I knew Sam Barlow was special when I played Her Story, but I never expected he'd top it. This game made my jaw drop. Immortality is about an actress named Marissa Marcel, who worked on three unreleased movies in three different decades. She disappeared after her work on the third movie, and the purpose of the game is ostensibly to figure out what happened to her. I say "ostensibly", because while I was, of course, very curious to solve that mystery, it's really not the most interesting aspect of what's going on. The game works by watching behind-the-scenes clips of the movies being made, from chemistry tests to location scouting to table-reads to scenes being filmed. If you click on something within a clip, it will go find a match in another clip. So you might, for example, click on an apple in a scene shot in the 1960s, and be taken to a bowl of apples in a scene in the 1990s. As you click around, you begin to piece together the three stories of the movies, as well as the overall story of Marissa Marcel. And that's just the surface. I won't even get into the mysteries within the mysteries. It was absolutely brilliant, and not only from a gaming perspective. Once I was done with the gameplay, I actually just sat down and watched all of the clips again, beginning to end. Though it can be tough to recommend a game to others in which you just click around watching fake movies, for me, this game was, in a word, enthralling.
Now, let's get to those other eight, because they certainly deserve their time in the spotlight as well:
2) The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story: If Immortality was the best right-brained mystery game of the year, this one was far and away the best one for left-brained mystery solving. It also happens to contain multiple stories spanning decades, but instead of soaking in a game of pure atmosphere and story like Immortality, this game is about sifting through clues and using your reasoning, both deductive and inductive, to solve each case and then how they weave together into one overarching puzzle. It's beautifully-shot, well-written, impeccably-performed, and was an absolute joy to play.
3) Marvel: Midnight Suns: I'm told this is very similar to the XCOM series of games, but I never played those, so this style is new to me. At its core, it's a comic book story just like any other. You're a person trying to fight a demonic presence that's attempting to take over the world, and you have a bunch of famous Marvel characters on your team to help out. Sounds pretty standard, right? It probably would be if the gameplay weren't so frigging engaging. Each character has a customizable deck of cards that improves over time, and those cards (along with some environmental attacks) are used to battle enemies. But aside from that, you're also crafting cards and items, cultivating friendships with your teammates, solving the little mysteries of the creepy Abbey you inhabit, and of course, snuggling with your hellhound. Thankfully, the battles are turn-based, so it's not about hysterical button-mashing chaos. It rewards strategic thinking, while still lighting up the primal part of your brain that loves it when Spider-Man fwips into a Hydra minion.
4) Pentiment: It's nervy of me to even include this game, let alone put it so high on the list, because really, I just started playing it. And it's completely hooked me. Once again, it's a mystery game of sorts (sense a theme?), only this time, you're an artist in 16th century Bavaria who's trying to get your mentor off the hook for a murder, using the tried and true investigative technique of: Gossiping with your neighbors. You might talk to them about God or taxes or how so-and-so isn't a valuable member of the community. Maybe you'll question them over a simple meal on the farm, or join the ladies' wool-spinning bee, but whatever you do, do it fast, because time is against you. The art style is a big part of why this game works. For instance, the written dialogue shines with wet ink before drying into the parchment. But also, it does a terrific job of challenging the player of learning all they can, while in an oppressive religious environment, always knowing that people are hiding secrets that have nothing to do with murder.
5) Strange Horticulture: Oh, hey! Another mystery game! I played this one before any of the others on this list, and was convinced at the time that it was going to be #1, so it coming in fifth place shows just how terrific games were this year. This one is also drenched in atmosphere, even as you barely ever leave the single room of the plant shop you run. People show up with all sorts of requests. They want to sleep better. They want to attract the attention of someone they like. They want to...curse their enemies. They want to............face an ancient evil that lives in the forest? Your plants can help with all of these requests, but which plant will fit the bill? And should you help your customers, or are there ones you'd rather circumvent? Who keeps sending mysterious notes for you to seek out new plants in the wild? Is the local witch a friend or foe? This game may test your logical deduction skills, but it also asks you to go with your gut. It's up to you not only to find the right plant, but to decide what is actually right.
6) NORCO: For all the games above, honing in on solutions to the puzzles presented brings a burst of accomplishment. Even if the premise is murder, you're left with a sense of things moving in a positive direction. But not all terrific games are feel-good. Hell, my favorite game of 2020 was all about embracing sadness. And this one, in which you play a woman who has returned to a fictionalized, futuristic version of the real town of Norco, Louisiana after her mother's death to settle affairs, is definitely not feel-good. The town is dominated by refineries, and the entire community is afflicted by urban decay. Everyone you meet, even if they're relatively well-off, is mired in depression and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Finding out what happened with your mother and where your shiftless brother has wound up is no easy feat, as everyone is too wrapped up in their own problems to lend you a hand. It's a fascinating narrative, and the retro art style really sells its setting.
7) Disney: Dreamlight Valley: OK, this is a silly pick, but I can't deny that many, many hours of 2022 were spent in Dreamlight Valley. This game is basically what would happen if you smashed Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, and The Sims into one game, populated by Disney characters. It's extremely chill. You walk around, talking to folks like Ariel and Remy. You farm. You cook. You give out presents. You go on quests for your friends. You decorate your home. Is it a ground-breaking achievement in the craft of video games? No. But if you need to de-stress after a long day of work, hopping into this game and spending some time collecting blueberries so you can bake Elsa a pie certainly does the trick.
8) Stray: I'll admit up front; I'm a dog person. But even I was not immune to the charms of this game, in which you play as a curious cat in a post-human world, attempting to find their way back home with the help of some polite robots. As you navigate the detritus left behind after the apocalypse, and do your best to avoid the critters that brought about this extinction, there's a sense of nostalgia about humans, and the decent run that they had. Plus, with the touch of a button, you can purr and make your controller rumble pleasantly.
9) Elden Ring: This style of game is generally not my speed. I had no interest in playing other popular games that FromSoftware produced (Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, etc.), mostly due to their inherent difficulty. There was some terrific animation, but I watched others play, getting one-shot by a wandering monster or falling off a hidden ledge and losing all their progress. Thanks, I hate it. So while I didn't come close to even getting to the halfway point of this game before I abandoned it, the fact that I put any time into it at all speaks volumes about how well-made it is. It's that fascinating. The story is incredibly sparse, and the dangers that await you in every part of the map are no less frustrating than they appeared in those earlier games. However, the art is gorgeous, and I have to grudgingly admit that trying to get past a valley of giants with a combination of spellcasting, guzzling healing potions, and running my ass off was a lot of fun.
Those are just the standouts from 2022! There were a ton of other video games that were solid, or that were excellent, but that were released in previous years. Here's a quick list of other games that are worth your time:
Overboard!
Lucifer Within Us
Cyberpunk 2077
Life is Strange: True Colors: Wavelengths
Solasta: The Lost Valley
Alt-Frequencies
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
Tick Tock: A Tale for Two
Potion Craft
Unpacking
And a couple of others, which I won't say much about, because I'm either just getting started (A Little to the Left), or that, um...weren't good (Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus?). There was also a ton of fun had with tabletop games this year. Mostly it was the reliable standards (D&D, Arkham Horror LCG), but thanks to the holidays, I'm starting to delve into some intriguing new ones as well (The King's Dilemma, Cthulhu: Death May Die).
All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better year, and I can only hope that the trend continues. Happy gaming! Well, unless you're playing NORCO.
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