The 10 best games of 2022 (so far)
Elden Ring, The Quarry, and all the other titles we love that rolled out during the first half of this year
Games Lists Forbidden West
2022 has been a quieter year for gaming than most; outside a few high-profile releases—and one massive, medium-sweeping bulldozer courtesy of FromSoftware—major releases (at least, from the big-budget studios) have been few and far between.
But that, of course, only calls for deeper curation, and so The A.V. Club is here with a look at the best games published in the first half of 2022, whether smaller indie titles, Elden Ring, or big-budget games forced to exist in the unfortunate shadow of Elden Ring. Our list runs the gamut from open world epics to small-scale emotional adventures, and from obscurity-soaked love letters to the latest adventures of everyone’s favorite pink vore monster. But all our picks are united by one thing: These were the games we liked—and why—in the first half of 2022.
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I would’ve sworn it was last year that I played Forbidden West. It feels like forever ago, but it was 3-4 months ago. Time is strange.
Elden Ring ate its lunch so hard, its nearly forgotten. Just like the original. I feel like more will play it when it goes on sale or when there is a slow release time again. Its a great game. I am waiting for the PC release because on PS4 the graphics had a weird blurry issue I could not stand that is not present in the PS5 version(but I do not have one of those)
That continues to be such a strange phenomenon for Horizon. Yet it’s evident that Guerilla and especially Sony are confident in its success (considering the Netflix adaptation, for one) and it’s sold well enough already that they’re not too worried. And agreed, it’s an immensely enjoyable game!
The bummer is that while I personally enjoy BotW and Elden Ring more than their preceding Horizon games, it’s very close, and I can for sure imagine someone preferring Horizon to both if you’re more into stealth and combat. Really wish it had some time to shine on its own.
Mrs. F. and I played through Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands twice so far. We’re huge fans of the franchise.
Did you prefer the flotsam or the jetsam?
Elden Ring changed what I expect from games. The design, mechanics, combat and rewards for exploration just ruined everything else for me. Even the voice acting is in a class of its own. Maybe I just haven’t played enough games, but I think it’s a genuine masterpiece.
I’ve played way too many games, and Elden Ring is that fabled thing we didn’t think was possible: An open world where every single corner is worth visiting and engenders a sense of true adventure. I struggle to think of a game other than Outer Wilds that has accomplished anything close.
Good to know that even a seasoned gamer is in awe of it! It’s just left other games feeling barren by comparison.
If you have a Playstation, I recommend giving Ghost of Tsushima a try if you want some of that same glory. It’s its own thing and certainly not on the order of Elden Ring, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. And of course Outer Wilds, as I mentioned.
Its a great game but I feel like people give it far to much credit. Lot of repeat lesser boss fights, lots of cut and paste dungeons. Way to vague ideas of what to do for quests and where to go. Don’t get me wrong, its probably one of the best games to come out in years but I feel like a lot of people just remember the good parts and forget the not so great parts of it.
In other words, Elden Ring is this generation’s Morrowind?
I think you’re not wrong, but every time I played it, something unexpected happened as well. There’s the grind – but its also accompanied by a range of weapons and a combat system that lets you find fun in fighting. There’s the repeated dungeons but also some lower-tier bosses that genuinely suprised me at the end of those dungeons. I don’t think there are any not so great parts.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about FromSoft fans (against my will, mostly) is that it’s not that ER is a perfect game, as they claim, but rather that they just so happen to love it but lack the interpersonal skills to be able to understand that others mightn’t. Hence why they spend so much time trying to convince others to like it on the exact same level as they do.That’s the sort of person FromSoft appeals to.
Seconded.
I don’t have much to add to this list, because Elden Ring has consumed so much of my scant free time. My playthrough looks to be heading in the direction of endgame, but then again, I thought that a long time ago when one of the NPCs told me to stop messing around and become Elden Lord already. As long as it keeps throwing awe-inspiring vistas (even if it is more of an “Aww, shit!”), I’ll keep exploring The Lands Between.There are definitely some interesting games here I haven’t heard of, so I may have to check some of them out when I have the time.I do have one pressing question: ^^Please explain!^^
The Quarry is a wonderful surprise. I’ve become very disillusioned with Supermassive after 2 of 3 Dark Pictures entries so far were duds (House of Ashes is great, but largely because of an excellent final act) and set my expectations quite low, especially for the writing. But what writing it is. As you say, it’s hilarious, the performances are ubiquitously excellent, and it’s gotta be one of the most gorgeous things I’ve ever seen. First game to produce frames I might mistake for real life.Are you sure it’s not a bear?
