You’ve found yourself at Esquire’s list of the year’s best video games so far. To be honest with you all? We really didn’t feel like putting it together this time around. Not because your friends at the Esquire Gamer Zone don’t love you. We do. Pinky promise. It’s because we’re still playing Elden Ring, and we’d really rather not do anything that takes away from our pursuits in the Lands Between. If you ask us how many hours we’ve poured into the game, we’ll revoke your Gamer Zone membership. We have those powers.
In all seriousness, we’re about to get fired for spamming our work slack with heady Elden Ring discussion for a solid two months. But we have played titles other than Elden Ring this year, even if we didn’t always want to. So gather round, ye Tarnished. From Pokémon Legends: Arceus to Nintendo Switch Sports,here are the best video games of 2022 so far.
Nintendo Switch Sports
The spirit of Wii Sports has made its glorious return. While some reviews have been mixed—possibly due to rose-colored glasses, or a general yearn for youth—Switch Sports is a phenomenally fun and accessible game, which is all it ever needed to be. (But please, stop kicking my ass in Pro League Bowling. You all are hacking and I still haven’t figured out how you’re doing it. Sure, it’s a testament to how deep the controls actually are, but for now it’s just pissing me off.) Read our review here.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderland
Here’s the formula for the great Tiny Tina’s Wonderland: Dungeons and Dragons +Borderlands = a sweet looter and shooter. The new character creation system is fantastic, and I hope they keep it beyond this Borderlands spinoff. Tiny Tina’s Wonderland is a blast, it’s funny, and it makes for a wonderfully different high fantasy experience. Read our review here
I gush over Sea of Thieves constantly, because well, there’s nothing else that comes close to the experience. After a massive Pirates of the Caribbean update, Sea of Thieves fine-tuned features fans have been talking about for years. (See: Buying storage crates, playing new story modes, burying booty to create your own treasure maps, in case some prick is sinking you.) If you haven’t played Sea of Thieves, now’s a perfect time to get in. The seas have never been kinder, or more exciting.
OlliOlli World
OlliOlli World is lively, energetic, and fun on every single level. It’s the perfect skateboarding experience for Tony Hawk Pro Skater die-hards who want to shuffle things up with new gameplay and a truly magnificent art style. The highly explorable landscape of OlliOlli World will have you grinning from ear to ear. Fans of skateboarding games, art, and Adventure Time (!) should all rally around this genuinely ingenious game.
Lost Ark
I love a good MMORPG. As it stands, Lost Ark is a great one. MMORPGs were huge for me growing up, with the likes of Runescape and World of Warcraft monopolizing my time, but it’s been years since the genre sunk its addictive MMO claws into me like Lost Ark has. It has some of the best class design and addictive action-RPG gameplay I’ve ever seen.
Fortnite (Zero Build)
I’ve nabbed more Victory Royales in the last two months than in my entire Fortnite career. OK, I’m hyperbolizing and straight-up lying, really, my win ratio has gone through the roof. Maybe it’s that the leaked Obi-Wan skin getting my nerd neurons all fired up, but it’s more likely because you nerds cant build anymore. Now, you don’t stand a chance against my hip-firing strategy. Just wait until I get my hands on that Obi-Wan Skin.
Elden Ring
My best guess? The game of the year came out in February, which sucks for every game coming out after Elden Ring. Sorry, I know we should hold out hope—there’s still Nintendo Switch Sports, a new Kirby adventure, Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, and Breath of the Wild 2, of course. Considering I’m standing by Elden Ring as my favorite game of the last decade, let alone this year, I don’t see this king being toppled.
Once you play Elden Ring, you won’t stop. Take it from Gamer-in-Chief Brady Langmann, who’s a Soulsborne virgin. He’s enthralled. (Ed note: I am, in fact, enthralled.). Play it now. Or vice versa.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
