2022 Games Review

2022 Games Review

3 Star Games

Blue Fire

 

Steins Gate 0. Unnecessary sequel to the fantastic Steins Gate

 

Loop Hero. Too much grinding for random items to proceed, but otherwise an interesting idea.

 

Tohu

 

Worlds End Club. Not as good as any of the previous games made by the team, but also this was the first game I played after moving into my new house.

 

Demon Turf

 

Eastwards

 

Indivisible

 

Shredders. Fun for what it is, but too small and weak controls.

 

Train Valley. Great fun in the beginning but strict time limits ruin later levels.

 

4 Star Games

Hoa

 

Sumire

 

The Missing JJ Macfield

 

Evergate

Astros Playroom. A good platformer but the Playstation advertising is offputting

 

Unbound Worlds Apart

 

Oddworld Soulstorm. A Great Oddworld game let down by tedious tower defence sections.

 

Giraffe and Annika

 

Gnosia. Too much randomness makes it difficult to get the full story

 

The Walking Dead Michonne

 

5 Star Games

Mass Effect Legendary

 

Resident Evil VIII. Not just as scary as VII and certainly not as interesting once Lady Demitrescu exits but still another good Resident Evil game

 

Wario Ware Get It Together. A bit mixed as some characters are more user friendly then others

 

The Touryst

 

Glyph

 

Toem

 

Mario Golf Super Rush. I like the new Rush mode, but there aren’t enough interesting courses.

 

12 Minutes. I fully get the criticisms 12 Minutes got but using a guide I was able to enjoy it.

 

Life Is Strange True Colours. Shorter and less interesting than any previous Life Is Strange. Good music

 

Paradise Killer. This game was so overwhelming at first, but the more I played, and the more I learned I really got into it and really enjoyed solving the murder

 

Cat Quest. While I prefer Cat Quest 2, the first one is still a decent game.

 

Forza Horizon 5

 

Chicory. A lovely, charming game

 

Metroid Dread. Everything I could want from a 2D Metroid game. Just remove the dashing ability for items.

 

Overboard

 

Disgaea 6

 

Beast Breaker

 

Guardians of the Galaxy

 

Riders Republic. Much, much improved sequel to Steep

 

Portal Companion

 

Deaths Door. It’s tough but never unfair.

 

Dark Pictures: House Of Ashes. The strongest Dark Pictures game to date.

 

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

 

Top Ten Games of 2022

Pokémon Violet. Pokémon Violet just scrapes into my top ten. While there is a lot of enjoy. A great variety of new Pokémon, a large open world for the first time, an attempt to tell a much bigger story and the promise of more to go. I also felt let down by the fact that I felt there isn’t a huge amount to do in the open world. And the graphical slowdown in places put me off exploring a little bit.

 

Rainbow Billy. Didn’t expect to enjoy Rainbow Billy as much as I did. The unique battles with distinct characters and

 

Railgrade. After being disappointed with Tropico 6. Railgrade is the closest a game has come to replicating the joy I feel when playing Tropico. It does get towards the wrong size of the challenging/tedious balance near the very end.

 

Slime Rancher. Another pleasant surprise. I loved the world in this game, how organically it opened up over time and still left plenty of surprises to be found. Looking forward to the sequel

 

Psychonauts 2 For a long time I struggled to get into Psychonauts 2 as much as I did the first game, too much was going on, too many characters and stories and no very memorable levels. And then towards the end, the stories converged into a very memorable final world.

 

Pokémon Legends Arceus. A very different Pokémon game but one that gets so much right. A more violent world and a unique method of creating a Pokedex creates the best Pokémon game of 2022.

 

Subnautica. Major turnaround for Subnautica. I tried it back in 2019 and bounced off it hard, ending up watching a Lets Play of the game. Listening to the Cane and Rinse podcast this year inspired me to give it another go. And this time it really clicked, and I ended up fully completing it, really enjoying it and it made my top ten list. Really looking forward to playing the sequel next year.

 

Ratchet and Clank A Rift Apart A great showcase for the new Playstation. Ratchet and Clank looks incredible, really like playing an animated movie. But more importantly it I great fine with the classic variety of crazy weapons. Played it twice in a row.

 

Hitman 3. A fantastic end to the trilogy. Highlight for me was the vineyard level. Still have to play the additional pirate level.

 

The Forgotten City. Stuck in a time loop, you must find out who is going to break “The Golden Rule” a law which means everyone in the city will be killed. Getting to know the residents of the city is a delight as well as learning their schedules and how to exploit them. There are multiple endings depending on your actions. And the best ending is one of my best gaming moments of the year.