Best Action Game of 2022 - Article
by Paul Broussard , posted on 13 January 2023 / 4,453 Views
It was quite a year for action titles, with a number of solid showings all-round, from more well-established AAA titles to smaller, indie IPs trying to make their mark on the scene. Fittingly, our shortlist has both, with God of War: Ragnarök and Bayonetta 3 representing two of the most famous action series in gaming, and Vampire Survivors checking in as a new indie rep looking to establish itself. Rounding out the list are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, back from the arcade to once again grace our TVs. But just like in a fight, only one can walk away victorious.
The Shortlist:
Bayonetta 3
God of War Ragnarök
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Vampire Survivors
The Runner-Up:
God of War Ragnarök
The two latest God of War games have received near universal acclaim, and with good reason. Combining some of the best storytelling in gaming with competent action was a solid foundation for the first title, but Ragnarök ups the ante by improving on many of the gameplay shortcomings of its predecessor and adding in some much-appreciated complexity. Expanded enemy variety, better bosses, and an expansion of Kratos’ moveset are just some of the ways in which Ragnarök improves upon the 2018 title and defines itself as an accomplished action title with an excellent narrative.
The Winner:
Bayonetta 3
But there can be only one winner, and given that Kratos’ original adventure was heavily inspired by a Hideki Kamiya game, it’s perhaps only fitting that in 2022 Kamiya demonstrated that his games are still the standard worth imitating. Bayonetta 3 retains the series’ reputation for high octane, fast-paced action, but kicks things up a notch with an extra character and a number of new mechanics. Bayonetta herself controls as well as she ever has, with new demon allies summonable mid-battle and a bevy of weapons to supplement her offensive capabilities, while newcomer Viola brings a more Metal Gear Rising-esque flavor to proceedings with a parry mechanic and her summon, Cheshire. After an eight year absence, it’s good to have the witch back, and we can only hope it won’t take another eight years for the next installment in the series.
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I thought it would be the other way around with the top 2. Kinda surprised.
A lot of love for Bayo (and Nintendo) on this site so I'm not suprised.
why not surprised? im just curious
indeed, bias here is gigantic in favor of Nintendo.
Not even a contest,
Gow ragna takes the cake
Yes, by a mile. It's just some strange Nintendo dominance on this site.
Or it's a better game when it comes to action gameplay which it is. Sorry but no western developer can touch Japan in action gameplay mechanics. Capcom and Platinum are the cream of the crop. Western games' melee is much more basic. Rare exceptions but GOW has never been as a series one of them. GOW is better written but this award is best action game. Not best story.
Expected from the site!!
Something isnt biased just because it doesnt align with your opinion. Bayonetta 3s a great game. GOWs a great game. One of them had to win.
So granted, this is only one category, so it's possible this misses potential trends within genre awards (I'd like to do a deeper dive analysis but there's no easy-to-access comprehensive list of the genre awards that I know of), but at least in terms of overall GotY awards hosted on this website, there have been more games exclusive to Sony consoles that have won overall GotY than games exclusive to a Nintendo console (5 to 4).
I think if history is anything to go by, it's exclusives as a whole that are represented in our awards more consistently than multiplatform titles. But I would push back against the idea that Nintendo is represented more heavily than Sony.
Apologies if I'm extrapolating a bit here, but the original poster said that a Nintendo game winning over a Sony game was "to be expected," which, to me at least, seems like it's suggesting that the site leans towards Nintendo over Sony.
Perhaps I should have responded to the original comment to avoid confusion, but that's what my post was primarily directed at.
I voted for TMNT on this one, glad it at least made the shortlist. Fantastic brawler in the style of the old gen 3 and 4 TMNT games, with an amazing soundtrack by Tee Lopes of Sonic music fame.
feelings will be hurt!
Solid year for action games, God of War and TMNT are my top 2, but I hear great things for the Bayo series as well.
I am actually surprised Vampire Survivors didn't make it among the first two.
Vampire Survivors is an addictive little game but it's not exactly on the par with great action games. Its a fun little game to play that went viral but thats about it. Certainly doesn't deserve any awards compared to more full fledged games.
GoW is much better game than Bayo.3.
Favoritism toward Bayo.3 and Nintendo is crystal clear.
I mean given the particulars of how new GoW handles its combat, it should probably not even be a runner up, but the pickings were light in 2022 I guess (or perhaps I am wrong this is a strong year vs some others where, outside indies, there are no AAA's or perhaps even AA's).
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