by Adi Stein

Honestly? 2022 was another great year. I know that is not the case for many people, so I won’t take up too much space just bragging about the current trajectory of my life, but let it be known that things are going just swell for ol’ Adi Stein over here. That is, in large part, due to my relationship with Zoe. This year we got engaged! So exciting. But you know what else was exciting? How into Elden Ring she got! Wild, right?? She does not play video games. At all. But the way she threw herself into my adventures in the Lands Between is as admirable as it is confounding as it is sexy as hell. In fact, she got into so many video games I played this year that we’re going to try something new: See, I’ve shown and discussed this list with her and she has some… thoughts. So, in this Game of the Year list, we’re going to have (drumroll please)

#ZoeHotTakes

#ZoeGeneralTakes: Who knew moving in together this time last year would’ve led to me not only enjoying watching Adi play some games, but to get involved to the point where I requested (ok fine, demanded) my own section on this Game of The Year post. It has been a fabulous year and I’ve learned a lot about what I love (see Elden Ring) and what I don’t (first person shooter games make me nauseous). I don’t know about you, but I can’t WAIT to see what next year has in store!

From both of us, enjoy!

Grindstone is a simple game at its core. Connect colorful creatures to destroy them in cartoonish, bloody, glorious fashion as you try to hit certain markers necessary to move on to the next level. It’s straightforward but engrossing thanks to its style and punchy gameplay (the iPhone’s haptic feedback does a lot for this game). Plus, each level is short and sweet, making it a perfect game to play while you wait for or on the subway. If you have Apple Arcade, you really ought to give this one a shot.

#ZoeHotTakes: Honestly, I don’t remember much about this game. I remember it had cute monsters you could destroy between levels. Really the main thing I remember is that Adi and I wrote a cute jingle for this one. Glad it made the list.

Okay, rough part first: This game should be sooooo much higher on my list than it is. Connection issues dragged this one down HARD. BUT, if you have a stable connection and the game isn’t being finicky, you will find Risk of Rain 2 to be one of the most fun co-op games out there. I spent literally dozens of hours on run after run with my best friend, trying time and time again to get to level 20 (getting to level 10 is a feat of its own). I loved staying up way later than I meant to, killing aliens, and shooting the shit with a buddy in this game. If you’re reading this and have or get Risk of Rain 2, let’s align to the planet sometime soon.

#ZoeHotTakes: TBH I hate this one. I don’t really know much about it, but it was a game Adi would play with his bestie (hi Sam!) late into the night. I know this is a “me problem,” but I just have a hard time falling asleep when Adi isn’t there, so I hate this game. Sry.

I do not like scary. I don’t like scary movies, I don’t like scary books, I hate Halloween, and I HATE rollercoasters. So it took me quite a bit to muster up the courage to start this one up. But once I did, I could not put it down. My time spent in that gross Louisiana swamp with the Baker family was some of the most fun I had this year. If you have the stomach for some genuinely gross moments and the heart to push through an oppressively scary set of environments, I highly recommend visiting Resident Evil’s scariest bayou. It’s a real blast.

#ZoeHotTakes: I don’t find these games scary at all? Maybe it’s just that I wasn’t the one playing it, but every time Adi would get scared… I’d giggle. Don’t listen to him about it being so scary.

Solar Ash did two things that few other video games are able to do well: It made me feel elegant and it made me feel fast. This cosmic space journey to save your planet from its inevitable destruction had the best movement mechanics of any game I’ve played this year. Zipping around Solar Ash’s interplanetary and interdimensional environments locked me into an intensely satisfying rhyme state comparable to the early days of Guitar Hero or the later bosses in Sekiro. Few moment-to-moment mechanics were as satisfying to me this year as skating through Solar Ash’s blue clouds.

The same cannot be said of Vampire Survivors. This game’s movement starts out feeling sluggish and frustrating. But give it five minutes and everything will click into place. Vampire Survivors is a game where the baddies just keep coming and you either die or become an unstoppable god. It combines a few of my favorite video experiences into one deceptively engrossing package: 1) Killing thousands of bad guys with minimal effort. 2) Discovering seemingly countless secrets, combinations, and strategies. 3) Coming out of nowhere and taking over my life for days on end. Plus, it’s like five bucks. Do yourself a favor and play this game if you already haven’t.

