Look, 2022 has not been a vintage year for blockbuster gaming. From The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom to Bethesda’s space opera Starfield, many of the mega sellers that were intended to hit this Christmas have been booted back to 2023. While Microsoft, Sony and the like spent most of their time moving chess pieces into position for a few soon-to-be classics, plenty of smaller, much weirder stuff got its time to shine. That meant players to the chance to assume the roles of would-be cult leaders, found footage investigators and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with titles they might otherwise have missed out on.
So as much as Covid-19 might have slowed the development of one of the most intensely collaborative art forms out there, there’s still been plenty to celebrate whether you play on console, PC or even a smartphone. And if you’re still itching for pure spectacle after making your way through the best games of 2022 so far? Fear not, you're just a few months away until the year of Final Fantasy XVI, Resident Evil 4 Remake and plenty more.
Elden Ring
The moment when Dark Souls creator From Software finally went mainstream, Elden Ring’s release is the first game since 2017’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that trusts its players enough to let them fully loose in a world worth truly exploring. The visual and geographic invention on offer here is frequently gasp-worthy, constantly inspiring you to see what secrets still lay undiscovered in the Lands Between. It’s as punishing as it is impenetrable, but worth every second you spend careering between triumph and abject failure. £49.99. At johnlewis.com
God Of War Ragnarök
A familiar sequel, but one that expands in almost every way – God of War Ragnarök is one of the best games of 2022, and a dive into more of the Norse myth that the original game laid out in 2018. There is a bigger cast of characters, a far wider swath of landscapes and environments to explore, and a more complex story with various themes of loss, adulthood, parenthood and more. It’s clearly a cross-gen game held back slightly by the need to perform on PS4, but even that doesn't stop Ragnarok from being one of PS5’s best yet. £62.99. At amazon.co.uk
Cult Of The Lamb
Have you ever wanted one of your subordinates to eat their own poop? Wait, don’t answer that question, because Cult Of The Lamb will do it for you. A mash-up of Animal Crossing’s community management and classic dungeon crawler Hades, this game sees you adopt a flock of followers and lead them towards whatever salvation you see fit. As you’d expect, its cutesy visuals bely some cutthroat humour and a cavalcade of truly disturbing choices as you seek to achieve enlightened. £15.59. At steampowered.com
Tunic
Yes, this is yet another retro-styled indie game that takes liberal inspiration from both The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls franchises. Unlike Death’s Door, Hollow Knight, Dead Cells and the rest, Tunic is at its best when it’s more of a puzzle than a swashbuckling adventure. You spend the game collecting the pages of its SNES-style manual, each of which is packed with hints and secrets that all guide you towards restoring a dilapidated land to its former glory. The only problem? They’re all written in a mystic language that takes hours of thrilling exploration to decipher. £24.99. At steampowered.com
Immortality
After reviving (and elevating) the FMV genre with 2015 whodunnit Her Story, Sam Barlow is back again with another phenomenal take on the form. Once again, you have to piece together the truth behind a deeply engrossing mystery by delving into an archive of video clips, some of which are immediately significant while others are completely innocuous. As with all the great detective cases, the story of model-turned-actress Marissa Marcel has far more to it than first meets the eye. £12.99. At steampowered.com
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
Granted, The Delicious Last Course is technically DLC for the tough-as-nails cartoon boss rush that was 2017’s Cuphead. Since most games don’t enjoy the same five years of lavish, hand-drawn development work and deliriously inventive foes, we’re happy to make the exception. From airborne dogfights with a squadron of pugs and poodles to a Colosseum-style face-off against a snowman, the whole thing is a total joy from start to finish. £6.79. At steampowered.com
Stray
A somber sci-fi adventure where you play as a lone feline, lost from his litter, in a city inhabited by strange-looking robots. There’s not all that much game in Stray, but the atmospheric adventure you embark on is sumptuous, atmospheric and beautiful to look at. Being a cat also offers a unique perspective on a city, especially one as dystopian and weird as this, and you end up in all sorts of mishaps along the way. It’s short, stylish, and well worth a weekend of your time. £29.99. At game.co.uk
Horizon Forbidden West
A ponderous start doesn’t stop Horizon Forbidden West from unfurling into one of the most thrilling games of the year. It may not have a story to rival its 2017 predecessor, Zero Dawn, but it’s an astonishing technological achievement that pushes the boat out in every other way. Better quests, expanded combat, more settlements to explore and a plethora of secrets, collectables and off-the-beaten path discoveries make this enormous game a worthy time sink. £47.76. At amazon.co.uk
Neon White
Gone but not forgotten, the delirious legacy of Sega’s Dreamcast lives on in Neon White. Much like Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio, time is of the absolute essence in this first-person shooter/platformer hybrid where you aim to clear each level of its demons in as shorter time as possible. And if that sounds like the most anime thing you’ve played in ages, just wait until you read some of the questionable dialogue. £19.99. At steampowered.com
Pentiment
