Games of the Year 2022: Forza Horizon 5 Hot Wheels DLC

I always hesitate to put DLC on a list of games of the year but I had a lot of fun with this one so I felt I needed to include it!

The Hot Wheels DLC is the first of at least two new DLC areas that is included in the Forza Horizon 5 add on pass.  When Forza Horizon 5 came out last year I tried it because it was on Game Pass and was surprised that I got pulled in enough to play the entire game and do every event.  By the end of my time with it, I was essentially out of things to do.

The Hot Wheels DLC not only gives me more to do, it also includes an entire new map with multiple biomes and it's all tied together with gigantic life-sized hot wheels tracks.  It's so incredibly evident how much fun the team was having when making this DLC since they were getting to play around with all the Hot Wheels love from childhood but bring it into a completely new context within this game.

I loved my time with it and it has made me even more excited to see what they do with their next DLC map for this game.

If I were adding just the base Forza Horizon 5 to the list it would be very high up, but I'm putting this one more around mid-list ranking since it's a DLC instead of the full game.  I really enjoyed my time with it, but a lot of that comes from the core mechanics already established by the base game:

1. Elden Ring
2. FFXIV Endwalker
3. Citizen Sleeper
4. The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe
5. Horizon Forbidden West
6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
7. Pokémon Legends: Arceus
8. Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers Edition
9. Neon White
10. Halo Infinite
11. Vampire Survivors
12. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
13. Cyberpunk 2077
14. Forza Horizon 5 Hot Wheels DLC
15. Triangle Strategy
16. Mario Strikers: Battle League
17. Stray
18. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
19. Nobody Saves the World
20. Unpacking
21. Total War: Warhammer 3
22. Tunic

At this point, I'm curious how long this running list will get by year end.  I'm also starting to think about whether I want to do this exercise again next year.  I'm not sure yet.

Games of the Year 2022: Stray

Stray was both amazing and a disappointment for me at the same time.  This is a great example of a game being a mixed bag for me.

The part that's amazing about Stray is the fidelity of the cat.  The animation, sound, behavior, motion capture, interactions, and everything having to do with being a cat are executed incredibly well.  This is probably the most well realized cat in a video game ever.  Every time I got a chance to just be cat-like I was having a great time.

My disappointment comes from the gameplay.  The trailers made me think this was going to be some kind of cyberpunk setting platformer game but instead it's just kind of an adventure game.  There's nothing wrong with adventure games but they're just not my favorite.  In terms of adventure games I've liked over time, this one is high up the list... but the genre just doesn't click with me very much.

If you're an adventure game fan that is also a cat lover, I can't recommend this game enough.  For me, it ended up in the lower quarter of my running list at number 16 for now:

1. Elden Ring
2. FFXIV Endwalker
3. Citizen Sleeper
4. The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe
5. Horizon Forbidden West
6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
7. Pokémon Legends: Arceus
8. Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers Edition
9. Neon White
10. Halo Infinite
11. Vampire Survivors
12. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
13. Cyberpunk 2077
14. Triangle Strategy
15. Mario Strikers: Battle League
16. Stray
17. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
18. Nobody Saves the World
19. Unpacking
20. Total War: Warhammer 3
21. Tunic

I fully anticipate more games coming in above Stray and pushing it down the list further as the year goes on.

Games of the Year 2022: Neon White

Neon White is a first person action platformer with shooting elements.  It's hard to describe, but if you watch a video of some gameplay you can grok it quickly.  Essentially, the game is all about platforming, but it also incorporates FPS elements along the way.  There are items you pick up in the form of cards and they each have two abilities.  One functions as a primary ability with ammo while the other one is a secondary ability based around movement but it requires you to discard the item.

Again, a lot going on there, but quick to pick up if you actually play.

Neon White was extremely fun... until it wasn't.  Based on the achievement list I took a look at, it seems like I made it to about 60% or 70% completion of the main story before I stalled out.  I didn't hit a brick wall of progression gating with difficulty.  Instead, I hit the point where I was having more stress than fun so I decided I should be done with it.

For the right kind of speedrunning or platforming fan, this could easily be their game of the year.  I would not be surprised to hear people arguing for this as GOTY during end of the year debates on podcasts and on gaming site articles.

But, for me, it was fun while it lasted but ultimately didn't have staying power.  That's why it's ending up right around the middle of the pack on my running list:

1. Elden Ring
2. FFXIV Endwalker
3. Citizen Sleeper
4. The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe
5. Horizon Forbidden West
6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
7. Pokémon Legends: Arceus
8. Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers Edition
9. Neon White
10. Halo Infinite
11. Vampire Survivors
12. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
13. Cyberpunk 2077
14. Triangle Strategy
15. Mario Strikers: Battle League
16. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
17. Nobody Saves the World
18. Unpacking
19. Total War: Warhammer 3
20. Tunic

I do look forward to seeing people master this game and destroy record times in the future.  It could be a cool speedrunning game to keep an eye on.