back in the 80s and 90s.

[@sator_project]

You kept your word with Say No More

[@rhubarbjin]

7:38 _Webbed_ is a wonderful game in many respects, including its animation! I think artist Riley Neville pulled off something amazing here. None of the bugs are traditionally "cartoony"; they look and move in a (relatively) realistic manner and still manage to come across as cute. I fell 100% in love with this game despite my aversion to insects.

[@daffyfable1983]

I am very surprised to not to see this channel discuss the Halo series. There is so much nuance in every little animation to the point where carrying different weapons will have Master Chief adjust his legs accordingly, nuance I haven't seen in many other shooters where one character can use different weapons. In addition to this, I think enemy animation is reused from older games, but it works since those animations looked so good, that they still work in the newer entries.

[@Sandreline]

I appreciate you putting Miranda Priestly in your lineup of show-stealing villains.

[@drmariomariomd6733]

Deaths Door is so fluid and stylish that I get giddy every time I see it. Thanks for the amazing work, Dan! I wishlisted at least 5 games from this video.

[@OmniSzron]

I LOVE these roundups. So many cool games I have never heard about. Say No More looks absolutely hilarious and I agree 100% it wouldn't look as funny and over the top without the janky animation.

[@chrayez]

I believe there’s a play through on Dan’s PlayFrame channel (if it wasn’t him, then I have no idea which of my other subscriptions would have played it 🤣)

[@essneyallen6777]

@@chrayez yes, Playframe has a playthrough!

[@jasonblalock4429]

It also reminds me of the animation on the early Katamari Damacy games, which likewise did a lot with deliberately stiff and jerky animation for comedic effect.

[@deusfaux]

Duuuuuude. This video is a cut above, truly. I play games for 'new art', and there is perhaps no more important component to great visuals than animation, IMO. You touched on what were many of the highlights of the year for myself as well, whilst introducing me to wonderful looking games I've never heard of. And you have a great voiceover voice to boot! Well done. I also have a video topic suggestion, tho it might be out of date in 2022...

[@OrcaIguana]

I do love this list. A little sad my personal favorite, Neo:twewy didn't get talked about more, but damn this year was so full of good animation. I've been taking game animation classes on the side now for 2 years and by god if it isn't some of the most challenging work I have done, but I love it so much. Take care of yourself Dan and have a good 2022!

[@Sleeping_inthe_sky]

My boyfriend has really bad arachnophobia. Like, can't-even-look-at-a-spider-for-one-second kind of bad. But you were right, he found Webbed to be absolutely adorable.

[@oyoyoyo7624]

Thanks for spotlighting great art! I’m loving the HD pixel sprites in MELTY BLOOD Type Lumina 💜

[@7Seraphem7]

It is never not amazing just hearing Dan gush over... anything! You are just, so damn eager and excited and so clearly loving every moment of this!

[@katkitty2219]

Woukd honestly love a follow up video to the ace attorney animation one, reviewing the animation in chronicles and how far it’s come since the original trilogy. As always, Dan makes talking about game animation so accessible and entertaining, it’s legit amazing to see so many concepts explained and great work highlighted!

[@ChaineDeQualite]

I don't know if you played it but Little Nightmares II had some really interesting animations on the monster to make them feel uncanny. The player's animation is also really great at expressing emotions without dialogue or facial animation. Anyway great video 👍

[@wah-gb5xe]

the amount of games i had no idea existed made me realize how man gems i missed from last year. man! i have to check these out. can always trust you to showcase some incredible game animation with these videos.

[@KtenEditing]

Loved seeing you shout out The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. They do so much within the limitations of their animation, it was my favorite set of games I played last year by far, I'd really recommend everyone try to pick it up from the Turnabout Collection next time it's on sale!

[@KumaKaori]

13:37 XD Oh I lost it at "Theatrical" for Majima XD. Very well described

[@batmabel]

Say No More looks a lot like MegaMan Legends, and that by itself makes me want to check it out already lol Great video as always Dan!

[@Road_to_Dawn]

In Say No! More, the way the character animates saying “NO!” reminds me strongly of that classic Mass Effect animation of the 1-800-CONTACTS commercial when Shepard says, “My BRAND!” And it is glorious.

