My 2022 in Video Games

2022 is over. That means it’s time for me to look back at the games I liked best. The full list of games I finished will be at the bottom of this piece. Overall, I finished 42 new-to-me games. Series I played for the first time include God of War, Gran Turismo, Ape Escape, Klonoa, and Dadish.

Let’s start with the highlights, shall we?

Best First Plays of 2022

In previous years, I’ve separated my highlights into two categories: those released in the year in question and those not. Given how few games I play in the year of release, I consider this kinda silly. Instead, I’m just gonna split along single and multiplayer lines regardless of year of release. Much like the common “first watches” lists of filmgoers, single-player games will only be games that I played for the first time, though.

(Games are not ordered by any metric.)

Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration (2022, Multiplatform)

I want to lead with Atari 50, a compilation game, because it’s the antithesis to a trend I bemoaned at the start of the year. What Digital Eclipse has built here is practically an interactive 101 course on the history of Atari. The game guides players through the various eras and platforms of Atari with pretty much any and all sorts of vintage artifacts you can imagine. There are interviews old and new, contemporary advertisements and trailers, and tons of beautifully photographed hardware and meticulously scanned manuals and arcade flyers. It’s all arranged in a sensible chronology that really tells the complete story of Atari, good and bad.

Of course, it includes over 100 games from the early arcade days through the twilight Jaguar days. Many of these aren’t so fun these days, but some are still a blast. Even if you struggle to get into older games, they’ve included a number of “reimagined” games that modernize some of Atari’s biggest hits. All told, this is utterly perfect execution of the concept and arguably the greatest retro/vintage compilation of all time. Digital Eclipse has set the standard.

Oh, and their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection ain’t bad either.

Double Switch - 25th Anniversary Edition (2018, Multiplatform)

GAME CLEAR post
I couldn’t reference that Fanbyte article I wrote without also including this among my highlights. Double Switch is perhaps not so great on its own, but it’s as good as it can be thanks to the laborious efforts of Tyler Hogle, the lone developer of Screaming Villains. I had a lot of fun playing through its campy story even as it frustrated me. Debbie Harry is in it too, which is neat and surprising.

Most important personally, however, is the fact that I played through it while researching my aforementioned first-ever paid feature. I will die mad about the fate of Fanbyte, but I’ll always be grateful for having been given a chance there. I’d have kept freelancing for them as long as they’d have had me, but I will endeavor to pitch the next decent idea I have to some other publication. Writing about games is the only thing I’ve ever been paid to do that I really enjoyed, so I think I owe it to myself to find a way to keep doing it.

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut (2021, Multiplatform)

GAME CLEAR post
In my GAME CLEAR post about this, I mentioned maybe not being as in love with this one as many are. Well I was wrong! The longer I reflected on this game, the fonder I grew of it. It’s got truly exceptional writing by the standards of the medium, elevated further by the wonderful voice acting of The Final Cut. The way the protagonist’s various personality traits talk to him in his head is something I am basically thinking about constantly. I wish that were me.

I’m trying to remain optimistic that a good sequel can still emerge from whatever drama is happening with ZA/UM. Here’s hoping!

Yakuza 5 Remastered (2020, Multiplatform)

GAME CLEAR post
Yakuza is probably gonna make this list every year as long as I continue to play them. I was a little apprehensive of 5 because it’s long as hell, but I ended up loving it. Didn’t hurt that one of the protagonists was a former baseball star with a whole baseball side story. Really a great culmination of what RGG Studio was building up to in the PS3 era and a nice reward for playing through all the lengthy titles that precede it.

Final Fantasy VII (1997, PlayStation/PC)

GAME CLEAR post
Final Fantasy VII rocks, and everyone is glad I’m finally here to say it. With great tunes, fun battles, and an interesting Materia system, it’s never too late to finally try this game for the first time. I doubt you’ll regret it.

The only really strange thing about this for me is that it would normally be my style to start with the first Final Fantasy. I already broke that rule by starting with Final Fantasy X (a gift), though. In any case, I probably am gonna play that Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster when it comes to consoles in order to right that wrong.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (2021, PS5/PC)

GAME CLEAR post
The remake of FFVII is good as hell too! The soundtrack is wonderfully redone, and while the combat switches to (mostly) real-time action stuff, Materia are still involved in an interesting way. Some dislike one of the major overarching plot devices of this game, but I didn’t really mind it, and I’m excited to see where they go with the second and third parts.

Pac-Man (Series, 1980-Present)

I spent an insane amount of time deep diving the Pac-Man series this year, and I’m glad I did. Learning the ins and outs of the original Pac-Man and its exploitable dot-munching patterns gave me an appreciation for score-chasing that had eluded me for years. Its successors like Super Pac-Man, Pac & Pal, and Pac-Mania, meanwhile, are far less documented, so getting better at those games relied more on my personal intuition and study of the games, which was even more satisfying. Another side effect of spending so much time with Pac-Man this year was gaining a greater appreciation for Namco’s body of work as well, which is something I expect to continue diving into in 2023.

Oh, and some of Pac-Man’s designs over the years were the subject of the second (and sadly last) piece I wrote for Fanbyte.

