It’s almost April, so it’s about that time of the year when I finally get through the backlog of games from the year before and put together a game of the year list. Which is good, because the decent 2023 releases are starting to come out and I’m already falling behind.
This year had a lot of good games, some great games, and very few exceptional games. I’ll post a complete list of the games I played (chronologically) at the bottom, but there were 5 games that didn’t quite make my list that were very unlucky, because they were about as good as the bottom 3 or so that did. So technically I should make this a top 15 – and I absolutely could given the number of games I played, but I decided to stick to my guns and draw a hard line at 10. So here we go.
10. We Were Here Forever (PC)
Last year’s number 10 was Operation Tango. I swear I’m not just saving this spot for the best co op puzzler each year. We Were Here Forever wasn’t the only co op puzzler I played this year, but it was hands down the best. Make sure you get off Discord/whatever voice chat you normally use when you’re playing and experience the joys of forgetting to press ‘talk’ on the radio and wondering why your partner isn’t listening, or pressing talk exactly as they do and cutting them off. It’s like the olden times! The olden times were horrible though. This game is not. Grab a friend and go play it. Also I have no idea if it’s better or worse than the previous ‘We Were Here’ titles because I didn’t know this franchise even existed before playing this one.
9. Stray (PS5)
You’re a cat! Meow!
(I was actually going to leave the review as just that, but I thought it was worth mentioning that this game absolutely wins the Pets Choice Award (if there were such a category, but there isn’t). Crumpet (my new Golden) absolutely loved watching the cat walk around. And my older grumpier cat Biscuit also spent some time watching as well, although less enthusiastically.)
8. Cult of the Lamb (PC)
I probably would never have played this game if not for all the great reviews it was getting at the time of release. So… you’re a lamb, and it’s a roguelike dungeon crawler that is also a cult (town, basically) building SIM. You sacrtifice people and sometimes make them eat poop at the request of others in your cult. Look it’s undoubtedly weird but those seemingly unrelated elements end up working super well together. If you like cute things, even moreso if you like making them feel bad, you should give this a go.
7. Grounded (PC)
So the person I played this with (hi Lachlan) had this as their #1 game on their Game of the Year list (which you can find here, if you like lists that come out within 2 months of the year ending which seems weak to me). And yet here I have it at #7. There are several possible reasons for this. It could be that Lachlan simply has a secret shrinking fantasy stemming from seeing Honey I Shrunk the Kids as a child. It could be that he just rates anything on Xbox Game Pass highly because he’s a shill. It could be that his PC was more capable and therefore made the game more enjoyable (mine surprisingly struggled for large sections rendering me unable to block/parry or be remotely useful in combat for large chunks – though to be fair at some point I rebooted my PC for the first time in weeks and it made it a lot better, whoops). But despite this falling to number 7, and my PC having issues hampering my ability to enjoy it, enjoy it I did anyway. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the moment I followed Lachlan into the tall grass (or thought I did, he was nowhere near) only to come face to face to not one, but TWO giant wolf spiders just outside our base. The game really did involve a lot of screaming and running, as all good games should. But if you REALLY don’t like spiders, you can always turn the arachnaphobia slider up to full and reduce them to tiny floating balls. Or just go hang out in spider free zones like the pond.
HAHA I LIE THERE ARE UNDERWATER SWIMMING SPIDERS THAT ATTACK WHEN YOU FEEL COMPLETELY VULNERABLE AND ARE PROBABLY THE WORST OF ALL.
But yes, it’s fun. And multiplayer is done well (as you’d hope since it’s clearly built around it, but this isn’t always the case). Strong contender for co-op game of the year, for sure.
6. Horizon Forbidden West (PS5)
I often tell people that I wasn’t hyped about the original Horizon game because the premise sounded a bit dumb. What possible explanation could a game have for robot dinosaurs? And when I actually played it I was stunned to find that not only was the explanation somewhat plausible (in the realms of sci-fi, at least) that the backstory created for the world was one of the best I’ve ever experienced in a game. The story of Aloy herself was fine – nothing special – but uncovering the history of the world and everything that led to robot dinosaurs is what made that game shine. And so, given that all of that was already revealed, I found myself once again not really hyped for Horizon Forbidden West. And once again, I was wrong. Well, I was partially wrong. The continued story of the history of Earth wasn’t bad, but this time it’s the improvement in characters and Aloy’s own story that makes this game what it is. And no, that’s still not SPECTACULAR by any means, but it’s much better than the first game, and coupled with all the other elements (big rich world, learning more abount the past, cool new robot dinosaurs) it once again makes for a pretty good game. The only real gripe and the reason it’s not higher on this list is one complaint I’ve seen others (usually games journalists) say in the past and think ‘that’s ridiculous’. However, in this case, I have to say I found it to be true. The game is TOO big. There’s too much. There’s a million different collectables, the map is huge, the number of side quests is… a lot. I finished the game, but I could probably go play for three times longer and still not finish everything. The idea of getting the platinum trophy for Horizon Forbidden West is daunting, and it didn’t take long for me to realise I would not be attempting it (in contrast, I platinumed Horizon Zero Dawn). But hell, if you want value for money and can’t afford too many games – this would be a damn good pickup. And if I wasn’t trying to rush to finish my enormous backlog (making me understand the complaints of those games journalists) maybe I wouldn’t think of this as a negative at all.
