Game of the Year 2022
This list is stuff I played/finished this year, not new releases.
Honorable mentions:
-Fallout: New Vegas
I started replaying this game in 2022, after a not so thorough playthrough around a decade ago and not holding it in very high regard but always wanting to go back to it out of curiosity. This time, I fell in love with it, and I'm 30-40 hours into a playthrough I didn't finish in time for the end of the year. It'll probably make my list next year even though it's technically not a first playthrough? It still feels like one to me at least, I hardly remembered anything. Anyways, it's great, I'll probably talk about it more later but it would have been top 2 at least if it was on this list.
-Deep Rock Galactic
I did not play this for the first time in 2022, but I got back into it in a big way, and like it a whole lot more now. It's great and now one of my all time favorite co-op games. Full review here.
-BallisticNG
Another that I didn't start this year but did go back to and enjoy a lot, as well as playing through some of its expansions. Easily the best modern antigrav racer, and not that far off F-Zero GX in my enjoyment of it, definitely going to be playing more of this in 2023.
-Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Not a new playthrough by any means, but I replayed this game back in the summer and then got really into the randomizer mod for it for a few weeks. It was a lot of fun and I gained a lot of appreciation for it. Doesn't exactly feel like it fits on this list still as it's not new to me, but worth a mention.
Honorable mentions:
-Fallout: New Vegas
I started replaying this game in 2022, after a not so thorough playthrough around a decade ago and not holding it in very high regard but always wanting to go back to it out of curiosity. This time, I fell in love with it, and I'm 30-40 hours into a playthrough I didn't finish in time for the end of the year. It'll probably make my list next year even though it's technically not a first playthrough? It still feels like one to me at least, I hardly remembered anything. Anyways, it's great, I'll probably talk about it more later but it would have been top 2 at least if it was on this list.
-Deep Rock Galactic
I did not play this for the first time in 2022, but I got back into it in a big way, and like it a whole lot more now. It's great and now one of my all time favorite co-op games. Full review here.
-BallisticNG
Another that I didn't start this year but did go back to and enjoy a lot, as well as playing through some of its expansions. Easily the best modern antigrav racer, and not that far off F-Zero GX in my enjoyment of it, definitely going to be playing more of this in 2023.
-Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Not a new playthrough by any means, but I replayed this game back in the summer and then got really into the randomizer mod for it for a few weeks. It was a lot of fun and I gained a lot of appreciation for it. Doesn't exactly feel like it fits on this list still as it's not new to me, but worth a mention.
20 Games
1
Now one of my all time favorites, and a pretty easy pick for #1. Sable was a magical experience. While I did have some complaints at the time of finishing it about bugs and stability, those concerns have kind of faded in my memory in comparison to how great the game is, and it's gotten several big patches since then so hopefully anyone else playing now should have a smoother experience. One of my favorite worlds to explore in any game, and a story that, while simple, really worked for me. Go play it if you haven't.
Full review
Full review
2
Revita is up there among my all time favorite roguelites. I put a ton of time into it this year (and am looking forward to going back with its upcoming 2.0 update). I thought at first, surely this is just getting attention for its art and music but isn't going to have very deep gameplay, but the depth of the design and how smart it feels in what it chooses to take from other greats of the genre was a big surprise. The highlight is the health-as-currency system, which goes beyond a gimmick to being a core part of the game's balance and something always pushing you to get better. A must play for anyone who enjoys the genre.
3
There's not a whole lot to say about JUMPGRID except that it's pretty much perfect at what it sets out to do. It's a bite-sized game that you can complete in a single sitting, with simple but snappy controls. It throws cool new ideas for levels at you constantly, not staying on anything for long. It was a big surprise and an absolute joy to play, an easy recommendation for anyone.
Full review
Full review
Like seemingly everyone else this year, I played a lot of Vampire Survivors, and saw it evolve from a simple but catchy game into something I could pour dozens of hours into with a lot of interesting strategies and a large variety of things to do. I don't have a lot to say here that others haven't said already, but it's a great game and proof that development on a very small scale can still compete with anything.
Immediately on starting Nex Machina I knew it was great, and that I'd made a mistake putting it off for so long. Just a near perfectly executed arcade twin-stick shooter, it's a ton of fun with no fluff and is super easy to get into. I had a great time with it and will probably go back to it to find more of the secrets and do some high score runs.
This is on nearly everyone's GOTY list, so I don't have much unique to say, but I was engrossed in this unlike anything else in recent years for weeks after it came out. I was playing hours every day, and reading/watching content about it when I wasn't playing. The only reason it's not higher on this list is because of the late game being a bit of a drag, but it was still a really fun massive world to explore.
7
I finally got around to playing this, and it was really good! I wrote a pretty lengthy review, so I'm just going to link that instead of reiterating stuff here.
Full review
Full review
Another classic I finally got around to playing. After the first Max Payne being a bit of a letdown, I was very happy that this lived up to its reputation.
Full Review
Full Review
One of my favorite Zelda-likes, this was a really fun game, but I played it almost a full year ago so I'm just going to let my thoughts back then speak for me.
Full review
Full review
10
Slow Roads is a surprisingly fun browser game that I got really into this year. It's very simple, just driving on infinitely generated roads, but I put a lot of hours into it while listening to music in the background. It feels so simple that you'd think something else should scratch the same itch better, but trying other driving/racing games nothing really hit the same spot this did and I kept coming back to it.
11
A perfectly paced puzzle game. It shows you all its ideas quickly, and in a very approachable way. Something anyone can play without falling off of it halfway through, like most puzzle games end up for me.
Full review
Full review
I bought the DK Bongos controller to play this, and it was worth it. Surprisingly fun game that actually takes advantage of the unique control scheme, and really fun boss fights.
Full review
Full review
13
A really short and fun shooter with some unique ideas.
Full review
Full review
14
Second best Vampire Survivors of the year.
Rough around the edges, but a lot of cool ideas here that still make this worth playing.
Full review
Full review
16
I'll play any 3D platformer collectathons that come out, and this is a really good one of those.
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Full review
Finally played through all of this, and what do you know? Pretty good game. Still have some complaints compared to the other 3D Mario games but it was a fun time regardless.
Finally played this one, and I get the hype but also had a lot of problems with it. Very cool game though, glad I finally got around to it. Lot more thoughts in my review.
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Full review
I probably would've liked this a lot more if I hadn't first tried to play the PS2 version and run into a lot of emulator issues, but it's a very cool game.
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Full review
20
Very weird game but I loved the vibes. Looking forward to checking out the developer's other work. It's free and you can play it in one sitting, so check it out yourself.