The Rllmuk Game of the Year Awards 2022 - Voting thread - voting closed

[iwubcode]

@Benny Edited 🤗

 

[Unofficial Who]

Here's a question @Benny, although from the posts I've seen it will only affect one post.

 

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe was released in 2022 but it doesn't have a separate page to the 2013 original. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stanley_Parable

 

How to proceed?

 

Also Arcade Paradise isn't on wikipedia.

 

Neither is Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration.

[Stanley]

@BennyI have edited one of my entries 

I removed A plague Tale: Requiem and replaced it with Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope, a straight swap 

[thesnwmn]

3 hours ago, Unofficial Who said:

Here's a question @Benny, although from the posts I've seen it will only affect one post.

 

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe was released in 2022 but it doesn't have a separate page to the 2013 original. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stanley_Parable

 

How to proceed?

 

Also Arcade Paradise isn't on wikipedia.

 

Neither is Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration.

 

The rules were clarified for games without Wiki pages...

 

Quote

If there is no Wikipedia page, first of all well done you found the good shit that came out in 2022 that no fucker bothered to make a Wikipedia page for, but then use your own discretion (but full title) as I doubt anyone else will use a different naming convention for it.

 

[Unofficial Who]

2 hours ago, thesnwmn said:

 

The rules were clarified for games without Wiki pages...

 

Thanks @thesnwmn, I'd somehow missed that in the excitement.

 

I've had to deal with collating data before and totally understand how much of a headache different names for the same work can be.

[Unofficial Who]

Game of the Year

 

1. Vampire Survivors

2. The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe (2022)

3. Atari 50

4. Arcade Paradise

5. Tunic (video game)

 

Biggest disappointment:

 

1. Scorn (video game)

2. Pac-Man Museum +

3. PS5

 

Best visuals

 

1. God of War Ragnarök

2. Stray (video game)

3. Tunic (video game)

 

Best audio

 

1. Vampire Survivors

2. The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe (2022)

3. Tunic (video game)

 

Best writing

 

1. The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe (2022)

2. Return to Monkey Island

3. Aperture Desk Job

 

Best not 2022 game:

 

1. Slay the Spire

2. The Train: Escape to Normandy

3. The Forgotten City

 

Best developer:

 

From Software

 

Best format/console/controller/brain interface:

 

Gamepass

 

Spoiler

2022 was a bumper year and I just didn’t have time to get to everything. There are loads of excellent games not included in my list that I’ll be kicking myself over next year.

 

Game of the Year

 

1. Vampire Survivors

I remember reading about this cheap little game on Metafilter of all places. I was set to dismiss it, I’ve got plenty to play and wasn’t interested in something in early access but I was intrigued by a comment about how the developer had somehow “found the fun early on in development.” A quick try on the browser version on itchio had me racing to Steam to pick this up. I quickly completed it with the few achievements it offered. But two weeks later there was a new build with more achievements. The same two weeks after that. Playing each new build quickly became a bit of a ritual and by year’s end and the game’s full release I’d played more hours of this than any other game. And then I started from scratch on Gamepass.

 

Remember when you were a kid and you risked a few dollars on a budget release and ended up getting a game that put many full price games to shame? A deal where you felt almost like you’d stolen from the developer? That’s this game. Compulsive in the extreme, a dual stick shooter that removes one of the sticks I predict this will be the most cloned game in 2023.
 

2. The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe (2022)

 

I thought they’d pretty much covered everything there was to cover back in 2013. I was wrong. There’s so much here to discover, even for seasoned players of the original. It’s the rarest of things, a reworked joke that’s even better than the original telling.

 

3. Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration

 

Bit of a cheat this. Let’s be honest, a lot of these compilations are interactive museums of games that are no longer fun to play. This package treats this as an interactive museum. It’s not exhaustive in the games included but it treats them as exhibits you can play around with and then read or watch mini documentaries putting the various titles in context. There’s also some neat newly made versions of classics, the standout being VCTR-SCTR, a wireframe mash up of several Atari classics. I defy anyone not to be amused by the juxtaposition of David Crane talking about how the rumours of Atari being full of drug addled programmers was overhyped before switching to Todd Frye talking candidly about how baked he was when he coded his best work. And you get Tempest 2000 as part of the deal making it instantly worth it.

