Another year, another conversation about which game should be crowned as our Game of the Year. Instead of doing a whole meeting of the minds thing, and debating each other about which game deserves the highly prestigious award, we decided to let everyone’s voice be heard and allowed for each of our staff to pick their personal Game of the Year, to allow for more games to have a chance for the spotlight.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak
Chosen by Jimmy Fitzpatrick
An expansion…as a Game of the Year? Hell. Yes. Sunbreak builds off of what made Monster Hunter Rise so much fun. It features its own campaign missions, a whole mess of terrifying new monsters, brand new locations, and new techniques to play around with. All of this – along with the consistent stream of free Title Updates that Capcom has pumped out – makes for an incredible beast of an expansion. The amount of content in Sunbreak has more than doubled since its release, which is insane because it is already a content heavy game. It’s well worth the entry fee to continue the adventure of the Hero of Kamura!
Dying Light 2
Chosen by Sunny Rads
When Dying Light 2 was released earlier this year, it was filled with an unnerving number of bugs and glitches. It made me anxious if I would even enjoy it. Fortunately, it was patched up and updated so frequently that when I started playing it, I found myself loving everything about it. Every choice I made shaped Dying Light’s zombie-infested world – including its’ side quests. It was such an immersive experience, and the storyline kept me coming back for more. It’s the sort of game that invites you to revisit it and replay it after because your choices have such drastic differences. Techland knocked it out the park and I can’t wait to dive back into this game all over again.
Elden Ring
Chosen by Taylar Allan & Stephen Fontana
Elden Ring was not only a fantastic and enthralling game to experience on my own, but it brought together people from all walks of life. Casual and hardcore audiences united to bond over discovering the game’s massive world, besting its monstrous bosses, and unravelling its many secrets. It was a moment in time that only happens every few years at best. If you were a gamer, you could not escape Elden Ring – everyone was talking about it, and for good reason. Elden Ring completely dominated my life – and scores of others – for hundreds of hours this year which is why I’m giving it my Game of the Year!
SIGNALIS
Chosen by Andy Asimakis
“Where did this horror game come from?” That’s what I kept asking myself while I was playing through Rose-Engine’s lo-fi, cosmic mystery. Set in a dystopian future, SIGNALIS takes the best elements of PlayStation One era survival horror, and crafts the perfect spooky experience. Item and resource management and thought-provoking puzzles take center stage as you make your way through dreary, off-world government facility to uncover a deep, dark truth. With multiple endings (some of which will break your soul), SIGNALIS kept me coming back for more emotional punishment time and time again.
God of War Ragnarök
Chosen by Matt Murray
God of War Ragnarök is the full package: the story, performances, world design, soundtrack, and gameplay are masterclass. The follow-up to the 2018 smash-hit brings Kratos’ journey across The Nine Realms to an emotional end, in ways that only Sony and Santa Monica Studios are able to pull off. I hope SMS – and other first-party Sony studios – continues doing these two part stories, because the team is absolutely crushing it. God of War Ragnarök is video games at its finest!
There you have it, our Games of the Year 2022! What was your GotY for 2022? Let us know in the comment section below!
