How do I usually begin these again? I forgot. Well, we're into it now so I guess it doesn't really matter, now does it? We've both made it through another year, and as is customary I am going to talk about some computer video games I played in that year. I will say that it wasn't as many as previous years. Doing two big projects like the zombie one and the Quantum Leap one, along with real life stuff that distracted me in the fall, kept me off of the gaming a bit. It may be something I put more time into during 2023, but I have some ideas for things to watch that might be worth writing about. We'll see. That's a concern for the future, though. For now, let's talk about the year that went past... in games.
WORST GAME OF 2022
Ghostbusters (NES)
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It's not that I even hated it, necessarily, it just so happens that this is a legendary bad game which I managed to beat this year on a whim. In a mad way, it's a genius video game. It takes Ghostbusters, the Reagan-era story of some schlubs who make it big starting a new business, and turns it into a game where the main gameplay loop is grinding out money by catching ghosts over and over again. The item you need to make the infamous stairwell screen actually beatable costs an absurd amount of cash, and so you end up just catching ghosts, over and over again. Like a mundane job. Not exciting or glamorous, and even the spectacle of encountering proof of life after death becomes everyday and routine in the drive to make money. A galaxy brained level take that throws the premise of catching fucking ghosts, which the movie made look exciting, and makes it an unglamorous chore. Just like any dead-end capitalist grind. It's genius.
Or a legendary kusoge. Pick your poison.
BEST CARD GAME OF 2022
Yugioh Master Duel (Switch)
This is a bit of a controversial pick, so I have to plant down an obvious caveat flag. This game is a free-to-play live service model, and as such it has the typical pitfalls and predatory design choices made to make the game a shitload of money. The game is generous enough at the beginning that you can make about 2 or 3 decent decks, and then the generosity well dries up and getting new cards will take a very long time... unless you so happen to spend some real-world currency to expedite the process. It's not the type of design I usually go for, and while I have the personal willpower to have not put a dime into it, other folks aren't so resilient against this kind of shit. So, that's not great.
On the other hand, I poured a fuckton of time into this and it's one of the best presentations of my favorite card game to ever come out. It's a game I could put down for a few months and then come back to for a burst of fun here and there. I made some great decks, had some great duels, and really enjoyed this over the year. The fact that the game is all those bad live service things does hamper the proceedings a bit, but I did have fun with it and so I'm putting it on the list. Just, you know. Be careful if you do decide to give it a test drive. This kind of game experience is devilish, but sometimes one lives in sin for a bit, as I did with my card game in 2022.
CUTEST GAME OF 2022
Kirby And The Forgotten Land (Switch)
Kirby, Kirby, Kirby! I bought this one thinking it was a big open-world Kirby game. I didn't get that, but what I did get is another fun and enjoyable Kirby game with this neat post-civilization setting. I think the last mainline Kirby I played was one of the 3DS ones, I want to say Planet Robobot. Going back to Kirby, then, was a nice refreshing spring breeze. Hah, see what I did there? I got to play the game co-op with a pal, so that was also quite nice... even if he dipped out after I insisted on doing all the challenges in each level to go for a full clear. Yeah, I'm better at no damage challenges, who knew? The end bits had just the right amount of cuteness mixed with sheer eldritch horror, and the post-game was challenging in all the right ways. A solid little Kirby game! I liked it!
BEST FIGHTIN' VIDEO GAME OF 2022
River City Girls 2 (Switch)
If you have been around this blog for a bit between, say, 2020 and 2021, you may have noticed that I have gained a slight affinity for cool punching girls. As such, an entire game about them is one that attracts my interest. I could have put the new TMNT game in this slot, but I put this one here for two reasons. The first is my aforementioned bias towards punch girls, and a game with them catches my interest more and sticks in my memory. The second is probably recency bias, as I only just beat this game the other day. Is it a perfect punch girl game? Not.. really. I enjoyed playing it in short bursts in the mornings, but I cannot deny that a lot of the game flow feels a bit... padded. Multiple times I was given a "go from A to B" objective, only to be stopped by something one screen before B. I then had to backtrack to A, to a side room that had been locked prior, to do something or other which would unlock the obstacle right before B... and then waltz back over to B. The game really liked that sort of loop, and if I hadn't spaced out my time playing it, I would think less of it. It's not a perfect punch girl game, but it's one I ended up liking a lot.
BEST GAME MADE BY FRIENDS OF 2022
And here's where I go full on "it's my list and I'll do what I want". My pal, Thom Jetstorm4, made this game about his adorable elven OC Corris. It is a fantastic and well-crafted action RPG, not unlike the old Ys games or (more resonant to me personally) Zelda II. It's a full on exploratory action platfomer RPG with jumping and sword-swinging and uncovering hidden secrets and clues to find new stuff, level up, and get stronger. All of this is presented in a vibrant pixel art style, handmade by Thom himself with love and care. It's a wonderful game, and I cleared it, and I had a great time with a genre that I haven't dabbled with in a while.
It is also erotica. Several situations in the game are risque, and most notable are the multiple game over screens; lose the adventure in a certain area or to a certain boss, and you are treated to a lavish pixel art recreation of a pornographic predicament. I am usually not so horny on main as to proclaim "THAT'S RIGHT, I PLAYED A LEWDY RPG", but the combination of love and care that Thom put into this game, as well as just how much fun the actual playing of the game is, has led me to throw caution to the wind. We're all adults here, and we can all be mature. I played my friend's lewd RPG about his elf girl OC, and I liked it, and I put it on my GOTY list. If you're a mature responsible adult who likes the idea of that, give Thom's game a spin. Erotica is a passion, and Thom has shown his mature responsible passion by putting it and his interests into this fun little game.
