While Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok will likely dominate the discussion surrounding the best games of 2022, there are plenty of other titles released this year that are worth talking about. There are some slightly forgotten gems in the AAA realm, like the Horizon Forbidden West, which for some unknown reason released a week before Eldon Ring.
However, away from the blockbusters of the gaming world, indie games are also doing well in 2022, giving us a lot of gems to fill in the gaps this year and keep us playing until 2023. For many, it seems like a well-known fact that indie games can match, if not exceed, the standards set by AAA games, but with each passing year, the genre seems to be getting better and better. Let’s take a look at some of the best indie games of 2022 to see which comes out on top.
All of these games are strong contenders for Gamereactor’s Indie Game of the Year, and our list goes to Tunic, a Zelda-inspired action/adventure game. It combines a lovely aesthetic and an inviting world with some difficult encounters and well-crafted levels that evoke nostalgia for the early Zelda games, while also offering a whole new experience. Released in early 2022, it might be easy to let Tunic slip by, but it’s certainly a game worth checking out if you haven’t already.
Here is an ad:
Another game that uses cute anthropomorphic animals as protagonists is Cult of the Lamb, a roguelike and town builder created by Massive Monster and published by Devolver Digital. If you know Devolver, you know that Cult of the Lamb will have a lot of weird stuff, from the different gods that exist in the world to you running your own cult, the game certainly ticks the boxes for it in the weird department. It also includes a very fun game loop that will let you brainwash your critters for hours on end.
Stepping away from the cute creatures of the indie game world for a moment, there were some great action hits this year, like Neon White. This FPS puzzle-platformer might sound at first glance like it’s biting more than it can chew, but a few hours of neon white will tell you the opposite, as the action, soundtrack, and visuals all come together in a fantastic way. Well, a great game about casting demons out of heaven.
Here is an ad:
The fast-paced gameplay doesn’t stop there, as Sifu is another title that deserves consideration for Indie Game of the Year. Sifu from Sloclap has intrigued many since its very first trailer, as it showed how players would respawn as an older version of themselves rather than die. Combine this unique mechanic with combat that takes time and effort to get right, and you’ve got a game worth running time and time again. Whether you want to beat all the bosses as young as possible, or play on old kung fu movie tropes and become the old man who can knock everyone down with just a few punches, Sifu delivers in a game that might just be about aging gimmicks Amazing replayability.
Another great game coming out in late 2022 is SIGNALIS, a survival horror game from Playism. The world of SIGNALIS is enough to make it a great game, as it’s worth exploring even without Playism’s intricate horror elements in its gameplay. SIGNALIS is a great call to the horror titans of gaming while taking bold new steps for itself.
Finally, there’s The Stray, the game that won the hearts of the internet in the middle of the year featuring an adorable cat. But labeling Stray as a game where you play as a cat is seriously underestimating it, and like some of the other games on this list, it’s clear that a lot of work went into designing every aspect of Stray. It might not have a well-done combat system, but it does work within a great narrative and world, into a game that could end up being just a simple futuristic cat simulator.
So, which title totally wins out? Well, this is a tricky thing, and if we’re talking about pure gameplay, I’d have to say Neon White or Sifu would be top contenders, the latter just at the top. Overall, however, The Vagabond is a clear breakout hit from BlueTwelve Studio, and for good reason. It has a bleak futuristic world, but also manages to be one of the healthiest, most engaging gaming experiences in a long time. The game isn’t just about fighting the gods at the end of the world, it’s about making sure the cats can return to the surface from a strange dystopian city.