A great year for video games whereas usual I tend to come late to some things or end up waiting for pc ports or better pricing before I get them and so always end up with a mixed list of stuff technically from this year and not. It's what I played in 2022 and that's what matters.
Regardless of how simple and short Stray is, it's one of the most delightful, charming, compelling video games I've ever experienced. I loved every second of it.
Yes, it helps if you're a cat person and cats make your brain do dumb things, but I think even non-cat people will appreciate the attention to so many cat specific details Stray's devs achieved. And the robot npcs are very sweet and the games world is so cool looking, if a bit cliche and the story I enjoyed quite a bit too.
It was never a game that claimed to be anything more than it turned out to be and it's pretty much what I expected, and I loved it.
My friends and I have played a lot of Vermintide 2 and Darktide is exactly what I hoped for; the same kind of game but 40k and with more emphasis on shooting and of course all the flavor of the more comically gritty sci fi setting with chainswords and plasma guns and the like, minus the power of the more well-known factions.
It's really cool to play a game in 40k where you're just some weak ass nobody and yet they've made even Imperial Guard Lasguns feel so satisfying.
Fatsharks attention to animation, sound and effect details really shines more than ever with Darktide. Can't wait to see what dlc they come up with.
I'm one of those people who loves Xenoblade 2, and I only played it this year a couple months before 3.
It's a DUMB game, the writing is all over the place, it has some genuinely cringe scenes, weird dialogue at times, anime cliche after anime cliche, absurdly horny character outfits randomly in places, but it also has a sassy Welsch catgirl I would gladly take a bullet for and is damn hilarious fairly often, usually unintentionally.
I had a great time with it and it's one of my all-time favorite rpgs now.
Xeno3 is so good. Weirdly I still like 2 more despite 3 objectively being better in pretty much all respects, save for the eye searing UI. It's a smarter, more mature, better designed, less typically anime game with a lot of great characters but Eunie was particularly fantastic.
I appreciated how it linked in with Xeno 1 and 2 as well and you certainly don't need to play those to enjoy 3 but you'll get a fair bit more out of 3 if you do. The whole trilogy is great, easily the best jrpgs I've ever played.
It may not have been what a lot of people expected, heck I was surprised it wasn't more of a shooter but I really enjoyed Callisto a lot. Despite it's flaws and sometimes wonky story it's a very fun cool game with gorgeous environments and some satisfying melee combat. But I'm also a weirdo who loves dark messy places and angry mutants and gross protag death animations so Callisto does pander specifically to me.
One of the most incredible secret sequels ever made. Stanley Parable was neat but Ultra Deluxe is truly mind blowingly clever and interesting and 4th wall breaking and literally has jokes built into itself in direct response to the reception of its prior self and commentates on game criticism and the nature of making sequels and it's just so cool and smart and funny and so so good.
One of the most unique game experiences ever too, of everything in my list I'd recommend Ultra Deluxe the most to everyone.
Thanks to the terrible Avengers game and bad marketing so few people played it which remains a tragedy as Guardians is excellent.
I only got around to it early this year after hearing the good word and it's exactly what I could hope for from a Guardians game which is basically what if a Mass Effect spin off existed and was cooler and funnier.
Even if you just want some space adventure shenanigans and have no interest in the mcu or comics or whatever, it's still a great time thanks to top tier writing, acting performances and silly situations along with heart felt genuine moments about being a parent, dealing with grief and maturing as a person.
What is Cyberpunk 2077 doing here? Well since my run through in 2021 the game has had a ludicrous amount of patches and a fair chunk of extra content added, an incredible tie in anime and a positive outlook on its dlc. They actually turned the ship around and now the game is great and on my second playthrough I've discovered more and grown to appreciate the positives of 2077 more and it actually fucking works well and plays better and it's like gosh, wow, maybe a year more dev time would have been worthwhile CDPR.
PC version finally dropped in 2022 and it's a very good port. Runs amazingly well. I was waiting and hoping for one for so long and now Sony's doing this regularly and its awesome. Really enjoyed God War's pc version a lot this year too so I'd put it in this slot also.
Insomniac clearly did an incredible job translating Spider Man to game form and I look forward to playing more.
Scorn is the weirdest thing I could put on a game of the year list because despite completing it I couldn't really tell you what it was about or trying to achieve or if I liked it a lot or just found it compelling despite how often it annoyed me. It's one of those "arty" games where if you aren't in it for the visuals, it doesn't really have much to offer.
But it sure is a unique feeling game I guess because it leans in so hard on all its vaginal orifice imagery and sexual motifs. Lots and lots of things being shoved or poked into things in Scorn. A game where everything looks dead and alive, formed and malformed at the same time.
Is it someone's fetish in game form? I don't know but it sure is, something.
