Published 8/01/2023.

My Games of the Year 2022

Look, I’m not gonna gonna on any kind of big spiel. I finished twenty-three games that released in 2022, around a third of the total amount of games I finished overall this year. It’s been a bloody good year for video games, which shows when there is really only one game that I finished this year that I genuinely didn’t enjoy. Let’s jump right in with it!

23. Scorn (Xbox Series X)

Of all the games I played this year, Scorn is the sole one I’d describe as a ‘bad’ game. Of all the games on this list, Scorn is the only one I didn’t enjoy at some point. All the game really has going for it is it’s gorgeous, H.R Giger inspired art direction, and to an extent, it’s general vibes. Unfortunately, this grimdark, fantastical landscape is pointlessly convoluted to explore, puzzles range from incredibly simple to strangely, frustratingly annoying to deal with, and honestly, I found its depiction of suffering, gore, and general emotional aesthetics almost too much for my already liberal tastes. The fact all these terrible vibes culminate in an ending that can really only be described as pointless, and the amount of time I’ve been anticipating Scorn makes this without a doubt my biggest disappointment of the year. Still, the art is on point - I’d be interested to see what the studio produces in the future.

22. Pupparazzi

Pupperazzi may be the second lowest game on this list, but this shouldn’t be a deterrent. Pupperazzi is exactly what it says on the tin - this is a game about taking dog-centric photos in a dog-centric world, a world full of delightful little surprises and incredibly silly aesthetics. It’s a satisfying enough gameplay loop, but the fact is that of what little there is of this game, there isn’t much variety to what you’re actually doing, and as a side note, it’s actual moving and jumping (which is a surprisingly important part of the game) feel really, really bad. It’s not remotely a bad game, though; it’s just what it is.

21. AI: The Somnium Files: Nirvana Initiative

AI: The Somnium Files first entry stands as one of the best visual novels I’ve ever played - a deep, well written story full of incredibly endearing, stupid characters with some of the most heartfelt moments I can remember. And whilst Nirvana Initiative has some of these moments - especially in the actual Somnium dream sequences - the actual plot of the game falls flat on its face, having a truly ‘smarter than thou’ feeling to it. There’s a lot of odd character choices taken in this game - why are so many people attracted to teenagers? - and characters who pretty much had nothing to do with the main plot are shoe-horned in for typically lame jokes or just so they can. I was disappointed with Scorn, but my frustrations with Nirvana Initiative almost make me feel worse about this follow-up to one of my most beloved visual novels.

20. Ghost Song

I wish I’d play more Metroidvanias this year - even amongst every game I played this year, Ghost Song was the only one that really stuck out. Made by an extremely small team over the better part of a decade, Ghost Song feels like a modern, minimalist Metroid game. As an unnamed robot, you’ll be exploring a desolate, long-dead world, assisting a stranded group of humans in repairing their ship. Honestly, there isn’t a lot to talk about - it’s a starkly beautiful game and a lot of different kinds of weapons and abilities to play around with, but at the end of the day it’s a pretty stock-standard Metroidvania, and certain combinations of a bilities just feel so much stronger than others I just didn’t feel the need to experiment. Also, I wasn't really a fan of the game’s boss fights, which alternated between frustrating ordeals and pathetically easy fights that just felt like souped up normal foes. Still, the love the devs put into making this game really does shine through, and it's worth a shot on that alone. Besides, Metroidvanias are so rarely outright bad… or maybe I just liked Metroidvanias a little too much. Ah well.

