“I can’t even tell you how much I enjoyed this game,” says DrDrepper, before going on to do a pretty good job of telling us how much they enjoyed the game: “It’s simple and yet so well done and addictive.” “The game I never knew I needed yet cannot put down,” says ukaskew37 who’s similarly taken with it all. And finally here’s jabberwocky: “Good clean fun.” I see what you did there! “A fun introduction to my absolute favourite piece of gaming hardware I’ve purchased certainly this year, and perhaps ever,” says xXtracr. And here’s ukaskew37 again! “It’s both a wonderful introduction to the marvel that is the Steam Deck and a reminder that nobody makes games like Valve.” “A gritty, post-apocalyptic view of Louisiana, exploring a number of dark themes while maintaining a stream of unexpected hilarity,” says ComfyFeline. “This game stuck with me for a long time.” “Batman is dead - yes REALLY!” says Grimmsqueaker. “Yeah this is no Arkham City but it captures Gotham perfectly with amazing traversal on ground or up on the rooftops. Gotham Knights tells a great story start to finish and it’s great to get a different take on what would happen to Gotham if Batman truly is gone.” But is he really dead, though? Modhabobo goes into plenty more detail: “I bounced off all Monster Hunters, including World, but it was Rise, with its bite sized play opportunities that made me finally understand the allure. Some people may think it is a relentless boss rush, but for me, the small self-contained worlds, with their various monsters, and the various levels of play available meant I could go down multiple rabbit holes. For me, Sunbreak was just more of my favourite meal.” A popular game, but not one which any of you commented on - perhaps because by this point in Codemasters’ reliably entertaining annual racer there’s not too much left to say. “Somehow manages never to get stale and nails the gameplay mechanics for a fun shooter,” says PrincessEntrapta, who’s definitely a bigger fan of the game than we were. “Possibly the AA hit of the year. Vibrant art style, superb voice acting, funny writing, likeable characters, and so many little extras to find.” A bunch of anonymous comments on this little gem, and some marvels amidst them. “There’s a whole article that could be written about the alternate FPS (Pokemon Snap and PowerWash simulator would be there too), but Hardspace crowns them all. Being your own foible, setting your heart racing as a miss timed arc of laser slits through a fuel pipe and starts a grand metal whack of pipe on a cataclysmic chain reaction that ends in nuclear catastrophe… It’s brimming with the classic stuff that only videogames can do, making stories and memories of your own play and thoughts.” “I don’t normally make an effort to 100% complete games,” says 09philj. “With Neon White it’s not an effort, it’s a joy.” “My word this game is so much fun!” writes Azquelt. “Neon White gives the impression that it’s going to be incredibly hard and unforgiving but I’ve never played a game that wanted you to finish it more. Each level leads you by the hand through the tricks and tools it’s giving you and teaches by example how to find and use shortcuts. I rate this game the most fun to move around in since the original Mirror’s Edge.” “Best Lego game in years,” says says Curt580, who keeps it brief and to the point. “A refreshing, all encompassing collection for fans of the movies young and old,” adds xXtractr. “Easy, yet still fun. Reliving epic moments from the movies was what I loved about the original Lego Star Wars, and that is still the greatest feat of this game, all these years later.” simplymod has some thoughts. “Is it dramatically new? No. Does it add many improvements over Kingdom Battle? No. Does it make for fun and combine XCOMesque tactics, charming Nintendo characters and Rabbids’ wackiness? Oh yes yes yes.” “The sequel to the game nobody thought they wanted shows that it wasn’t a fluke, the combination of Mario and XCom really is magic,” says SomethingOriginal. “With some interesting new twists on the original’s already sublime gameplay, the biggest surprise remains the fact that the Rabbids don’t detract, and arguably improve, the formula even the second time around.” “Of course this year’s GOTY is Elden Ring,” says twonha. OMG, spoilers! “But from the select few 2022 titles I’ve played, I enjoyed Dorfromantik so much more. Place a tile, grow your little town, bring a smile to everyone’s face. It