In what was predicted to be a relatively quiet year we have seen some absolutely stonking games come out in 2022. Of course, not all of them on PC, Ragnarok and Forbidden West are still installed on my PS5. However, with Sony now doing the business with their PC ports I would bet my back teeth we won't have long to wait for them to grace our platform. One big PC game I didn't cover this year was Elden Ring, which ironically won Game of the Year at the awards. Alas, real life was stomping all over me at the time so this is why I didn't get a chance to play it, but it is on my list for a retro review at some point next year. Speaking of the game awards, this year was a pretty good turnout. A new Bioshock-flavoured game from Ken Levine, a Death Stranding 2 trailer and The Last of Us is coming to PC. This means I can finally review one of my favourite games from the Sony Stable.
As we now pick up speed towards the terminus of 2022 there have been a few games that seem to have stumbled over the finish line. Callisto Protocol for example has landed with a thud on PC and not a good one. With some surprisingly bad combat design and awful PC performance, this is unfortunately one to avoid. Interestingly the game this was said to be inspired by is getting a remake early next year and it is looking very special indeed. Sommerville was also a game I wanted the world to love but unfortunately not many did. Like Callisto, the art direction and style are superb, but then things go wrong when you start to play.
The Witcher 3 ‘Next Gen’ edition also landed this week and in true CD Projekt Red fashion, it came with some major issues. In a switch from Cyberpunk, the console versions are looking pretty damn good and most seem very happy with it. However, the PC version is borked with framerate issues, stuttering and a crashing problem. Even the most powerful systems available are getting woeful performance, which is a shame because the game has never looked better. The have been a few hotfixes but with very little gains I’m now waiting for a more substantial patch before I start my full run.
Despite these end-of-year wrinkles, we have also had some really excellent games arriving on PC thanks to Sony taking our beloved platform seriously. I have written reviews for both Miles Morales and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection; which run like a dream on PC. With Microsoft and Sony both now treating the PC platform so well, it just leaves Nintendo still out in the cold. Interestingly Microsoft has just made a ten-year deal with Nintendo for Call of Duty. Of course, this is to show goodwill in the hopes Sony drops their campaign to stop the Activision buyout, but could it also bring Nintendo more on board with PC gaming? I have always wanted to see how Breath of the Wild (officially) faired on a high-end gaming PC, maybe now we will.
It is heartwarming to see PC Gaming doing so well these last few years regardless of the economic issues and hardware shortages. The GPU market has now emerged from the Crypto Mining bollocks and the NFT insanity has seemingly fizzled out. Nvidia has not released their latest card lineup in the grandest fashion and with the loss of EVGA cards, I do wonder if there is trouble at the mill. With those issues aside, the 4000 series cards are performing very well (when not melting) and with the new DLSS 3.0 offering another massive leap in performance I hope they can roll out better next time. For now though, my ancient 3080ti will just have to do and we will see how things look when the 5000 series emerges sometime next year.
Speaking of the new year, how are things shaping up for early doors in 2023? As usual, publishers and developers seem intent on seeing just how many games February can hold before breaking. Prior to this inevitable mayhem, I will say the game I am most looking forward to in January is the Dead Space remake. Before EA pitched the series off a cliff with the third instalment, this was one of the best space-based horror games on the market. As always, my memories of the game seem more in line with the remakes visuals and seeing the classic version just reminds me that games rarely age well. The only other release on my radar is an expansion to a game that is criminally underrated and that is Rain World. Downpour adds a lot of new content into the mix including new areas, reworked encounters and most interestingly: five new Slugcats to master. I will apply for a review copy today so fingers crossed our correspondence gets plucked from the ether.
So with that ladies and gents, I am going to wish you all a very happy 2023 and I hope your dreams are coming true no matter where you are.