Tag: Year In Review

2022 Year-in-Review: Dom’s Top 10 Games of the Year

DomsPlaying

Happy New Year, everyone!

Before I mentally move into 2023, there’s one last thing for me to do. Write about my favorite games, and rank them for fun!

In my last post of the year and time to run down the best of what turned out to be a busy 12 months across the spectrum of games, even if the AAA calendar was more sparse than usual. Don’t let anyone tell you that the industry had an off year. Mid-tier and indie devs picked up the slack, and launched several memorable experiences. Plus, PlayStation Studios had a great run.

This is probably the most diverse, experimental list in the seven (!) years I’ve been posting them here. There’s everything from sprawling open words, heartfelt mythological journeys, spooky point-and-click titles, immersive full motion video interactions and gorgeous, cutesy adventures. Almost all platforms are represented, from mobile and web to traditional consoles.

For context, I played roughly 50 games in 2022. Check below for which ones made my prestigious Top 10, then a set of five amazing honorable mentions. Toast your glasses to gaming!

Dom’s Top 10 Games of the Year 2022

10. Tinykin (Splashteam Devs, tinyBuild)

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC.

Admittedly I didn’t have Tinykin on my radar coming into the year, and boy am I glad I played this 3D platformer with its distinct visual styling, smart progression elements and cute creature collecting. Splashteam crafted a beautiful, realized setting and knocked the character dialogue out of the park.

9. Card Shark (Nerial, Devolver Digital)

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC.

I have a feeling the historical “cheating simulator” Card Shark won’t be on many year-end lists, which is quite disappointing considering how excellent its artwork, mechanics and writing proved to be. Shuffle those in with a great tutorial system and an on-the-run story with plenty of twists and turns, and developer Nerial loaded up the deck with plenty of aces here.

8. Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over the Age, Fellow Traveller)

Platforms: Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC.

Dabbling in everything from consciousness and artificial intelligence to capitalism and community, Citizen Sleeper expertly captures the desolation of existing within a scary society and navigating one’s course with limited resources. Its introduction of randomness via dice rolls eerily echoes the crapshoot that is life, and the game’s constant ticking clocks combined with fragile relationships make its decisions as affecting as any across gaming in 2022.

7. Wordle (Josh Wardle)

Platforms: Web Browser.

The internet set ablaze in January when Wordle skyrocketed in popularity, filling up social media feeds everywhere with intriguing blocks and competitive spirit. Considering I’m still playing Josh Wardle’s wonderful love-letter to his partner Palak Shah all these months later reinforces the brilliance of its “one chance per day” setup, a clever way to express how every single choice counts when trying for consistency in one’s ongoing existence.

6. A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio, Focus Entertainment)

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC.

The sequel to 2019’s masterpiece A Plague Tale: Innocence intensifies the plight of brother and sister Hugo and Amicia, pushing its stealth gameplay into new avenues and continuing the stellar narrative navigation throughout the dark times of 14th century France. It’s a technical showpiece, shoving thousands of rats and heaps of prowling guards into most levels, plus shows what perfect pacing can do for the arc of adventure, culminating in a teary, shocking conclusion.

5. High on Life (Squanch Games)

Platforms: Xbox, PC.

Justin Roiland and Squanch Games snuck High on Life in during December, wrapping up 2022 with the industry’s most ludicrous, hilarious release. The first-person shooter-comedy redefines the medium’s boundaries, featuring a suite of talking weapons played by incredible actors, nifty platforming, chunky mechanics, vulgar writing and even a few in-game movies, resulting in one of Xbox’s most eccentric, exceptional and popular titles of the year.

4. Immortality (Half Mermaid, Netflix)

Platforms: Xbox, PC, Android, iOS.

Sam Barlow and Half Mermaid’s entries into the interactive gaming space ingeniously utilize full motion video and awesome acting to tell stories that most games can’t, and Immortality is the team’s magnum opus. It’s a set of film clips and behind-the-scenes glimpses that present as one thing then quickly turn into something extraordinary, peeling back layers as it progresses, to the point where it’s difficult to talk about why it works so well without completely spoiling the story. Suffice to say this master class of design firmly lands among my favorites of 2022.

3. Norco (Geography of Robots, Raw Fury)

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, PC.

Starting off my Top 3 is Norco, an adventure set in a supernatural, Southern techno-industrial town that starts as a daughter’s return to her hometown and blossoms into a thrilling search for family, faith, religion and closure. It’s hard to pin down this bizarre game mainly because it’s so unique, always moving in unexpected ways while including robot helpers and cultlike societies, shady characters and folklore galore. Navigation is easy across its user interface, a stark contrast to figuring out where it’s going, and the player can land on a variety of endings depending on how they choose to steer the plot, all of it transformative and downright miraculous.

2. God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Platforms: PlayStation.

I’m not sure God of War Ragnarök tops its 2018 predecessor, which totally revamped the series, however its story progression, character movement, mechanical prowess and area design made it come darn near close. It’s a rich take on Norse mythology and the introduction of new characters, notably Richard Schiff’s depiction of Odin, force plenty of rivalries and team-ups that serve as the underpinnings for a sweeping arc.

Its open zone approach entices exploration while it pulls on heartstrings and allows a new perspective other than Kratos by occasionally swapping to control of his now teenage son Atreus, a clever dichotomy that fits mechanically and narratively. Not to mention the art direction and scenery design mesh with solid performance to showcase the PlayStation 5’s power, resulting in a fitting conclusion to this latest God of War saga while simultaneously opening doors to future epics.

1. Elden Ring (FromSoftware, Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, PC.

If you’ve followed me on social media at any point since Elden Ring launched back in February, its position as the year’s best comes as no surprise. FromSoftware has been building to this masterpiece for years, successfully delivering the ideal of traditional soulslike action role-playing within an spacious, ominous open world that boasts some of gaming’s most spectacular art design and general vibes to date. The Lands Between is one of the most realized, enchanting settings ever, providing the backdrop for the player’s rise as Tarnished in this foreign kingdom.

What makes Elden Ring stand out from everything that’s come before is how it’s simultaneously more accessible and just as rewarding as any challenging game in FromSoftware’s portfolio. The introduction of a fast travel system, offering of a speedy mount in Torrent and a plethora of summons available, both non-playable character and human alike, mean there’s rarely a place where players bump up against something that halts progression. That doesn’t mean there aren’t tricky encounters, there’s plenty, it’s just that the team provides more tools to deal with them or take a break when something isn’t going well.

Then it produces an incredible feeling that around every corner, there’s something worthwhile to find. My two favorite parts of Elden Ring both revolved around moments where possibilities seemed endless, and were equally as jaw-dropping. First was stepping into its second main area of Liurnia, overlooking a shallow lake in the middle with a magic academy to my right and rolling hills to my left. I knew the next dozen or so hours would take me to every nook and cranny. Then there’s the famous descent into Siofra River, a seemingly endless elevator ride deep into an underground expanse full of supernatural specters under a ceiling of stars.

These kinds of awe-inspiring moments captured the essence and potential of Elden Ring, a game so massive that I couldn’t believe just how much was on its map. This doesn’t even get into it’s underlying lore, cast of characters, expansive world-building and narrative that forms the ultimate fate of The Lands Between. My time with Elden Ring was the most special I had all year, and it’s one of the single best games I’ve played in my life. It’s beyond worthy of 2022’s Game of the Year.

Honorable Mentions

As Dusk Falls (INTERIOR/NIGHT, Xbox Game Studios)

Platforms: Xbox, PC.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human (Techland)

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC.

Horizon Forbidden West (Guerilla Games, Sony Interaction Entertainment)

Platforms: PlayStation.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Nintendo)

Platforms: Nintendo Switch.

Marvel Snap (Second Dinner, Nuverse)

Platforms: PC, Android, iOS.

There we have it. What a list!

And with that, 2022 Year-in-Review here at Working Casual comes to a bittersweet end. Thanks to everyone for making it another awesome year at the site and on social media. Switch back over to the megapost for all things year-end.

All the best to you in 2023!

Sources: Media Sites.

-Dom

2022 Year-in-Review: Independent Studios of the Year

DomsPlaying

It’s time for arguably my favorite article of the year!

As part of my year-end recap series, here I’ll be celebrating smaller teams and indie developers across the games industry. These folks, whether a tight-knit studio or one-person team, filled out an incredible annual calendar of indie experiences during 2022.

Their excellent games ranged from adventures to live action, from puzzle to speed-running and various types in between. Many will stick with me for years to come, and some will definitely occupy a space on my favorite titles of the year.

