Community MetaCouncil's Games of the Year Awards 2022 Results

Le Pertti

0.01% Game dev
Oct 10, 2018
8,278
21,202
113
45
Paris, France
lepertti.com

Welcome to our annual games of the year awards! Thank you all for voting!

Let's get directly into the fun!



Top 10 Games of the Year


Derrick01 said:
If we're being honest when this was in development I don't think anyone thought this would turn out well. You're taking one of the biggest and most beloved games ever, splitting it into multiple parts, and you have modern day SE making it and the dev team is full of guys who many thought are well past their primes and are known for making questionable choices. Against all odds they put out a game that, yes it only covers like 10% of the original game, but it's executed better than the original's Midgar section. Every character is much deeper and better written than they were in the original and the combat system they created is IMO the best jrpg combat ever. The soundtrack is also ridiculously good and is a legit GOAT contender already. It has some padding issues due to being limited to Midgar and some don't like what they did with the story (I do though, at least for now. We'll see if they screw it up in part 2) but it's a game that I wanted for 15+ years and it somehow lived up to the hype.
Shantom said:
This was always going to be a tricky game to remake given the weight of expectations but Square did a surprisingly good job of funneling that weight into the game's themes and making something that felt fresh. Oh, and it has the best JRPG combat system of all time.




Dandy said:
It's a game that I couldn't stop thinking about. I rambled about it to a very kind co-worker for 30 minutes breathlessly. It is unique, and gorgeous, and immersive, and surprising... and and and. I loved it.


Ascheroth said:
A fastastic JRPG with an even better PC version. Great story, characters and worldbuilding.
Kvik said:
Zero is my favourite Trails game. I enjoyed the settings, the character dynamics, and inner politics in the melting pot called “Crossbell”. Personally, it's a deeply moving story about growing up and letting go of your past. While the primary antagonist isn't nearly as interesting as the former entries, The Special Support Section's triumph over their adversity feels earned, and it's the culmination of their effort in transcending the barrier of “The Crossbell Problem”.


Arc said:
While giving GOTY to Monster Hunter feels almost like giving Madden a GOTY nod, Sunbreak did a 180 and turned Rise, my least favorite Monster Hunter game, into what is possibly my favorite game in the series. Sunbreak adds lots of new content, removed things that didn't work in the base game, has tons of quality-of-life fixes and an endgame addiction loop that, while not perfect, helps motivate me to continue playing. Most importantly, the game feel is the best Monster Hunter has ever been. You can argue it is too easy as there are many combat tools at your disposal compared to other games, but I'd rather have an easier game that is more fun to play and interact with.


Mivey said:
The Monkey Island series is close to my heart and Return to Monkey Island is very much a return to form. To me, it's as good as Monkey Island ever was, and more than comparable to Monkey Island 2 and 1 in terms of its wit, great writing and its cast of characters. A beautiful swan song to the series, that isn't exactly a definitive ending, but would work quite well if it was the last game in the series. It came as a complete surprise to me when it was announced just earlier this year and it is clearly the best game of this year to me, and easily one of the best point and click adventure games of all time.


C-Dub said:
Persona 5 Royal is the gold standard for a "long game". Good writing, a strong motivational thread that runs from start to finish, and satisfying grind that makes you want to go the whole way on its 120+ hour runtime. It also helps that, despite being a PS3 game at heart, it is visually more interesting than most games that came out in the last decade and has a killer soundtrack to boot.
ExistentialThought said:
The OG Persona 5 and Horizon Zero Dawn had me sitting down at a Target in 2018 wondering if I should finally bite the bullet and get a PS4. I walked away and told myself I needed to give up on ever playing them, which only got harder when Royal was released to rave reviews. Never did I think so many years later that not only would both of these games come to PC, but that I would be playing P5R on a handheld Linux PC. That aside, I love this game. I am still working my way through, but it is everything I love about JRPGs with little of what I do not like. Often times I struggle with JRPGs as they are usually too grindy, have a mixed bag of characters, and/or an extremely predictable story. For me, Persona games have usually avoided these issues and manage to hit the right spots. Yes, they are not perfect and gosh darn are they long, but every night I boot it up to play for a couple of hours is like tuning into an interesting show with a fun cast of characters.
BO7AMMOOD said:
Shin Megami Tensei generally speaking, and its popular spin-off series Persona specifically, is one of the best JRPG series around. In fact, it's even arguably the best one! And Persona 5 Royal is a shining example of why that might be the case. A Huge meaty story, fantastic turn based battle system, and a soundtrack that will be stuck in your head forever. A must play for any JRPG lover!


Amzin said:
Citizen Sleeper is such a well done narrative game. The characters are great, the graphics do a good job of conveying the setting, the dynamic between the rolls, skills, and goals is interesting but not overwhelming. There's a lot of tension, although I'm not actually sure you can "lose" in the conventional sense. It even allows you to see multiple endings in one playthrough which a lot of these types of games don't. I just don't have anything bad to say about it - if you like sci-fi / cyberpunk stories, this is the best story game I've played for that.
sprinkles said:
In a year with amazing narrative games Citizen Sleeper took the crown. The dice based choice system is perfect for the discouraged life the main character is thrown into. A great cast of characters share their past and present with you and your choices shape their future. 100% POS


Arsene said:
Not really much to say here, I'm a sucker for speed run games. 100%'d it in a weekend and couldn't put it down until I did. The dreamcast-like visual style and Machine Girl soundtrack were also fantastic. Dialogue was terrible so I skipped all the cut scenes but that didn't stop me from absolutely devouring the rest of the game.
Valdien said:
The game has some of the best level design I've seen in quite a while, in my opinion. Every level in the game is easy to read, even on your first go, and the relatively simple but attractive visuals help with that. The last level in the game titled "Marathon" (before the final boss) is expertly crafted and exhilarating to do as fast as possible, provided you do it the "dev" intended way. I've managed to finish the level in under 23 seconds by using the rings to move around, but the top times for the level are sub 13, which is insane. Funny thing is, the lead designer for the level added tripwires to the rings knowing fully that players would die if they tried to skip the level that way, but people found a way to redirect the momentum that you gain after using the Book of Life which stops the traps from triggering. Easily my GOTY.


FeedMeAStrayCat said:
It's simple, it's sweet, it's addicting as fuck.
thekeats1999 said:
Fun. That has been my criteria here. Fun. This is a game, it knows it's a game and trys to be nothing more or nothing less. But it is so much fun. It nows just what the player wants. Then there is the power trip. Those last few minutes when you know your choices have payed off. You are an immortal god with no monster able to come close to you. The screen is awash with numbers. The frame rate dips to single digits. Then Death comes along and oneshots you. "Just One More Run". Fun.
Big McLargehuge said:
This game is good.


Avern said:
I've been a fan of From's games for a long time now, but the appeal for me has always been the level design and art, while the combat has been solid, but never exceptional. Elden Ring was a massive step up for them. Guard counters, jumping attacks, and making enemy staggers a universal mechanic all added so much more nuance to the combat. From also gave more enemies delayed attacks that couldn't be avoided with automatic roll timing, something that makes the combat much more interesting. All of that lies on top of their best visual design and some of their most interesting dungeons yet.
Dakath said:
Do I really need to piss in the ocean of piss about Elden Ring? It is a ridiculous Berserk Simulator.
Durante said:
For games with really high expectations, it's always hard to actually live up to them -- and Elden Ring was one of the very few games these days I was actually "hyped" for before release. Nonetheless, it actually managed to meet, and even surpass, those expectations. While there are still a few things that I wish they would have adapted from Dark Souls 2, for the way I play and enjoy these games, ER is an almost perfect re-imagining of the formula in an open world. There are many individual episodes I recall from my play-through that were outstanding and memorable, and that's really not something a lot of AAA games can claim.
fearthedawn said:
Elden Ring provides an amazing first playthrough, i was fully immersed in exploring this world for a month and loved the art direction and vision for the game.
hersheyfan said:
My GotY choice really needs no introduction, so I'll just share an anecdote about Elden Ring. I have a friend who actively hates Souls games, as he's not really one for super challenging twitch gameplay. But he ended up playing Elden Ring for like 250 hours or so, because unlike typical Souls games ER gave you so much leeway to do whatever you want, instead of repeatedly banging your head against a wall until you succeed. He could level up and explore elsewhere, find nasty equipment he could use to improve his odds, etc. He was so entranced by the experience that he actually bought a digital, non-refundable copy of Sekiro after we told him it was another From Software masterpiece. We then of course got to enjoy his wails of despair as Sekiro beat the ever living shit out of him. Thank you, Elden Ring!
Joe Spangle said:
Just a terrific continuation of the Souls like formula with an enormous world to explore full of adventure. Been in love with these games for a long time now and Elden Ring was a joy to play. It might not be my favourite Souls game but its right up there and a worthy GOTY.
kio said:
Elden Ring seems to be the culmination of From's growth that happened over the last decade. It's in equal parts a familiar experience and a refreshingly new one, not only of their own formula but also of game design as a whole. It proved open world games can be much more than endless fetch quests, that the world is a character and not just window dressing and that you don't need cinematics every 10min to have a captivating story. It's a masterpiece and a landmark of game design that I'm hopeful a lot of people in the business will learn from.
LEANIJA said:
ER is an amazing game that just drags you into its harsh but beautiful world and lets you loose to explore on your pace without a myriad of checklist map markers, instead letting you take the reins. Another key strength is the brutal but generally fair combat and several ways to tailor the experience to your difficulty level. The game can be as easy or as hard as you make it, basically. Additionally, the similarities to Dark Souls are there, but it feels more accessible and while not easier, perhaps less needlessly punishing. It's a game I played for a long time and after I was done, played it again. And then after I finally put it aside found it really hard to get into other games again, it had such a strong pull.
low-G said:
It hits the Zelda-clone beats and knocks it out of the park. It fulfills my sense of adventure, exploration, progression, and engrossment. It surpasses any of its genre ever made in many aspects by leaps and bounds, with incredible level design, compelling gameplay, a fascinating world, breathtaking art, and so much to discover and do. If it ends up being the best game of the century, I wouldn't be surprised. As I played, I realized it fulfilled an empty place in my gamer heart that even the legends of games never touched.
Parsnip said:
Even with cookie cutter catacombs and mines, there's just so much stuff in there to enjoy. It's almost too good.
PhaZZe said:
I enjoyed my time with the game, was a great experience, but with the co-op mod it was perfect, really enjoyed with a friend a my brother.
PossiblyPudding said:
I'm a huge Souls fan so it was pretty much guaranteed to be my #1 even before its release, but even I didn't expect it would hook me as much as it did. I stuck with it for days, every time I had free time all I wanted to do was progress further and see more of what Elden Ring offered. It's one I can easily see myself coming back to off and on for years to do another playthrough.
QFNS said:
Elden Ring did something that Soul games have been trying to do for years in creating a cohesive, connected open world that truly felt open and full of possibility. There are maybe a few too many re-used fights (especially in those Catacombs), but the lovely thing is that this game is SO BIG, you can skip a bunch them and probably never know you missed a dungeon. You'll run across 2 or 3 more in the next couple minutes anyway.
Stevey said:
Been a massive fan of these games since Dark Souls, while this isn't the best of those, nothing else has c0me close in 2022
yuraya said:
Elden Ring is simply the best open world game of all time. And its not even close tbh. The quality/quantity of boss fights, locales, weapons, builds, spells, items and enemy variety is top notch. The art direction was stunning. Everything in the world they built has a purpose and just like their previous titles there is so much incredible hidden content. Beating this game the first time blind was an amazing experience. Beating it a 2nd time with a guide was so mind blowing I felt like I played an entirely different game. The developer is just operating on a whole other level compared to the rest of the industry.


Early Access Game of the Year



Best Ongoing Game



Best Old Game





Turd of the Year



Platform of Choice
 
Last edited:

Durante

I <3 Pixels
Oct 21, 2018
3,835
18,379
113
Thanks for doing this -- I actually played (and voted for) the top 3, which is rare.

Nice to see that Pentiment made it. I guess I should check out Citizen Sleeper at some point.

Haha oops! Just googled Genshin and didn't realise it wasn't from that haha
I spent far more time than I care to admit playing Genshin and I didn't even notice.
 

yuraya

MetaMember
May 4, 2019
2,402
5,610
113
Rogue Legacy 2 is the only one I voted for that wasn't in the top 10.

