Favorite Computer Games of 2022

K. Fields
2023-01-08T11:00:08-05:00
Video Games

Last year, most of the computer games I played were ten to twelve years old. My backlog of unplayed games is so large that I can't play them fast enough. Here is a list of my favorites that I played in 2022.

1. Mass Effect Legendary Edition - This was my undisputed favorite of 2022. It is actually a compilation of three games: Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3. The games were remastered with numerous updates and released in this 2021 edition. It's a bit of a cheat selecting a trilogy as my favorite title but I did play them straight through as one continuous story.

2. Sid Meier’s Civilization V - I've previously enjoyed Civ III and Civ IV. Civilization V was another winner. The gameplay is familiar but each new version brings some changes to keep things fresh.

3. Avadon: The Black Fortress - This was the first game in a trilogy from the creator of the Avadon and Geneforge series. They are all computer RPGs with a retro feel. Heck, Avadon had a retro feel even back in 2011 when it first came out. Nevertheless, I have always enjoyed my time spent with games from Spiderweb Software.

4. Out of the Park Baseball 23 - I play OOTP Baseball every summer and it is always a gaming highlight of the year. In the 2022 NALB season, I led my Brooklyn Knights to the league's best record and a return to the playoffs after a two year absence. Unfortunately, the Knights lost the League Championship Series. Based on the amount of fun I had with OOTP 23, I probably should rank it #3 or even #2 on my list. However, the game doesn't change that much from year to year, so I'll leave it at #4.

5. Bejeweled 3 - It's no surprise that this PopCap game was extremely addicting. They have a knack for creating such titles. For a while, I couldn't put it down. There was always one more challenge, one more objective, one more score to beat…

6. Star Trek: Bridge Commander - I heard good things about this game many years ago (release date 2002) but never played it. Twenty years later, I finally got around to it. Dated? Sure. However, it was still a blast to be in command of a starship in this space combat simulation game.

7. Master of Magic - MoM came out a year after Master of Orion (1993), which I played some time ago. Once I learned the game mechanics and interface, I really enjoyed it. It was similar to Master of Orion or maybe a fantasy themed Civilization or many other 4X (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate) games.

8. Supreme Commander 2 - Supreme Commander was called a spiritual successor to Total Annihilation, which was a true classic. I never played SC but decided to try SC2 anyway. It was supposedly not as good as its predecessor but I still liked it. At least SC2 provided me one solid real-time strategy game to play in 2022.

9. Shatter - This was a really fun arcade game with gameplay similar to Arkenoid. Your goal is to destroy blocks with a ball and a paddle. Shatter adds a physics-based twist by including "blow" and "suck" controls to alter the path of the ball.

10. NightSky - This was a simple but still challenging puzzle platform game. For me, the length and difficulty of NightSky was just right.

Honorable mention: Swords & Soldiers HD - I tried to stick to a top ten list. However, Swords and Sorcery HD deserves a mention as well. It looks and plays like a mobile game but I found it way more enjoyable than expected. It is a side-scrolling real-time strategy game with three factions at war. I completed the single player campaign without ever getting bored or wanting to quit.