[@mike_wake]

A great list! It’s impossible to cover every notable game, there’s too much good stuff. Please don’t kick yourself! But since you asked, I’d suggest checking out Sable. It nails these Moebius-esque visuals while being 3d, and somehow manages animation that fits that style perfectly. It’s also just a great combat-less exploration game.

[@RoughDonut]

I was eagerly waiting for this video to come out!!

[@whynotanyting]

Why do I always tear up at well done animation? I'd like to assume it's the personality the animators imbue into the lifelike characters, and maybe even showing a bit of their own in the making, or the thought of the amount of work and time that was spent making them. It's most likely both though.

[@jnee]

I'm SO happy you brought up Say No More! I bought it on a whim when it was released... and then no one talked about it.. to the point where I was thinking 'is there something wrong with this game that I can't see?' Had me laughing repeatedly

[@ModernDayGeeks]

I'm astonished as you were able to fit a whole year's worth of games to fit in an informative and fun 20 minute video to watch. My personal favorite out of the list has got to be League of Legends' Ruined King. This is awesome!

[@dexposen]

Honestly, I’m so glad this channel exist! As someone who wants to work in both gaming and tv shows for characters designs and animation, this channel is such a great source for both entertaining and informative content. Again, thank you so much!!

[@DauntlessBlade___]

Sport video game animation is NUTS. One time me, my brother and my father were watching tv and we flipped to the sports channel. We thought something looked off but we couldn't figure it out. We finally found out it was a video game match and we were so impressed because we could barely tell the difference

[@connorr-w9133]

I was so excited that you mentioned Webbed! I've been so invested in that game ever since I stumbled across the dev's Twitter, and it's been so vicariously rewarding to see it go from development, to demo, to the release and accolades it absolutely deserves!

[@rascally_fiend]

ik it’s the top game in a lot of people’s top 2021 lists, but i absolutely love the animation in inscryption. it has so much style and all of the character models are so good, i just love it so much.

[@JustOneMorePaul]

This just put me onto a bunch of games I really need to look into.

[@DarkDax]

There have been some outstanding game animation in the last year, but nothing compares to the sheer quality of each of your videos! Keep up the great work mate!

[@chanlaman2565]

Thank you for risking your sanity to cover such a wide variety of games, from popular to indie. As others have said, I like how accesible your videos are while still being well-informed and interesting! There are some good looking games here that I had no idea about. Artful Escape and They Always Run look amazing Too many games to play ;-; my poor backlog. I just now finished Breath of the Wild a few days ago

[@saminosamuel7113]

There's something to be said about the camera work and staging in Metroid Dread (mainly during the cutscenes). It compliments the animation immensely. Seriously the amount of 'wallpaper moments' during what in most other games are just obligatory transition or bookend scenes is very impressive. Also the comedic timing in Psychonauts 2 is just superb.

[@Drjhordan]

You took upon yourself a hard task sifting through all those games, but I appreciate it a lot, since I can't discover a lot of games by myself because time restrictions. Thanks for all the showcases throughout these years, Dan!

[@andrianhiew7180]

As someone with near zero artistic talents, I absolutely love every single video I come across in New Frame Plus I get to learn so much and also know a lot more games! As an aspiring developer, these little animation nitpicks and considerations will be nestled in my mind when coming to making decisions Thank you for the great video!

[@Tze52]

More people really need to see your work, the quality of it is top notch

[@queencitycardboard6781]

Another year, another list of pretty games I have to check out. Really, you could just make a reel of 5-10 second clips of games like you did for pixel art at 6:10 and I'll just make a list of titles to wishlist.

[@Sestaak]

Almost upset you didn't include more of Deathloop's interaction animations, like the takedowns. Those stuck with me, haha. LOVE the video!

[@n-tao]

Should’ve mentioned Lost Judgment‘s beautiful fighting animations and how fluid yet powerful they look

[@arahman56]

Probably could do a full video about the beautiful battle choreography (and the dynamic battle intros) of the Yakuza series. And lost Judgement definitely has the best battle system of the new Dragon Engine brawlers so far. And that's before going into the Karaoke and the Dance Club (Lost Judgment again).

[@n-tao]

@@arahman56 Absolutely. The battle choreography in these games is out of this world.

