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I can't believe I've never done this before. Let's do this! Honorable Mentions Baldur's Gate 3 Holy heck the demo/EA version is really good! And it's supposed to be 1/3 or so of the actual content of the full version of the game! If, and that's a huge if given the history of RPGs, the full game keeps up this level of quality this should quite easily make my list for next year! Whether it does or not we shall see. I really enjoyed the 20 hours or so I got out of the early demo. No Man's Sky I'm so happy this is still going. I honestly didn't get around to actually playing it much this year or I might have actually ranked it, but I wanted to give it some love for still trucking this many years out! Northgard The little RTS that could. This game has been out for awhile but manages to keep putting out new content in terms of playable clans and game modes. It's got that Warcraft 3 type gameplay where resource management and unit micro are rewarded in a pretty cool setting. Every other month or so I get the urge to play a few matches, and the DLC is really sensibly priced and everything goes on sale pretty frequently and usually introduces a fresh enough play-style to be worth it. The List 10. Golden Axe III Every once in awhile I want to play a side scroller where I'm a barbarian that rides dinosaurs. Why improve on what works? 9. Not For Broadcast A really fun and inventive game where you play as someone censoring (or not censoring) television broadcasts in a highly politically charged environment. It feels a bit like a Papers, Please type of setup just done with a much bigger budget and more relatable material. For some reason I have a hard time putting my finger on it doesn't quite have the staying power it would need for me to rate it higher, and is habitually on my list of games that I need to get around to playing more of but never do. 8. Marvel Snap This is the game I've played the most on a mobile device since Snake on a Nokia in the early 2000s. The gameplay is innovative enough to stay fresh, the location system makes every game different enough that you have that 'react to the unexpected' element you don't get with the more formulaic card games, and the monetization is so bad that it loops around to being good because none of the whale-bait it is remotely tempting for a sane person to purchase so you can safely free to play in your spare time and not feel like you're missing out. If you care about grinding ladder ranks the snap mechanic makes that a much more interesting and rewarding process than gaining ranks in any other DCG type game has ever been for me. My itch for a digital card game is thoroughly scratched with this and I am very happy it exists. 7. Paradise Killer What an impressively weird little gem of a mystery/story game. This game gave me Myst vibes in the best way. It has an absurdly deep and unique setting that it simply refuses to spoon-feed you in the expositiony manner that most media would. This results in an experience that is equally wondrous and disorienting as you work your way to determining the truth of the divine mystery you find yourself pulled from exile to deal with. It's hard to say more without spoilers both of the plot itself and the world you can explore along the way, so I will leave it that. Really inventive stuff. I enjoyed every minute of it! 6. Guild Wars 2 There was an expansion that came out this year but this is mostly on here due to to content that's been around forever, so whether you count this as "Guild Wars 2" or "Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons" is all the same to me! Guild Wars 2 is the perfect MMO for people who don't have time to play the traditional MMO "grind-forever so you can grind-forever" model. I have been dipping in and out of this game sometimes for years at a time since 2012 and this is one of the years that has been more on than off. The studio was reinvigorated with the expansion and player population is apparently at five year highs, and it definitely feels that way in the open world. The fact that a lot of the newer story content is very LGBT inclusive has the dual effect of improving the story and also deeply triggering the type of people that plague other MMOs at what seems to be a much higher rate, and greatly lowering your chances of having to encounter one in Tyria. Knowing that no matter what I can always dip in and derp around in WvW, do big scale world events with a crowd of strangers, or just play dressup with the hundreds and hundreds of awesome skins I've unlocked over the years makes this a great 'turn your brain off and decompress after work' type of game and the reason I'll probably never play another MMO, and it definitely deserves a place on my list. 5. Scarlet Hollow This game is being released in episodic format and currently 4 out of 7 expected chapters are out. I can't imagine this doesn't make my list next year, probably higher. But I think it deserves to be this high even in the unfinished state because what is released is incredible. If you're into visual novels or horror at all, I highly, highly, recommend you pick this up. Every choice you make is remembered and comes up, even the seemingly little ones. Characters have different traits that dramatically impact the options you have, some of which get the point of almost being an entirely different experience, all of which will have their moment to shine. Each chapter has a "major" decision that is going to