As I start to organize my thoughts around 2022’s games and what I enjoyed, what had an impact, what’s unfinished, and how I want to present all this, I came to a realization. Even if I don’t do a ranked list (which is the direction I’m leaning), every year sees me struggle with what to do with three games. These are games I play, without exaggeration, nearly every day of the year every year and have for some time. So I looked at the games in question and thought, “How can I acknowledge these in a way consistent with the games themselves and free up a space on my annual list?”
The first and most draconian solution is inspired by Magic the Gathering: Arena, the digital translation of the 30+ year old card game. In Magic, when a card is too powerful, too metagame defining and oppressive to the game, it can be banned. That’s it, no more using it in all or specific formats. Again, this seemed draconian and not in the spirit of wanting to say “I’ve really liked these games for a long time and am going to continue doing so, so let’s formalize that.” Fortunately, the other two games causing this reflection had a more appropriate way to answer this quandary.
Hearthstone, another digital card game, faced a similar problem with cards being too powerful, too important to the metagame, and oppressive when it came to future design decisions. Did they ban those cards? Well, kind of, but they at least had better marketing for those cards going away: They went into the Hall of Fame. Subsequent changes to game modes and how card sets are rotated in and out those game modes have made this less impactful, but the idea of retiring something and venerating it as a “Hall of Famer” is certainly more in line with what I wanted to accomplish than “banning” games from being considered for my Games of the Year. Add in the fact that the final game of this triad is the MLB The Show franchise, and declaring these my Hall of Famers is a no-brainer.
As mentioned, I play these games almost daily in the aggregate. Currently, I’m playing less of MLB The Show 22 because the baseball season is over and content for their live services mode of Diamond Dynasty has slowed to a trickle. But when my PlayStation year in review stats are available, I’m certain they will show a frankly obscene amount of hours spent playing this game. I’m not playing a ton of Magic at this moment because I’m not in love with the most recent set of cards and mechanics, but Hearthstone has introduced a new set and class that has me fully invested in new deckh building ideas and strategies. This cyclical nature is going to continue and doesn’t need one to three spaces on every annual games list I do.
I’m hard pressed to see what other games or franchises could make this list. Assassin’s Creed? Unlikely - I love Assassin’s Creed but each game stands on its own with incredible potential to be the highlight of a console generation (Assassin’s Creed II: Brotherhood) or a disappointing buggy mess (Assassin’s Creed: Unity). Each entry deserves its own appraisal, while MlB The Show is pretty much what it’s going to be from year to year. Can another card game get its hooks into me like Magic or Hearthstone? Maybe, but I’ve been playing Hearthstone since 2014, Magic Arena since 2018, and its paper grandfather since 1995. I’ll give you a sneak peek at my list for 2023 and tell you Marvel Snap is on it, but it’s going to have to hold my attention for 5+ years before we enshrine it here.
So welcome to the first of…some…posts on my favorite games of 2022. We’ve officially enshrined Hearthstone, Magic the Gathering Arena, and the MLB The Show franchise into my Games Of The Year Hall of Fame.
Next up: I’m sorry, but I just didn’t and won’t play enough of these to render a verdict this year!