The Best Games from GMTK Game Jam 2021

Earlier this month, viewers like you were
part of another record-breaking, server-smashing,

game-making marathon.

I'm talking, of course, about the
GMTK Game Jam for 2021.

More than 21,000 people signed up to take
part, and they managed to bash together more

than 5,800 games.

Making it, once again, the biggest jam we've
ever held.

As per usual, participants were challenged to design
their game around a theme - and this year

it was "Joined Together".

And so we saw a load of games where objects
were combined and connected and tied to one another.

Sometimes literally, sometimes not.

Now, while I'd love to play every single game…

I don't have a couple months to spare.

So I crowdsourced it: players left over 150,000
ratings, which left me with the top 100 games

to play.

And I have to say - the quality this year
was incredible, with so many creative, inventive,

engaging, and enjoyable games.

But, I can only choose 20 as my absolute favourites.

So, without further ado - and in no particular
order - these are the best games of the GMTK

Game Jam for 2021.

Every jam, a game comes along that kinda just
blows my mind a little bit.

This time, that honour goes to Rift Shift.

This is a platform game with two little windows
that you can pick up and move about.

And, basically, anything that appears in one
window will also appear in the other.

And so to get your tiny wizard to the flag,
you'll need to place one window in the gap

in front of him, and use the other window
to sample a bit of background with some steps.

Now, you've got a route to the exit.

It's awfully clever.

There are also great puzzles that come from
moving the rift over the character, phasing

in stuff like doors and pressure-sensitive
buttons - before phasing them back out again.

And later levels introduce turrets that can
be blocked by creative use of the windows.

This game is part platformer, part selection
tool from Photoshop, and all around amazing.

Give it a go.

This year we saw a whole bunch of
puzzlers where boxes join together when you

touch them.

I count at least five in the top 100.

My favourite of the bunch, though, was Sleepy
Blocks.

This is a game where you control a smiley-faced
square in a grid-based world of snoozing friends.

If you enter an adjacent tile, the sleepy
cubes wake up and join with you to create

a brand new shape.

And so, thus begins a bunch of puzzles about
carefully picking up new polygons in order

to reach the exit.

It's about picking the right path and choosing
the correct order.

But then a new mechanic is introduced: cracked
floor tiles that can turn into deadly pits,

and must be carefully avoided.

But then, there are puzzles where you want
to use the pits, in order to split your shape.

This game has a great understanding of puzzle
design and was simply a joy to play.

Okay, let me pick one more game about joining
together blocks.

Just because this one is very different.

It's called Puzzle Sigma.

The idea for this one is that you play as
a mathematical symbol - starting as a plus

sign - and you can attach yourself to big
chunky number blocks.

If you get a number on the left and right,
your body becomes a mathematical equation

and the answer can be used to unlock doors.

So pick up a 1 and a 3, and you'll be able
to unlock the door marked 4.

It's alarmingly clever and deserves endless
points for making a game about maths that's

actually enjoyable.

Things get real complicated when you start
playing with numbers bigger than 9, and multiple

symbols, and puzzles where you get different
answers as you rotate around.

And at that point, I started to panic.

But if you've got a better nose for numbers
than me, I think you'll really enjoy this

game.

If letters are more your thing, though, check
out Factori.

Essentially an entire Zachtronics game made
in 48 hours, Factori is a problem-solving

puzzler with one raw material - the letter
I - and about 26 different products - the

rest of the alphabet.

You see, if you bend, rotate, flip, and combine
the letter I - using these colourful machines

on the right over here - it's possible to
spit out any other letter.

And so the game is as much about building
an efficient factory floor as it is about

thinking creatively about shapes.

How do you make a G?

I guess that's a bent I, a normal I, and a
rotated I… yeah, got it!

I can't give it full points for originality
- anyone who's played SpaceChem or Opus Magnum

will recognise the core concept immediately.

But it's done with such alarming proficiency
that it really does deserve a nod.

We saw a fair few arena battlers in the jam
- that's always a smart way to make the most

out of the short time limit.

One that really worked for me was Ghostel.

This is, ultimately, a pretty simple game.

