As we come to the end of 2021, I think it is probably a good time to start talking about the Top 10 Best Games on Stadia that I have played this year.
According to my Stadia profile, I have played well over 800 hours on stadia this year.
While reviewing these stats, it became very apparent that, even though I have played a lot of different Stadia games, the vast majority of my time was spent playing a selection of a few games. These are very clearly my favourite Stadia games.
So, here is the list of my Top 10 Google Stadia Games that I have enjoyed playing in 2021.
#10 - Immortals Fenyx Rising™ Stadia
When I first played the free to play demo for Immortals Fenyx Rising I knew I had to get this game.
The world is beautiful and bright. Filled with incredible lighting effects, funny characters, an interesting range of enemies, and a bottomless slew of puzzles.
The fighting feels fluid and satisfying. This gets better as you level up your characters RPG elements and unlock a vast range of attacks and abilities.
Unfortunately, Immortals Fenyx Rising gets very repetitive, tasking you to complete the same few puzzle and challenge styles over and over again with no introduction of new types of puzzles throughout the game. This is further exacerbated by the fact that it’s a long game – 70 hours in to playing, I was bored to tears and still had over half the game left to do!
Immortals Fenyx Rising is a great game by Ubisoft, but it’s far too long. Perhaps, if there was a bigger range of puzzles and challenges it may have ranked a little higher on this list.
#9 - Moonlighter
This cute little indie game took me a little while to get in to. But when I started to understand the game and its potential I was hooked!
In this game, you run a shop called Moonlighter. By day you sell your wares, setting just the right price for each and every item to ensure you get maximum profit without making people angry that you’re ripping them off. By night you trawl the local dungeons, collecting loot and mysterious objects to sell in your store. The more money you make, the better gear you can afford. Therefore, the more dangerous dungeons you can explore to get rarer loot to sell for even more money. You can also buy upgrades for your store, too.
After a while, you start to unravel the origin of these mysterious dungeons until you finally come to a shocking revelation.
I really enjoyed playing Moonlighter all the way through. There is enough content to keep you interested. Also, the game isn’t too long, so you won’t get bored before the end.
#8 - STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order™
I have played a LOT of really bad Star Wars games in my time. Especially some of the older ones; not that there wasn’t some real gems though, mind you.
Two of my favourite Star Wars games are Force Unleashed 1&2. They were well made, had a good storyline, nice graphics…etc..
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is right up there with the Force Unleashed games!
You play as an enigmatic, ginger-haired Jedi who spent much of his life hiding his true identity for fear of being captured and killed. After an unforeseeable sequence of events you find yourself on the run to save your life.
The story really makes this game great. The beautiful and varied environments are immersive. And the action is both fun and satisfying.
#7 - Little Big Workshop
As you may already know, I love sim-style games. Little Big Workshop is no exception. Don’t let the cutesy look of this game fool you either. This is ball-deep sim game with many different elements to consider such as construction, research, business practices, contracts, competitors, staff efficiency, parts management and delivery.
You start off building simple wooden items such as toys and furniture using simple work stations. As you progress further you will get access to a range of different power tools and specialised construction stations that allow your workers to complete their tasks much more efficiently.
Throughout the entire game you must keep on top of market trends, ensuring that whatever product(s) you’re producing can be sold for a profit. More profit means better tools. Better tools means producing either more expensive and complex products or being able to produce vast quantities of less expensive products really quickly.
There’s so much to consider and balance while constructing and running your Little Big Workshop. While all the time you must ensure the happiness of your workers.
This is a really fun game. If you’re a fan of sim-style or ‘-tycoon’ games, then I really suggest you give Little Big Workshop one a try.
#6 - Farming Simulator 19 & 22
Yes, I know I’m cheating by having 2 games in one here. But both of the Farming Simulator games are just so great!
I won’t go in to too much detail here as I recently wrote a somewhat in depth article on Farming Simulator 22 vs Farming Simulator 19 – go give that a read if you want to know more about these great games and what makes them deserving of being part of this Top 10 Best Games on Google Stadia for 2021
#5 - Borderlands 3
If you haven’t played any of the Borderlands games yet then you seriously need to get in more…. and play this game! I’m sure many will agree that it deserves a spot on the Top 10 Best Games on Google Stadia for 2021 list.
Borderlands 3 is a hilariously funny game where you play as a vault hunter, locating ancient vaults, cracking them open, killing the beast within and getting that sweet, sweet loot.
