The 2022 Golden Gizmos

Every year, my friend Larry Davis and I compile our best and worst games of the year and talk about them. We call these the Golden Gizmos and Golden Gremmies respectively. Sure, you could say these are our GOTYs but that would be missing the Gremlins theming, and that's really the most important thing.

Here's my top five games I played this year, each with a little write-up on why I selected them.

I'm not normally a fan of open world games, but Elden Ring really sunk its claws into me. I was surprised to find out through Sony's Playstation Wrap Up that I spent 163 hours in this thing. Whereas most games of this type struggle to fill their worlds with meaningful content, Elden Ring succeeds at making Limgrave feel dense and lived in. Simple caves provide more intelligent dungeon design than perennial favorite Breath of the Wild, and rather than rewarding you with many fractions of a thing, you're given items that (even when they're not suitable for your build) feel meaningful. This is hands down the best open world game I've played and ranks pretty highly among my favorites Souls titles. I want to kiss Blade on the lips.
I recently tried to explain the plot of Signalis to a friend and found it very difficult to surmise. Did everything actually happen the way I described it?

Signalis is one of the best games I've played that I don't fully understand; it's affected me on a level that I'm still trying to figure out, though a few more playthroughs might just give me a better sense of the big picture. Who knows. I am much more confident in my praise of its gameplay, which feels so authentic to PS1 era survival horrors that you could be convinced it released in 1997. More deliberate winks and nods to games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill demonstrate not only a reverence for those games, but a clear understanding of what made them work. For such a small team to make a game that can go toe-to-toe with those that defined the genre is no small feat.
I love the Ninja Turtles so god damn much. I want to be a Ninja Turtle. I want to kick shell.

Shredder's Revenge reminds me a lot of Sonic Mania. Both are throwbacks to their respective series in their prime and are created by teams whose passion shines through in every single part of the experience. There are a few too many levels and some boss encounters are lackluster, but the core gameplay feels so satisfying that Shredder's Revenge easily earns it place among Turtles in Time and The Hyperstone Heist. If you're able to get a fully lobby, everything turns into absolute pandemonium, and there's honestly something mesmerizing about seeing that many players constantly popping off ultimates and rolling through the game like some unstoppable force of nature.
Mario 3D Land and World translated 2D Mario gameplay perfectly to a 3D space, and Forgotten Lands accomplishes much the same for Kirby. The series core mechanics and charm translate so well that it's at times easy to forget this is the first time you've had full directional control over Kirby. Plus, they gave Kirby a gun!

The game is of course very easy, and sometimes that is to its detriment, but I'm also 35 and well aware that these games aren't necessarily made for me. There is a second quest of sorts at the end of the game that ramps the difficulty up, but it's also just a bit too much Kirby and I ended up stepping away from the game before I could finish it. I'm nevertheless excited for more Kirby games in this style.

Getting reports of an active shooter in Waddle Dee Town...
I regret that it's taken me until this year to play Natsune's retro rivals. Wild Guns Reloaded and Ninja Saviors are both incredible, but I think Pocky & Rocky Reshrined is their best release yet. What starts out as a remake quickly veers off into a full-on sequel full of time travel nonsense, with a large cast of diverse characters encouraging repeat playthroughs. The sprite work is absolutely gorgeous and brimming with detail, and the artwork used during the game's cutscenes packs so much character, even if the story might be incomprehensible.

The gameplay of the original Pocky & Rocky titles is not only intact but sharped to a point. This is easily the most playable game in the series, with a lot fewer cheap shots and areas where the difficulty is needlessly ramped up. The frustration of hitting a game over is gone, and the loop of death and progress feels rewarding. It's also a shot game, and like Natsune's other releases, there's little in the way of additional modes and features.

4 Comments


1 year ago

I registered on Backloggd this year with the goal of improving my writing and ability to critically analyze media. Much of my creative drive comes from the desire to impart a thought or emotion and have it be completely understood by who I am expressing it to. I think at times that results in some very long-winded critiques, and I worry that these ideas I wish to express end up getting lost in the word count. I need to work on being more concise, especially as this site seems to favor very condensed reviews over longform writing. In any case, I am very appreciative of everyone who has followed me over this last year, especially those of you who have continued to actively comment on my reviews. Even when we disagree, it’s nice to be able to talk to people who are also passionate about games, something I get to do surprisingly little outside of here.

I might post another review or two before the end of the year, but if I don’t, I’ll catch you all in 2023.

1 year ago

I've used this site to get back into writing, since I used to do it in my free time, except on here at least I can feel comfortable sharing. I noticed I've gotten a bit better at structure, and started swearing a lot less. Not that swearing is terrible, but I know it gets repetitive if I say "fuck" a lot.

My only regret with this site was mostly writing about NES trashware no one heard about for the first half of 2022, it was basically playing the site on hard mode assuming I cared about making friends/followers or getting likes, lol.

Look forward to 2023.

1 year ago

I like your reviews a lot mate. They are a perfect mix of critique and humour. I wish I could write as well as you do in the way you get your thoughts to flow.

Don't change the way you write here for other people, change only for yourself is my advice. A lot of people generally have short attention spans.

1 year ago

@FallenGrace I like your reviews a lot, I think you make a solid argument for why you feel about a game but do so in a way that's still fairly concise and flows well.


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