Xbox left us with some interesting games and even more interesting new services in 2022. With Xbox Game Pass becoming the ultimate tool for gaming, Xbox players dove into more games than ever! Though many video games come to us as cross-platform, Xbox had a couple of their own exclusives this year (and no, we don’t count PC as separate, it’s Microsoft!). Storytelling is never an afterthought with Xbox, and these are our favourites from the console this year!
Here are the nominees for Best Xbox Game 2022:
Grounded
Writer: Philip Watson
Console: Xbox Series X
Score: 8
Price: Game Pass
The story is a simple one: you wake up as one of four teenage characters — not unlike other hit survival game Left 4 Dead — and you find out that not only have you been released from a silver briefcase, but you are now the size of an insect, but smaller than even that. The main objective is to return to your previous size, and ‘Go Home’ which is denoted by a very easy-to-read quest screen. The storyline here is a simple one that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but this is a good concept all things considered.
Grounded is a unique title with a simple premise, but a lot of meat on its bones. The crafting systems, and general exploration are a must-try for fans that enjoy sprawling sandbox titles loaded with danger, but the desolate feeling of the title, and fans who enjoy a story with their exploration may feel a little lost here.
As Dusk Falls
Writer: Khari Taylor
Console: Xbox Series X
Score: 9
Price: Game Pass
Perhaps what’s most intriguing however is that while As Dusk Falls aims to tell its own unique story, it’s also deliberately designed to be a game for anyone and everyone, allowing up to eight players to play the game together offline in couch co-op, online, or a mix of both, along with the option for each player to use an app on one’s smartphone as an input device instead of a controller.
As Dusk Falls is a thriller that doesn’t mind leaving some ends untied and some questions unanswered, and is even bold enough to hint that there might be more stories in its universe to be told. I’m puzzled as to how that might be achieved, but nevertheless I intend to follow this developer’s next project with great interest.
WINNER Best Xbox Game 2022 Pentiment
Writer: Hayes Madsen
Console: Xbox Series X
Score: 9.5
Price: $24.99
There’s nothing quite like a good murder mystery, a story that manages to pull you along a string while delightfully sprinkling in intrigue and mystery. Video games are certainly no stranger to the genre, but Pentiment feels like it really gets what makes a murder-mystery tick, more than any other video game I’ve ever played.
Pentiment’s writing is utterly charming and really adds a lot to the overall feel of the story. Many of the townspeople have fascinating stories to tell, and the way they all weave together across time is something that kept me hooked throughout the entire experience.
Pentiment is a vibrant adventure that fully embraces its time period, artistic style, and sense of mystery. Its methodical pacing and focus on dialogue won’t appeal to everyone, but Pentiment knows what it wants to be and does it exceptionally well.
