You’re going to hear a lot of people say that 2022 was a strange year for video games. It’s hard to disagree. At the very least, this was the year where delays, hardware shortages, and other logistical issues (many of which were caused or accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic) caught up with the industry. As such, we ended up with fewer major releases in 2022 than we’re used to enjoying, and many of the year’s major releases fell short of expectations.
Yet, I prefer to think of 2022 as the year in which we all hopefully realized that many of the best games of the last several years haven’t come from the biggest studios. Even the best major release of the year came from a studio that was once seen as something of an outsider. It’s not easy for people to find the time to play every great game released in a year, and we all know it’s not easy for most people to find the money to do the same. Hopefully, 2022 shows that the time and money we do have to spend on gaming sometimes deserves to go to something just a little different rather than our favorite franchises.
Besides, it should be easy to identify the best games in a “slow” year, but this was undoubtedly one of the most difficult best of lists we’ve ever had the pleasure of assembling. According to our readers and contributors, though, these were the best games of 2022.
8. Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Even though the Kirby franchise adopted 3D graphics a long time ago, the series’ gameplay has never made the same bold leap into the third dimension. However, Kirby and the Forgotten Land demonstrates the pink puffball classic style is at home in any dimension.
For the most part, Kirby and the Forgotten Land plays like every prior Kirby title. Gamers control Kirby as he explores different levels, sucks up enemies to gain their powers, and collects cute collectibles. The main game loop is unaltered and remains as fun as ever, but Kirby and the Forgotten Land also weaves in some fun new additions (such as the ability to upgrade enemy powers and unlock new attack and utility skills).
While Kirby and the Forgotten Land utilizes a new camera perspective for the series, the result is as enjoyable and family-friendly as ever.
7. Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Let’s face facts: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet didn’t live up to the hype. The games play it too safe and are buggier than a MissingNo. Then again, some of our expectations for those titles may have been warped by Pokémon Legends: Arceus setting the bar so high.
Even though Pokémon Legends: Arceus isn’t a proper open-world title, developer Game Freak nailed the adventurous feel of one. Each of the game’s sizable regions begs to be explored, and while players still need to catch as many Pokémon as possible, the game provides a novel quality-of-life improvement in the form of a stealth system. Chucking Poké Balls from the safety of a blindspot (or smokescreen) is as fun as it is satisfying.
Overall, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a breath of fresh air that deserves to serve as the blueprint for future entries.
6. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
LEGO games are like bags of potato chips: They come in many flavors and mostly provide the same experience, but you can’t help but enjoy them. The same is true of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
Like other licensed LEGO games, The Skywalker Saga is a pretty simple game. The action never gets more complicated than “punch/shoot bad guys and build items to progress,” but that simplicity is its strength. The Skywalker Saga translates all nine Star Wars movies into approachable levels and open worlds that are fun for all ages, and since the game includes local couch co-op, the whole family can join in.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has something for everyone, from quirky, kid-friendly humor to tons of collectibles that explore even the most remote corners of Star Wars lore. It may be the most ambitious LEGO game yet from a size and structure standpoint, but it’s the franchise’s simple pleasures that remain its biggest draw.
5. A Plague Tale: Requiem
A Plague Tale: Innocence was a hauntingly beautiful coming-of-age story about two children having to grow up to survive Inquisitorial forces and a literal tidal wave of hungry rats. Nobody expected a sequel to a game like that, but boy are we glad one exists.
A Plague Tale: Requiem is essentially “A Plague Tale: Innocence 2.0” in the best ways. The game picks up where the original left off (give or take a few months) and provides an even richer narrative dripping with themes of survival and betrayal. Levels are not just larger in Requiem; they allow players to forge their own paths as they take in every beautiful (yet often horrifying) detail.
If you played A Plague Tale: Innocence, you owe it to yourself to play A Plague Tale: Requiem. And if you didn’t…well, you need to play both.
4. Marvel Snap
It takes a lot to cut through the cynicism any right-minded person would bring to a Marvel mobile game. Almost as much as it takes to cut through the cynicism most people would bring to a mobile CCG. Remarkably, Marvel Snap manages to cut through all of it.
Marvel Snap’s territory-based CCG mechanics are an exceptional example of the genre in its best form. Yet, it’s the purity of the game that makes it stand apart. Almost entirely devoid of the more predatory practices we typically associate with the genre and mobile platform, Marvel Snap feels like a labor of love and the celebration of what is possible when you put great game design above all else.
3. Stray
Several years ago, Sony and Annapurna Interactive teased an indie game called Stray, and gamers were immediately invested in the promise of playing as a cat. Stray was supposed to release in 2021 but was delayed until 2022. During that delay, some wondered if Stray had been just a little overhyped. However, the wait proved to be more than worthwhile.
True to the trailer’s premise, Stray lets players control a cat. The game even comes with a dedicated button for meowing. Given our obsession with cats, that would be enough to entertain audiences, but Stray backs up the feline-centric gameplay with a beautiful post-apocalyptic world and gripping story. How did the world become the way it did? Why did cats outlive humans? These questions and more drive gamers forward.
Despite Stray’s intentionally simple elevator pitch, the game proves to be a piece of art that is greater than the sum of its parts.
2. Tiny Tina’s Wonderland
Borderlands 2 is arguably the best entry in the Borderlands franchise, partially because of the memorable Assault on Dragonkeep DLC. What’s better than porting an arsenal of sci-fi guns into a Dungeons & Dragons campaign hosted by Tiny Tina? How about a game based on that premise?
For the most part, Tiny Tina’s Wonderland is your standard Borderlands adventure in the best way possible. Quirky humor? Check. More guns than you can shake a shillelagh at? Check? Addictive action? Roll for Persuasion check. But Tiny Tina’s Wonderland isn’t just a rehash; it drives the series forward with expanded RPG concepts like a bonafide character creation system, complete with class skills players can mix and match.
While the stakes aren’t high in Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, the game mechanically lays the groundwork for future, better adventures in the Borderlands universe.
1. God of War: Ragnarök
When 2018’s God of War soft reboot ended, fans everywhere knew the game would receive a sequel. Of course, an inevitable sequel isn’t always a great sequel. God of War: Ragnarök was burdened by expectations before it was even revealed. Well, the final game is not only a masterclass of a sequel, it’s a masterclass of a game.
Ragnarök dials everything that made 2018’s God of War so great up to 11. The combat is fast and ferocious, the environmental puzzles will leave some players scratching their heads, and the story is yet another well-told tale about destiny, family, and the lengths some will go to defy the former and preserve the latter. Oh, and the graphics are a sight to behold, even on the PS4.
Ragnarök is that rare kind of Triple-A gaming experience that not only delivers exceptional storytelling and gameplay but blends both together in a way that makes the experience worthy of the “epic” tag that is so easy to casually toss toward lesser games. It’s tough to say how another sequel will ever top this, but we can’t wait to find out.
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