 

4. Arcade Paradise

 

Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This pseudo management game has you discretely turning your father’s laundromat into an arcade, balancing washing clothes, maintaining machines and nipping out back to play clones of popular old games. On their own the games and the mechanics of running the place are nothing special but together there’s a weird atmosphere that just makes it work. Or maybe it’s the fulfilment of one of my childhood dreams of running an arcade.

 

5. Tunic (video game)

 

This game is all about the atmosphere for me taking me back to my youth poring over manuals and guides. By drip feeding you information you slowly build an understanding of how the game works. I didn’t get on with the combat, but the game caters for those of us who aren’t into Dark Souls style dodging and blocking combat allowing you to modify combat (or get rid of it entirely) allowing you to just explore and poke at the mysterious puzzles. (Some might chafe at this, but I felt it was true to the golden age of gaming where some of us would resort to pokes to modify elements of the game.) This game captured that feeling of being a child and trying to work out a mysterious game with scant information.

 

Biggest disappointment:

 

1. Scorn (video game)

I expected a 3D version of Darkseed. What I got was the best parts of Darkseed (the Giger style graphics) along with the worst parts of Darkseed (endless wandering about, puzzles that made no sense.) Some things are best left in the past.
 

2. Pac-Man Museum +

This feels like the opposite to the care taken in Atari 50 where this package was just chucked out there with the bare minimum of effort. Unity is brilliant for a lot of things but emulating old titles? The lag that is introduced makes even the most basic of games completely unplayable. The risk here is that fans of Namco’s old games are going to try this and think that maybe these games were always awful. Not so.
 

3. PS5. So we have a launch PS5. And to be fair it’s been used heavily. But it shouldn’t be failing 18 months in. We’ve cleaned it out and it’s always been well ventilated, but it’s struggled with Guardians of the Galaxy and Stray this year. God of War Ragnarök appears to have been the final straw for it. To say I’m disappointed is an understatement. Add in the new PSPlus subscription at the highest tier which has offered a distinct lack of the promised classic releases (I’m in a country where streaming isn’t an option) and I’m very close to just packing it in and moving solely to their competitors.

 

Best visuals

 

1. God of War Ragnarök

The original is no slouch but the little that I’ve played of this is even better.
 

2. Stray (video game)

Thanks to some fantastic art direction this looks like a AAA game.
 

3. Tunic (video game)

I know the tilt shift thing has been done to death, but I loved how the game looked like a tiny diorama.

 

Best audio

 

1. Vampire Survivors

The original soundtrack is burned into my brain. And the sound effects of opening the chests is pure endorphin. (Just don’t try the “new” sound effects. They’re awful.)
 

2. The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe (2022)

The narrator might be older, his voice a little cracklier, but Kevan Brighting’s performance is a big reason why the game works.
 

3. Tunic (video game)

 

Mysterious and ethereal.

 

Best writing

 

1. The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe (2022)

I thought I couldn’t be surprised by the Stanley Parable after the 2013 original. I was wrong.
 

2. Return to Monkey Island

Did Ron Gilbert stick the landing? Maybe not but I found what’s probably the last Monkey Island game both funny and sentimental.
 

3. Aperture Desk Job

The writing in this short game / tutorial made me miss the writing Valve used to do for games, especially the Portal games.

 

Best not 2022 game:

 

1. Slay the Spire

So good I had to ban myself from playing it after an intensive two months lest I get nothing else done. It’s terrifying how well made this card game is.
 

2. The Train: Escape to Normandy

To be clear I’m talking about the C64 original. It’s a game that feels very modern despite being made in 1988. Capturing a train full of artwork stolen by the Nazi’s you have to drive a train to Normandy, stopping along the way capturing train stations. There’s an incredible satisfaction in learning how to move the train and balance its needs for steam pressure and fuel as well as planning out your route and manning guns. For someone not really interested in trains or World War 2 this captured my attention for a lot longer than I expected this year. A bona fide lost classic.
 