No reason to wait any longer. I know the suspense is palpable! In alphabetical order, here are the lucky 13 best indie studios of 2022.

Andrew Shouldice

The first entry is mostly a one-man developer in Andrew Shouldice. The Canadian’s story in development begins at Silverback Productions for a few years then shifts to full time work on the highly ambitious project in Tunic, a Zelda-inspired adventure game. The top-down title launched in March after many years of work from Shouldice and a small team of collaborators, an exquisite blend of colorful artwork, tricky combat, puzzle execution and an ingenious in-game manual that communicates mechanics via visual hints. It’s the culmination of many stressful sessions and years of hard work from Shouldice, thus easily earning a spot on this list.

Angel Matrix

Headlined by Ben Esposito, of Donut County fame, Angel Matrix is a collective of people across many disciplines that launched its first game Neon White this past year. The fast-paced, first-person speed runner is a sensory onslaught, blending expert platforming, slick shooting and a sick soundtrack from Machine Girl to result in something resembling nothing else I played in 2022. Throughout its release month of June, gamers everywhere fought for leader board positioning and chatted with heavenly assassins in a one-of-a-kind world built by Angel Matrix.

BlueTwelve Studio

Within the south of France, BlueTwelve Studio developed “the cat game” Stray, an indie darling and Best Debut Indie Game winner at The Game Awards. The PlayStation console exclusive is the premier kitty experience across all of gaming, a third-person adventure where the player unravels riddles within an underground city of robots. In typical feline fashion, there’s the ability to climb, claw, creep and snuggle up for a quick snooze, and all the while BlueTwelve tells a tight narrative via context clues and environmental puzzles. It’s hard to see meow the team can top Stray, one of 2022’s pawsitively delightful mysteries.

Geography of Robots

Mainly comprised of five members named Yuts, Aaron Gray, Jesse Jacobi, fmAura and Gewgawly I, the team at Geography of Robots launched one of 2022’s most unique stories in Norco back in March. It’s an exceptional, inventive point-and-click narrative that’s based around choice within a supernatural Southern setting, originating from a multimedia project all the way back in 2015. It’s biographical for Yuts, who grew up in the titular Norco, Louisiana, and the team’s years of development paid off as the title won Tribeca Film Festival’s inaugural gaming award back in 2021. Not to mention it’s the reason why the studio is on this list as well. And rightfully so.

Half Mermaid

Highly-decorated indie designer Sam Barlow (Her Story) is known for moving past the medium’s traditional setup, leveraging full motion video and experimenting with user interfaces. He organized Half Mermaid in 2017, and after Telling Lies in 2019, they started on what is undoubtedly a modern masterpiece in Immortality. This smashing showpiece of interactive storytelling blurs the line between media, existing somewhere among avant-garde films and point-and-click games, telling a multi-layered tale of an actress across three of her unreleased movies. Half Mermaid nails its mission of using a “spectrum of narrative genres” to tell its stunning stories, and continues to showcase what gaming can be when it’s at its most original.

INTERIOR/NIGHT

The London-based studio INTERIOR/NIGHT formed in 2017 as it’s managed by former Quantic Dream lead Caroline Marchal and features a diverse set of industry vets. Their goal is similar to the prior entry, mixing an episodic television approach with interactivity. During July, the team launched its debut title As Dusk Falls which is known for a stark, stop-motion art style and a myriad of difficult choices that push characters in different directions depending on the playthru. Its multiplayer mode is exceedingly novel, allowing up to 8 players to vote on outcomes and guide the overall movement. Reminiscent of projects from LucasArts and Telltale, INTERIOR-NIGHT’s first effort is among the best decision-driven stories of 2022.

Josh Wardle

For those online during the first couple months of 2022, the yellow and green boxes of Josh Wardle’s Wordle were inescapable. In the best way possible. The elegantly-simple digital sensation of a word game has an incredibly sweet story behind it. Wardle started it up as a fun way to pass the time with his partner Palak Shah, who also played a pivotal role in the game’s early development. Accessed solely on a web browser, Wordle’s “one puzzle a day” is the crutch of its genius, providing an avenue for folks to compete then come back to continue their streak. Its beautiful backstory culminated in The New York Times purchasing it for over a million bucks, solidifying Wordle in the pantheon of internet history forever.

Jump Over the Age

Here’s another solo developer that excelled in 2022. Gareth Damian Martin, who has done everything from designing games to critical writing and running a zine to lecturing on the academic circuit, is behind Jump Over the Age. They produced their second title in Citizen Sleeper in May, challenging thoughts around the coldness of capitalism, the weight of debt and challenge of community. It’s a creative, story-based achievement set on a spooky, desolate space colony that introduces randomness, as life itself often does, via dice rolls and light survival mechanics. Featuring excellent character art and promising prose, Gareth’s inquisitive, insightful indie should be a sleeper pick for plenty of year-end lists.

Massive Monster

Cult of the Lamb is the biggest release to date for Massive Monster, a small studio spanning Australia and the United Kingdom that started back in 2016 in the aftermath of the flash game era. The title is a true hybrid, combining bespoke concepts into a singular experience: Community simulator meets dungeon-crawler. Juicy dark humor and devilish decisions parallel the snappy, satisfying mechanics of diving into dungeons and smashing enemies in Massive Monster’s latest, which isn’t tied down by traditional genre convetions. Roguelike elements and time management intersperse in Cult of the Lamb, a standout gem of a game, forcing choices with weight as the player evolves into a benevolent leader or nefarious commander.

Nerial

Listing around a dozen people on its website, Nerial is the studio behind Card Shark, the single most underrated indie triumph of 2022. Based out of the United Kingdom, the team made Reigns titles prior to launching 2020’s Orwell’s Animal Farm. This past year brought about what I think is its magnum opus in Card Shark. Many more people should be talking about Nerial’s tour de force, with its high quality 18th century French artwork and nifty puzzles that center around cheating at parlor games to snatch winnings from pompous rich folks and historical figures alike. The best part is its tangible mechanics, capturing the feel of shuffling cards or peeking at an opponent’s hand. There’s also an underlying story that deals with deceit and cunning, a truly complete package of delectable deception.

Poncle

What started as a pet project for Luca “Poncle” Galante turned into one of the hottest, most highly-praised indie darlings of 2022 in Vampire Survivors. For good reason. Beginning the year in early access then pushing towards full release in October, Poncle’s project is severely addictive with its old school trappings, catchy music and singular premise: stay alive. The simplicity of control is reminiscent of an idle game, where players determine movement with a joystick while picking upgrades when leveling up. There’s much more to Vampire Survivors than it initially presents, unraveling progression as a player’s expertise grows. Poncle has found a perfect niche, a modern-day arcade accomplishment, which has a gameplay hook and “one more play” potential like none other in recent memory.

Splashteam Devs

As one of the year’s sneaky good indies, Tinykin is a delightful platform adventure with Pikmin-esque creature collecting, superb world feel and exemplary puzzle design. The team behind this amazing amalgamation is Splashteam, a close crew including former Ubisoft employees that worked on Rayman and Rabbids franchises. Launched in August, Tinykin is their second game after 2017’s Splasher and it’s an immaculate foray into 3D platforming, featuring cute animations, referential writing and flawless pacing. Additional stand outs are its setting and characters, led by astronaut Milo who meets various communities of tiny critters within a mysterious, massive house. The payoff is great as one of 2022’s top indies really scratches the eternal itch of exploration and collection.

Squanch Games

It’s incredibly difficult to be genuinely funny, especially in games because of the added challenge of player interactivity. Leave it to Justin Roiland (Rick & Morty) and the team at Squanch Games to accomplish this feat, often pushing the limit of absurdest humor and wacky characters in prior games like Trover Saves the Universe and Accounting+. Their most recent release High on Life is one of 2022’s best. It’s Squanch Games at its biggest, boldest and raunchiest. Writers and artists run wild with a ridiculous alien adventure that mostly lands, adapting solid metroidvania components and a colorful graphical palette into a twisted tale of interplanetary drug cartels and humanity’s last hope. It’s as much an interactive comedy as first-person shooter, pumping the player full of laughs as a late year Game of the Year contender.

It’s a longer list than usual because of just how many excellent indie projects released in 2022. Which indies stood out to you? What do you think of the list?

Thanks for making it this far in my celebration of the best indie studios over the past 12 months. Navigate back to my 2022 Year-in-Review megapost for more!

Sources: Media Sites, The Signal (Image Credit), The Times (Image Credit).

-Dom

2022 Year-in-Review: Five Most Impressive Gaming Companies

DomsPlaying1 Comment

The year-end push keeps going!

On this Final Friday of 2022, I’ll recap the most impressive and relevant companies across the games industry.

