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Polygon's Best 50 Games of 2022

jigglet

Banned
In total, 24 switch games, 23 Playstation and 20 xbox (Including multiplats)
Top 10 has 5 xbox, 3 Playstation and 3 switch.

This generation has been trained to favor "equality" over merit. Of course the numbers were always going to be quite even.
 

chixdiggit

Member
Plague Tale: Requiem deserves much higher. One of the few games released this year that I actually bothered to finish.
 

OmegaSupreme

advanced basic bitch
Funny how we some people value this list if it validates their preferences. I didn't see the same energy in any other outlets top 10 or whatever. I wonder why?

Ponder Inspector Gadget GIF
 
I have been raging against too many lists this month, I don't have the energy to rage at this right now. But be sure I fucking hate it.
Thank you for your input. I feel I needed to read this to make sense of my life. I feel so much better now that I have Bragr in my life. I cancelled all my doctors appointments and took all my money from the bank. It’s just party on from now on. Thank you so much!
 
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Hope you enjoy it as much as I. Man I had fun with that game, I'll probably do another playthrough this winter cause my new TV has VRR, now I can go the 'no v-sync high frame rate Quality Mode' route. Game has a ton of visual options.
Yeah I remember seeing how it has like 6 options. Literally every single game ever made should ship with an uncapped framerate mode as an option. On future systems it'll shine, like the backwards compatible games from 360 are now.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Value for your time and quality of experience is pretty much the only metric to consider.

I really don’t know why you’re arguing. Would you pick Saints Row over the much cheaper Sifu? Which one is a better use of your time?

The point is that "quality of experience" isn't just about gameplay. I really should've stressed that when I did the price-point swap on Vampire Survivors and Elden Ring, I wanted people to actually imagine how these games would look and feel if their development budgets were swapped also.

The key being that some game ideas benefit more than others from a high quality presentation. So you can't just say that spending many times more money and man-hours "improving" a thing materially/technically is going to increase its entertainment value, but conversely you can't argue stripping down to a simpler retro-style from AAA isn't going to lessen the experience of a particular game. It really depends what the title is trying to do, and where the appeal is at.

What I'm saying is that (for comparison's sake) I feel its better and more representative not to try and rank every sort of game together. Keep them separate because we're not gaining any insight from comparing them directly.

An oil painting and a TV show can both be accurately described as pieces of contemporary commercial art, but we don't pit them against each other in a contest to see which is the "work of the year"! Not because one is definitively more "valuable" than the other, but because both have value in their own way and we gain nothing of substance from the comparison.

In the example I just gave which is (what you described as) a "better use of your time"?

I'm just making the argument that maybe we should re-calibrate from game of the year to games of the year, and avoid munging everything into a monolithic stack because all it does is devalue everything on it by its arbitraryness and lack of cohesive metrics.
 

Evil Calvin

Afraid of Boobs
#3 Curse of the Golden Idol ????

I listen to multiple videogame podcasts, peruse numerous videogame sites, own Steam Deck, PS5, XSX and Switch......and I have NEVER even heard of this game. I feel I am pretty locked in on game info and news and buy dozens of games a year and still never have heard of this game.....or even seen it in any of the consoles shops. No one on any podcast had ever even MENTIONED it.

I would be blown away if more than 2/10 people have heard of it .....1/10 played it. or maybe I am wrong.
 
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Evil Calvin

Afraid of Boobs
Fortnite should not even be on this list. It wasn't re-launched. It wasn't re-released with major DLC, it came out years ago and is just an ongoing game ....like dozens of other games. It's not a 2022 game.
 

mcjmetroid

Member
What is this thing about putting older games in current lists?

Fortnite is a game released years ago.. Why is it in a 2022 list?

I mean the best game of the year list is a fairly simple concept... how do people keep fucking it up?
 

OuterLimits

Member
How does Polygon's list-by-committee to generate clicks prove this was a bad year in gaming?

Better question - on what planet does a top 50 of 2022 not include MW2? And if Fortnite updates count, how did they leave off Cyberpunk (new gen)?

