2022 turned out to be a pretty fantastic year for gaming. Containing a great spread of AAA blockbuster titles, along with some incredible indie darlings, gamers were able to feast pretty well on whatever struck their fancy. I managed to play some stellar games over the past year, but looking back on every title that was released, I was struck by how many games I never got around to playing.
Several of these 'skipped' games would certainly have been in the running for this list — Return to Monkey Island, Cult of the Lamb, and Immortality all lept out at me as titles that I wish I'd had the chance to check out. No doubt I'll get to them next year when I inevitably dig into my backlog. Despite these missed opportunities, the games I did play this year made up a great list of titles that I'll cherish for years to come.
10 The Last Of Us Part 1
It feels a little odd placing The Last of Us Part 1 so low on this list. The game is a masterpiece and is easily in my top 5 favorite games of all time. Due to the fact that it's a remake, however, it didn't feel right having it any higher on this list. It already received its flowers back in 2013 (and again in 2014 with the release of the Remastered version for the PS4). Having said that, this from-the-ground-up remake for the PS5 is extremely impressive, achieving a graphical fidelity unparalleled in any other game released on the console.
The added accessibility features also offer the chance for some gamers to experience this phenomenal game when they might not have been able to before. If you've already played this game, it's the same experience you had back in 2013/2014, only much more beautiful. If this is your first time approaching this title, you won't want to miss out on this masterclass in storytelling. The Last of Us Part 1 is the definitive version for newcomers and veterans alike to experience this incredible game.
9 Vampire Survivors
I only recently got the chance to dig into Vampire Survivors (new baby life takes up so much time). After my first game ended fairly quickly, I felt a bit unimpressed. I'd heard so much great buzz about this game, and it just felt underwhelming. I decided to give it another go — I didn't fully understand the mechanics yet, after all. Fast-forward two hours, and I was absolutely hooked. What initially felt dull (running around the battlefield while auto-attacking) became something so incredibly satisfying.
Navigating between the hordes of bats, zombies, and ghosts became so engaging — especially with the array of magical projectiles eviscerating everything around me. It truly captures the magic of the 'just one more round' feeling, which quickly adds up when runs can last up to 30 minutes! Now, with the game having been released on mobile, I can't recommend this game enough. It's a deceptively simple but incredibly rewarding experience.
8 Tunic
A beautiful throw-back to classic Legend of Zelda titles, Tunic drops you in a mysterious world where you play as an adorable Fox warrior, exploring varying environments, discovering hidden passages, and unearthing secrets long buried. The combat of this game is fairly simplistic, and while it has some phenomenal level design, what truly makes it stand out is the incredibly innovative in-game manual.
You collect pages from the manual — reminiscent of old manuals that would come in a game's box — and each page teaches you something new about the game. As you collect these out-of-order pages, you'll discover abilities you never knew you had, find secret passages that were hidden in plain sight, and slowly unravel the mysteries of the world. The manual itself continues to surprise deep into the game where it further complicates the nature of the game itself.
7 Stray
Perhaps a controversial entry to some, but Stray managed to worm its way into my heart and leave a lasting impression on me. The game isn't terribly long, making for a quick visit into the colorful and sometimes dreary world of the underground, where machine beings have lived for untold centuries in the wake of humanity's collapse. While on its face, Stray might seem like a platformer, it's far from it — there isn't any real skill regarding the platforming itself — it's all handled with the simple press of a button.
But, it is in navigating these often beautiful and haunting environments where the game truly shines. The neon-lit streets of Midtown and the Slums were stunning, and I loved every second of exploring the areas as only a cat could. The sheer novelty of navigating these twisting, maze-like environments was more than enough to earn it a place on my top 10 for the year, but the narrative journey itself was more than worth my time.
6 Marvel Snap
I don't often dig into mobile games — the last one I really warmed to was Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes back in 2015. Every once in a while, however, a title comes along that hooks me. Marvel Snap is my newest gaming addiction. Created by several former Hearthstone devs, Marvel Snap manages to exist as a well-constructed deck-builder with lightning-fast rounds and varied and creative card interactions that leave a ton of room for creative deck construction.
