This year was full of great games. However, as usual, my game time was split between a fair amount of different ones that didn’t have much connectivity between them. I thought I’d do a personal top five games of the year – not necessarily by how much I enjoyed them, because overall they’re all very close.
There’s a theme with most of the games, which is that most of them were released in previous years – some many years ago.
Number 5 – Fortnite
This is something I never thought I would ever write, which is that Fortnite is in my top games of the year. I’ve only recently started playing it in December, but it’s already been consuming most of my time and mind space.
My brother started playing it with his kid and told me how much they were enjoying it, so I thought I’d give it a try. He showed me the ropes, and since then I’ve been playing daily and as of writing this I’ve gotten two solo victories, one duo victory, and one squad victory.
Earlier in the year, Overwatch was in the running for one of my favourite games of the year. However, the horrible monetization strategy that Blizzard has decided to go with took away the enjoyment that I once had. I was having a great time with my friends, but now it’s more of a chore than an enjoyable time. Grinding out levels to unlock a hero isn’t much fun.
Fortnite does the battle pass really well. The initial buy-in lasts for the entire three month long season, and through it you are able to earn enough premium currency to be able to buy the next season’s battle pass. I did a one-time purchase to get this first battle pass, and I’ve already earned more than enough to cover the next season.
Plus, everything is cosmetic. Anything unlocked that has an effect on gameplay is done through gameplay.
Number 4 – Factorio
Factorio really can be a drug. There were many times when I was playing this that my partner would have to remind me of what time it was, and that I should be going to bed to ensure that I didn’t stay up all night playing it. Once I get into a groove, it’s quite hard to break out of it.
I’ve played the game before, but this year I really got into it. I did a good two to three month stretch of having it as my primary game, and couldn’t wait to get back to it. It truly is a wonderful thing when everything links up perfectly to do exactly what you want it to. It’s also a wonderful thing when everything doesn’t do what you want it to, and then you spend hours fixing it, and then when it’s finally fixed… quite amazing.
My favourite memories of the game are doing it multiplayer with friends. I have a couple separate groups of friends who enjoy the game, and it’s very interesting to see how each of them do things similarly but not quite the same.
The game has been out for a long time, and the developers are working on an expansion. They’re very supportive of the modding community, which helps breathe fresh life into the game when things can feel similar.
Number 3 – God of War (2018)
When the hype from God of War: Ragnarok was ramping up, I figured that I should finally try to finish God of War from 2018. I had purchased it a number of years ago, got a short way into the game, but fell off quickly. It ended up that I got bored less than 15 minutes before all the action started up (after the first big story battle).
This game deserved all of the Game of the Year awards that it earned.
There is so much to say about the game, but at this point it’s all been said. The storytelling is fantastic, the voice acting is spectacular, the gameplay is fluid, the challenges are the perfect difficulty, and I could go on about everything that I remember.
As a parent, one of my favourite parts was seeing Kratos become more of a Dad over the course of the game. Seeing him and Atreus have difficulties to begin with, and then figuring things out and becoming closer was a very special thing. It wasn’t a quick journey for the both of them, and it wasn’t a quick change in Kratos. Once again, very well written relationship between the two of them.
Also, there’s a spot where Atreus acts like an entitled jerk and Kratos makes sure he knows it. That was entertaining.
Number 2 – Vampire Survivors
One of the best games that has given me some of the best enjoyment this year has cost less than $10 CAD. Vampire Survivors came out in early access at the end of 2021, but really picked up steam in early 2022. It’s a pixelated top-down “bullet hell” game where you survive a bunch of waves of things trying to kill you, and you’re trying to last the length of the stage, usually 30 minutes. Through each run you earn currency to unlock new powerups, new characters, and new benefits for yourself if you want to use them.
There are so many aspects of this game that make it fun. First and foremost, it embodies the “easy to learn, hard to master” ideology. The gradual increase in power from the unlockable powerups feel so great when you get them – the first time that I actually beat a stage felt incredibly satisfying. There are so many secret characters, weapons, and stages that there are many hours of playtime just to get those done. Even after all of that, it’s just a lot of fun to do new and fun combinations to see what comes out of it.
Near the end of the a normal run these days, I can barely see anything on my screen because of all the particle effects and numbers going on. It’s great.
Number 1 – Final Fantasy XIV
Final Fantasy XIV has been my new MMO home, since deciding to leave World of Warcraft during the middle of the Shadowlands expansion in late 2021. I had tried playing it at some point a number of years ago, but after finally getting burnt out of WoW and needing something different, a friend convinced me to give FFXIV another try.
I didn’t realize that an MMORPG could tell such an amazing story. People said how good it was, but after experiencing it myself, I’m still a bit blown away.
The one caveat is that it starts with a low and long burn in the original content (A Realm Reborn), which goes up until level 50. It takes a while, but the story is still good throughout that, and sets up an amazing climax at the end which leads into the first expansion of Heavensward. After that, it just keeps getting better and better. Somehow, each expansion outshines the previous (with the exception of Stormblood – I’d say that it’s not better than Heavensward, but at least the same level), and kept me wanting more and more.
I’ve cried during certain scenes in video games before, but this one kept its hands on my heartstrings and was yanking them all over the place. I cried, I laughed, I grew to love these characters throughout their journeys. All while making my character the centre, and having such an intricate story wrapped around them all.
I don’t want to give away any story spoilers, as it is truly something that is best experienced for the first time while playing.
On a technical standpoint, the main part that has me enjoying this more than any MMO before it is the Armoury system – allowing one character to be any job (class) in the game. I don’t need to make alternate characters to experience different roles, so I don’t need to worry about losing any mounts, achievements, money, or whatever else. This has made such a huge difference, as I’m investing my time into my character and seeing him grow.
The part that keeps me playing is the community. I’m in a small guild that isn’t very active at the moment, but I have yet to go into a random group that is toxic. I know that they exist, but somehow they are very few and far between. I leveled up as a healer, and everyone was so great to help me learn best practices and ways to improve my skills as I went. I never once left a group mad because of how I was treated.
There’s something special about FFXIV and the community it fosters. It’s wonderful.
In conclusion
Once again, this year has had a great selection of games to play. They all hit different areas of what I enjoy, and I’m very curious to see how many I’ll still be playing at the end of next year. There are a number of games set to release in 2023 that look fantastic, and I can’t wait to enjoy them.
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