GoMY: Games Of My Year
23 random games and how they accompanied me through a random 2022.
There is an odd correlation between having a kid and being a kid. A child’s computer time is to be strictly rationed by its parents. A circumstance that made my time with videogames often more intense. I remember Commander Keen-levels, jumps in Stunts or the middle of a Space Quest puzzle, and the simultaneous fear of being called to dinner or “enough played, young man” in the back of my head. The game experience was heightened by how my parents could just end it out of nowhere.
After having been a new dad for a year, I have déjà vus of this almost anxious intensity of playing. But instead of a parenting authority it is now the toddler who might call, wake up and demand her father at any random time. The Hitman trilogy sure does get an extra edge, when there’s a baby napping on your belly like a ticking time bomb. Back in my childhood and in 2022 I was fortunate in many ways — I also always managed to get my share of videogames in.
Here are 23 titles I finished this year, pretty impressive, I think so too, lel. They are very random and only few stem from 2022. No Stray or Elden Ring in this text, sorry. Still this backlog-clean-up took me on an absurd trip through an even absurder year. Most of these mini-reviews — or crude versions of them — you can read on my Backloggd profile, where I and many others keep track of playtime. Let’s cut to the games of my year.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden (2018)
I can relate to the rugged pig-man in the end times, of course. I was looking for a good XCOM-style game and that is exactly what I got, including the 2019 DLC Seed of evil. Smoking ducks and cynical mutants helped me start the last year with strategic thinking, an apocalypse and save-spamming.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale (2021)
Self-doubt, aimlessness and letting art burst out of every side of you — this cute dog in a world full of even cuter animals, all named after food items, taught me a lot. The only solution to fraud complex and insecurity must be solving puzzles with a magic brush and wildly splashing paint around. And Master Chicory’s issues about creativity felt particularly familiar.
Loop Hero (2021)
Right when Russia started to become the new grandiose global bad guy I fell into the never-ending minimalistic loop of this wonderful rogue-something game with a bit of base building. The Russian developers openly came out against the war and other than that, they delivered a killer story, playfully philosophical. Something I didn’t expect when starting the first round with a sad boring path and bland pixelated player character. But then it/you/everything grows exponentially. I recommend it especially if you enjoyed Darkest Dungeon and Into the Breach as much as I did. Very similar vibes. A game that encapsulates life’s routines and how to master them perfectly, each. and. every. year…
NOT A HERO (2015)
Damn, what a hard game. I started and abandoned it around 5 times over the years. But with the last attempt I finally succeeded to shot my way through all of it. It’s a lesser Hotline Miami, but funnier. Bunny Lord’s lines are so good, it makes me want to cry and proud to have made him Mayor. Thanks for teaching me to keep at certain things and see them through, in order to overcome them — and having a lot of fun doing it.
Prey: Mooncrash (2018)
Like the original game this DLC with a procedural immersive sim-twist has great writing and exciting flexibility in gameplay. I wonder what recent AI-implementation could do for this “new” genre. The loading times on my old-ass PS4 drove me mad. I mean, this has rogue-like elements and brags with “you will die a lot” right at the beginning. And then having to wait half a Sigur Ros song for the game to continue is a lot to ask. Only a small cause for frustration and I overall enjoyed the superb gameplay and perfectly timed narrative — it doesn’t overstay its welcome. But it stayed with me a while and I had to read up on all the plot details I didn’t fully understand while playing. Patience is a virtue, I tell you, not only with this game, but also regarding a one-year-old.
Gemini Rue (2011)
I liked some of the detective work in this old-school looking adventure with a smart bare-bones command interface. Finding missing people feels nice and I liked how the story unfolds. Other than that it’s really clunky, not just the game mechanics, but the references, the puzzles, the visuals as well. Pixel hunt galore, and some causal logic seemed not thought through enough to me. The shooting controls are horrible or was that an unnecessary nod to the unbearable Nazi fist fights in Indy3? Still I found the ending and a couple of twists worked. Hey, not everything can be gold.
