After a weird few summer months dominated by indie and AA games, the AAA part of the video game industry is finally back in motion. October 2022 saw the release of the biggest games of the year, and many of them did not disappoint. From ambitious sequels to games taking bold risks with established franchises, October was the most exciting month for games since March 2022.
With so many fantastic games coming out, some of them might not be on your radar. That’s why I’ve rounded up the eight best games of October 2022 that you need to check out before the end of the year.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
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Ubisoft has finally released a sequel to 2017’s surprise strategy game Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle and innovated by doing so. This game ditches the grid setup common to the tactical genre, giving players the ability to run with their characters every turn, jumping allies and rushing enemies along the way. This change to the game’s turn economy was risky but ended up making the game much smoother and accessible to newcomers.
“The sequel makes a host of important changes that enhance the original’s ideas rather than throw them out the window,” Giovanni Colantonio wrote in a four-star review of the game. “Less rigid combat, a greater emphasis on exploration, and a stronger approach to character building make the sequel feel as fresh as the 2017 original.”
The game’s story and visuals are also full of charm, which makes it feel like a first-party Nintendo game, even though it was developed by Ubisoft Milan. While it’s not the only fantastic Nintendo Switch game releasing this month, Switch gamers can’t go wrong picking this one up. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is now available exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
A Plague Tale: Requiem
A Plague Tale: Innocence was a surprise hit in 2019, following a younger brother and sister as they try to survive an Inquisition and plague in the 1300s. Its sequel, A Plague Tale: Requiem, raises the bar on almost every account: there’s more story, more fights, and more rats to hunt siblings. It’s a beautiful game, one of the most beautiful of the current generation to date, even if its history of violence is a bit muddled.
“A Plague Tale: Requiem is a fantastic sequel in many ways,” said Giovanni Colantonio wrote in a 3.5 star review. “It improves on just about every aspect of its predecessor by fine-tuning its stealth and navigation systems, adding more gameplay variety, and delivering a visually stunning world that puts games with much larger budgets to shame. Its weak point comes down to its messy storytelling, which exposes the thematic limitations of a medium that relies too heavily on violence as its primary form of interaction.
For an AA game from a somewhat smaller team at Asobo Studio, A Plague Tale: Requiem is a truly impressive current-gen game that expands on the formula established in its predecessor. If the The Last of Us Part II’The story of violence has annoyed you, however, some parts of this game may also feel painful to you. A Plague Tale: Requiem is available now for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, with a cloud version playable on Nintendo Switch.
Bayonet 3
“Bayonet 3 is the wildest entry in the series to date, blending PlatinumGames’ flair for fast-paced combat with incredibly entertaining set pieces that get bigger and bigger,” Giovanni Colantonio’s four-star review on Bayonet 3 Explain. “The massive scope of it all makes for some sloppy moments, both technically and narratively, but you’ll be hard pressed to find an action game as fun as this.”
Even though the talk around this game was messy before it launched, don’t let that stop you from experiencing this great game. PlatinumGames continues to prove that no one can make action games as polished and satisfying as their games. Bayonet 3 is now available for Nintendo Switch.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Freed
Illfonic’s track record with 4v1 horror games based on famous franchises isn’t great, but they finally found the formula with Ghostbusters: Spirits Freed. Contrary to Friday the 13th: the game Where Predator: Hunting Grounds, Ghostbusters: Spirits Freed feels polished, decently balanced, and doesn’t take too long to get you into a match. Although an asymmetrical multiplayer game where one player haunts a building as a ghost and four Ghostbusters try to hunt them down and trap them wouldn’t be my first idea for a Ghostbusters game, Illfonic nailed that concept here.
You can really tell they love this franchise too, as the fire station is lovingly recreated to serve as a base of operations between missions. Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson even return to voice their characters in this game and do it well, making it a more believable licensed game. While Ghostbusters video games can be hit or miss, Ghostbusters: Spirits Freed will provide a great time for those looking for a new game to play with friends. Ghostbusters: Spirits Freed is now available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
New Tales from the Borderlands
Tales from the Borders was one of Telltale’s best games, so it was great to see Gearbox Montreal finally offering a follow-up, even though it features a whole new cast. The well titled New Tales from the Borderlands follows a scientist named Anu, her con man brother Octavio, and frog shop owner Fran as they find an item that can heal any wound and draw the attention of the evil corporation Tediore.
“With entertaining writing, strong characters and performances, and a different game engine that allows for smoother cinematography, I would recommend New Tales from the Borderlands to fans of the original and those yearning for a very traditional Telltale-like experience,” I wrote in a four-star review of New Tales from the Borderlands.
While it doesn’t really push the boundaries of what a narrative adventure game can be gameplay-wise, New Tales from the Borderlands tells a gripping story that should keep fans of this sci-fi series entertained. New Tales from the Borderlands is now available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch.
marvel snap
Mobile games don’t have the best reputation, but marvel snap is one of the most entertaining games I’ve played this year. It’s a collectible card game based on the Marvel superhero universe where players fight for control of at least two of three locations, playing cards at the same time every turn. Add to that special location and map abilities, and you have a fast-paced card game with plenty of depth. And if you want to take the risk, you can crack during a match to double your rewards. Although its progression system for acquiring cards is still flawed, even basic starter decks are fun to use in marvel snap.
Microtransactions are present in marvel snap but are not intrusive. You can purchase a season pass or gold which can be used to acquire new map variants or new currencies to level up maps, but these are purely visual upgrades. marvel snap is the best mobile game of 2022, and I highly recommend Marvel or card game fans check it out when they can. It is available for free on the iOS App Store and the Android Google Play Store.
The Case of the Golden Idol
Since he plays Return of the Dinn Work, I learned that I like a good game of deduction. We’ve had some great ones this year, like strange horticulturebut The Case of the Golden Idol is an absolute star. The point-and-click game places players in different murder scenes and asks them to piece together what happened. To do this, they will have to click on scattered objects and collect keywords such as nouns and verbs. The goal is to complete a Madlibs-style crime report on each level, deducing who killed whom just from clever investigation.
It starts off simple enough, with a scene of one man pushing another off a cliff. However, it escalates from there in complex and surprising ways. By the end of the game, I had uncovered a massive conspiracy that revolved around a creepy cult, a corrupt political party, and a mysterious golden idol capable of performing magic spells. If you are looking for a challenging mystery game, you can watch on pc. ~ John Colantonio
Gotham Knights
I saved Gotham Knights for last as it is the most controversial game on this list. WB Games Montreal’s first game in nine years takes some bold narrative turns, following four of Batman’s sidekicks as they fight back the Court of Owls in Gotham after Batman’s death. It also lets you go on patrol and explore the entirety of Gotham City with a friend. That said, some have been turned off by gameplay issues and technical issues, so this game isn’t for everyone.
“It’s not as good as the best Batman games of the last decade due to a lack of gameplay ambition and performance issues,” I wrote in a three and a half star review from Gotham Knights. “Yet it overcomes these flaws to entertain Batman fans who have always wanted to play a game that lets them explore and defend the streets of Gotham with a friend.”
Whereas Gotham Knights isn’t perfect, diehard Batman fans should still enjoy his story and patrol the streets of Gotham City in co-op. There’s simply no other Batman video game quite like this one, for better or for worse. Gotham Knights is available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, but be aware of its technical issues before deciding which platform to choose the game on.
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