Lile's Indie Corner: Lile's Top 10 Games of 2022
Hello you in front of the screen, I hope you’re having a fantastic day! I’m Lile and Dylan and Dave were gracious enough to offer me a guest spot on their website and I’m very excited to tell you all about my top 10 games of 2022.
I have a small YouTube channel called Lile‘s Indie Corner where I talk all about narrative-driven indie and AA games. Which is also why this list is chock-full of those. If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, come join the fun here: https://www.youtube.com/
Now off to some gaaaames
10. Somerville
I’m starting this list off with one of my most anticipated games from last year. And one I actually didn’t think was even going to release in 2022 because they were very quiet for a long time, only posting concept art and not much else. But then we got the surprise release in the middle of November! And you can always sign me up for an alien invasion story with some family drama sprinkled on top. I love that stuff! Gameplay wise we got something akin to Limbo or Inside, which wasn’t a big surprise given that one of the founders of Jumpship came from Playdead. Now I have to say Somerville is plagued by technical shortcomings and controlling issues and I get that people are upset about this. But I still had a great time with it. The art style, the colour pallete and especially the sound design were so good, I could overlook getting stuck on scenery a lot.
Also this game has a dog.
So.
You know.
9. Trek to Yomi
This was one of those games I had no idea even existed until it suddenly appeared on GamePass. And I was hooked just seeing the cover art. Made to look like an old Japanese Samurai movie, the aesthetics of this game are fantastic. Coupled with a soundtrack that is so fitting and pulls you right into this world. And then you can only play it in Japanese with subtitles, it just makes the game. Some may find that pretentious, but I love stuff like this. In essence it’s an action-adventure side-scroller fighting game that I really enjoyed. Again this is a title people have been very split on but in this case I honestly don’t agree with the criticisms. I had a really good time with it, even though I’m not into old Samurai movies and am usually not that interested in things like it, but for some reason Trek to Yomi really worked for me, which probably had something to to with the folklore tale approach that added supernatural elements to the story. And I would recommend it for style points alone.
8. NORCO
Weird, weirder, NORCO. This point-and-click adventure game also took me completely by surprise. I heard about it first through a friend who plays a lot of point-and-click games and I was very much intrigued. A weird and/or unique art design will get me on board very quickly as you might be able to tell by now. NORCO is set in a fictionalised version of the real town of Norco, Louisiana. You play as Kay returning to her home town after her mother’s death. And she soon realises that her brother has gone missing. So off she goes, trying to find him. The puzzles, so typical for this genre, aren’t super complex and I don’t think you will have a hard time getting through the game or scratching you head too much at what you are supposed to do next.
But that’s not really what NORCO wants from you anyway. It’s more about absorbing the vibe, getting lost in this weird, rundown industrial city that has been devastated by several floods and pretty much been taken over by a corrupt corporation. And, trust me, you will get tangled up in their business if you want to or not. There are also some science-fiction robots and oversized birds to find.
It’s weird. And I love it.
7. Scorn
So… I don’t like horror games. I also don’t deal well with body horror. So, why would I pick up a game that made gross body horror its main selling point? Maybe I’m a masochist. But maybe I was once again just sucked in by the art design and the weirdness of it all. (See, I told you that’s a thing with me).
I will say that the trailers for Scorn were pretty misleading. It’s not an action-packed horror shooter where you constantly fight nasty looking monsters but it’s actually mostly a walking simulator with cool puzzles to solve. Puzzles that can become quite tricky because the game doesn’t have a UI to speak of and really gives you zero explanation for what you are supposed to do. It’s about exploration, trying things out, pushing buttons on these barbaric looking machines to figure out what they do. And that’s what I loved most about the game, the exploration and the environments. It had this kind of cosmic horror feel to it where you know you’re so, SO small compared to the powers that be. And they were gorgeous, they were gross, they were fantastic. And the devs understood to change it up every once in a while to keep it fresh and fun. It also doesn’t overstay its welcome, which is something I’ve really come to appreciate.
But I do have to say something about the combat. It’s not fun and can be frustrating and I wish it wasn’t there.
But it didn’t annoy me to the point where I wanted to put the game down, it also didn’t break immersion for me. I really liked Scorn and I didn’t think I would. I didn’t think I could make it through the game but I did and it’s one of my favourite experiences this year. I hope the indie space has something like this for me to play around Halloween again next year. Then maybe I will become a horror fan after all!
6. Sifu
You know besides horror, there is another thing I don’t like: Rogue-lites/Rogue-likes. I have tried many of them and it always ends the same; even if I initially enjoy the gameplay, I eventually put it down because it’s too frustrating for me. I don’t see much value in doing the same thing over and over and over and over to only lose everything in the end. I know people are enjoying that feeling of finally overcoming the odds and beating a game like this. I’m not one of those people.