BEST "BABY STEPS I'M GETTING THERE" OF 2022
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (DS) / Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS)
Let's explain this one a little bit. For multiple years on these GOTY lists, I've added this special category for my trepidatious tiptoeing around the Fire Emblem series. I played some of the more forgiving entries on easier modes, before slowly stepping up to trying them without those easy modes and having a good time. With these two entries, I feel I have finally moved out of the beginner stage of Fire Emblem play and am ready for something intermediate.
I was inspired to play Shadow Dragon after seeing this video essay on the game, which intrigued me because part of it sought to dispel some of the intimidating nature of the series. The way the game was described, how it actively self-corrected itself against you inevitably losing non-essential units, and how you can play it by floating along like a leaf on a current without being worried about hitting a fail state on the penultimate chapter due to a mistake from hours ago... that intrigued me. So, I fire up the game. It was challenging, yes. I lost some units along the way, but never any of the powerful ones I grew attached to. I found ways to steamroll through things, and though I suffered some challenges and setbacks, I managed to clear the game. It was a well-earned victory, and one I earned through being willing to sacrifice along the way.
By contrast, Fire Emblem Awakening was a cakewalk. It is all the things I liked about Shadow Dragon ramped up to a maddening level of overwhelming power. I was a little less willing to let people die in this game, given the attachment and supports and all that, but I did lose some folks to the final battle. Getting there was cathartic, as my units grew impossibly strong and could curbstomp most challenges. My tactics were on point, for the most part, and this game was a breeze. A Fire Emblem game was a damn breeze. With that, I think I have graduated from my beginner status. In 2023 I may try a more intermediate Fire Emblem, but time will tell. For now, I'm just happy to have conquered these two games.
GAME OF THE YEAR 2022
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak (Switch)
With that whole lack of playing games thing this year, the crown jewel is a little different. My criteria before now has always been that the game which brings out the most emotion in me is the GOTY winner. In the past, this has usually meant narrative-heavy games, like Dangan Ronpa or Persona. I did not play anything like that this year, and instead got that narrative emotional hit from movies and shows. So, what to put in the GOTY slot instead? In lieu of an emotional experience, here's the game I had the most fun with. I enjoyed the base Monster Hunter Rise in 2021 for the usual reasons. I like the series, it was fun hunting and learning a new weapon, and it's extra fun to play with your friends.
All of that gets ramped up to 11 in the Sunbreak expansion. The monsters get way harder, and there are all-new ones to ruin your day and try to kill you. As such, all your skills are put to the test. With friends, I conquered most of those crazy new threats. I even managed to do it while experimenting with even more weapons and skills, and I've mained at least three new ones so far while going through Sunbreak over the last six months. From aerial combat with a glaive to just running in there with a massive two-handed sword, I've enjoyed it all... and with friends too. That's the most important part, and Sunbreak is a game I can always come back to for some endless fun. For that, the GOTY crown goes to it. Well done! Now if only this shit had crossplay so I could play with all the pals who migrated to the PC version...
...AND THE REST
So yeah, there's all the categories I just made up. And now, the rest. The games which either I didn't bother making up some category for, or are runners-up in other categories. Still, they are remarkable enough to make the list. Not every game can say that, and so, here are a few leftovers to close th year out.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (Switch)
Like I said in River City Girls 2, this one could have made the best fighting game category. It came down to personal preference, but that doesn't mean this wasn't fun. I gave it one co-op run with my pal, had fun, and haven't touched it since. I am fond of the turtle fighting games, and this one is a very fine turtle fighting game that's also a throwback. It's a game that made a lot of people very happy, and I enjoyed my two session sitdown with it. Maybe it's something to throw on for some quick fun on a rainy day. Time will tell.
Oh hey, look at that, Thom made another game about his adorable elven OC! This one is a traditional JRPG, and it also is much more SFW with only like, one or two risque jokes. I could have put that on the list instead of Darkmoon Tower, but well... I liked the action RPG style a little more than the traditional JRPG style. Either way, both would be on the list and I'd still have to justify playing Thom's elf erotica game. This game deserves some love too, so if you're turned off by the lurid aspects of Darkmoon Tower, this game is one you shouldn't miss.
Pokemon Violet (Switch)
This game should have stayed in the oven for another year or so to iron out all the bugs. It's a shame it was rushed out like this. That being said, I really enjoyed blasting through another Pokemon adventure on a weekend vacation. In four days I cleared the game and completed the Pokedex, no mean feat. I really like how streamlined and easy things are now. The open world is refreshing and interesting, and things like catching them all or shiny hunting are made so much less of a pain in the ass than they were before. For that, I have to give Violet the nod. Also for Clodsire. Clodsire is so good.
Angels Of Death: Episode 1 (PC)
A quick and spooky RPG Maker game I played on my holiday livestream marathon, managing to complete it in one go. It's atmospheric, scary, and can be downright disturbing in places. This is still only the first episode as well, so there's a whole trilogy of these games for me to experience at some time. I look forward to the unsettling and disturbing, but fascinating experience that's to come for me.
Perfect Vermin (PC)
And speaking of unsettling and disturbing... I won't even say anything about this one. Just use the stream highlight video that's above these words. Just go into it blind like I did, and try and figure out what in the holy fuck is going on. I did, eventually, and it's some real shit.
That'll do it! Thanks very much for reading this thing in 2022! Let's try and manifest some positive energy for 2023, just a few short days away now. I have some things planned, some movies and shows I want to watch, and even some games I'd like to play and beat. Whether or not they'll show up on this thing in a year's time, nobody knows. We'll have to find out, the long way 'round. Happy New Year, have a good one... and I shall be seeing you in 2023, when I talk about something or other. Until then, be good.
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