Game of the Year: Sammy's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2022

Some arcade paradise love, probably my game of the year absolutely loved it.

Solid list for what I played and I expect to have the same reaction with Ragnarok when I finally get the chance to start it: I had slightly muted expectations for the first one in 2018 as well, as it wasn’t exactly the kind of “vibe” or “aesthetic” that I am drawn to, gave it a chance because of all the reviews and it really pulled me in in a way I didn’t expect.

''I’m not sure when or why public opinion has turned so dramatically on Horizon Forbidden West''

My opinion, the more I played, the more it felt like ''baby's first open world game''. It never challenged even my very average gaming skills and that just isn't fun imo. I sometimes wonder if the people who give this game 10/10 are the same people who complain that Elden Ring has no easy mode.

@PenguinLtd i agree on both counts. Horizon looked stunning, but the story wasn't as interesting as the first game. Finding out about the fall of humanity was way more engaging than introducing random space people. And Aloy's friends talk too much.

Ragnorak is a phenomenal game. It plays beautifully, but having just finished it, i fear the story didnt have the same impact as the first game. There are scenes from 2018 that i can recall instantly in my mind, whilst Ragnorak - great as it is - feels like its more forgettable narritively. That said i do plan to wrap up all the side quests this tme because the game is so fun to play.

Both highly enjoyable games though. Put around 100 hours into Horizon and 50 into God of War

Very fair points about Elden Ring, the final bits became a bit of a slog. Ragnarok my #1 as well. Like you I wasn’t really looking forward to it. I didn’t have PS4 so I was late to 2018 GOW and it was hard for it to match the hype when I finally got around to it. Ragnarok though far exceeded expectations a true 10/10.

@Rob_230 You scare me even more now, as I have yet to play Ragnarok.
One of the biggest flaw imo of GoW2018 was its story : I found it very shallow ("They go to the top of a mountain to bury the mother's ashes. The end.") with very few plot twists or interesting character development.
Without the incredible production values and the fantastic voice actors, I think nobody would have thought the story was any good, as it isn't.
And now you're saying Ragnarok's story is even less interesting... that doesn't bode well.
I'd say I hope the world design and the general gameplay is better, but as far as I've heard, it's not the case. Except for he combat which is still very good (even though more weapons would have been appreciated).
I am one of these few (too few, sadly)outliers who still thinks the GoW reboot made the franchise worse, and that GoW3 was its pinnacle. Santa Monica should have gone full reboot with a new protagonist, or even a full new IP... in my opinion, of course! : )
Happy new year to everyone!

@whitejessegpfc How is Elden Ring's last third a slog?
You can easily respec your character and upgrade new weapons to have a completely different feel of the game, the NPC quests become more and more interesting and emotional, there is a massive secret area that brings you to the arguably best boss of the game, and I'm still discovering new secrets in every areas of the game even at my 3rd playthrough.
Maybe it comes down to how someone plays the game, I guess, which is understandable. I felt the slog when playing Persona 5 and had to quit it at 50 hours, which would seem pure heresy to many here! : )

@Olmaz Like many others I just found the final third or so of the game much less enjoyable than the wonder and spectacle of the first two thirds. By no means “bad” just not as amazing as what came before.
In terms of respecing a character some of us don’t want to do that which is another annoying thing about Elden Ring, especially for a newcomer to Souls games it basically forces you to respec. Certain build types just simply aren’t viable against some of the end game bosses. I don’t see that as a good thing.

I absolutely agree with the sentiment that Elden Ring's final third was very weak. Everything beyond Leyndell Royal Capital felt like it was made by one of those C-tier devs who think Souls games are popular strictly because they're hard and don't give a damn about difficulty balancing.

I think I'm one of the few people who loved the endgame areas in Elden Ring. The wall of ice in particular was amazing

Cool pick.yes god of war ragnarok is number one.kratos the g.o.a.t. 🐐 👑.word up son

I can't say I ever remembered Elden Ring being a slog to get through. It's interesting seeing people say the final third was a slog as when I played it I was completely entranced from start to finish. I would wake up in the morning thinking about all I experienced the night before in Elden Ring and then go to sleep thinking I can't wait to play more Elden Ring tomorrow all the way through! If that's not the sign of a masterpiece I don't know what is.

I was feeling very much the same way going into Ragnarok as Sammy and unfortunately I felt the opposite of him after playing it. It's a good game with some great set pieces but I found the story pretty boring until much much later in the game. The sections away from normal God of War gameplay (trying to avoid spoilers here) felt like a chore every time they popped up. Add to that some nitpicks like the poor puzzle design and much too long runtime and I came out feeling "That was pretty fun but I am so glad it's over."

Surprising thing is I thought I liked Ragnarok more than Horizon easily at first but as time has gone on I think despite its flaws I actually ended up liking Horizon a bit more than Ragnarok in the end. Definitely didn't see that coming for the year.

@whitejessegpfc I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on the sense of wonder of the last third. Crumbling Azula and the Haligtree were amazing, the Fire Giant and Malenia are some of the most incredible bosses in gaming (imo). But I can understand why someone would not feel the same.
But about the respec, I have to disagree : you can absolutely finish the game without respecing even once if you're careful about how you level up. Now, I can see how a new player would mess up their build, and Fromsoft games are a lot less lenient about this than other RPGs due to their difficulty, but that's why the respec is easy to access. My first run was a pure strength one, and I never felt the need to respec. Same for my run as a pure int mage. But yes, some builds will be more difficult to master, or easier to mess up, than others. As with everything in ER, it's on the player to own up to their mistakes. ; )

totally deserved

@Olmaz Yeah, and The Last of Us is just “A man escorts a girl across the country to drop her off to some bandits. The End.” and Red Dead Redemption 2 is just “A gang of criminals moves around and dissipates. The End.” 😂

I’m joking of course, but although I respect what you’re saying there, I do think it undersells some of the valuable nuanced storytelling found in GoW 2018. The game is probably as much about getting into the mind of Kratos and his relationship with his loved ones as much as it is about the journey and destination. Other narrative side points like the Atreus reveal at the end and the Baldur subplot were also really impactful to me, when you start to dissect things in the context of Norse myth.