Uptick in writing is probably not unrelated to the fact they re-hired Graham Reznick (who was also involved in Until Dawn) as the lead writer.And no, I’m not sure what it is but it’s certainly one of the most impressive this-kind-of-things I’ve seen in ages – up there with the original Howling’s.
Indeed. It’s also the first time they’ve written about something they clearly have personal experience with – anyone who went to summer camp growing up will find it a very authentic representation of what it’s like. That goes some way, I think, toward explaining why it’s so much better than even Until Dawn.And I know what you mean. It’s a pretty original take on that particular mythology. House of Ashes did something similar with another classic horror trope, but this suffuses the character dynamics in such a brilliant way.
I didn’t get to play Until Dawn because I never owned a PS3, so I’m pretty excited that The Quarry is on PC (and also that it’s a video game with Ted Raimi and Lance Henriksen in 2022). That said, I’m not dropping $60 on it, so I’ll play it sometime next year (I need to save that money for Spiderman, another former Sony exclusive that I’m excited to buy on PC). For the time being, I’m probably going to spend $10 on “Heavy Rain,” which I likewise didn’t get to play a decade ago because it was a PS exclusive. Huh, I see a trend this summer.
I presume you meant PS4, not PS3:
That sounds about right – I lost track of non-Nintendo console generations after boxing up my Xbox 360.
I suspect The Quarry’s steep price tag is going to keep a lot of people at bay ($70 on PS5!) But once it starts going on sale, hopefully people will check it out, because the story is awesome.
Without spoiling too much, how’d you do? The game’s a little on the easy side and I still lost 2 counselors and the whole Hacket family! I think The Quarry might actually be better than Until Dawn in some respects. I was more attached to these characters, and I thought the story was a lot tighter. And with 186 endings, obviously the choices are a lot more evolved.
I know Elden Ring was such a world changing experience for so many and I put so many hours into that game but as the months go on, I find myself forgetting about it a lot. I loved the boss fight and the feeling of accomplishment when I beat one but I can’t get over the grind for xp and the grind of dying over and over. I am not sure I am going to jump back in when the extremely punishing DLC comes out. I just got Kirby for the my youngest son and that is a lot of fun. I really like Card Shark. I want to get back into Forbidden West but I think I am just gonna wait for the PC version now. The game I am really enjoying recently is not even this years release. Its Biomutant from last year. I got it on sale on Steam for $20 and for that price its a lot of game. I know it was not a lot of peoples favorite games but I think that was the AAA price tag for a mostly indy game. Its great for the price I paid for it
Elden Ring has been recommended to me vociferously and vehemently by……the sorts of people I whose advice is infinitely valuable because it lets me know to do the exact opposite of what they’re saying I should. I can’t get over the grind for xp and the grind of dying over and over. That’s pretty much the sort of thing that turned me off. The recommenders of ER have been way too enthusiastic about this. I don’t share their masochism.
It’s a beautiful game, so well thought out. But the grind makes it hard for me to really get into it. Between that and the time investment required it feels sometimes like a job or something.
All I’ll say, as someone who’s never played a SoulsBorne game and who’s recently married and would rather spend free time with his wife, is that if you’re into exploration and screwing around, it’s a very fun game if you grab a good shield and a spear and spend the game poking bosses rather than memorizing ridiculous patterns. Use a guide for a build to not worry that you’re wasting your time with the direction you’re going, then let loose!Frankly it’s fun enough that you don’t even have to beat it to get a lot out of it (although it’s surprisingly beatable even for a Nintendo dude like me), the exploration factor is very entertaining. If it’s not your cup of tea then obviously it’s not your cup of tea, but I think with a little hand holding from the internet it’s not nearly as grindy as folks who go in blind experience.
Or. Everyone likes it, which means people with bad taste like it, too. The game isn’t masochistic, it’s wondrous. Do you want a fantasy adventure? Yeah? Then play it. No? Skip it, sure. But it was never for you if not.
