Our individual Game of the Year articles allow our lovely team of writers to share their own personal PS5 and PS4 picks for 2022. Today it’s the reviewer’s turn Christian Kobza.
Often seen as just another open-world checklist, Ghostwire Tokyo has always thrilled me with its unique setting, striking art direction, and satisfying tactile combat that’s one of the few effective implementations of DualSense’s haptic feedback. What would otherwise be simplistic first-person shooter combat is enhanced by a delightfully well-paced gameplay loop where encounters begin with projectile spice and end with visceral execution that sends a dopamine-inducing jolt through your hands. which kept me coming back for more, long after hitting the 100% game completion mark.
Even 18 years later, the list of games capable of recapturing the world-building magic of Half-Life 2 is surprisingly short, but Stray belongs on that exclusive list. Enemies that are clearly headcrab scams aside, Stray is a continuous journey through a depressing, dystopian cityscape that exudes hopeful desperation from each of its dimly lit, trash-ridden streets. Come for the cute protagonist cat, stay for the oppressive but eerily serene environment.
Coming off the heels of the milquetoast Call of Duty: Vanguard, Modern Warfare 2 achieves more by trying less. The half-baked and obnoxious operating system has been tossed aside to focus instead on the fundamentals – the star of which is the endlessly rewarding gunplay. Launch a campaign backed by a lovely cast of characters and a long-overdue tweak to the gun camouflage progression system, and we’re left with a surprisingly great addition to an enduring and seemingly immortal franchise that’s earned its reprieve. run until fall. 2023.
Taking the dark souls formula and exploding it to open up the proportions of the world is an impractical task. Elden Ring’s frequently repeated mini-bosses, modularly designed optional dungeons, and irritating technical glitches are all symptoms of this absurd ambition. But, on the flip side, so does its extraordinarily diverse locations, ridiculously versatile combat, and endlessly engaging exploration. As a result, Elden Ring achieves a splendor that few games achieve, even with its obvious flaws.
Neon White is an ingenious first-person platformer operating under the guise of a card-based shooter/visual novel hybrid. Don’t let its often grating dialogue and prototypical character interactions deter you from rushing through its meticulously crafted levels at breakneck speeds. Whether you’re looking for a better time to beat a friend, climb the leaderboards, or just for the pure, euphoric fun of it all, Neon White’s sprawling stages are just waiting to be smashed into dazzling displays of platforming prowess. . It’s an adrenaline rush in the arm that I wasn’t explicitly looking for this year, but it’s the one I’m infinitely grateful to have had.
What do you think of Christian’s personal selections for Game of the Year? Feel free to wholeheartedly agree or relentlessly reprimand in the comments section below.
