2022 was the year of Elden Ring, of Miyazaki, of Malenia. The highly anticipated FromSoftware title held the industry by its throat for months, dominating the conversation around difficulty, damage scaling, and player builds (including everyone's favorite nepo baby, Elon Musk). It took over streaming, it created legends.

After over a decade of FromSoftware games holding court as the quintessential 'git gud' franchise, locking those of us without a masochist bent out of the discourse, Elden Ring's open world opened up the gates for an entirely new player base. As such, it catapulted the work of Hidetaka Miyezaki to entirely new heights: Elden Ring is by far the best-selling FromSoftware title, it's snatching up GOTY awards like Rowa Fruit, and it's still generating passionate conversations 10 months after its release.

By subtly divesting from the tried and true FromSoftware formula and giving us a game unshackled by a single, punishing, linear path, Elden Ring offered up the Lands Between on a beautifully ornate (but slightly Tarnished) silver platter

Around the Difficulty

The Souls game discourse has almost solely revolved around difficulty. Before Elden Ring was released, FromSoftware's Yasuhiro Kitao told Eurogamer that the game was "made for all sorts of players," not just "hardened veterans." This sent the fanboys into a tailspin, but it piqued the interest of those who have never been able to enjoy the punishing gameplay of FromSoft's oeuvre.

Personally, I suggesting that what would make Elden Ring great would be its approachability, and that that approachability was made possible by its open world. It's a helluva lot easier to avoid difficult areas if you can run around them on horseback, but previous Souls games forced you to choose between the difficult path and the bang your head against the wall because it's impossible path. The promise of ample choice made me think that Elden Ring is a game everyone enjoy.

Brutal and Impressive Battles

The beauty of Elden Ring lies in its world that teems, bubbles, and spews with both friendly and deadly life, that tantalizes and terrifies with its landscapes, that beckons and shuns you in a single breath. I find this beauty in so many moments during my time with the game, like when I accidentally descend down to the Siofra River, not too long into my playthrough.

In Limgrave, I step on a platform and am whisked down, until I emerge into an astounding space: a fully realized night sky in a variety of bruise colors, littered with pinholes of light. Crumbling classical architecture obfuscates my view of this impossible galaxy and tombstones line the path leading away from the platform, which glowed a bizarre green during my descent but now lies dormant.

I am, as the kids say, gagged, and stumble aimlessly away from the platform, paying little attention to what enemies may lie in my path for the first time since booting up Elden Ring. This is a mistake I quickly pay for, as I walk directly into a horde of Claymen. They move slowly, but they hurt, and I am severely underleveled for this area. One of the weaponless magic conjurers takes me out in seconds with his weird bubbles, sending me back to the Site of Grace right next to the platform that brought me here. When I go back to fetch my several hundred runes, the same guy takes me out again. Elden Ring, unlike other FromSoftware games, gave me ample chances to amass the tools and experience I'd need to earn a brief respite.

Storytelling Abilities

But Elden Ring isn't just somber and serious, it's not just hours of grueling gameplay with brief, meditative breaks. It's goofy as well, like all FromSoftware games inherently are. There are negative messages littered all over the ground, dozens upon dozens of ways to die that will make you chuckle in disbelief.

It's this combination of punishing play, engaging story (thanks, George R.R. Martin), and asinine antics that make FromSoftware games, especially this one, so special. Elden Ring gives you enemies like Starscourge Radahn, who will in one moment beat the brakes off of you with gigantic meteors flung from a blood-red sky and in another send you into a fit of hysterics when you realize that he is, in fact, sitting on top of a very tiny horse. Elden Ring plays with you, offering up prophecies and moral quandaries that will have you scratching your head, but undercutting it with both accidental and purposeful absurdism.

When we inevitably look back at Elden Ring a decade from now, it will be difficult for us to remember exactly how much it defined the zeitgeist, just how far it permeated popular culture outside of gaming, and just how much we couldn't stop talking about it. But now, ten months after its release, it's hard to imagine we ever existed in a world without it.

So many great games have been released in 2022, and now The Game Awards have released the Game of the Year, Elden Ring. Most of the nominees are fairly predictable, as they're by far the most acclaimed AAA games of the year, such as God of War: Ragnarok. And while they not win the final reward, all still hope their personal faves will get the coveted award.

Disappointment has run through fans every year since 2014 when the award was introduced, and a lot of classic games missed out. Redditors have voiced their opinions on which games should have won instead, and they range from outrageously hot takes to games that are better remembered than the real winners.

Ghost Of Tsushima

Original AAA games are rare these days, as they're usually sequels or tied to other franchises in some way, which is because they have guaranteed audiences and are virtually impossible to fail. However, the massive-scale Ghost of Tsushima came along in 2020 and absolutely destroyed the competition. The samurai game is set in an immersive open-world Japan and features one of the best revenge stories in a video game; and while it was nominated for Game of the Year, it lost to another behemoth, The Last of Us Part II.