Wait, so if everyone likes it why do you need to defend it, and also can it not be for me? Do I not count as “everyone”?
Well, it doesn’t sound like you have an accurate sense of what the game’s like if you think you need to be a masochist to play it. I’m less defending it than I am trying to give you a provisional recommendation.
And I already told you what I do with those recommendations, and why. In fact, I told everyone before you even posted that reply, and yet here you are.
Ooh, you’re insufferable. Got it! Bye!
You’re thinking of Soulsbourne fans, because none of you can shut the fuck up for five minutes about Soulsbourne.I mean, I literally posted I don’t listen to recommendations of Soulsbourne fanbois when they recommend Soulsbournes, and yet you just jumped right in and recommended me a Soulsbourne. Glad to know I’m right about you guys being suckers for repetition in the pursuit of masochism.
Bro. I am not a fanboy. I just like the goddamn game. Jesus. Listen to yourself here. Nothing is this cut-and-dry. God, the two-party system has fucking broken our brains.
Hey, aren’t you the guy who said…? Or. Everyone likes it, which means people with bad taste like it, too. The game isn’t masochistic, it’s wondrous. Do you want a fantasy adventure? Yeah? Then play it. No? Skip it, sure. But it was never for you if not.Seems pretty cut-and-dried to me. Especially the bit where you admit that you may have bad taste.You’ve been pissing all over this thread picking fights about ER, and now you’re having a cry because people are validating your feelings for it and you don’t know how to handle it. That’s not a strawman, by the way, that’s based on observation of you acting like everyone other FromSoft fanboi that clogs the internet in much the same way your endless diet of Doritos clogs your bowels. God, the two-party system has fucking broken our brains. Oh, I’ll definitely agree with you on that. Signed, Maul Keating, citizen and resident of Australia, a multiparty parliamentary democracy – that means I’m not an American, since you seem to have trouble comprehending that possibility…or anything else outside your own experience, as is fitting for a SoulsBourne fan.Zing!
You’re Australian? Hahahahahahaha that explains everything.
How so? The fact we let women be in charge of their own bodies and don’t let kids get shot in schools – is that the “everything”?Is it the bit where I have access to healthcare? The bit where I don’t have to whine about the two party system because we don’t have? The bit where I can soundly and neatly insult your country but you can’t do the same to mine because your latent xenophobia is only exacerbated by an underfunded education system that spends more time on sport and active shooter drills than education?
Oh, I hate America. You’re exercising that binary thinking we were talking about earlier. My issue with you has less to do with your country (though it somehow beats us at both homophobia and colonialism) and more to do with how people from it act, which you’ve beautifully demonstrated for the class.
(though it somehow beats us at both homophobia and colonialism)We really don’t. No one does. And you’re about pull ahead even further once that same Supreme Court you voted for outlaws brown people and gays! You’re exercising that binary thinking we were talking about earlier.I’m really not. You’re just doing the thing all neckbeards do: simply break down people into two groups: “people who are exactly like me” and “people who are wrong”, because you lack the social skills to deal with anything more nuanced. more to do with how people from it actReally? If we’re so recognisable from how we act, then why were you so sure I was a ‘Murrican two posts ago, you dumb motherfucker?I’m sorry you suck at dealing with people from other cultures. (Just kidding. I’m not really. Watching ‘Murricans expose their ignorance online is one of life’s little pleasures.) which you’ve beautifully demonstrated for the class.Look, please don’t shoot it up.
You seem to have a lot of anger in your heart. I hope you find a fulfilling life one day and leave this behind you.
No, you don’t. We’ve simply reached the point where you desperately try to save face by offering up a passive-aggressive comment instead of addressing the points I raised because you’ve got nothin’ to say in reply.Besides, you’re nowhere near a good enough judge of character to know what’s in my heart or if someone’s angry. We’ve established this. My advice? You’re shit at this, and should just stop doing it in the future.
It’s alright, let it out. You clearly need to.
I mean “Everyone” does not like it. Its not the Secret of Monkey Island!
Sure. How about “an overwhelming majority.”
Neither of those things is a “grind”. It’s one of the greatest games ever made. Dive in, be strong and enjoy. I’m 170+ hours in my first playthrough and I’m already thinking about my next character. It’s a truly special game. Never ceases to amaze me.
