Top 6 Games 2022

    Overall, 2022 was a pretty average year in terms of gaming. I'll acknowledge that there were some massive launches including Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarök. However, neither of those games are my kind of game. Given that, this list made up of my favorite games that I have played that came out in 2022 so far. You'll notice that most of these games are smaller/indie games. You may also notice that all five of these games launched into Xbox Game Pass. Gotta love it. 2022 was a very I say so far because there are probably games that I haven't played yet that will make their way into this list. So, here are my top 5 video games of 2022 that I have played so far.

6. As Dusk Falls (Interior Night)

I was genuinely surprised by this game. I found the story and characters engaging. I was also surprised that the art style worked as well as it did. The voice acting was top tier. My biggest complaint with the game comes with it's UI/UX. I played with an Xbox controller and found the choice navigation to be a bit tedious having to use the sticks to move a cursor around the screen. Its more frustrating when compared to how well Telltale already mastered the choice making gameplay with a controller.

5. Prodeus (Bounding Box Software INC)

Doom is one of my favorite game series. Particularly the original two games from the 1990s. When I saw that Prodeus was fully releasing Game Pass I was very excited to give it a playthrough. I was happy to play a game that feels like what Doom 3 would've been had it released in 1995. At the same time though it carries a lot of the same modern features found in Doom 2016. I will say though, the game started feeling a bit repetitive near the end, and I found myself hoping it would end quickly. Overall, though I was happy with the experience. 

4. Sniper Elite V (Rebellion)

If I'm being 100% honest, I enjoyed Sniper Elite 4 more than 5. That is not to say that 5 is bad though. The stealth is top tier, the sharpshooter is endlessly satisfying. My favorite level in particular is based on Mont Saint-Michel in southwestern Normandy, France. It is a handcrafted and breathtaking recreation of the real thing, and it is the perfect place to snipe dozens of Nazis. In term of what I don't like, I don't feel like the game does enough to improve upon the foundation that Sniper Elite 4 built. It just feels like even more Sniper Elite for levels rather than a totally new game.

3. Tinykin

 Tinykin is another example of the value of game pass. I've never played a Pikmin game and I had no idea what they were about, so reading that this was just Pikmin on Xbox didn't help me understand what this game was about. I booted it up with zero expectations and honestly, that may have made the game even better for me. The graphics and art style are very nice. The gameplay is fun and original. The cherry on top is the amount of silliness and easter eggs scattered throughout. The game was only 5-6 hours long and definitely did not overstay its welcome. My only complaint is the story was a little strange, but that is minor compared to the rest of the game.

2. Vampire Survivors (Poncle)

Upon seeing that HowLongToBeat estimated completing Vampire Survivors at around 7 hours, I figured it would be a quick completion to hold me out until I found the next big game to play. Nearly 24 hours of gameplay later, you could say that Vampire Survivors itself became my big game. I'm not one to try and 100% games very often. It felt as though I didn't have a choice with this game. I couldn't stop playing. The gameplay is so simple, yet so addicting. Honestly, there is nothing I'd change about this game. It is pretty much perfect.

1. Pentiment (Obsidian)

Pentiment blew me away. As I saw all the reviews coming out saying this was a niche title, I was worried that I would find myself outside of the niche. Thankfully I am the niche of the niche. Usually a lack of voice acting is a hinderance for me, but it works extremely well in Pentiment. When I wasn't playing Pentiment all I could think about was Pentiment. The game also delves into showing players actual long term consequences for their actions which is something that is hardly explored in video games. This game is perfect in just about every way. I wish that I could play it for the first time again.