2022 was a pretty good year for gaming and 2023 looks like it might be even better. There were plenty of amazing AAA games as well as tons of awesome indies for gamers to get tucked into. This year has also been a good year to revisit some older games and I did just that with No Man’s Sky.
On the PlayStation front, it was a pretty great year. We had Horizon Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok. There was also Gran Turismo 7 but I never got that because I am not really interested in simulation racing games. But I did end up getting and playing The Last of Us Part I, the somewhat controversial remake that launched at £70.00. I ended up getting it on Amazon for £65 but I am glad I did, it turned out to be fantastic and it was great playing through it again with improved graphics, more modern controls and a neat photo mode.
Here are the top ten games I played in 2022.
1. Horizon Forbidden West (PS5)
I couldn’t really decide what game would take the top spot of my favourite games I have played in 2022. It was obviously a toss-up between Horizon Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok. Both games are pretty different I would say but I chose Forbidden West simply because of the amazing open world that Guerrilla Games created for this sequel. Not to mention the deep story and great combat. Open-world games are my preferred type of game so Horizon Forbidden West takes first place among my favourite games of 2022.
2. God of War Ragnarok (PS5)
What can I say about God of War Ragnarok? It is a very impressive game and it was a difficult decision to make this my number 2 game of the year. That’s not to say it is somehow not as good as Horizon Forbidden West, in some ways it was better but Forbidden West for me was just the better experience I suppose. Nonetheless, God of War Ragnarok was tremendous, graphically and gameplay-wise. The combat is spot on and you really feel like you are hitting enemies with the Leviathan Axe. Story-wise is was also pretty great, maybe not as focused as God of War 2018 but still had plenty of memorable moments.
In terms of difficulty, I found Ragnarok to be quite challenging even playing on the easiest setting. Particularly at the end when clearing up some of the Berserkers and especially the Gna fight in Musphelheim, Jesus, was she a pain in the ass. But the difficult bosses were extremely satisfying to beat.
3. No Man’s Sky (PS5)
In 2022 I got back into No Man’s Sky in a big way. I started playing again just a couple of weeks before the Polestar expedition and just found the game to be amazing. Sometimes its good to leave a game alone for a while and then come back to it. Especially if the developer is Hello Games and has added a ton of things and many improvements since the last time you played. Coming back to a game like No Man’s Sky after a long break can make the game feel fresh and new. There were a ton of new things for me to figure out when I started playing again and I’d forgotten how amazing the game looked. For the time being at least, No Man’s Sky will be my go-to live service game.
4. The Last of Us Part I (PS5)
When The Last of Us remake was first rumoured to be happening, I had to ask why? I couldn’t quite understand why Sony would spend time, money and resources remaking a game that was only 9 years old and already had a PS4 remaster that ran fine on PS5. However, I bit the bullet and bought The Last of Us Part I, and I am glad I did. Replaying the game again with superior graphics, better gunplay, a photo mode and of course the haptics on the DualSense definitely made The Last of Us Part I worth playing. Was it worth £70? Probably not (I got it at £65) but it was a damn great game.
5. Moss Book II (PS4/PSVR)
2022 was a pretty decent year for PSVR as well, even though the headset is nearing the end of its life with PS VR2 just around the corner. This year saw Moss Book II release, the sequel to Moss (which I also loved.) The game sees the cute, heroic mouse Quill return after the events of the first game where she saved her Uncle. This time she must battle against the arcane to save the land of Moss. Moss Book II, just like the first game, was pretty much perfect I thought. For me, it was a combination of everything that makes the game so fun. The fact that you’re in VR, the perspective, the combat, the puzzle solving and that adorable little mouse. In my review, I said Moss Book II is “a game that will warm your heart and leave you wanting more of the world of Moss.” And it really is. Moss Book II is just one of those games that if you own PSVR you absolutely must play it.
6. Wanderer (PS4/PSVR)
Wanderer is another PSVR game that I absolutely loved playing this year. The game came out in January but I didn’t get it until a few months later, but it’s another game where I am glad I did get it. Wanderer has a kind of weird story about time travel and in the game, you have to jump between different time periods solving puzzles, with the odd bit of combat thrown in for good measure. I really liked that you could interact with so many different things. In fact, almost every object you could pick up seems to have some sort of use. Graphically, Wanderer looks really great for a PSVR game. I highly recommend this one.
7. The Callisto Protocol (PS5)
The Callisto Protocol is made by some of the devs who made the original Dead Space game and it is very similar. I don’t normally play horror games as a matter of course but I thought I would give this a try and it didn’t disappoint. I don’t think the game turned out to be the horror masterpiece its developers were hoping for but it was still pretty good. The combat, especially dodging took a bit of getting used to and the game was far too linear for my liking and I didn’t really find it all that scary. But once I got the hang of the combat the game turned out to be quite enjoyable. It was certainly atmospheric and eventually beating those two-head bosses was pretty much an achievement all in itself. I also quite liked the story and some of the characters so all in all, not a genre-defining game by any means but still one that I am glad I did play.
8. Stray (PS5)
Everyone loves cuts, don’t they? Well, if they don’t they should. Cats are awesome and that is probably why the cat adventure game Stray by BlueTwelve Studio was so hyped prior to its release. Essentially Stray was just an adventure game starring a Cat, no more no less. It wasn’t particularly groundbreaking but it was a fun game and I had never played as a Cat in a game before so it was certainly a bit different. All in all, it was an enjoyable game and it was free with PlayStation Plus so that made it even sweeter.
9. Broken Mind (PS4)
Of all the smaller indie games I have played in 2022 Broken Mind was actually one of my favourites and I had to include it in my top 10. But what makes Broken Mind special? The fact that there is a bit more to it than meets the eye. Developed by one-man team Tony DeLucia (2BAD GAMES), Broken Mind is a horror-survival game about a cop hunting down some bad guys. It might sound like a host of other games but Broken Mind I found to be pretty damn interesting. For a small, one-man-developed game it had a dark, intriguing story I wanted to see unfold and it had enough exploration and a bit of puzzle-solving to keep me interested. It also had a great, unique hand drawn art-style, all drawn by Tony DeLucia. It’s a short game but while it lasts it does give you quite a bit in terms of story and gameplay. It’s definitely worth a try.
10. Asterigos Curse of the Stars
Asterigos Curse of the Stars was another game I really liked the look of and decided to buy it just by what I saw in trailers. It definitely has a kind of Immortals Fenyx Rising vibe (maybe it’s just the red-headed protagonist) but it plays pretty much like many other RPGs. Asterigos is a pretty big game in terms of exploration and stuff to do, although I did find exploring difficult and confusing at times. Combat-wise, it was decent. The main character Hilda had some weapons and other abilities to aid in fighting off enemies but it wasn’t anything groundbreaking. What I liked about this game was mainly the exploration, combat and graphics. The different levels were also pretty interesting and there was quite a lot to explore. Combat could be quite challenging at times, even on the easy setting but overall I quite liked this game.
