Best PC Games of 2022

There’s a vast contingent of people out there who prefer to play their games on PC, and there’s a long, long list of reasons for that. Of course, it helps that the flow of excellent releases on the platform just never, ever stops. 2022 was no different in that regard. From long-awaited new releases to PC ports of beloved older titles, the platform saw a steady stream of great new games over the course of the last 12 months. Here, we’re going to recognize what we felt were the very best, before crowning one of them as our favourite of the lot. 

NOTE: The nominees and winner were decided by an internal vote held among the entire GamingBolt staff.

NOMINEES:

OVERWATCH 2

The slow death of the original Overwatch, the degrading reputation of Blizzard Entertainment, and the prolonged development of Overwatch 2 had combined in the exact opposite of a perfect storm in the lead-up to the long-awaited sequel’s launch, but in the end, Overwatch 2 manages to clear most of those hurdles. Blizzard’s newest hero shooter has launched with some issues, and for obvious reasons, it hasn’t had the kind of impact its predecessor did, but there’s still a great deal to love here. The core gameplay remains excellent, several smart improvements have refined it further, and with Blizzard’s full attention on the game once again, it has an active and thriving player base.

THE LEGEND OF HEROES: TRAILS FROM ZERO

Western fans of Nihon Falcom’s The Legend of Heroes series are finally getting to play official localizations of older instalments in the series. This year saw the launch of Trails from Zero, 12 years on from its original launch in Japan for the PSP, and while there are some rough edges here, for fans of the series, this game is unequivocally unmissable. Combining an excellent story, a wonderfully written cast of characters, addictive combat, and a stagger amount of engaging things to do, Trails from the Zero delivers a meaty, unforgettable experience. It takes a little while to get going, but with several quality-of-life improvements (like high-speed mode), it’s easier to get into this game than ever before, even for series newcomers.

SIFU

Sifu has seen plenty of success on both critical and commercial fronts, but one could easily argue that it’s still perhaps a little underrated- because that’s how good Sloclap’s kung fu brawler is. If you’re the kind of person who wants their games to be challenging, demanding, but incredibly satisfying, you can’t go wrong with Sifu. It boasts incredible combat, which feels even better to engage in than it does to look at- and that’s saying a lot, because it’s a joy to look at, thanks not only to the game’s excellent animations, but also its gorgeous art design. Since launch, Sifu has also added excellent new gameplay features, from gameplay modifiers to difficulty levels and much more, which makes it that much more of an irresistible prospect.

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2023

Football Manager 2023 is the sort of game most people think of think of when they call something “niche”, but ask it’s massive, dedicated, and hopelessly addictive community, and they’ll tell you it’s one of very few annual franchises that keep getting better year-on-year. This year’s game represents perhaps the smallest upgrade Sports Interactive’s sim series has made over the previous year’s entry in quite some time, but even so, this is the best Football Manager has ever been (which isn’t small praise by any means). Yes, it’s a pretty granular upgrade, but when the core experience is this good, even a small improvement can be quite enough.

MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES

Sony has accelerated its plans to bring PlayStation titles to PC. It brought a great many of those in 2022, and without a doubt, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is one of the very best games in that group. It’s  shorter, relatively more truncated experience as compared to the original, yes, but in many ways, that’s it’s biggest strength. It also feels denser, more packed, its side activities more meaningful. Meanwhile, thanks to Miles’ bioelectricity powers and invisibility, combat, stealth, and traversal are also elevated (not that they weren’t great to begin with), while of course, the game also tells an excellent story. Nixxes Software has also done an incredible job optimizing the game for PC and providing a host of options, which is also worth special praise.

STRAY

Stray could have easily used its unique premise as a clutch to deliver a bland gameplay experience, but this is a game that not only pulls you in with that unique premise, but also gets you to stay until the end because it’s genuinely enjoyable to play. Its post-apocalyptic cyberpunk world is fascinating to traverse, and made even better by all the incredible and charming visual flourishes it tucks in around every corner. Gameplay is simple and straightforward, but it keeps delivering enjoyable, well-made puzzles and challenges at a regular pace. And, of course, you play as a cat. What’s not to like?

ELDEN RING

Of course Elden Ring is nominated for best PC game. We can save you the trouble- it’ll be nominated for most things, and deservedly so. FromSoftware’s excellent open world transition of their celebrated Souls formula hit the gaming world with the force of a thousand suns, and with good reason. Incredible open world design, more ways to tackle the game’s bevy of challenges, and rewards and content upon rewards and content, all on top of incredible boss fights and pitch perfect combat… yeah, obviously it’s nominated. Admittedly, the PC version had a fair few issues at launch- it still has a lot of them, actually. But that, more than anything, should tell you just how good the game really is, that even with a suboptimal port, it manages to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the other great games the platform got this year.

MONSTER HUNTER RISE

When Monster Hunter Rise came out last year for the Nintendo Switch, it was a great game. When it came to PC this year, it was, of course, still a great game- but even better, because it launched after a bunch of content and feature updates, and because PC as a platform is so well suited to the kind of game that Monster Hunter usually is. Bringing together the kinetic mobility and finely tuned combat that made Rise such a great addition to the series’ canon, and then adding some excellent icing on top of the delicious cake with the Sunbreak expansion, Monster Hunter Rise on PC represents the definitive way to play one of the best games in a very high-quality series. And sure enough, we were glad to see the PC community embrace it every bit as much as their Switch counterparts did last year.

GOD OF WAR

God of War has become the undisputed flag bearer for PlayStation Studios over the last few years, so of course, PC players were itching to get their hands on the game on their platform of choice. That God of War (2018) is an excellent game on PC is no surprise to anyone, but special praise also has to go to how good of a port it is. Developed in conjunction with Valkyrie Entertainment (call their name a happy coincidence), this is an excellent PC port, with incredible visuals and performance, a wide range of options, a significantly expanded array of accessibility features, and much more. We can only hope that when God of War Ragnarok inevitable follows in its predecessor’s footsteps, it’ll be just as good.

WINNER:

ELDEN RING