This will cover larger companies, whether they are publicly-traded, subsidiaries or owned independently. (My next article will delve into the year’s premier indie studios and smaller development squads.)

It’s mainly meant as a celebration to the thousands of talented folks that work at these places and make the industry what it is. While 2022 wasn’t as busy on the release calendar at the AAA and mid-tier level, there were plenty of stand-outs that launched games or revealed upcoming projects.

Without further ado, from hardware manufacturers to software developers, here they are in alphabetical order!

FromSoftware Inc

First up is really the easiest pick of the bunch. Over the past decade, FromSoftware has established itself as the premier studio for crafting challenging role-playing experiences with incredible art direction, creepy vibes and fantastic lore. The Japanese developer, spearheaded by mastermind designer Hidetaka Miyazaki, has effectively created a genre with its Dark Souls series and boasts modern classics like Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Launching in February 2022, its latest masterpiece Elden Ring sprung the soulslike from a gaming genre to cultural touchstone. The open-world approach transformed the traditional model into something special, dominating social media for months and earning it Game of the Year honors at The Game Awards among other outlets. The game’s setting, The Lands Between, has become a legendary stomping ground for long-time fans and new players alike. Elden Ring sold a staggering 12 million copies in less than a month, the team’s fastest-selling title ever across its 35+ year history. It’s well on its way past 17 million and could pass the 20 million milestone in the new year.

Speaking of 2023, FromSoftware plans to return to one of its beloved, dormant franchises in Armored Core after revealing Armored Core VI: Rubicon of Fire earlier this month. There’s also rumblings of a potential Elden Ring expansion upcoming. Based on the way its history has shaped up, and how incredible 2022 was for the studio, it will undoubtedly continue to set standards of game design moving into the future.

Marvel Games

The folks behind Marvel Entertainment, one of the world’s biggest media houses, have made a concerted effort to expand more into the games industry during recent years. Especially more mainline, premium releases. From the likes of Marvel’s: Spider-Man in 2018 to 2020’s Marvel’s Avengers, Marvel Games has shown a dedication to fitting studios with the right properties to produce titles on both traditional and mobile platforms. This effort ramped up in the last few months, boasting critical successes and generating optimism around future announcements.

There was no more important launch in perhaps the company’s history than Marvel Snap, the mobile deck-building phenomenon that hit market in October. Its ingenious mechanical simplicity, exceptional card artwork and non-invasive monetization appealed to casual and core fans, even those without close ties to the cinematic universe. During its first month, Marvel Snap secured $10 million in revenue on 12 million downloads and earned Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards.

The team coordinated additional launches in the back half of 2022. This included Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales on PC in November and December’s Marvel’s Midnight Suns, a blend of tactical gameplay, card mechanics and relationship-building which catapulted it to overwhelming critical praise. Marvel Games also revealed upcoming projects alongside Skydance Media and Amy Hennig for a mysterious Black Panther/Captain America team-up, plus a collaboration with Motive Studios on an Iron Man action-adventure title. It’s reassuring to see the direction of Marvel Games and its clever licensing deals, which have and will continue to pay big dividends.

Raven Software

I briefly wrote about the next company on my list during my biggest trends of 2022 article, where I recapped the industry’s recent unionization efforts. Raven Software, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard based out of Wisconsin, saw certain employees lead the charge for workers’ rights in 2022 while simultaneously coordinating the follow-up to Call of Duty’s massively popular Warzone mode. Both of these accomplishments firmly land it among the year’s most exceptional, and impactful, triple-A studios.

Back in late 2021, Quality Assurance (QA) team members at Raven Software organized a strike after fellow teammates were fired. During January, these folks formed the Game Workers Alliance (GWA) in order to get a seat at the table in company dealings. Demands of the GWA included better timeline management, less crunch and more opportunities for underrepresented groups. In a historic May vote, an overwhelming majority of GWA members voted to unionize and were subsequently recognized by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This marked the second successful union in North America and the first at a major American games publisher.

Alongside all of this, Raven Software coordinated a massive revamping of Call of Duty’s free-to-play Warzone 2.0, one of console and PC gaming’s most popular battle royales. The team shipped the new mode on November 16th. Raven Software’s importance in the AAA space can’t be understated, and the icing on the cake is that Microsoft’s Head of Gaming Phil Spencer said the company would recognize the union if its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard takes place. In the broader workers’ rights push across games, Raven’s brave and committed QA workers were at the forefront.

PlayStation Studios

The most prolific first-party in gaming had another stellar year in 2022, shipping several major titles, pushing towards accessibility and securing multiple acquisitions that will bolster output for decades to come. PlayStation Studios, a worldwide conglomerate of Sony’s premier development teams, was responsible for new launches in a variety of franchises, including at least a couple Game of the Year contenders. Without the incredible effort of its employees, the year’s release calendar would have been barren.

To show the sheer level of output in 2022, here’s a list of the new titles moved by its various teams: Horizon Forbidden West, MLB The Show 22, Gran Turismo 7 and God of War: Ragnarok. Then there’s reissues or ports like The Last of Us Part 1 (even if more remaster than remake), Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales on PC. The likes of Santa Monica Studio and Guerilla Games created the year’s most epic experiences, showcasing amazing graphics, narrative prowess and animation chops. As the unsung hero, Sony San Diego’s annual MLB The Show baseball games are as consistent as they come. Gran Turismo 7 from Polyphony Digital was praised by critics as one of this generation’s best racing sims.

Not only that, Sony’s talented teams focused more on accessibility and inclusivity, an important movement that allows more gamers to enjoy PlayStation titles. Then there’s acquisitions that finalized in 2022 like Bungie and Savage Game Studios. The former is a significant piece of Sony’s goal to move into live services while the latter will bolster its newly-formed mobile division. PlayStation Studios is the reason to own a PlayStation 5, and its team members lived up to exceedingly high standards yet again.

Valve Corporation

Intriguingly, the reason I’ve concluded this list with Valve is not because of its industry-leading Steam platform. I will say the digital distribution continues to be the best place to own, organize and play PC titles, even as competitors like Epic Games push more into that segment of the market. Steam attracts a massive population of gamers, passing a major milestone this year in 30 million concurrent users during a weekend in October. This figure was roughly 27 million in late 2021, illustrating its illustrious appeal over the past 12 months.

The reason is simple: The Steam Deck. Until now, Valve had a tricky history with hardware. From Steam Machines to Steam Link, its devices garnered mixed reviews and minimal usage. It wasn’t until this February that Valve nailed a hardware design that truly revolutionized hardcore gaming. The Steam Deck handheld is Valve’s single best manufactured product to date, and the greatest hardware triumph of 2022. It’s flexible, easy to use and way more comfortable than it has any right to be. It allows access to one’s Steam Library, showcases a myriad of “Deck Verified” games plus can be used to access services like Xbox’s cloud offering. What I love the most is how the company actively supports people tinkering with it. It’s effectively a Linux-based PC in the palm of one’s hand, and I think the ideal place to play indies.

Even as a first iteration, it’s an essential part of how many people played this past year. Sure, there are drawbacks. Battery life isn’t great. Its price isn’t as attractive as something like Nintendo’s Switch. It can’t play my beloved Destiny natively (though that’s more on Bungie than Valve, I’d say). Still, signs point to 1 million units shipped in its first six months, which is a solid sales result considering how slowly it shipped. The Steam Deck is a more niche, premium product that single-handedly advanced the industry, and was by far my favorite piece of tech this year.

Thus concludes the awards for 2022’s most impressive gaming companies. Congrats to everyone that worked hard at these firms to produce some of gaming’s most memorable experiences and products. And thanks all for reading! Check back to the 2022 Year-in-Review megapost for all my year-end articles.

Sources: Company Investor & Media Sites, Game Workers Alliance, GamingonLinux, MobileGamer.Biz, Steam DB.

-Dom

2022 Year-in-Review: Biggest Trends in Gaming, Tech & Media

DomsPlaying2 Comments

In the first article of my year-end series, I’ll run through the biggest trends impacting gaming, media and technology during 2022.

It was a curious time of both disruption and normalization. For the former, there was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Countries grappled with lingering effects of coronavirus. Inflationary pressure combined with economic slowdowns across various regions. Billionaires and executives alike threw around money to scoop up companies. Gaming publishers delayed titles and shifted their release calendars.

As for the latter, companies everywhere settled into a “new normal” of hybrid working. Inflation started to cool in recent months. Consumer electronic manufacturers shored up supply chains, and began producing more inventories. Notably within gaming hardware. Consumers shifted back towards forms of entertainment outside their homes.