never once tried to stab, beat, poison, throw or simply murder me to death.” “This is such a nice relaxing game that lets me progress through at my own pace and I have a lovely countryside at the end.” Well isnt’t that just lovely, Shrui. And finally here’s fkratke. “As a time-strapped gaming dad in an idyllic German town, this is the most grounded, bite-sized God fantasy available.” The 4000th Larry loved it, fwiw: “I am continually in awe with what Studio HDR are able to achieve. Compared to the main game these boss fights are even more full of lavish artistic detail and technical depth, and playing as Chalice was a great way to shake-up the experience. I also suspect that this may be the low key most graphically impressive game on Switch, it looks phenomenal in handheld on my OLED.” “Absolutely nothing wrong with more Cuphead and this selection of new bosses trumps all the bosses from the base game,” says retr0gamer. Agreed! “It’s pretty much essential if you loved the original.” “Never really enjoyed a ‘game’ like this in the way that I did,” says Chriskay. “The vivid artistic presentation left gaps to be filled, the voice acting cast did a good job and the story always left me at a crossroads where the decision was either difficult or emphatic.” hazywaze was equally impressed. “A cracking story with the choose your own adventure gameplay of Life is Strange and the Quantic Dreams games, but presented in a unique and surprisingly engaging art style with outstanding production values. I was really invested in the characters and choices.” Azquelt’s a fan of this freshest of shooters. “It’s more Splatoon and I thought the single-player was a step up from the previous iteration - more in line with the Octo-expansion but not quite as demanding.” “There seems to be many shooter fans who don’t realise how good this is,” says ppenguin. Ain’t that the truth. “A fresh take on Pokémon without sacrificing the series itself,” writes simplymod, who gets extra points for including the accent over the e. “That’s basically the heart of Legends Arceus. It has a world that’s fun to explore, a change of mechanics that feels tickling at the start and satisfying at the end.” “I hope there’s another game in the style of Arceus,” says indevelopment, another reader who knows the keyboard shortcuts for that accent. Good work all round. “Researching the Pokédex via battling, evolving and capturing many many ‘mons was the breath of fresh air the series needed.” You VR fans are a quiet bunch, aren’t you? There were plenty of votes for Moss but not a single comment. Sheikah is on board with this. “I enjoyed my time with Cult of the Lamb. Don’t go in expecting a long roguelite akin to Binding of Isaac and you won’t be disappointed. Where else can you force feed your cult members bowls of poop?” It’s a valid question. “Fantastic blend of dark humour, roguelite gameplay and village management,” says Bushmonkey. “Nothing else like it and a treat to play. It is full of bugs but that did not distract me enough from what I consider one of the top games of the year.” “A glitchy and buggy mess? Yes,” says Cydonia88. Oh wait, there’s more! “The most fun a Pokémon game has ever been? Absolutely! If this is the template for future Pokemon games, I can’t wait to see how the series evolves, lets just hope the next Nintendo console has the power to realise its full potential.” Mr.Snowy was very happy: “I spend a stupid amount of time playing Forza, their dopamine-heavy game with the rewind function and just the right level of handling feel does it for me.” “looking very good Criterion, now can we get a new Burnout please?” Well put, MrUkraider. I think we can leave it at that. Udat: “I wasn’t sure how the XCOM formula would translate to superhero based shenanigans, but it works brilliantly. A fantastic tactical treat, with a good story and interesting characters holding it all together.” Malek86 tells us what’s on their mind. “It’s a good thing Bungie makes great campaigns, because the seasonal model is starting to wear thin. Did I mention, though, what a great campaign they made this time around?” Shit_Pistol was equally satisfied: “Shouldn’t have come out so close to Elden Ring. Otherwise a great expansion. Gunplay still unmatched.” “The online 6v6 is excellent as is the gunplay. DMZ though is a real gem,” says Gizzaciggy. “Back to basics, some good ol fashion multiplayer,” says Engelzman. “Sometimes, Kirby is new, sometimes Kirby is tradition, but