If you were trying to get anything done in 2022, you probably failed. It was a black hole for productivity. Between the Lands Between and the Nine Realms, our free time didn't stand a chance. Honestly, looking back at the 2022 game of the year nominees, it’s kind of wild how much quality was packed into those twelve months. We didn’t just get good games; we got "once-in-a-generation" landmarks that basically redefined what an open world or a cinematic sequel could even be.
It was the year of the "Big Two." You know the ones. Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarök. The debate between those two was so heated it felt like a political campaign. But focusing only on the heavyweights does a massive disservice to the rest of the roster. We had a literal cat navigating a cyberpunk walled city, a tragic sibling journey through plague-infested France, and a massive JRPG that pushed the Nintendo Switch to its absolute limits.
The Full List of 2022 Game of the Year Nominees
When Geoff Keighley stood on that stage at the Microsoft Theater, the tension was thick enough to cut with a Buster Sword. The final six were a diverse bunch. You had:
- Elden Ring (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco)
- God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio / Focus Entertainment)
- Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Stray (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive)
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft / Nintendo)
Elden Ring eventually took home the big trophy. No surprise there, really. Hidetaka Miyazaki’s collaboration with George R.R. Martin was a cultural reset. It took the "Soulsborne" niche and shoved it into the mainstream with a giant, golden hammer. But God of War Ragnarök didn't exactly go home empty-handed. It actually led the night with 11 nominations and won six awards, including Best Narrative and Best Performance for Christopher Judge. His acceptance speech? Longer than some of the indie games nominated that year. Legend.
Elden Ring: The Open World That Broke the Rules
Most open-world games feel like chores. Go here, unlock a tower, clear five camps, repeat until you die of boredom. Elden Ring was the opposite. It trusted you. It didn't put 500 icons on your map or scream at you to follow a yellow line. You just looked at the horizon, saw a massive, glowing tree or a crumbling castle, and went there.
Usually, you died. Then you went back for more.
The sheer scale was intimidating. I remember thinking I was "almost done" after 40 hours, only to realize I hadn't even seen the northern half of the map. It was a game of secrets. Remember finding Siofra River for the first time? Descending an elevator for two minutes only to find a literal galaxy underground? That’s the kind of stuff that wins Game of the Year. It wasn't perfect—the late-game difficulty spike in Miquella’s Haligtree was brutal, and some bosses were recycled—but the sense of discovery was unmatched.
God of War Ragnarök: A Masterclass in Ending a Story
If Elden Ring was about the world, Ragnarök was about the people. Kratos and Atreus. Their relationship is the beating heart of that game. Santa Monica Studio had the impossible task of following up the 2018 masterpiece, and they basically said, "Let’s just make it bigger and sadder."
The combat felt punchier. The Draupnir Spear? Incredible addition. But mostly, it was the writing. Watching Kratos struggle with the idea of being a "General" again while trying to be a father who doesn't let his son make his same mistakes... it hits hard. It’s a very polished, "prestige" game. Some people complained it felt a bit too much like the first one, or that the puzzles were "spoiled" by characters shouting the answers too fast. Fair points. But as a closing chapter to the Norse saga, it was massive.
The "Small" Games That Stood Tall
It’s easy to forget that 2022 game of the year nominees included an indie game about a cat. Stray was a phenomenon. You play as a ginger tabby. You meow on command. You scratch rugs. You trip up robots.
BlueTwelve Studio managed to build a world that felt lived-in and melancholy despite the protagonist having zero lines of dialogue. It was short, sure. You could beat it in a weekend. But the art direction was stellar. It was one of those "Discover" darlings that everyone was talking about because it was just so different.
Then you had A Plague Tale: Requiem. Honestly, this game is depressing. It’s beautiful, but it’s a lot. Amicia and Hugo’s story is a gauntlet of trauma and rats. So many rats. The tech required to render thousands of rodents on screen at once was actually pretty impressive. It didn't win, but it proved that AA studios (like Asobo) could hang with the billion-dollar giants when it came to emotional storytelling.
Why Xenoblade and Horizon Often Get Overlooked
Horizon Forbidden West had the worst luck in the world. It launched right before Elden Ring. Total eclipse. Which is a shame because Aloy’s second outing was a technical marvel. The Decima engine made those robot dinosaurs look terrifyingly real. It improved on the first game in every way—better climbing, better melee, better side quests—but it just didn't have that "lightning in a bottle" cultural moment that Miyazaki's epic had.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was the dark horse. If you like 100-hour stories about life, death, and giant mechs, this was your peak. It’s probably the best JRPG on the Switch, period. Its inclusion in the GOTY category was a big win for the genre, even if it was "too niche" to take the top spot.
What We Can Learn From the 2022 Class
Looking back, 2022 was a transition year. It was when the "next-gen" consoles (PS5 and Series X) finally started getting games that actually used their power. But it was also a year of different philosophies.
On one hand, you had the "Ubisoft-style" refinement of Horizon and the cinematic polish of God of War. On the other, the raw, uncompromising challenge of Elden Ring. The fact that Elden Ring won suggests that players (and critics) were hungry for something that didn't hold their hand. We wanted to be lost. We wanted to be frustrated.
If you're looking to catch up on these classics, start with Elden Ring if you want a challenge, or Ragnarök if you want a story that'll make you call your dad. For a shorter, "vibe" based experience, Stray is the way to go.
To dig deeper into this era of gaming, you should check out the "making of" documentaries for God of War or look into the lore deep-dives for Elden Ring on YouTube—the community around these games is still incredibly active even years later.