10 best gaming surprises of 2021 (and 5 terrible ones)

Terrible Moment – The Release of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

I was almost impressed with how disappointed I was with Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. I had zero expectations for the game and had honestly only purchased it because my kids asked. It was going to be the first Pokemon game I skipped in years. I thought it looked bored and I was in absolutely no rush to return to a time before Game Freak quality of life the Pokemon games into something beyond something I could use to fall asleep every night.

But I was disappointed still. The game wasn’t just ugly, it was embarrassingly so. Places devoid of detail. Characters that couldn’t move diagonally despite it being 2021. And a massive lack of customization made the game such a boring slog.

Not only that but the game was broken. To this day people are using glitches in the game to replicate entire boxes full of Pokemon making shinies and Master Balls readily available.

On top of that, the game dumped three legendaries on you right out the gate. Mew, Jirachi, and Manaphy. And considering that Manaphy was one of the rarest Pokemon, the value I had attached to mine from years ago had suddenly dipped into nothingness when everyone was just handed one shortly after the first gym was defeated.

Hell, the game didn’t even have a TITLE screen until it was patched in. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were basically just two barely serviceable games that only got released to help build a narrative for the upcoming Pokemon Legends Arceus but, honestly, I’d rather there have been absolutely nothing than this return to one of the most boring eras in Pokemon history.