I'll keep these brief because I am in Great Pain and would like very much to go lie down.

Part 1: My 2022 GOTY

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (PS5)

This gloriously stupid PS3-ass game captured my heart completely. It helps that I played it right after completing the original Final Fantasy, which made everything click in very specific ways. I've grown increasingly disillusioned with The Business of big games and their design trends year after year, and having a game this big and loud and stupid be delivered with this much heart and with such a distinct lack of self awareness just . . . I dunno, it spoke to me, man. Time to go wild, Jed.

Part 2: Other Games That Actually Released In 2022

• Lunacid (PC) - The only King's Field/Shadow Tower-like I've played that actually understands what those games do and why they resonate with sickos like me. Impeccable design, and scored by ThorHighHeels, who does not miss.
• Valkyrie Elysium (PS5) - My friend Tripp asked me if I'd recommend this. I asked him whether he likes good games, or cool games. It rules that Square is making a bunch of goofy mid-budget PS2/PS3 games again. The world needed this. I needed this. Valkyrie Elysium will be no one's favorite game, but it sure is a warm blanket that just gets better and better as you go.
• Elden Ring (PS5) - Played through this entirely in co-op with my friend Marc Straight, as is our tradition with the series. I could not get over how much this game just kept giving and giving. It's got some harder-to-define elements that are already aging weirdly and compare somewhat unfavorably to the best of From's previous third person action efforts, but I was in a state of near constant delight for all the ~120 hours or so we played of it.
• Neon White (PC) I found all the visual novel stuff to be extremely grating so I skipped all that, but wow I feel like this is a game I've been wanting to exist for as long as I can remember. It's first-person Tony Hawk. Bless.
• Hyper Gunsport (PC) - Full disclosure, I did some testing work on this one. All I'll say is that Hyper Gunsport is the true successor to Windjammers. If that speaks to you, then this game is very sincerely For You. I can't recommend it highly enough.
• Gloomwood (PC) - Still in early access, I suppose, but I've been patiently watching this game for years and now that it's finally out in some capacity and I can poke around at it, I'm fully unsurprised at how much I love it. Everything I wanted and more.
• Destiny 2: The Witch Queen (PC) - I work at Bungie, and while I no longer work specifically on Destiny, I did work on TWQ. But man, that's a damn fine Bungie shooter campaign right there.
• Gran Turismo 7 (PS5) - I understand the issues people have with GT7 regarding the whole macrotransactions thing and the in-game economy being all weird, but dude I play these games to take cheapo 90s JDM commuters around race tracks at redlined RPMs and I had the time of my life doing that in GT7 and will continue to do so.
• Rollerdrome (PS5) - Shocked at how cleanly 70s the aesthetic turned out to be, they really nailed the simplicity of that. Rollerdrome was a game I learned of the day of its release, and purchased instantly. I don't remember if I finished it or not, but I had an incredible time with the beautiful fluidity and precision of it. More games like this, please.
• Sniper Elite 5 (PC) - I described this once as Junk Food Stealth, but that's disingenuous. It's actually got a lot of proverbial meat on its digital bones. The invasion mechanic is brilliant. Absolutely adored the Hitman elements they've worked into the series. SE5 is so good that I can't go back to the previous games now.
• Hyper Demon (PC) - Hahahaha dude, what.

