I’m generally looking for three things in video games:

1. Can you make me forget about everything else in the world right now? Are you interesting enough that I’m not checking my email in the down moments?
2. When I’m not playing the game, am I thinking about playing the game? Am I trying to find time in my week to sneak in a few hours? 
3. Do you do something completely different, something I have rarely or never see in games? Are you truly ingenuitive?

The top five here do some or all of these really well, and then I think there’s a decent drop-off after that.

1. Elden Ring: I wrote about Elden Ring here when I was about a third of the way through the game. Everything I wrote there stands, and nothing I’ve played since has made me forget about playing Elden Ring again. This game is so good that I’m considering an annual playthrough. So yeah, if you’re wondering what I’ll be doing in late March… 
2. Vampire: Survivors: It’s a minor miracle that I’m not sitting on the couch playing this right now. This is a sort of idle game—the number of inputs required to play are very few—and it is perfectly made for the Steam Deck. 
3. Nobody Saves the World: Okay so this game is probably the exact opposite of Vampire: Survivors, but in the best way. You play a superhero that must constantly morph into different beings and use their powers to complete quests and defeat enemies. And while the button presses remain the same, each new being has new abilities and combos you can use that kept this game supremely entertaining for hours. This game has a kinetic energy to it that’s addicting.
4. Citizen Sleeper: This one makes me wish I had kept writing this year. What an experience—and sadly one I don’t think I can convey with accuracy anymore. Do you like good stories? Do you question totalitarian capitalism? Do you like…dice? Then this game could be for you. 
5. The Case of the Golden Idol: An illustrated LSAT Logic Games section, but in a good way. Seriously—interesting mystery, both challenging but intuitive, and a satisfying end. 
6. Inscryption (Leshy’s Mod): This is a continuation of my favorite game of last year, with a mod that makes the card game infinitely replayable. It’s cool, and a good card game, but matching the sheer ambition and magnitude of the original game was always going to be a challenge.
7. God of War: Ragnarok: Award for game my parents have most likely heard of due to marketing. It’s good—polished, beautiful to watch, well-acted–but it’s also kind of so shiny that it’s dull. It plays like a marvel movie, and I’ve never really loved marvel movies. The type of thing I want to like more than I actually do.
8. Strange Horticulture: This is a cool little…mystery about plants. Best use of a map this year. This and The Case of the Golden Idol are two games I’d recommend to people who don’t normally play them. 
9. Tunic: Challenging Zelda-like mystery game with an awesome mechanic involving a digital instruction manual. The combat difficulty level feels uneven at times, which takes away from the mystery and exploration which make this game unique. 
10. Pentiment: Strange, beautiful story, great art work, almost makes you forget you’re basically reading a novel as you “play.”