Naughty Dog devs share what games inspired them during 2021

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Bugsnax, Deathloop, and It Takes Two all get a mention

The Last of Us 2
(Image credit: Naughty Dog/h1pster9)

The team at Naughty Dog has shared a blog post that lists all of the games they loved from this year. 

As shared on the official Naughty Dog blog, several members of the team have talked about: "the games in 2021 that inspired, excited, and - above all - entertained us." The list includes several well-received 2021 games such as Bugsnax, Deathloop, Fortnite, It Takes Two, and more. 

Each game in the list contains a small paragraph from different members of the team explaining why they loved the game they put forward. If you’re wondering what co-president of Naughty Dog Evan Wells enjoyed playing this year, he revealed in the post: "I'm a sucker for platform games, and It Takes Two combines that gameplay with amazing puzzles, a great story, and beautiful art." 

Other games in the list worth highlighting include Metroid Dread, which Wasim Khan - Director of Character Technology at the Uncharted studio - says: "Metroid Dread leaves you in awe thanks to its satisfying gameplay and moody atmosphere while telling an engaging story."

Fellow PlayStation studio Housemarque’s Returnal also got a shout-out from Naughty Dog vice president Arne Meyer who said: "Returnal is also wholly engrossing, features expertly tuned gameplay, and is stunning to look at."

Meyer wasn’t the only member of staff to praise the roguelike shooter as animation director Jeremy Yates also shared their thoughts on the game adding: "Returnal was a masterclass in design efficiency and created a really compelling game loop that made my heart pound and palms sweat." 

Want to know what our top picks for this year are? Take a look at our list of the best games 2021. 

Hope Bellingham
Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.