2022 has come and is almost gone, and it's been an exciting year for gaming. While we prepare ourselves for the tidal wave of big games coming in 2023, this was a good step-up from 2021's underwhelming offering. However, it was a surprising year depending on what you were looking forward to the most (and if it delivered). From big to small, gaming in 2022 brought the heat.

We've now selected our top picks for our personal Game of the Year choices as well as the runner-ups. Please enjoy the read and from the entire Nexus team, happy holidays!

Sam's Game of the Year
Elden Ring


This shouldn't really come as a surprise. Not only did Elden Ring blow me away when it launched earlier this year, it also cemented itself as one of my favourite video games of all time today. From Software went above and beyond expectations to deliver one of the most intricately crafted open-world RPGs I've ever had the pleasure of playing.

Elden Ring doubled down on From Software's signature interconnected world design and memorable boss fights, but it also dropped all of that onto a gargantuan open-world that expanded both horizontally and vertically for miles. It's astounding how massive it all is, but it's backed up every moment by terrific, flexible Soulslike gameplay that leaned into the developer's strengths. Landmarks laid out all over the map also encourage unguided exploration which we see so little of in AAA gaming today. No stuffy quest logs or question marks dotted everywhere, just you and the road ahead with all manner of secrets to uncover.

Elden Ring is one of the best fantasy video games I've ever played, one of the best fantasy worlds ever constructed, and overall, a modern masterpiece that will be remembered in the same breath as Breath of the Wild for decades to come.

Sam's Runner-Up
Ghostwire: Tokyo


This may come as a very peculiar pick for a Game of the Year Runner-Up, but after much thought and deliberation, it didn't feel right to not place Ghostwire: Tokyo in this spot. Sure, it's still stumbles in some key areas including a half-baked story and some tedious open-world fluff to pad out your journey, but everything else that it gets right - and there's a lot - it pulls off with a masterful touch.

The combat isn't for everyone, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't absolutely love the stylish, spell-based gameplay that I wish mage builds in Elder Scrolls games played like. The folkloric nightmares lifted from Japanese urban mythology also added to the game's unique identity. Ghostwire: Tokyo isn't the best game of the year, but it'd be difficult to find a AAA game this distinctive and absurdly original.

Andrew's Game of the Year
SIGNALIS


Although it’s been coming for a while, 2022 is the year I officially become an old (gaming) man, sitting on my porch dismissing anything new and wallowing in nostalgia for a time when games felt fresh to me! Despite massive strides in storytelling and audiovisual quality, it’s hard to get excited when I fire up another “AAA” blockbuster and realise that 90% of my playtime - as in, the actual “gameplay” part of “gaming” - is perfunctory and barely distinguishable from the last title I played. With that in mind, my GOTY is a game that would have blown my mind on the PlayStation 1 and still managed to provide one of the most satisfying and just well-crafted gaming experiences this year - SIGNALIS. It’s a weird, creepy, and sometimes legitimately terrifying isometric survival-horror game that’s half Resident Evil and half Silent Hill.

You guide Replika “Elster” ever deeper into a facility on a frozen moon, on the hunt for her partner Alina. The setting is a weird fusion of Anime-styled characters and Germanic utilitarianism, traditional body horror, psychological horror, and some cosmic horror thrown in for good measure. As you dash between manual save rooms (with item boxes and soothing music!), hunt for key items, solve tough puzzles, and horde ammunition to defeat corrupted, regenerating replikas, you’ll slowly uncover the flawed nature of the Replika program, the true purpose of the facility, and come to understand much of what Elster is experiencing.

You might argue it’s too traditional but, given the increasingly bastardised nature of modern survival-horror games, I found it one of the most narratively intriguing, mechanically satisfying, audiovisually impressive, smartly designed, and - most importantly - memorable games I’ve played this year.