3. The Forgotten City

 

Rather than a large open world this “city” is tiny, it also has an elegant way of dealing with common frustrations within time loop-based games which I don’t want to spoil here. It’s the gaming version of Groundhog Day whereas someone who has stumbled into a lost city you need to work out how to escape without breaking any of the golden rules that will lead to the death of everyone in the city.

 

Best developer:

 

From Software

 

I don’t even play their games, but I have to admire how they’ve found a niche and excelled in their releases. I’m highly tempted to give Elden Ring a try.

 

Best format/console/controller/brain interface:

 

Gamepass

Still one of the best bargains in gaming that puts Sony’s efforts to shame.

 

[Stoikovich]

Game of the Year

 

1. Vampire Survivors

2. Elden Ring

3. OlliOlli World

4.

5.

 

Biggest disappointment:

 

1. Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass

2.

3.

 

Best visuals

 

1.

2.

3.

 

Best audio

 

1. Vampire Survivors

2.

3.

 

Best writing

 

1.

2.

3.

 

Best not 2022 game:

 

1. Super Mario 3D World

2.

3.

 

Best developer:

 

poncle

 

Best format/console/controller/brain interface:

 

Nintendo Switch

[Benny]

2 hours ago, Unofficial Who said:

 

Thanks @thesnwmn, I'd somehow missed that in the excitement.

 

I've had to deal with collating data before and totally understand how much of a headache different names for the same work can be.

 

Plus anything without a Wiki you should probably make sure you use the same naming convention if anyone else also votes for the same thing. E.g. copy the name the first person to vote for it used.

 

Also, if anyone edits their entries please link to the post as well, saves me combing the thread again.

[Unofficial Who]

36 minutes ago, Benny said:

 

Plus anything without a Wiki you should probably make sure you use the same naming convention if anyone else also votes for the same thing. E.g. copy the name the first person to vote for it used.

 

Also, if anyone edits their entries please link to the post as well, saves me combing the thread again.

 

Changed Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration to Atari 50 to match the other earlier contribution.

https://www.rllmukforum.com/index.php?/topic/329258-the-rllmuk-game-of-the-year-awards-2022-voting-thread/page/6/#comment-13807056

 

 

And that's the only change I'll be making. Thanks again @Benny

[Stopharage]

Game of the Year

 

1. Elden Ring 

2. Vampire Survivors

3. Immortality (video game)

4. Powerwash Simulator

5. Arcade Paradise

 

Biggest disappointment:

 

1. The lack of quality AAA games on the Xbox

2. Somerville (video game)

3. Sony's dreadful rollout of their GamePass equivalents. 

 

Best visuals

 

1. Elden Ring

2. Immortality (video game)

3. Pentiment (video game)

 

Best audio

 

1. Elden Ring

2. A Plague Tale: Requiem

3. Vampire Survivors

 

Best writing

 

1. Pentiment (video game)

2. Citizen Sleeper

3. Immortality (video game)

 

Best not 2022 game:

 

1. Cyberpunk 2077

2. Road 96

3. It Takes Two (video game)

 

Best developer:

 

From Software

 

Best format/console/controller/brain interface:

 

Steam Deck

[Benny]

Has Cyberpunk 2077 suddenly become not shit now or something?

[Sexton Hardcastle]

Yes, it’s excellent, and finally delivers on its promise - It got a major patch that fixed all the issues. If it was a new release I’m sure it would be in most peoples Top 2 now

[Alan Stock]

I've done a big write-up on all my choices, as well as bunch of honourable mentions. Grab a coffee, and head to the Spoiler section of this linked post if you want to see:

 

@Benny Note that I haven't changed any of my votes, just added content in the writeup.

[Benny]

[Benny]

Only today and tomorrow and Monday to get your votes in or make edits, just a reminder.