19. Eiyuuden Chronicles: Rising

I’ve never played Suikoden, the spiritual predecessor created by the same man, though I certainly plan to. Upon seeing the beautiful trailer for the upcoming Eiyuuden Chronicles: 100 Heroes, it quickly became one of my most anticipated games, but thankfully we’re also getting the side story: Eiyuuden Chronicles: Rising to tide us over. Existing as a sort of prelude, featuring several of the characters that’ll pop up in 100 Heroes, Rising is a sort of side-scrolling action RPG, featuring protagonist CJ delving into the depths of ancient ruins for treasure. In all honesty, the gameplay isn’t great, feeling repetitive, lacking in depth, and honestly quite easy. Where this game shines, however, is in its characterisation, with our three main protagonists and their relationships between each other feeling fully formed and delightfully lovable. And the main side-gameplay loop, of completing fetch quests to rebuild a struggling town, can feel repetitive, but there’s a real sense of community fostered through these occasionally ‘eh’ tasks. I think I’m in the minority for really liking this game, but I think that comes down to just how much I love the cast - I really hope they get more of a focus in 100 Heroes, since I really do love them that much.

18. You Will (Not) Remain

Developed by local Melbourne team Bedtime Phobias, You Will (Not) Remain is a stark, eldritch-infused treatise on the life us Melbournians went through as ‘the most locked down city in the world’. With minimalist art that conveyed the dread, uncertainty, and repetition many of us went through, this game is something really special. I’m hesitant to say more, except that everyone should give this game a try. It’s less than an hour long, and I think it’s the kind of game every different player will have a different reaction to. It’s the epitome of an artistic game, and I think that’s enough to tide you over.

17. Vampire Survivors

Look, you probably already know what Vampire Survivors is; it’s kicked off an entire new video game genre, the ‘bullet heaven’, and the feelings of euphoria and serotonin this game provides are, at times, second to none. But the fact is that whilst I do still genuinely have a good time playing Vampire Survivors, it’s the kind of game I can only throw whilst watching something or whatnot. The fact that after a while the game can kind of play itself, and that there isn’t a huge variety of content does make me turn off the game quicker then I’d like. I only got the game for a few bones, so I can rate it that lowly - it’s very toylike in nature, with a great pick up and play system that’s good for small bursts.

16. Tunic

Tunic is a weird one on this list. It’s been a consistent indie darling, championed all year, and I like this game. I like this game a lot! It’s just… I think I love the idea of Tunic more than actually playing Tunic. It’s beautiful, with a real pop-up aesthetic, and with its NES Zelda aesthetics and amazingly designed in-game manual it’s a game like no other. The sense of satisfaction that comes from solving the game's cryptic hints and puzzles, or stumbling upon an entirely different area brought me back to my childhood. The thing is though… I don’t really love playing it. Combat has a real clunky feel to it, especially in the boss fights, and with the game’s already pretty nasty difficulty, this can turn some fights into real slogs. And the puzzles, whilst fantastic, many of them - especially the incredibly designed Golden Path - feel that little bit too obscure to solve without outside help, giving me the stress of not knowing if I was kind of meant to look things up online or not. It’s still a wonderful game, one I recommend to everyone, but the fact is the game’s concept and beauty clicked with me far more than actually playing it did.

15. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands

Borderlands is one of my favorite franchises - the perfect marriage of turning off your brain and grinding, and I’m one of the insane people that actually likes the dumb humor and writing that is commonly seen as a blight on the franchise. Wonderland pushes that insanity to the next level, whilst also pulling back on some areas I actually enjoyed from previous titles. Its story is rubbish, even by Borderlands standards, being a recreation of a D&D campaign, but there’s very little to write home about, outside of quips from the player’s party members and antagonist, The Dragon Lord. The main story just kind of… happens, but thankfully the side quests are actually pretty engaging, with an entire area being set off the beaten part, full of their own quest chains and characters to play around with. Unfortunately, whilst it was nice to design my own character, they lack almost any personality, and I liked the little bits of characterisation I got from previous Borderlands playable characters. The gunplay is also… fine, I guess, but it just felt a little lacking, especially compared to how awesome Borderlands 3 felt to play, though I enjoyed the addition of magic spells as an additional grenade-like ability. It’s certainly not a bad game - almost none of the games on this list are - but it’s certainly a weaker entry from the franchise than I was expecting - probably better then the original Borderlands, but weaker than the rest. Still absolutely worth a play, especially for the side quests, but temper your expectations, I suppose.