Andrew's Runner-Up
Evil West


Describing something as “dumb fun” feels like a risk these days when storytelling and presentation are given the same weight as gameplay. However, I can’t think of a better description for my runner-up - Evil West. An intriguing setting - a world with a secretive vampire society struggling against a technologically advancing humanity - is squandered by truly awful characters that made my head hurt every time they opened their mouths during the unexpectedly stylish cutscenes. A rogue vampire lord makes a preemptive strike against an organization of foul-mouthed agents dedicated to keeping humanity safe from the creatures of the night. Protagonist Jesse Rentier - incessantly gruff, angry, and saddled with daddy issues - leads the survivors as they tech up and strike back against the vampire lord’s daughter (who is also very angry and has daddy issues).

Stupid story, characters, and dialogue aside, Evil West offers unpretentious old-school fun like I’ve not experienced since the X360/PS3-era of bromantic cover-shooters. You move from combat arena to combat arena, tackling ever-tougher hordes of mutated vampires and other mythical creatures, dispatching them with an unexpectedly complex and upgradeable move-set. Despite the advertising, firearms feel like situational support tools, supplementing a melee system with basic combos, upper cuts, cannonball strikes, power slams, and more.

You can block, dodge, and dash around foes with an electrified gauntlet adding even more functionality. It helps that the visuals are chunky, vibrant, and striking - think diverse, oversized environments; garish colours that make the way forward obvious; distinctive and creepy creature designs; and abundant gore that splatters all over the protagonist and the surroundings. Evil West probably runs on for an hour or two longer than it should have, but beating the crap out of vampires in increasingly gruesome ways never got old.

Arielle's Game of the Year
A Plague Tale: Requiem


More often than not, games are best left as a one-and-done. It takes a special type of game to break this curse and not only live up to the game that came before but surpass it against all odds; that is precisely what A Plague Tale: Requiem has managed to do.

A Plague Tale: Requiem is a stunning and loving continuation of the first game. It doesn't just do sequels justice but raises the bar for upcoming ones. From graphics to world-building, vibrant locations to story and voice acting – A Plague Tale: Requiem fills all of these boxes, making it one of the more enjoyable titles of the year.

Arielle's Runner-Up
Stray


Stray is a game about wanting to go home and finding humanity in a place stripped of it. For more serious gamers, the lack of difficulty and simplicity of the controls in Stray might be a con, but honestly, as someone who has been using games lately as an escape from all the stress that comes with being an adult and having to be balancing way more plates than I have arms, Stray is the break I needed.

From beginning to end, Stray is an absolute joy of a game. Throughout the 6-10 hours of playtime, Stray never lets itself become overly complex, and the controls don't require you to grow extra fingers to master. The difficulty also never even comes close to threatening your nine cat lives. Instead, Stray is a game that remains consistently entertaining, engaging and immersive - something many other games could do well to emulate.

Sahil's Game of the Year
Xenoblade Chronicles 3


Arguably one of the best titles on the Nintendo Switch, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 gets my vote for Game of the Year. Everything from the art style to the battle system and the music in this game was flat out amazing and it deserves every single bit of praise it gets. If you’re a fan of JRPGs, this is hands-down 2022’s best game.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will keep you busy for literal hours and hours on end. The cinematic direction combined with the rich lore and storytelling will keep you coming back for more. Once you start this game, you’ll be hooked. Whether you’re a newcomer to the franchise or someone wanting to try something new, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and its colourful cast of characters will definitely entertain you.

Sahil's Runner-Up
Kirby and the Forgotten Land


Sticking with Nintendo for my Runner-Up, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is one of the best 3D platforming games you can purchase. Featuring “Mouthful Mode”, Kirby and the Forgotten Land takes a bite out of Mario’s playbook and delivers an exceptionally good gaming adventure all around.

The platforming in Kirby and the Forgotten Land is remarkably well crafted. Rescuing Waddle-Dees from imprisonment, building up Waddle Dee town and platforming your way through multiple different themed levels is quite compelling. And if that doesn’t convince you, I’m pretty sure there’s no other game out there in 2022 that lets you turn yourself into a vending machine. Honestly, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a game that you absolutely must play if you’re a fan of action adventure platformers. It’s wholesome, charming and most importantly, filled with fun! The soundtrack is excellent too!