[Benny]

And at long last the Benny List^tm

 

And holding back on detailed thoughts for the moment because you never know what might make it in and need a bigger write-up... But some stuff will follow in the quote below.

 

Game of the Year

 

1. Citizen Sleeper

2. Cultic

3. Return to Monkey Island

4. Pentiment (video game)

5. A Plague Tale: Requiem

 

Biggest disappointment

 

1. Scorn

2. Overwatch 2

3. High on Life

 

Best visuals

 

1. Pentiment

2. Cultic

3. A Plague Tale: Requiem

 

Best audio

 

1. Return to Monkey Island

2. Metal: Hellsinger

3. Vampire Survivors

 

Best writing

 

1. Pentiment

2. Card Shark

3. Return to Monkey Island

 

Best not 2022 game

 

1. Ultrakill

2. Slay the Spire

3. Final Fantasy VII Remake

 

Best developer

 

Half Mermaid

 

Best format/console/controller/brain interface

 

Game Pass

 

And the words:

 

Quote

Game of the Year
 

1. Pentiment

 

Oh I'll have a lot more to say about this one, don't you worry.

 

2. Card Shark

 

It does seem somewhat difficult these days for games to approach what I would call true original concepts, but Card Shark somehow simulates a concept I'm surprised no game has ever tried before to my knowledge: learning and using the ability to cheat at cards. It's whimsical, and brilliant.

 

3. Cultic

It's not even my favourite Boomer Shooter this year but what a superb and precise recreation of a very specific kind of game from the mid to late 90s. But it's somehow more than that. It looks hideous. It feels janky. It's perfect.

 

4. Return to Monkey Island

 

When I reflect back on the games I really enjoyed this year, nothing can beat Return to Monkey Island for the way it truly speaks to a player of a certain age and with such a knowing nod to the pitfalls of nostalgia. There's something loving and warm about RtMI that embraces you and never lets go until the credits roll. Magic.

 

5. A Plague Tale: Requiem

I feel like Requiem may not have been really that good an actual game when it comes down to it, and much weaker than its sequel, but gosh darn there's just something about it that I keep thinking about.

 

At least three of my picks this year, even four if you count Monkey Island, are set in periods of history that are criminally underexplored in games, both in terms of game concepts and visuals, writing and atmosphere. Here are games that span 14th and 18th century France, and 16th century Bavaria, with a side order of swashbuckling pirates and 50s horror.

 

When people say games are getting stale or that there is nothing interesting in the gaming landscape these days, or who make long lists of shit games of the year and cannot hold back their disappointment, I cannot help but think the sheer variety and quality of what is out there if you have a genuine desire to seek it out and take a chance is immense. This was a bumper year, and full of wonders.

However:

 

Biggest disappointment

 

1. Scorn

Giger rip off or not, I was hoping this would at least be a visually arresting and haunting experience. The only haunting it gave me was the existential nightmare of how much time I had wasted trying to engage with its utterly terrible combat sequences and poorly thought out checkpoints and puzzles.
 

2. Overwatch 2

Calling it a sequel was honestly an open and shut case of false advertising. Somehow the soul was ripped from the game, nothing much about it changed enough to call it a sequel, and the launch was a disaster.
 

3. High on Life

I enjoy Rick and Morty. But stretch that humour over several hours of truly awfully mediocre FPS combat, where the game seems to be hell bent on peddling a rubbish, in your face idea that videogames suck, actually, whilst it constantly does something shitty to try to drive that ill advised joke home, again and again. It just comes across as mean spirited and deliberately trying to sap the joy from you. With the addition of truly execrable looping combat music to cap it off.

 

Best visuals

 

1. Pentiment

A manuscript inspired style that is truly wonderful
 

2. Cultic

Absolute filth.
 

3. A Plague Tale: Requiem

A pure technical showcase of some of the most arresting imagery of the year

 

Best audio

 

1. Return to Monkey Island

The nostalgia is strong in this one. But it's so warm and inviting.
 

2. Metal: Hellsinger

I do love a bit of metal me, and this was a real treat.
 

