Over the next eight days, Hardcore Gamer will be revealing its Best of 2022 Awards leading up to our Game of the Year. Today we present you with the Best of Story, Soundtrack, Performance, Technical Graphics and Artistic Design.

God of War Ragnarök

The God of War franchise has always been a franchise focused on story as much as action. The original trilogy based on Greek Mythology heavily pulled from the tragedies of the period to weave a tale of revenge that ultimately brought about the collapse of the Greek gods. Meanwhile, the portable entries worked to expand Kratos’ character and further flesh out his hatred for Olympus. God of War 2018 did the impossible: expand on Kratos even further now that he had given up his life of vengeance, with him finally owning up to his past and setting aside the baggage by that game’s end. After all that, it’s impressive that God of War Ragnarök not only has more to say about Kratos, but also manages to weave together the year’s best story. Filled to the brim with great characterizations of Odin, Thor, Atreus, Freya and Kratos himself, Ragnarök successfully delivers emotional payouts and powerful, gut-wrenching twists as the Norse era of God of War comes to an end. A story of parents and children, it’s a beautiful tale that forces each of its characters to reckon with their actions and ultimately choose how to trust one another lest both fall into tragedy. For twenty hours, God of War Ragnarök’s story keeps players hooked as all plotlines lead to one entertaining, bombastic and emotional conclusion: Ragnarök.

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Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

In a year with juggernauts such as Bear McCreary composing God of War Ragnarök, it’s hard to believe a Warhammer 40,000 game would be at the top of the list. While it has its share of issues that the developers are ironing out from its recent release, the soundtrack of Darktide remains an absolute masterpiece. Best known for his work on the Hitman, Assassin’s Creed and Vermintide franchises, just to name a few, Jesper Kyd brings his A-game with Darktide, perfectly capturing the dreary and violent world of the Warhammer 40k universe. It’s atmospheric during the cold and eerie moments while upping the beat during the more hectic events, keeping the players properly invested. It resembles that of a dark sci-fi '80s film, which is something that perfectly describes the 40k aesthetic. Even after upwards of one-hundred hours in, we’re still bobbing our heads to the boss and horde tracks as soon as they kick in. There’s nothing quite like it and will make you appreciate Darktide’s presentation even more.

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God of War Ragnarök

There’s no doubt that acting in video games has been gaining in importance since the seventh-generation of consoles, especially with the introduction of mo-cap performances. Video games have consistently delivered strong performances, and 2022 was no exception with plenty of strong contenders. God of War Ragnarök, however, stands head and shoulders above the rest with Christopher Judge (Kratos), Sunny Suljic (Atreus), Ryan Hurst (Thor) and Richard Schiff (Odin) turning in remarkable performances. What ultimately set God of War Ragnarök apart from its rivals, though, is the detail each actor gave to their performances. Watching Kratos’ face twitch as he fights to hold back tears or Thor’s eyes wander as he attempts to hide his shame from his daughter are all little moments that add up to breathtaking performances. God of War Ragnarök’s actors successfully brought their characters to life not just through their superb voice acting, but also by portraying their vulnerabilities, or, in Odin’s case, adding a thick layer of slime. God of War Ragnarök’s performances astound on every level.

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The Callisto Protocol

Few would deny The Callisto Protocol got its technical graphics right. Be it motion-capture, lighting, textures and how all of this was rendered unto the perilous setting, it says something when the briefest of treks through untreated water -- and all the filth that may imply -- ends up being one of the game’s stand-out inclusions. But credit to The Callisto Protocol and the lengths it went to for its visuals to stand out so. Even if your preference was more on the side of frame-rate than necessarily resolution; for all the talk of its ample death animations and the extent to which said gore was exemplified, The Callisto Protocol made sure to invest in far more than its main protagonist’s potential demise. The kind of game whose included Photo Mode offers plentiful opportunity to zoom in on your character’s features -- from skin pores to textural grooves in your acquired suit alike.

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Stray

The genius in Stray’s style becomes more evident as you progress more and more in the game, realizing a lot of what you’re seeing is a brilliantly-sculpted imitation of life. What were once service robots have since grew beyond their programming and have begun replicating human society in its wake, and the end result is a bizarre-yet-beautiful world that expertly looks and feels like a unique attempt to replicate humanity, where things are ever just oh so slightly off. Combine that with striking ruins that provide a nice contrast and impressive character designs, and you easily have one the year’s most visually interesting games.

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