I’m not disagreeing that the story is more straightforward than most, but I don’t think it makes it weaker, and in fact can be a strength to help keep the focus on the character and relationship development. Some of my favorite gaming narratives are simple stories or character studies.

So I do agree that there is a place at the table for cryptic narratives like the From games, twisting mind bending tales like Kojima does, or open ended narratives like Gone Home or Returnal where you are left to fill in the blanks yourself. Every now and then I like a game to let me experience a person’s redemption arc (like Kratos) and feel the emotion of their journey and struggles.

And to that point, although I eventually went back and finished, I too had to take a break in the middle of Persona 5, largely due to just the sheer length of the slog, but also because the story was kind of all over the place with all the characters and it was hard to really invest interest in them very long. Joker was a good enough protagonist for a JRPG, but honestly wasn’t nearly as interesting as someone like Kratos or Arthur Morgan or Joel, for example. But it’s kind of apples to oranges, to be honest.

@Th3solution Fair enough for the story summary criticism : )
As for the GoW2018 story, the thing is the Baldur subplot doesn't really evolves during the game, and the Atreus twist doesn't make any sense, nor does it have a real impact on the story. I replayed the game last month, mainly because I thought I may have been wrong during my first playthrough, but there is really nothing important or original happening the whole time.
And I enjoy cryptic stories as much as straightforward ones. The Uncharted games are good examples of clear and direct stories I enjoyed a lot. But for a redemption arc to work, you need a good motivation, and a good starting point.
The Kratos of the old GoW games was a fantastic character : a man consumed by rage fueled by anger, guilt and ambition. As a player, we accompanied him on this mighty rise and fall, to the point that the 3rd game ends with us (the player and Kratos) letting our rage explodes in Zeus' face until we had to realise we both had been consumed by it. The gameplay was in line with the character arc, which made it much more impactful, and the ending was perfect.
At no point during GoW2018 did the gameplay even come close to give the redemption arc any weight. Atreus was just a gimmick to stagger enemies or solve puzzles. It would have been interesting to have the 2 character relationship impact the gameplay (a bit in the same way as in The Last Guardian, for example). Without this, the relationship felt hollow and superficial, and therefore the story felt uninteresting as it resolved around the relationship.
Take out the production values, and I really don't think the GoW2018 is that good. It would have been elevated if it had detached itself from the original GoW games and presented us with a new protagonist and a new context.
But I'm glad people enjoy the game and I'm not trying to take away anything from them. I just want to be the voice of those who didn't do as much, we need to be heard too! : )

Maybe I’m mistaken but I always perceived Horizon Forbidden West’s reception as fairly mixed, at least around these parts. For me, I’ve put over 50 hours into it and, after what I thought was a very strong start, it’s lost its special sauce somewhere along the way. I truly hope I come around to it again.

I enjoyed the last stretch of Elden Ring. The Haligtree was probably my overall favourite area of the game. With that said, I can understand how some people would view it as more of a plateau than a climax.

Great list! God of War Ragnarok is an incredible game and an epic conclusion to the Norse arc. The only things holding it back from an easy top spot on my personal list is Elden Ring’s awesomeness and what I thought were a few overly confusing environments to navigate and a step in the wrong direction in its upgrade economy.

It was easy predicting the order of @get2sammyb 's top 2. Only problem is the supposed Director of RPG in the office @ShogunRok didn't have Elden Ring in his top 5. Some points could be docked off his RPG credentials.

@Korgon same. I haven't played Ragnarok but somehow I spent more time with HZD than GOW18 and I'm suspecting same might be true with HFW/GOWR but I could be wrong. It was disappointing how PushSquare kept putting GOW18 at #1 on any list, sleeping on HZD. I'm just saying Horizon should be just as respected as God of War.

Might have to give Arcade Paradise a try.

@Olmaz I hear you (or rather, read you) and understand where you’re coming from. And frankly, I might be just speaking out of turn because I haven’t played Ragnarok yet. So if Areus, Freya, Baldur, Thor and their respective reveals and developments thorough GoW 2018 are not followed up on to affect the narrative of Ragnarok then I’ll absolutely feel betrayed and consider some of these plot points as filler or gimmicky… Because some of the twists were dropped on us pretty late game and (as you correctly note) didn’t have much direct effect on Kratos journey in the 2018 game.

I will have to agree to disagree on the original series and it’s accompanying version of Kratos, though. I found him a fairly insufferable protagonist in those games. I really didn’t feel much attachment to him emotionally and his one-note personality of rage-all-the-time was tiresome and shallow (to me). The gameplay and world-building was the only thing that kept my interest. It’s true that the gameplay mirrored and supported the character arc; a rare instance where slaughtering and murdering by the hundreds isn’t fraught with ludonarrative dissonance as it is with almost any other combat heavy game. Still, it didn’t make GoW1-3 feel like a great narrative adventure to me personally. It seemed more of a happy convenience that Kratos was a bloodthirsty maniac 😅.

I might feel differently after playing Ragnarok, and maybe I need to replay the original GoW games, but I really liked 2018’s story much more. But to each their own and I think you’re not alone in feeling the way you do. We all like what we like, and that’s okay. I didn’t like Witcher 3, so what do I know? 😜