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 turn of reviewer Christian Kobza.
5. Ghostwire: Tokyo
Often written off as just another open-world checklist, Ghostwire Tokyo still delighted me with its unique setting, striking art direction, and satisfyingly tactile combat that’s one of the few effective implementations of the DualSense’s haptic feedback. What would otherwise be simplistic first-person shooter combat is elevated by a delightfully well-paced gameplay loop where encounters begin with the peppering of projectiles and end with a visceral execution that sends a dopamine-inducing jolt through your hands that kept me coming back for more, well after reaching the game’s 100% completion mark.
4. Stray
Even 18 years later, the list of games able to recapture the magic of Half-Life 2’s world building is surprisingly short, but Stray belongs on that exclusive list. Enemies that are clearly headcrab ripoffs aside, Stray is a seamless journey through a depressingly dystopian cityscape that exudes hopeful desperation from each of its dimly-lit and garbage-cluttered streets. Come for the cute cat protagonist, stay for the oppressive yet eerily serene surroundings.
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Coming off the heels of the milquetoast Call of Duty: Vanguard, Modern Warfare 2 accomplishes more by attempting less. The half-baked and obnoxious operator system has been cast aside to instead focus on the fundamentals – the star of which is the infinitely gratifying gunplay. Throw in a campaign propped up by a delightful cast of characters and a long-overdue tweak to the gun camo progression system, and we’re left with a surprisingly great addition to an enduring and seemingly immortal franchise that’s earned its stay of execution until Fall 2023.
2. Elden Ring
Taking the Dark Souls formula and exploding it to open world proportions is an impractical task. Elden Ring’s frequently repeated mini bosses, modularly-designed optional dungeons, and irritating technical issues are all symptoms of that absurd ambition. But, on the other hand, so are its extraordinarily diverse locales, ridiculously versatile combat, and endlessly enticing exploration. As a result, Elden Ring attains a splendour that few games reach, even with its evident shortcomings.
1. Neon White
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 cringe-inducing dialogue and prototypical character interactions dissuade you from streaking through its meticulously crafted levels at breakneck speeds. Whether you’re pursuing a better level time to one-up a friend, crawl up the leaderboards, or just for the pure, euphoric enjoyment of it all – Neon White’s sprawling stages are begging to be broken in dazzling displays of platforming prowess. It’s a shot in the arm adrenaline rush I wasn’t explicitly looking for this year, but it’s one I’m endlessly thankful that I got.
What do you think of Christian's personal Game of the Year picks? Feel free to agree wholeheartedly, or berate relentlessly in the comments section below.
Comments 16
surprising to see GoW not included in the list but happy to see someone finally add Ghostwire Tokyo in the list
Second time Neon White’s topped a list here. Genuinely wonderful to see such an odd game get so much praise.
@Sil_Am Wrong article?
@KilloWertz Yea
I think I need to try this Neon White game. Never really even given it a look until now. I've seen it pop up a few times now in people's top 5.
Awesome to see love for Ghostwire; really fun game that I thoroughly enjoyed. Grab it for cheap!
I don't play COD, but these are excellent choices. Ghostwire Tokyo had some of the best side quests this year. Some of them were literally laugh out loud funny to me.
Y'know, I forgot Ghostwire released this year lol.
And I even played it this past summer lol.
Neon White gang
Good to finally see some love for Ghostwire Tokyo. One of my favorite games of this year. It was a very relaxing game where i learned a lot about Japanese folklore. Also the whole theme of letting go was nicely woven into the game.
PushSquare’s review of Neon White highlighted performance issues on PS5, in particular screen tearing. Anyone know if this has this been fixed yet?
Seeing Neon White show up on these lists a lot. I looked at it when it first released as a timed console exclusive on Switch, but ultimately wasn't impressed with what I saw. Maybe it's worth giving another look, eh?
Ghostwire Tokyo always looked cool to me but the bad reaction to it threw me off buying it. Maybe people are coming around to it now? Hopefully as it looks unique.
Some very strange choices in these top 5 lists!!
Here’s mine….
1. The Last of Us Part 1
2. God of War Ragnarok
3. Mod Warfare 2
4. Gran Turismo 7
5. Callisto Protocol
Special mention to WWE 2K22, was a huge WWF fan wen i was a kid, not bought a game since Megadrive but this one is great. Also Lego Starwars Skywalker Saga, Sifu and Stray deserve a mention.
Nice to see a realistic appraisal of Elden Ring as the extraordinary game it is, with very obvious shortcomings - particularly the repetition. I loved my time with it (although I fell off at the Fire Giant as the game became a more linear experience) but having to fight the same stone cat with a giant 5FPS sword over and over at the end of various dungeons... not so much love there!
And now I'm off to buy Neon White.
Is neon white still buggy, With the currupt saves on ps5? Been wanting to get it.
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