J-List has been creating a bit of a trend, giving our beloved readers an insight into our own personal choices for best waifus, anime, and manga of the past year, and we hope you’ve been enjoying it. I recently polled my colleagues about their favorite game of the year, and they all spoke loud and clear.
In no particular order, here are the standout games the J-List Blog staff played this past year.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Peter Payne)
I remember starting 2022 in the most Star Wars way possible, rolling up my sleeves to start playing Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Since I have a big 55” monitor and it was epic and tons of fun to play. That’s the newest game I’ve played recently, and I know it’s not from 2022. — Peter
A truly top-tier Star Wars game that gave players the real Jedi experience at the height of the Empire’s stranglehold over the galaxy. There were concerns that the game would be as difficult as one of From Software’s games, a Soulsborne that would smash players in the jaw, but it wasn’t quite that difficult. The cosmetics were difficult to look at, but it was still a gorgeous title that earns its place in the Star Wars universe.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Justin)
Pokémon Legends: Arceus took a drastic step forward for console Pokémon games. It was an open zone game that allowed free reign of the world, to an extent. The graphics and exploration were a huge leap from Pokémon Sword & Shield, the previous gen entries. While the post-game lacked real content, the main story was fun and enjoyable, and players could complete the Pokédex without needing to trade Pokémon. There were also many quality of life changes, such as multiple mount Pokémon, and the ability to catch Pokémon outside of battle.
Live A Live (input(Void))
Even in a year packed with great releases like Elden Ring and Splatoon 3, this was an easy pick for me. A long overlooked classic, perfectly reimagined and home to one of the best twists in gaming. — input(Void)
As Void said, this is an ‘HD-2D’ remake of a title from 1994, that was then considered a failure. This remake sold double what the original sold back then, and is widely considered a success. The president of Square Enix, Yosuke Matsuda, himself pushed for the remake to happen as much as the original developer Takashi Tokita did. The scenario is unique, in that it covers several different storylines that take place in different time periods, whose connection is the name of the main enemy: Odio. The clever storytelling and stellar graphics earn this game a spot on any year-end list.
Elden Ring (Fish)
Elden Ring is the newest ‘die until you win’ game developed by From Software. Players explore a dying world with a large, glowing tree ever-present in their journey. There are multiple paths to take towards the end, offering plenty of choice and replayability. Co-op is a key feature here, allowing players to fight enemies side by side, or engage in brutal combat against one another.
Total War: Warhammer III (Adrian Salomons)
Best game of the year that I haven’t played because it’s expensive and I still had some choice Warhammer II DLCs to buy — actually that seems to have been a habit this year, most of the games I’ve stuck to playing have been releases from the last 3ish years instead. — Adrian Salomons
Total War: Warhammer III is a tactical role-playing game set in Games Workshop’s dark and gritty Warhammer Fantasy universe where just about anything and everything will damn a person to an eternity of suffering. Players lead their armies into battle, and with multiple factions to choose from, and multiple endings to experience, there is plenty of war to go around.
Sonic Frontiers + Star Ocean: The Divine Force (Calw)
It was too difficult to pick just one. I’d have to give it to these two because of how greatly each game pushed their respective franchises to new heights. Both had been on downturns from their previous games (Sonic Forces, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness) and to see them both come back with strong titles after six or seven years was a treat. Both games have surprisingly fun combat systems enhancements, strong narratives, emotional character developments, great world exploration, and exciting soundtracks. Neither game was perfect, but they were both such a fun ride and one of the best for the Sonic and Star Ocean series. — Calw
It often is difficult to choose just one, especially when these two games regained the honor and dignity that their predecessors lost with the previous releases.
Sonic Frontiers offered a truly open world to experience with an amazing soundtrack that made every boss battle that much more epic. The inclusion of stat increases and a skill tree was a welcome addition. Star Ocean: The Divine Force built upon the successes of previous entries while working to rectify some mistakes, offering a great interplanetary adventure to enjoy, one that blends sci-fi and high fantasy. Some of the waifus are nice, too.
Vampire Survivors (The Captain)
This fun retro-styled indie game lets you be the bullet storm (epic metal music riffs play!) Vampire Survivors was in open beta for a while and then released recently, so it has an active community and I expect to see new DLC content coming soon. But the main reason why you should play this game is because filling your screen with sprites is true gaming power. — The Captain
This is an incredibly fun bullet hell game, only players are the bullet hell that tears through swarms of enemies that drop a veritable shower of loot. As The Captain suggested, DLC did indeed release on December 15th, titled Vampire Survivors: Legacy of the Moonspell, bringing Japanese folklore and anime-related items to a game set in Italy that deals in vampires that need to be ripped to pieces with a storm of bullets.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion (Brovahkiin)
I never owned a PSP in my childhood, so the initial release of Crisis Core in 2007 came and went without me getting to experience it firsthand. I’m a huge dork for Final Fantasy VII lore, so getting to finally play this (and not be limited to reading fanwiki articles and YouTube videos) was fantastic. Great music, fun combat, and more of everyone’s favorite silver-haired villain, Sephiroth. I can’t wait for Part 2 of the FFVII: Remake down the road. -Brovahkiin
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion continues the Final Fantasy VII: Remake series that Square Enix has been working on. This game is a full remake of the original, upscaling the graphics (for the most part, poor Tifa) and changing up the combat so it resembles the style first seen in Final Fantasy VII: Remake. Interesting to note, Tose Software co-developed this game with Square Enix, years after their first collaboration that saw World of Final Fantasy hit store shelves.
That was a list of the J-List Blog staff’s favorite games of the year. Did we miss one of your favorites? Let us know in the comments below.
