Just Like in 2021, BrendawnoftheDead played a bunch of games in 2022, big shock (again)! For the second consecutive year, none of them sucked! Everyone loves a good list, so here’s a list of what I played, what I liked, what I didn’t like, what I didn’t finish, what I didn’t get to, and what I’m looking forward to 2022 edition! List is in order of when I played them as best as I can remember. According to my console data, I played for less time total than I did last year while managing to play significantly more games. This is probably because I did not spend roughly five months grinding away at a perma-death ultra-nightmare run (which I eventually completed for the record) and I spent far too much time moving. I also played A LOT of Halo this year and It is now my second favorite first-person shooter franchise, but I played other kinds of games too. I didn’t stray too far from what I know I will enjoy because I’m 31 and I know better.
Quick disclaimer, I played through EVERY Halo game made by Bungie as well as Halo Infinite. Trying to catch up on my Xbox exclusive backlog and that seemed like the best way to start. Spoiler alert, it absolutely was! I’m currently engrossing myself in the expanded lore and it is an awesome sci-fi universe to explore. If you’re looking for brief reviews of all the big triple A titles released this year, look elsewhere. I played exactly two 2022 big budget releases and I’m totally fine with it. One of them that I played is overly bloated narrative heavy third-person game and the other is primarily a multiplayer experience. Neither of those things are my cup of tea, sue me.
Games I finished in 2022 (give or take a few days)
Chorus (Normal) – PS5
What I liked: Fast paced, fast movement, & skill-based spaceship combat! Graphically impressive and buttery smooth presentation doesn’t hurt either.
What I didn’t like: Some of the temple sections were a bit of a pain due to not being able to stop on a dime.
Recommendation: If you like games involving dog fighting, this is for you. If you’re sick of dog fighting games boiling down to who can turn faster, this is the game for you. So terrified of flying that you can’t brin yourself to pick up a controller and do it virtually? Grab a Xanax and do it anyway!
Terminator Resistance – PS5
What I liked: This is the first Terminator anything I found any enjoyment from since 2003. They nailed the atmosphere and tone. You are not Arnold, you are a resistance fighter so this is no power fantasy.
What I didn’t like: Some indoor sections did not run particularly well, especially when fire was involved. VRR might clear this up to a degree. The shooting can be a little clunky at times too.
Recommendation: This is not a triple A game. If you can get over that and like old school Terminator, give this a go! If you don’t enjoy classic Arnold material, go get a shot of Vitamin T and rethink your life.
Halo 2: Anniversary (Heroic) – Xbox Series X
What I liked: Dual Wielding, best story ever told in an FPS game, Sergeant Johnson, remastered graphics/ cutscenes, energy sword, BATTLE RIFLE!
What I didn’t like: Sniper Jackals, lack of health bar and being weaker than a grunt, and what have you done to my shotgun!
Recommendation: If you are the one Xbox owner in existence that has not played Halo 2, get on it. It isn’t as well balanced as it’s predecessor but there is something here for every Halo/ FPS fan. I liked this enough to play it twice this year.
Halo 3 (Heroic) – Xbox Series X
What I liked: A much more balanced version of Halo 2’s gameplay. Ever expanding weapon sandbox is a blast and the game serves as an epic conclusion to the Human – Covenant war.
What I didn’t like: The Brutes aren’t as fun to fight as elites, but that’s my only legitimate gripe. Hopefully we get an anniversary edition of this game one day.
Recommendation: Same as Halo 2 but it’s even better balanced and there’s no cliff hanger ending! Also the shotgun doesn’t suck anymore, so there is really no excuse to not play it.
Halo Reach (Heroic & Legendary) – Xbox Series X
What I liked: They somehow made a story about despair and utter hopelessness enjoyable to play. This is the second-best Halo story to date. The environments are stunning, and the elites are back as the primary antagonists.
What I didn’t like: On legendary, you are too limited on how you can efficiently kill elites. Also, pour one out for my boy Jorge!
Recommendation: Yes to anyone but probably stick to Heroic. If you don’t like games but are in need of a good cry, give this a shot.
Ghost of Tsushima (Hard) – PS5
What I liked: I loved this game the first time I played through it, I loved it even more after the second time I played it. Perfectly balanced on hard difficulty, especially if you use a parry heavy playstyle (blocking is for cowards). The PS5 version is gorgeous and 60fps is the ideal way to play this game.
What I didn’t like: Pricing, 10 bucks to upgrade to the PS5 version and 20 bucks for the DLC. If you own the PS4 version, the PS5 upgrade should be free, especially because of how late it released in the PS4 lifecycle. If you want to charge for the DLC, that’s perfectly fair but for Christ sake Sony…
Recommendation: If you like Samurais, murder stabbing, epic story, and good old fashion vengeance you will like this game. I will play through this again on lethal difficulty to experience even more Japanese style murder stabbing!