14. Trombone Champ

Trombone Champ is… yeah. I honestly suggest just reading my review HERE for it. The little Dark Souls clone that could.

13. Nobody Saves The World

If I’m remembering correctly, Nobody Saves The World was the first 2022 game that I finished last year. It was one of those games I saw the poster for and just didn’t have any interest in it - the art direction is, for lack of a better term, kinda weird. But when I watched The Completionist’s review on Nobody Saves The World, I realized it was the ultimate culmination of my ADHD lifestyle. Nobody Saves The World is a distilled action RPG dopamine mine, constantly throwing miniquests (kill x enemies with x class) for its variety of subclasses you can morph into. With dozens of dungeons to plunder, storylines to follow, and a genuinely well designed open world to embark on… this game is just genuine, old-school fun. It does grow a little repetitive over time, and you’ll be quick to find class strategies that work far more consistently then weaker options, but at the end of the day, Nobody Saves The World is worth your time, especially if you’re a fan of RPGS, constant tick boxes to check off, and a bizarre, almost proto Rick-and-Morty style sense of humor. Necromancer best class.

12. Immortality

Charlie, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry, I wanted to put it higher.

Immortality is, without a doubt, the most unique game I’ve played this year. I’ve had mutuals online having the most severe case of brainworms regarding this game, and I still had no idea what to expect. Immortality puts you in the role of a film archivist, stitching together footage of three different movies starring missing film actress Marissa Marcel. What originally begins as an exploration of a struggling, mysterious, yet incredibly talented actress quickly morphs into something very, very strange, yet incredibly addictive to explore and unveil. The game is almost entirely presented in several minute clips, consisting of excerpts from films, TV promotions, behind the scenes footage, and candid, revealing footage. Slowly, you’ll be unveiling the story of why none of Marissa Marcel’s films were ever released… and the truth of who Marissa actually is. I’m hesitant to speak much more on what’s actually going on in Immortality, but the performances and general aesthetics are unmatched. Really, my only real problem is it can be tough to actually unveil the story into a more linear, well-explained sequence; I spent a lot of time just jumping between films somewhat randomly, and I’m still not quite sure on the exact story of Immortality, or the efficient way to actually get to these nitty-gritty secrets. The secrets themselves are awesome… I'm not really a fan of the path to them.

Immortality is a unique case on this list, as I haven’t had the chance to truly dive into the nitty-gritty truths of this game. Expect a new review in 2023 sometime, as I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say about Immortality in the future. In any case, Immortality is vastly unlike anything else released this year, not just what I’ve played, and its concepts and style alone are worth a play, regardless of your thoughts overall on this game.

11. Justice Sucks

Whilst I’m a little biased in regards to Justice Sucks: Tactical Vacuum Action, as one of my friends was the producer on this game, I’d say even without that bias I’d love Justice Sucks just as much. Featuring the story of a Roomba fighting to save his family from his creators, Justice Sucks is insane, combining elements of stealth, strategy - and even a bit of Street Fighter-style fighting - there is no game I’ve ever played that feels like Justice Sucks. It’s irreverent, ridiculous humor and addictive nature (I spent far, far too long getting the #1 spot on a level’s leaderboard) kept me engaged the entire time - I just wish there was a bit more to do in its relatively scant playtime.

10. Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes

I’m honestly not the biggest fan of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Whilst its characters are amongst the best the series has ever seen, I just didn’t care for its structure, much of its map design, and narrative (though having done the Church route, that’s on me). Thankfully, I’m a huge fan of the Musou subgenre, and upon hearing that Three Hopes was a what-if scenario with that gameplay style, I was sold. Three Hopes is a really, really fun title; it’s more fun than Three Houses to me, and the characterisation that was so strong in it’s parent title is present here too - plus, getting to play with literally any of the character’s I’ve grown to love (Marianne, Bernadetta my beloved) is a treat. It’s one stumbling block is its story, with many of its routes ending on an open, vague note, and the fact that if you’re doing everything it can grow a little repetitive - but that’s the Musou way. In any case, Three Hopes is the best Musou title in years, with a satisfying loop and style worth playing for any lover of Three Houses’s fantastic cast.

