The unofficial EWB GOTY 2022 thread

[King Ellis]

I say unofficial because I'm not going to be counting the replies to try and determine an actual winner. If someone wants to do that or start a proper thread then feel free but, since the new year is approaching and no one else had done it, I figured we could have a look back at some of our favourite releases of the year.

It helps too that I actually have played some new stuff this year for once so it wont just be me saying "Well I enjoyed playing FIFA with the lads the most but I can't in all good conscious call that GOTY so....Animal Crossing by default I guess?" for once.

1. Elden Ring

Well, obviously. As a Soulsborne mark I would have been happy with just 'More Souls but next gen' but FromSoft really upped the ante by bringing in the whole open world element. There's just so much to see and do that I still feel like I've barely scratched the surface despite probably having hundreds of hours of playtime between beating the game, mopping up the achievements and subsequent restarts to mess around with different classes and builds. Doubtless I'll have dozens more hours of play once the DLC hits.

2. Tunic

I really should go back and finish this because it was a lot of fun, really triggered that whole Souls/Metroidvania thing for me of going around to discover the different areas and bosses. Very much feels like a more Soulslike version of the remake they did of Link's Awakening a few years back. Plus the whole aspect of finding pages of the game manual, whilst a bit odd and arguably immersion breaking, lends it this mysterious element of gradually learning this different techniques or what things are. Plus, to counter that immersion argument, maybe it's a more interesting and 'in world' way of doing a tutorial rather than just stopping you dead in your tracks whilst a character or just the in game menus walk you through the whole 'Press B to swing your sword. Okay! Now press A to raise your shield!"

3. TMNT Shredders Revenge

A lot of these brawlers do live and die by the variety and I've not really had too much reason to re-visit this after beating it but does offer some degree of replayability with the different in-game challenges and the different characters you can play as. To that end, it's pretty amusing to play through as April or Splinter rather than just one of the four turtles. The game doesn't shy away from people's nostalgia for the 90's TV show, which is arguably where a lot of the Turtle fandom comes from even if they do still have various shows and spin off movies. Yes having the likes of Vern and Urma showing up is fan servicey as all hell but who doesn't like a nice bit of fan service from time to time?

4. Vampire Survivors

I know this has been a thing since late 2021 due to early access but the official release was this year. I'm a little torn on where to place it as part of me feels hard pressed to place it higher because I think I associate it more of a 'distraction' sort of thing, like something I'd be idly playing whilst watching a YouTube video. A lot of people really love this one and would place it very high on their own list but it doesn't quite have that spark with me. It is very addictive though, definitely has that 'one more go...' quality to it where you want to try the different combinations of weapons or see how much your new upgrades will help you get further. Really cheap too, I played it on Game Pass but I think you can get the base game and the new DLC for just a little over a fiver and you'd get a ton of enjoyment out of it.

5. Saints Row

Of all the Saints Row games, this sure is another one. I never bought into the 'WORST GAME EVA~!' talk at the time because it's a perfectly acceptable game, but maybe the whole 'by the numbers' sequel is a bigger offence than if they had gone for something new and interesting but failed miserably.

Honourary mentions:

FM2023 - Aside from falling under the FIFA rule and me not having a massive amount of playtime on it, I don't think this would merit a placing given the turbulent release it had.

High on Life - It's still a little too fresh for me to properly place it and I'm still relatively early on in it but it's been fun so far in what I have played.

[Chris2K]

It's hard to gauge what my favourite game of 2022 is because I utilise GamePass so much so I don't actually know when a game was first released. If I had to guess though:

1. Power Wash Simulator - I don't think I've played a game more than this one throughout the year, I never would have thought a game about power washing could be both so therapeutic and also have a surprisingly good story.

2. Lego Star Wars: Skywalker Saga - Good grief, the amount of content they put into this game was astonishing, and perhaps explained the amount of delays the game had for its release. I'm annoyed at myself that I never fully completed it, but it's still installed so never say never...

3. Pokémon Violet - I'm still only less than a third of the way through it because of the ridiculously stringent way I play Pokémon games (everything needs to be at the same level - including everything in the boxes - and I catch different type possible) but I've been enjoying it. The performance issues haven't bothered me that much.

4. Gotham Knights - Disparaged by some, but I enjoy playing it. It could probably do with a bit more variety but the grinding isn't something I mind doing. An interesting story as well.

5. FIFA 23 - I'll put this here instead of the usual NBA 2K game as it's been something I've played a lot more than recent FIFA years, and I'm not entirely sure why.

Midnight Suns would have probably got on the list if I hadn't banned myself from buying it until I'd finished one of numbers 2-4.

Really looking forward to 2023's releases, Spider-Man 2 topping the wishlist at the moment.

[Ruki]

I played a lot of games this that released this year, here is where I would rank them:

 

God of War: Ragnarok- It takes all of the best things about GoW 2018 and improves upon it. The story is so emotional and I cried multiple times. Just an absolute epic.
Tunic- The sense of discovery and wonder in this game is like nothing I've experienced in years! Finding the manual pages, which are just a reference to classic NES manuals... LOVED it. 
Triangle Strategy- I am always in need of another SRPG, and this one scratched the itch! A must play for any fans of Final Fantasy Tactics. 

Horizon Forbidden West- A great follow up to the previous installment. Sadly suffered from what most open world games do... too much to do, and overwhelming on the map. 
Chained Echoes- Currently playing through this on Gamepass. It's a love letter to SNES style JRPGs. The story isn't anything special, but the combat and style are just wonderful. 
Live A Live- A remake of a SRGP from the SNES days. This is a weird one, with pacing all over the place. Enjoyable for the most part! But some stories do drag. 
Cult of the Lamb- Have only been able to play a little bit of this. But this is a great rogue-lite. Cute characters with the horrors of a cult, what a contrast that just works. 
Vampire Survivors- I just learned about this game last week, and oh boy, is it addictive. 
Pokemon Scarlet/Violet- Another standard Pokemon game. It's perfectly fine, brought down by bugs and performance. 

 

Then there were some games that I played this year that I didn't gel with. 
Pokemon Legends Arceus- Open world, with what felt like nothing to do. 
Dying Light 2- Hated the control scheme. And the open world map with a billion things to do was a turn off, especially right after Horizon. 
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands- A standard borderlands game. Sadly, the audio issues with it made it hard to hear the jokes which is like 70% of the reason I wanted to play the game. The actual gameplay was... meh .
Ghostwire Tokyo- Just a painfully average game. 

[Mick]

Does my Legend of Zelda randomized games count? Those are technically new games  . 

[Ruki]

On 28/12/2022 at 12:21, King Ellis said:

5. Saints Row

Of all the Saints Row games, this sure is another one. I never bought into the 'WORST GAME EVA~!' talk at the time because it's a perfectly acceptable game, but maybe the whole 'by the numbers' sequel is a bigger offence than if they had gone for something new and interesting but failed miserably.

I just picked this up in a boxing day sale for $40. It's the day one edition, so I'm wondering if maybe it didn't sell that well? As long as it's fun, that's all I'll need, doesn't need to reinvent the wheel. 

[TheGrandAvatar]

Could we say game of the year regardless of what year the game was released in?! As it's what our personal choice game of the year was that we enjoyed. 

I will have to think on mine as played a lot this year.