The Best Reviewed Games of 2022

2022 has the potential to be the biggest year for new video games since 2017 — a standout year that brought us Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Horizon Zero Dawn, Persona 5, Resident Evil 7, Nier: Automata, Assassin’s Creed Origins, and so much more. And now, less than two months into the year, that potential is being realized: 10 games released in 2022 have already been awarded a review score of 8 or higher from IGN.

To keep track of the year’s best new releases we’ve compiled this running list of every new, standalone game (no DLC) that received an 8 ("Great”), 9 (“Amazing”), or 10 (“Masterpiece'') from IGN. Click through the gallery below or continue scrolling for our full list of 2022's best games, ordered from lowest score to highest.

This list will be updated throughout the year as new games are given qualifying review scores.

Review Score: 8 ("Great")

These games leave us with something outstanding to remember them by, usually novel gameplay ideas for single-player or multiplayer, clever characters and writing, noteworthy graphics and sound, or some combination thereof. If we have major complaints, there are more than enough excellent qualities to cancel them out.

Expeditions: Rome

From our review: Between the tough but engaging tactical battles, a robust campaign system, uncommonly strong plot and characters, and the chance to live through so much of one of the most fascinating periods in all of history, Expeditions: Rome is one of the better tactical RPGs of the last several years. It can feel weighed down at times by all the systems it tries to cram in, and the mass combat remains a vexing enigma that no tooltip or tutorial can properly explain. But with interesting random events, meaningful strategic choices, and plenty of brain-bending smaller-scale scenarios to keep things fresh, that can be mostly forgiven. These developers deserve a Roman triumph. – Leana Hafer

King of Fighters 15

From our review: King of Fighters XV is not the most ambitious or revolutionary fighting game to come out in recent years, but what few changes have been made to distinguish it from its predecessor are done well. It’s a significant step up over KOF 14 in terms of its detailed character models (if not animations), there are a handful of smart adjustments to its fighting mechanics that give you more options than ever before, and its large roster of 39 characters features a wide variety of different character archetypes to choose from. It’s disappointing that SNK still hasn’t figured out how to provide value for those who are looking for single-player content in their fighting games, or a way to learn to play better using the actual tools provided by training modes, but those shortcomings are easy to overlook in the face of its fantastic netcode and simple, but effective online modes. – Mitchell Saltzman

Lost Ark

From our review: Lost Ark takes a genuinely impressive stab at the isometric action RPG genre, and its integration into a perpetually online world is complementary rather than invasive. It’s expansive and deep, capable of scratching the itch for a new Diablo-like action RPG that is filled with other players to meet and team up with. The excellent and flexible combat system channels the best of its ARPG forebears, but it can start to wear out after you’ve slaughtered your way through enough lower-tier enemies. Lost Ark’s most prominent fault, though, is that its generic story can be cheesy due to awkward writing and voice work. However, there are a lot of interesting locations to discover as you sail your ship around the open seas, and at the end of the day, this is a world that’s certainly worth the time to explore, even if you never pay a cent for its optional premium boosts. – Gabriel Moss

Total War: Warhammer 3 Multiplayer

From our review: Total War: Warhammer 3 has the best multiplayer features of any game in the series' long history. The pair of quick-and-dirty mini campaigns offer your warparty a great way to have a more laid back and self-contained experience beyond fighting individual skirmish battles but without having to commit to a campaign that might take months to finish. Now it’s accessible to groups of friends who only have a few hours a week to play together. Its simultaneous turn-based campaign map can get a little harried, and there are definitely some network issues that still need to be ironed out. But overall, I'm pretty impressed with what Creative Assembly has managed to put together. – Leana Hafer

Windjammers 2

From our review: Windjammers 2 is a worthy sequel to a retro classic that manages to improve upon the highly competitive arena with new characters, levels, and abilities that make this fighting game version of Pong incredibly addictive. It lacks some key features like a spectator mode or any kind of tutorial to walk new players through all the complexities of combat and makes a limp attempt at telling a story about its characters, but it’s so much fun to play that it’s easy to forgive those whiffs. – Travis Northup

Review Score: 9 ("Amazing")

We enthusiastically recommend that you add these games to your to-play list. If we call a game Amazing, that means something about it seriously impressed us, whether it’s an inspired new idea or an exceptional take on an old one. We expect to look back at it as one of the highlights of its time and genre.