Some players think the samurai game should have won noting, "Ghost of Tsushima was absolutely amazing! I loved every aspect of it, the ending especially broke me, shame it was only recognized for its art design and not its other good features." While the survival horror game was a lock for the win, given that another samurai game, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, won GOTY the previous year, Tsushima's loss definitely surprised many gamers, and any other year it should have dominated the competition, but TLOU was just too significant in gaming culture for it to tip the scales.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 is undoubtedly one of the most realistic games of the 21st century, especially when it comes to its western setting, as no other western game comes close to the 2018 game's immersion. Though it was nominated for Game of the Year, it lost out to God of War, but TrippMiller thinks that the Rockstar release is by far the superior of the two.

The Redditor comments, "Nothing against God of War, it was a really good game. But Red Dead 2 is probably the best game I've ever owned." Red Dead 2 certainly encouraged exploration more than the Sony release, and it had more side missions and other things to do after the main story was completed too. But both games were comparable in terms of following an emotional narrative.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End was nominated for 2016 Game of the Year, and it was seemingly a one-horse race. There was no way any other game could have beaten the Naughty Dog release. Yet it shockingly lost to Overwatch, a multiplayer first-person shooter. Kikirevi was the most displeased with Uncharted's loss.

The Redditor notes, "I have nothing against Overwatch let me tell y'all this, it really is impressive, fun, and just amazing to play. But, Uncharted 4, to me was a masterpiece." A Thief's End had everything, including a narrative worthy of being the next Indiana Jones movie, and it was the gold standard of adventure gaming. The one area where Overwatch outdoes the fourquel is with its superior and phenomenal multiplayer.

Resident Evil Village

Resident Evil Village was a return to the aesthetic of the most celebrated game in the franchise, Resident Evil 4. Both games take place in terrifying woodland areas full of swamps and creepy cabins, and it was both a breath of fresh air and a trip down memory lane for fans. While it was nominated for 2021 game of the year, it lost to the beloved It Takes Two, and some believe the loss was unfair, commenting, "I found the game amazing."

However, the franchise could have a shot at winning GOTY again soon enough, as the Resident Evil 4 remake is scheduled for release in March 2023. Remakes have been nominated for GOTY before including Resident Evil 2, and while none have won, Resident Evil 4 has the best chance.

Bloodborne

In 2015, Bloodborne lost Game of the Year to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and this deleted user isn't happy about it. 2015 was a stacked year, and Witcher 3 knocked out a lot of strong contenders, including Fallout 4 and Metal Gear Solid V, but the Redditor posits, "Bloodborne came out as probably the most memorable and more importantly the most fun. I'm sure I don't need to explain why it should have won."

The 2022 Game of the Year could make up for this slight, as Bloodborne is connected to Elden Ring, which is a tied front-runner for the award with God of War: Ragnarok. Elden Ring is a spiritual successor to the 2015 game and is classed as a "SoulsBorne" game, and it's the only release that has a chance of taking down Kratos.

Update 3.20.1 has arrived for Path of Exile, and here’s everything new added and changed with this update. Path of Exile is one of the most played free-to-play games. There aren’t many choices for the ones seeking a free-to-play RPG game. The game has won many awards since its release, and the developers are still improving it with active updates. There were a few changes the fanbase was asking for, and some of them arrived with this update.

Here’s everything about the Patch of Exile update 3.20.1 and the patch notes.

Path of Exile Update 3.20.1 Patch Notes

Sanctum Updates and Improvements

• Introduced 7 new Unique Relics that drop from the final form of the Sanctum Boss. These Relics challenge you to complete an entire run of The Forbidden Sanctum at area level 80+ under special rules. If you’re able to complete such a run, you’ll be rewarded in new and special ways. However, the Unique Relic will be destroyed regardless of the outcome of your run, so if you fail to complete it, you’ll forfeit your potential rewards.

• Some of these Unique Relics cause the Herald of the Scourge to drop additional or specific items, while others causes Aureus Coins to be converted to certain outcomes upon defeating the Herald of the Scourge.

• We’ve also introduced a new Unique Ring that can be earned by defeating the Herald of the Scourge with one of the new Unique Relics active.

• Introduced 41 new “Lycia’s Invocation” currency items. These can be applied to non-Corrupted Sanctified Relics to add their respective Keystone to the Relic.

• Boons and Afflictions that provide increases and reductions to the effect of your Relics now specify that they do not affect Unique Relics.

• Characters that are up close to their target now take even less damage to their Resolve.

• Sanctum Quests are no longer hidden with the “Enable Quest Tracking” option disabled. We’ve also made improvements to these Quests to reduce the chance they are missed when first entering the relevant town area.

• Party Members are now able to view the Map of the area owner’s Sanctum, if they currently have a run active.

• Party members can now store a Sanctum room for later when the map owner runs their Sanctum room for the area.

• The Resolve bar now flashes when you heal or damage your Resolve.

• Added a display to show which Affliction was removed when you cleansed an Affliction.

• The Sanctified Relic Slot has been moved from the Sanctum Map and is now located in the Inventory panel.

• Sanctified Relics can now be compared with your equipped one by using the Compare Item Descriptions keybind (Ctrl, by default).