Part 3: Old Games That I Finally Got Around To In 2022

• Panzer Dragoon Saga (Polymega) - Unbelievable monument of artistic expression. Now that I've had the better part of a year to think on it, this is very probably the best RPG I've ever played. Certainly my favorite. I've never seen anything like this and I doubt very much that I ever will again.
• Enemy Zero (Polymega) - WARP and Kenji Eno and Michael Nyman and the Sega Saturn are an unbeatable combination. Simple as that.
• Silent Hill 2 (PS2) - WOW. Never have so many people been Correct about a game. A staggering work of art.
• Final Fantasy (PSP) - I played through a good chunk on NES and then the entire thing on PSP and I had an absolute blast. An excellent game by all accounts.
• Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS) - One of the best games I played all year, any year. Very slow start but once the story picked up and I started understanding the nuances to combat that separated this from Nocturne, I was in deep. The writing in the English localization is so good, I think I laughed even harder playing through SMT IV than I did in even Yakuza 0. The story itself is whatever. But that's SMT. You're not there for the overarching plot so much as the navelgazing ruminations on thematic elements of the human experience and a brilliantly expressive combat system. Every single boss fight was so damn fun and I never wanted them to end.
• Another World (PS5) - Finally got around to this one this year and I'm glad I did. It's strange. I don't love the trial and error spin on classic adventure game puzzle logic, but something about it remained so compelling. I think it's the way the game is so acutely aware of its own physicality and internal logic that made it feel tangible.
• The Order: 1886 (PS5) - is a phenomenally pretty game. That's all I've got to say.
• Max Payne 2 (PC) - Played this while whacked out on goofballs (pain meds) and it's the first time I've enjoyed a Remedy game with no caveats or qualifications. Just a real fun time.
• Deus Ex (PC) - I kept putting this off for years and years because I was scared I would like it too much. And let me tell ya folks, I was right.
• Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC) - This one's pretty good, too!
• Baroque (Polymega) - Unbelievably stoked that I can finally play this in a language I can read! I do love it, but the roguelike run-based nature really holds back the best parts of it for me and limits how deep I actually want to get with it.
• Tactics Ogre: Reborn (PS5) - Holy heck, what a consistently compelling TRPG. I can't put this one down. The moment to moment stuff is so fun.
• Shenmue II (PS5) - Still want to go back and finish this. Shenmue is a game about a big dumb guy just hanging out in a cozy little community with a bunch of head-empty weirdos and occasional Crime Dudes, and that owns.
• Battlefield 2042 (PC) - I've been really in the mood for a large scale multiplayer FPS lately. I really wish anyone was still playing the original Call of Duty online but that ain't happenin'. This was on game pass so I gave it a spin, and have been continuing to give it a spin for a good dozen hours or so. Not remotely interested in battle passes or whatever the kids are calling em these days, and I don't really know why everyone seems to be upset about this all over the internet, but I'm having a lot of fun doing classic goofy-ass Battlefield shit.
• Driver: San Francisco (Xbox Series X) - I have such a weird relationship with the Driver series. Reflections' car-handling model is one of the best of all time, imo. I really love how wildly over-ambitious and broken Driv3r is. But I can't get behind how unforgiving and cruel these games can be. San Francisco might swing a bit too hard in the other direction, becoming too easy, but at least it does it with a big dumb goofy grin plastered across its face while being abundantly ridiculous.
• Midnight Club LA Remix (Xbox Series X) - Hey did you know this game is really good? Yeah, turns out.
• Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness (N64) - I'm an apologist for the first four 3D Castlevania games, admittedly, but this one is head and shoulders above the other three. Genuinely a fantastic video game, and one of the few reasons to own an N64.
• Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (PC) - Finally got around to this one earlier this year. I don't know that I have a lot to say beyond weeping because they just stopped making them after this and I need more of that good good red storm clance in my life.
• Far Cry (PC) - It's no Far Cry 2 (but really, what is), but the first third or so before you get to the tri-gens is some of the best wide-linear first person shootin' on the personal computer. Plus, the color palette on a CRT is so juicy it will make you want to drink ocean water.
• Brigand: Oaxaca (PC) - Just incredible. Super janky mostly-by-one-person open-ish world FO:NV-like imsim FPS set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland in Mexico that looks like it was made for the earliest 3D accelerator cards. I love it.