You have 4 main characters/classes you can chose:
- Amara – Siren
- Zane – Operative
- Moze – Gunner
- FL4K – Beastmaster
Each class has its own unique set of abilities and play styles associated with them.
What’s even better is the cross-platform multiplayer abilities and tonnes of DLC that will keep you (and your friends) coming back for more.
#4 - Journey to the Savage Planet
In this bizarre explorer-shooter you have been sent to a planet to confirm (or unconfirm) the existence of intelligent life.
While exploring this weird but beautiful planet you will come across a huge range of bugs, birds, killer plants and other strange creatures. Some are friendly and will cause you no harm, unless provoked. Others will attack you without a moment’s notice.
Journey to the Savage Planet has some neat RPG elements, allowing you to upgrade your gun, your suit, abilities, and a few other things.
What’s more is that Google Stadia players actually play Journey to the Savage Planet: Employee of the Month Edition. This includes the base game plus the Hot Garbage DLC expansion. It also runs at 60fps, too.
Journey to the Savage Planet is a unique game made up from well known game elements and mechanics. I highly recommend giving this one a try.
#3 - ARK: Survival Evolved
Us Google Stadia players waited a long time to play ARK: Survival Evolved. The release date was put off for many months. When ARK finally dropped on Stadia, many players weren’t happy. I, who had not played ARK on any other platform until it came out on Stadia was also a little disappointed, too. However, my main gripe was with the constant frame lag and the stupidly low draw distance.
Thankfully, the developers listened to the community and did a few tweaks and released a much more playable update.
Although perfectly playable on console, I would definitely suggest playing ARK: Survival Evolved on a desktop PC if possible, simply to make the menu navigation much quicker and easier.
If you’re a first time player, prepare to die over and over and over again – I certainly did!
Once I got the hang of the game, got some clothes/armour, upgraded my weapons and and captured a few dinos I started to find the game much easier and I started dying considerably less.
The maps in ARK are huge, with a range of biomes and tonnes of dinosaurs, fish, and insects – most of which will try to kill you. Therefore, collecting resources and building yourself somewhere to keep yourself and your stuff safe is an absolute must.
I love the building tools in ARK and the huge list of things you can build that you unlock as you level up. This is one of those game that you can start playing and before you know it, several hours have flew by but you still want to play more.
#2 - DOOM Eternal
DOOM Eternal simply had to be on this list of the Top 10 Best Games on Google Stadia for 2021. I enjoyed it that much that it almost made #1!
id Software did an incredible job with this game. Everything that embodies DOOM games and shooters was just so incredibly well balanced and presented in a way that had me shouting and cheering at my TV screen at times.
DOOM Eternal is great if you’ve had a bit of a crappy day – being able to come home and blows out the brains of demons, break their necks, stamp on their heads and chop them up in to pieces is simply perfect for relieving stress.
With the exception to the really bad platforming sections of the game (that I really hate because I suck at them), DOOM Eternal is non-stop brutality and carnage – all played along to an awesome soundtrack.
Fast thinking, quick footwork and resource management are the required skills to kicking ass and surviving in DOOM Eternal.
The relatively recent release of patch 6.66 added a tonne of extra features and content to this already great game.
#1 - Cyberpunk 2077
If you couldn’t anticipate Cyberpunk 2077 being at the top of our Top 10 Best Games on Google Stadia for 2021 then you simply must not have played it yet.
Fortunately, Google Stadia was (and arguably still is) the best place to play Cyberpunk 2077 with few bugs and great graphics.
The first time I saw Night City, with all its glorious neon signs, unique individuals all doing their own thing, huge towering skyscrapers, the vehicles, the guns, the cybernetic implants, I was in awe. The whole game looked and felt amazing and incredibly immersive.
Cyberpunk 20277’s story great, too. It’s well written and gives you a huge amount of choice to pick and chose your own path and how you want to interact with the people and environment around you.
There was not one single moment where I was bored while playing Cyberpunk 2077. I truly enjoyed every minute of it. And that is why it’s our #1 Best Game on Google Stadia for 2021.
Final Thoughts
I’m not going to lie, it was a really tough decision for each and every game on this list. There are simply so many great games on Google Stadia right now, many of which I haven’t had time to play yet – I can only truly and fairly comment on games that I have played.
What are some of your favourite games that you have played on Stadia in 2021? Let us know in the comments section.
Also, check back regularly for more exciting gaming content here on GlobalGeek.