Tempest 4000 (2018, Multiplatform)

2022 was the year my brain finally unlocked the appeal of Tempest. I had played the original and tried TxK in the past, but I didn’t really love either. When I saw a Tempest 4000 disc for just $8 at a local used bookstore, I figured I’d give it one more shot. I’m glad I did. It’s an audiovisual experience unlike anything else, and the shooting action is as satisfying as it is manic. I will probably never see all 100+ of this game’s levels, but I still have a blast firing it up for a quick session from time to time. At long last, I get it.

Best Multiplayer Experiences of 2022

This section doesn’t change much year-to-year, but I still wanna talk about these two games because I still love them.

Rocket League

Started playing Rocket League again a bit more often this year. I have not stopped being completely insane about beating single-player games at a steady (perhaps unhealthy) pace, but I did take it back a tick by getting back into this. It turns out playing a game with your friends kinda feels like hanging out and is a good way to not go completely insane from your usual self-imposed isolation. Huh.

Super Smash Bros. Melee Netplay (Slippi)

Melee is something so great. I’ll never tire of it, even if I fucking suck. I started playing a little netplay again in November, and since the launch of ranked, I’ve really been playing more. Always looking for challengers, so hmu.

Games I Made in 2022

Rain

Okay there’s only one of these and it’s Rain. Thought I’d put this section here to motivate myself to make sure this isn’t empty in 2023. 👾

Final Thoughts

Overall, 2022 was decent for my games diet. I’m glad I wasn’t a total sicko this year and did manage to fall well short of my 60-game mark of 2021. I didn’t love anything quite as much as I loved Devil May Cry last year, but I also probably did more with my life, so it’s a wash at worst.

If one thing got lost in the above, it’s that I’ve also started emulating more, which means I’ll be able to play more stuff I was previously price and/or rarity-restricted by in the past. As I’ve written in the past, I really enjoyed building my MiSTer FGPA emulation setup, and I expect to continue putting it throught its paces in 2023.

Still hoping to spend more time traveling and spending time with humans, but this hobby will always be important to me, so I imagine I’ll still be playing lots of games going forward irrespective of my resolutions to do less of that.

All Games Beaten in 2022

Here’s everything I played.

Beaten:
01/02 - Double Switch - 25th Anniversary Edition (PS4)
01/03 - Corpse Killer - 25th Anniversary Edition (PS4)
01/17 - Binary Domain (360)
01/22 - Halo 5: Guardians (Xbone)
01/31 - Toree 3D (Switch)
02/06 - Leyendas Pokémon: Arceus (Switch)
02/12 - Ray Force (PS2 [Arcade])
02/18 - 3D After Burner II (3DS [Arcade])
02/20 - Disco Elysium: The Final Cut (PS5)
02/22 - OlliOlli World (PS5)
02/27 - James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (PS2)
02/28 - Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (2013) (XBLA)
03/07 - James Bond 007 (GB)
03/16 - Otogi: Myth of Demons (Xbox)
03/19 - Pac-Man World (PS)
03/20 - Pac-Man 256 (Xbone)
04/05 - NFL Blitz 2001 (Dreamcast)
04/08 - Putt & Putter Miniature Golf (GG)
05/27 - Pac-Man Arrangement (2005) (PS4 [PSP])
05/28 - Yakuza 5 Remastered (PS4 [PS3])
05/30 - Pac-Man Arrangement (1996) (PS4 [Arcade])
06/14 - Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
06/18 - Ape Escape (PS5 [PS1])
06/19 - Gran Turismo 7 (PS5)
06/23 - Pac-Pix (DS)
06/26 - Pac-Motos (PS4 [Wii])
07/01 - Pac ’n’ Roll Remix (PS4 [Wii])
07/01 - Dadish (PS4)
07/09 - Dadish 2 (Xbone)
07/12 - Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue! (PS5 [PS1])
07/17 - Klonoa: Door to Phantomile [HD] (PS5 [PS1/Wii])
07/22 - Pac-Mania (GBA [Arcade])
08/11 - Final Fantasy VII (PS4 [PS1])
08/15 - Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil (PS5 [PS2])
09/05 - Pac-Man World Re-Pac (PS5)
09/14 - Super Baseball 2020 (NEO GEO via MiSTer)
10/24 - Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (PS5) + DLC (11/4)
11/02 - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (2600 via MiSTer)
11/08 - Stray (PS5)
11/14 - Sonic Frontiers (PS5)
12/17 - Pokémon Púrpura (Switch)
12/27 - God of War (2005) (PS3 [PS2])

Completed:
3/7 - James Bond 007 (GB)
3/20 - Pac-Man 256 (Xbone)
7/1 - Dadish (PS4)
7/9 - Dadish 2 (Xbone)
7/14 - Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue! (PS5 [PS1])

Rebeat:
11/25 - Sonic Adventure 2 (XBLA [Dreamcast])

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Progress - 2012 - 2013 - 2014 - 2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021 - 2022
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Finished - 0024 - 0041 - 0034 - 0022 - 0025 - 0014 - 0019 - 0025 - 0038 - 0060 - 0042
Complete - 0000 - 0004 - 0005 - 0001 - 0002 - 0001 - 0002 - 0002 - 0006 - 0006 - 0005
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