My favorite games of 2022

With The Game Awards taking place this past week, now is as good a time as any to look back at this past year. People learned a work-from-home structure as the industry has been all over the place in recent years, with delays in every direction, companies merging, projects being canceled, and overall development times taking a hit. There were still quite a few gems that managed to release this year, even with a majority of my anticipated games being delayed and things like Elden Ring, Sifu, and Splatoon 3 not even being on my radar. 2022 was a brilliant year for game releases; let's take a moment to go over some of mine.


Nobody Saves the World
This was one of the few titles I was looking forward to that was still able to nail its release. Coming from the fine folks at DrinkBox Studios, known for Gucamelee and Severed, Nobody tasks you on a top down action RPG (almost like a brawler) that's paired with a form transformation mechanic that lets you turn into a myriad of characters with their own special abilities. You'll soon find yourself mixing and matching, becoming a thrown-together mix of mermaids, dragons, zombies, and robots. Tied together with some dry humor and a Saturday morning cartoon aesstheitc Nobody Save the World was a nice refresher from industry standard 

Kirby and the Forgotten Lands
This is easily the most underrated, underappreciated, and most looked-over games this year. Being almost completely snubbed at the game awards is, in my opinion, a crime. Kirby's often been looked at as "a baby's first game," with an extreme difficulty curve for completionists. Series staple characters, items, and charms are all here, except it's thrown into  a 3D environment for the first time and plays around with what you think a Kirby game should be in all the right ways. The transition to 3D feels just as tight as its 2D counterpart and is a welcome change I'd like to see them stick with in the future. Also, did I mention Kirby is in a post apocalyptic Earth themed setting? If you have a Nintendo Switch, you owe yourself the pleasure of this title at some point.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
I had all but fallen off of CoD since 2018's Black Ops 4. The gameplay got too hectic and didn't feel right for me, and trying to enjoy a multi-player shooter by yourself doesn't always work out. Jumping into the beta for MW2 this year, I was completely hooked again. The movement and gunplay felt like they used to, the map designs were a breeze to run through, and not being blinded or unable to see while looking in and out of a doorway helps a little too. CoD campaigns are known for big dramatic setpieces throughout, and this installment is no exception, making it a joy to play in between online sessions. The games are not perfect in any sense of the word, but it's a feel good experience to be involved in them again. 

Fortnite
I'm aware that Fortnite has been around for a while, but this is my list, and I do what I want. After being completely absorbed into Fortnite for the first time at the end of last year, the release of Zero Build mode in March solidified this as one of my go to games. Taking away the building aspect that's turned a small group of people away from the game into its own game mode was brilliant. Battles come down to skill and placement compared to who can spambuild the fastest. No Build really makes Fortnite feel like a different game, and I encourage anyone disheartened from playing before to give this mode a shot.

God of War: Ragnarok
At the time of this writing, I'm still actually working through Ragnarok, and it's something I'd like to go in depth with when the time is right. Compared to my initial dislike for Kratos' 2018 outing, Ragnarok has my full attention in every way. The pacing feels smoother, the story has my attention more, and while combat still feels overly repetitive, the difference in enemies carries a lot of weight in the battles. I wouldn't go so far as to say Ragnarok is a perfect video game, but it's unquestionably a must-play for Playstation owners.

Two Point Campus
This is honestly my surprise hit of the year. I tried my hand at Two Point Hospital previously, but with the newest addition dropping into GamePass, I figured I'd give it another go. After becoming addicted to the rotation of starting schools, managing funds and classes, and causing a little chaos on school grounds, I eventually completed every optional challenge and achievement available. The game's fun nature, themes, and overall settings helped make this genre, which I usually avoid, one of my favorites this year. With a recent DLC expansion recently released, there is plenty of content to meet people's expectations while designing their schools.

Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves has worked its way into my favorite game of the past generation of consoles, in all honesty. I was involved in the game's early alpha testing, and seeing it develop into the social experience that it is today has been a real treat. 2022 saw major changes in the seas that we hadn't previously experienced, we saw the destruction of Golden Sands and the reclamation into a fort that really feels like the first sort of social city and the resurection of Flameheart, all through player driven events pitting two sides against each other. Captaincy also finally dropped, giving pirates the ability to customize the interior and name their own ship, something we've been waiting for since launch.

What has your 2022 gaming journey looked like? What have you dug into or tossed to the side for a future time? We'd love to hear from you down below.