You control two different ghostbusting geezers
at the same time - and as long as they're

close enough to one another, a big deadly
laser beam arcs between their guns.

Now, anything caught in the middle will be
vaporised - leading to a fun and frantic twin-stick

arena shooter where you fight ghosts, cursed
furniture, and, uh, the Windows logo.

Play it in singleplayer and it's a game that
will test your coordination.

Play it with a friend and it's a game that
will test your relationship.

I'd like to have seen a few more twists on
the idea, but it's a great start for a game.

Another arena battler I dug was the very innovative
Grappling Scarf.

In this one you play as a square with a rather
long white scarf, while trails behind you

like the body in Snake.

You can use this as a massive shield to wrap
it around the base in the middle of the screen

- and protect it from incoming bullets.

But look at the end of the scarf: it's got
a hook, which can be used to pick up bombs.

Now you can drag them away from your base,
and hit space to split your scarf in half.

Now you can go off and do more work while
you wait for the bomb to blow up.

Later, however, you'll want to go back to
your discarded scarf and pick it back up - because

every time you disconnect a bit of your body,
you become shorter and less effective as a shield.

It's a weird, but wholly original game where
you're having to constantly put out fires,

make small sacrifices for long-term gain,
and ebb and flow between bodies that are big

and small.

Safe to say, I liked it.

Here's a theme I wasn't expecting in the jam:
using a hook-shot to pull bits of a level,

to rearrange the play space.

Like the very polished puzzle platformer Whale
Eater.

My pick, though, is Phasing Puller.

And that comes from a very small restriction
on your powers - that happens to change everything.

Your hookshot only works when it goes through
one object - that's what powers it to latch

onto something and drag it back.

Otherwise, it don't work.

This leads to a number of clever and thoughtful
levels about moving blocks for jumping on,

and powered up energy cells for puzzle solving.

I also liked the minimalist art style: if
you've only got 48 hours to make graphics,

limit your colour palette to create a cohesive
style in no time at all.

Technology is all about joining things together,
whether that's using different dongles to

connect up a laptop, chairing multiple Zoom
meetings at once, or physically connecting

phone calls using a switchboard.

In fact, there we two switchboard-based games
in the top 100, and while I dug the narrative

thread throughout Hello, Operator, my pick
of the pair was Telephone Trouble.

The idea is the same: use wires to make a
connection between caller and recipient.

But this one's way more manic: you've got
five cables to play with.

Phone calls pile up like orders in an Overcooked
restaurant.

You'll be frantically checking the phone book
to find people's calling codes.

And - every now and again - someone will need
the hospital and you'll have to drop everything

to answer their emergency.

It's a rapid fire, high score-chasing arcade
gem with gorgeous graphics.

Give it a play.

Another common element in this jam's top 100
was constellations - such as the stunning

and relaxing photography gem, Star Snap.

But one game just outdid it for me: it's called
Peaceful Evening Among the Stars.

It's a puzzle game, about connecting up stars
to make constellations.

You can only drag a certain distance away
from a bright colourful star, so you'll need

to use other, smaller stars as stepping stones.

Things soon get more complex when different
coloured stars are introduced, forcing you

to get clever about overlapping and circumnavigating
other stars.

I feel like I've said stars a lot.

Anyway, it's just a polished, professional,
and eminently playable game.

Basically, when I've got to rush through 100
games to get the results out for a bunch of

impatient game jammers… well if I end up
playing one game all the way to the end…

I think I can safely say I liked it.

There's always a pixel art puzzle platformer
or two in the top 100.

This year, one of my favourites was I Gacha
Head.

It's got nothing to do with loot boxes or
micro-transactions, thankfully.

Instead, it's an adorable game about a tiny
man and his giant hat.

The hat gives you the extra height needed
to grab keys - but it also makes you too towering

to squeeze through tight gaps.

So, soon enough, you'll need to use a low
ceiling to knock your hat clean off - returning

you to a smaller size.

And then, once you've done what you need to
do, it's back to the hat.

It's a charming game, packed with puzzles
and even bonus puzzles - I'd be keen to see

where the creators could take this with even
more time.

Okay. This one almost makes me reconsider
the rule that there's no max team size.