9. Hardspace: Shipbreaker

One of the biggest surprises of the year, Hardspace: Shipbreaker is both a fantastic example of being both a good game to kick back and chill with, and moments of genuine suspense and panic as you attempt to wrestle with a situation rapidly falling apart. Taking the role of a starship salvager, you’ll be spending the bulk of your time cutting up and extracting salvage, scrap, and valuables out of gigantic abandoned hulks, whilst listening in on your co-workers levity, jokes, and of course, attempts to free themselves from the shackles of capitalism. Yes, Hardspace: Shipbreaker is a stunning, if every so slightly over-the-top, depiction of the importance of unions, and the very fact that Corporations are not only -not- your friends, they will fuck over their workers in the most horrifying ways for a quick buck. I wrote a full review of it HERE, which I feel carries out my thoughts far better than I could in this little paragraph, but the fact is I love this game, coming literally out of nowhere.

8. Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course

It’s been nearly four years since I first played Cuphead, and it still sticks with me as one of the best games I’ve ever played, and quite possibly my favorite indie game. There’s just nothing like it, stylistically at least, and I’ve been chomping at the bit for the Delicious Last Course DLC ever since. It’s been a while, but Studio MDHR has delivered. Across its new zone, Delicious Last Course pushes the limit of MDHR’s already masterful visual design work - and drives some top tier fights along the way. Bootlegger Boogie, High-Noon Hoopla, Doggone Dogflight, and the final boss all rank amongst my favorite boss fights in Cuphead overall. Miss Chalice is a delightful addition to the cast - my only real issue with this near-masterpiece is that it pushes the envelope on Cuphead’s already insane difficulty, leading to an occasional bout of frustration from its hardest moments. But it’s a small issue in such a fantastic DLC that somehow rivals complete AAA titles - and at the end of the day, it’s more Cuphead!

7. Power Wash Simulator

2022 has been one of the hardest years I’ve had to go through, and any time I’ve managed to chill myself has been nothing short of wonderful. Easily the most relaxing game I’ve played this year is Power Wash Simulator, which I wrote a review of HERE. It’s exactly what it says on the tin - you are a power washer, and you’ll be cleaning a wide variety of houses, vehicles and… well, I’ll let you see where this game goes. Yes, Power Wash Simulator, whilst it has relatively benign beginnings, goes in some genuinely insane places I just didn’t expect from a game where you clean crap off walls. What else is there to say? It’s simple, but a hell of a good time all the same. Need to chill out? Look no further than the Power Wash Simulator. I also wrote a full review of it HERE, so check that out for more detail.

6. Citizen Sleeper

I think an argument could be made for Citizen Sleeper being the most personal game of the year. Entranced by its incredible art direction, I dived into this game without almost any idea of what it was about, outside of being an android just trying to survive in a space station. And, at its heart, that is what Citizen Sleeper is, for the most part. You’ll be moving from place to place, working jobs for money, which you’ll be mostly spending on repairs and energy for your decaying android frame. But, innately, you are seeking for a way off the station, to a new home, free from corporate control, and to reach that, you’ll be interacting with Citizen Sleeper’s vast array of well formed, amazing;y written characters. The stories you’ll follow interacting with each of these characters raised such a variety of emotions from me - adoration for a struggling single father and his daugher; horror at a bounty hunter slowly making his way to the station to take you down; hesitation at working with a mob boss 'for the greater good'; anxiety at battling a rouge AI trying to rip you apart in cyberspace. By comparison, Citizen Sleeper's gameplay is just, being a sort of resource management style title as you try to keep youself from breaking down. Early game, this management is really fascinating, barely scraping by on the skin of your teeth. However, after an hour or so, you'll have progressed enough in various storylines to have enough resources to be perfectly fine, taking away from some of that earlygame tension. Despite that caveat, the writing and world design of Citizen Sleeper is that good that even with such a notable downside, I've put it up this high - honestly, the main ending I got (leaving the colony with the aforementioned worker and daughter) almost moved me to tears. 100% a game I want to spend more time in.

