The world has finally returned to normal (more or less), and video game developers have been able to bring out some absolute showstoppers this year. Along with my ever-growing backlog, I’ve been overwhelmed with titles to play over the last 12 months. Which five games came out on top for me this year?
5 – Cyberpunk 2077
It goes without saying that Cyberpunk 2077 in its launch state didn’t have a prayer of making it onto one of my year-end lists. But when the ‘most broken game in history’ was eventually fixed and upgraded for PS5 I took the plunge, and was so glad that I didn’t give up hope on it. The world-building of Cyberpunk is fantastic – I can’t remember the last time I experienced an open world teeming with life like Night City. Behind every street corner lies something new. The characters feel like they could jump out of the screen too – you form meaningful bonds with your allies, and the decisions you make leave you genuinely worried about the effect on them.
If you need an immersive futuristic RPG to sink plenty of time into, look no further than Cyberpunk. V’s journey to conquer Night City alongside Johnny Silverhand was probably the most pleasantly surprising game I played this year.
4 – Returnal
After discovering the addictive Hades last year, I took another step on my roguelike journey in 2022 with the wonderful Returnal. Selene is stuck in a loop after crash-landing on an alien planet. She must venture across this shifting world towards a mysterious signal, and every time she dies she returns to the crash site but the planet has changed. Every biome has its own environmental quirks, but all of them ooze pure eeriness. The game takes huge advantage of the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback, letting you feel the rain hitting the ground and keeping you deeply immersed.
The bosses are tricky and the first one took me many, many tries to beat, but once you get the hang of things you can breeze through those early areas. The sense of progression is very real and very satisfying, and even when you’re hours in to a session you find yourself thinking ‘just one last run’.
3 – Horizon Forbidden West
The follow-up to 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn, the fantastic Horizon Forbidden West became the new benchmark for next-gen open world games. Aloy’s ongoing quest to rid the post-apocalypse Earth of corrupted machines is bigger and better than ever before – the map is enormous compared to that of the first game, and a whole host of new weapons, special abilities and deadlier machines make for an open world game like no other. Even when pursuing the main story, it’s easy to get distracted by hours of side quests and activities.
The PS5 technology is truly taken to its extremes with Forbidden West. The clunky auto-generated animations of the first title are gone, replaced with much more natural mannerisms that make you feel like every single conversation in the game was hand-animated. The fact that it can run at what feels like full 4K and 60fps is a miracle, and it shows – the barren landscapes of the Forbidden West make for some show-stopping sights.
2 – Elden Ring
Considering that I started the Demon’s Souls remake last year and then abandoned it in a frenzy of ‘this game is too fucking hard‘, god only knows what I was thinking when I picked up Elden Ring – the newest title in that brutal Soulslike genre. As I played those gripping first few hours and slew my first major boss, something was different this time. The freedom of Elden Ring‘s open world feels like the chains holding down the Souls games have been broken. If you can’t beat a boss, simply go somewhere else and find more powerful items or level up until you can.
That’s not to say it isn’t hard – it absolutely is. I have no qualms in saying that Elden Ring may be the most difficult game I’ve played (more so than Demon’s Souls), and yet I actually finished this one. It may be unforgivably challenging, but it gives you much more to work with to overcome those tougher than tough bosses. “The Lands Between are vast, but a Tarnished need not walk their path alone.”
1 – God of War Ragnarök
2018’s God of War took me by surprise – Kratos’ brutal and relentless Greek-god-killing nature was initially nowhere to be seen, with him instead raising his son Atreus in the Norse land of Midgard. Yet the game was a certified triumph and left me incredibly excited for the inevitable PS5 sequel. As that time drew closer however, I began to doubt whether Santa Monica Studio could reach those lofty heights once again.
I had absolutely nothing to worry about, because God of War Ragnarök is what few video game studios can possibly hope to achieve – a perfect sequel.
Against all my expectations, Ragnarök significantly improves on almost every element from the 2018 title – one that I already thought was practically flawless. The combat has had a mighty upgrade; Kratos’ Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos have new abilities and seem to synchronise more effectively in fights when you switch between them. Other new weapons and tools (along with a brand new skill tree) bring together a meaty combat system that leaves you giddy with excitement after every fight, and the ability to play as Atreus for the first time opens up a whole new side of the game.
Ragnarök‘s visual and sound design are second to none. Fimbulwinter’s harsh effects can be seen across all of the nine realms, each with its own distinct aura and personality. The fiery mountains of Muspelheim seem like an entirely different game compared to the flowery greens of Vanaheim. Bear McCreary has once again worked wonders with the soundtrack – it feels like he took the score from the first game and dialled it up to 11. The somber, quiet moments contrast with the loud, epic set pieces, with the main theme music returning in numerous forms. The credits song, Blood Upon the Snow featuring Hozier, ends the story on a special note.
Its strongest aspect, though, is the story. Ragnarök tells a gripping tale of parenthood, sacrifice, and how trying to avoid prophecy only seems to fulfil it. After Baldur’s demise in the first game, the consequences come knocking in the forms of Thor and Odin, whos powerful presence looms over you the whole game even when they’re off-screen. Meanwhile, Kratos struggles between protecting Atreus and letting him walk his own path, one that leads directly into Ragnarök – the fall of Asgard and the end of the gods.
The game slowly builds towards this great battle to end all battles, but its main focus is on a much more grounded concept – the father-son relationship between Kratos and Atreus. This may be an epic, violent action game, but it’s also a game about characters with their own struggles, and is full of poignant moments that pull at your heartstrings. For the last ten minutes of the story I was in tears, and I’m pretty sure no other game has managed to do that before.
With weighty, satisfying combat and an unforgettable story, God of War Ragnarök is nothing short of an absolute masterpiece. Santa Monica have once against raised the bar, and it’s no exaggeration to say that it’s one of the best games I’ve ever played. Together with its predecessor, they may very well be the best video game double act in history.
Honourable Mentions
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition – I’d never played the Mass Effect games until this year, and now I’m so glad I finally did. Shepard’s trilogy of daring adventures across the galaxy is a memorable one.
Resident Evil 2 – I’ve been getting back into survival horror games and the recent remake of 1998’s Resident Evil 2 was the perfect place to start. While a little short, it manages to keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time, and its replay value really keeps things fresh.
Deathloop – You’re stuck in a Groundhog Day-esque time loop, and to break it you’ve got to kill eight ‘Visionaries’ in a single day. I was a little let down by how short and easy it ultimately was, but invading other players’ games as Juliana and ruining their loop never gets old.
MADE MY PLAY 