It's called Static Cling.

It's a Nitrome-esque platformer where you
play as a ball of pulsing energy who always

starts on a plug head.

Now you've got to make your way to the socket,
but you're very limited in the way you can

travel.

Like, you can stretch out into the world but
only so far because you're joined together

with a power source.

If you link to a bulb, though, you can travel
through the wires and pop out on the other

side.

Later, you'll be able to use yourself to power
on machines like big chunky doors.

And also transfer yourself into little robots
for more freeform movement.

This leads to a metric butt tonne of clever
puzzles and set-ups.

Look, you could buy this game on the Switch eShop
and not even know it was made in a weekend.

The huge team at Team Bugulon is clearly a
game-making monster.

Well done.

Squeaking in at overall rating position 100
is Tether n' Feather.

Or should that be squawking in?

This is a parrot-themed platformer with a
big difference.

To get over gaps, you need to do a big jump
as one parrot - and then switch to the second.

Now, parrot number two can use their buddy
as a grapple point to do a big, looping, arcing

swing before rocketing out the other side
and - hopefully - onto dry land.

Later, you'll get golden feathers that let
you do more jumps and swaps in mid-air, leading

to frantic back-and-forth chains as you leap
from parrot to parrot.

Now, don't get me wrong - it's a little tricky
to get used to.

But once you get the rhythm right, you'll
be soaring towards the goal in a game that

mixes fast-pace thrills with strategic placement.

Good stuff.

Next up is Mrs. Modifier.

This is an arcade adventure - on a cabinet
with not enough buttons for all the actions

you need.

I mean, left, right, and jump won't really
cut it when you also need to climb, air dash,

crouch, and drop through platforms.

So, you can open up the arcade machine and
rewire the controls for yourself.

Like, make going to the right also perform
an air-dash, or have going to the left do

double duty as fall through platforms.

It seems like a clever sight gag of a game,
but it's actually a clever puzzler where you

need to assess the screen ahead of you and
make decisions about how you can assign all

the necessary actions without breaking things.

I really enjoyed this, and it took a very
different twist on the theme.

One of the most popular themes for the top
100 was games where different bits of the

world can be jumbled up and joined together
in unique combinationas.

Including a mini minotaur maze, and a clever
mix between Minit and Carto.

But my pick of the bunch has got to be the
micro Metroidvania, Octo and the Pocket Dimensions.

In this one, you find new rooms as big floating
floppy disks - and can then return to a massive

central computer, to rearrange the maze of
room tiles to make further progress.

Very cool - though, we've seen similar stuff
in previous jams.

What I loved, though, was the clever ways
that developer IceburgLettuce built on the

idea.

For example, there are keys to pick up, but
they disappear when you use the computer - so

you'll need to ensure that the key room is
en route to the corresponding door.

And even smarter, one room has a big bouncy
trampoline which can spring you out of one

room - and then over obstacles in another
- so plopping down rooms can have ramifications

that spill out beyond their walls.

Ah!

It's basically like that dungeon from Skyward
Sword, if Skyward Sword was on the Game Boy.

And if you've watched my channel at all, you'll
understand why I couldn't resist this game's

charms.

Next up is Space Scrap Shuffle.

It's not the most attractive game in the jam,
but looks can be deceiving.

In this one, you ram your spaceship into floating
bits and pieces to add them to your every-growing

Frankenstein's Monsters of a battle cruiser.

Like turrets for fire power, and bulkheads
for shields.

And now you can chase down enemies and blow
them up - but you'll want to be careful as

any leftover Lego pieces can be added to your
own ship.

So you'll want to play carefully - only destroying
the command module, but leaving the turrets

unharmed.

Luckily, the game's got a generous tactical
pause system for precision decisions.

Another cool idea is that you can jettison
bits of your own body and blow them up, in

order to get health for other modules.

There's a lot of decision making in this one.

There's a load more you could do with this
game - and it suffers the same balance problem every

game of this ilk has: it's too easy to become
utterly overpowered.

But it's a great base for a smashing jam entry.

Here's a really neat game with a lot of potential
for growth.

It's called Threadbound.

It starts out as a simple platformer.