You make a good point about Fortnite. Hell, by their criteria, No Man's Sky could and probably should make the list since it got several significant updates and a Switch release that actually runs pretty well.
 
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What is this thing about putting older games in current lists?

Fortnite is a game released years ago.. Why is it in a 2022 list?

I mean the best game of the year list is a fairly simple concept... how do people keep fucking it up?
They're trying to challenge assumptions about what a game is. Their argument is that Fortnite is the biggest and most relevant game out, and when rating best games of 2022 the reality is that it's there for a great many people - regardless of traditional assumptions.

I think it's still dumb though, and would just go off release date like you suggest. But oh well, not my list.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
What is this thing about putting older games in current lists?

Fortnite is a game released years ago.. Why is it in a 2022 list?

I mean the best game of the year list is a fairly simple concept... how do people keep fucking it up?

It has received more updates, new content and tech leaps than most games released this year. They're titling it within the "game of the year" awards, not "game released in the year" award.

Some websites have an "ongoing game" category, some are just lumping it together in their main ones.
 

Lasha

Member
Pick any two games that are considered GOTY candidates but are in very different price brackets, for example this year lets have Vampire Survivors and Elden Ring.

One's $3 the other is $50 lets say.

So which can we fairly say is better in that state? What are our criteria? Value for money or audiovisual artistry?

Then as a thought experiment try swapping budgets and price points. What does a $50 Vampire Survivors and a $3 Elden Ring game look like? Now tell me which will stack up better against competing titles because -let's be honest- presentation is as important as gameplay in defining the experience. Nothing wrong with a retro-style presentation, but its monumentally unlikely to be as atmospheric or awe-inspiring as a modern AAA epic.

Not to mention the fact that if you tried to sell a game with primitive graphics at the same price point as a big AAA it'd probably not only get slammed by critics for not matching expected standards, but a lot of people wouldn't give it time-of-day for GOTY consideration in the first-place because of how it looked.

Point being, games are not all the same. Expectation drives reception so we can't take an apples vs apples approach.

Its stupid to try and munge everything together, why do we need a singular "best" GOTY? Why not multiple winners each in its own distinct category?

I get it, people want a horse to back so they can be a winner too, but my argument is that if the field is random is winning the race actually meaningful?
Yup.

Everyone has different criteria. And price is sometimes part of the equation, sometimes it's not. Expectations are another factor.

No site compares a BMW directly with a Honda Civic. They go into different car classes. Some sites probably give the Civic a higher score. But a BMW is clearly a better car if car sites compare them like they are competing models. A BMW is also probably triple the cost of a Civic.

I paid $5 for the digital version of One Deck Dungeon and plowed through 100% of the game. I'm positive I put in more time with it than Diablo 2 Resurrected. D2 is technically a better made game that cost $50 with 50x the production values, but I had more fun and time spent playing ODD.

Cars have objective differences such as displacement, handling, and fuel economy. Cars are also reviewed within the same context of driving on public roads. That's why car of the year is usually a sensible efficient vehicle even if objectively better performing expensive vehicles sweeping awards within their own category.

Games exist purely to entertain. Entertainment is subjective. I value gameplay above all else. My GotY list would differ from somebody who only plays cinematic games. Both of our lists would be equally valid. Breaking games into category by budget or price would be unnecessarily arbitrary. Better to just enjoy what you like instead of looking for ways to justify your tastes to other people through meaningless awards.
 

mcjmetroid

Member
It has received more updates, new content and tech leaps than most games released this year. They're titling it within the "game of the year" awards, not "game released in the year" award.

Some websites have an "ongoing game" category, some are just lumping it together in their main ones.
Ya I think it's bullshit TBH. Very amateur hour
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
GT7 launched with little to no issues and that’s very rare in the modern era also the cafe tells a story of a car manufacturer’s legacy, the game felt special.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Games exist purely to entertain. Entertainment is subjective. I value gameplay above all else. My GotY list would differ from somebody who only plays cinematic games. Both of our lists would be equally valid. Breaking games into category by budget or price would be unnecessarily arbitrary. Better to just enjoy what you like instead of looking for ways to justify your tastes to other people through meaningless awards.

