In a year that many thought would be a little bit subdued, we have in fact seen some absolute crackers drop from the gaming heavens. Here in the UK, we are reeling from many shocks to our economy including Brexit, the energy crisis and the cluster fuck that is our current government. Finding places to escape from our reality for a while have never been so important, gaming is one of the most excellent ways to do this.

As usual, I have perused my gaming content this year and chosen ‘five of the best’. These awesome titles are just the warm-up act for the big one, Game of the Year 2022. So grab a mince pie, fill your cup with egg nog and settle in for my take on the best games this year had to offer. As always. thank you so much for reading my reviews, articles and blog posts.

Five of the Best

Spider-Man and Miles Morales

There are still some game studios out there that come with a promise of quality. Insomniac Games of Ratchet and Clank fame are one such studio. In 2018 they released Spider-Man on PS4 and it was arguably one of the best games of that generation. As I cover in my review, the key to a good Spider-Man game is nailing the traversal as this is a core element of the character. Insomniac did a fantastic job on this front as well as meshing it with a fun combat system. 

The game throws Peter right into the action and from that first swing you can instantly see this is going to be a quality experience. When I bought it on PS5, playing on the Dual Sense controller was a joy. Feeling the tension build in the triggers as you reached the bottom of a swing was sublime. I was worried that playing on PC would not feel as good, however, I actually now think it is better. The way you can spin your view on a dime and that combined with FPS in excess of 120 makes this seem like a whole new experience.  The company that ported this over to PC, Nixxes Software, did a great job in both performance and PC-specific features. 

In addition to the excellent mechanics, this game is choc full of characters from Spider-Man universe both good, evil and somewhere in between. I loved how well the writers built up Peter's relationship with the villains before they reveal their true nature, making for some genuinely moving scenes. This game has it all and looks the very best it can on PC. I couldn’t recommend this game enough, as long as you have a decent rig to push it around. It is worth noting that Spider-Man Miles Morales has also just been released and to keep things short I will link my review to that here. It is safe to say all the praise I have lavished on Spider-Man is equally relevant to Miles morales. While it is smaller, the story of this new superhero packs a surprisingly potent bio-electric punch. I see these two games as a duo that all PC gamers should give a try. My review for Spider-Man OG can be found here.

Grounded

Obsidian Entertainment are another game developer who have proven themselves to have an eye for quality. You can see that everything they make is a work of passion and Grounded is no exception. 

With no shortage of resource-gathering survival titles on the market, new games in this genre need to stand out. Grounded does this partly with its setting; a backyard in 1990s American suburbia. No big shakes until you consider the kids you play as are now no bigger than garden ants. This new perspective on the world comes with some very interesting problems, like your place on the food chain being recalibrated. The imagination of the world designers has gone wild with every part of your new surroundings being used to make tools, weapons, armour and a settlement. Even from the first public builds in early access, this game was solid and worked very well. Now with the story in place, it is a wonderful adventure that you can enjoy yourself or with up to three friends. Check out my review here.

FAR Changing Tides

Most games see a list of fun activities as a prerequisite to a good game, which makes sense. Yet, after playing intense action games like Uncharted or God of War, a pallet cleanser is just the ticket. FAR Changing Tides is the continuation of FAR Lone Sails. In the first game, you start with no back story or preamble: you just get in your land boat and start moving. As you pass through the desolate and eerie landscape you must seek fuel for the engines and deal with any obstacles in your path. I found the conclusion to this game to be moving and profound: right to the last second. 

With Changing Tides, we see a very similar theme to the gameplay, save for the fact that you are now on an actual ship of sorts. Using both wind and a more conventional form of propulsion you must again, make your way towards somewhere you yet don’t know. These serene games are not for everyone and some may consider the slower pace a little boring. However, if you enjoy those peaceful moments when the wind is blowing your hair and the elements on your face; this might just be the ticket. You can read my review here.

A Plague Tale: Requiem

This is another sequel from a developer I have a great deal of time for. However, this one seeks to go bigger on every element that made the original such a popular title with those who played it. A Plague Tale: Requiem picks up with Amicia and her younger brother as they seek to cure his terrible affliction. Hugo has a devastating condition that binds him to the vast hordes of rats that plague each place he dwells for too long. 