Kirby is always loveable,” says Simplymod. “And if Kirby does something new, without too much sacrificing what is tradition, and if this game is polished and rich, then you cannot argue against Kirby and the Forgotten Land being top game of the year 2022.” “You can turn into a Kirby car,” says Retr0gamer. Larry4000: “I loved how this brought together the demanding technical execution of OlliOlli with a bright, colourful and welcoming style. The DLC packs were great too, and coming back to it throughout the year has kept it fresh in my mind as a real highlight of 2022.” “A fantastic Arcade classic brought back to life for 2022, great 4 player chaos, just like the old days,” says Episode 13. Britesparc has cracked it. “One of those “retro” games that instead of delivering something like what you played thirty years ago, it gives you what you remember from thirty years ago. A really tight, replayable, gorgeous slice of nostalgia, filled with references to a cartoon I only half-remember but just immense fun to play. The short levels are perfect for just taking a breather from a longer game, or even a heavy-duty TV series, or the kids, or anything.” “Made me remember why I used to love beat-em-ups. Plug in your arcade stick and party like it’s 1992,” says CalamityJames. Who wants a nice cool DrDrepper? “It just took me by surprise and I couldn’t play or think about anything else for a whole week, it was amazing, fascinating and truly beautiful too.” Lovely stuff. Modhabobo next. (Not from the Connecticut Modhabobos?) “There is nothing in design so perfect as to make a person feel like they are the only one who saw something. Immortality is the perfect example of this, where the joy of discovery and puzzles lines up with the mechanical design.” Cor. “Despite hitting a dead end on my first playthrough, I couldn’t progress as I had missed a key, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and nostalgia of Signalis. That and there isn’t another game there I’d vote for,” says Gordomos Prime. We’re just glad you’re here mate. Axiom was impressed. “Big surprise this year. Stylish, tense and clever.” “There’s some strange alchemy at work here. Something that I can’t put my finger on just keeps bringing me back. Maybe it’s because it just lets you get on with it. Here’s a world, a bunch of cultures and some underlying imbalances that mean stasis is never an option. Go and mess with it.” That’s eze2g. “Very close to Warband (which is not necessarily a bad thing) and pure epicness in enormous proportions. it is second to none in terms of scale while leading your army against the opponent’s one or storming some castle walls. A bit like playing Crusader Kings 2 from third person.” That’s Longbraz. Longbraz sums it up: “The best metal game ever made probably. Amazing soundtrack, amazing first-person rhythm game and tons of fun to be had while banging one’s head!” It really is special! Now it’s Daigohji’s turn: “Proving (as if proof were needed) that a game doesn’t need 50 hours of copy-pasted map markers to be good value, this defiantly old-school rhythm shooter is the best FPS I’ve played since Doom 2016.” TESTIFY! 2much: tell us what you reckon. “A lot rougher than the other two games in the series, but combat in this series has never felt better. The demon slave mechanic is a triumph and there are so many fun setpieces and ideas. I’m also one of the few people who actually appreciated the steps the story took for how bold and unexpected they were.” You loved this, but nobody left a comment explaining why. And nobody left any comments about it! Maybe it speaks for itself. “Car physics and quality of the driving is in its own league,” says THE-M-SHOW12020 “Game as a whole is up to the standards of what a GT should be. Except maybe for the roulette prize thing, really annoying. Game sometimes feels like it’s trying too hard to get some MTs out of you. Still unrivalled in the sim/cade genre though.” “The only game this year I’ve sunk 40+ hours into this year. Such a refinement over the last few entries and no other competition to bat against (Forza, u ok Hun?) that it has easily been a time sink this year when nothing else has captured my attention. It’s the little thing that matter sometimes, menus, navigation and the HUD, not to mention the actual driving experience, combine it all and it’s in a class of its own. Top stuff Yamauchi.” Thanks for that, Mondpix. “I think about this game all the time. Great story