Way back in January, I predicted some of these would happen. Though certainly not all of them! That said, now that we’ve experienced it, here’s a list of major stories that fundamentally changed these sectors during 2022. Here’s hoping this article trends towards keeping your interest!

Games Industry Workers Increased Unionization Efforts

This is one of my predictions that I’m happy came true. Employees fighting for their rights, notably those that work in gaming, ramped up substantially in the last 12 months. In January, Quality Assurance (QA) workers at Activision Blizzard’s Raven Software started up the Game Workers Alliance (GWA). Then in May, that team became the first union ever to form at a gaming publisher in the United States. Later, Vodeo Games was the first entire gaming studio in North America to unionize when it voted in September.

More recently, earlier this month Microsoft executives said they would recognize a union being formed by roughly 300 employees of ZeniMax Studios. This in particular is a significant move towards worker rights, as the Communication Workers of America (CWA) celebrated Microsoft’s willingness to recognize and not force a protracted legal battle. Seeing a company as massive and influential as Microsoft to make this decision showed how 2022 was a significant year for unions and workers’ rights in the games industry, and I fully expect this trend to accelerate into 2023.

Social Media, Elon Musk’s Twitter & TikTok’s Expansion

I’m lumping in a couple topics here that dominated the social media landscape this past year. It’s hard to avoid hearing from billionaire weirdo and apartheid apologist Elon Musk, especially when he single-handedly upended the space with his October purchase of Twitter for $44 billion. What followed in the coming weeks was a simultaneous mass exodus from the firm and Musk touting how the platform saw record engagement. Thankfully he claims he’ll be stepping down as Chief Executive Officer soon, because a poll of Twitter uses told him to do so, though the damage has been done for many that moved towards the likes of alternatives in Hive Social or Mastodon.

Elsewhere, in the video streaming world, TikTok’s popularity skyrocketed in 2022 after gaining traction during quarantine times. It began the year with over 1 billion monthly active users (MAUs). Statista estimates it will end the year at upwards of 1.7 billion MAUs, and will likely pass 2 billion in 2023. It’s been downloaded over 3.5 billion times, only the 5th platform ever to accomplish this figure and the first on that list to not be owned by Facebook parent Meta Platforms. The short-form video content platformer has become a premier destination, both for creators and fans, and often dictates trends or news stories especially among its younger users.

Evolution of Working: Remote, Hybrid & Four-Day Work Weeks

Even if certain leaders (see the aforementioned Musk) insist on forcing people back into the office, plenty of big companies settled into a hybrid working compromise in 2022. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta have all embraced some form of a hybrid working model. Almost 90% of European companies surveyed by Owl Labs planned to offer hybrid solutions post-pandemic. On the upside, it’s a much more flexible environment for workers and often acts as a welcoming culture for talent. Downside is there are still disruptions in workflow and tech availability, which can push software or products back. As exhibited by how many big title delays happened in the games industry especially.

Additionally, various gaming companies experimented with instituting four-day work weeks, meant to alleviate crunch and provide a more balanced work-life dynamic. Eidos Montreal, Eidos Sherbrooke, Kitfox Games, Armor Games, ManaVoid Entertainment, Young Horses Games and Crows Crows Crows are examples of studios that have shifted towards this type of schedule while maintaining pay levels for their employees. Not only is it promoting work-life harmony, it’s an excellent bargaining chip for companies when attracting talent.

Microsoft & Activision Blizzard Facing Regulatory Scrutiny & Sony’s Ire

It’s hard to believe that Microsoft announced its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard this past January. It feels like the biggest story in gaming, perhaps ever, and the resulting talk about further consolidation in the games industry has been in the news cycle for an eternity. The company’s representations argue that it will actually increase competition and aid development resources because of access to Xbox Game Pass and more direct financial support, and has offered good faith deals to Sony, Nintendo and Valve to have Activision’s bellwether franchise Call of Duty remain on other platforms for at lease a decade. So far, only Nintendo and Valve have accepted.

While certain jurisdictions like Brazil and Saudi Arabia have already approved the deal, other regions and countries are scrutinizing it closely. Namely the United Kingdom’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) and now Lina Khan’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) here in the United States, the latter of which is seeking to potentially block the purchase by pushing the Seattle-based tech giant towards a major legal battle. Then of course there’s Sony, Microsoft’s main competitor in the premium console space, that’s naturally opposed to it. Personally I still think the acquisition will happen, perhaps with some conditions, just not before Microsoft’s target of June 2023.

Supply Chain & New Gaming Hardware Inventory Rebound

Can you believe it’s been two years since the launch of Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X|S family? And almost a year since Valve’s Steam Deck handheld (a device from that I think has revolutionized PC and portable gaming)? To say it’s been a tumultuous beginning to the new console cycle is an understatement, as supply disruptions plus chip shortages have made it difficult for consumers to find these boxes at retail. Though after a rough stretch in the front half of the year, indicators are finally signaling better availability.

Supply chains are improving, part prices are topping out and suppliers are pushing more inventory to market. This is illustrated by better hardware results lately for key markets like the United States, where both new families have been growing, sometimes in the double-digits. Data from a Top 5 global games market in the United Kingdom show that November was the biggest month of 2022 for console sales. Valve’s Steam Deck shipments have risen drastically since the February launch, when the company was dealing with slowdowns amidst long waiting lists. There’s also Sony’s upbeat target for hardware shipments during its current fiscal year. It’s safe to say these stats are pointing to a positive trend, and certainly bodes well for the new year, during which I expect upward growth for all three devices.

Weakness in Mobile Drives Lower Spending on Games Industry

Admittedly this is a miss for me when it comes to my prediction, as I expected global games industry value to be flat or up slightly in 2022. The reason? Mainly because I was more optimistic than I should have been on mobile. Even with the late year output push by hardware manufacturers, spending across games is trending downward for this past year. Both globally and within the United States, as Newzoo expects the former to decline 4% to $184 billion and The NPD Group currently shows domestic spending down 6% to $48.97 billion through November.

At a global scale, mobile’s value is trending 6% lower to $92 billion. Within the United States, this sub-category is likely to show between a 1% to 2% dip. To illustrate how significant this is, that would be the first time in Sensor Tower’s tracked history in which mobile experiences an annual decline. And it usually makes up half or more of the Video Game Content category, which is the largest contributor to U.S. spending. Combine mobile weakness with the impact of a sparser release calendar for premium games and global hardware sales looking to move down 4% to $52 billion, and 2022 is trending closer and closer to pre-pandemic levels.

Continued Expansion of Subscriptions, Streaming & Cloud Services

As expected by nearly every talking head that covers consumer sectors and technology, including yours truly, 2022 showed further movement towards subscriptions, streaming and cloud across various media types. These sorts of ongoing digital content distribution strategies are all the rage at companies, from Walt Disney Co’s Disney Plus and Warner Bros’ HBO Max to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass alongside Sony’s PlayStation Plus. This past year featured many avenues to watch television shows, check out new films and enjoy game libraries, whether locally or on streaming devices. Disney Plus recently passed 164 million subscribers, up 12 million year-on-year. The combined audience of Walt Disney’s streaming platforms rose almost 4 million in the quarter ending September. While Netflix’s user base initially declined in the early parts of its latest fiscal year, it’s since rebounded to 223 million after adding 2.4 million in the latest quarter, above estimates.

In gaming, Sony rebranded its PlayStation Plus service back in June to offer certain new titles as part of the Premium tier. Microsoft said Xbox Game Pass is showing growth on console and PC, though the former is slowing as the market saturates, and shared that 20 million people have used its cloud streaming tech which is twice as many as in 2021. Finally, Microsoft signed a deal to offer Xbox Game Pass on new Samsung televisions, a move that further exhibits how distribution will be in the future without even a need for gaming hardware. Digital is now dominant in these sectors with its allure of ongoing revenue and audience retention, and I expect even more segmentation across 2023 and beyond.

There you have my coverage of the biggest trends of 2022. Thanks for reading this far! Head back to the 2022 Year-in-Review Megapost for all year-end content here at Working Casual, and be well everyone.

Sources: Chris Chang (Image Credit), Company Investor Websites, GamesIndustry.Biz, Getty Images, Newzoo, The NPD Group, Owl Labs, PlayStation Blog, Sensor Tower, Social Shephard, Statista, ThisisEngineering (Image Credit).

-Dom

2022 Year-in-Review Megapost is Here

DomsPlaying2 Comments

It’s the last week of 2022. Which means one thing, of course.

We’ll see the ball drop soon on the new year? Well, maybe. But actually: It’s time for Working Casual’s annual Year-in-Review series!