Keegan's Game of the Year
Elden Ring


In a genre plagued with games trying to be the next spiritual successor to Dark Souls, Elden Ring sits at the top of that list in the simplest of ways. Instead of trying to push the graphical envelope, and throw a million unheard-of game mechanics at players, Elden Ring lets its beautifully thought-out world do the talking, leaving the decision-making entirely up to the player.

Being able to step into Miyazaki’s brain and explore one of the best open-world experiences to date has felt like a fever dream. Just when we thought Elden Ring was never going to happen, From Software opened the floodgates to one of the best Souls experiences I have ever had from start to finish. Elden Ring hasn’t reinvented the wheel. It has taken what we love from before and refined those aspects into something that can only be referred to as timeless.

Keegan's Runner-Up
Marvel Snap


Perhaps this may be the loadshedding talking, but it has truly been a long time since I have enjoyed a mobile game. Marvel Snap was just one of those games I downloaded to pass the time while the power is off, but I found myself falling in love with just how simply amazing it is. While being very similar to Artifact (we all still remember this right?), Marvel Snap has taken this formula to new heights and added layers of intricacy with its large roster of heroes and villains.

The real enjoyment comes from taking on other players. You see, while there are a lot of meta-defining decks, Marvel Snap puts a lot of emphasis on mixing things up. You could be losing one turn, but the right location and card effect could turn things around in an instant. The unpredictable nature of Marvel Snap, mixed in with its addictive gameplay loop and amazing card designs puts it firmly as my runner-up for 2022.

Rob's Game of the Year
Saints Row


A submission I am pretty sure you will not see anyone else give but hear me out. Saints Row is the most memorable game for me this year because it was pure, unadulterated fun. Was it a buggy mess? Absolutely. Good story? Meh. The visuals? There were definitely visuals in there. Why, then, by the power of Mjolnir, is this my GOTY?

It was a reminder that a GOTY doesn't always need to be the most technically impressive or graphically amazing thing in the world to be the best at delivering what I feel every game should be - fun. There were so many people that had horrendous crashes and issues and while I had my fair share, I still had such an incredible time in Saints Row. I couldn't quantify why it was so great for me and I feel like that is another reason why I am compelled to make it my GOTY 2022.

Rob's Runner-Up
God of War Ragnarok


I say "runner-up" here in the loosest sense of the word because it's more of a "second GOTY". I hear your shock and awe of placing Saints Row above GoW: Ragnarok considering that Norse mythology is basically my identity at this point but there is reasoning here that I think you will understand. Ragnarok was an absolutely unforgettable experience from the addictive gameplay loop, stunning visuals, and - well - Kratos. The beautiful artistic liberties that were used to weave this fictional tale that somehow incorporated real-world mythology while making its own lore so unique is genuinely nothing short of impressive. The raw emotion of the story was, for me, better than our initial introduction of Atreus and Kratos and the complexity with keeping all the characters' stories moving - despite some questionable narrative choices - was fantastic.

In saying that, there was just something lacklustre in this epic conclusion to the Norse chapter. As a narrative-focused person, I completely understand not wanting to spend prolonged time on a singular story but it just felt like it needed that extra time to build to this gargantuan climax rather than being slightly rushed and at the end I kind of just felt a little "meh" about it. It could also just be my greedy side wanting more because I don't want it to end but I just felt that there was still much more to give.

...Honourable Mention: Elden Ring

Elden Ring for me was not a technical masterpiece, a graphical wonder (for the most part - looking at you Elden Beast), or even a balanced game. Let's all take a second to calm down and breathe before we bring out the pitchforks and torches here. What is was though, was a phenomenal and intoxicating time-dump that was incredibly rewarding to progress through. I actually attribute my change in how I play games to Elden Ring and Monster Hunter World where I now welcome, and actively look for, a challenge in my games otherwise it's just not as rewarding which is why I thought it remiss not to mention it as a strong contender for me.

What were your favourite games of 2022? Let us know!