telling.” That’s Shit_Pistol. We think all the time about the fact they’re called Shit_Pistol. ComfyFeline: “An eye-opening, gripping look at life in the ruins of late stage capitalism. Compelling from start to finish, and more relevant than ever.” Carlos100 says: “I never expected to enjoy a game told exclusively in period style medieval speech presented in a medieval art style with limited actual gameplay.” Oh, yes? “But it was great, the story was engaging, I cared about the characters and loved getting familair with the setting over decades of in game time. I hope MS free up more of their teams to work on passion projects like this as the love really shines through.” We hope so too! What a game! And if you liked this, do read the book that inspired it. (It’s called Who Moved My Cheese?) “Xenoblade does open areas right. They’re a decent size, not huge, but packed with detail and secrets around most corners you care to look at. Coupled with the fact that this was attached to a really good game and a great story, with a great cast, and soundtrack, I had a great time with this. Picking out all the little references to XC1 and XC2 was a joy in and of itself. I will look forward to revisiting this world in the upcoming story DLC.” That’s The12thMonkey. And here’s Plunkbat Oranges: “Following in the footsteps of the Burnout, Ape Escape and Metal Gear Solid legacies, Xenoblade Chronicles proved once again that the third time’s a charm. This ruddy little cartridge had me gripping my Switch for 160 hours like my sparking life depended on it. As much as I enjoyed the combat, story and characters on offer, the true genius of X3 is the English voice cast. The glory of hearing Welsh, Scottish and fake Australian accents was absolutely glorious, and really stepped it up from previous titles. What other game lets you witness its cast call people muppets, dags and drongos? In the immortal words of Eunie, ‘Too right you picked mine!’” Groovychainsaw here: “A lovely homage to Zelda and game manuals, with some of the neatest puzzles, secrets and easter eggs hidden away in it. Maybe ever so slightly abstruse, and possibly slightly too hard for what it’s trying to evoke but one of the most memorable titles of the year.” “The most gorgeous game of the year. Really good, responsive combat and controls plus a mesmerising world to explore. Pity I’m shit at it really but I still enjoy it.” says Britesparc. “Few games honour the player’s intelligence and reward their curiosity more than Tunic.” That’s Ben Reilly on the subject. Hey! It’s Nussferatu! “Unremarkable gameplay design … but the sense of place is amazing. Either a disappointing and subpar action adventure or the best walking simulator of the year. First lockdown night walks - the Game. Big plus: talking animals, charismatic yokai and the most detailed disabled toilets in video game history.” This actually makes it sound brilliant? We had to get the Ben Reilly verdict here. “It’s a delight to play! The visuals manage to feel simultaneously high-res and retro. When we can generate 4K textures and models with many thousands of triangles and render them all at 120 FPS, who on earth would willingly pick low-res models that can be viewed from only a few fixed angles and animated at frame rates barely reaching the double digits? These brave, brilliant souls.” “Premium catting!” says Zombie-Hamster. “This was the year of the animal games. I voted on a fox game, a goat game and this shall always be known as the cat game. And it’s a pretty good cat game.” That’s NabNab, spotting the trends, as ever. Darren: “I am not a cat lover, I prefer dogs, but this was a game I was very curious about since its trailer showing at the PS5 reveal, just because it looked so different from anything else. Despite its short length and lack of real puzzles, I found the game engaging and charming, even sad at times, and more importantly it was a memorable game. It also looked very nice visually.” Lovely stuff. Sing to me, O Finkmachine: “A complete surprise but a great idea, brilliantly executed.” Trashidawa? “The ultimate Steam Deck game.” Someone’s doing alright. “It’s one of those magical, mesmerizing games where you can never put your finger on why it’s so compelling (just kidding, it’s actually quite simple: the constant explosion of tens of thousands of mobs in each session). I read Franz Mesmer’s main book this year, incidentally. It was shit. TheMonkAmbrosio is on this one: “It’s not the most