Usually.
Again, I picked up Sifu because I liked the style, but also because I really enjoy a fluid combat system. Spiderman on the PS4 made you feel super awesome and I was looking for a cool hand-to-hand fighting (or brawling for those to whom that distinction matters) game that could really hook me. And I found it in Sifu!
And probably for the first time I had that feeling of accomplishment when I finally beat a level and managed to get out the other side. And I had the persistence to finish it, too. I even went for the true ending! That’s huge for me, believe it or not. Not something I would normally even consider but the gameplay was so good and the fighting felt so nice, I just wanted to keep going! Also the museum level is one of the best I have seen this year, that was just astonishing to go through and I’m so happy to have played it.
The story isn’t super interesting, it worked well enough to keep me going, but it definitely wasn’t the strongest aspect. Didn’t matter though, because PUNCH!
I’m just constantly blown away by what indie studios are able to accomplish these days. How many times have we been disappointed by AAA titles where the combat just feels lacklustre and poorly implemented. And here is this small development team making it feel absolutely fantastic. Just incredible!
5. Citizen Sleeper
Cyberpunk anime style in space, a story revolving around what it means to be human, a really cool dice mechanic to determine whether or not you succeed at a task? Sign me the heck up. Citizen Sleeper is amazing, simple as that. And I cannot recommend it enough. The writing is so strong, every single storyline is crafted with care and is interesting to complete and the characters just steal your heart. The Eye as a location was really fun to explore while also very contained in its scope. Big enough to feel like a space station but small enough not to get overloaded with quests and characters.
Citizen Sleeper hit all the sweet spots for me. From the get-go where you get told what a Sleeper is and that you signed your life away to a corporation and fled from indentured servitude, I was hooked. I wanted to make a new life for myself but knew it would almost be impossible. The philosophical questions brought up are treated seriously but not with so much gravitas that it distracts you from the game. It’s all woven into the story where you need to hide but earn money, flee but also stay for the friends you made. It tucks at your heartstrings and it does it well. It gives you several ways to get off the station to finally be free of Essen-Arp but you know there’s always going to be something not wanting you to go.
This was such a good game and it still receives free content updates. And since I have not seen everything there is to see anyway, I plan to go back to it next year once they released their last story batch and experience it all over again. Because it really is just that good.
Also the soundtrack is great, it has this low-fi vibe that you can just put on when you’re doing chores or if you just want to chill for a second. And it makes for such a good backdrop to Citizen Sleeper. Get it!
4. Pentiment
Obsidian is one of my favourite development studios of all time. There has rarely been a game made by them that disappointed me. And Pentiment really blew me away. This Medieval art style and the incredible animations, the way they use calligraphy to give every character their own voice even though there is no voice acting is simply amazing. I didn’t really know what to expect from the game from the one trailer I had watched months ago but I knew I wanted to play it, because it was Obsidian and I have so much trust in them.
What I got was a dialogue-heavy adventure game built around a murder mystery. And of course I needed to figure out who did it. And after Knives Out, we all know we love a good whodunnit. And again this is a game that really pulled me in. It’s relatively small in scope to the point I really got to know every single person in Tassing and their motivations and I loved it. I will take a game like this over and open-world icon fest any day of the week. If you can give me an intimate experience where the characters matter, where the writers care about character voice and where you can give me a good mystery on top, I will be on board and I will finish your game.
And really, just from the art alone you can tell how much Obsidian cares about their craft. Because this is a risk. Doing something that looks so weird and unique is going to turn players away before they ever even know what your game is about. But I honestly think it paid off. A game like this probably wouldn’t work as well with a realistic graphic’s style. It just gives it this artistic touch that it needs to really stand out. And to make the game work. And I appreciate it a lot.
I really didn’t want this game to end, I almost didn’t want to catch the killer because then I knew it would be over. And I want more of this calligraphy dialogue style they used to characterise these people without a single voice-line. It’s honestly genius and probably a lot of work. Just kudos to Obsidian to consistently give us amazing experiences and to dare doing something different.
3. Endling - Extinction is Forever
Going into the top 3 already! I can tell you that I have shifted these games around a lot and if you ask me tomorrow, I will have probably changed my mind again but for now the fox game with the devastating story gets the number three spot.
I think from the premise alone you know this is not a happy game. Being advertised as playing the last fox mom on earth in a world where humans completely destroyed the environment, you know this is going to be a tear-jerker. And it definitely did not disappoint.
Trying to keep your cubs alive while having to watch humans still being greedy and everything around you just slowly disappearing more and more is heartbreaking. And it’s also poignant. We’re losing about 150 species – both flora and fauna – every single day. And it’s not hard to imagine that with the climate crisis getting ever worse that this scenario might one day play out. Probably not exactly like in the game, but something akin to it.
