2022 in Review- Gaming

 Well, 2022 is finally over. It was not an easy year for me due to personal reasons, but it's over. This is a short review of 2022 in gaming, giving you the Good, the Bad, and the downright Ugly of the past year.

The Good:

1- Let me kick it with the best Pokemon game since Gold and Silver: Pokemon Legends Arceus. Taking the series to a new direction, Legends Arceus has EARNED its spot as not just one of the best Nintendo games on the Switch, but also one of the best games ever released on a Nintendo console.

2- Two words: Elden Ring. Dark Souls for the 2020's. What more needs to be said?

3- It wasn't just big names making a splash in gaming this year; we also had some surprising Indie hits. Perhaps the most memorable one was Stray, a game where you play as a cat in a post-apocalyptic world. A must-play for cat lovers!

4- You know what's a game I'm REALLY enjoying? Tactics Ogre Reborn. The Ogre Battle franchise is one that deserves more fame than it does, and I'm hoping the success of Tactics Ogre Reborn leads to a remake of both Ogre Battle and Ogre Battle 64.

5- The Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie being such a success! The first movie was fun, but the second movie is arguably better! Will we be seeing a Sega Cinematic Universe soon? Time will tell!

6- God of War Ragnarok, 'nuff said.

The Bad:

1- Aaaand the PS5 shortages are STILL ongoing!

2- As fun as Pokemon Scarlet/Violet are, there's no denying they're buggy games. Thankfully there's nothing truly game-breaking; instead, most bugs in the game tend to be of the hilarious kind Bethesda is all too known for. Still, these are the buggiest games in the franchise since the original games back in 1996.

3- Speaking of Pokemon, the lack of support for Legends Arceus and the Gen 4 remakes has become a sour point for many Pokemon fans around the world. No DLC, no new Mystery Gifts, NOTHING. This especially hurts Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, which barely even had two months of spotlight before quickly being set aside of Legends Arceus. They were sold at full price, too!

The Ugly

1- Perhaps no video game controversy of the year was as hard hitting as the Helena Taylor Voice Acting Pay Scandal of October 2022. Basically, the voice actress for Bayonetta was claiming that she got strong-armed out of her iconic role with a ridiculously low pay of a mere four thousand dollars total (which might seem like a LOT of money, but keep in mind that voice acting takes a LOT of time and effort). Platinum Games not too later revealed that this was a lie, and that Taylor was actually offered around twenty thousand dollars, which was considerably higher and more in line with what voice actors typically make. As if that weren't enough, Taylor then begged the Bayonetta fandom to not only boycott the game, but to donate the money they would have paid for it towards an anti-abortion organization. Needless to say, it's unlikely Helena Taylor will be reprising her role as Bayonetta in the future.