Starbound (2016)
Again it took me about 3 attempts over a span of 5 years to finish this side-scrolling No Man’s Sky-Minecraft bastard. Despite a wonky interface, Keyboard-controls and several unforgiving game mechanics that can cost you so many items, I powered through. By the end I found a few old base camps earlier playtime and I had totally forgotten about them, also that they were full of great resources. Argh! Also the Ruin had me sweating, with a pulse like in a souls game. In short, finishing the main quests was challenging, but not as much as dealing with our 4-months-old mash refusing daughter at the same time back then.
A steam achievement to be proud of! Check out my crossover take on Stardew Valley.
Doki-Doki Universe (2013)
I can’t decide if it’s for children or us almost 40-people looking for popcorn therapy. It’s like Jackbox Games and early Facebook personality quizes put in a cartoon blender, mixed with vector graphics. There’s a lot of vague fortune cookie logic to it, but still I learned a lot about myself, and my potential for being human. Ha! The game made me feel good in rough patches of last year, so “yes” to my daughter maybe trying this someday.
SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE (2020)
Not as good as the original or the VR version — god, pure perfection, one of my top game of all times. In this third edition time again only moves when you move, same level-design, same red voxel-enemies, same weapons mostly, so I had a base level fine time with it. The turned up tedious repetitiveness and an uninteresting story were new though. Played it at work after quitting time sometimes, just before my parental leave started.
Moss (VR, 2018)
Last year, when the PSVR 2 was announced I dusted off my old headset and decided to go through all its old games I had never gotten around to review properly for Vice back in the days. Does this game need to be in VR? I don’t know. Though I was very turned off by its cutsie presentation at first I loved its puzzles and adventurous shortness in the end. Maybe also because of the little grand mouse fighter with lotsa smarts I got at home now.
Thumper (VR, 2016)
So this is the best damn rhythm game ever. I’d like to speculate on the origin of it for a moment: Sonic went to hell and made love to a beetle who’s really into industrial techno, and then their baby had a heavy mushroom trip while playing guitar hero. There’s almost no other explanation.
The last bosses are insane, as you might assume. Near the end I started not to care about points and left out all the blue rings. This game really took it out of me and I was lucky to have a very driven friend, who wanted to show off her timing skills. I am so glad about the help and how it got me back into it, so I could finally beat it.
Fascinating how controlling the little beetle felt almost instinctive. I finished an area and thought: “How did I just react so fast?” My perception only shortly after I evaded an obstacle or slid into the curve told me about it. It’s insane magic, what this game does to your head. Do not play stoned or drunk or anything, even if the visuals are trippy and cool. You will need every bit of reaction time in your body.
Rez Infinite (2016)
Damn, finished that one right after Thumper. So much techno and neon, literally in my face, what could be more lovely. So I packed up the PSVR for good (although maybe I’ll give Hitman III a glance, the hype around Polybius VR I didn’t really understand by the way).
The arcade approach in this game makes total sense. The old game and the new “infinite” interpretation make shooting dots as well as cyberspace dragons very enjoyable. The movement and distinct art-style (one that just got modern again) can only be described as awe-inspiring and free-floatingly cool. VR gaming should be a special event out of the ordinary, not too long, just like at the arcade. You can’t play VR 10 hours straight, neither could you one of the big old machines — physically alone. I wonder if there will be any killer games like this on the new VR sets.
That was a very sweaty summer with the PS headset on, after stepping on a bee while changing a wet baby’s diaper at a crowded public pool.
Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes (2012)
Some interesting puzzle ideas here and there, but a lot of lazy writing, rather unfunny and some buggy instances too. The weird darkness of some of the dialogues and characters clicks at times, but also turns stale quickly. Oh and sorry, the art design is horrid. I know it’s kind of intentional, speaking as as a fan of adventure games — not a fan.
