Dustin's Poorly Written Top 10 Games of 2022

This is my seventh year writing a Game of the Year list and it’s interesting to look back and see what I’ve enjoyed over the years. I don’t know if my taste in games has changed that much but it always surprises me with the variety of games that I have in my top 10. I feel like I played less games this year compared to the past which feels like it made it more difficult to build my list this year.

Honorable Mentions

• Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
• Jetpack Joyride 2
• Multiversus
• Horizon Chase 2

10. Saints Row (2022)

I liked it. Despite being a broken mess at times, I had a good time.

9. Gotham Knights

While playing Gotham Knights, I could see the disappointment that other people saw. But for some reason I also had a good time. For me it was the perfect “podcast game”. Just put on a video, podcast, whatever and just go beat people up. The combat it fine enough for me that it was mostly engaging throughout. My biggest issue with the game was how the fan favorite villain group, The Court of Owls was integrated into the narrative. They’re involvement in the overall plot felt like they were just kinda jammed in so the marketing could say they were in the game. Other than that, the game is 100% fine, and I like it for the most part.

8. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

I like the Lego games, I’ll admit it. I’m also a gigantic Star Wars dork. This game lovingly recreates all nine of the Skywalker saga with a wonderful sense of humor, and a number of deep cuts that kept surprising me as I played through each trilogy and explored the open world.

7. Overwatch 2

Overwatch 2 is a weird game. It’s an update to the original game but masked as a sequel. The biggest changes that Overwatch 2 has made is it’s now a 5v5 game removing one tank role. The other is that it’s now a free to play model with seasonal battle passes instead of loot boxes. The game itself is as fun to play as ever, the addition of the new heroes is really great, the team dynamics are as good as ever. It’s hard to justify the 2 moniker attached to this game, but now that it’s free it’s great time to jump into one of the best team based shooters around.

6. Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is wonderful! The Forgotten Land is Kirby’s first foray into 3D platforming and it nails it. Every level is super creative and the mechanics introduced throughout the game are frequent and don’t overstay their welcome. The challenge levels are just the right difficulty that I’m on the edge of my seat if I’m going to complete them or not. This is a perfect game for anyone who enjoys 3D platformers and people who don’t play a lot of games in general.

5. Elden Ring

What a game! Elden Ring is a masterclass in game design. Taking the right inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring lets you freely explore the world at your own pace and doesn’t hold your hand. In fact it doesn’t even give you an in game quest log. Now take that and put the gameplay mechanics of the Dark Souls series and you have one of the most challenging, obtuse games of all time. The discovery Elden Ring gives you as a player is unparalleled freedom and choice. It’s definitely not for everyone, but if you can get in to it, it’s one of the most rewarding experiences you can play this year.

4. Pokémon Legends: Arceus

I’ve described Pokémon Legends Arceus as a tech demo. A really good tech demo. The mechanics of catching Pokémon and filling out the first Pokédex is some of the most fun I had this year. I love how researching each Pokémon works. It makes even the 500th encounter with the same Pokémon meaningful. The open zones can look a bit rough, especially when you are in a high up place but when wondering around it feels like an immersive world filled with Pokémon.

3. Pokémon Scarlet

Two Pokémon games on a game of the year list? That’s crazy! I really like Pokémon Scarlet despite its technical limitations. Scarlet and Violet take the franchise into a true open world for the first time, being able to truly go anywhere at any time no matter your team's level. SV also does a wonderful job on showing how Pokémon interact with each other in the world, such as showing a flock of Mareep together in a field. Simple things like that makes the Paldea region feel alive. One of the things that really surprised me was the writing, especially in the last act of the game. Playing this game can be a joy and its new direction is definitely the future of Pokémon.

2. Marvel SNAP

I was not expecting to get into a new card game this year, I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be so high on my game of the year list. Marvel Snap starts deceptively simple but gets more complex over time. The thing that really helped me get into this game was the art that’s pulled right from the comics. For a free to play game there’s no pay to win mechanics (at the time of this writing). Everything that’s monetizable is variant art for cards that you already have, adding a way for collectors to complete the collection without buying winning cards.

1. Vampire Survivors

Vampire Survivors is a video game in its purest form. I can’t stop thinking about this game. I picked it up on PC Game Pass and on my first run it clicked instantly with me on how good this game is. It has infected my life so much that I start a run on the mobile version just to get a fix, even if it’s for five minutes. I can’t recommend this game enough. The game play is deceptively simple. All you do is move your character, defeat enemies and make decisions on what new gear to get or level up the attacking happens automatically. It’s a perfect game to hand to someone who doesn’t play games, that’s how great it is. I can obsessively play Vampire Survivors for hours on end. I will probably go for another quick round once I’m done with this.