F.E.A.R. – Xbox Series X (backwards compatibility w/ frame boost)
What I liked: I liked the clunky ass PS3 version of this game back in the day but backwards compatibility plus frame boost makes a world of difference. First-person shooting games need to run at 60fps or higher and playing this on XSX does the trick. John Woo style action and spooky atmosphere make this a must play.
What I didn’t like: You get a little tired of office buildings and backwards compatibility is disc only, so I had to track one down on EBAY.
Recommendation: The John Wick experience before he came to the silver screen. Definitely play, but only on PC or XSX. Also you can slow mo flying dropkick bad guys through windows with hilarious ragdoll physics, so it you need a good laugh…
Shadow Warrior 3 – Xbox Series X
What I liked: Doom Eternal Clone with dick jokes, what’s not to like?
What I didn’t like: Lack of FOV slider on console and lack of content at launch.
Recommendation: If you liked Doom Eternal, this is a no brainer. They have added new game plus, level select, and challenge modes making it worth the asking price as of today. Did I mention there’s dick jokes?
Halo 3 ODST – Xbox Series X
What I liked: The story, the return of health packs, the setting, Virgil, Halo 3 shooting.
What I didn’t like: See Halo 3.
Recommendation: I can see why this was a tougher sell when it came out. It’s fairly short and had a 60 dollar price tag. Now it is included in the MCC which is free with game pass or like 20 bucks for 6 games in one so I see no reason not to recommend, unless you don’t like fps games. If that’s the case, why are you here again?
Doom Eternal, Ancient Gods Part 1, Ancient Gods Part 2 (Nightmare) – Xbox Series X
What I liked: This is still my favorite game ever so everything. I’ll replay this at least once a year for the foreseeable future.
What I didn’t like: I’m not as good at it as I was when doing my ultra-nightmare run. Had a few too many embarrassing deaths.
Recommendation: HELL YES… Rip and Tear until it is done, literally, you rip demons in half and feed them their own entrails at an alarming frequency until the game ends.
Quake Remastered (Nightmare) – PS5
What I liked: Classic Quake is my favorite Boomer-Shooter so I like pretty much everything about it. This is the first time I’ve ever got a “platinum’ trophy.
What I didn’t like: Silly me thought I just needed to beat everything on Nightmare to platinum, turns out I needed to get every trophy.
Recommendation: Obviously I recommend Quake (unless you don’t like fun), but do I recommend going for the platinum? Well, I don’t think it was overly difficult to be completely honest. If you beat everything on Nightmare, you’ll probably get 75% of the trophies anyway. The rest are easy enough because quick saves are a thing and so is YouTube. So if you want a platinum trophy, this one is very doable.
Wolfenstein The New Order– Xbox Series X (via backwards compatibility)
What I liked: Shooting Nazis is never a bad thing. Exceptional narrative, satisfying gun play, and the return of health & armor system!
What I didn’t like: Feels a bit dated in 2022, which is to be expected. This game serves as a course correction for the genre and some of the features aren’t quite fleshed out fully.
Recommendation: We’re in the business of killin’ Nazis and right now, business is a boomin’. If you are looking for a bombastic and over the top Nazi killing experience, dis is for you.
DUSK (Ciero Miedo) – Nintendo Freaking Switch
What I liked: Quake style movement and shooting, Blood atmosphere, creative weapons, and build engine level interactivity.
What I didn’t like: I had to buy a Nintendo Switch to play this gem on console.
Recommendation: If you are feeling at all nostalgic and can appreciate retro visuals, this is a hard yes. If not, then you are not a man of culture and I have lost respect for you.
Portal – Nintendo Freaking Switch
What I liked: Same portal I loved from the Orange Box but plays far better than the PS3 version.
What I didn’t like: What’s not to like about portal? I had 3ish hours to kill and this was perfect.
Recommendation: Like puzzles? If yes, play it.
Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary (Legendary)– XSX
What I liked: This game plays best on legendary. The difficulty is perfectly balanced while allowing for different play styles.
What I didn’t like: Some of the tone from the original version is lost with the remastered graphics. There is no reason to ever use your flashlight now that everything is so bright and clear.
Recommendation: Do you like a hard but fair challenge (that’s what she said)? Me too
Halo Infinite (Legendary)– XSX
What I liked: Much like Combat Evolved, this game plays best on Legendary (minus some of the bosses). Gunplay and movement are the best in the series.
What I didn’t like: VRR STILL DOESN’T WORK! WTF 343, you’ve had since December of 2021 to fix this. I’d like to play this at 120hz without the outdoor stutter.
Recommendation: At 60fps? Absolutely. 120fps, not so much. 30fps, why is this even an option in 2022?