3. Vampire Survivors

Somehow the Library tune is just burned into my brain and won't go away. Maybe if I play it again it will sort that out...

 

Best writing

 

1. Pentiment

A story that deals with so much more than it first appears. An unforgettable journey
 

2. Card Shark

Some people dislike "whimsy", but this game is as sharp as it is droll.
 

3. A Plague Tale: Requiem Return to Monkey Island

Performance can count for a lot when it comes to AA or AAA videogames these days, and I think the actors in this are criminally underrated.

 

Best not 2022 game

 

1. Ultrakill

It's my actual game of 2022, but rules are rules... Maybe it'll get a chance in 2023 when it's properly out.
 

2. Slay the Spire

I've sunk even more hours into it than ever, and there's no sign of that stopping yet.
 

3. ZeroRanger Final Fantasy VII Remake

I went through a little shmup adventure earlier this year, after I broke my hand and the only controller I could adequately move was an arcade stick. And ZeroRanger is one of the best I've ever played. a massive pain in the arse and I've replaced its entry with Final Fantasy VII Remake because that game surprised and delighted me also without being a complete prick at the end.

Honourable mentions: MUSHA, Shadow of War, Blade Runner, Horizon Chase Turbo.

 

Best developer

 

Half Mermaid - others liked their new game more than me, but the sheer depth of work that must have gone into it is mind boggling

 

Best format/console/controller/brain interface

 

Game Pass - without which I would most likely not have sampled so many weird and wonderful games

 

[Benny]

Can't help but think I'm forgetting something this year. Ah well, probably not important.

[layten]

Game of the Year

 

1. Vampire Survivors

2. Return to Monkey Island

3.

4.

5.

 

Biggest disappointment:

 

1.

2.

3.

 

Best visuals

 

1.

2.

3.

 

Best audio

 

1.

2.

3.

 

Best writing

 

1.

2.

3.

 

Best not 2022 game:

 

1. Final Fantasy XIV

2. Cyberpunk 2077

3.

 

Best developer:

 

Terrible Toybox

 

Best format/console/controller/brain interface:

 

PC

[PyramidFace]

11 hours ago, Benny said:

And at long last the Benny List^tm

 

And holding back on detailed thoughts for the moment because you never know what might make it in and need a bigger write-up... But some stuff will follow in the quote below.

 

Game of the Year

 

1. Return to Monkey Island

2. Card Shark

3. Cultic

4. Pentiment

5. A Plague Tale: Requiem

 

Biggest disappointment

 

1. Scorn

2. Overwatch 2

3. High on Life

 

Best visuals

 

1. Pentiment

2. Cultic

3. A Plague Tale: Requiem

 

Best audio

 

1. Return to Monkey Island

2. Metal: Hellsinger

3. Vampire Survivors

 

Best writing

 

1. Pentiment

2. Card Shark

3. A Plague Tale: Requiem

 

Best not 2022 game

 

1. Ultrakill

2. Gloomhaven

3. ZeroRanger

 

Best developer

 

Half Mermaid

 

Best format/console/controller/brain interface

 

Game Pass

 

And the words:

 

 

 

Please adhere to the rules set out by Benny in the first post of this thread.

 

Per Benny's rules, every game you list must use its full title as it appears on the individual game's Wikipedia page. For example, Pentiment should be listed as "Pentiment (video game)" - not "Pentiment".

 

 

Benny set out the rules of this thread for a reason. Please respect his time and follow them. We don't want another Cassidy situation here.

[Benny]

I knew someone would bite. Congrats on winning the prize 

 

Spoiler

Obviously I follow my own rules - I just copy them in directly from Wikipedia rather than from the forum. Because I'm the one collating them I obviously don't need to copy from my own post

 

[KRP]

Game of the Year

1. Immortality (video game)
2. Elden Ring
3. Return to Monkey Island
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land
5.

Biggest disappointment:

1. No big tent pole Nintendo release this year
2. Splatoon 3 - it’s still a cracking cracking game but it’s crying out for a real one player campaign
3. 

