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My Top 3 of 2022

2022 has certainly been an interesting year for gaming. There haven't been a large amount of standout games, though I would take back what I said about a lack of releases as there actually have been a lot. Though, I think I've really only played a few games that were released in 2022. Most of that is playing catch up with games that released years prior that I hadn't played yet, or simply...I just wanted to play another game for the 1000th time. Either way, that didn't stop me from having some really great experiences with gaming. Hell, I've had quite a few times this year where I was left nearly speechless with a game, in a good way. I'd like to talk about a few of those here:

#3: Despot's Game:
I did a piece on this already this month, but I wanted to reiterate my thoughts on this because when I look back to the games that I played this year, even though I got to it a little bit late and I was hesitant at first, I've ended up really enjoying my time with this game to an extent that it's become a regular play for me as of late. It's perfect for those times when you don't really know what else to play but it's also got the mechanics that I absolutely love. And with a killer soundtrack, the whole entire game blends together so well that it's hard not to give it positive feedback. I do recommend it very highly if you're looking for another great dungeon crawler / roguelike.

#2: Steel Rising:
It seems to be a trend lately that I've been enjoying the hell out of souls-like games ever since I played many many hours of Elden Ring, and it still held true with Steel Rising. While it did bring some of its own unique gimmicks to gameplay and the world building etc, I still feel like this was is a hidden gem that I don't think enough people appreciated. I think it certainly had a lot to do with the fact that people were a little burned out with souls-like given that Elden Ring took up a lot of people's time. Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves with Elden Ring so it's no surprise that people weren't necessarily quick to try another one so soon. But, I have certainly enjoyed my time with Steel Rising and still plan to finish it at some point.

#1: Elden Ring:
And of course, the behemoth itself, Elden Ring. I said this back when I talked about Elden Ring, and I'll say it again, this is my game of the year. Even with the games that I have played since Elden Ring, nothing has come quite close to achieving what that game did for me. I never really played a lot of souls-likes before this one. I mean I played the original Dark Souls for a few hours and the same with Sekiro, but I couldn't get past the difficulty wall. Couldn't figure out mechanics, etc etc. Elden Ring gave me and I'm sure others that opportunity to take time to understand how souls-like mechanics work and how people seem to keep themselves alive long enough to take down bosses. While also doing this, it also managed to capture my imagination immensely to the point where I felt like I was really adventuring across this land. The absolute beauty that this game brought with its world is something I have never seen in video games before it, maybe with a few exceptions. But Elden Ring is not only mechanically strong, but is an absolute joy to both play and look at. I still want to go back and do a third playthrough but I really want to let it sit for a while so that I can go in fresh and new. I have seen everything the game has to offer and I still feel the need to go back and experience more of it. I love this game and am happy it got received so well, from both veteran souls-like players and people like me that really wanted to play a souls-like but just couldn't quite grasp it. Everybody can feel included with this one. And man it is a great way to spend a weekend, I'll tell you what.

Well, I certainly would have never anticipated my game of the year and follow up to both be souls-likes, and of course I did anticipate that my 3rd choice would have been in the roguelike/dungeon crawler genre as I did play quite a few good ones this year. Still not too sure what I'm ranking as my #4 and #5 hence being a top 3 at the moment. However, it is nice to have experienced the games that I have this year because it has been a nice escape in a lot of ways. I love playing games and hope to never have to stop.