go badly for something, and you typically choose who or what, and the continuing stories are starting to become very divergent. Each chapter is therefore adding exponentially more to the gameplay experience and while over half have been released numerically I wouldn't be surprised if we have far less than half of the total content that will be in the full game. When this is fully released it may very well be in contention for best story game of all time. As is, it's still very, very, good and fully deserving of it's high spot on my list. 4. Control 2022 was the year I finally finished this, due to no fault of the game. I really loved it. The amount of customization of loadouts and the weirdness of the plot and setting was really cool, and the final 'take control' moment was really satisfying after hours and hours of being screwed with by the whole setup and wondering what the heck was really going on. Some of the puzzles were a bit more frustrating than fun, and while the side content in the main game was really good the DLC felt more tacked on and less balanced than the core content and I felt it was mostly skippable, but the core game was a blast and an easy one to get lost in. 3. Elden Ring I don't know what I could possibly say about this that someone else won't say better. Honestly if I liked the genre and aesthetics more it might be higher on my list and it's completely fair to discuss it as one of the best video games ever made. What Elden Ring did so well for me was that it made it feel incredible to finally overcome all of the huge challenges that the game puts in front of you. Making a game frustratingly difficult is not exactly new or impressive, making it both difficult and really truly thrilling to triumph over is something Elden Ring does as well as any game ever made, maybe better. 2. Immortality There are a small handful of games that I will point to if I ever find myself discussing whether video games can truly be fine art and this is the latest and possibly greatest of them. I really can't say much more without massively spoilering things. I don't know if a game has made me think this much in a very long time. The quality of production is outstanding, they basically made three full length movies and filmed casting, rehearsal, publicity, and the final cuts of many of the scenes in them, all of which blend into layers and layers of nuance and meaning. This is not a game to play in a few minutes here and there like many others on my list, it's the exact opposite. You need hours of uninterrupted calm to really appreciate this masterpiece. It's very much worth it. There are flaws, most notably that you'll get a "game over" type reveal when you've discovered about 20% of the game which can be really confusing, and that the mechanics of how to play the game are unnecessarily obtuse, but if you can get past that one of the most impactful gaming experiences I've ever had awaits you. 1. Crusader Kings III  With the hours I've put into it I really can't justify putting anything else as my #1 game. Why is this so addictive to me? The emergent story telling and generation of characters is really like nothing else. I could sit here and tell you dozens of stories about crazy things that have happened in my games. From unexpected bastard children founding their own dynasties and taking over half a continent, Crusader states that started their own heresies, albino norse witch queens that survived the whole world hating them long enough to dominate it, building a tolerant feminist caliphate dedicated to saving the traditions of the few pagans left in the world, a gentle and compassionate king falling for his court jester and then losing his mind when his vengeful spiteful wife that his religion prevented him from divorcing murdered her out of anger, swearing fealty to a foreign emperor just to undermine them from within to avenge their petty wars, or literally starting what felt like a world war that destabilized my entire realm just to hunt down a single count after he executed my character's daughter. These sorts of things are commonplace. If you let yourself role-play no game is ever the same as the one before and going in with no plans that you aren't willing to toss away in response to a random event pop up can be wonderfully chaotic joy. With a very robust custom religion system and cultural reformation I also find this to be much more of a society builder than most games advertised as such. I've spent many playthroughs struggling to create welcoming and inclusive utopias out of the hell of the crazily bigoted medieval world. I find succeeding in this very satisfying. Yes, you have to deliberately play sub-optimally to really enjoy most of these things, and yes the support for the game has been rather anemic since launch, and yes it requires a very specific crossover of interests to truly love. None of that prevents it from being my favorite game in the year 2022! Simple List 10. Golden Axe III 9. Not For Broadcast 8. Marvel Snap 7. Paradise Killer 6. Guild Wars 2 5. Scarlet Hollow 4. Control 3. Elden Ring 2. Immortality 1. Crusader Kings III SlothBear fucked around with this message at 02:40 on Dec 28, 2022 |
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Dec 19, 2022 00:36
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 06:08 |
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oddium posted:10) skies of arcadia - A classic, I loved this on dreamcast back in the day. Still waiting for a worthy successor.