 

Best visuals

1. Immortality (video game)
2. Elden Ring
3. Somerville (video game)

 

Best audio

1. Immortality (video game)
2. 
3.

 

Best writing

1. Immortality (video game)
2.
3.

 

Best not 2022 game:

1. Persona 5 Royal
2.
3.

Best developer:

FromSoftware

 

Best format/console/controller/brain interface:

Nintendo Switch

[drkbfhmmr]

Game of the Year

 

1. Elden Ring

2. Kirby and the Forgotten Land

3. Nintendo Switch Sports

4.

5.

 

Biggest disappointment:

 

1.

2.

3.

 

Best visuals

 

1. Elden Ring

2. Kirby and the Forgotten Land

3. Nintendo Switch Sports

 

Best audio

 

1. Elden Ring

2. Kirby and the Forgotten Land

3. Nintendo Switch Sports

 

Best writing

 

1. Elden Ring

2. Kirby and the Forgotten Land

3.

 

Best not 2022 game:

 

1. Total War: Warhammer II

2. Halo: The Master Chief Collection

3. Dragon Quest XI

 

Best developer:

 

here

 

Best format/console/controller/brain interface:

 

PC

[thesnwmn]

12 minutes ago, drkbfhmmr said:

Game of the Year

 

1. Elden Ring

2. Kirby and the Forgotten Land

3. Nintendo Switch Sports

4.

5.

 

Biggest disappointment:

 

1.

2.

3.

 

Best visuals

 

1. Elden Ring

2. Kirby and the Forgotten Land

3. Nintendo Switch Sports

 

Best audio

 

1. Elden Ring

2. Kirby and the Forgotten Land

3. Nintendo Switch Sports

 

Best writing

 

1. Elden Ring

2. Kirby and the Forgotten Land

3.

 

Best not 2022 game:

 

1. Total War: Warhammer II

2. Halo: The Master Chief Collection

3. Dragon Quest XI

 

Best developer:

 

here

 

Best format/console/controller/brain interface:

 

PC

 

I think you've forgotten to include Nintendo Switch Sports on your best writing list /s

[pinholestar]

Game of the Year

 

1. Elden Ring

2. Grounded (video game)

3. Deathloop

4. Tunic (video game)

5. A Plague Tale: Requiem

 

Biggest disappointment:

 

1. Somerville (video game)

2. Weird West (video game)

3. Scorn (video game)

 

Best visuals

 

1. Elden Ring

2. A Plague Tale: Requiem

3. Trek to Yomi

 

Best audio

 

1. A Plague Tale: Requiem

2. Tunic (video game)

3. Metal: Hellsinger 

 

Best writing

 

1. Pentiment (video game)

2. Citizen Sleeper

3. High on Life (video game)

 

Best not 2022 game:

 

1. Cyberpunk 2077

2. Subnautica

3. Persona 5 Royal

 

Best developer:

 

FromSoftware

 

Best format/console/controller/brain interface:

 

Xbox Game Pass

 

[MW_Jimmy]

Game of the Year

 

1. Elden Ring

2. Splatoon 3 

3. Pocky and Rocky Reshrined 

4. Sonic Frontiers

5. Grapple Dog

 

Biggest disappointment:

 

1. Yuji Naka 

2.

3.

 

Best visuals

 

1. Splatoon 3

2. Elden Ring

3. Pocky and Rocky Reshrined

 

Best audio

 

1. Splatoon 3

2. Grapple Dog

3. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass 

 

Best writing

 

1.

2.

3.