One final note though, the graphics are STUNNING. My partner played it before I did, and I walked past when she had Aloy just standing in a stream in the jungle. I asked if it was a cut scene. She said no, I then made her move the camera because I didn’t believe her. It looked that good.
5. The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Edition (PC)
Wait, this game came out ages ago! No, you’re thinking of the original game, not the ‘ultra deluxe edition’ which has so much extra content it basically counts as a new game. Even better, the new content often references the original game to build upon it, so you have both a nostalgia trip and also new and exciting things to find.
Look, I don’t want to say too much about this game because it’s absolutely the kind of game you should experience on your own. If you played the original and you liked it, you should play this game. It’s NOT just the same game again. Or, it is, but it’s SO much more. And as good as the original was, the Ultra Deluxe Edition manages to be even better. And if you haven’t played the original… well I don’t know what to tell you other than to go play it. Or just skip it and play this new version – I’m pretty sure you select at the start whether or not you’ve played the original or not so I’m sure it’s able to cater specifically for weirdos such as you.
4. Pentiment (PC)
Pentiment is a side scrolling multiple murder mystery game, where it’s up to you to decide who the guilty parties are and condemn them to death, despite never having sufficient information or feeling truly good about any of your decisions.
I know that doesn’t sound great, but trust me, it is.
Plus if you like the sound of a quill on parchment paper, boy is this the game for you. There’s so much quilly goodness. Also, you might feel compelled to look up what the word ‘pentiment’ means so you can look smart to all your friends. Don’t pretend you already know what it means, liar.
3. God of War: Ragnarok (PS5)
Okay, so we already knew this was obviously going to be good. God of War (2018) was amazing, and this is a direct sequel made by the same people. It couldn’t really go wrong. But even knowing this, as soon as the game started and the games villains were introduced I was once again struck by just how much better the voice acting talent is for this game than any of the other games I played this year. They really nail every casting choice. I didn’t think they could top the casting choice for Baldur in the first game – and maybe they didn’t, but they at least matched it with stellar performances across the board once again.
Ragnarok isn’t exactly going to shock anyone who has played the first game. It’s very much more of the same with some names and weather conditions changed, but it brings a wonderful close to this two-part God of War saga and leaves me really curious to find out what they’ll do next with this world, because they’ve clearly got more than one option up their sleeve after the conclusion.
Oh, and make sure you play through to the SECOND ending. In fact, there’s a lot to do after the first credits roll that is well worth doing to expand on the story. But I won’t go into specifics.
Also, just how freakin’ sweet is this?
2. A Plague Tale: Requiem (PS5)
So, when making this list I had seen this game pop up in the nominations for a few different game awards. My partner had already told me the first game (A Plague Tale: Innocence) was great, but I’d never played it. But knowing the second game was almost certainly a continuation of the first, despite struggling through the huge 2022 backlog, I decided to play A Plague Tale: Innocence and then A Plague Tale: Requiem, basically back to back. And I must say, A Plague Tale: Innocence was much better than I thought it would be. I was expecting a relatively short not-quite-indie game and what I got was a fairly disturbing but enthralling game of ‘how much shit can we put 2 kids through’. The graphics were a bit better than I expected, the game was a bit longer than I expected, and while the puzzle elements did get a little tedious sometimes, the concept was still so unique that I was never bored.
And then I moved onto the second game, which improved upon the first in every conceivable way. It has better graphics, it has better gameplay, it has better characters, it has better (and bigger) big moments, and it has a better ending. I honestly don’t think there’s a single thing that they haven’t improved upon from the first game. I have since read that when the developers (Asobo Studio) made the first game they weren’t planning for a sequel. This seems baffling to me considering how much it builds upon the first game and improves it, but I guess they just learnt so much from doing the first game that it enabled them to make an even better one second time around.
It’s still very much a game of ‘how much horrible shit can we subject these two children to’ but this game almost had me feeling elements of Uncharted on top of the usual rat-based horror, in the best possible ways. It’s not a perfect game, I experienced a couple of bugs that made me restart sections and the puzzling tedium still remains (although not as badly as there are often multiple ways to get past sections – though I did have to look up how to get past a few things which isn’t overly common for me), but I am truly glad I decided to commit and play through both games to be able to put it here at #2.
1. Elden Ring (PS5)
Oh boooo. How boring. How basic. Elden Ring is my Game of the Year. How utterly predictable.