#ZoeHotTakes: I think this is where mine and Adi’s opinions start to differ. To me, this list is about the games that Adi really spent a lot of time playing and were really good outlets for him. That’s why I think this game should be higher on the list. Seeing as it is a computer game, it was a wonderful quick brain break before meetings or while waiting for work to save. It was also a great outlet for Adi when we would go away and not have our usual PS2, PS3, PS4, or PS5 available for use.

There was a long amount of time this year where this was my Game of the Year. I played it before I played Resident Evil 7 and it softened me up to love that game. It’s worth noting that I never played the original Resident Evil 2 so this remake was entirely new to me. But if that original game was anywhere near this remake in terms of game design, I see how this became one of the longest running series in video game history. Exploring the Racoon City Police station had me methodically searching every nook and cranny for any keyboard key, access card, weapon upgrade, and stray piece ammunition. Plus this game is like the most fun version of an elaborate puzzle box; everything I discovered opened up some new area or possibility space. I could not put this game down as a result. If being scared is this much fun, sign me up to walk down the nearest ominous hallway.

#ZoeHotTakes: As much as I was meh on the other Resident Evil, I really loved this one! Turns out I really like to be included when it comes to games that have a puzzle element to them. Whether it is figuring out a code to open a locker, or how to re-spec to best beat a boss, I really enjoy those moments. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one!

This game caused the most contention between Zoe and me. By her metrics this should basically be my Game of the Year. After all, it was the game I spent the most visible time with. I have this game open while waiting for the subway, while watching TV, while editing a podcast, while going to the bathroom (don’t you even pretend to be grossed out, we all are on our phones while we’re in there so just shut it), and more. Admittedly, this game had- no, HAS its hooks in me. Deep. It presses every nostalgia button in my brain from my Marvel comic collecting days of yore. On top of that, it just feels good to play. Like literally, it feels good in my hands. Similarly to Grindstone, the haptic feedback in this game adds so much. Each time you play a card, snap to raise the stakes, or upgrade a card you already own you feel it in your hand, adding to the satisfying illusion of doing something physical in this digital space. That sensation of something physical is so important in the context of a card battler AND in the context of hitting that old comic book feeling. And none of this even touches on the brilliant game design! The variety is impressive both in the cards and in the lane variations of each match and each match is 3 minutes at most making the “just one more” factor nearly unstoppable. If you like deck builders, have any fondness for the Marvel comics of the 1990s, or just want something to help unplug your brain then please go download this right now. I cannot recommend it strongly enough.

#ZoeHotTakes: This should 100000% without a doubt be number 3 on this list. Adi plays this game ALL. THE. TIME. Before getting out of bed? Marvel Snap. Waiting for the shower to heat up? Marvel Snap. Watching TV? Marvel Snap. Waiting for the subway? Marvel Snap. Wind down before bed? You guessed it, Marvel Snap. Not only does he love it, but he introduced one of our favorite building doormen to it and they chat about it all the time. It is disgustingly cute and has served such an important purpose in Adi’s life. I feel like it is his equivalent of most millennial’s checking Instagram or scrolling through TikTok. I give it #3.