 

Best not 2022 game:

 

1. Soul Hackers

2. Murder by Numbers

3. Assault Android Cactus +

 

Best developer:

 

FromSoftware

 

Best format/console/controller/brain interface:

 

Playdate

 

 

WORDS AND RATIONALE

 

Spoiler

Elden Ring

 

Yeah yeah, Elden Ring. Never guaranteed to take the top spot at all but seeing all of those votes for it, you start taking for granted what Elden Ring accomplishes. I really like the Souls series but I wouldn’t say I am one of those hardcore day one types, completing them multiple times or anything. I’ve only played most of Dark Souls and completed Bloodborne. I think the part that hooked me into buying this was the fact that I was hearing that reviewers were struggling to finish the game by review deadlines, not because of the difficulty but because of the sheer size and openness. I went into Elden Ring like all other of these games (no guides, no multiplayer, no magic, no reading anything!) and thus, my first two weeks with this was the most incredible sense of adventure and discovery in a game in a very long time. I think the part I love the most about Elden Ring is how seamlessly it meld open world areas and intricate soulsy labyrinths and very often concort them into spaces you didn't anticipate. 

 

[sidenote: I played on PS4 and low key enjoyed that the best way to play this was in fact the PS4 version on a PS5. I also really liked the fact that distanced enemies would often move at half frame rate which gave the animation a Ray Harryhausen vibe. And so yes, I hope that crossgen continues to be a thing.]

 

Splatoon 3

 

A very very close 2nd! Splatoon 3 absolutely grabbed me this year and dominated my daily playtime. It is very much an evolution of Splatoon 2 but it has far too many changes that it absolutely is a worthwhile sequel. I can’t quite put my finger on what has changed but the moment to moment gameplay just feels so much better - more in control and snappier. The visual and audio information has been tweaked in small ways and getting in and out of games is much more streamlined and quicker. The overall presentation is just leagues ahead of anything else I play. The other reason for my playtime is that I discovered I really enjoyed the layers of complexity in mastering one of the new weapons - the Tri-Stringer, and mastering motion controls (note: Splatoon doesn't have any auto aim). Splatoon rewards dedication to learning a weapon, in the same way you stick with one character in a fighting game. Delving deeper and deeper into the mechanics and I cannot help being impressed with the level of depth and balance Nintendo has managed to achieve. Incredibly open and friendly to beginners with the highest of skill ceilings for the dedicated.

 

Pocky & Rocky Reshrined

 

Probably the final of the Tengo Project remakes and they really did save the best one for last! This looked and felt fantastic from seeing the very first footage and playing this really felt like an imported game from yesteryear. It has such polish everywhere and, unlike the original, I managed to master this. Built for single playthroughs and replaying again and again.

 

Sonic Frontiers

 

In the quest to make Sonic work in 3D, he has proven to be the most flexible of mascot characters - everything has been done to give him different abilities and movesets to fix into a template that will work. Sonic Frontiers takes the opposite approach - leave Sonic as is but lets mould and bend the world to fit Sonic. Toss the believability to one side - let's fill the game full of little puzzles everywhere - enemies, structures, mini-games - they all exist solely to test your abilities with Sonic. Turns out when you give Sonic a gameworld for him, you end up with a good video game.

 

Grapple Dog

 

I love games with good movement mechanics and grappling hooks are always great. The hook in this feels similar to Umihara Kawase and allows you to make some really cool momentum based jumps. There is also a lot of Sonic in the jumping and Donkey Country with mechanics that mimic the barrel based movement. There are also quirks in the movement too - he rolls into a ball in a very precise way that takes some getting used to - but as with all great platformers mastering the game (and 100% completion) is extremely satisfying

 

Best Audio

 

Note: I have made a short playlist to go with the words below:

 

 

Grapple Dog is pure Sega breaks and funk - Jet Set Radio and Toejam and Earl vibes

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass gave Nintendo the best opportunity to get the band back together and I am so glad that they did. Truly one of the best things about MK8 is the live band and on the track I have included here, Sky High Sundae, the bass player goes hard.

Just outside the Top 3 a mention to Final Vendetta - a side scrolling beat-em-up taking cues for Final Fight and Streets of Rage. The soundtrack leans into the 90’s house and techno sound and provided by great breakbeat artist Featurecast, and even has a couple of tracks from YOU-YOU-YOU UTAH SAINTS!

