Scott’s Personal Favorite Games from 2022
Another year has come and gone. While 2022 wasn’t a landmark year for releases, there were so many fantastic experiences. The sheer number of new titles that release each week makes it literally impossible to keep up with all the gaming goodness. This year was no exception. Admittedly, I didn’t play nearly as many titles as I would have liked, but I definitely had my favorites. Without further ado, I present to you my personal picks for best games of 2022, at least out of the ones I had the pleasure of playing this year.
Honorable Mentions
Evil West from Polish developer Flying Wild Hog was definitely the biggest surprise of the year for me. I expected to have a good time with it, but what I didn’t see coming was hope for the future of single-player games. Battling vampires in the Old West with steampunk weapons was the freshest idea I had seen in a long time, and it worked. The over-the-top dialogue, chunky gameplay, and sharp visuals made me hopeful for developers to realize that it’s perfectly acceptable to put large budgets into shorter experiences. Is it perfect? Far from it. Is it a ton of fun to play? Absolutely. Please buy this game. I want more AAA titles that avoid open worlds and the need for scores of hours to complete. I firmly believe there’s a market for titles that hearken back to the glory days of the Xbox 360/PS3 era before the battle royale genre took over the industry.
I’ve never been the world’s biggest Kirby fan, but there was something special about Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Sometimes a stress-free gaming experience is a reprieve, and this one fit the bill. It oozes with charm and whimsy while being fun to play without any real difficulty. Nintendo has always excelled at making simpler games throughly enjoyable to play, and I applaud them for it. When I brought my Switch to my classroom, this was the game the kids asked to play more than any other. The power of the pink puffball is stronger than ever, and I never saw that coming when I was younger.
#10 – Yars: Recharged
I’m not ashamed to admit that nostalgia had a small part in this game squeaking into my top ten. Yars Recharged is reimagining of the Atari classic from my days playing the 2600. Its premise is simple and its game length is rather short, but the love and polish put into this arcade games places it firmly on my list. If you’re a fan of the original, this is an absolute must-play.
#9 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
You’d be hard-pressed to find a game over thirty who didn’t grow up loving the arcade version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There have been many iterations of the franchise over the years, but few came close bringing back the magic of playing with three other friends with quarters lined up near the screen. Shredder’s Revenge is the best attempt I’ve seen in years and just may have surpassed the original in a number of ways. Not only can you play with up to six people at once, but you also have access to a more complex move set. Each turtle even has their own special combos and special abilities that makes replaying it multiple times a joy. The fact that this game is available on Game Pass makes it even sweeter. Cowabunga it is!
#8 – LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
I’m just as shocked as many that a LEGO game made its way to my favorites of 2022. This is far from the first time that Star Wars got the LEGO treatment, but the scope of this title is insane. It includes are nine of the films from the Skywalker saga, and has a simply staggering amount of content. Completionists will get more than their money’s worth here. But the size of the game isn’t what makes it so special. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is genuinely funny. I laughed out loud on multiple occasions. In addition, flying the countless different crafts from the film series was an absolute joy. I regret never going back and unlocking everything in the game, since it was so much fun to do so. I just might have to do that one of these days.
#7 – Nobody Saves the World
If there was a game in 2022 that had “Scott Clark” written all over it, that game would have to have been Nobody Saves the World. In my opinion, this is the best game of the year that barely anyone talked about. Granted it scratched a lot of personal itches for me, namely it’s checklist of tasks that are always satisfying. But outside of that, it’s just so much fun to play while offering a very “chill” experience at the same time. Exploring dungeons as multiple different characters and crossing items off my list never gets old. That is until you hit a bit of a grind wall towards the end of the game. But that wasn’t enough to keep it from this list. If you missed this title, do yourself a favor and check it out. It’s incredibly satisfying.
#6 – God of War Ragnarök
Sure, God of War Ragnarök was a bit longer than I would have preferred, but it’s hard to argue with the exquisite storytelling in this epic second act. You’ll notice I didn’t say “sequel”. That’s because Ragnarök feels more like an extension of the 2018 title than it does the next game in the series. It plays very similarly, which helps the four-year gap feel less awkward. It’s also the most visually stunning game I’ve played this year. But the reason to play this one is to hear the dialogue play out between characters. There’s a reason that two actors were nominated for best performance this year. Normally I despise trekking from one location to the other in large games. Here, I looked forward to it to hear our heroes banter back and forth while giving me a lesson on Norse Mythology. Although I won’t go quite as far as to say “masterpiece”, it’s pretty darn close.
