Hello there! Welcome to my annual top 10 list for the year past. This time, it’s 2022, which despite what some industry grumps will tell you, was a fantastic year of games. Sure, you may have had to widen your horizons beyond the AAA-sphere, but with the lines between Indie and AAA blurring more by the second, that isn’t asking a lot.
My list does have some key exclusions due to there not being enough hours in the day, so before we get into my honourable mentions, here is a short list of games that I started, really enjoyed, but didn’t manage to finish and so couldn’t include them on my list.
God of War Ragnarok
Signalis
Elden Ring
Serial Cleaners 2
Stray
A Plague Tale Requiem
Tinykin
Tunic
Sniper Elite 5
Liberated: Enhanced Edition
Dying Light 2
Before we get into the proper top 10, I just wanted to throw out a few games that were in serious contention for my top 10 but didn’t ultimately make it.
First up is Severed Steel. This indie FPS is just sheer fun from start to finish and the fact it is the first release for solo dev Matt is pretty incredible. Fluid movement, insane kills and the option to customise your experience with unlimited bullet time just ramped up the enjoyment!
Next up is Moss Book II. This title completely flew under the radar this year because no one wants to plug in their PSVR anymore. I expect it to make a decent-sized splash at the launch of PSVR 2 as it is a truly remarkable puzzle platformer.
Vampire Survivors deserves a special mention due to how outrageously fun it is. I couldn’t find a spot for it in my top 10, but if you are a Game Pass subscriber you owe it to yourself to download this and check it out.
Next is one I really didn’t expect to have on my list. It’s Gotham Knights. Going in, I expected very little from this game. Previews didn’t blow me away, the characters seemed bland, the combat looked off and of course the dreaded co-op. So imagine my surprise when the character’s origin stories were interesting, the combat felt fun, the story was good, the added villains were a joy and co-op was a non-issue. This ended up being my most pleasant surprise of 2022.
And lastly, I have to mention Retro Goal. If you like football and own a Nintendo Switch there is no better £4 you can spend on the eShop. New Star Games delivers some outstanding little gems and this is crown in their collection. With an art style that will give you old-school fans FIFA International Soccer vibes and gameplay that’ll keep you saying “one more match” for hours, this is the best sports game of 2022.
Rollerdrome is a game I didn’t expect to make this list before it launched. In previews, it did look pretty cool, but I feared for the fluidity of the gameplay. I should have known better than to doubt developer Roll7 though. They delivered in an absolutely massive way with one of the most fun experiences of the year. Best of all, this Tony Hawk X Max Payne hybrid can be customised for any level of gamer, right down to unlimited slow-mo and being unable to take damage.
It may not have reached the lofty expectations, but I really enjoyed Callisto Protocol from start to finish. It’s linear, the combat is different and it only takes around 10 hours to beat. These may be negatives for some people, but I found it a great change of pace. It feels like the type of first entry that could be followed up by a really special second game. Fingers crossed we get it!
Developer Massive Monster created something really special with Cult of the Lamb. Which made it even more frustrating that I had to abandon it at launch due to game-breaking bugs. Thankfully, I returned in December on Switch and found it in a much better state. The mix of light settlement building with the combat of favourites like Death’s Door, it blended perfectly. The icing on the cake was getting to name those I took in, which threw up some utterly hilarious dialogue.
An amazing follow up to Two Point Hosptial. Two Point Studios has taken the formula from Theme Hospital and made it relevant again. Hilarious classes, beautiful graphics, great animation and a gameplay loop that delivers replayability in spades. Quite simply one of the best sim games to date.
I wasn’t sure what to make of As Dusk Falls in pre-release trailers. The stop-motion looked almost like it was out of an old GTA game. However, while playing I felt totally captivated. The art direction allowed the developers to convey real nuanced emotion of characters faces. The storytelling was also superb. Each of the main cast were multi-layered, with different motivations and secrets. Nothing is black and white in As Dusk Falls. These are flawed human beings often making decisions in the moment about what is best for their family, and sometimes themselves.
This one came out of nowhere for me. JRPG games are not my bag. Especially ones that are turn-based. What made me decide to check this one out was the Cyberpunk setting, the beautiful pixel art graphics and the promise of it being a bite sized adventure. Jack Move delivered in spades for me with an awesome world, great cast of unique characters and it acted as the perfect short introduction (8-10 hours) to a genre I otherwise wouldn’t have touched with a barge pole.
While JRPG’s aren’t my bag, point-and-click adventures certainly are. So imagine my excitement at not only getting a new Monkey Island game, but one that was created by Ron Gilbert again. The game is an absolute joy from start to finish. Superb new and returning characters, beautiful brush stroke art style and best of all, a mode where most of the puzzle solutions are logical. This is a love letter to the point-and-click genre and a game that no fan should miss.
Forbidden West is the follow up to one of my favourite PS4 games. As a sequel it manages to improve on the already excellent combat while creating an even more beautiful and sprawling world. For my taste, the story wasn’t as impactful as the first entry, but it certainly is a worthy continuation of the narrative. My initial run on PS5 at launch was marred by many annoying technical issues, but it is a credit to just how good the game is that I never put it down. I have since returned on PS4, where twenty hours in I am yet to see even a bit of pop in.
Pentiment is a game for me that could have easily gone either way. I love Obsidian and the worlds they create. However, I was concerned that the art style, presentation and time period may not be for me. The opening hour can be a little slow, but once you reach the first big story beat you’ll know if it is the game for you. I ended up hooked by the story, the cast of characters and the world. I love a good murder mystery, and this is better executed than most.
Unlike a few others on the list, SIFU was one of my most anticipated games going into 2022. It looked so incredibly stylish and fun, but the real test was going to be how satisfying the combat felt. In my opinion, developer Sloclap pulled off an exceptional feat by both making the game infuriatingly difficult while also allowing you to feel like a bad ass. The ageing system was unique and really well implemented and the cherry on top is the ample amount of post launch content, that also includes accessibility options allowing players to tailor the experience to their preferred difficulty level. Take note Elden Ring.
Well that’s it. My top 10 games of 2022. It’s hard to even imagine what my top 10 for 2023 will look like at this point given the insane number of quality titles planned to release over the next 12 months. Whatever happens, you can bet we’re gonna be eating good! If you want to moan at me about how my list is shite and I’m a prick, feel free to do so on Twitter @PureDeadGaming.
-Craig 🧐