I had the same thing said to me by those same people, and I had been reminded of all the times I tried to love Dark Souls before. Then it started popping up with 10s left right and center. I rolled the dice because I could at least get a digital refund if I didn’t like it after a few hours. I’m glad I did.
I never once felt like I HAD to grind at any particular moment. The vast majority of my levels came from just playing the game. When I was grinding, it was because I needed levels to try a new weapon or spell.The almost constant death was an adjustment, but learning that I could run away from almost every fight was a paradigm shift for someone who’s spent his life chasing 100% Kills/Items/Secrets. Losing runes from dying was a struggle a few times, but overall runes are easy enough to find that I never felt like giving up on the game (even after the one time I lost 100k).I can’t explain why it grabbed me, but when I finished the game I had 124 hours. I have NEVER put that much time into a single run of a game, and there was a ton of stuff I missed. My GOAT Fallout New Vegas can be milked dry at about 70 hours and that’s every weapon every quest every companion. This game is an endless expanse of content, something for almost everyone if you can get past the sour exterior.
Those who recommend Elden Ring are the type of people who assume everybody loves ridiculously difficult games. This is what’s been weird to me.
Partly it’s a humblebrag, to just, y’know, let you know, by the way, THEY played REALLY difficult games and enjoy them – oh, do you not? Oh, you don’t? Part of it’s also because, I’ve found, these people really don’t…get…other people, so they tend to operate like everyone is exactly like them.This is kinda why they tend to insert it into every conversation about games – because what other sorts of games are there, huh? – and why they get angry when you go “That’s nice. Thanks, but no thanks”, because you’re not giving them the satisfaction, and closing off the only way they have to relate to others. On one of the forums I chat games on, the mods had to ban all mentions of ER and FromSoft games because these people would not shut up about them. The chat got really boring, really circlejerky, and really invasive – and then really angry when people said “Look, we just do not care.”
I hope you understand why I have a hard time valuing the perspective of someone who enjoys Biomutant, the embodiment of everything about open world games Elden Ring fixed, more than Elden Ring.
Did I say I liked Biomutant more then Elden Ring? Because I am pretty sure I did not say that. I said that Elden Ring is becoming forgettable to me as I distance myself more from beating it and that right now, I am enjoying a $20 dollar game that a lot of people hated.
No, you see, that was the strawman I built to crucify you for my own sick enjoyment.
I had a lot of fun playing Elden Ring with a friend when he bought it, and I was tantalizes by the fact that you can smash people with a flail if you have enough dexterity points. But we spent several hours replaying a stealth section outside the gates of a castle, running past a boss, and then getting killed by an invisible samurai or something? It was all very fun, but it’s hard for me to imagine playing enough times to actually advance through the game.
That’s funny, because this is the first Soulsborne game I never felt I had to grind. If I had trouble with a boss, I’d go explore elsewhere, and come back when I was stronger…couldn’t do that in the more linear games. And if I ever really had trouble, I’d use easy mode, AKA, summon help.
I love the thing, and put over 200 hours into it, but yeah. Not really itching to do it again, though I legit think it’s a pretty brilliant take on the open world genre. DLC, though…that I’ll be into.
I’m not really sure why Guerilla didn’t delay Forbidden West a second time after seeing that Elden Ring would be releasing so close to it. I’m mainly wondering that from a marketing standpoint, same for Zero Dawn. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can comment on this.But nonetheless, it’s an excellent game and considering how Zero Dawn is one of my favorite games, I was very glad I got Forbidden West at launch. I’m eagerly waiting to see what the DLC will be.
Sure, it’s very new still but Neon White’s omission is glaring. Easy current GOTY right there.
I basically only play From software games. They are hard but fair and beautiful.
Have you tried Hollow Knight? It’s what all the cool kids are playing! (Source: a 49-yr-old man on the internet)
I came here to see if there was any cool Nintendo game this year. After reading Sam Barsanti’s entry on Kirby I honestly can’t tell if he’s being serious about liking the game. It must be exhausting trying to be sarcastic 24/7.
Kirby is front runner for GOTY as far as I’m concerned. It’s just a delight to play, and there’s unexpected depth to the gameplay mechanics- the various powers you can get have all sorts of secondary effects you can manipulate to do really cool stuff. The level design is pretty consistently great as well.
