For most of 2022, the video game industry was defined more by its past than its future. Microsoft is desperately trying to acquire Activision Blizzard, a gaming giant whose stable of franchises includes Call of Duty and Warcraft. One of Sony’s biggest “releases” was the revamped PlayStation Plus, a subscription service that, for an additional monthly fee, grants access to games from the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3. Even some of the year’s most discussed games feel rooted the past: More than a year after its disastrous launch, Cyberpunk 2077 got a massive patch that moved it much closer to the game it should have been all along.
Fortunately, 2022 has also seen a solid lineup of new games, released on a variety of platforms, though some haven’t been easy to find. Which games might you have missed? We’re here to help. (And for the sake of making sure we’re actually tipping our hat to new games, this list excludes all re-releases, remasters, and remakes — so no Uncharted: The Last of Us Part I or Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII here.
Here are the best video games of 2022, along with where you can play them:
20. Card Shark
(Nintendo Switch, Windows, Mac)
The most enjoyably tense stealth game released so far in 2022 doesn’t ask players to sneak past guards or shoot security cameras with a silenced pistol. Instead, you’re dropped into the shoes of a mute servant in 18th century France, teaming up with a scheming nobleman to cheat rich idiots out of their gambling money. As you peep at your mark’s cards, dropping silent clues for your ally while trying not to be noticed, you’ll feel like a conman worthy of an Ocean’s Eleven prequel.
Scott Meslow
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