Best of 2022

The Official List of the Year of the Video Games

This game flows so damn well. Not just in that each moment leads you to the next in a way that's extremely intuitive and feels good to execute on as you tear through the courses, but also how it's designed to show you how to get the most out of it. As you replay levels for better and better times it becomes clear how much depth is hidden in each level, which is wonderful. I love it a lot and have gotten about as much out of it as you can get, it's a phenomenal game.

2

Tunic is the first Soulsy game that I've come to love. The manual is inspired, and I love how it teases out information throughout the game. It turns "how do you play this game" into a fun puzzle, in addition to having layers of puzzles and difficulty beyond that. Of the old Dark Souls games people used to say that things being obtuse was intentional and part of the fun. In Tunic I believe that is actually true and it makes for a very challenging game that's super rewarding.
This creators of this game have learned all the right lessons from their time with Hearthstone, and indeed this game gets so much right. Games are fast. Decks are easy to build and you're encouraged to try to make new cards work. The wacky locations mix things up every game and you're often playing against them just as much as against your opponent. Snapping is an incredible push pull mechanic. Simply put it's brilliant, and I can't wait for it get more fleshed out.
To grind in this game is inately satisfying. I love how much you can experiment with the kits of each of your forms and how much it encourages you to do this by giving you quests that require you mix things up and make newer and wackier builds. It makes you sure you never stop trying new things, never stop finding new wacky combinations, never stop breaking the game open. It's very easy to play Nobody Saves The World for a long time without the grind feeling repetitive.
Tinykin is the most mellow and chill of all 3D platformers. Each world feels really open ended with a ton of places you can explore in any order and anywhere you go you open up shortcuts making said world more and more easy to get around as you go. As you go you're also finding Tinykin eggs left and right, growing your pack and allowing you to both go more places and solve more puzzles. To explore these massive worlds without a care in the world is a simple pleasure.
Immediately, the world of Pentiment is engrossing and flavorful. It's a beautiful place full of people with complicated lives. It's so rich in details you feel helpless to get the full scope of it as time presses forward before you can take in it all. This is not a problem, as the game isn't about following every lead, but about roleplaying as a talented artist in way, way over his head and making decisions the effects of which you can't be certain of.
I didn't play enough Vampire Survivors and do not fully understand nor can I fully exploit its intricacies, but every time I play it it is such a hypnotic experience. As I walk around as weapons are flung from me and thunder rains all around I am just fully locked in, laser focused on the simplest of maneuvering. It is gripping, tense and just so damn visceral even though I have but scratched the surface.
Kirby's first 3D Game is quite the accomplishment. Possibly the most direct 2D to 3D conversion there's ever been, it plays exactly as a Kirby game should, only in 3D. Despite this being a remarkable feat that seemed impossible for 20 years, the game makes it feel effortless. There's also the extremely funny Mouthful Mode, the fun short form challenge levels and the nice variety of power upgrades. This game was a breakthrough, and also extremely good on top of that!
It's bold to completely reinvent the formula two generations in a row, but once again it by and large paid off! Although it does suffer from a bevvy technical issues, the world has never been more open ended nor more full of possibility. You have so many options in putting together your team and so many options for places to hit next, it's great. Terastallization is also a brilliant addition, letting you change types once per battle making for more flexible Pokemon.
This is just a little game where you're a little guy and you run around. It's very nice, has a handful of well done levels and I had a great time with it. It's not very substantial, but for the price it doesn't have to be. For an hour of two of running around a low poly world it's fun and reminds me of days long past. Nice easter eggs too!

5 Comments


1 year ago

This comment was deleted

1 year ago

This comment was deleted

1 year ago

This comment was deleted

1 year ago

This comment was deleted

1 year ago

The Ancillaries 2022

Worst New Character: Brother Guy from Pentiment
Runner Up: Randy from Nobody Saves The World

Best Kind of Tinykin: Green Tinykin
Runner Up: Red Tinykin

Best Randomizer I Got Into This Year: Paper Mario Randomizer
Runner Up: Minish Cap Randomizer

Favorite Marvel Snap Deck of Mine: Hola for Zola (Shuri/Black Panther/Arnim Zola combo deck)
Runner Up: Stolen Ending (Leader destroy deck)

Favorite Old Game That Came Out Again This Year: Banjo-Kazooie
Runner Up: Kirby 64


Last updated: