Below you’ll find our top 24 games of 2022, as voted for by the RPS editorial team.
I then totted up all the votes, and the resulting list is what you see before you.
Without further ado, though, welcome to our 24 Game Of The Year picks for 2022.
And hot damn,it really was.
It’s intensely satisfying stuff, and easily one of the most enjoyablestrategy gamesI’ve played all year.
A large part of that is down to its brilliant Warp Surges.
So go on, surprise yourself.
23. Who’s Lila?
Alice0:Who’s Lila?was such a surprise for me.
That’s an eyecatching bit of fun, that.
Probably a novelty, yeah?
What so delighted me is that not only is Who’s Lila?
It’s a detective game.
A girl from our school is missing and everyone thinks we did something to her.
Probably should look into that.
Travel about town, search for clues, and chat to people.
It’s also a metaphysical horror game.
I’ll not say much about that but I really enjoyed it.
I like the happy accidents of dragging William’s face around.
In all honesty, I suspect most players turned to Google at some point.
Rachel:I’m still struggling to understand exactly what happened in Who’s Lila?
but I’ll never forget its creepy face contortion mini-game.
Controlling the character’s facial expressions in replacement of choosing dialogue options is both incredibly clever and incredibly creepy.
Like you’re manipulating the fleshy husk of a human being.
Playing Who’s Lila?
It was during one such period that, splashing about in a sea ofboring, I played Saturnalia.
It was like an angel throwing me a life jacket and saying “video games aregood”.
Exploring is easier said than done, though because there’s no HUD map or quest markers.
Like real life used to be.
It blooms in unreal neon shades that add colour to the dark, black and white alleyways of Gravoi.
It is never not a hostile space to exist in.
You only get caught because you get lost, and can’t find anywhere to hide.
You’re only in danger because the locals won’t help.
They’re so resistant to change that people have died, and will continue to.
In more ways than one.
It’s a metaphor, is what I’m saying.
And it’s bloody good.
So what I would actually like is to run a shop likeStrange Horticulture.
Which of these plants will open a lock?
There’s a deeper mystery, too, but what I most loved about Strange Horticulture was that tactility.
What a lovely, and slightly sinister shopkeeper to be.
Then I remembered that my partner is just a big softie when it comes to cats.
I still did it every time, though, because you should be nice to Hellebore.
Now remember: it’s scritches for Hellebore,thenring the bell.
In case you’re able to’t tell, I really like it.
Chinatown Detective Agency knows it exists in the glistening, connected future, and just lets you Google stuff.
Thing is, this feels like genuine research a lot of the time.
CDA can I call you CDA?
slots neatly in amongst them, like a Wordle on the third go.
It feels like glimpsing a possible future.
What a lovely, heartwarming recommendation at Christmastime, eh?
On the flip side, you do get to travel and see the world while you’re working.
The easiest way to summarise CDA is Carmen Sandiego 2037, but that obscures its depths.
Looking for something to occupy your noggin?
I know a little business in Singapore that’d be glad to have you aboard.
Just keep your nose clean.
Alice Bee:I want to add a couple of points to everything CJ has raised here.
The first is that Chinatown Detective agency looks and sounds fantastic.
The different pixelated backdrops, meanwhile, are gorgeous, and cities look different during day or night.
It’s a detail I appreciated.
