Game of the Year: Best PS5, PS4 RPG of 2022

Is hfw really a rpg? Seems very out of place in that list imo

In my understanding, nowadays RPG is more a kind of gameplay mechanic than a genre, e.g. non-violent choices in dialogs. And do your choices in HFW really matter?

Elden ring and crisis core final fantasy 7 the reunion for the win.word up son

@Deljo open world, side quests, fight enemies to level up and get stronger, stats, loot, fast travel, dialog with npcs with choices, campfires, shops, different armor and weapons.

What's missing for it not to be an Rpg?

Great year for Rpg's, but personally I'd swap trails from zero with Atelier Sophie 2 or Persona 5 Royal (PS5)

Elden Ring (of course!) followed closely by HFW. I feel like Horizon could be onto something special if they lean even more into the RPG genre. Elder Scrolls X Monster Hunter style.

So who's voting Soul Hackers 2? That was the worse "SMT" game so far for me, so bland.

@Deljo @PlayStationGamer3919 Unfortunately, it is. Unless it changed of design from the first, it’s an RPG as part of the fad. It just takes away the dev’s ability to craft the difficulty of the fights. It’s padding essentially. So even though Horizon is good, I would frankly not put it up as an RPG GOTY, since that’s one of it’s weakest elements.

@Mauzuri Im not saying trails is a bad game as I haven't played it lol but I played the other two I mentioned that I would put in instead.

@somnambulance bro this is cringe stop this nonsense seriously.

I liked HFW but I hope the characters (and the story) are written more realistically in the next one. The term ‘jumped the shark’ comes to mind when I think of the silly direction it went.

@UltimateOtaku91
I wouldn't vote for Soul Hackers 2 and can't deny it disappointed in many ways but overall I thought it was okay. Could have been better but could have been worse too.

@Loamy wdym?

@ItsBritneyB_tch it's scifi. how realistic do you want it to be lol. that's like saying you want fantasy to be written more realistically.

@Korgon I thought Soul Hackers 2 wqs exactly that too - just ok. Had so much promise, with a more mature cast and a decent battle system, but those dreadful dungeons absolutely killed it for me. There was enough there to build on though I reckon, if they've sold enough to do a sequel with maybe a slightly bigger budget I'd be well on board

@middyone I know but the first game was way more grounded and plausible. Forbidden West suddenly had everyone talking like college graduates and people flying around like super heroes. I liked the game overall but the dialogue and story were atrocious compared to the first game.

Bah elden ring again.
Never ever in my life have i hated a goty as much as this year.
I just cant see it.
Star ocean 6 is actually pretty good and should be in here.
Hzfw is not an rpg.

@ItsBritneyB_tch ok so i'm about halfway through it i think and I can see how people get smarter because they are at a place learning more and more from their focus and gaia. if you mean certain future people flying...then is that really far fetched honestly? I mean they have tech that's way into the future. i'm guessing so without spoilers let me know if i'm right. can't see why you think the dialogue is horrible lol

@LiamCroft so Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous released on PS this autumn and no mention in RPG category? Even though it is one of the most solid projects of this genre in years and Pushsquare gave it 9/10 in a review? Guess, something's went wrong here

@middyone I really enjoyed the Monster Hunter-esque gameplay of tracking and fighting the larger machines and collecting parts for armour + weapons. If they leant into this gameplay loop while improving side-missions/ NPC interaction and an interactive environment with global permanence (like Elder Scrolls) then I think they'd be onto a massive win.

I do love the Horizon franchise and FW is definitely an improvement on the first for me, but I feel they're still on the cusp of getting the perfect blend of Action RPG. So close The third definitely needs to focus on fleshing out story and lore with a consistent tone too. I'm hyped for whatever's next.

@middyone yeah I won’t spoil anything. It is a good game - I got the platinum so I did enjoy it. But it just wasn’t where I wanted the story to go. It just becomes so fantastical that it pulled me out of the game. I would have preferred it if they stayed faithful to the tone of the first game. It just didn’t feel like a real world with real people, if that makes sense? It needed to be darker/grittier but they went in the opposite direction. Early human civilisations were brutal but we didn’t see anything like that in the game - it just felt hollow.

