Martin Crownover

This is part 2 of my favorite games of 2022. This one is all about games to chill out to - and I played a lot of those, because I like to have something relaxing to do at the end of the day. You can read part 1 here.

Opus: Echo of Starsong

I started playing Opus: Echo of Starsong in 2022, but didn't complete the story until 2023. But I enjoyed my time with it enough that I felt like it deserved to be on my 2022 list.

OEoS is a game where you explore an embattled star system, in an attempt to restore the honor of the protagonist and make some new friends along the way. The graphics are sort of a low-poly evolution of older games like Another World, in service to the story, which is deep with a lot of interesting lore.

The user reviews that I read for it compared it to Mass Effect, but that's not quite right; there's no combat, and only a handful of places where things can go so wrong that you have to backtrack a bit - but the game does a good job of keeping the story moving along without too many bumps. Although it was developed by a smaller team, a lot of care went into this game, so I'd recommend it if you need something to wind down with at the end of the day (and you don't mind a little bit of reading, since the voicework is Japanese-only).

Immortality

There's been a mini-renaissance of FMV games in the last few years, and I've been low-key enjoying it. Immortality continues that trend.

In this game, you sort through the "lost" footage of four different movies which all star Marissa Marcel, an actor who mysteriously disappeared. Your goal is to figure out what happened to her, along with a handful of other recurring characters. I won't spoil the game, but as you do so, you uncover the truth in a very interesting way that, I felt, really pushes the boundaries of the FMV genre.

As Dusk Falls

When As Dusk Falls was showcased at one of the Xbox events leading up to its release, I didn't give it much thought. The still images that make up the majority of the game were great to look at, but nothing else really grabbed my attention. When it released on Game Pass, I tried it in earnest, and was immediately hooked.

It's very much like playing through a Life is Strange game, just with a different graphic style. The voicework is excellent, and before long you forget that you're just looking at (basically) comic-strip panels. The story is also surprisingly dynamic, and when you finish a chapter, the game shows you a tree of all the branching choices you could make along with what outcome(s) they lead to.

It's all really well done, and the story drew me back in all the way to the end.

A Short Hike

A Short Hike was released in 2019, came to Xbox in 2021, and I didn't play it until 2022!

The premise of the game is simple: you play as Claire, an anthropomorphic bird, who has set out to hike up Hawk Peak, a small local mountain surrounded by hiking trails. Along the way, you encounter a number of animals that you can talk to and help, and you can collect items and use simple tools.

A Short Hike is probably the most Nintendo game that wasn't made by Nintendo. It's cheerful, funny, and charming. The cartoony graphics are bright and colorful and are easy to read - the characters wouldn't feel out of place in Animal Crossing. The music is excellent and contains accordion riffs a la Mario. And the whole thing is just plain fun.

Citizen Sleeper

Citizen Sleeper was another Game Pass game that I tried after reading positive reviews - and spent a week or so playing through at night, exploring all parts of the adventure.

The gameplay all takes place in a view over the Eye, a space station on the edge of the galaxy that you have traveled to as a "Sleeper", a digital copy of your real brain housed in a deteriorating synthetic body. Your goal is to figure out how to keep your body alive, and eventually escape, as you explore the station and meet its inhabitants.

Like a good sci-fi book, the lore of Citizen Sleeper is revealed slowly as you play, and it all gels together nicely with the low-poly graphics and great soundtrack. Decisions you make have long-term consequences, and a few play-throughs will result in wildly different endings.

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure

This game was probably made for a younger person than me, but I still enjoyed my time with it, and like the other games on part 2 of my list, it was a relaxing, stress-free experience.

In Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, you play as Alba, a young girl who has come to a small island to visit her grandparents for a week. While there, Alba discovers that a developer has made a clandestine deal with the mayor to tear down the local nature preserve and build a luxury hotel/resort. She decides to spend her vacation helping to restore the island by cleaning up garbage, making repairs, and cataloging the wildlife.

This is another low-poly game, but it's still great to look at. The island is colorful and full of creatures to photograph, and even though getting around is a little slow, I always enjoyed watching Alba change to a skip as she ran. There are sequences where you have to answer yes or no to a question, and you can waggle the joystick to move Alba's head to answer (frantically, if you want) - my son thought that was hilarious.

I really like the idea of a game like A:AWA to help teach people about nature conservation and to give them a safe place to explore the concept. This is another one of those games that makes pleasantness a core part of the experience, and I am here for it.

That's all I have for part 2 of my favorite games of 2022. The list is getting smaller, but I still have more favorites, so I guess I'll be back for part 3 soon. Thanks for reading!

Since you’re here at my website you probably already know this: I play lots of games. As with previous years, I spent my time playing a mix of games, old and new. This is part one of my favorite games that I played in 2022!

Tinykin

Tinykin is a game where you play as a tiny human who controls even tinier creatures (the titular “Tinykin”), each with their own unique ability. The more you collect, the greater those abilities become. As you play, you explore giant-sized rooms of an abandoned house, and uncover the mystery of the home’s owner – a figure revered by the local insects as a god. It sounds insane, but it’s good fun.

The art and music are really neat, and I loved that the little noises the Tinykin made synced up with the music in each level. The game controls well, and though it’s not as challenging as older 3D platform greats like Banko-Kazooie (there’s no combat in Tinykin), it scratches the same collect-a-thon itch.

I squeaked this one in late in December, after it’d been on my list for a while – and I’m so glad I finally got around to playing it. It was a really enjoyable time.

A Memoir Blue

I started A Memoir Blue in April, and didn’t finish it until December. Not because it’s a long game, or that it wasn’t good; I just forgot to finish it as work and other things took my attention. When I finally got back to it, I discovered that I had left just one scene away from finishing the story!

I played it through once more to complete all the achievements, and ended up really appreciating the story, which is about the loss of connection between a mother and daughter. The game is mostly a visual novel, but each chapter has a puzzle or two that aren’t super challenging, but still fun to complete.

The story is told in a cool way, with cartoon versions of the past mother and child appearing occasionally, and the art and music are captivating. It’s just the kind of emotional experience I’ve come to expect from publisher Annapurna Interactive.

Overwatch 2

Maybe a controversial take, but I’ve actually been enjoying Overwatch 2. Even in its questionable launch state, the changes to the game made it feel fresh again.

The additions of the battle pass and store are a bit of a downer, because Overwatch's original rewards system was so generous. Online games have changed a lot since the first game though, and it's easy enough to just ignore that stuff.

I just wish I were better at the game.

Return to Monkey Island

The Secret of Monkey Island was one of the first computer games I ever played, and it holds a special place in my heart. I've played every game in the series and loved most of them - so I was super excited when Return to Monkey Island was revealed.

The game's art style, though good in its own right, is polarizing of course. It took a second for me to get used to it, and I sort of longed for the hand-drawn look of The Curse of Monkey Island. But having all the characters voiced by the actors who have had their roles since Curse makes it easy to look past if you don't like it.

The game's puzzles were intuitive and fun to solve, and I thought the overall length was just right. The theme of the game, explained by the game's designers at the end, really hit home as well.

Two Point Campus

Two Point Hospital looked like it was going to be a cheap budget title with no depth, but it was nothing but fun. It took a rather serious proposition - managing a series of hospitals - into something that you wanted to do.

So when two Point Campus rolled onto Game Pass, I knew I was going to spend some time with it. And it's just as fun, silly, and entertaining as Hospital - without all the illness/death!

And that's all for part one. I've got a long list ahead of me, so I'll have part two - and probably three or four - written up soon. Thanks for reading!