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borgmaster

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GOTY 2022

Unlike previous years, I played a lot of games this year in the year they were released. That means I actually beat every game in my top ten. That's a rare feat and I'm proud of myself. Before getting into the list, there are a few thing that I feel the need to say:

- I don't get Vampire Survivors. It doesn't appeal to me in any way. I made several attempts throughout the year and had a bad time every time.

- I played Elden Ring. It can fuck off and I'll see it in hell.

- The Picross S series continues to be my emotional support shovelware games.

- Honorary golf clap to Sonic Frontiers for being the best Sonic-branded Sonic game ever made. This was truly the year of Sonic the Hedgehog.

- Grant Turismo 7 would be on this list if it wasn't so far up its own tailpipe.

- Ghostwire Tokyo is fine. It's not the best but it's far better than it was made out to be on this site.

On a final note, I tend to count games for GOTY in the years where they are released for early access and in the years where they release in v1.0. I don't count any years in-between. That seems fair enough to me.

List items

  • I love this game. By the time it reached the end of development, the gameplay had been tightened up enough to provide a consistent experience. There is just enough content for the gameplay and premise to support. The world-building and character development are just good enough to provide a nice change of pace from the main action, and that main action is immaculate.

    There is just the right balance between danger and mundanity in the gameplay to give the sense of doing thankless blue-collar work in space. There is a true "space trucker" aesthetic here. The controls work for what the game is asking the player to do, and the main gameplay loop as easy to learn and takes a while to master. There's a smooth difficulty curve that gradually brings the player up to a high level of proficiency. This is the ideal game for me.

    I played this game to completion twice, once on Steam and once on Xbox Game Pass.

  • I usually don't like these kinds of games. Yet, I was willing to try out anything with Ben Esposito's name on it and I was well-rewarded for taking that chance. The gameplay is tight, quick, and imminently possible to learn. The story is interesting enough for what it is and the voice-acting is largely great; it's always nice to hear Steve Blum. It achieves the right balance of action to narrative that keeps the game moving briskly without becoming exhausting or boring.

    None of that would matter if the gameplay design wasn't good, but fortunately it works amazingly well. The use of online leaderboards and proficiency tiers for each level give it the right amount of replayability. This is the best version of itself that could have been made.

    I played it to completion twice, once on Steam and once on the Switch.

  • This was the ultimate chill-out and unwind game, and I needed that a lot this year. Like with Hardspace: Shipbreaker, the v1.0 of this game got the right amount of content for what the gameplay is. I also appreciated the inclusion and build-up of its wild story. There's just enough of that in here to keep it interesting without bogging down the gameplay. That gameplay is the best that it can be with this premise. This game feels like it's the best that anyone could do with this idea, and it's the most satisfying game I've played in a while.

    I played it to completion twice, once on Steam and once on Xbox Game Pass.

  • This game is in early access and still in active development. Looking at the state of it at the end of 2022, it's well worth playing even though it isn't finished. Survival-Crafting games are a dime a dozen and have become background noise on the Steam marketplace. Yet, this one has the gimmick of terraforming a planet which I don't think I've seen before. I'm kind of a sucker for games that involve bringing life to a blighted wasteland. The gradual progression of the environmental changes works well, and it does all of the standard survival stuff right. There are no enemies other than the environment which is constantly trying to kill you; which is something I always appreciate when I find it in a game.

    There's still a lot that is busted, and who knows if it will eventually come together well. Either way, I have a great time with it as it is. I played this game twice up to the latest content end.

  • This is the best 3D Platformer since Mario Odyssey. The basics are all nailed down with enough side content and optional stuff to keep it consistently engaging. The power progression is also nuts, with the final final final boss being something straight out a character action game like Devil May Cry or something. I always have a giggle when a game unnecessarily has multiple layers of true endings, and this is the best one of those.

    Poyo.

  • I only recently got into this series, and I'm surprised by how much I enjoy these games. There isn't a ton to say about it. It's overall well-designed and executed, and I would say that this is the best game in the series. It's probably the best WWII shooter yet made, if I'm going to be honest. You get to shoot tons of Nazis in slow motion and the last level looks incredible.

  • Yeah, I like the cat game. The world and aesthetic are unique and fully executed. There's just enough stuff in enough variety without overstaying its welcome. Even still, there isn't a ton going on, so it isn't higher on my list. It's disappointing that it's a mostly linear adventure game instead of something more open-world, but it is what it sets out to be.

  • I don't even like old arcade games but I liked this. The core gameplay loop and progression are satisfying and the writing around it is compelling enough to keep me interested. There's enough fake arcade games in enough variety to keep it interesting throughout. It just nails what it's trying to do really well. It's a fine game and you should play it.

  • This is kinda my wildcard for this list. I am only kinda joking about it being the best Sonic game. After a couple of iterations, these devs finally cracked the code of what makes 3D Sonic games enjoyable and they built the levels to balance out the different facets of that gameplay. There's just enough stuff in this game for the price and I appreciate the big twist. I don't see how there would be a fourth one of these, but I look forward to it if it happens, because the progression of this series gives me hope that a genuinely Great game can be made with this formula.

  • here we have something of a placeholder. This game is alright, the puzzles are good enough and it doesn't overstay its welcome. It's fine and I don't have any complaints. Having generally positive feelings is good enough for number ten.
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