Pacman World RePac– PS5
What I liked: faithful to the original PS1 game with updated visuals and quality of life improvements.
What I didn’t like: Not a gripe with the remake at all but the levels get repetitive and a bit predictable.
Recommendation: When your 2-year-old starts having nightmares about monsters from other games you’ve played, pick this one up. Heck, let the 2-year-old try it if you trust him with a controller.
Metal Hellsinger – XSX
What I liked: Combination of Doom and Guitar hero. Soundtrack kicks ass and the shooting is pretty good. Oh and the last boss song is sung by none other than *(redacted SPOILERS)*
What I didn’t like: You fight the same boss in every level except for the final boss.
Recommendation: On game pass, absolutely. It’s 30 bucks otherwise and you will likely finish the campaign in 6ish hours. There are additional challenges but this isn’t the Witcher 3. To me it doesn’t waste my time, others might think it doesn’t take enough time.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2…2 – PS5
What I liked: Graphically incredible, punchy weapons, varied missions, Ghost’s Dad Jokes.
What I didn’t like: Did you have to call it Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2? You already used name in 2009 with the same characters, similar accents, and a sequel to another game with the same name and f*ck this is confusing… Anyway the characters are interesting but the story has some rather dumb plot points. Why is it ok to go into a foreign country and rain down death from above in an AC-130 but you can’t capture the leader because something something international law or something? Pretty sure the first part is worse.
Recommendation: While I enjoyed it, I play single-player almost exclusively. The campaign isn’t worth 70 bucks by itself. There is a metric butt ton of multiplayer content, but I can’t comment on any of it.
God of War Ragnarok – PS5
What I liked: Runic attacks are less broken, the story is well done, graphically impressive, high frame rate support.
What I didn’t like: Camera still sucks, cutscenes are un-skippable, one particular part of the game wastes your time for a good 2 hours, and the game is WAY TOO LONG.
Recommendation: I liked but didn’t love God of War 2018 and I feel the same way about Ragnarok. It is an improvement over the 2018 title for sure, but every single review outlet is going to give it a 10/10 and to me it’s no more than an 8. It’s far from a bad game but there are certain elements that I will never not hate. I’m sure you’ll like this game more than I do so go ahead and buy it.
Games I played but did not finish but will… probably
Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze – Nintendo Freaking Switch - Tough but fair platformer (fixed), my wife and I needed something to do to keep our sanity while living with our in-laws and this helped. I had to buy a Nintendo Switch to play Dusk so I needed to buy something else to somewhat justify the impulsive purchase. We will probably finish this once we are finished with all the major house projects (laughs in never ending homeowner problems).
Prodeus – Xbox Series X: Timing wasn’t great for me here. I moved into a new house which felt like it took 6 years then I got distracted by God of War Ragnarok. Big Boomer-Shooter fan so I will finish and probably review this too.
Duke Nukem 3D: I played through the first of 3 episodes and I remembered what I don’t like about this game. Some of the puzzles just have no explanation. They are not hard when you know how to do them (again, that’s what she said) but I hate playing games with a guide. I have finished this in the past (she strikes again!), so I’m sure I’ll do episodes 2 and 3 again eventually.
Verdun – PS5: I’m a history buff and I wanted an authentic WW1 game. That’s exactly what you get here, but it’s all multiplayer therefore can never be finished (do I have to say this again?).
Backlog
Evil West – Xbox Series X: I only have so much gaming time and I picked God of War over this. Regretting that choice but here we are. Looking forward to a straight forward big dumb shooter that doesn’t waste your time.
Horizon Forbidden West – PS5: Dreading the open world fluff, but the rest of the game seems fairly interesting. Never saw the credits in Zero Dawn, hopefully I’ll find a way to get there this time.
The Witcher 3 – PS5: You cannot finish the Witcher 3, you can only be finished with the Witcher 3. Looking forward to playing at 60fps.
Cyberpunk 2077 – PS5: The next generation upgrade happened, patches have apparently done wonders for this once undercooked mess. Perhaps it’s time?
Games I’m looking forward to in 2023 (hopefully)
Wrath: Aeon of Ruin – Boomer shooter on a modified version of the Quake 1 Engine. Supposed to release in Spring of 2023… Please don’t get delayed again (for the 4th time).
Atomic Heart – Bonkers Bioshock looking FPS sent in Russia with crazy robots... say no more.
Warhammer 40000: Boltgun – Classic 2.5D Doom inspired FPS in the Warhammer Universe. I know nothing about Warhammer but I know a whole lot about classic fps game play. I’ll bite.
Starfield – I guess I’m ready for another Bethesda RPG, it’s been a while. Hopefully the combat is a tad less janky than it’s predecessors, but equally as funny. Also, please don’t be locked at 30fps like the trailer…