Each card is based on beloved and obscure characters from the Marvel universe, and it is completely free to play. Sure, there are definitely ways to dump money into the game, but at this point, I've already put in at least 30 hours, and I haven't felt tempted to drop a dime. The gameplay loop is just a great time, and I'm still regularly acquiring new and interesting cards — with a ton still left to discover.
5 Citizen Sleeper
I decided to check out Citizen Sleeper on a whim after it came to Xbox Game Pass, and it took me completely by surprise. This sci-fi life sim has you living day-to-day on the Eye, a run-down space station at the edge of known space. The Essen-Arps corporation uploaded your consciousness into an artificial body to serve out a manual labor prison sentence, and your body is designed to deteriorate rapidly without maintenance in order to prevent runaways — the game opens with you having escaped to the Eye to live out your remaining days. Gameplay consists of dice rolls at the start of each day, and each day you are tasked with staying alive a bit longer.
Most of your time in the game will involve meeting new characters, clicking around and exploring the space station, and reading a lot of text. The game itself feels like a tabletop RPG in the best ways, and the quality of writing really carries you through what ends up being a remarkable experience. Complete with multiple endings and thoughtful themes, Citizen Sleeper solidified its place on my list with a thought-provoking and immersive narrative that I'll be thinking about for a long time to come.
4 Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West brings you back into the far-future world of machine dinosaurs as a blight threatens to destroy all life on Earth. One part of the game deals with tribal politics and contemporary feuds as another part dives deep into the past to resolve many lingering threads, all while balancing the impending doom of humanity itself.
Horizon Forbidden West is a worthy sequel to the memorable Horizon Zero Dawn, improving on every aspect of the original title with expanded melee combat, expanded enemy variety, and doubling down on an already pretty wild narrative established in the previous title. The game continues to deliver incredible Science Fiction presented in what so often feels like a Fantasy setting, and I can't wait for the next title to wrap up the epic story unfolding with Aloy and her companions.
3 Sifu
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My first 'addiction' of the year, Sifu was a title I'd long been anticipating. I never played the developer's previous game, Absolver, but the fluidity of combat and beautiful atmosphere struck me from its first trailer. I was thrilled to discover that not only was I not disappointed, but it would turn out to be my favorite indie title of the year. Incredibly punishing at times and immensely satisfying to master, Sifu managed to hook me with its hard-hitting combos and simple but engaging narrative of revenge.
The mechanic of aging with every death also brought a fun twist to the game, requiring you to 'git gud' enough to fight your way through the entire game and beat every boss before hitting your maximum age limit. While some players justifiably found this game too punishing at launch, the developer has since gone back in and added difficulty options, making it much more accessible for newcomers to approach.
2 God Of War Ragnarok
My final two entries were honestly a toss-up, and one I struggled with far more than was warranted. Despite giving God of War Ragnarok a 10/10 review, it ultimately fell at number 2 on my list — but honestly, these top two games are completely interchangeable depending on my mood at any given moment. God of War Ragnarok is not only an incredible game in its own right — delivering visceral combat, an engrossing story, and phenomenal voice acting — but it managed to deliver a worthy sequel and follow-up to God of War (2018), a masterpiece in its own right.
I've been eagerly anticipating this title since finishing God of War (2018), and I honestly expected it to fall short of my frankly impossible expectations, but it managed to exceed them. It even delivered on a surprisingly deep post-game. This game is everything I want out of 3rd person narrative-driven action-adventure games, which is a genre I've grown to adore ever since first playing the flawed but thrilling Uncharted: Drake's Fortune back in 2007.
1 Elden Ring
The only thing that could have surpassed my love for 3rd person narrative-driven action-adventure games is my irrational obsession with FromSoftware titles. Elden Ring, another wildly anticipated game for the year, was FromSoftware's first foray into the open-world genre, and wow did they deliver. They captured the essence of what makes their titles so engrossing — incredible creature and level design, rewarding and challenging combat — and combined that with a truly unforgettable open-world experience.
Every Legacy Dungeon fulfilled their signature unparalleled level design, and every vista delivered on the promise of something new and exciting around every corner, under every mountain, and hidden away in every corner of the Lands Between. While I found the game's boss fights not quite as strong as some of their previous titles, they all synergized beautifully with the remarkable setting and world design.