[@DaveBrunoAnimation]

as a game Animator myself with a focus on typically animating puppet characters in Spine, Artful Escape got me so excited to see 2D Puppets with 3D hands. Those 3D hands add SO MUCH LIFE to otherwise stilted puppets! What a simple yet effective solution to Puppet based animation!

[@AVdE10000]

Whew, this video was a little overwhelming! The amount of stuff you search through to analyse is astounding, super fun watch as always!

[@jasonblalock4429]

It briefly showed up right at the end, but New Pokemon Snap is just a treat from start to finish. It's my chillout game of the year. I could spend hours just watching the Pokemon roam around and interact. Like the Scorbunny and Pichu BFFs who run around playing throughout the forest stage. And then you find them snuggled up sleeping on a Snorlax at night! It's so unbelievably charming. Admittedly, the human animation is kind of bland, but you aren't playing this game to look at the humans.

[@hylianmage413]

I love this time of year, in no small part because of all the recap-style videos that come out around now and give me the chance to reflect on and appreciate the really incredible, positive things that came out of the last year. Thanks for all your work putting together this great list!

[@eclecticspaghetti]

*Please* try Darkest Dungeon 2. It’s got an absolutely incredible mix of fluid, character-filled 3D animations with meaty, impactful “cut-away” frames for attacks, in a beautiful evolution of the first game’s style.

[@arogustus3984]

Yeah. Granted, it's still in Early Access, so I get why it might not count for 2021, but it absolutely must get attention somehow, as one of those games that jumped from 2D to 3D with the grace and poise of a Grave Robber's Lunge. Combine that with the art style to create a visually pleasing spectacle that highlights the great character design, and the horrors the game will throw at you. Just, Mwah!

[@hijiriyukari]

More ups for this

[@lemmingrad]

The drummer is especially my favourite enemy for his animations.

[@DkwMCD0]

Say No! more was such a wonderful little gem of a game this year, I'm so glad you covered it

[@Gearhook]

The one game I am surprised didn't make the mention cut for Pixel category was Unsighted. From Pixel cutscenes that lend a lot with a little, to limited-frame animations that convey a great sense of weight without breaking screen-refresh timing it does a lot of really cool stuff. On top of being a really really really good game.

[@ParmMannREBORN]

Love that you also took the time to highlight so many indie games

[@volico72]

The thing that gets me the most excited about Rift Apart and Kena is that it shows how close we're getting to an interactive Pixar movie.

[@abysmallytall]

Came to see if Steel Assault was included and was not disappointed. The background animations alone are worth your attention. Thole whole game is extra as hell and I love it.

[@GavStrange]

+1 for Destruction Allstars! I feel it's a really slept-on game and i LOVE the character animation in the menus! Also, i've added about 8 new games to my Nintendo Switch wish list, so thank you for that! As always, love the videos - you communicate why things are great in a really brilliant way!

[@Africa4444]

I appreciate the kudos to Mark Brown. I saw this video and thought oh another gmtk video. Awesome breakdown!

[@QuintonMurdock]

What a great year for beautiful artistic games set Atleast partially in Colorado

[@dpmjmun]

i just wanted to mention that Vaz came to mind just as he was appearing on screen, the character work was solid

[@TheWordPlay]

I can't imagine the amount of work it took to put together this showcase. Great job Dan! If there was a game I could add from 2021, definitely It Takes Two! Character animation was really good both in cutscenes and in game, and it blows my mind how many animations they had to come up with for the different gameplay styles throughout the story

[@yentried]

It's a shame that Destruction Allstars released when it did, because in addition to the animation, it's also just really fun. The lack of PS5 availability on its release really hurt it, I think.

[@super8bitable]

It would have definitely done better if it also released on PS4.

[@skivvac]

Yeah I'd play it if it was on PC.

[@HealyHQ]

Same thing happened with RIGS when the first PSVR released. It deserved so much better. :(

[@swagathon6967]

This is undoubtedly one of my favorite channels. Educational , entertaining it has it all

[@needamuffin]

The character animations in Knockout City deserve a mention. You did show them briefly, but didn't talk about them. I enjoyed the game far more than I expected to, but the most surprising thing about it was how expressive the emotes and characters were. The animations were top notch with particularly expressive mouths, not something I've really noticed in any other game.