Arduboy Mini, the new version of this tiny video game console 2:01
(CNN Spanish) --
2022 has been a fertile year for excellent-level video game launches both in the field of large productions and in the independent scene.
To understand and distill what the video game industry has given of itself this year, at CNN en Español we have compiled the 10 video games that we liked the most from 2022. To concentrate on a list of 10, there are omissions of titles that could well have a place in a more extensive ranking, such as Norco, Neon White or Sifu.
The Game Awards 2022: These are all the winners for the best video games of the year
10. Citizen Sleeper
Citizen Sleeper captivates from the first moment thanks to magnificent writing.
An excellent role-playing game that, through conversations, descriptions and decisions, creates a gloomy cyberpunk atmosphere.
A title capable of skilfully generating moments of tension and climax thanks to the various ramifications of its stories and the turn system it has.
The player embodies a person whose soul has been encapsulated in a robotic being and must survive in a space station where the consequences of capitalism alienate the inhabitants of said place through a false illusion of hope.
The title is replayable but it is difficult to evoke the sensations of the first time in subsequent games.
advertising
9.Tunic
Combining Zelda and Dark Souls but with its own idiosyncrasies: that is Tunic, another of the great independent titles of 2022. Starring a fox, the game captivates with its polygonal graphics and for what it lets you intuit as soon as you start it: it is full of secrets around almost any corner, it's challenging and there's more to it than meets the eye.
It is exquisite in terms of the sensation of evolution and surprise.
Special mention to the careful and nostalgic instruction manual that it incorporates that contains basic information to play, the history and the background of its world.
8. I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
One of the 2022 titles that is most worth replaying for what it proposes in its playable loop in which altering events is key.
A decision-making RPG that reflects on environmentalism, colonization and humanity itself.
Outstanding in narrative by integrating the different mechanics and in writing, in it there are elements of
life simulator
,
visual novel
and card game.
Everything contributes to the fact that the game invites you to replay it several times to obtain key information about what is happening and the protagonists.
It is a title that invites you to reflect on issues such as identity formation in adolescence to the implications of a genocide for colonialist desires.
7. Return to Monkey Island
31 years later, the original team (Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman) that created the Monkey Island graphic adventure saga met again to launch a direct sequel to the mythical Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge released in 1991. The result was a magnificent surprise that he overcame the challenge of fighting nostalgia and bringing the saga up to date.
Return to Monkey Island maintains the original essence in its systems and the humor in its characters, puzzles and situations and shines when it comes to showing the evolution of its characters and themes.
Its creators have matured and now there is a different vital perspective in their work that is especially food for those who grew up with it.
6. Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Contemporary and at the same time with the aroma of a classic Japanese role-playing game.
One of those adventures that, even knowing that it lasts dozens of hours (and can easily reach hundreds) invites you to fully immerse yourself in it.
He achieves it thanks to an emotional story with epic moments and characters with whom it is easy to empathize;
a huge open world full of monsters to face and a dynamic combat system with possibilities for experimentation.
All these elements have their own imperfections, but such is the dimension of what it offers and the impressive artistic and technical design that makes it one of the essentials of the year, of the genre and of Nintendo Switch.
5. The Case of the Golden Idol
One of the best designed works of the year.
A mystery game in which you have to discover the murderer of different cases that occur in the eighteenth century around a family and a secret society.
Fantastically set thanks to its pixel-art graphics and its music.
Through different scenes you have to observe elements that unlock words with which to complete sentences that allow you to decipher what happened.
All the chapters are interconnected and tell a story with characters in common throughout the years.
It is subtle, original in its puzzles and bold in making the player figure out what happened.
A title that can be played even by the least regular videogames.
4. Vampire Survivors
One of the surprises that could perfectly be the game of the year for the excellent of its proposal.
Simple in its approach but exceptionally designed in terms of gameplay to be challenging and accessible.
In it you only have to move a character who automatically attacks hordes of thousands of enemies.
The goal is to survive as long as possible while getting various upgrades.
As simple and classic to explain as it is intelligent and good.
It will have many imitators.
3. God of War Ragnarok
Its first two hours are among the best presentations of any video game.
An example of how to set the tone, the action and the changes that are occurring.
Still with a certain sense of continuity, Ragnarok, as a sequel to God of War 2018, improves on its predecessor where it faltered (exploration, final bosses and combat) and goes a step further in the narrative.
It is a work obsessed with overwhelming the technical and talking about loss, the development of an identity and parent-child relationships.
Although it cannot be perfect in tone or in what it wants to convey, it is perhaps one of the masterpieces of contemporary video games.
The perfect example of a big budget game.
Bigger, technically superlative and better.
2. Immortality
Immortality is brilliant, moving and haunting.
Also essential to know the possibilities of the video game as a medium.
"What happened to Marissa Marcel?" asks the game to make the player investigate what happened to this actress who disappeared after working on three films that never saw the light of day.
A game that talks about cinema, Hollywood and the objectification of actresses in which you have to watch hundreds of live action video clips from the three films.
The aesthetic can deceive and alienate those who think that this is a movie and not a video game.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Immortality demands constant handling.
Only by manipulating and exploring the elements of each clip can you discover what the movies are about, what happened to Marissa Marcel, and something much better and more sinister: blood-curdling moments that will remain etched on your retina.
1.Elden Ring
Elden Ring is the culmination of the Japanese studio FromSoftware creating role-playing and action video games in the already highly acclaimed and popular Soulsborne style.
The game had the challenge of taking the action seen in other company titles to the open world, integrating it into the narrative and giving it a playable meaning.
And he achieved it with a work as excellent as it was vast and ambitious.
His world is full of details, stories, surprises and breathtaking designs.
Elden Ring is an industry milestone.
Its success shows that Souls is no longer a niche and its influence (if that of its predecessors was not enough) will continue to mark the industry.
And Hidetaka Miyazaki, its creator, is already a sacred author of the medium, a living legend.
Video game