5. SIFU

SIFU is the last game from this year that I actually finished, though I’ve had a hankering to play it all year. At first, I didn’t know if the game was for me; having a kind of control setup similar to a fighting game - which I’m atrocious at - and being genuinely a really tough game. The early levels were really, really tough on me, and I almost lost confidence in my ability to push through. And then… SIFU just clicked. Fights that were terrible slugfests for me became these wonderful, almost dance-like routines where I’d take down foes almost without effort. Boss fights, whilst being some of the most challenging of the year (impressive, when Elden Ring came out) are wonderful teachers of this game’s incredibly deep combat system, and ultimately become some of my most satisfying achievements of the year, gaming wise. Its ‘life’ system, as you age after each death, feels punishing yet fair, encouraging you to replay old levels to get a lower ‘age’ to make your fights against more powerful foes more room for error. This game just feels so… full, despite its relative lack of content. Five levels, five boss fights, but with side objectives, two endings (mercy is so hard, but so satisfying) and a simple, yet poignant story about violence, the cycle of vengeance, and antagonists who may not exactly be villains. I love SIFU so much - completing it became almost an addiction, and it just lived rent-free in my head for a solid couple of weeks.

4. Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak

This is probably the most biased entry of the list, but anyone who knows me enough knows how much I love Monster Hunter. Whilst I still really enjoyed Monster Hunter Rise, it’s relatively low difficulty and general lack of endgame did sour the experience compared to its much larger predecessors. Sunbreak marked a paradigm shift for Monster Hunter Rise; Sunbreak, whilst inherently just being ‘more of the same’ innately doubles the amount of content in the game, providing more challenging hunts, the return of fantastic fan favorites, more moves, just… more of everything.It’s story - whilst still basic overall - felt a lot more engaging than Rise’s base story, and it actually gave us an endgame in the genuinely challenging Anomaly Investigations. Sunbreak gives you reasons to come back, and it’s just an improvement in pretty much every conceivable fashion to its base game. It’s easily the game I played the most this year, with constantly throwing carrots for me to chase after, and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it’s my most played next year, too - as the free updates are still coming, and getting to the end levels of the Investigations is an almost constantly increasing wall of difficulty. It’s just… It’s simply just that much fun.

3. Neon White

Damn the haters, I fucking love Neon White. Yes, it’s incredibly, cartoonishly lame. It’s full of dumb memes and internet humor, it’s absolutely marketed to anime nerds, and yes, White is a loser. I still fucking love Neon White. It’s like if Sonic Adventure 2 was rebuilt inside Mirror’s Edge; it’s genuine sense of speed married to the gunfire-fueled parkour system, Neon White is the best feeling game of the year. With its speedrun focussed gameplay, completing levels is the easy part, but quickly your brain will be finding more efficient routes, all in service of grabbing those Gold and Ace leveled medals. I also genuinely loved the characters and their dynamic - White constantly being shat upon by Red and Violet, and his bromance with Yellow… It's not a particularly complicated or deep story, but it goes to some pretty crazy places, and slowly unveiling the relationship between White and his former comrades was genuinely heartfelt to see. Neon White is just an incredible experience from start to finish, one that’ll stick in my mind for some time to come; with an almost constant wall of challenges to tackle, I’ll have plenty of Neon White to consume for the near future.

