The big one. The game we collectively agree to be the best of the best released this year.
It all comes down to this. From the shortlisted Top 30 games, we ranked the Top 10 games of the year, and of course, determine our Game Of The Year.
Previous winners: Nier Automata, Monster Hunter World, Control, Yakuza: Like A Dragon, Psychonauts 2
Game Of The Year Nominees
- Citizen Sleeper
- God Of War Ragnarok
- Gran Turismo 7
- Marvel’s Midnight Suns
- Need For Speed Unbound
- OlliOlli World
- Rollerdrome
- Signalis
- Stray
- Vampire Survivors
How The Winner Is Decided (Deliberations Summary)
Conveniently enough, we nominated just enough games to be our collective top 10, saving a few headaches from previous categories (something we might consider for next year’s awards).
New for this year, we immediately push our personal GOTYs (Marvel’s Midnight Suns, Need For Speed Unbound, Vampire Survivors) to the top 5 of the list.
There’s definitely a hint of recency bias here, as two of the most recent releases on December 2 managed to eke out to the top 5. Something we are all aware of during the deliberations but decided these games still deserve the merit.
Racing games, a staple in the GM GOTY Awards, get another good run this year with not one, but two games in contention for the main award. Award winners Citizen Sleeper, Vampire Survivors and Need For Speed Unbound feature on the Top 10 list.
Game Of The Year
After all the discussions, debates, and roundabout fillibusters, this is Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters’ Top 10 Games of 2022, and Game Of The Year.
- Need For Speed Unbound
- Gran Turismo 7
- Marvel’s Midnight Suns
- Vampire Survivors
- Citizen Sleeper
- God Of War Ragnarok
- OlliOlli World
- Rollerdrome
- Signalis
- Stray
Need For Speed Unbound brings a definite return to form for the racing game series, with a bold fresh new aesthetic and an air of confidence. If the Need For Speed games from 2015 until 2019 felt like a developer fumbling about and unsure of what’s need doing, Unbound is the entire opposite. Every element felt deliberately considered and designed and fits all well together as a street-racing extravagance.
One might argue Need For Speed Heat ran so Need For Speed Unbound can fly. Many of the features in Heat are present, and it was a good foundation for Unbound to build on.
Exhilarating cop chases, characters with personality you regularly race against, a strong motivation and structure to propel you to finish the campaign. Combine that with a much-improved handling physics, best-in-class car customisation, and an inspired soundtrack that hones specifically on one genre of music and makes it work, and you get what we are dubbing Game Of The Year 2022.
Congratulations to Need For Speed Unbound for being Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters’ Game Of The Year 2022!
Check out the GM GOTY Awards 2022 hub for the rest of the categories and winners.