God of War (2018) is arguably one of the greatest video games of the last generation of consoles, which means that its sequel, God of War Ragnarök, had its work cut out for it. While it doesn’t hit every mark (this baby has some pacing issues), this game has really stuck with me in the short time since I’ve completed it thanks to its stunning visuals, visceral gameplay, and meaningful exploration of its complicated subject matter. I was particularly moved and impressed by two conversations this game is trying to have: One about grief and the other about the challenges of parenthood. At the heart of these two games (God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök) is the human experience of losing a loved one. For Kratos it was his wife, for Atreus his mother, for Freya her son, and for Sindri it was and is his brother, Brok. How we handle losing someone we love varies from person to person, as this game so expertly shows, but the gut punch of the loss is near universal. As Faye (Kratos’s wife) phrases it before she dies, “To grieve deeply is to have loved fully.” God of War Ragnarök doesn’t shy away from exploring these painful feelings, and in doing so it does a great justice to the pain its characters feel and the way that pain relates to the player’s real life experiences. The other conversation- about what it means to be a good parent- is also complicated, engrossing, and impactful. The way this game uses our history with Kratos as well as unravels the layers of its other parents (Freya, Faye, Odin, and Thor) makes me reflect on my relationship with my own parents. I am not a parent so I have no idea what it’s like to raise a child. But if my own life experience or my experience watching my friends and family enter that stage of life have shown me anything, it is that being a parent is freakin’ hard! Kratos’s journey as a father is particularly moving; watching him go from telling his son to “be better” to promising that Kratos himself will be better; watching Kratos go from telling his son to suppress his emotions to watching him tell his son that his emotions are his strength to be worn and shown with pride; these moments left a last impression on me. God of War Ragnarök shows us that we can be better parents, children, and people even if it sometimes feels impossibly hard. We just have to keep trying. After all, to quote Brok, “The nature of a thing’s more important than the form of a thing.”

#ZoeHotTakes: Okay, there were some beautiful lines in this game, sure. I’m sure the game play was great and everything, but there was really nothing for me to be involved with in this game. I was really excited to like this as much or similarly to the way I loved Elden Ring, but I was disappointed. As soon as Adi would turn on God of War, I would pick up my book or start scrolling on TikTok. Meh.

I’ve said it on previous lists that featured Soulsborne games, but I’ll say it again: Some of my favorite moments in video games are when a new From Software game comes out and my best friend and I are trying to sort through all of the crazy secrets and mysteries within it. You should see the text threads. This was enhanced tenfold by bringing Zoe into the picture and by From Software creating one of the largest, most engrossing, and most mysterious open worlds in any video game ever. It’s a From game so it’s not telling you anything. It’s not telling you where to go or what to do or who to hit in what order or with what weapon. It’s letting you loose in the Lands Between and saying, “You’re an adult. You can figure it out.” And figure it out I did. For one hundred and two plus hours. Some of my favorite moments in gaming this year were trying to figure out how to get to a certain area or beat a specific boss and having Zoe make suggestions on how to achieve that goal. We’d change builds, alter perspectives, and give really anything a go because anything felt possible. Having someone by my side who wasn’t just willing to help but actively wanted to help was an incredible time. Even after all of the time I’ve spent with this game- even after beating the final boss(es)- there is still so much that I have not seen. You know, come to think of it, I really should hop back in.

#ZoeHotTakes: Elden Ring honestly ROCKS. First of all, it has some AMAZING music that we may or may not be considering walking down the aisle to (just kidding, mom, don’t worry!). Second, working with Adi to figure out how to beat bosses or where to go next was SO much fun and incredibly rewarding. Me loving Elden Ring was a surprise to us both, and boy was it fun!

Like I said, this was a weird year for my gaming. If you look back on the last few years of these lists, you’ll notice that my Game of the Year is typically something that packs an emotional punch or tells a compelling story. Neither of those things apply to Slay the Spire. This game is all mechanics and they are mechanics that sunk their teeth into me and would not let go. I’d heard people talking about this game for years, but this year it was free on PS+ so I gave it a shot on my TV at home. It was good and I enjoyed it, but that was about it. Then, while waiting for a train one day, I saw that it was available on iOS and that was the end. Since that moment I have put almost 90 hours into this game and I still see a long future ahead with it. The four playable characters and random but consistent run layout blend together to create a roguelike that feels both limitless and manageable. I was developing strategies for each character, doing my best to not just survive the moment but to build myself up for the tougher fights ahead. This meant that there were moments where I was getting wrecked, just barely getting by, and dominating. All felt largely fair and rewarding. That boss crushed me? Fair, but I learned some new skills and strategies along the way. I finished the whole game with one of the characters? Time to go for the secret end boss or do it again with a new character. There was always potential for more and reaching for that potential almost always felt satisfying and rewarding. The thing that pushed this game to the top of my list, though, is, honestly, its portability. I can play this game anytime, anywhere. And unlike Marvel Snap, I didn’t need an internet connection and I could just pause at any moment to save a run for later in the day. Slay the Spire is the ultimate comfort food of games and having it in my pocket meant that there was a go-to respite at any given moment. I would put this game up there with the likes of Spelunky, Dead Cells, and Hades as one of the greatest roguelikes of all time. Now excuse me while I make another run. That final boss isn’t going to kill itself.

