WACO, Texas (KWTX) -

As another year comes to a close, I look back on the glorious wealth of great games released this year. Wow, what a year it’s been! That’s right, it’s the middle of December which means it’s time for the first annual Hardwired Game of the Year award to go out. I’ve actually made a short list here of my top ten games for the year, so hopefully you will discover a knew favorite by checking out all of those before getting to our winner. Remember these are my opinions, which while infallible are still technically subjective, so no hard feelings when I don’t put Elden Ring or Sonic on here.

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10. Sifu - our review

-Sloclap Studios

Platforms: PS4 and PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC and coming in Spring to Xbox

A Pak Mei focused infusion of martial arts and revenge all styled like a John Wu or Jet Li movie? Yes. Yes please. As one of the first releases I covered this year, Sifu had a brilliant design that drew me in and kept me engaged in tightly focused combat. At the time the story didn’t hit me right, and I felt it a bit shallow so I gave it a 7, but after revisiting this fist kissing festival of violence, it can’t be denied I should have put it at an 8 easily. The fluidity of the martial arts, the sense of overwhelming odds and man that adrenaline pumping sensation when you walk into a room full of 20 guys and walk out alone is unlike any other brawler I’ve played. Fantastically difficult, wondrously kinetic and gloriously mo-capped Sifu is a must play for anyone who loves martial arts or even just martial arts movies.

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9. Neon White

-Angel Matrix

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and PC

Speed running has become a deeply intrenched part of gaming. Most games don’t build around that, it’s more like the gamers push these games to their limits to get unbelievable speed clocking like beating Ocarina of time in 6 hours or Doom Eternal in 45 minutes. Neon White is the exception to this. This game IS speed, it offers this fast paced gameplay mixed with an inventive card system that let’s you pull off insane stuff like it’s normal. I beat one level in 8 seconds. The exhilaration you get from sliding into the top tier slot for speed is incredible. Like, it has to be experienced to really understand just how much fun this is.

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8. Need for Speed Unbound -our review

-Criterion Games

Platforms: PS4/5, Xbox, and PC

Beep beep, here comes a new classic from Criterion. Unbound brings a stylish new breath of air to the series, revamping it’s art style and layering in some much needed street racing tuning. This entry feels like a return to the Underground days, tuner cars, car culture and lots of cops. I spent hours customizing my vehicles for the most intense races against some truly competitive AI hellbent on keeping me from crossing the finish line. There are tons of cars offering you a wide variety of gameplay types. Honestly this is just a great return for Need for Speed.

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7. The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe edition

- Crows Crows Crows

Platforms:PS4/5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC

One of the best games of 2013 is back and more introspective and meta than ever. Go play it. I’m not going to tell you anymore than this because it’s best to go in blind. Just know its hilarious, it has multiple endings and theres even a full second game in this one. Now go play it. Like now. It is one of my favorite games made new and with lots of new content. It is snarky. It is funny. And it is make you good times.

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6.Marvel’s Midnight Suns- Our Review

-Firaxis Studios

Platforms: PS4/5, XBOX, and PC

Strategic turn based combat games aren’t usually my thing. But I do love me some Marvel, and some how the team over at Firaxis took that love and spread it like butter on a strategic turn-based deck building game FORCING me to love it. Midnight Suns tells the story of a resurrected Hunter assembling a team ranging from big names like Iron-Man and Spidey all the way to Magik, sister of Colossus, in order to fight Lilith a demon determined to make everyone have a bad time. Combat is a joy, but the real fun is the friends you make a long the way, because you get to be best friends with Captain America and high five Tony Stark. What more do you want?

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5. Horizon Forbidden West - our review

-Guerilla Games

Platforms: PS4 & PS5

A well rounded escalation of the first games excellent mechanics, Aloy returns in a new adventure as the clock ticks towards a biological reset on the planet. She takes on new enemies, new environments and a ton of new machine dinosaurs. It’s combat is refined to a tee and with well performed characters driving its fun action packed narrative forward this is one of the best games out there this year. If you enjoyed the unique post-post apocalypse setting of Zero Dawn and it left you wanting to explore and unravel the mysteries of the Horizon world or if you lived in a cauldron under a mountain and have just stumbled upon this and thought to yourself you want to hunt down giant machines then this is the game for you.

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4. The Entropy Centre

-Stubby Games

Platforms: PS4/5, Xbox, and PC

I love the Portal game series. Puzzle solving with physics never gets old and always challenges the brain. I say that because The Entropy Centre takes some serious influence from those games but instead of portals you manipulate time. This games atmosphere is both kind of haunting and also light hearted, it’s puzzles are good brain testers and it’s story is well delivered. Please play this game.

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3. Elden Ring

-Fromsoftware

Platforms: PS4/5, Xbox Series S and X, Xbox One and PC

Elden Ring’s is terrifying, mysterious, gloriously beautiful, and most importantly, inviting in a way few games – or even competing mediums of entertainment – are able to achieve. It’s stages are set, but your role and adventure are not, seek and fulfill your own desires across uncharted lands.

The failures are punishing. The victories are exuberant. And through it all, an undeniable draw pulls you, demanding you explore every inch of the world. Elden Ring is beyond hard, to both a benefit and its own downfall. Some will bounce hard off this brutality but the sheer joy you receive from felling an impossible god-like enemy is unmatched.

-This game is not for people like Robbie and Andrew.

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2. Rollerdrome - our review

-roll7

Platforms: PS4/5 and PC

Rollerdrome is a game about being cool and rad while on roller-skates. Also it’s about winning a blood sport while being cool and rad. Like Tony Hawk meets Max Payne. Something about Rollerdrome is just a perfect click, from it’s easy to pick up, difficult to master gameplay to it’s 70′s science –fiction vibes this game just speaks to me. It’s gunplay is smooth thanks to an always on auto-aim, the skating is fluid, frenetic and full of great moments and it’s easy to get lost in just how good these systems are. There are no fluff mechanics, nothing you’ll decide you don’t need to know or a weapon you won’t use because it sucks. Everything serves a purpose and though the blood sport is awful if you think about it for too long, it’s thoroughly enjoyable while you experience it. Rollerdrome is the magnum opus of Roll7 and by far my favorite game of theirs. Easily a can’t miss masterpiece.

A Few honorable mentions: Modern Warfare 2, Pokémon Legends Arceus, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Plague Tale: Requiem, Tunic, Stray and Immortality

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Game of the Year 2022: God of War Ragnarök - our review

-Sony Santa Monica

Platforms: PS4 & PS5

And our Game of The Year award for 2022 goes to, God of War Ragnarok. This is without exaggeration the best action-adventure game I have ever played. Gripping performances, a thrilling and emotional story, beautiful art direction and incredibly satisfying combat that challenges you at every turn, God of War managed to improve on everything that made it’s 2018 predecessor so impressive. If you haven’t played this series (and you’re of appropriate age) do yourself a favor and play them.

So that wraps up Gaming for 2022. 2023 is already looking absolutely stacked so here is to another year of excellent games. Feel free to leave a comment over on YouTube with your favorites from the year.

Got an idea for a subject we should cover email us at Hardwired@kwtx.com

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