Part 4: Old Games That I Replayed Or Revisited In 2022

• Crisis Core: Reunion (PS5) - The new voice acting clashes really hard, but everything else they did to update this classic is quite welcome, imo. Game still feels incredible in the hands, maybe even more so.
• Metal Gear Ac!d 2 (PSP) - Played through this again on PSP for the first time since its release. It's only gotten better with age. I desperately need a new one of these. The first one pales in comparison, but MGA2 is magnificent.
• Quake RTX (PC) - Hey, they added path tracing to Quake, a perfect video game. Great excuse to play through it again, and play some of my friends' levels.
• Quake II RTX (PC) - They added RTX to Quake II a while ago but I played through most of it again this year. Quake II gets some flak for whatever reason, but I like it a lot. It has but two crucial flaws: the music, and the lack of muzzle flashes. Wish the muzzle flash thing could be solved, that would look great in RTX. As for the music, I modded it to replace the soundtrack with my friend Marc Straight's album "I AM VENOM" which fits perfectly. I can't imagine the game any other way now. It's incredible.
• DOOM 64 (PS5) - One of the best and most creatively interesting DOOM games, marred by the clunky password system and N64 controller no longer. Thank you, Nightdive.
• Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Xbox Series X) - One of my longtime favorites. Happy to confirm it's still a masterpiece.
• Splinter Cell: Double Agent - 6th Gen Version (Xbox Series X) - Still way better than the 360 version, which was pretty good in its own right.
• Armored Core: For Answer (Xbox 360) - Replayed real quick after the AC6 announcement and man, this game is still incredibly special.
• Brutal DOOM RTX - I got deeper and deeper into weird transformative mods for DOOM this year, including some weird pathtracing stuff! DOOM never ends, and the more it changes, the more it stays the same. When people say "the beautiful game", they're talking about DOOM.
• Panzer Dragoon Remaster (PS5) - Much better now that it's not being held back by the Switch, but I still don't recommend it over the original.
• Panzer Dragoon Zwei (Saturn) - Finally got a CIB US copy this year. Still a masterpiece, one of the greatest action games ever made.
• Way too many STGs to name - Dude I played so many shmups this year. Mostly on Genesis and PC.
• Entire Souls series again (PS5) - Surprising no one. Co-op'd em with Marc.
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Master Quest (3DS) - I'd kind of fallen out of love with OoT over the years. This remedied that. First time playing the Master Quest, and frankly I think it's just a better game? The puzzles and dungeons are more interesting this way.
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 (PS5) 100%'d both of these as Rodney Mullen in one sitting each. Loved this remaster when it came out, love it even more at 120fps on PS5 now lol.
• Klonoa: Phantasy Reverie Series (PS5) - I don't know how to talk about Klonoa without getting all emotional. Simply wonderful, transcendent games. Very dear to my heart.
• Pocky & Rocky: Reshrined (PS5) - Warms the heart, it does. An excellent study in design.
• DOOM 3 (PC) - Played through again with an upgraded texture pack on my beefed out XP machine, and yeah, this is still one of the best dungeon crawlers around. Damn it I love DOOM 3 so much, dude.
• Quake 4 (PC) - Same story here, Quake 4 is more or less DOOM 3: 2 but bigger and faster and louder. Always a joy to revisit.
• Quake Live (PC) - Not a ton of folks playing these days, but those who are there are super nice and fun to hang out with. Just a good, chill time.
• Halo Infinite (Xbox Series X) - Man I've gotten weirdly good at Tactical Slayer. Still playing that with some regularity. The new Forge stuff seems promising too!
• Ace Combats 4 and 6 (PS2 and Xbox Series X, respectively) - Went back to my old save files to wrap these up this year and man, with a few rare exceptions, Ace Combat is always an immaculate experience.
• Ridge Racer 6 (Xbox Series X) - Realized this was on back-compat, so I spent a lot of time with RR6 for the first time this year. I mean, I've played it plenty before, but it always felt like a rough draft for RR7. Using new hardware as an excuse to really dedicate some time and attention to it was a lot of fun, though!
• Portal RTX (PC) - Portal's still Portal, but now it's extremely pretty and hardware intensive!
• Half-Life: Black Mesa (PC) - Still slowly picking away at this. I think what they were able to do with Half-Life is nothing short of fascinating.
• Minecraft RTX (PC) - Still maybe the prettiest RTX game? Been playing this off and on with family since it came out to keep in touch throughout the pandemic.
• Bullet Witch (PC) - Realized this Cavia classic had a Steam release. All the lovely jank is still intact, but now it doesn't give me a carsick feeling from framerate tanks. Hell yeah, Bullet Witch. Play Bullet Witch.
• Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Wii) - Still the best Prime game, but the Wii motion controls still suck the stars from the sky.

Part 5: Games Released In 2022 That I Haven't Gotten To Yet But Am Looking Forward To Getting Around To In The Near Future

Part 6: Retro Revival Shoutouts

• Atari 50 / Jaguar - Dude I bought a Jaguar this year! Right around the time Atari 50 came out, which I've spent a ton of time with. I made a post about it already, but Atari 50 feels like the most important release this year, actually. As for the Jag, I'm glad to finally have my hands on one. What a fascinatingly strange piece of hardware. Currently have a controller out getting a rotary mod for Tempest 2000. Can't wait for that!
• Namco Museum: Encore - I finally got that big-ass Japan-only Namco Museum box set for the PS1 and I'm enamored with it. This post is already getting too long but that was one of my favorite game experiences this year, just deep diving back into all of those discs and exploring those beautiful low-poly museums again. Just lovely.
• PSVR - I got one of these a few months ago! I still get sick pretty easily in VR but I'm trying stuff out slowly but surely! Hard to use it when the kids are awake, what with all the wires everywhere, and the lenses keep fogging up and the damn thing won't stay on my face properly and it keeps drifting, but still! Cockpit-based games like Gran Turismo Sport, Star Wars Squadrons, WipEout Omega Collection, Zone of the Enders 2, Ace Combat 7, etc. all work smoothly without any VR sickness for me, and that's been incredible.
• Xbox Insignia - Original Xbox Live is BACK! Insignia has been the most powerful surprise this year. Being able to play all these games online as originally intended for the very first time has been nothing short of revelatory. I'm absolutely enamored with it. Please come join the party!

All right, I guaran-damn-tee I missed some cool stuff I'd love to talk about, but I'm going to cut this off for now! Thank you so much, and happy new year!