 

The best soundtrack of the year has to be Splatoon 3 though. There is no other game around in which the music forms such an integral part of the experience and yet has no actual consequence on the gameplay. It doesn't really deviate from Splatoon 2 formula much but just the breadth of stuff here is almost exhausting - every gamemode has its own feel and soundtrack - from the punkish 3 minute blasts for versus, groovy electronica single player, and the avant garde slightly discordant, salmon run. The cherry-on-top is Anarchy Rainbow - a theme song that perfectly encapsulates the Splatoon world and masterfully mixes the styles of the band members Shiver (japanese folk and electronica), Frye (indian flutes and percussion) and Big Man (brazilian samba).

 

Best Not 2022 game

 

I actually started playing Soul Hackers before the sequel was announced this year - it has been a game I’ve been wanting to play for such a long time as one of the few Sega Saturn RPGs to get a modern-ish port. The 3DS felt like the perfect platform for this. The whole anime cyberpunk aesthetic and netscape era internet is great and SMT games are something I feel very at home with. In my head this is still how all cyberpunk is but begrudgingly recognise Soul Hackers 2 is the modern take.

 

[feltmonkey]

Game of the Year

 

1. Elden Ring

2. Trombone Champ

3. Vampire Survivors

4. Splatoon 3

5. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

 

Biggest disappointment:

 

1. The way the world forgot about Qatar's human rights abuses and the deaths of thousands of migrant workers over the course of the World Cup, even as Qatar ramped up the horror.

2. The Torys finding new ways to screw ordinary people.  How do they keep getting worse and worse?

3. I dunno, Darktide's net code or something.

 

Best visuals

 

1. Elden Ring

2. Tunic

3. Immortality

 

Best audio

 

1. Trombone Champ

2. Elden Ring

3. Splatoon 3

 

Best writing

 

1. Elden Ring

2. Immortality

3. Action Button's video about Boku No Natsuyasumi

 

Best not 2022 game:

 

1. Mass Effect Legendary Edition

2. Psychonauts 2

3. Total War: Warhammer II

 

Best developer:

 

FromSoftware

 

Best format/console/controller/brain interface:

 

Game Pass

 

Tenuous justifications:

Spoiler

Game of the Year

 

1. Elden Ring - An all-time classic.  Took over my brain for months.  I am not a Souls kind of guy - I've tried several of them and enjoyed them, but never got very far in any of them.  Elden Ring's open world transformed this kind of game simply by making it possible for you to go and do something else of you hit a wall. Stuck on a boss?  Go off in a different direction. You might level up, or find a better weapon or summon. This is transformative, but it's not the thing that makes Elden Ring great - that's everything in the game itself.

2. Trombone Champ - Parp! Made me laugh even when life was unbearably bleak at times this year.

3. Vampire Survivors - I didn't think I'd like this - again, it's not my sort of game.  I tried it, thanks to game pass, and couldn't stop playing it.

4. Splatoon 3 - A refinement rather than a revolution.  Splatoon is a great series of games, and this is another great game in the series, albeit one with very small differences.  My son is more of a pro Splatoon player, and he reckons the weapons and stuff are really different.

5. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide - Very satisfying gameplay and a nice realisation of the 40K setting.  Unfortunately, it's not really in a solid enough state.  It's quite hard to get into a game, for example.  The developers stuck with Vermintide 2 though, so hopefully this will improve over time.

 

 

[Majora]

All the votes for Immortality in best visuals are interesting. I had never even considered to put it in that category, it doesn't seem quite right somehow. Like it should be in a best cinematography category or something. But I guess visuals are visuals even if it's live action.

[feltmonkey]

3 hours ago, Majora said:

All the votes for Immortality in best visuals are interesting. I had never even considered to put it in that category, it doesn't seem quite right somehow. Like it should be in a best cinematography category or something. But I guess visuals are visuals even if it's live action.

 

Yes, I get what you mean, but I was thinking about this, and the way they nailed things like the look of the film stock from the different eras is really impressive.  It's not so much the cinematography of the individual scenes, but how convincing it all is.  

[MarkN]

I've not played much of last year's offerings, so here is my vote:

 

Game of the Year

 

1. Dwarf Fortress 

 

 

 

 

 

[Benny]