GOTY 2022
2022 was probably the year I played the least amount of games since I was a kid, due to some huge life changes (all positive, to be fair!). Putting this list together, aside from the top 5, wasn’t too easy but I did finally manage it.
List items
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Signalis is incredible in every way. The visual aesthetic is incredibly unique and drips with style from top to bottom. The narrative paints a picture of a weird, culturally-mishmashed sci-fi future while also being bizarre and abstract and making you question what’s “really” going on. The gameplay is classic survival-horror to a T, complete with a map that fills in as you explore (my favorite thing!), tense struggles with horrifying enemies, and intriguing puzzles that fit the world well. Aside from a few very minor missteps, one of which I blame more on myself than the game, Signalis is a perfect survival horror game that stands out strongly in the genre for its visual style and smart innovations while also paying homage to its roots.
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Elden Ring is a…strange game for me. It features the Dark Souls gameplay and worldbuilding I love. I still got to pick my way slowly through intricate areas, finding new paths forward and shortcuts back to bonfires. I still got to fight intense boss fights with grotesque and awe-inspiring creatures. There was just MORE of everything. To some degree, that’s great! I spent more time on a first playthrough in Elden Ring than any prior Souls game. On the other hand, it was too much at times, even if a lot of it was just empty space. As much as I enjoyed it, I still think I preferred the sections in confined areas that let me explore in a more straightforward way, as the past games did. I did still love this game, but I’m also incredibly intimidated to do a replay because of HOW MUCH there is to do again.
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I adored The Stanley Parable when it first released, and Ultra Deluxe is everything that game was and more. It was nice getting to revisit the game for the first time since it was released and see all of the original content first. When I finally moved to the new content, I was floored by how good it was–perfectly in-line with the tone of the original with plenty of great surprises. One section in particular astonished me with how much existential dread it managed to nail with a sequence probably intended to be more humorous.
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This isn’t an original belief by any means, but Tunic really is Fez 2.0. The same ideas and concepts are at play, but it manages to do EVEN MORE with those ideas and concepts. Finding bits of the manual and learning new truths about the world is a true joy. It’s all wrapped in a game that looks and sounds fantastic and feels great to play. The only real knocks I have against it are the obtuse alphabet that is far too complex for me to want to figure out and the fact that I heard a bit too much praise about it that oversold my expectations for it. Still, a phenomenal game.
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Arcade Paradise is so much fun. Building up my laundromat with more and more games was a blast and I loved getting to try out each new game as I got it. While not every game was a hit, I had several favorites that I enjoyed going back to again and again–which rewarded me with more money earned from those games as I completed challenges, in an amazingly smart design choice. This was also the first game I played at length on my new Steam Deck, which was a perfect fit for the device.
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I am a sucker for a good rhythmic game, so I’m not surprised by how much I enjoyed Metal: Hellsinger. The visual style is great, the action is frenetic and tense, and the gameplay is smartly tied to the beat without being overly frustrating. The music, despite being incredibly on point and suited to the tone of the game, was very hit-or-miss for me, particularly due to my distaste for “screamo” vocals. I don’t think I’ll ever revisit this game, but I had a lot of fun with it in the moment.
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My first couple hours with The Quarry were amazing. I was having such a great time and felt like this game was even better than Until Dawn, Supermassive’s best game to date in my opinion. As I pressed deeper in, that excitement was tempered a bit. The same shortcomings were here, if maybe even a bit worse, and the narrative didn’t really satisfy me. On the whole, I enjoyed the experience but I’m unsure how much longer this style of game can keep me interested.
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I don’t really enjoy the “gameplay” of Citizen Sleeper. While I’m fine with visual novel style experiences, the whole random dice mechanic is usually a huge turn-off for me. It’s really only the strength of the writing and overall vibe of this game that kept me playing from beginning to end, curious to see what might happen next.
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Immortality is at its best when it’s just clips of people making movies. Getting to see scenes being table read and then rehearsed and then the actual “final” footage is compelling and fascinating, and I loved all the extra behind-the-scenes sections too. Sadly, the “main story” element of the game was a HUGE miss for me and hurt my overall impressions.
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While I think Powerwash Simulator was a bit too simple and didn’t really need the whole “limited soaps” mechanic, I was fixated on this game as I was playing it. It was pretty much the only thing I would play after work, and it was a great way to relax and let my mind go blank. I don’t need to ever play it again, but it was worth my time?
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