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Resident Evil Village & Metroid Dread Were Most-Completed Games of 2021
According to a collection of community-sourced stats, Resident Evil Village and Metroid Dread were the two-most-completed games of 2021. Both games earned solid critical receptions this year and Metroid Dread was even nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards, although it lost out to It Takes Two.
Metroid Dread and Resident Evil Village are almost as similar as they are different; both are the latest releases in long-running, iconic franchises, both games place a heavy emphasis on atmosphere and world design, and both rely on puzzle mechanics to keep things engaging. However, Resident Evil Village is considerably more dark and shocking, with no shortage of blood, gore, and mature themes. Players revisit the stoic Ethan Winters in Village as he works to unravel the secrets of a creepy fictional European town following the demise of his wife. Metroid Dread on the other hand is a retro-inspired side-scroller that puts players back into the shoes of legendary space bounty hunter Samus Aran. Developers at MecurySteam shook up the long-running Metroid formula by polishing Samus's movement abilities and turning the dial up on combat to a considerable degree. Just like Resident Evil Village, Metroid Dread sets up the next chapter of the franchise.
According to the popular stat-keeping site HowLongToBeat.com (via Kotaku), these two games were reported as the most completed out of all games released in 2021. Resident Evil Village sits right at the top of the list with around 2,500 players reporting that they beat the main campaign. Metroid Dread falls closely behind with roughly 2,200 completions. Both titles are followed by Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart and It Takes Two.
Some fans of both games may find it slightly odd that Resident Evil Village topped Metroid Dread in this ranking given the latter's prestige and status as the long-awaited continuation of the Metroid saga. However, Resident Evil Village featured much less backtracking than other games in the series, which considerably cut down total playtime. It's also possible that more gamers have played Resident Evil Village due to its multi-platform availability and earlier release date.
Regardless of whatever mitigating factors may have contributed to this particular ranking, it is clear that both of these games are some of the most successful releases of this year. Both feature breathtaking visuals and tight controls, which no doubt helped their popularity. They also share a common focus on progression and unlockables, creating a satisfying and addictive gameplay formula that many players were clearly happy to dive into. The gaming community will have to see how the follow-ups to Metroid Dread and Resident Evil Village fare when it comes to completion.
