Gamer Malaya And Gamer Matters Game Of The Year Awards 2022

2022 is wrapping up and it was a good year for video games. Especially for us here at Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters.

And as per tradition, it’s time for the crew to convene, discuss and deliberate what are our favourite games of 2022 in the annual Game Of The Year Awards. We’ve been doing this since 2017. It’s not only a good time to celebrate the best games we enjoyed this year (and mock the worst ones), but also a way to chronicle the year for easy reference in the future.

Here are some ground rules that the Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters Game Of The Year Awards 2022 adhere to:

• The judging panel are all regular staff on the site (all three of us)
• The shortlisting of the Top 30 games is done before deliberations start
  • At least five other games, separate from the Top 30, are nominated for the Trashfire Award
• The cut-off date for eligible games for this year is December 2, 2022
• Games must be released in full (no Early Access games)
  • Games that made an impact during Early Access in previous years can get nominated after their full 1.0 release
• At least one panellist must vouch for a game that is in the Top 30
  • Games that no panellists have played (but followed closely via streams/socials/community sites/etc.) are still eligible
• Deliberations for each category winner are done as part of an episode on dia.log – The Gamer Matters Podcast
  • The shortlisted Top 30 games also get its own episode prior to the deliberations, justifying why the games made the cut
• Winners of awards are not based entirely on objectivity. Results are subject to the many biases and preferences of each panellist
  • It reflects the overall sentiment of the game within Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters. These are our favourite games of the year
  • Review scores are ignored

Previous GM GOTY Awards Game Of The Year

• 2021: Psychonauts 2
• 2020: Yakuza: Like A Dragon
• 2019: Control
• 2018: Monster Hunter World
• 2017: Nier Automata

GM GOTY Awards 2022 Award Categories

For 2022, the categories available remain mostly the same bar one. We replaced Best Remake/Remaster with Best Game On Game Pass, which better reflect most of the games that have been shortlisted (we played fewer remakes/remasters, and more games on PC Game Pass).

Here are all the award categories available on GM GOTY Awards 2022:

• Best Game On Game Pass
• Best Meme Generator
• Best Game We Didn’t Play
• Best Racing Game
• Best Story
• Trashfire Award
• Best Indie
• Game Of The Year, Ranked Top 10

GM GOTY Awards 2022, Top 30 Games of 2022

The Top 30 games of 2022, in alphabetical order, are the following:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
• Chinatown Detective Agency
• Citizen Sleeper
• Dorfromantik
• Elden Ring
• Gigabash
• God Of War: Ragnarok
• Gran Turismo 7
• Grid Legends
• Hardspace Shipbreaker
• Last Call BBS
• Marvel’s Midnight Suns
• Need For Speed Unbound
• New Tales From The Borderlands
• OlliOlli World
• Pokemon Legends: Arceus
• Powerwash Simulator
• Return To Monkey Island
• Rogue Legacy 2
• Rollerdrome
• Scorn
• Signalis
• Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins
• Stray
• Teardown
• The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
• Tunic
• Vampire Survivors
• Weird West
• You Suck At Parking

Best Game On Game Pass

The best game we got to play thanks to our PC Game Pass subscription.

• Citizen Sleeper
• Hardspace Shipbreaker
• Signalis
• Tunic
• You Suck At Parking

Best Meme Generator

The best games that dominated our conversations, social media, and shitposts throughout the year.

• Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)
• Elden Ring
• Pokemon Legends: Arceus
• Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins
• Stray

Best Game We Didn’t Play

The game we love best from afar and pining to play.

• Elden Ring

Best Racing Game

The only normal genre-based game award here and it is as it says.

• Gran Turismo 7
• Grid Legends
• Need For Speed Unbound

Best Aesthetic

The best game to use a style, a combination of art style and sound design, that makes it stand out from the beige of normality.

• Chinatown Detective Agency
• Need For Speed Unbound
• OlliOlli World
• Scorn
• Teardown

Best Story

The narrative that captures our hearts and minds delivered in video game form.

• Citizen Sleeper
• God Of War Ragnarok
• Return To Monkey Island
• The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe
• Weird West

Trashfire Award

Why? These games are either objectively the worst or the ones with so much squandered potential. Put in the trashfire where it belongs.

• CrossfireX
• Babylon’s Fall
• Chocobo GP
• Diablo Immortal
• Overwatch 2

Best Indie Game

Games that don’t need the budget of a AAA blockbuster to be impactful, fun, or enthralling. Independent games can do what no big-budget game can do: be anything they want.

• Chinatown Detective Agency
• Citizen Sleeper
• GigaBash
• Teardown
• Vampire Survivors

Game Of The Year

The big one. The game we collectively agree to be the best of the best released this year.

1. Need For Speed Unbound
2. Gran Turismo 7
3. Marvel’s Midnight Suns
4. Vampire Survivors
5. Citizen Sleeper
6. God Of War Ragnarok
7. OlliOlli World
8. Rollerdrome
9. Signalis
10. Stray