A game set in a monastery in 16th-century Bavaria might not sound like the most exciting prospect, but Pentiment is no stuffy historical drama —it's a killer murder mystery with an entire village's worth of suspects. Was it the baker? The mill owner? The abbot? Dig up evidence, grill suspects, build your case, and pray you accuse the right person. But the story doesn't end there. Pentiment's brilliantly written interactive story takes place across generations, and the choices you make — some of which are incredibly tough — will echo through the ages. £14.99. At xbox.com
Gran Turismo 7
More driving game than racing game, Gran Turismo 7 is a peerless on-track experience. It’s eccentric, the ultimate dad game, and more akin to a Sunday drive at times than a fast-paced frenetic racer like F1 2022. As such, GT7 truly makes you earn the speed, withholding the likes of Ferraris and McLarens until you’re pretty deep into its extensive career mode. The pay-off? When you’re finally sat behind the wheel of a supercar, you truly appreciate the power under your right foot. £48.86. At amazon.co.uk
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
For those who still hark wistfully back to the 16-bit joys of 1991’s TMNT: Turtles in Time, this retro brawler is a rose-tinted ode to Konami’s classic in all the best ways. Unlike your school days when gathering four mates around a CRT TV demanded military-inspired planning and an industrial quantity of takeaway pizza, this modern homage features pixel-perfect online multiplayer. Don’t let that prevent you from Deliveroo-ing a cheeky pepperoni if the moment calls for it though. £29.95. At amazon.co.uk
Pokémon Legends Arceus
Arceus might not be the wholesale reinvention of the Pokémon franchise that was initially promised by this Breath of the Wild-style title, but its open-world charms are still as easygoing as they are refreshing. There’s less of an emphasis on battling and instead catching them all is your modus operandi with the goal of filling out the very first Pokédex. Why? The Poké god demands it, of course. £39.99. At amazon.co.uk
The Quarry
A pulpy adventure that morphs in multiple bloody, directions depending on your decision-making, The Quarry is the latest outing from the team who created PS4 classic, Until Dawn. It’s a little light on scares, but the atmosphere and excellent character writing make this something you should absolutely play. This one is especially good when played as a couple with one person handling the controller while both of you make decisions and to witness their major, (and potentially deadly) outcomes in tandem. £29.99. At game.co.uk
Marvel Snap
Look, we get it. A free-to-play mobile card game starring Spider-Man, Hulk and the rest has more red flags than your average crypto bro’s Tinder profile. Somehow, against all odds, Marvel Snap is actually good. Better than that, it’s filled with inventive systems, quickfire upgrades and (of course) all your favourite MCU heroes. It’s a surprise smash hit, even if its developers do hail from the phenomenally successful Hearthstone. Free. At steampowered.com
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Stuffed to the brim wIth nine movies worth of fan service, including some 350+ characters and dozens of lovingly recreated scenes Star Wars history, The Skywalker Saga is every kid and lightsaber-loving man child’s dream come true. It’s developer Traveller’s Tales penchant for tongue-in-cheek comedy that really makes George Lucas’ sci-fi epic such a perfect match for the world of LEGO. Some expanded mechanics and a refined combat system help too. From £34.99. At amazon.co.uk
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
This year has seen something of a comeback for Polish developer CD Projekt Red. Alongside a PS5 and Xbox Series release for Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3 was also re-released in 2022 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. This certified classic comes out the gate with updated visuals, expanded mod features and many quality-of-life improvements. As for the game itself? Seven years since its original release, it has lost none of its ingenuity with a dark fantasy world that's rich with stories and discoveries. It's a significantly more emotional and complex than Netflix’s paltry adaptation would have you imagine. Across more than 200 hours of monster slaying, quest completing and conversationalist quarreling, The Witcher 3 displays the best of narrative role playing. £39.99. At amazon.co.uk
Wordle
Did any other game demonstrate the power of a frustratingly simple, ‘wish we’d thought of that’ concept done right in 2022? Wordle showed the communal power of accessible simplicity throughout the first six months of the year – a game so moreish that our daily streaks numbered in the hundreds and we truly felt the dashing blows of defeat when they finally, inevitably arrived. Cue the furious “I didn’t even know that was a word!” when the game’s makers would deliver a particularly tricky six-letter puzzle. Our interest may have waned in recent months but the sheer number of players logging on every day to challenge themselves was one of the most unique experiences of the year – a rare example of a game that captivated the mainstream in droves. $4.99 per month. At nytimes.com
Marvel's Midnight Suns
Firaxis is back with a bizarre blend of genres, from strategy to card gaming to social sim and adventure all wrapped into one. Marvel’s Midnight Suns lifts a fair amount of the studio’s history with XCOM and transfers the squad-based strategy mechanics into a richly rewarding card deck game. It’s sadly one of the ugliest big-budget video games of the year, with such a bland art style it’s hard to even call it a style, but the game beneath all of that is nothing short of superb. £59.99. At amazon.co.uk
F1 2022
Codemasters’ F1 series has truly hit its stride in recent years, and with Formula 1 becoming mainstream there’s never been a better time to get involved: all the circuits on the F1 calendar are presented in glitzy detail with an upgraded handling model to reflect the new aerodynamic shift the sport has seen in 2022. The real wonder of F1 2022 is just how customisable and adaptable it is, though. F1 is a particularly finicky sport, and you can tweak this game to be as easy or as challenging as you want. £41.95. At amazon.co.uk