So, this is an important game to make. It’s important to make people aware and I applaud Herobeat Studios for tackling it without getting overly preachy. Because most of their story-telling is done through the environment itself. Every day we – as the fox mom – lose a little bit more of the land we relied on. Every day we lose a little bit more access to food. Every day it gets harder to keep our cubs alive. And on top of that you have to deal with asshole humans who still want to kill you. For your fur.
This game really holds up a mirror and asks the question if maybe you, the player, might not be able to do a little more. To care a little more. And I think that’s a good thing.
Gameplay wise it’s a survival game. You scavenge for food you try and teach your cubs skills they will need to survive. While in the back of your head you know… ultimately it’s futile. You are the last fox mom on earth. But it’s instinct and it’s hope. Even if just a glimmer.
And I think that’s ultimately the thing I still like about humanity. Hope makes us very inventive.
2. As Dusk Falls
Now going back to something a little less real life devastating, As Dusk Falls is another one of those games that just impressed me with its look. Nothing I have seen being done before, it’s a choices matter game where you’re basically watching a movie but then at certain points you make decisions that influence the way the movie plays out. But instead of a fluid 3d animation style, As Dusk Falls goes with a graphic novel look that is absolutely gorgeous!
I had gotten a little fatigued on these types of games since most of them were either centered around teenage horror stories or they were Telltale games. And neither one I was particularly interested in anymore. As Dusk Falls promised a more grounded story that took itself seriously and I really liked that. As you know by know a good story is really what can make or break a game for me and this one did not disappoint.
Especially in the first half this game is really exciting and nerve-wrecking and you feel like one wrong choice can have terrible consequences for several of the playable and non-playable characters. But the stand-off in the motel where you play both a part in the kidnappers AND the victim’s story is not the only amazing part in this game.
You also jump back in time every once in a while to learn the backstory to what is happening and where each of the characters is coming from. And that’s a really fun way to tell a story because it turns a very black-and-white situation into one full of grey areas where you actually don’t want anyone to get caught in the end and where you fight to keep everyone out of trouble, even though you know what they’re doing is wrong.
As Dusk Falls uses genre-typical QTEs and choices in the dialogue to make up its gameplay. The QTEs are not hard and they can even be turned off completely. All in all the accessibility options are great for this game and you could even let Twitch chat decide what was going to happen. They really put a lot of thought into that aspect of the game and that’s just really cool. More companies should adopt this approach, honestly.
All in all I think the first half of the game is much stronger than the second one but I still loved every second of it and I really hope we’re going to get a sequel to this game. These are the kind of choices matter games I want to see more of.
1. A Plague Tale: Requiem
My most anticipated game of 2022 is also my Game of the Year. I had high expectations for Requiem after playing Innocence earlier in 2022. And I can say this with confidence: It has exceeded them in every aspect.
The graphics are amazing, such a huge step upward from the first title in the series, the details are incredible, especially for the clothing. It’s mind-blowing honestly. There’s still a little bit of jank in the facial animations but it didn’t even matter. The gameplay underwent some fine-tuning but didn’t change too much compared to the first game.
The music is haunting. They used the original themes, expanded them, let new things influence them, used them to tell us what the characters had gone through between the first game and this one. It’s used to such great effect that I still get chills every time I hear it. Everything gets slightly turned on its head to indicate the emotional state of the characters and it enhances the undertones of every scene. I can not say enough good things about the music.
The same goes for the writing. I already loved Hugo and Amicia and their dynamic in the first game but this is something else. It’s so beautiful and so tragic and there are so many scenes that are still in my head because of one or two really great lines of dialogue that still won’t leave me, even though it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve played it at this point. And that is a big accomplishment when you think about how much dialogue this game has. But every sentence seems to be purposeful, it’s rarely just there to fill a silence but really to tell the story and let you in on the character’s mental state.
But the best dialogue in the world would fall flat if you didn’t have actors that could deliver it in an honest way. And I want to name Charlotte McBurney and Logan Hannan in particular because they did such an incredible job. They make the game and for two actors still so young I find that so impressive. The emotional lengths they have to go to to make their strife believable is hard and they do it, they just do it so perfectly. I’m not able to talk about this game without tearing up and for those who played it, you will know why.
Requiem is amazing. It’s one of those games that makes me feel so lucky that we have a thriving AA economy these days. Because seldom has a AAA studio dared to tell a story like this. And this is where I find the most enjoyment. Video games are a form of art to me. Not just mindless entertainment. Not that is wrong with that. I like playing some Among Us, too, just having fun with friends. But when I think about what really influences me and what really connects with me then it’s games like this that tell a great story, that have a team that care. And who want to connect with you emotionally.
And A Plague Tale: Requiem did it all. I really love it.
And that’s my list!
You can also find me on Twitter @lilescorner if you want to!