The Bug Butcher (2016)
Around the same time this came out I coincidentally was looking for a game I remembered from childhood. It was an arcade machine in Italy somewhere and I think it was called Super Buster Bros (or was it Super Pang!, my foggy memory couldn’t tell them apart). And then this super pretty, artful title by an indie team from Austrian Tyrol decided to pop in. If you’re looking for that retro fix of that genre, for that sphere-fragmenting-rush, you will be very happy. Super art-style and very tight gameplay.
XCOM: Chimera Squad (2020)
The year by then was in its last third and again the longing for some tactical guidance rose, as in a longing for some XCOM. This game turned out to be a great (and much needed) iteration from the formula. I didn’t even know I needed this change, but had so much fun with the new breach mechanics, the new cutscene look and the determined sequence of unit turns. This changes the gameplay a lot. I found it easier to be honest, but also more precise and therefore more satisfying.
It remains a buggy title at times, repetitive and I probably forgive many flaws for being a big sucker fan. The characters, which are not customizable anymore — which I didn’t miss at all oddly — , makes me give fat Muton thumbs up. Learn what you are good at and learn what to change up a little, a great takeaway.
Return to Monkey Island (2022)
For my birthday I bought a big treat for myself. One of the few games of 2022 I played actually. They nailed the original feel with this sequel under Grossman & Gilbert management (sounds like a law firm).
A few too many self-referential decisions and the brisk ending with a tad too many meta-twists and inconsistencies in what they wanted to say made up only a slight disappointment. All in all this game slaps though, how they finally went GROSS again, love it. And though it being extremely well designed, approachable for newbies, I had some classic moments of being stuck with puzzles (just like in the 90s!). I loved that!
And concerning the big drama surrounding the art style: I made so many screenshots of cool shots from that game, playful and something new in this big grog stew of bastardized pop culture nostalgia. Really rude and self-deserving of people to be so aggressive about the look online. (And that’s me saying this, me, a purist, who has been working on a very pixelated PnC adventure a lá Monkey2). The learning here is clearly: Don’t drink the Haterade.
Vampire Survivors (2021/2022)
The monitor-in-a-blender-explosion almost became my game of the year (tbh, I really didn’t play a lot of current stuff). Right from the humble beginning I knew I’d arrive at a chaotic power-fantasy moment like this. I leave you with this: Just like any good meal, start your run with some garlic. PLATINUM! ALL ACHIEVEMENTS, SIGMA BABY! Spoiler: In the later game, ditch the garlic and go for the fully evolved holy water, you can thank me later.
Control: Ultimate Edition (2020)
Boy, this game kicked my ASS! It was a tough one. Not only tough regarding all the damn instances filled with overpowering enemy waves, but it’s going to be tough for me to judge this game objectively and rate it fairly.
This game is incredible, the physics, how it looks and feels. It’s sooo GOOD and fun to control. HA! Get it? The graphics are sensational. Flying around and ripping walls out of the haunted building, only to splat the armored enemies with it. Chef’s “hiss”-kiss. But at the same time I haven’t gotten this angry with action design and difficulty in ages. I was screaming in agony of annoyance after the millionth death, framed by beautiful (ray tracing, all systems turned to max, baby) marble structures, an office projector rattling next to me and the funghi caverns in the distance.
It doesn’t seem balanced at all and there is no difficulty setting. And sadly it is also a bit boring, narratively (Alan Wake who has cameos seems a bit lame, but I am not a connoisseur). There are way too many logs, that most of the time don’t serve any purpose. Dr. Darling borders, well, to unbearable cheesiness. I am so torn on this game. A lot of frustration, but I also had a really great and fascinating time with it.
Hollow Knight (2017)
Because of the huge fringe fandom behind it, I played through an incredibly well crafted game, as expected. How it controls, the art and lotsa atmospheric nuance. Also, this Metroidvania-like is BIG! There was a point in the first third, when I thought I had seen all the playable areas. Far from it, I underestimated that little ghost faced fellow and his whole indie game along with it, just as much as I did the difficulty. I had go and complain — more like cry — about it to the friend who recommended it to me.
