Honestly this year was one of the weakest years in gaming. For several reasons in fact. I did way more social activities and played a tone board games.
But during my exam phase I played a game the stuck in my mind very heavily.
Far Changing Tides
I played the first part before and was intrigued. I saw that the second part is in gamepass and it was the perfect chill and small game I needed that time. First of all stellar soundtrack. It immediately landed in my study list and I still listen to it. I absolutely loved the setting. Post environmental changed world and water in a post apocalypse. Interesting gameplay. Gorgeous artstyle and lovely effects and 2D camera work makes this my goty.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
While a disappointment still a great game but the story for me was a total failure and I am sad my most anticipated game of the year was such a disappointment.
Danganronpa
Completed it with my girlfriend was a neat experience we had a lot fun finding the clues and solving the mystery
Vampire Survivors
Yeah that is my list…
I suspect Grounded and High on Life would’ve been on here but neither I completed in time and A plague tale requiem is another disappointment
Ongoing:
Sea of Thieves
Favorite game of all time nothing to add.
Halo Infinite
Still a very fun shooter I wish the br would get nerved rank is not fun. Game needs desperately new/more weapons.
Instead here is a list of my favorite board games of the year I played last year
Terraforming Mars
Barrage
The Crew
Feed the Kraken
Everdell
Underwater Cities
Yes Elden Ring is missing I literally had not the patience to complete it but played about 20 hours was great! On the other side this year looks very very promising!
Tinykin - I love this above all other games. It was a love letter to platforming, with such a wonderful world and level design, as well as actually managing to make movement around the world incredibly fun, which is key to making a collectathon type game actually fun. Genuinely one of the best experiences I’ve had playing a game in decades. Try it.
Immortality - Is this a game? Who fucking knows. But I will say that it was one of the only actually mind blowing experiences I’ve had as a gamer where YOU are the character in the game, a true RPG, but delivered in such a strange way, with such a strange story.
Vampire Survivors - I’m the same as everyone else; wrote this off as a strange bit-graphics nonsense, and when I tried it I didn’t get it… and then I did get it, and then I was hooked. A brilliant concept perfectly executed and delivered. Brilliant.
Norco - Narrative games are my new things, and thanks to Game Pass I can go back and play a bunch. And this… this got it’s teeth into me. A deliciously simple premise, but with a deeply odd and almost David Lynch style world, delivered ina gorgeous bit art and synth wave style. Do not miss this.
As Dusk Falls - I know folk weren’t too sure about the delivery of this story, nor that even if the story manage to hold up, but I found it compelling and incredibly engaging, despite it also not really being a game!
Prodeus - Now this is a game. Fuck me. Glorious shooter in amazing levels with brilliant weapons. If you fancy fucking smashing a bunch of folk, then this is it.
High on Life - This was a lot more fun than I was expecting, and honestly I didn’t find it that funny… but the gameplay actually, in my view, holds up. It’s a great game, with good movement mechanics and guns that, despite the talking, feel great. The gunplay and traversal are excellent. Music too.
Didn’t play a lot of 2022 releases since Elden Ring & Bayonetta 3 consumed my life last year plus I played/revisited a lot of older games but I had a ton of fun with all of them. Here is my list:
Elden Ring - Spent over 300hrs into this world and I am still tempted to start a new save file. Along with BotW Elden Ring is the best open world game that I have ever played mostly due to the unparalleled sense of discovery and exploration, of course the god-tier boss gauntlet and impeccable designed legacy dungeons were two more reasons to fall in love with this game. From proved for one more time that they are among the top studios of the industry.
Bayonetta 3 - Instead of releasing a Bayonetta 2.5 Platinum instead decided to bring something fresh to the series and the genre with Bayonetta 3, the inclusion of Demon Slaves is a game changer in so many ways. Amazing combat system, a batshit insane amount of content and an enjoyable story makes this easily one of the best games in the genre IMO.
Tinykin - This was the surprise of the year for me, Tinykin is such a fun and relaxing experience that was really refreshing to see. Collectathon platformers can still be relevant today and Tinykin is the proof. Can’t wait to see what this team does next!
Indeed. And keep playing! Because I noticed that @CallMeCraig’s list included both Monkey Island (a game I loved) and Norco (a game I was intrigued by, but hadn’t played,) I decided to give the latter a shot.
It’s now a couple of days later and while I haven’t completed Norco yet, I really, really like it. So much so that it’s shot up to #4 on my list, bumping A Plague Tale off it altogether.
edit: Credit for nudging me to give Norco a shot also goes to @jasheeldz, who wrote a compelling paragraph about the game.
Sonic Frontiers: Huge Sonic fan, so really glad this turned out well. Of course, it isn’t perfect. The game’s got some jank and it certainly felt like some aspects weren’t totally fleshed out towards the end of the game. But man, this game was a blast. Whether it be running around in the open world, fighting enemies, speedrunning cyberspace levels, or partaking in the game’s amazing boss fights, this game was just so hard to put down. Also, the music, oh man. You can definitely tell the team cares this time around, and I’m really excited to see what’s next.
Persona 5 Royal: I know it’s a port but I’m gonna include it anyway. It’s too good of a game not to do so. The turn-based gameplay felt quite fluid, and I loved going through the game’s many dungeons. The awesome presentation and music just elevated the experience even more. I honestly didn’t like the social aspects at first, but they grew on me as I went on. The story was great, but it was the Royal-exclusive third semester that really elevated it for me, that whole segment was definitely one of the best things in gaming I’ve experienced thus far.
AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative: Fantastic follow-up to the original game. It’s got a really intriguing plot with some awesome twists and a great cast of characters. Definitely something you should experience if you’re into mystery stories or visual novels!
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga: Probably one of the best LEGO games yet. It would’ve been nice if the levels were longer and had more depth to them, but there are a lot of them and they do a great job at representing all the different eras of Star Wars. The hub worlds are fantastic, though. It’s a lot of fun just going around, solving puzzles and collecting things. There’s a ton of content in the game, definitely worth it.
Soul Hackers 2: This is a pretty good JRPG fix. The gameplay’s pretty fun, in typical Atlus fashion, and I loved the process of collecting and fusing demons. Unfortunately, I did feel like the other aspects of the game were lackluster, such as the story, cast, and dungeon design. However, I had a fun time overall and I’m glad this game got me into Shin Megami Tensei. Hopefully the mainline games come over to Xbox one day!
PowerWash Simulator: I think this counts, right? I didn’t expect to enjoy this game as much as I did. It’s a great way to kill some time and relax.
list and I still listen to it. I absolutely loved the setting. Post environmental changed world and water in a post apocalypse. Interesting gameplay. Gorgeous artstyle and lovely effects and 2D camera work makes this my goty.