Only, it isn’t really. Because I only ever tried to play one Dark Souls game – and while I put several hours into and got past the first boss, I found it clunky and awkward and while I could somewhat understand the appeal, it wasn’t for me. I don’t like games that are painful to play, basically. And yet all the reviews and previews and comments about this game had me so intrigued I just had to try it. And I honestly thought I’d regret it, and hate it. What I got though, was Breath of the Wild: Murder Edition. I know, everyone has compared this game to Breath of the Wild already, but that’s because it’s an apt comparison. You get thrown into the world with incredibly little guidance and are basically left to do whatever you want. In fact there’s a lot less guidance than Breath of the Wild because you don’t have a very obvious end boss in the middle of the map. You just have a giant glowing tree that means nothing to you and that you can’t get to. But if you try, you’ll die a thousand times. So you’ll go another direction, and die another thousand times. So you’ll go a third direction, and holy shit you actually managed to kill a minor boss. That felt GREAT. You’re really getting somewhere! And then you reach the first proper boss and he utterly annihilates you and sends you quickly back to reality. So you go somewhere else. And on the way to somewhere else, you see a little camp in a swamp with a few easy to kill guys sitting around a campfire. That’ll be some easy XP, you think. So you ride your mount towards them at full pace… only for a fucking dragon to suddenly crash out of the sky on top of them and tear them to shreds. ‘Nope’ you’ll say to yourself, so you’ll do a swift 90 degree turn and dash behind a fallen rock that has formed a small cave on the side of the swamp to protect you from the dragon. Straight into the lair of the giant crab, in other words, that immediately kills you.
This sounds terrible, I know, but IT ISN’T. SOMEHOW. It’s GREAT.
Elden Ring is everyone’s Game of the Year because it’s the best game that came out in 2022. Full stop. It’s exceptionally good.
Random other awards!
Best looking game: Horizon Forbidden West.
The Rocket League Award (Best ‘ongoing’ game): Rocket League… obviously.
Game that I probably should have played before making this list: Endling. Although I’m sure it would have just made me sad. Also Neon White and Metal Hellsinger.
2022 Pets Choice Award (HAHA I LIED): Stray.
Weirdest game that I wish I could find a spot for on my list: Immortality. It was good! Not good enough to be top 10, but good! And so very fucked.
Most disappointing game of the year: Without a doubt, this award goes to 2021’s ‘most anticipated game of 2022’, Dying Light 2 (PS5). Man oh man, what a fucking mess. They were so focused on the parkour elements (which aren’t any better than first game) that they somehow completely forgot that the premise of the whole game is to be afraid of the night. There’s nothing stopping you from going out at night anymore, it’s not scary at all. It takes ages to get volatiles and you probably won’t come across them at all at night out in the world. It was also buggy as hell, but I expected that from Techland. What I didn’t expect was them to completely forget the premise of their own game. I’ll be playing Dying Light again before I ever play the sequel again, sadly.
Worst game of the year: Perfect Tides (PC)
Perfect Tides seemed like a charming little coming of age story that I could knock out in a day or two. Unfortunately, what I got was a game where I couldn’t get past the first area. You have a broken wagon. The only place you can go is a nearby store. You go into the store. You obtain new wheels. You go back to the wagon. You click on the wagon. It hints that you need to use the wheels you obtained. But how, game? HOW? I ask this because there’s no clear way to open your inventory. There’s nothing on the screen to indicate how to do it, there’s no keys/help function in the options. I couldn’t find ANYTHING online telling me what the button was. So instead I clicked everything on the screen and then systematically pressed every button on the keyboard to figure out which one opened by backpack. None of them did. I refunded the game. What the actual fuck. I’ve never felt dumber, and yes there’s a good chance this is entirely my fault somehow, but good game design shouldn’t allow this to happen.
Most anticipated game of 2022: The Day Before
Hah, just kidding. This game is never coming out. Or if it does, it’ll be nothing like what was promised. What an epic hoax. In reality, probably Baldur’s Gate 3. Or controversially Hogwarts Legacy, which annoyingly looks great even though I kinda hoped it would be terrible. OR I’ll throw a wildcard entry in and say the PSVR2, which isn’t a game at all but something I’m determined to buy even though life events are very much suggesting I shouldn’t. We shall see.
Every 2022 game I played, chronologically:
Dying Light 2 (PS5)
Gran Turismo 7 (PS5)
Elden Ring (PS5)
Rogue Legacy 2 (PC)
Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Edition (PC)
Golf Gang (PC)
Perfect Tides (PC)
TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge (PC)
The Quarry (PS5)
Raft (PC)
Stacklands (PC)
Dorfromantic (PC)
We Were Here Forever (PC)
Stray (PS5)
Cult of the Lamb (PC)
Grounded (PC)
God of War: Ragnarok (PS5)
Pentiment (PC)
Escape Academy (PC)
Immortality (PC)
Horizon Forbidden West (PS5)
Tiny Tina’s Wonderland (PS5)
Vampire Survivors (PC)
As Dusk Falls (PC)
Olli Olli World (PS5)
Choo Choo Charles (PC)
Rogue Tower (PC)
A Plague Tale: Requiem (PS5)
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