Horizon Forbidden West

From our review: A triumphant combination of enthralling combat, top-tier creature and character design, and a captivating open world, Horizon Forbidden West is an absolute blast and fantastic showcase for the power of the PS5. Although the return of a couple of familiar series trappings and a noticeable lack of freeform climbing never threatens to derail the enjoyment, it does leave it falling frustratingly short of something revolutionary. Major evolutionary steps have firmly been placed in the right direction, however, and there’s no doubting the many, many hours of fun to have with Aloy, who stakes her claim further to be one of this generation of gaming’s greatest characters. Guerrilla has outdone itself yet again with Forbidden West, and at this trajectory, neither the horizon nor the sky's the limit for what could come next. – Simon Cardy

OlliOlli World

From our review: Radlandia may seem like an offbeat location for a skating game, but in reality it’s a wonderfully eclectic reflection of what OlliOlli World itself is trying to be. In this vibrant place, skating is an obsession and an escape, whether you’re wall-riding through a forest or grinding across an incredibly industrial factoryscape. Its gameplay has enough depth to challenge hardcore players to master its level-long combos, but it’s also a smooth and exciting ride for novices, backed by characters that are quirky and passionate. These elements ring true in every facet of its design, from the more forgiving approach to basic gameplay through to the new mechanics and refinements that make the skill ceiling higher than ever. OlliOlli World is a fantastic evolution of what was already an outstanding skating series. – Cam Shea

Sifu

From our review: Sifu demands a lot from you, and that’s a sword that cuts both ways. Its combat is impeccable, with incredibly smooth and impactful animation, deep fighting mechanics, and challenging enemies that really make you fight tooth and nail for every victory. At the same time, the repetition that comes from replaying levels so you can essentially set a high score and give yourself a chance at completing the rest of the short campaign with what’s effectively one persistent pool of lives can lead to some really frustrating moments with no clear path through outside of just trying and trying until you get better at it, which can be frustrating. On the other side of that vicious learning curve, though, is one of the most impressive beat-em-ups I’ve ever played, with excellent level design, fantastic music, and – once it was all over – a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that few other video games can provide. – Mitchell Saltzman

Total War: Warhammer 3 Single-Player

From our review: Total War: Warhammer 3’s single-player mode presents us with a tense, challenging, multilayered campaign driven along by a compelling story and a memorable cast of rivals. The Chaos Realms cleverly draw these larger-than-life figures together, so even those from remote corners of the world will be able to test each other's mettle. And while the size of the faction list currently feels a bit disappointing coming from Mortal Empires, all of the newly introduced factions are inventive and just plain fun on the campaign and battle maps. The true test of Warhammer 3 is still to come, when we'll get to play with all the factions from all three games on the massive combined map. But even if that's the main reason you're interested in it, there's plenty of excitement to be had already. – Leana Hafer

Review Score: 10 ("Masterpiece")

Simply put: this is our highest recommendation. There’s no such thing as a truly perfect game, but those that earn a Masterpiece label from IGN come as close as we could reasonably hope for. These are classics in the making that we hope and expect will influence game design for years to come, as other developers learn from their shining examples.

Elden Ring

From our review: It is no exaggeration to say that Elden Ring is FromSoftware’s largest and most ambitious game yet, and that ambition has more than paid off. Even after 87 hours of blood, sweat, and tears that included some of the most challenging fights I’ve ever fought, and innumerable surprises, there are still bosses that I left on the table, secrets that I’ve yet to uncover, sidequests that I missed out on, tons of weapons, spells, and skills that I’ve never used. And this is all on top of PVP and cooperative play that I’ve barely been able to scratch the surface of. Throughout it all, while the fundamentals of combat haven’t changed much from what we’ve seen before, the enormous variety of viciously designed enemies and the brutal but surmountable bosses have brought its battles to a new level. Even with all the threads I didn’t manage to tug on my first playthrough (of what I’m sure will be several), what I was treated to can easily be held amongst the best open-world games I’ve ever played. Like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild before it, Elden Ring is one that we’ll be looking back on as a game that moved a genre forward. – Mitchell Saltzman