This will be the sixth installment of the perennial article set celebrating gaming, media, technology and the trends, companies and smaller teams making big impacts across these sectors.

In a broad sense, major stories within these included the evolution of hybrid working, supply chain and logistics recoveries, better widespread unionization efforts, subscription services rebranding towards growth, cloud gaming expansion, major delays for AAA titles, general consumer spending declines, ongoing games tapping the Metaverse, the volatility of cryptocurrency, and, a personal favorite, the innovation of Valve’s Steam Deck on the gaming hardware front.

Throughout the next week, I’ll have multiple articles covering everything that was the past year. Trends, companies, indie studios and my favorite games will engulf the site like fireworks in the night sky. See below for the article titles. I recommend bookmarking and checking back often as I post them leading up to New Year’s Day.

Biggest Trends in Gaming, Tech & Media

Five Most Impressive Gaming Companies

Independent Studios of the Year

Dom’s Top 10 Games of the Year

Thanks everyone for hanging out here and on social media. Sending all the best to you and yours as we wrap up another year, and move into a new one!

-Dom

2021 Year-in-Review: Dom’s Top 10 Games of the Year

DomsPlaying

I’ve arrived at the very final post of 2021 Year-in-Review, and really the entire year for the website. It’s time to crown Game of the Year!

This piece marks a bittersweet moment. Looking back on a challenging, stressful 12 months, I’m impressed by any game development team and publishing outfit that was able to release games in 2021. Collaborating remotely, balancing work and life, juggling responsibilities and still making awesome games is an incredible feat.

Now’s the time to celebrate my favorite titles, the best of the best. And I must say, it was a unique one. Certain years, like films made specifically for award season, there are clear “best of” list entries. Not 2021. Variety and diverse quality defined gaming this past year, between triple-A surprises and fantastic indies, to where it was impossible to predict at the beginning where I’d be at the end.

Despite what some might say, I think last year was an incredible year for gaming. The breadth of experiences, glorious and saddening, is clearly reflected in the ranks of my top games. Here are the ten best games I played in 2021, then a quick set of excellent honorable mentions.

10. Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC.

Capcom’s bespoke Nintendo Switch entry in the storied Monster Hunter franchise reminds me of predecessor Monster Hunter World in the best ways while simplifying certain areas for a more specific audience. The third-person action-crafting game is an amalgamation of console and handheld tendencies for Monster Hunter, sparked by a new ability that tremendously expands traversal, which benefits its cooperative gameplay and remains rewarding over dozens if not hundreds of hours.

9. Halo Infinite (343 Industries, Xbox Game Studios)

Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC.

After a year delay, the latest and arguably most important Halo entry since Halo: Combat Evolved twenty years ago nails its core gameplay within a bold move towards an open area structure, its campaign blending traditional corridor sequences with encounters that encourage experimentation. It overcomes a predictable storyline because it’s so fun to play as Master Chief, who I can’t imagine now without his signature grappling hook. I haven’t delved much into multiplayer, which I hear is fantastic, yet it’s still missing cooperative campaign and user generated content features which dings its ranking.

8. Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart (Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Platforms: PlayStation 5

The Ratchet & Clank series is pure gameplay joy mixed with high quality visual flair, and Rift Apart continues this traditional amidst an expanded cast of characters and gorgeous environment design. The latest generation of consoles lets famed developer Insomniac dazzle players with fast loading times, snappy mechanics and quick grappling plus its narrative is charming with Rivet and Kit joining Ratchet and his robo-buddy Clank adventuring across multiple timelines. It doesn’t push boundaries; it’s just plain old interactive fun.

7. Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine, Square Enix)

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Stadia.

One of the year’s best titles is also my favorite in the Life is Strange franchise, which now spans three mainline stories and select spin-offs. It’s carried by main character Alex Chen, an empath dealing with both her own and others’ traumas, plus creative writing, outstanding dialogue and consequential player choice. The fictional Haven Springs is a stunning setting, the backdrop to an effective character drama. Chapter 3 is the best single sequence of 2021, a few hours of pure bliss as the game briefly turns into a fantastical, turn-based role-playing adventure.

6. Lost Judgment (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Sega)

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One.

Another sequel makes my top games list as Lost Judgment refines the detective mystery, martial arts fighting, hilarious character personalities and wacky side content the original did so well. It adds skateboarding, climbing and a detective doggo named Ranpo plus parallel questlines in solving a high-profile murder while investigating bullying at a local high school. The developers behind Yakuza expertly balance humor with gravity as Yagami’s path now spans two Japanese cities, and their vision coalesces into a thrilling experience as I wrote in my full review.

5. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal, Square Enix)

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC.

Rounding out the Top 5 is the most startling Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, a spectacular adaptation underpinned by an affecting story, infectious chatter, beautiful visuals and delicate character moments when least expected. Starlord and team band together, fall apart and reunite in a game with exquisite writing and quick decision-making. Combat combines team management and third-person shooting, starting slow then ramping up with new abilities as squad relationships deepen. It drags at times in the third act yet ultimately reveals a narrative with themes of self-doubt, responsibility and redemption.

4. Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine Productions, Xbox Game Studios)

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 (Backwards Compatible), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass (Cloud, Console & PC), PC.

Back in August I raved about the genius of Psychonauts 2, the follow-up to the cult classic launched way back in 2005. This action platformer is so much more than its genre convention, an artistic delight with thought-provoking themes, exceptional environmental artwork and an improved mechanical identity. Tim Schafer and Double Fine are best-in-class at establishing tone, incorporating references and focusing on finer details that bring an aesthetic to life. Each level is hand-crafted, from a psychedelic festival to hospital casino, resulting in a bizarre yet comical experience through the psyche that certainly has a mind of its own. Oh, and the year’s best song in Jack Black’s epic “Cosmic I/Smell the Universe.”

3. Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games, Xbox Game Studios)

Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass (Cloud, Console & PC), PC.

The Forza Horizon franchise isn’t about racing. It’s about driving. The thrill of an open road, the roar of an engine and view of a brilliant sunset just over the.. well, horizon. The fifth entry is set in Mexico and has perfected its formula, more an open world exploration game with events than anything else. The trick behind its excellence is a constant reward loop. Its accessibility features make for smooth steering mechanics which can lean towards arcade or simulation. Collectibles, races, stunt opportunities and campaign stories dot the landscape, offering plenty to do in one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played. There’s multiplayer, seasonal goals and even a dedicated battle royale mode. Last year, Forza Horizon 5 raced to the top of my favorite driving games of all time.

2. Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games, Devolver Digital)

Platforms: PC.

It’s wholly inaccurate to call Inscryption solely a deck-building card game. It’s part psychological horror, part escape room and all instant narrative classic with a phenomenal card game as its primary player interaction. It’s the type of multi-layered experience that can’t be described without spoiling its later acts, because it’s so much more than what it initially presents. There’s a meta-story, referential themes, individual character arcs and consistent moments that utterly floored me. Jaw-dropping. Awe-inspiring. Daniel Mullins subverts every expectation and had me hooked on a card game that mainly uses sacrifice to strengthen a deck, a theme paralleled in its later puzzles. The early cabin area is tough, and its second act is probably too long, however I have minimal complaints about this monumental indie masterpiece.

1. The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller, Dear Villager)

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch (Cloud), PC.

And finally, my Game of the Year is: The Forgotten City. A most delightful surprise in a year filled with great games.

If you’ve visited the site or chatted on social media, you’ve seen me tell everyone and anyone who would listen about this masterclass of game design and storytelling prowess that originated as a Skyrim mod. I wrote an unscored review around launch. Now that I’m scoring my critiques, The Forgotten City would easily earn a 9.5 out of 10.

Its setting: an underground Roman city. Its rule: if even a single person sins, everyone dies. The playable character is dropped into this ancient setting, summoned there to figure out who will commit the deed that leads to the city’s demise. It’s a first-person game less about combat, though there is light action mainly via a magical bow, and all about character dialogue, investigating leads and making impossible choices. There’s also the time loop element, resetting the world each time the player fails to uncover its mysteries.

What makes it stand out in the year of time loop games is a deft approach to repetition. Rather than requiring the player to conduct the same interviews and persuasions each run, it has a helpful character named Galerius that assists in carrying out various duties. Each action has a reaction as the player tries to close the loop to create a time paradox, zipping them back to modern times.

Of course, there’s a broader mystery about why someone from present day is suddenly ripped through time to solve this dilemma. Clearly not everything is as it seems. Most character arcs are well-written, especially that of Naevia in a forbidden palace and the lonesome Livia who knows the city’s secret, and its themes center on morality, philosophy, mythology and societal conventions of right versus wrong.