Horizon: Forbidden West is just so good. The gameplay is solid and the engagements with machines allows for players to engage them how they want. I really enjoyed that I could walk into a fight and didn’t feel like I was at a disadvantage with whichever weapon I wanted to engage with. It encouraged me to try them all, and it was a blast. In turn, the fun combat made it so it never felt like a chore to search out a machine for some parts or progress around the map. I really enjoyed searching every corner of the map for resources or a data point or what have you.
I also found the main story enjoyable and poignant; furthermore, the side quests in this game, on a story level, are really well done. There’s meaning to the stories; there are quests that make you think and ponder (at least they did for me). And that’s not getting into whatever Guerrilla has done to make their NPCs look so good in game.
I know Guerrilla is cursed by release dates (although I don’t blame them for not moving their release date after Elden Ring moved their release date after Guerilla moved their release date), but I do think this game got overshadowed TOO much. It’s truly a masterpiece in many ways, and it has me eagerly waiting for DLC and the next game proper.
Damn, I sound like an advertisement for the game. But I just really, really enjoyed it.
(I’m also making my way slowly through Card Shark, it’s a very interesting game and a fun time. Also, a shout out to Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands: my first foray into the Borderlands world, and it was a BLAST. Another game with great, great side quests.)
So I feel like I should LOVE Horizon. In fact, I recently told some friends I couldn’t get into it and they all responded with a “Whaaaaa???”The game is beautiful. The action can be really fun. But I don’t find the traps to be very satisfying to use – maybe I’m going about it wrong but they all feel like you just map out a Dino’s track and then stick a landmine in front of it. Maybe tie it down with something and then shoot it a bunch of times.And am I the only one who also found the voice acting to be really grating? Is it supposed to be grating? They all kind of talk like they’re auditioning for their first play – very over-enunciated and cheesy sounding. I thought maybe that was an aesthetic for the future-caveman thing, but it was just irritating to me. I know the response to this kind of comment is always “Maybe it’s just not for you” but I just feel confused by my own lack of interest in the game.
I mean, it may just not be for you. I’m sure I could bring up things about Elden Ring or other games that many people like that would make people go, and I quote, “Whaaaaa???”
I didn’t find the voice acting grating. I do think many of the actors in the story quests were speaking with force (for lack of a better word), since I guess they all thought they were ‘tough jungle hunters’ or something. SO I can understand your sentiment, but I also thought it fit well and it didn’t bother me.
That being said, some of the work on the side quests very much counters that, I can think of one quest in the Sky Clan lands and a couple in the Low Lands where the quests had some very thoughtful and emotional acting to it. So it may just be a ymmv situation.
Traps can be used like that or they can be set up in an area and then you lure the machines into that area. I was very much a ‘Ropecaster and Tearblast Arrows if stealth fails all day, every day’ player in the first game, but I think I used a Ropecaster once in my entire time in Forbidden West. I had a lot more fun with elemental arrows and finding high points to snipe from this time around. I also fell in love with the javelin thrower (that thing is OP OP). Aloy felt stronger in this game in comparison to the first (which makes sense, story-wise), so it felt more natural to go into the fray and not sneak in the shadows as much this time around. I would suggest just experimenting with different weapons and finding what works for you. If traps are boring, don’t worry about them. There’s enough to use to have a ton of fun, I think.
This is exactly my experience of it. I heard so many good things about it but it just seemed like a repetitive gameplay loop.
Damn, I sound like an advertisement for the game.I will also happily be an advertisement for this game.With both games, Guerilla creates a massive open-world game that nevertheless manages to balance quality over quantity. It succeeds on every front and in a staggering ways. Incredible graphics. (Seriously – go look at comparison videos for character model improvements from Zero Dawn – the increase in detailing is insane). An absolute blast of a combat system. An incredibly well-craft and thought-out story.You can also tell they took criticisms of the first game to heart and improved. More fleshed-out side characters; better written side quests; easier traversal throughout the environment. And the way they incorporate the Glider: it was popularized by BotW, but they don’t just begrudgingly incorporate it as an afterthought. They actually build it into the world in really satisfying ways.I was also blown away by the amount of content. I spent 90 hours on the game, and didn’t even really get a chance to take part in a lot of the Hunting Grounds, races, Melee pits, and everything else.And it’s such a labor of love, on every level. There were some truly beautiful, remarkable moments you can tell were made by master craftspeople at the top of their game (no pun intended). Even something like healing the Land-Gods or that one cauldron that turns into a Tallneck. They did something for me every time and I loved it.I know the game will forever be judged relative to Elden Ring…which I’m also playing and enjoying…but Horizon is a series that already deserves to be remembered among the greats.