2. God of War: Ragnarok

God of War 2018 reboot/sequel was probably the best game to come out in 2018 - it’s recreation of Kratos gameplay, it’s fantastic new setting and surprisingly emotional story between Kratos and his son, Artreus came together to be one of the few games I would genuinely describe as perfect. At it’s best, Ragnarok, surpasses the very best God of War 2018 had to offer. Its gameplay, storytelling, world design, and quests are nothing short of incredible. Honestly, I’d go so far to say that Ragnarok is objectively better than its predecessor, if not for its honestly really weak pacing, mostly in the first half. When this game pops off, it pops off hard, but there is so much… Sonyisms here. Long walking sequences, huge gaps between combat sequences, taking far too long to get to the fantastic pseudo-open world sequences. The fact is this game is genuinely amazing, but the gaps between the incredible stuff - stuff that would probably make Ragnarok my game of the year - is a bit of a slog, and will be even worse on a replay.

But we’re here to talk about the good stuff; overall, it makes 2018 GoW feel like nothing short of a prologue. The stakes have been raised, with Thor and Odin arriving on the scene instantly, and whilst I loved Baldur in the previous game, Thor and Odin just feel that much more fully fleshed out, having depictions that I feel are really unique as compared to the normal pop culture (and I’m not just saying the MCU) versions of them. Atreus is absolutely fantastic from start to finish, and actually getting to play as him this time around, whilst not as fun as Kratos, does a great job of adding a bit more variety to the game’s thirty hour runtime. Pretty much every character gets their moment in the sun, but I cannot heap enough praise onto the writing and performances of Brock and Sindri, who go from fun but static characters in the first game, to absolutely wonderful darlings in this one. But above all is Kratos… I don’t even really want to talk about Kratos’s development in this game, as he comes to term with Artreus’s growth as a young man, and his place in the world, but it’s really cemented him as one of the best characters in gaming, and Cristopher Judge’s performance is without a doubt the best of the year. God of War Ragnarok, were it not for its oddly placed first half, really would be my Game of the year, but as it is, it’s still absolutely a must play for anyone who somewhat enjoyed the 2018 entry.

And listen, I think you all know what my no. 1 was going to be…

1.Elden Ring

From nearly the start of the year, my choice for Game of the Year has almost consistently remained the same. FromSoft’s action-RPG titles rank amongst my favorite titles of all time - Dark Souls, Dark Souls 3, Sekiro, I love them all dearly. Elden Ring, at least at times, outstrips them all. Open worlds have almost never featured such an adventurous spirit. I was almost constantly stumbling upon mini-dungeons, secrets, and in some of the most exhilarating moments of the game, boss fights. I’d almost describe it as the true successor to the original Legend of Zelda, just in a very pure sense. Does that make sense? I don’t really care. The Elden Ring is beautiful, a triumph of open-world design. With a gigantic variety of playstyles and paths to move through, I genuinely think you could play Elden Ring a thousand hours and still find new ways to have fun. New builds, new outfits, new challenges… The Elden Ring is gigantic in every sense of the world. I played through using a Strength/Faith build, playing around with the Winged Scythe and Blasphemous Blade, but even as I write this I’m thinking of new runs I could do, playing around with magic, or katanas, or… literally anything.

I think an argument could be made that certain elements of Elden Ring could be described as worse than other Souls games - the overall boss quality, whilst having dizzying highs, has a lot of filler, and not every level is a banger. The open-world nature of the game doesn’t really work well in the character storylines - though these themselves are easily the best in the series. The game perhaps overstays its welcome, if you’re going for everything. But it’s the entire package thrown together that makes Elden Ring my favorite game of the year. No other game this year delighted me with its twists and turns, or gave me the satisfaction of beating bosses like Mohg or Melania. Look, you’ve heard it all before, so I’ll just say this: It’s without a doubt the best game From Software have ever made, and considering this is the first true Open World Souls game they’ve made… I’m so excited to see what the future holds for this subgenre. It’s simply that good.