Kind of surprised tbh. If I remember correctly the first game won goty 2013 in the old SteamGAF times. Some people from those days are definitely here on Meta.

I guess many didn't get around to the sequel this time. Or just fed up with those type of roguelikes.
 

Durante

I <3 Pixels
Oct 21, 2018
3,835
18,379
113
Rogue Legacy 2 is the only one I voted for that wasn't in the top 10.

Kind of surprised tbh. If I remember correctly the first game won goty 2013 in the old SteamGAF times. Some people from those days are definitely here on Meta.

I guess many didn't get around to the sequel this time. Or just fed up with those type of roguelikes.
I also voted for it, but honestly if I didn't have a Steam Deck I most likely wouldn't have gotten around to it this year. I guess that's the case with many people.
 
OP
Le Pertti

Le Pertti

0.01% Game dev
Oct 10, 2018
8,278
21,202
113
45
Paris, France
lepertti.com
I did play a bit of rogue legacy 2, the first one was my goty back in the day. Not sure why I didn’t fully click with the second one, maybe because I didn’t get too far and yeah maybe the rogue like fatique might be there a bit. I think I might want little more meat in my metroidvanias, that’s why I didn’t get too much into dead cells either.
 

Panda Pedinte

Best Sig Maker on the board!
Sep 20, 2018
4,623
13,012
113
Quite good list. Congrats MetaCouncil!

3 games I voted for got in the top 5 so I'm satisfied, but more people need to play Norco and Immortality. Thinking about it, that year was quite good for narrative games.

Rogue Legacy 2 is the only one I voted for that wasn't in the top 10.

Kind of surprised tbh. If I remember correctly the first game won goty 2013 in the old SteamGAF times. Some people from those days are definitely here on Meta.

I guess many didn't get around to the sequel this time. Or just fed up with those type of roguelikes.
I played it a lot after the release, and it's a good game though the competition this year was fierce.

Chained Echoes was robbed :notlikethisblob:
Too bad it released near the end of the year or I could have voted for it.
 

C-Dub

Makoto Niijima Fan Club President
Dec 23, 2018
3,992
11,886
113
A good list. Still not sure why people love Souls games and Elden Ring so much, but I have a strong aversion to medieval fantasy games and titles that are difficult by obtuseness, so I was always going to disagree with that one.

But other than that, there are some absolute bangers in there. Persona 5 Royal, FFVII Remake, Return to Monkey Island and Citizen Sleeper all deserve a (higher) place on that list.
 

yuraya

MetaMember
May 4, 2019
2,402
5,610
113
I also kind of forgot that Rogue Legacy 2 was in early access for like 1.5 years. I bought/played it for the first time when I got my Deck this year but I'm sure many got a good fill for the game in 2021 as well as 2022.

But yea 10 years ago that first game was a rare addicting indie gem by Steam standards. Nowadays games like this are basically flavor of the week. There is such a giant pool of competition in the indie scene.


A good list. Still not sure why people love Souls games and Elden Ring so much, but I have a strong aversion to medieval fantasy games and titles that are difficult by obtuseness, so I was always going to disagree with that one.

But other than that, there are some absolute bangers in there. Persona 5 Royal, FFVII Remake, Return to Monkey Island and Citizen Sleeper all deserve a (higher) place on that list.
To be fair Elden Ring is by far and away the easiest game FROM has made during this 2009-2022 Souls stretch. They added so many items to make the game easier and more accessible. There are some really powerful spirits in the game that can trivialize almost all the hard bosses. Also there is so many different directions to take if you get stuck in a hard place. The game is really well designed and a lot of the hard stuff is optional in the big picture outlook. I think its a big reason for the game both reviewing so well and selling so much.
 

hersheyfan

South Sea Islander
Jul 17, 2021
383
1,319
93
Manila, Philippines
steamcommunity.com
Great job on the list Le Pertti. :cat-heart-blob:
I'm sure everybody on here really appreciates the effort!

Regarding the list: the top 3 (Elden Ring, Vampire Survivors, and Neon White) are as perfect a top three as I could have hoped for.

Also really enjoying the Persona 5 Royal re-release (Persona is my favorite Atlus franchise), albeit I'm not playing the Steam version. But I couldnt in good faith give it a vote when this is my third time playing it (with each PT in separate years) - it felt too weird.