While animations can be janky and it should have more flexible options, The Forgotten City wins this award on the strength of its fantastic writing and revelations around societal conventions of right versus wrong, with multiple endings that reflect what the player considers in each scenario. I can’t recommend it enough. I hope it stands the test of time as one of the single best stories in all of gaming.

Top Five Honorable Mentions (Alphabetical Order):

Chicory: A Colorful Tale (Greg Lobanov, Finji)

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac.

Death’s Door (Acid Nerve, Devolver Digital)

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC.

Deathloop (Arkane Studios, Bethesda Softworks)

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC.

Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam, Nintendo)

Platforms: Nintendo Switch.

Returnal (Housemarque, Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Platforms: PlayStation 5.

And that’s the last of 2021! Switch back over to the megapost for everything Year-in-Review.

Thank you very much to everyone for visiting and chatting this past year.

2021 saw the single best month of visitors for Working Casual (that was August 2021) and this month is already the highest average per day ever for the website. Be safe in the coming year, and look forward to many more posts and coverage of gaming, technology and media soon!

Sources: Company Websites, Press Kits, Twitter & Investor Relations.

Disclaimer: Code was provided by the publisher for Psychonauts 2.

-Dom

2021 Year-in-Review: Independent Studios of the Year

DomsPlaying

This might be my favorite post all year. It’s time to specifically shout out the best indie studios of 2021 and their incredible games.

“Indie” has always been a nebulous term that’s difficult to define. Where do we draw the line? Team size? Budget? Scope? Association with a major publisher? To me, it’s elements of these things. Indie teams are usually smaller, self-published or shopping projects around for financing and games are kept at a more focused strategy. However, to me it’s mostly about the team’s spirit and approach when the lines become blurred. Shoot, it might not even be a team. These days, a single individual can make a multi-million seller indie epic.

There are also indies backed, or even purchased, by major game publishers. This post isn’t meant to litigate semantics about what is or isn’t part of this space. It’s a place to talk about which studios or individuals made the best “smaller” or independent projects this past year.

In terms of sheer number, it’s the largest list for this category ever. Nine entries deep! Let’s get on with the festivities, here are the top independent game studios of 2021 in alphabetical order.

Acid Nerve

Mark Foster and David Fenn make up Acid Nerve, a team based out of Manchester that created the awesome Death’s Door, one of the year’s most striking indie games. It’s a dark, isometric adventure game with tricky combat and creative bosses, where the player collects souls in a bureaucratic version of the afterlife. Previous projects include Titan Souls and Telepaint, but 2021 was Acid Nerve’s best yet.

Daniel Mullins Games

I promise this name will come up again during my Game of the Year list. Known previously for Pony Island and The Hex, Daniel Mullins recently created the incredible Inscryption, a deck-building card game I guarantee is like none other. Daniel is mostly a solo developer known for meta narrative and genre-bending, and this formula is perfected with Inscryption which is exquisitely executed, the type of experience that lingers long after it’s done.

Greg Lobanov

Another mostly solo creator is up next in Greg Lobanov for his excellent work on Chicory: A Colorful Tale, a game about self-doubt, artistic vision and ultimate perseverance. Greg, a Philadelphian in Canada formerly known as Dumb and Fat plus maker of Coin Crypt and Wandersong, worked with a small team to make one of 2021’s most layered games about anthropomorphic animals facing real life issues, sparked by a magical visual flare as the player can color its entire environment.

Ember Lab

Pixar-quality action-adventure Kena: Bridge of Spirits was incredibly the first game for Ember Lab, a team led by brothers Mike and Josh Grier who had a history in short film and commercial animation. The team leveraged this prowess to make a gorgeous game about Kena, guide to spirits and friend to cute creatures, which won both best indie and top independent debut at this year’s The Game Awards.

Four Quarters

A team originally based out of Russia and now spread around the globe remotely, the four-person Four Quarters launched the ingenious, enigmatic Loop Hero this past year. This semi-idle game with tower defense, crafting and role-playing elements captured the stage in first quarter 2021, selling over a million units and cementing Four Quarters, previously makers of Please, Don’t Touch Anything, as celebrated indie creatives.

Hidden Fields

Haunting visuals and tense interactions define Mundaun, a psychological horror game and first full-length project from one-man Swiss studio Hidden Fields. Michel Ziegler illustrated and programmed the hand-stenciled game set in the Alps where a man travels back to its hometown to find out more about his grandfather’s passing, and it’s one of 2021’s most dramatic, bizarre and unique indie releases.

Housemarque

Technically no longer independent since its purchase by Sony in June, Housemarque released time-bending action game Returnal in April which has since garnered critical praise and commercial success. As noted in my review, Returnal was the most ambitious and impactful title from the outfit previously focused on fast-paced arcade gems like Resogun and Nex Machina, blending bullet hell elements with run-based elements in splendid harmony.

Iron Gate Studio

Headquartered in Sweden, Iron Gate Studio broke out in 2021 after launching gathering, crafting and building game Valheim which snagged the zeitgeist in February with its Norse world and fantastical setting. At one point, the procedurally-generated title was selling a million units every other week, culminating in upwards of 8 million as of August and spawning many a tale of emergent, co-op interactions and challenging enemy battles.

Modern Storyteller

The final winner is Modern Storyteller, brainchild of lawyer-turned-developer Nick Pearce and creator of the masterpiece that is The Forgotten City. As I alluded in my review back around launch in July, the first-person time loop game set in an underground Roman city began as a Skyrim mod and blossomed into a daring narrative showcase that offers player choice, political intrigue and major morality conundrums. Pearce and team define and even transcend “walking simulator” genre boundaries with The Forgotten City, a staggering storytelling feat that lands them within this group of best indie studios around.

Shout out to all the developers on this most prestigious list and every indie developer working hard during 2021, a most challenging of years that resulted in some of my favorite projects to date. Bounce over to my megapost for all other Year-in-Review categories, including the impending Game of the Year awards.

Sources: Comic Book Resources (Image Credit), Company Websites & Twitter. YoYo Games (Image Credit).

-Dom

2021 Year-in-Review: Five Most Impressive Gaming Companies

DomsPlaying

Consistency and quality are the key in this Year-in-Review category.

It rewards those teams at larger publishers or console manufacturers with the most impact on the games industry, whether from a release, investment, expansion, influence or hardware launch standpoint. These are names most will recognize, standing at the top of their respective games. The work of their development teams and publishing arms shaped the broader industry in 2021, resulting in some of the most remarkable experiences of the year.

While I’m celebrating bigger companies here, I want to take a moment to say again how I stand behind workers fighting back against toxic regimes at companies like Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard, both of which (among others like Bungie and Riot Games) will most certainly not make this list right now. I’m excited to see efforts towards collective action and even unionization because these companies are their people, not just their executive teams. There’s no place for harassment here.

Note: My next article will highlight independent creators. This is reserved for publicly-traded or high valuation companies.

Here they are, the top five most impressive companies of 2021, in alphabetical order.

Capcom

The largest third-party Japanese publisher focused on high quality over quantity in 2021. Its two flagship launches in Monster Hunter Rise and Resident Evil Village were among the year’s most critically-acclaimed and commercially-successful, continuing a recent reinvigoration of both franchises. Round out its annual schedule with Monster Hunter Stories 2, Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, a handful of classic game collections plus even Resident Evil 4 for virtual reality (props to anyone who can play that!).

Monster Hunter Rise was made specifically for Nintendo Switch, existing somewhere between Monster Hunter World and earlier franchise titles centered on handheld play. It worked masterfully, an addicting gameplay loop that’s perfect for portable play. After shipping 4 million units in three days back in March 2021, it’s since surpassed 7.5 million units to already become the third best-selling game in series history.

Since its launch in May, Resident Evil Village has shown up on many an award list for its adaptation of the survival horror formula. Perhaps more memorably, the multi-platform follow-up to 2017’s Resident Evil 7 Biohazard spawned the vampire mother and ongoing meme that is Lady Dimitrescu. It was the fastest-selling series launch alongside Resident Evil 6, moving 3 million units across four days. After shipping an additional 2 million since, it now stands at 5 million to date.

I’m fully praising Capcom’s internal teams for adapting in a changing world and producing at least a couple of the year’s most celebrated big budget releases.

Devolver Digital

Devolver is the type of unique game company with a scrappy, start-up mentality that was also valued over $1 billion when its stock listed in London in November making it the largest U.S. company to trade on the stock exchange. Its games are all from smaller teams, and it explicitly makes fun of press conferences from larger counterparts during E3. The portion of its website showing accolades is called Propaganda.

