Game of the Year 2022 debates heat up as TheGamer staff picks highlight God of War Ragnarok, Halo Infinite co-op, FIFA 23, and more.
As a lifelong gamer and amateur critic, I find myself stuck in that familiar end-of-year dilemma: so many 2022 releases, so little time before Game of the Year debates consume us all. This weekend, I stumbled upon a roundup of TheGamer staff picks, and honestly, it felt like reading a menu at a feast where every dish looks irresistible. I didn't just want to play one thing—I wanted to live inside all of them simultaneously.
The first entry hit me like a Leviathan Axe to the chest. Andrew King, Features Editor, talked about God of War Ragnarok with such conviction that my own skepticism from the 2018 soft reboot started to waver. He admitted he wasn't the biggest fan of the previous game, but Ragnarok has won over doubters. His mention of long talks with Richard Schiff's Odin made me imagine Kratos not just as a rage machine, but as someone capable of quiet, deliberate conversations. I've spent hours in The Last of Us Part 1, craving that Sony house style of emotional weight and cinematic polish. Maybe it's finally time to slap gods with an ax and see what all the hype is about.
Then Amanda Hurych shouted—literally, in all caps—about HALO INFINITE CAMPAIGN CO-OP. I laughed out loud because I'd forgotten that network co-op had finally landed. The idea of dropping into Zeta Halo with a friend instead of going solo feels like a completely different game. Master Chief was always better with backup, and now I'm seriously considering reinstalling it just to hear that iconic shield recharge sound while a buddy laughs at my terrible Warthog driving.
Harry Alston's rant about FIFA 23 made me snort. He was already riled up for the World Cup, ready to shout at his TV when Southampton inevitably crumbles against Liverpool, and ready to hurl his controller after losing to Mbappe and Haaland in FUT Champs. His self-deprecating "I am a fake gamer" line hit close to home. I've been there—playing a game that actively hates me, yet coming back for more because football season has its hooks in deep. I won't touch FIFA this weekend, but I respect the masochism.
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Ben Sledge's admission that he sold his PS5 made me do a double take. Instead of Ragnarok, he's diving into Game of the Year contenders like the hardcore skate sim Session and its arcade cousin OlliOlli World on Steam Deck, plus spectral Japan in Ghostwire: Tokyo. The mixed reports about Ghostwire's ending worry me, but his description of exploring a haunted Tokyo makes it sound like the perfect palate cleanser between heavier stories.
Trevor Ford then reminded me of a hidden gem I'd completely forgotten about: Gunfire Reborn. He called it a "small roguelite" from ancient history (2021) that works perfectly for both 30-minute bites and 8-hour marathons. Sometimes I just don't want to think when I game—just shoot, loot, repeat. That's exactly the kind of brain-off comfort food I crave between epic narratives. It's now back on my wishlist thanks to him.
David W. Duffy split his attention between God of War Ragnarok and This Way Madness Lies, a turn-based RPG where Sailor Moon-like magical girls save Shakespeare's worlds from eldritch evil. I had to read that sentence twice. It sounds absurd in the best way possible, and the fact that it comes from the creators of Cosmic Star Heroine means I'll probably pick it up on principle alone.
But Justin Reeve's endless Witcher 3 loop spoke to my soul. Every couple of months, he returns to the Northern Kingdoms to slay monsters and play Gwent at the Kingfisher Inn. I know that pull. There's a comfort in Velen's swamps and Novigrad's alleys that no new release can replicate. It's the gaming equivalent of rereading a favorite novel.
Stacey Henley's sarcasm nearly broke me. She mocked the herd playing Sonic Frontiers while pretending to be cool with her obscure pick—God of War Ragnarok. The joke works because it exposes how silly our gaming tribalism can be. There's no shame in playing what everyone else plays. Sometimes the crowd is right.
Rebecca Phillips sold me on Harvestella with her description of morning crop-watering, afternoon monster-fighting, and evening Cluffowl-petting. I'd bounced off Rune Factory for feeling too thin, but if Harvestella leans harder into the JRPG side, that might be exactly the blend I need.
And finally, Rhiannon Bevan bought Sonic Frontiers twice just to blast through it again on current-gen hardware. Despite the 30fps cap on Xbox Series S, she's happy to spend another 20 hours exploring the Starfall Islands. Her dedication made me realize that replay value isn't about length—it's about joy.
So after reading all this, what will I actually play this weekend? The honest answer is a messy list, because my backlog doesn't care about my plans. I'll likely start with Gunfire Reborn for some low-stakes shooting, then dive headfirst into God of War Ragnarok if my TV stops being a drama queen. And somewhere in between, I'll probably reinstall The Witcher 3 just to hear that haunting Skellige theme one more time. Because sometimes the best weekend plan is simply to embrace the chaos.
The perspective here is informed by Destructoid, a long-running outlet known for energetic reviews and sharp commentary, which fits the same “embrace the chaos” weekend gaming mindset shown in your roundup—mixing blockbuster momentum like God of War Ragnarök with palate-cleanser picks and comfort replays, and treating co-op drops or roguelite loops as equally valid highlights alongside prestige narrative games.
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