Zero Dawn was my 2017 Game of the Year, and Forbidden West is great, but I still like the first one better. I think it’s more streamlined, whereas FW has added a step or two too many to just about everything in the combat, and it’s a bit more of a grind. Resources, unlocks and upgrades all feel like more of a chore. On the plus side, I’ll go ahead and say this is graphically, the prettiest game I’ve ever seen, and might be, from an art design standpoint, the most gorgeous game ever made.
I had a blast playing Nobody Saves the World. The game is a joyous grind that’s constantly having you trying out different character class and ability combinations. As a result, I never found myself with any particular favorite build: they were all a lot of fun.
At year’s end when I imagine Elden Ring will be sweeping most of the GotY trophies…I really hope Horizon: Forbidden West still gets wins for narrative and voice acting by Ashly Burch, as both are especially stellar.
I wonder if that ending would make it hard to win narrative, but the voice acting is stellar, obviously.
Oh, I loved the ending. I thought it was both bonkers and perfectly in keeping with the game’s themes.
A buddy of mine who does close-up magic and card tricks was a consultant on Card Sharks. Thus I recommend it for entirely selfish reasons.
FWIW, if you have a PSVR I cannot recommend Moss Book 2 highly enough. It’s goddam delightful.
Kirby and the Forgotten Lands is the front runner as far as I’m concerned. It’s a chill and pleasant and cute game but also has a lot of depth behind it in the way mechanics interact. It’s frenetic and sometimes frustrating but there’s always a bit of reward too. And yes, the dedicated “say hi to your friends” buttons are exactly what this game needed.
GT7 belongs on the list. It’s a brilliant racer & the best GT game ever.Only other game I have played on the list is Horizon. Thought it was incredible, beat it twice and looking forward to dlc.
Neon White would probably be my current GOTY, but I haven’t completed it yet, so instead I’ll talk about three other games.I liked NORCO because it was unafraid to get weird. NORCO appears at first blush to be a literary, extremely serious point-and-click adventure in the vein of Kentucky Route Zero. But it’s so much more than that. It’s also a bizarre mix of cyberpunk, magical realism, and Southern Gothic. Playing it feels like sinking slowly into quicksand in the best possible way. At times it’s also laugh-out-loud hilarious, balancing absurdist humour with some truly gut-wrenching moments. I had a blast with it, and I hope it’s not forgotten by year’s end.I liked ANNO: Mutationem because it was so much deeper and richer than I expected. I went in expecting a ten-hour hit-it-and-quit-it dialogue-heavy action-platformer. Instead I got a 20-hour 2D/3D action RPG with a fun combat system, tonnes of exploration, and a genuinely intriguing cyberpunk tale. A thrilling debut from ThinkingStars; I can’t wait to see what they do next.I liked The Last Cube because of its clever puzzle design. By now, the 3D spatial puzzle genre popularized by Portal has seen dozens and dozens of variations. The Last Cube makes things interesting by giving each ability in your arsenal a dual purpose: not only do you use abilities to flip switches; you also use them to help you traverse the level. It introduces some nice tension into a genre where you don’t often think too deliberately about your moment-to-moment movement.
Maybe it’s just cuz I’m a filthy casual but it seems like it would be useful information to put which platforms these games are available on
Would it kill ya to mention what platforms these games are on?
Seeing there’s a game called Card Sharks on the list just makes me think of the days when there were tons of video games based on game shows:Would it be too much to hope for that we get a computer-graphics avatar of Jim Perry? Or at least Joel McHale.
I liked how you were prompted to start with “I liked [game] because [reason]” like you’re a bunch of 4th graders given a writing prompt.
It should be mentioned and rarely is by articles (for some strange reason) that TUNIC is souls like. That’s important because it gives the impression it’s only like Zelda and then someone going into it realizes this is not what I signed up for or they might like it because they like souls like games.