@Tomato_Goose It just isn't something that's on our radar. Nobody on the editorial team played it, and so wasn't confident including it.

@Deljo the RPG category seems to expand ever outward. It's bloated a long way since the original days of simply meaning a computer game attempt at d&d. Other genres take elements traditionally associated with RPGs, which puts their own category into question, while traditional RPGs strive to lose the same elements, in the name of simplicity!

@LiamCroft if Pathfinder isn’t on your radar you need different people doing the RPG best of list.

@scoobdoo No, we don't.

@LiamCroft wow, but I've seen the review here by Khayl Adam:
https://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/ps4/pathfinder-wrath-of-the-righteous-enhanced-edition

Though I can not find him on the Staff list at the moment.

Anyway, this is a classic cRPG that has all essential RPG features: from creating your own character and building it throughout the game with dozens of skills, items, etc. to making choices that really matter and, you know, indeed playin some roles. It's a type of experience that true RPG geeks appreciate, not an indie, but a solid AA or even AAA game. Something of this quality rarely sees the light in modern times and even more rarely comes to Playstation. I won't argue about this being out of your sight and missing the list, but totally recommend this one to all RPG fans and to you personally

@Tomato_Goose The editorial team is me, Sammy, Rob, and Stephen.

Not shocking elden ring won. Will say horizon is caught in this in between place of being an action adventure game and a rpg. Horizon 3 should either open up more (more weapons than just a bow and a spear, more combat options like full beast master) or be a more focused game (only one bow with a couple of different types of arrows). Pretty much pick being either a full western rpg or an action adventure game.

It's not an RPG, but Signalis, being probably my favourite game of this year, is just overall absent of any top list it seams. More people need to play that gem, probably the best horror since silent hill 2.

@UltimateOtaku91 fair point but not really sure where it ends with that criteria, is ac a rpg or gow?

@Deljo with assassins creed that series has definitely turned into an Rpg over the last 2-3 games, valhalla is even described as an action role playing game, I think when people say Rpg's they think games like elder scrolls or turn based games like dragon quest but it's become a more broader terms that covers a lot more games now.

For me personally though, if you're levelling up a character by fighting different enemies and increasing your stats by doing so then that's an Rpg.

I wouldn't really consider HFW an RPG tbh.
It has RPG elements for sure but so does most games these days.

It's also a disgrace that Asterigos isn't on this list –– hell, you haven't even reviewed it yet!!

looking forward to final fantasy pixel collection in 2023. finaly a new version of final fantasy 6(3)this game is so underestimated all these years, for me personaly the best ff game ever made.

@Max_the_German
the last game is a jrpg the rest rpg/action

No love for Soul Hackers 2, eh? Of course, this game was from the same team that was given the task of developing a crossover game between Fire Emblem and SMT and ended up creating a game set in modern Japan about pop idols who have Stands based on Fire Emblem characters, lol.

Horizon strikes me as being an RPG in the same way that most AAA open world games are these days.

@PALversusNTSC tbh I'm most excited to revisit Final Fantasy V. I played IV and VI to death on my GBA, but just never spent as much time with the entry between them, for whatever reason.

@scoobdoo Agreed. If one of the greatest CRPGs of all time, if not the greatest isn't even mentioned in passing, there needs to be a review of the selection process

Maybe it was too late for this article but as an RPG, Chained Echoes is easily my favorite of the year. So good and probably the best traditional JRPG I’ve played in years.

@somnambulance it's only a meme to an 8 year old kid. ain't no full grown adult who is not a souls fanboy saying that

@ItsBritneyB_tch yea it doesn't really make sense to me lol but i'll come back and talk you about it after I finish the game if you want. nothing about the horizon series has been dark or gritty really. that's not how I would describe it at all.