• The wave skill used by the final form of the Sanctum Boss now spawns far fewer lightning bolts with each wave, though the lightning bolts are slightly larger. The delay between each wave has also been slightly increased.

• You can no longer gain a new multi-stage Boon or Affliction, such as Lilting Melody, if you already have a later stage of that same Boon or Affliction.

• The Hungry Fangs Affliction and Wooden Effigy Boon now impact Resolve multiplicatively, instead of being additive with stats that impact resolve on Relics.

• Tweaked the position of the skulls that fire tracking beams in the third floor of the Sanctum.

• Updated the Prayer Beads Boon to clarify Resolve is able to be lost after the next room has been completed.

Other Improvements

• Added support for the new Core Supporter Packs.

• Added five more microtransactions to Kirac’s Vault Pass in the form of these additional mystery boxes from Path of Exile’s past: Warlord, Polaris, Twilight, Harmony and Sin/Innocence.

• Huck now brings along his Rogue Equipment when accompanying you in Maps.

• Significantly increased the experience gained from killing Metamorph Monsters.

• You can no longer animation-cancel Vaal Venom Gyre, Vaal Volcanic Fissure, Vaal Blade Flurry, Vaal Caustic Arrow and Vaal Molten Strike before the point in the animation that damage is dealt.
The Balance of Terror Unique Jewel no longer has a level requirement.

• Completing the Mastermind’s Lair now awards credit towards the Suspicious Syndicate challenge.
Updated one component of the Complete Harbinger Encounters challenge to “Use any Harbinger, Ancient or Fracturing Orb”, instead of just Fracturing Orb.

• Updated various descriptions of conditional modifiers, such as the increased Damage against Ignited Enemies modifier on Gang’s Momentum, to clarify the kinds of damage they can apply to.

• Updated the “Cycling Resistances” monster modifier text to “Cycling Damage Reduction” as it is more accurate.

• The Cartographer Divination Card has received new flavour text.

Path of Exile Update 3.20.1 Patch Notes – Blight Atlas Passive Changes

• The Blight Atlas Passives that provided your Maps with Blight Encounters a chance to contain an additional Blight Encounter have irreconcilable issues that result in areas with two Blight Encounters failing to generate reliably, so we have replaced these stats.

• The small Atlas Passives now provide “5% chance on Completing your Maps to gain a free use of the Blight Map Crafting Option.”

• The small Atlas Passive at the entry of this cluster that provided your maps a +4% chance to contain a Blight Encounter now provides “Lanes of Blight Encounters in your Maps have 5% chance for an additional Reward Chest” and “2% chance on Completing your Maps to gain a free use of the Blight Map Crafting Option.”

• The Mycelial Swarm Notable Atlas Passive now provides “Blight Map Crafting Option is always available” and “50% reduced cost of the Blight Map Crafting Option.”­

As you see, there are many changes that could be noticeable while playing. We hope to see more balance updates for Path of Exile because it’s usually the most important thing in RPG games. There is no information about the download size because that depends on the platform. Path of Exile is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and macOS. For more information regarding this patch, please visit the official Path of Exile site.

A roadmap revealing many of the biggest changes coming to New World has been revealed during the New World Dev Update for December, including some features that have long been requested by players. New World will soon be getting transmog, gear set storage, 20-player groups, changes to crafting tiers, territory wars, and some challenging new PVE content.

Amazon Games' New World has made big changes in its first year online with major updates on a regular basis that have addressed many of the issues players had at launch. Nearly every month since its release, New World's updates have introduced new content, weapons, events, system reworks, and quality-of-life changes that have significantly improved the game in many areas. As a result, leveling has become quicker, crafting is easier, combat is more fluid, the early game is more streamlined, and there's plenty of content for endgame players. While the game's population may not be what it was in its early days, current New World players seem to be growing more satisfied with the experience.

A roadmap for New World's future changes was laid out during December's New World Dev Update, and it's refreshing to see the enthusiasm the dev team has for the upcoming content. The Winter Convergence event will be returning, where players can team up to fight Winter Warrior seasonal boss for festive rewards, and the colorful holiday decorations will be returning to settlements including the new Brimstone Sands area. A mashup between the Starstone and Amrine Expeditions is also on the way, which will give late and endgame players an opportunity to revisit these lower-level Expeditions with new challenges and paths.

A transmog system for New World is finally coming which has long been one of the most highly requested features and will allow players to express themselves by equipping their favorite collected appearances. A gear set storage system is also on the way and will be a major improvement due to New World's classless gameplay often requiring players to switch between many sets of gear for different purposes. Crafting tiers are also being adjusted so that many recipes can be crafted regardless of the crafting station's level, while named and other advanced items will still require T5 stations.

On the territory side, the developers plan to crack down on territory control exploits in New World by limiting the effectiveness of "shell companies," meanwhile the contributions required for completing town projects are being reduced by 70-80% so that companies can more reliably complete upgrades. New cinematics, quality-of-life changes, a hardcore Sandworm Elite Trial for the toughest PVE players, cross-world Outpost Rush, and a free weekend are just a few of the other things to look forward to in the near future.