inventive game of the year in terms of its raw gameplay, but the whole experience leaves a lasting impression. The setting of medieval Europe is refreshing but as you progress, the world becomes increasingly warped and strange. Great performances and excellent pacing, too.” Now King_of_Shovels: “An absolutely miserable journey from start to finish, but an incredible one.” Sensational! Eze2g has this one: “All good combat games are essentially about rhythm not reflexes. Like learning a song on an instrument, it’s not about how fast your hands can move but getting the timing of the notes right. After enough practice you stop having to think about it and you just flow. In Sifu, each level is a song, you start at the beginning and work your way through, bar by bar, until you can put the whole thing together…. By it’s nature it can’t be for everyone - although credit to SloClap for trying - but man I love this game. And in a year where From Software released their magnum opus, the fact that this is my game of the year is a testament just how much I love this bloody game.” “A game that actually makes me feel like I can fight!” McShefferty! Glad to be here for this moment. And, as Disintegration7 adds: “Hard as nails, but totally satisfying beat-em-up, breathing life into a dust-covered genre. Really nails the whole kung-fu movie vibe.” MortenGamst first: “An engrossing game and spectacular to the eyes. Not quite the sense of wonder of the first game but a very enjoyable gameplay experience.” “The best open world in the business,” says Doctor_Hellsturm. “There are so many sights where you just put down the controller and admire the vista. Not a perfect game, but it is damn good, and Aloy and the rest of the cast in HFW is still a breath of fresh air from the myriads of gruff male characters with father-son issues.” Dunno what you’re talking about m8. “Plain pure nostalgia,” says Thwidra What say you, Carlos100? “It does what it says on the tin, it is more Monkey Island. I have enjoyed working through this with my two children who I introduced to the rest of the series last year, they are suprisingly good at coming up with solutions to puzzles, definitely a game for a hive mind to work through!” Firstly: Shop Smart, shop S Mart. Only one comment on this one. Bring it, Hazquatch: “Whacky multiplayer roles with a Sam Raimi IP that suits my desire to play smaller multiplayer experiences with a lot of personality.” Can’t argue with that. No chance we wouldn’t ask for the Zombie-Hamster take: “It’s a mark of how far God Of War has matured as a franchise (not just in terms of Kratos’ age!) that in the opening 30 minutes I was welling up on two separate occasions (curse you dying animals!).” We hear you! “Beyond that it perhaps hasn’t moved on so much from the previous God of War in terms of how it plays but when that was such a spectacular game that’s no bad thing. I think it’s the world building that impresses me the most, each realm is well realised and the characters are all superbly played, a genuine triumph of a game.” “Simply awesome,” says Mha71. Over to you, Cuttlefishjones. “Boy! Though Kratos has some weird ass stary eyes (seriously just stare at them for a while, they are freaky) this follow up knocked the ball out of the park. The story, the acting, the everything just made it so totally engrossing. And again they got the balance right on the effort\reward scale. It makes you want to play just to see the next big event. And what and ending. Seriously spectacular. I was hoping someone would get Kratos an eye bath though, maybe some optrex(tm)…” Other eye baths are available. “No content this year. Simply epic.” Axiom’s verdict is hard to argue with. “A game hasn’t given me such a feeling of sweep, scale, adventure, and limitlessness since I first played Ocarina of Time at age seven,” adds Freemboy. SomethingOriginal: “So much has been written about Elden Ring that I can’t really add anything other than to say all the positive stuff said about this game is right. Probably. Either that or I’m a video game masochist.” AmorousBadger brings us home: “I spent six months. SIX months. SIX MONTHS. playing through this and I still don’t think I saw all this game’s stories, secrets, nuances, horrors and delights. It does everything you want a FromSoft game to and then lets you play through how you want to. An all-time classic.” Wonderful stuff! All done! Happy new year everyone! Let’s do this all over again in 2023!
