Game of the Year: Christian’s Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2022

Our individual Game of the Year articles allow our lovely team of writers to share their personal PS5 and PS4 picks for 2022. Today, it’s reviewer Christian Kobza’s turn.

Often written off as yet another open-world checklist, Ghostwire Tokyo still delighted me with its unique setting, excellent art direction, and satisfyingly tactile combat that featured some impressive implementations of Dullesense’s haptic feedback. is one What’s more, the simplistic first-person shooter combat is elevated by an exhilaratingly paced gameplay loop where the encounter begins with a peppering of projectiles and ends with a visceral execution that delivers a dopamine-inducing rush through your hands. Sends a jolt that keeps me coming back. More, after reaching the 100% completion mark of the game.

Even 18 years later, the list of games able to recapture the magic of Half-Life 2’s world building is surprisingly short, but Stray is on that special list. Enemies that are clearly headcrab ripoffs aside, Stray is a seamless journey through a depressingly dystopian cityscape that exudes optimistic desperation from each of its dimly lit and littered streets. Come for the lovable cat protagonist, stay for the oppressive yet eerily calm atmosphere.

Coming off the heels of the milquetoast Call of Duty: Vanguard, Modern Warfare 2 achieves more with less effort. The half-baked and obnoxious operator system has been tossed aside to focus on the basics – the star of which is the endlessly satisfying gunplay. Throw in a delightful cast of characters and a campaign framed by a long-overdue tweak to the gun camo progression system, and we have a surprisingly great addition to an enduring and seemingly immortal franchise that has Earned to stay in practice until fall. 2023.

Taking the Dark Souls formula and detonating it to unleash world proportions is an impractical task. Alden Ring’s oft-repeated mini-bosses, modularly designed optional dungeons, and nagging technical issues are all symptoms of that absurd ambition. But, on the other hand, it has extraordinarily diverse locations, ridiculously versatile combat, and endlessly enticing exploration. As a result, Alden Ring achieves a glory that few games reach, even with its obvious shortcomings.

Neon White is a clever first-person platformer that operates under the guise of a card-based shooter/visual novel hybrid. Don’t let its often cringe-inducing dialogue and prototypical character interactions keep you from moving through its carefully crafted levels at breakneck speed. Whether you’re taking a better level to hook a friend up to, crawling the leaderboards, or just for the pure, joyous enjoyment of it all – Neon White’s sprawling stages break into dazzling displays of platforming prowess. are requesting It’s a shot in the arm adrenaline rush that I clearly wasn’t looking for this year, but it’s one that I’m endlessly grateful for.

What do you think of Christian’s personal Game of the Year picks? Feel free to agree wholeheartedly, or be relentlessly rude in the comments section below.