That’s Devolver in a nutshell. And I’d argue 2021 was its best year to date.

It’s a publishing outfit, previously working on re-releases and lately coordinating with tighter-knit independent creators to market their projects around the world. Last year alone it produced the following: Inscryption from Daniel Mullins Games, Loop Hero by Four Quarters, Acid Nerve’s Death’s Door, Boomerang X made by Dang! plus Olija which was created by Skeleton Crew Studio.

These titles, notably the first three, are everywhere this award season and all signs point to solid sales as well. Inscryption is celebrated as one of the best deck-building card games ever, pushing 250K units on Steam alone. Loop Hero, which set its own genre somewhere between idle game and tower defense, has now sold well over a million units. Death’s Door is a critical darling with over 100K copies in a week. The totally rad Boomerang X flew under-the-radar, a quiet yet sensational compact experience.

Devolver is made up of smart, savvy talent finders which led to multiple games that defined the indie space in 2021.

Epic Games

Yes. Epic Games is, at first glance, Fortnite. 2017’s battle royale sensation is still one of the most relevant games because it pushes boundaries of collaboration, creation, intellectual property crossover and live event experimentation. Epic Games has effectively established a “metaverse” at a time when most other companies are talking about doing so. Which is impressive enough on its own.

This year alone, Fortnite added more characters and cosmetics from a range of different brands or gaming franchises: Marvel, Warner Bros, Halo, God of War, Street Fighter, Tomb Raider and others I’m forgetting. It’s probably the only place where Master Chief can have an epic battle with Kratos. Epic moved the game into its third chapter recently while expanding its event approach during 2021, showcasing Ariana Grande’s Rift Tour and the Soundwave Series of concerts headlined by Egyptian singer Mohamed Hamaki.

However Epic is also making deals, investments and partnerships while continuing its Epic Game Store growth with content offerings and major sales. This past year, it purchased Fall Guys creator Mediatonic, RAD Game Tools, ArtStation, Sketchfab and even Rock Band maker Harmonix. That’s not even to talk about its game engine business, moving into Unreal Engine 5 technology which was recently shown off via The Matrix Awakens and is now in the hands of developers making games for the latest generation of consoles like Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II and the next Mass Effect. It’s one of the most popular engines in the world, leveraged by film studios to game designers everywhere.

Epic Games’ valuation is estimated at upwards of $42 billion, up from under $30 billion in April. Its strategy is all-encompassing, with the ongoing, evolving ecosystem of Fortnite supplemented by various other businesses, experiences and its digital storefront.

Square Enix

When talking sheer software output, not many companies rivaled Square Enix during 2021. The Japanese developer-publisher moved a whirlwind of games and expansions, one of which was so successful that it had to stop selling it temporarily.

Its lineup ran the gamut. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Life is Strange: True Colors. Outriders. Bravely Default 2. Balan Wonderworld. Neo: The World Ends With You. Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars. NieR Replicant (insert many numbers here). Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker. Even Final Fantasy VII Remake for PC snuck in during December. Sprinkle in re-releases of catalog titles, and it was a busy time for its teams.

Now some of these were better than others, granted. I’d argue there’s more good than bad. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is a sleeper Game of the Year contender and one of the best comic adaptations in recent years. Life is Strange: True Colors continued its franchise’s narrative legacy and produced one of the best main characters of 2021 in Alex Chen. Outriders had a major moment in April, launching simultaneously into Xbox Game Pass to reach 3.5 million players in a month. Bravely Default 2 has sold a million units worldwide.

Then there’s Final Fantasy XIV, one of the sweetest redemption stories in all of gaming since a shaky start over a decade ago. On the strength of its Endwalker expansion this year, the MMORPG became the most profitable game in Final Fantasy history, reached 25 million registered accounts and established a new record for concurrent players. In December, Square Enix had to halt new sales and trials because its servers couldn’t handle player load. If that’s not a good problem to have, I don’t know what is.

Traditional console and PC gaming isn’t the only vertical within its portfolio. Others include mobile, arcade, amusement, film, manga and merchandising of its various brands. While overall sales and profit are currently down slightly from last year’s highs, it expects annual revenue growth of 2% driven by these new launches plus the ongoing momentum of its MMORPG unit.

While I was disappointed to see a New Year’s letter from President Yosuke Matsuda talk mostly about metaverse and NFTs, two questionable corporate buzzwords I mentioned in my Year-in-Review trends post, employees at Square Enix produced several noteworthy games and continued significant ongoing player support in 2021.

Xbox Game Studios

During this same category last year, I awarded Microsoft overall a slot at the top at the start of its new Xbox Series X|S generation. This year, I’m celebrating the individual unit that is Xbox Game Studios for its dazzling array of consistent output. Major internal investment and studio purchases, headlined of course by $7.5 billion ZeniMax deal which closed in March, began bearing fruit. This was perhaps the best year in history for Xbox on the software production side.

Several of its now 23 development teams had banner new releases, even if some of them weren’t technically exclusive to Xbox or platforms where Xbox Game Pass exists. Two of these, Forza Horizon 5 from Playground Games and Double Fine Productions’ Psychonauts 2, were among the year’s five highest-rated on review aggregator OpenCritic. This, hm.. drove Forza Horizon 5 to the largest software launch in Xbox history, attracting a staggering 10 million players its first week alone.

Then there’s Halo Infinite, of course. The one-two punch of multiplayer and campaign are a franchise revitalization. While Xbox hasn’t shared statistics yet, I’m on record betting the latest Halo installment from 343 Industries had even higher engagement. Deathloop from Arkane Studios was a lock for year-end “best of” lists, while Age of Empires IV from Relic Entertainment was one of the premier PC launches of 2021.

On the ongoing support and catalog side, Sea of Thieves from Rare sailed past 25 million players back in October. It’s quietly one of the biggest success stories for Xbox in the last decade. A small team at Obsidian Entertainment released Grounded into early access, plus Microsoft Flight Simulator from Asobo Studio saw its console debut.

Because of contracts signed prior to recent acquisitions, Deathloop was actually a PlayStation 5 exclusive while Psychonauts 2 hit a variety of different platforms. To me, that doesn’t take away from the accomplishments of everyone within Xbox Game Studios whether long-time employees or recent joiners. That’s multiple Game of the Year contenders, if not winners, and major contributions to the industry made or published by Xbox this past year.

This celebration of those working at major gaming companies marks the halfway point of 2021 Year-in-Review here at the site. Check back to the megapost for all articles. Be safe, all!

Sources: Company Investor & Media Sites, Financial Review, Mohamed Hassan (Image Credit).

-Dom

2021 Year-in-Review: Biggest Trends in Gaming, Tech & Media

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2021 was defined by a handful of major trends in gaming, technology and media, many of them centered around workplaces, culture and emerging technologies that even those involved might not fully understand.

It was another year of buzzwords within tech, as often happens. Cryptocurrency. Blockchain. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Meme Stocks. Metaverse. Within gaming, people spoke out against corporate toxicity and harassment. Mobile’s growth trajectory withstood as other areas cooled from the peaks of quarantine times, especially amidst supply concerns for hardware. For social media, the infamous Facebook Files, TikTok’s dominance and Twitter’s CEO departure hit the headlines.

Time to dig into six of the most significant trends of 2021. Fair warning, it’s not all good!

Workplace Culture & Whistleblowing

This story is a holdover from my 2020 list, and it’s only gained in relevancy this past year. More people were louder than ever on toxic cultures in the workplace or poor actions by executives, especially at big gaming publishers and social media giants. Over the summer, both Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard faced lawsuits related to discrimination and institutional harassment. Employees banded together to fight back against executives, to varying degrees of success.

Then there’s Facebook, now Meta, which saw a September leak reveal its self-realization of the harm it can cause younger users and its contributions to extremist activities worldwide. Not to mention the potential for fake research and incorrect information across its platforms. This is all thanks to whistleblower Frances Haugen and media investigations.

2021 did see some bright spots in these areas. Vodeo Games was the first gaming company in North America to formally unionize in December. Just recently, an IGN article detailed slightly improving conditions at Bungie while the Washington Post reported Riot Games must pay $100 million to settle a 2018 discrimination lawsuit. Toxicity at work and a “boys club” mentality is still prevalent in many industries. The hope is the more people talk about it, the more bad actors depart and these companies clean up their acts.

GameStop & Popularity of Meme Stocks

In a perfect swirl of internet camaraderie, corporate resistance and capitalist tendencies, 2021 became the year of the “meme stock” highlighted by names like GameStop and AMC Entertainment. At one point in January, GameStop closed at almost $350 per share. It opened the year under 20 bucks.