This really is a beautiful game both in terms of stunning locations and also the amount of detail in the environments. All the enemies are well animated and this quality is elevated thanks to the excellent use of lighting. Of course, the real star of the show is the hordes of rats that look more like a hairy tsunami of teeth and claws. There is more on the table this time in regards to fighting back and yet you are still massively outnumbered. I thoroughly enjoyed this journey with Amicia and her brother, right to the dramatic conclusion. Just be aware that there are some performance issues I mention in my review but if you love adventure games with a twist, this is a must-own. You can read my full review here.

Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection

Over the years I have almost always owned a current PlayStation and one series I’ve managed to keep up with is Uncharted. I do remember getting far more excited about the visuals of Uncharted 3 as we saw a real shift towards the visual fidelity we have today. In this package, we have both Uncharted 4: Den of Thieves and a second game called Lost Legacy. In the first game, we see Nathan Drake set out on his greatest (and sadly last) treasure hunt to date. Incorporating some of the most beautiful game locations ever seen, this is a real tour da force in action adventuring. 

As the gameplay moves effortlessly from traversing elaborate puzzles to intense gun fights you really do get sucked into this wild ride. It also doesn’t hurt that Naughty Dog has spent decades bringing these characters to life with interesting and well-written dialogue. Like Spider-Man, the second game included in this package is smaller but no less enjoyable. You play as Chloe Frazer, another wise-cracking treasure hunter who seeks her fortune in these stunning locations. While there was an issue with mouse input this has now thankfully been fixed. Considering the visual calibre here the performance is also very impressive, even on lower-end machines. Leaving me to wholeheartedly recommend these games to anyone who loves action adventure.

Special Mention

Deep Rock Galactic: Season 3

So while Deep Rock Galactic was technically released two years ago I still wanted to give it a poke. The developers over at Ghost Ship Games have worked tirelessly to keep the game fresh since it first entered early access in 2018. When it was finally released it had already gathered a cult following of wannabe Dwarven Miners. Each new season has come free of charge and added new enemies, weapons and activities. After a robot-themed Season two, fans made it clear they wanted a more organic threat to contend with and the developers listened. 

Season three introduces the Rock Pox, which has started raining down on Hoxxes IV from a fragmented meteor. This organism has spread to the game's standard enemy bugs making them even more of a challenge. In addition, you and your fellow dwarfs must now clear out areas of pox when working in an infected biome. New grenade types may not sound like much to write home about but they are so well-designed. My main class, engineer, for example, has a new shredder drone which releases a swarm of automated seekers that protect you for a period of time. 

One of the coolest new events is meteors lamping into Hoxxes IV in real time, smashing their way down to you and creating a small event in the process. As with prior seasons, there is a season pass style rewards system to work through offering minerals and the all-important cosmetics. This has been my go-to game now for two years and with nearly a thousand hours on the clock, I still look forward to jumping in with my mates. If you have never wanted to find a developer who absolutely deserved your hard-earned cash, this be them. ROCK AND STONE!

Game of the Year 2022

Weird West 

It is a fact that a game's success is often about getting into the public consciousness. We saw this with games like Stardew Valley, which while good in their own right, were also in the right place at the right time. In the same sense, games that release early in the year, no matter how good, run the risk of being forgotten or overshadowed by titles dropping just before Christmas. Weird West was one of these spring games and within the first hour of play, I pegged it as a possible game of the year. Yet this year has been peppered with other would-be contenders (five of which I’ve covered above) and each time Weird West has hung on.

So I can finally say, for 2022, Weird West is my official Game of the Year! My review will tell you all you need to know but for those of you with a phobia of clicking on things, let me tantalise you. Weird West comes to us from the folks at the newly formed Wolfeye Studios, headed up by none other than ex-Arcane developer Raphael Colantonio. It is also worth noting that the publisher is Devolver Digital, a watermark of good taste these days. I think what I love about this game the most is how brave it is, letting the player off the leash in ways that you might not expect. You can nobble pretty much anyone you come across and the game world just keeps on ticking. In fact, many of the insane situations you find yourself in unfold because you have wandered from convention and done something unexpected. We do see other games that give players this freedom but they don't have clever coding to back it up. With five distinct characters to play as and a hideously fascinating world to bite into; I cannot recommend this gem enough.