#5 – Sonic Frontiers
I have a confession to make. I didn’t finish Sonic Frontiers yet. Since our producer, Kevin, is my team’s largest fan of the blue blur, he reviewed the game for us, which means I wasn’t in any rush. So how did an imperfect game like this one make it to my top five, you ask? My answer is quite simple: it’s fun. And it never stops being fun (at least as far as I’ve gotten). For this first time in my life, I finally understood the appeal of Sonic. Every time I played it, I couldn’t stop exploring and seeing what new surprises the game had in store for me. Much like with Marvel’s Spider-Man, traversing the open world never feels like a shore. Any kind of movement is simply a blast. On top of all of that, it has epic boss fights, a fantastic mix of ambient and high-energy music, and a good variety of levels inspired by the classic 2D games. Sure, Sonic Team has a few wrinkles to iron out with the next game, but there’s nothing the every gets in way of pure enjoyment. Don’t even hesitate with this one.
#4 – Horizon Forbidden West
I think a lot of people (myself included) were surprised when Horizon Zero Dawn beat out Breath of the Wild for my #1 spot in 2017. Needless to say, I was very much excited for the release of Forbidden West. Although part of me misses the mystery surrounding Aloy in the first game, I was impressed with the way Guerrilla Games was able to keep the story fresh and exciting with the sequel. Plus, taking down countless robot creatures with a bow and arrow legitimately never gets old. The sheer size of the game is impressive as well, especially considering just how good it looks. It takes quite a bit for me to complete massive games these days, so the fact that I was able to finish this one should be a testament to how much I enjoyed it.
#3 – Rogue Legacy 2
Words can’t describe how nervous I was at the announcement of a sequel to Rogue Legacy. After all, it was the game that spawned my love for roguelikes. Thankfully, Cellar Door Games assuaged my worries when I finally got my hands on Rogue Legacy 2. I truly didn’t think they could make the formula even better, but they proved me wrong and then some. I simply couldn’t stop playing this one until I finally felled the final boss. But even then, the game just keeps going and going. There’s an absurd amount of challenging content post-game that makes this one of the best bangs for your buck this year.
#2 – Blast Brigade vs. the Evil Legion of Dr. Cread
I know I have a bit of a reputation for having games near the top of my list that a lot of people have never heard of. I promise you, this is not intentional. But the discovery of Blast Brigade is a prime example of why I seek out lesser-known titles each year. I want to find hidden gems like this one. The fact that this game got very little attention in mainstream media is a travesty. The only reason I can come up with is that its cringeworthy trailer didn’t help in the least. And that’s too bad, because this is a fantastic 2D gear-gated adventure that I hope more people will give a shot.
The game allows you to switch between multiple different characters, has a charming, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, and top-notch voice acting. It also offers a very satisfying challenge that other games in the genre tend to only offer in their boss battles. Even the backtracking elements present here felt fresh and exciting. Of all the games this year that I wish I could experience for the first time again, this one takes the cake. What a great title.
#1 – Vampire Survivors
I have a feeling that this comes as no surprise, considering how much I’ve raved about Vampire Survivors on the podcast as well as within our communities. I started playing on Steam Deck, and (much like many people) simply didn’t see the appeal at first. After some encouragement from a close friend, I stuck with it, and I’m so glad that I did.
The only downside of this game is that it does very little to explain to you clearly what makes it so extraordinary. Part of the appeal is peeling back the layers and learning just how deep the rabbit hole goes. There are so many. more moving parts at work here than your typical twin-stick shooter. Evolving weapons and taking out literally hundreds of enemies at a time provided an endorphin rush I was expecting from a game that I literally play with one hand.
I’m absolutely astounding by just how fun Vampire Survivors is to play without ever getting frustratingly difficult. The magic falls in its discovery cathartic way in which you take on the largest hordes of enemies I’ve ever faced in any video game. Even by its end, I was still finding surprises about the lengths to which this game goes. Dare I say that I felt more like a god playing this one that when I played as Kratos? I think I do.
2022 in a Nutshell
And there you have it, my humble personal favorites list of the year. I had some incredible experiences over the last twelve months, but I have to admit that this year was a bit lacking for me. Sure, there were plenty of titles, but it took a little more effort to put together ten titles that I felt were Game of the Year worthy.
Here’s to hoping that 2023 shapes up to be the year that 2022 promised us. In the words of Reggie Fils-Aimé, “My body is ready.”
