Robot Republic and Friends GOTY Picks.

KB123 - Robot Republic

For me, I would have to say my Game of the Year would have to be A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo). This game is an amazing entry into the Plague Tale franchise. The gameplay provides a unique mix of Third Person Action, Survival elements, and top-tier storytelling. creating a game that is unmatched in 2022. I would recommend that everyone should give this game a go whether they purchase it or play it on Xbox Game Pass, this is a sequel though so if you haven’t played a plague tale before then probably start with a plague tale: Innocence.

Jack McMorrow - Robot Republic

My nomination for 2022’s Game of the Year has to go to Callisto Protocol. It has received mixed views from some outlets (not me) but i think that can be attributed to its slow pace (in contrast to many high-profile releases) which in my opinion, only helps to build its atmosphere. Indeed, one of my first reviews here was fr Alien Isolation and that I loved, th fact it sold poorly is perhaps why it never got a sequel. While disappointing, this to me is as close to one as we will get (assuming the Dead Space franchise is entirely separate (. Sequels for this are on the cards, which is news I welcome as though I enjoyed it, this game has minor flaws which they will doubtlessly correct.

The Ginna - Xbox Party Podcast Live

2022 Has been a good year for gaming, besides what others would have you think. I've managed to experience games that push Graphics such as a Plague Tale, Games that had addictive Gameplay such as Vampire Survivors, Games that Built atmosphere like Scorn & some incredible story telling from the likes of Pentiment & As Dusk Falls.

It's funny then that my GOTY 2022 is best in class in exactly zero of these areas. In fact the graphics are at times dated, the gameplay is both incredibly solid in some areas whilst decidedly dated in others, and the story is great if you're a fan of the source material (Comics) but you may be suffering fatigue from the overall Franchise from recent entries (Movies & TV) with little to no atmosphere for huge periods of the game.

My GOTY 2022 is Marvel Midnight Suns. The X-Com series are one of my favourites of all time, and when I heard of this game, I imagined X-com with a Marvel skin, and I would have loved that. This game however is so much more than that, it has an excellent deck-building system that genuinely improves over X-Com combat system, a deep fleshed out character pool, with genuinely engaging moments. There is more crafting, upgrading, tinkering than X-Com, and there is a huge amount of exploration to be done here when you are not dropping you heroes into combat. The imagining of Tony Stark in this game is the best outside of Robert Downey Jr efforts IMO.

The game is pure addiction put into Digital form. It may not have the best Story this year, Best Graphics or the Best All round Gameplay, but it is very good in every area that counts, resulting in something like pure addiction, that has been converted to Digital Form. There has not been a moment during this game where I have been bored or felt I needed a break. 12hr stints have been done with only real-world responsibilities stopping them being longer.

I think this is a game a lot of people have slept on (My Xbox friends list tells me I am the only one who has played this game) and that is a shame, as people are missing out on what is for my money, the best game available to play this year.

Find more by Ginna on YouTube and Twitter.

Dylan - Offshore GamesCast

Surprise surprise, another pick for Elden Ring as game of the year. Rarely does my favourite game of the year align with the general consensus but there’s just no denying the masterpiece that is Elden Ring. Of course, Elden Ring doesn’t happen without inspiration from games that came before, specifically The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Open-world games following the same formula of a million icons on your map were becoming more than stale and tiring and BoTW completely turned that formula on its head. However, it had issues. Hyrule was mostly a barren, repetitive world filled with many of the same enemies and shrines throughout. I’m not trying to take away from how great of a game BoTW is but Elden Ring took that idea to the next level and, in my opinion, perfected it. You’re free to explore The Lands Between much like Hyrule but you will not find the emptiness. You are constantly finding and exploring new things in the world of Elden Ring. Whether that’s a new type of enemy, a random boss, a dungeon, a character to start a side quest with, or simply fascinating locations, The Lands Between is full of it all. After 50-60 hours of playing, I’ve only explored a portion of the map and always was surprised by the new things I would find. Eventually, I began to realize that some dungeons feature unique enemies that can only be found there, many of which are completely optional and easily missable. That alone is a technical and game-design feat that blows my mind whenever I think about it.