Move, jump, push.

But then something special happens: you can
open an overlay above the gameplay, and here

you can create a green thread between multiple
objects.

And now, when you interact with one - the
other one changes too.

Thread two boxes together, and you can now move
both just by pushing one of them.

Eventually you'll be able to choose whether
to thread your needle through the object's

X or Y axis, allowing for either horizontal
or vertical movement.

A platform that goes up, when you push a box
to the side.

This led to one of the best individual puzzles
I saw in the jam - though, to spoil it would

be a shame.

So I'll leave you to play it for yourself.

Ultimately, there's so much more this game
could do: it feels like a cheeky teaser for

the next must-play puzzle game.

Threadbound wasn't the only game to tinker
with tapestry.

Like the tricky climbing game Utterly Threadful,
or my next pick: Loop.

In a world of sentient buttons and fluffballs,
your tiny needlework hero must plop down a

cotton reel and then encircle a bunch of objects
in a big loop of thread.

You don't want to capture just any old stuff
in your circle: you're given a recipe - some

fluff, some fabric, and some buttons to make
a teddy bear - and so must only pick the right

objects.

And I think that's really sweet!

This could have been yet another sci-fi shooter
about rounding up aliens and robots in order

to destroy them.

But instead it's about making toys and clothes.

A pertinent reminder to think outside the
box when it comes to aesthetics and not land

on the obvious first choice.

I love how a game jam can produce games that
are basically just a funny joke.

They probably wouldn't work as a full, paid-for
release: but as a one-off freebie made in

a weekend, you can get away with turning your
game into a gag.

And that includes Tongue-Tied.

This is a silly game about a girl who has
licked an icy pole in the winter, and her

tongue has gotten stuck.

That means you can only move a small distance
away - but if you pick up these balls of energy,

your tongue gets longer.

And so in order to escape this nightmare you
need to keep increasing the length of your

tongue, carefully wrapping it around walls
and thinking about distance.

This lets you get further and further away
from the pole - and hopefully, towards freedom.

The final punchline is well worth seeing.

Next up, this is Ball to the Wall.

This is a frantic football-style rampage of
a game.

You're joined together with a massive pink
ball that makes it awfully hard to get anywhere

fast.

But, if you stand behind it you can give the
ball a big kick - and use it to smash through

enemies and walls alike.

This does fling you forward, so you'll need
to be quick on your toes to reposition yourself

for the next kick.

Or, to use your ball as a shield as it does
double duty as a way of deflecting bullets.

This is a fun game, with a lot of charm.

And finally, this is SparkLink.

This game is all about controlling two characters
with completely different rules, options,

and even input methods.

The spark is controlled with the mouse, and
can basically go anywhere your cursor can.

The robot is controlled with the keyboard,
is more concerned with gravity and ground,

and only works when it's joined together with
the spark.

And so we get a bunch of really cool puzzles
where you need to think critically and carefully

about how these two very different characters
are going to move in order to get to the goal

- and help, but not hinder each other.

This is a polished and very smart game - go
check it out.

Okay, I wanted to leave you with some honourable
mentions!

Though, I should state that every game in
the top 100 was amazing and well worth playing.

These are just a few games I wanted to highlight.

Horse Divorce is a barmy Sokoban puzzler about
a two headed horse who must find its other

head for a smooch.

UI Warrior is an inventive game about using
bits of the interface as platforms: it almost

made the video, but I think we have enough
puzzle platformers in here.

Holosaur and Twominator are two games about
using your past self to solve puzzles, but

unfortunately I highlighted something similar
in the past.

And Top & Tom is a brilliant twist on the
endless runner genre - with a really mean

difficulty curve.

So there we have it.

You can browse all 5,800 games over on itch.io
- and you can also now see the public's rankings

for all the games.

Thank you so much to everyone who took part
in the jam, or just rated some games, or chatted

with us on Discord, or watched my streams.

Thanks to my mods on Discord and YouTube,
and to everyone who made our awesome team

finder app.

And thanks to my Patrons, as always.

The jam will, of course, be back in 2022.

So subscribe to the channel to receive the
date announcement… sometime next year.

Thanks for watching.

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