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Great games of 2022

by kalos

Games I loved in 2022. Likely includes older games and Game Pass titles.

Showing 1-10 of 29 items

Tunic

1. Tunic

I've occasionally found the shield controls frustrating, but otherwise really enjoyed Tunic. I've never got into a soulslike game and this game has really grabbed me. The sense of mystery is incredible. There was a later combat room that has a huge difficulty bump, but it was rewarding to make it through without No Fail mode. Early puzzles aren't too tough, but endgame ramps up puzzle challenge massively, but can feel directionless. Minor mistakes in some optional puzzles were hard to catch. Frustrated, I looked online and found some hints without spoilers on reddit. Despite frustrations, I loved it.

Bugsnax

2. Bugsnax

Awesome adventure with the kids. They found the snax and replacing limbs hilarious and enjoyed customizing their friends. A bit scary at the end, but otherwise very kid friendly. The included Bigsnax DLC was a nice change of pace too: a good twist, some fun puzzles, and a good storyline between the grumpuses.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Awesome beat 'em up with a good difficulty scale. The easiest mode was a blast to play with my kids. They're now shell-heads too! Not really long, but we had a lot of fun fighting our way through. It's proven to have staying power with them since they keep going back to old levels. We haven't completed all the challenges ("don't hit obstacles 4 times" is too tough with kids), but still having fun. My only real complaint is the upgrade system is hard to understand (playing gets you points to level up the active characters and levelling up unlocks new abilities). The system is pretty simple, so it's not a big fault.

It Takes Two

4. It Takes Two

Incredible adventure with remarkable variety. Played through with a 6 year old and it was a challenge, but he rose to it. Initially found the characters unlikeable and the divorce plot unappealing, but the growth of the characters was a pleasant surprise.

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

5. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

Cute fun for the whole family without being overcomplicated enough to turn nongamers off. Really interesting to play with your young kids because you have to work together on a team where you essentially all have the same capabilities. And you see their ability to steer and aim improve. We made it to the third constellation?

Gorogoa

6. Gorogoa

I love puzzle games and played through this with my four year old. It was challenging enough to keep my interest but the method of interaction was simple enough that he could solve some parts of the puzzles. Great game. Only got stuck twice (hands and ladders) and both we solved after coming back the next day.

Nobody Saves the World

7. Nobody Saves the World

Great co-op focused (no griefing) local multiplayer, but frustrated by some initial technical issues. My Xbox Series Bluetooth gamepad shows up as two controllers and since you just press A to join, I'm always controlling two Nobodies. (Launching the Gamepass version from start menu or from Steam with a shortcut.) I managed to get into the Assign Controllers screen and move left to put one of them into "unassigned" and now I can play the game. Pressing A on two gamepads at the title screen makes both show up so local multiplayer works. The Assign Controllers screen ignores mouse input (no cursor) and accepts your results even if you don't pick Confirm, so I was able to get into a bugged state where both gamepads were P1. Fortunately, restarting fixed. Vsync causes camera stutter, but turning it off makes it smooth and no tearing so far. Maybe because my display is 30 Hz. Once I got past those, I've enjoyed the game. Some minor feel issues (like picking from the character wheel), but the tutorial is well done and combat fun. The writing is pretty good. Multiplayer is very additive: It's a lot of fun with my son since he can contribute to combat but can't grief me by failing at combat or intentionally being a jerk. Staying alive gives the other person more time to revive, we don't block each other, we don't hurt each other much. A great time! Finished in 35 hours.

Hollow Knight

8. Hollow Knight

Really enjoying the challenge of the combat. Defeating the first brute (big round one) was great: I learned the pattern (which turned out to be simple) and whalloped him. Made it to the green biome and slowed progress a bit because I keep wanting to deposit my shells and feel a bit lost.

Dicey Dungeons

9. Dicey Dungeons

Fun dice mechanic; whimsical implementation. One time I used an opponents card to turn into a bear and I defeated them. Then I was a bear for the rest of my run! Every time you play for the first ~10 games it unlocks something totally new. It's great and very charming. Haven't even nearly finished it because there are so many campaigns.

The Anacrusis

10. The Anacrusis

Just started. Didn't really grab me and I haven't come back after my first play session.

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