The frenzied swings of stocks like these are mainly due to online communities, especially Reddit’s WallStreetBets, forming narratives and collectively pushing them to historic highs. They tend to target securities with major short interest, which means a lot of other people were betting their prices would decline, to cause a massive upsurge in buying which skyrockets a stock’s intermittent value.

It’s the type of trend amplified these days when everyone is online, with entire sub-sections of the Web dedicated to chest-puffing against retail investors and major investment firms. A super curious phenomenon, especially when the underlying companies aren’t changing in value. It’s all about the market’s short-term perception. We couldn’t go a few days at times in 2021 without hearing about meme stocks, even from people who aren’t usually interested in social media or digital communities.

The Unavoidable Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, NFTs & Play-to-Earn

Apologies. I had to bring it up. It’s everywhere nowadays in tech, impossible to avoid plus impregnable for even those well-versed in the sector.

And that’s the undying realm that is blockchain, crypto and NFTs. Terms that you’ve probably heard numerous times now, whether via online posts or bros at a dinner table, and still find them wholly impenetrable. That’s because they are, plus it’s only getting worse.

These topics aren’t necessarily new at all. And I won’t dig into the specifics, that information is out there. Technologies surrounding digital ownership of goods, alternative forms of currency and decentralized systems have existed for years. It’s just the loudest right now. That’s primarily because of the astronomic popularity of NFTs, which are mainly used to make (or even launder) money under the guise of owning rights to a digital image.

Environmental impact, regulatory ramifications and opportunities for theft take a backseat to profitability in these realms, especially as company management teams start thinking of ways to capitalize and integrate into their products. Within gaming, that’s where areas like “Play-to-Earn” pop up in a ploy to entice people to play for the sake of generating money as opposed to leisure. Ubisoft introduced Quartz within its floundering Ghost Recon Breakpoint while developer GSC Game World tried, and failed, to incorporate NFTs in the forthcoming STALKER 2. This trend isn’t going anywhere, so I wager it could be a part of my 2022 predictions thread soon.

The Buzzword That Is The Metaverse

Every now and again, those at the top run a term into the ground to where it feels old before it’s even realized. That’s how “Metaverse” felt in 2021, a somewhat nebulous term combining aspects of augmented spaces, virtual reality, video connectedness and low quality online avatars to create a digital world where people can exist alongside one another. Lately it’s used by various companies claiming each wants to build the singular place where people can get together virtually.

Shoot. Facebook even changed its name to Meta in an attempt to monopolize the term.

This metaverse is another concept that’s not necessarily brand new. Just that lately, corporations see a clear opportunity to monetize a fancy buzzword and layer it on top of their existing brand identity. The aforementioned Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Alibaba, Epic Games, Roblox, Niantic and plenty more are using this phrase to describe its virtual offerings.

But what the heck is a metaverse and which will be the “one” that works a la the OASIS from Ready Player One? Well, many experts (and writers like yours truly) don’t think it’s possible. The space is too fragmented, companies are inherently driven to differentiate services rather than collaborate and getting all users to agree on a single platform is impractical. If 2021 is any indication, there will be much smaller, less defined metaverses competing for our virtual selves.

Hardware Shortages, Supply Chain & Product Delays

The global semiconductor shortage that heightened in 2020 partly because of coronavirus shutdowns had the carry-on effect of slowing all sorts of consumer industries including consumer technology, video game hardware, mobile phones and automobiles. Anything that used a chipset was more expensive to build and took longer to distribute in 2021, leading to supply shortages everywhere.

A major result is this combination of low availability and launch delays. Using the example of gaming consoles, the latest generation of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S were notoriously difficult to purchase this past year. When retailers did have inventory, it was short-lived and prone to scalping. Then there’s the console delays, including Valve’s Steam Deck and Panic’s Playdate handheld among others were pushed into next year.

Even so, there’s data showing resilience propped up by demand. Sony said PlayStation 5 shipments reached upwards of 13.3 million as of the quarter ending September. Sell-thru to consumers is higher than PlayStation 4. Nintendo Switch reached nearly 93 million sold lifetime, even as the company reduced its annual target for this fiscal year. Microsoft doesn’t share public figures, though anecdotally and from U.S. data, the Xbox Series S is more prevalent likely due to lower input costs. The NPD Group shows hardware sales up 20% in the U.S. through November 2021, even if compared to late console generation cycle the prior year. Unfortunately, many covering the chip industry think the supply chain issues will continue through 2022 and even beyond.

Mobile Driving Increased Global Games Industry Spending

Revenue numbers are in for the global games space, where overall value was up slightly in 2021 on a year-over-year basis. That’s attributable to gains in mobile and digital spending, while areas like console and personal computer (PC) dipped overall. Digital skew leads the charge as downloadable games plus additional content increased in traction and revenue generated.

According to Newzoo, worldwide video games industry value surpassed $180 billion in 2021. That’s up 1.4% since 2020, a durable figure that illustrates consistent spending on mobile experiences. Mobile as a category contributed $93 billion, showcasing 7% growth. Console was the next highest grouping, declining 7% to $50 billion. PC gaming reached $37 billion, down around 1% since 2020.

Overall, digital sources contributed 93% compared to 91% during 2020. Within console gaming, 77% was digital which is up from 72% prior year. Within mobile, Garena Free Fire led downloads with nearly 230 million. Subway Surfers and PUBG Mobile rounded out the Top 3, with 181 million and 172 million respectively. From a revenue standpoint, Honor of Kings, PUBG Mobile and Genshin Impact drove mobile sales.

On Twitter, Genshin Impact was the most-discussed title around the world followed by Final Fantasy XIV and Apex Legends. Looking at Google’s analytics, PopCat, FIFA 22 and Battlefield 2042 were the most searched. The top-selling games in 2021 for the U.S. as of November were topped by the two most recent Call of Duty titles, Black Ops Cold War and Vanguard in that order, followed by Madden NFL 22.

This recap of an eventful, and sometimes disheartening, year marks the first Year-in-Review post for 2021. Pop over to the megapost for more categories!

Sources: Christian Wiediger (Photo Credit), GamesIndustry.Biz, IGN, Marvin Meyer (Photo Credit), Meta Inc, Newzoo, Wall Street Journal (Photo Credit), Washington Post, Ubisoft.

-Dom

2021 Year-in-Review Megapost Is Now Live

DomsPlaying

The end is only beginning!

2021 is coming to a close. The past 12 months fit with the recent trend of years being difficult, trying and, very occasionally, magnificently rewarding. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which feels like it both started yesterday and has always been a part of our collective lives, continues as the biggest headline, impacting both our physical well-being and mental health. I like to believe humanity is strong enough to push through it, even if 2021 rebutted this theory at every turn.

Major news stories included insurgents at the U.S. Capitol, President Joe Biden’s inauguration, the Ever Given disrupting global commerce by getting itself stuck in the Suez, COVID booster availability amidst the widespread omicron variant, an Olympics like none other, plus some rich people throwing money around so they could go to space.

Closer to home within gaming, technology and media, this Year of the Game Delay brought about some of the best content and worst trends ever. The Facebook Files and social media whistleblowers. GameStop as the premier meme stock with the rise of Reddit traders. Executives repeating the word “metaverse” as many times as they possibly can while pretending it’s a new topic. The inscrutable nuisance that is the non-fungible token (NFT) alongside the burgeoning, disheartening “play-to-earn” gaming trend.

Of course, there’s the omnipresent semiconductor shortages and supply chain issues making it near impossible to find a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. Unless perhaos you happen to be a bot or scalper? Nintendo Switch’s new OLED model launched in the fourth quarter, cementing the hybrid handheld’s momentum on the charts. And, most importantly, the loud, ongoing relevance of challenging toxic workplace culture and harassment practices at companies including Ubisoft, Bungie and Activision Blizzard. (It’s a shame Bobby Kotick still has his job as I write this.)

Over the next few days, I’ll be recapping the year that was 2021. Once I wrap up writing about the biggest trends, it’s time to showcase what I thought was a consistent year in media and gaming especially, with a variety of high quality AAA titles and indie projects. First I’ll talk about larger publishers, then the more tight-knit indie scene before the grand finale: The ten best games I played all year.

This post acts as the central point for all things Year-in-Review here at Working Casual. Our categories are:

Biggest Trends in Gaming, Tech & Media

Five Most Impressive Gaming Companies

Independent Studios of the Year

Dom’s Top 10 Games of the Year

Set the bookmark and check back often! Happy Holidays and a safe, healthy New Year to all!

-Dom