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Dec 20, 2022 05:21
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I’m happy to see true colors getting love in this thread. Would have rated it myself if I had played it in 2022. I just have a hard time replaying life is strange games. The gut punches are always worse the second time around for me. Definitely deserves the spot on the lists though!
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Dec 20, 2022 15:44
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morallyobjected posted:there's no wrong choice as long as you end up with Steph in the first place Correct.
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Dec 20, 2022 19:53
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Rianlee posted:2. Scarlet Hollow: When the game said that choices have consequences, this game means it. Heck yeah! Glad to see this getting another vote! (apologies if I missed anyone else earlier!)
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Dec 26, 2022 22:51
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Orcs Must Die 2 is super fun. Never played the others.
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Dec 27, 2022 03:23
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My steam replay reminded me of a few games I played and gave me visual proof for my #1 pick so my list has been updated!
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Dec 27, 2022 19:16
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bewilderment posted:5: SCARLET HOLLOW She really does and I find it equally rewarding to break through with her or make her absolutely despise you. Considering how big the episode 3 choice can be with her I can't wait to see all the possible variations in the future!
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Dec 30, 2022 22:29
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I am unreasonably excited to see this list! 
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Jan 7, 2023 09:58
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I knew most of my choices wouldn't be ranked, but dang Scarlet Hollow came so close! We got this next year!!! Also yay I got quoted for Snap. 
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Jan 7, 2023 17:52
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Hey Immortality made it to 33  not bad for what a niche little game it is!
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Jan 7, 2023 20:45
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Okay now they'll start being good.
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Jan 7, 2023 21:32
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I loved this whole thing and love all the breakdowns and work that everyone did! Thank you all so much! Here's how my picks did... 10. Golden Axe III - DNR. Only I picked this. Obviously. My urge to play ancient side scrollers is fairly consistent so who knows maybe I rank it again next year. 9. Not For Broadcast - DNR. One other person picked this if I am mathing right. 8. Marvel Snap - #65! Will be interesting to see if this picks up steam for next year. It's very possible that it does. It's also possible that it crashes and burns. 7. Paradise Killer - DNR. A few others ranked it. Very cool game but not being a new release and niche in appeal in the first place not surprising. 6. Guild Wars 2 - DNR. I'm not surprised by that necessarily, but I am very surprised I was the only one who ranked this. 2022 is widely considered one of the best years GW2 has had in a long time, and I know there are a lot of goons that play this. I suppose either the crossover of goons who play this and goons who rank is not there, or they all ranked other stuff higher, which is odd to me considering the FF MMO has such a following on this list. Some sociologist could probably explain it. 5. Scarlet Hollow - DNR. But came very close!!! With three more amazing chapters yet to come and each chapter exponentially increasing the complexity of branching consequences I am optimistic this will climb next year. Maybe I need to preach its greatness to the goons who are looking for story/horror games more. If you are into virtual novels and horror at all I really, really, recommend it! And if it completes in 2023 which I hope it will maybe it will rank next year? We shall see! 4. Control - DNR. Yeah, everyone else already ranked this in the past few years. Not terribly surprising. 3. Elden Ring - #1. Obviously. If there is a decade list for best game in the 2020s in 7 years I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was a strong contender for #1. It's really that good, and again I say this as someone who the aesthetics don't appeal to that much and is very neutral on souls-likes as a genre. 2. Immortality - #33! Pleasantly surprised this did so well! It's really a unique experience and if you have any tolerance for avant garde story games you should give it a shot! 1. Crusader Kings III - DNR and I was the only one who ranked it.  I still maintain this is a game of boundless potential whose surface is just being scratched. Maybe paradox will push out some amazing patches and add ons that will give more people reason to vote for this next year? I certainly hope so!!Overall - 3/10 ranked, 3/10 I was the only one who voted for. I like the symmetry. As for next year... Well I finally got Disco Elysium and a half-dozen other suggestions from people's lists are on my wish list now. Also hopefully 2023 will be the year Baldur's Gate 3 launches hopefully, which is probably the new game I'm most excited for. Hopefully I remember to check for this in 2023! Thanks again everyone who worked so hard on this!
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Jan 8, 2023 22:53
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