“Tell me a good load-out for the notches, it’s all so hard!” Are we too old for fast-moving boss fights like these? Poor old privileged white man and his computer game woes. Well, I beat (the) Hollow Knight and feel pretty cool about it. Great game!
Chrono Trigger (1995)
Winter had started, my daughter learned how to walk and the world kept on turning despite all its madness. At the same time I traveled through time with a loveable gang of Anime-friends. The SNES JRPG-classic with a big history has a poor Steam port, which I unwittingly played. I only found out about that fact after finishing it. Anyway, the pixel-art is pure excellence, the ending made me tear up and the final final FINAL boss fight almost cost me my sanity. Totally underestimated this title.
The Book of Unwritten Tales (2009)
I had played the second part first (I don’t know why) and remembered it being entertaining and clever — with a pregnant elf and all that wacky stuff. Years ago I bought this first one because of that.
Okay, let’s be straight: This game and all the references are so derivative. I work on a point and click adventure as well and know that it’s almost impossible not to make meta references to LucasArts titles, 80s movies and other classics, but here it felt like the standard. Whole puzzle quest items were taken from Monkey2 and the fact that they even winkingly point it out does not make it any less of a stolen idea. Ignoring the shameless quotes from Star Wars, Mission Impossible, Shrek or Indiana Jones for a moment, hasn’t the whole “fantasy adventure game turned on its head”-schtick also been done already in Simon The Sorcerer? The jokes felt stale and there was way too much dialogue, I skipped a lot of. And the puzzle design wasn’t good (was it better in 2?): That guy’s dialogue is only triggered after walking through a random side-room for the second time. Oh, and that dumb ass bow puzzle with the movable pans you have to arrange trial and error. One has to watch the whole slow ass dialogue cutscene and the orc lady shooting first every time… but I digress. It’s a game not only unoriginal, even what it copied it copied badly. Oh, and the character design is quite horrid. Nightmarish puppet faced gnomes I am supposed to find adorable won’t fly. Neither does the elven woman with buggy as fuck movements and a string tanga under hot-pants, the overly proud German makers probably touched themselves over. And the ending was confusingly abrupt.
I liked some of the art designs. Death Swamp, the Monster’s Insides, the Hell Tower, the backgrounds in general were really nicely done. There was definitely some talent in that production. This turned out to be an awkward feedback-sandwich, I know, I tried to find positive stuff too. I made myself play through this in winter 2022 after shelving it for a month. I really don’t know why I liked the second one so much, I can’t remember most of it, maybe I’ve just become a cynical asshole… oh well.
Ratchet & Clank (2016)
Free game, and why not play it while my baby girl’s sleeping with the sound off. It is rather annoying sound design anyway. The look and mechanics are very polished and the final boss made me angry. Which is good actually. The full game presented itself as very uninterestingly easy. Half a brain suffices, even napping partially alongside the toddler who could maybe beat it. I ended my gaming year with this McDonald’s kid’s toy of a videogame (if you ignore some calculatedly “raunchy “ jokes) and thought: Maybe I should have played the hyped up Elden Ring instead. But also, let’s try sticking with your decisions… as long nobody gets hurt and the graphics are pretty enough.
Knotwords (2022)
Scrabble meets crosswords meets an unrelenting dictionary. This is my true game of the year 2022 actually, just measured by sheer time played and ongoing enjoyment with it. I play it still, often led by organic intuition, every day and I am nearing an almost a full year streak. It became a part of my life. Finding the right words — like with my writing. A daily brain work-out, a metaphor for the infinite potential of the mind, of our existence and the cute little girl that is still playing with wooden toys at the moment and doesn’t have a clue that there’s an abundance of awesome games she will experience in the future.
So, as I continue the gamification of my life and family, as well as handling my slightly addictive behavior I face with videogames, I wish everyone a grand year. Let’s make it a good one, a united and kind one.
jZ
