ID: Digital drawing of Prototype from OneShot: The Pancake Episode in a maid outfit with blue lace accents. He is holding the dessert featured in his Oneshot Cafe keychain and looking in annoyance at the viewer. END ID.
Not necessarily games that were released in 2022, just my favorites that I played for the first time last year.
10: Night in the Woods (2017)
by Alec Holowka, Scott Benson, and Bethany Hockenberry
Peak fall vibes game. Night in the Woods features a compelling mystery and some great spooky moments. The setting and characters really resonated with me, so I got a lot out of it.
9: The Pedestrian (2020)
by @skookumarts
Pleasant puzzle game inspired by the signage that surrounds us in our day-to-day lives. Some of the puzzles were quite difficult, and I kind of dislike the direction the game took in its last act, but it was still a very fun and unique experience.
8: South of South Mountain (2022)
by @colorbomb
Cute & hilarious visual novel with a fantastic art style. I could not stop laughing throughout the whole experience.
7: Portal Reloaded (2021)
by PORTANIS
From a pure gameplay standpoint, this was a very satisfying sequel to Portal 2, and it's possibly the closest we'll ever get to a Portal 3. Portal Reloaded introduces a third portal which allows you to travel to the same place at a different time, so certain things have been moved/removed. It gets really complicated, and I’m amazed this was able to be created as a free standalone mod for Portal 2.
6: Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery (2022)
by Grace Bruxner and Thomas Bowker
Approximately 3-4 hours of pure, unadulterated joy and whimsy. I can’t believe it took me this long to play Frog Detective, but I’m so glad I did. Everything about these games resonated with me strongly.
5: OneShot (2016)
by @girakacheezer, @nightmargin, and Eliza Vasquez
A transcendent experience. Explores the unique ways in which video games can tell stories, and the nature of free will. Features some interesting meta game mechanics which require you to interact with files outside of the game. The visuals and soundtrack are spot-on as well. Weird how there’s so many great RPG Maker games which work so well in spite of the engine.
4: Scorn (2022)
by Ebb Software
An incredible audiovisual experience. I liked the gameplay too, even though it seems like a lot of people were disappointed by it. I'm amazed that a game like this even exists. Absolutely oozing with atmosphere and symbolic meaning. The story spoke to me on an incredibly deep level despite lacking words, or even any semblance of humanity.
3: What Remains of Edith Finch (2017)
by Giant Sparrow
One of the greatest games ever made. All of the vignettes and set-pieces throughout the game are flawlessly paced, with a wide variety of gameplay and visual styles. Packed with detail, made with love, and so emotionally resonant. I loved this game.
2: Bloodborne (2015)
by From Software
For years, I would try to play Bloodborne whenever I had access to a PlayStation 4, but I wasn’t able to do a full playthrough until 2022. It lived up to the hype. This is my favorite From Software game, and it’s already one of my favorite games of all time. I really hope this gets a remaster/PC port some day. It’s a masterpiece.
1: SIGNALIS (2022)
by @rose-engine
One of the greatest horror games I’ve ever played. Amazing visuals and atmosphere, fascinating world and lore, and a captivating, mind-blowing cosmic horror sci-fi story. I especially loved the evocative UI designs throughout. Highly recommended if you like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Dead Space, PS1 style games in general, or if you have even a passing interest in survival horror. This is my #1 game of 2022.
FIRST IMAGE ID: A OneShot themed edit of a tweet posted by Sami Schalk. The original tweet reads: I got on the elevator & a kid had just pushed the button for their floor. The adult with them said “good job!” Then I pushed the button for my floor and the kid looked at me and said “good job!" 😂.
The edit reads: I got on the elevator & The Messiah had just pushed the button for the ground. The God with them said "Good job!" Then I pushed the button for the cafe and The Messiah looked at me and said "Good job! ❔️. The profile picture and Username are edited to be The Lamplighter and the location is edited to be Refuge Café as well as the reach of the tweet being edited to be less. The font is also replaced with Terminus TTF bold. END ID FOR FIRST IMAGE.
COMIC ID: A simple color 4 panel OneShot comic illustrating the events of the above tweet edit with Niko and The Lamplighter. END COMIC ID