To me best of the year lists are supposed to be celebratory, this I believe was the original intent.

Trouble is what they've turned into is bullshit "contests" between things that aren't actually competing with one another. So what we have is pretty much a worst of both worlds scenario where all they do is serve the peanut gallery, not the art-form.

That sucks in my opinion, and I don't think its defensible by any metric.
 
I blame Elden Ring for me having played less than 25 % of the games on this list. Elden Ring took months of my time.
I did however find time to 100 percent Tinykin. That game was a surprise amount of good.
 

jaysius

Banned
#3 Curse of the Golden Idol ????

I listen to multiple videogame podcasts, peruse numerous videogame sites, own Steam Deck, PS5, XSX and Switch......and I have NEVER even heard of this game. I feel I am pretty locked in on game info and news and buy dozens of games a year and still never have heard of this game.....or even seen it in any of the consoles shops. No one on any podcast had ever even MENTIONED it.

I would be blown away if more than 2/10 people have heard of it .....1/10 played it. or maybe I am wrong.
If you play the game you'll understand... if you like reading that is.

I had that impression too, but then I played it, and it's incredible in ways that only remind me of Obra Dinn.
 
50Immortality
49Poinpy
48Tinykin
47MHR: Sunbreak
46Serial Cleaners
45Ghostwire: Tokyo
44Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
43I Was A Teenage Exocolonist
42Rollerdrome
41Dorfromantik
40Horizon: Forbidden West
39Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
38Metal: Hellsinger
37Rogue Legacy 2
36Perfect Tides
35LoL Season 12
34Gran Turismo 7
33Splatoon 3
32A Plague Tale: Requiem
31Stray
30TMNT: Shredder's Revenge
29FF14: Endwalker
28Raft
27The Quarry
26Warhammer40K: Darktide
25NBA 2k23
24Plateup!
23Tunic
22Total War: Warhammer 3
21Disney Dreamlight Valley
20Xenoblade Chronicles 3
19Nobody Saves the World
18Cult of the Lamb
17Kirby and the Forgotten Land
16Return to Monkey Island
15Norco
14Mario + Rabbids: SoH
13Neon White
12Signalis
11Strange Horticulture
10God of War: Ragnarok
9Powerwash Simulator
8Pokemon Legends: Arceus
7Marvel Snap
6Pentiment
5Fortnite
4Vampire Survivors
3The Case of the Golden Idol
2Citizen Sleeper
1Elden Ring
Pentiment at number 6 is well-deserved!
 

Raven117

Gold Member
GT7 launched with little to no issues and that’s very rare in the modern era also the cafe tells a story of a car manufacturer’s legacy, the game felt special.
Yeah, but there were some other issues that took the enjoyment out of that cafe loop (which was really enjoyable).

Towards the end with those rolling starts...man...it just really soured me on the experience. Going from 20 to 1 in three laps (or 5) is just not realistic in racing and you have to drive like a manic to do it. Teaches bad habits and expectatiosn.
 

Ol'Scratch

Member
Weak insult and you still didn’t answer my question? Should the top 10 only be Sony games for you to be satisfied?

No wonder you think every outlet is biased or bought out if that’s your perception of « normal ».
The only Sony game I would put in the top 10 is God of War Ragnarok so again not sure why you are shining your console warrior hall pass so bright.
 

Lasha

Member
Yeah, but there were some other issues that took the enjoyment out of that cafe loop (which was really enjoyable).

Towards the end with those rolling starts...man...it just really soured me on the experience. Going from 20 to 1 in three laps (or 5) is just not realistic in racing and you have to drive like a manic to do it. Teaches bad habits and expectatiosn.

I spent a few years on iRacing getting used to races that were 20 laps at a minimum. Console racing feels awful by comparison since cheating and gaming the AI is required to win. GT7 and FH5 both frustrated the shit out of me. I always win but I never feel good doing it.
 

Raven117

Gold Member
I spent a few years on iRacing getting used to races that were 20 laps at a minimum. Console racing feels awful by comparison since cheating and gaming the AI is required to win. GT7 and FH5 both frustrated the shit out of me. I always win but I never feel good doing it.
Yup. This right here.
 
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