After a disastrous 2020 due to the pandemic, 2021 has seen some life return to cinemas even as new variants cropped up, while everything non-superhero seemed to disappoint, underwhelm or outright bomb at the box-office.
For critics though, the harvest was still quite plentiful as indies and a few studio films slew them with their high quality. Metacritic.com has now unveiled a list of what films, games and TV shows were the best of the year based on the aggregate scores of the top critics.
I’ve divided the lists into three sections – films, TV shows and major video games. Each section lists the titles nabbing the best critical scores and those which were the most discussed in 2021 by said critics.
Films have to have over a handful of reviews to be considered, which is why some high scoring works are not included. Here’s the full breakdown:
Best Films
1. “Quo Vadis, Aida?” – 97/100
2. “Summer of Soul…” – 96/100
3. “Petite Maman” – 94/100
4. “Flee,” “Memoria” – 91/100
5. “Drive My Car,” “Licorice Pizza” – 90/100
6. “The Souvenir: Part II,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” – 89/100
7. “Azor,” “The Father,” “The Power of the Dog” – 88/100
8. “About Endlessness,” “Hope,” “Parallel Mothers,” “The Velvet Underground” – 87/100
9. “The Rescue” – 86/100
10. “The Green Knight,” “Identifying Features,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Passing,” “West Side Story” – 85/100
There’s also a list of the films most frequently discussed this year amongst critics. On that front, the most talked-about movies were: “The Power of the Dog,” “Drive My Car,” “Licorice Pizza,” “Summer of Soul,” “West Side Story,” “Dune,” “The Worst Person in the World,” “The Green Knight,” “Pig,” “Memories,” “Petite Maman,” “The French Dispatch,” “The Souvenir Part II,” “Titane,” “The Lost Daughter,” “Red Rocket,” “C’mon C’mon,” “Annette,” “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” “The Card Counter,” “Spencer,” “Passing,” “Parallel Mothers,” “Belfast,” “CODA,” “Zola,” “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn,” “Bergman Island,” “Flee,” “The Mitchells vs. The Machines”
Best TV Series
The reviews for shows on the site are often for the first few episodes of a season, and so aren’t as reliable overall as the film scores:
1. “Bo Burnham: Inside” – 98/100
2. “What We Do In the Shadows: S3” – 96/100
3. “Succession: S3,” “The Underground Railroad” – 92/100
4. “It’s a Sin” – 91/100
5. “Last Chance U: Basketball” – 90/100
6. “Curb Your Enthusiasm: S11” – 89/100
7. “Muhammad Ali” – 88/100
8. “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson: S2,” “Tuca and Bertie: S2” – 87/100
9. “Painting with John: S1,” “The Great: S2,” “Feel Good: S2,” “Elizabeth is Missing,” “This Way Up: S2” – 86/100
10. “The Black Church,” “The Beatles: Get Back,” “Hemingway,” “Ted Lasso: S2,” “McCartney 3, 2, 1” – 85/100
There’s also a list of the shows most frequently discussed this year by critics. On that front, the most talked-about shows were: “Succession,” “The Underground Railroad,” “The White Lotus,” “Mare of Easttown,” “Reservation Dogs,” “Hacks,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “WandaVision,” “It’s a Sin,” “Squid Game,” “Ted Lasso,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” “We Are Lady Parts,” “For All Mankind,” “The Other Two,” “Maid,” “Midnight Mass,” “Dickinson,” “Yellowjackets,” “I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson,” “Station Eleven,” “The Beatles: Get Back,” “Evil,” “Insecure,” “Dopesick,” “Pose,” “Bo Burnham: Inside,” “Loki,” “Starstruck,” “The Great,” “Girls5eva”
Best Video Games
Scoring for games on the site is a mess as episodic releases, DLC add-on packs and iOS games are often given their own scores. To keep the list reasonable, I’m sticking to full game releases or major DLC only:
1. “Disco Elysium: The Final Cut” – 97/100
2. “Forza Horizon 5” – 92/100
3. “Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker,” “Psychonauts 2” – 91/100
4. “Chicory: A Colorful Tale,” “Mass Effect: Legendary Edition”- 90/100
5. “Death’s Door,” “Final Fantasy VII: Remake Integrade,” “It Takes Two,” “Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury” – 89/100
6. “Deathloop,” “F1 2021,” “Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut,” “Metroid Dread,” “Monster Hunter Rise,” “Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart” – 88/100
7. “The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles,” “Guilty Gear Strive,” “Halo Infinite,” “Hitman 3,” “Tales of Arise,” “Unpacking,” “Wildermyth” – 87/100
8. “Chivalry II,” “Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights,” “Football Manager 2022,” “The Forgotten City,” “Mini Motorways,” “Overboard,” “Sumire” – 86/100
9. “Death Stranding: Director’s Cut,” “Ghosts ‘n Goblins: Resurrection,” “Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition,” “Returnal,” “Shin Megami Tensei V” – 85/100
10. “Atelier Ryza 2,” “Castlevania: Advance Collection,” “Everhood,” “Fuga: Melodies of Steel,” “Griftlands,” “Inscryption,” “Life is Strange: True Colors,” “Loop Hero,” “Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Resident Evil Village,” “Tails of Iron,” “Unsighted” – 84/100
Other titles that just missed out include “Persona 5 Strikers,” “Nier: Replicant,” “Little Nightmares II,” “Knockout City,” “Trials of Fire,” “Cupid Parasite,” “Sunlight,” “Lost Judgement,” “Eastward,” “Sky: Children of the Night” and “Cyber Shadow”.