Elden Ring has completely redefined what it means to be part of the Soulslike genre and to be an open world game. I hope we see developers trying to replicate or build upon what FromSoftware has done here but I’m not sure I trust that they’d be able to do it at the level of success that Elden Ring has achieved. Elden Ring is not only my game of the year because of how enjoyable I find it to be, but because it’s a masterpiece that, quite frankly, I believe to be one of the best games ever made.

Find more by Dylan on Twitter and their podcast.

Cally - Robot Republic

My game of the year was released a couple of years ago, but only in pre-release. It still feels a little cheeky having it GOTY now. But then it wasn’t allowed when I first started playing it, and it truly deserves the recognition.

It’s another survival-building game, but this time you’re making forts out of grass stems and clover leaves. It’s Honey I Shrunk the Kids the game. Except with pant browningly terrifying co-residents of your garden.

I loved building forts as a kid, I think we all did. This gives me the perfect experience for doing so in a way that feels relatable. Sure, I’ve never been shrunk down to the size of an ant. But I have built myself bases in trees when I was the size of a hobbit.

There’s more to the game than just free construction. There’s now a plot line and lots of hidden areas that I’m still yet to uncover. It’s a great game to play with friends. Though my part in the team is the master builder. There’s plenty going on, but this next forward operating base on a lily pad isn’t going to build itself.

See Cally's top ten games of 2022 here.

Riku - Robot Republic

Stunning. Brutal. Infuriating. Immersive. Amazing. These are just some of the words that can be used to describe Elden Ring, and it’s unsurprising that it sits at the top of my list for best games of 2022 (coupled with the fact that Editor Cally said I wasn’t allowed to use Sonic 2006 as it’s been out for 16 years!). 2022 has seen some excellent games, but there’s something about Elden Ring that has enamoured the gaming community at large since it dropped earlier this year. From its episodic and vague narrative (in the standard From Software style) to its beautifully crafted environments that are visually striking Elden Ring is a gift for many gamers, even those that are not as familiar with the savagery of combat in a Soulsborne. The way that From Software has managed to create a broad and immersive world with a clear sense of a broken land is beautifully haunting, and the character interactions paint the picture of the world that came before.

Where Elden Ring truly beats every other game for me, however, is how all these elements come together with a combat system that elevates the standard From Software formula. The way that each combat class feel unique, while allowing players to build their own bespoke style has always been at the core of FromSoft games, however the ways players are given a broader range of play styles in Elden Ring work excellently together. Elden Ring is nothing short of a ball-busting masterpiece that has taken up such a large chunk of my 2022, and every moment I’ve spent with it proves just how excellently the game has been developed.

Josh Render - Robot Republic

Trying to think of the best game for 2022…it is 2022 right? It is honestly pretty tricky to pick one. As I sit here I’m having an issue thinking of the ‘best’ game. However, there was one that took something I already enjoyed and presented it fantastically. Warhammer 40K: Darktide is by no means perfect, hell, it is essentially Vermintide with extra bits. However, it does it all well, and its artistic design is so well implemented that it honestly took my breath away. The 40K universe has a lot to offer gaming, and Darktide helped to show that potential. I should also mention Shooters, Blood & Teeth, which gain gave an insight into how video games can make use of the property. So technically it's two…sorry Cally

Chris Clawson - Gaming Sandbox and Robot Republic

My choice for this year is The House of the Dead Remake. This is by no means the best game of the year even slightly, but for me, it was some of the most fun I've had all year. Forever Entertainment has lovingly recreated the entire House of the dead experience in a brand new engine with some wacky physics and over-the-top violence, whilst there are a few small things I'd like to see improved going forward, I thoroughly enjoyed what we got. It's also been wonderful to see the community bring light gun action back to life on the PC. I can't wait for the sequel remake.

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