#ZoeLukewarmTake: I couldn’t not write something for Slay the Spire. Look, it’s not a hot take (so I changed the name), but I just think this is EXACTLY where it is supposed to be (and why I think Marvel Snap should be higher up). Slay the Spire went from an OKAY game on the TV to a PERFECT all the time game. IMHO it served a VERY important purpose - it kept Adi awake on long subway rides and this way we never missed our stop! Thanks, Slay the Spire! Jokes aside, this game came with us everywhere and I think that is what makes it so clearly game #1 for me.

But wait! There’s more! I played a lot of video games this year, watched a lot of TV, watched a bunch of great movies, but also read many great books. I’d like to share those great books with you. So here we are: My favorite books that I read in 2022 (in order of when I read them)!

All about Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks

I am, unsurprisingly, a huge Mel Brooks fan and this book is about as Mel Brooks as it gets. He writes in his voice, so much so that you can basically hear it in your head as you’re reading this. Needless to say, I devoured this book. Getting to hear his journey through his unique voice felt like cozying up for bed while grandpa tells you a bedtime story. I did not want this book to end.

Dancing at the Pity Party: A Dead Mom Graphic Memoir by Tyler Feder

This book was a parting gift from my ex-wife, which some might say is a choice, but I am extremely grateful. It took me years to work up the courage to read this, but I’m so glad I did. It’s warm, charming, honest, and devastating but, most importantly, it made me feel cared for. Feder’s journey is both incredibly similar and significantly different from my own experience watching my mother pass away from cancer. Thanks to Feder’s sense of humor and inviting art style, this book is able to tackle really intense subject matter in an inviting and gentle way. A great read for anyone, but especially for those who have lost loved ones.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads was a hit for a reason and I’m not sure that I have much to say about it that hasn’t already been said. Owens has assembled a fascinating roster of characters, each of which you both root for and against at any given moment. Plus the pacing of this book is phenomenal. Every time I felt like I was losing steam, some twist or plot development occurred that sank me further in. A great example of “just one more chapter.”

Beneath the Underdog by Charles Mingus

Charles Mingus, arguably one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time, is one fucked up dude. This book tells his story and it is vivd, confrontational, sexy, disturbing, and energizing all at once. Mingus’s journey is brutal, and he spares us no details. He lays it all out there, not caring at all about whether we judge him. His writing- and seemingly his life- is pure id, painting us a picture of a man perpetually in state of desire fulfillment. This is one of those books that I did not want people to read over my shoulder on the subway. It felt dangerous and exciting. I don’t think I liked it but I’m thrilled that I read it.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

I got strong, early Harry Potter vibes from this book in all the best ways. Klune has crafted a world that feels genuinely magical, inviting us into its near limitless possibilities in a warm and exciting way. It’s also just a kind, sweet story about giving our neighbors a chance and not condemning those who are or think differently than us. Through its characters, world, and story, The House in the Cerulean Sea reminded me how charming books can be. If you’re looking for a light book with some beautiful character development, look no further than this one.

And there you have it! My favorite video games and books of 2022. This past year, for me, has really been about leaning into the things I love be they people, media, or experiences. I hope that these lists have inspired you to lean into what you love or maybe even try something new. So here’s to 2023! May be our best year yet. Thanks for reading and see you again next year!

Pixel Theory Blog

Adi's (and Zoe's) Top Games and Books of 2022

#ZoeHotTakes