It's already the third year that I've spent time in the last week after Christmas reflecting on the games I've played. For a type of leisure that I like so much, it's fun to have a diary of the things I played. It's really fun to reflect on the choices and experiences I had with my favorite games.

This year is not different, so welcome to the POTY 2022 - the Played of the Year! It was the year that I decided to clear half of my backlog, giving a chance to titles that had been molding there for a while. It was the year I played a lot of new games, given my current status as a "happy Xbox Game Pass subscriber". It was a year that I gave a chance to some modern online games that have no end. It was a year that I played a lot with my fianceé and created good moments together with the person I love.

This is my list of the best games I played this year. It doesn't matter if the title was launched decades ago: if i'm discovering it for the first time now, it counts. You can see the POTYs from 2020 and 2021 too, but let's go for the 2022 list!

20) Rhythm Tengoku / Rhythm Heaven Silver

Game Boy Advance, Nintendo, 2006

I love rhythm games and few are as unique as Rhythm Heaven. This not-so-famous-and-deserve-more franchise from Nintendo is capable of impress anyone who has the opportunity to play it. Last year, I played the Wii version and now I went after Rhythm Tengoku, the beginning of the series on the GBA, never released in the West. Because of an incredible fan translation, I could see that the magic was there from the beginning. Even on a portable from 20 years ago, the visual and musical charm of the series is impressive and worth a try for anyone who likes the genre.

19) Kirby: Planet Robobot

Nintendo 3DS, HAL Laboratory/Nintendo, 2016

In a strange coincidence of having two Kirby games at 19th place in consecutive years, Kirby: Planet Robobot was a pleasant surprise. As much as I love the puff pink ball and his little world, it was always difficult to me to engage on his platform games, either due to the lack of challenge or the repetition of content. Robobot manages to be almost an antithesis of other Kirby games (like Triple Deluxe, also on the 3DS): really interesting worlds, good level progression and a great idea with the mechas, a very fun gimmick to use every time it appears. If you only want to play ONE main Kirby game, go with this one.

18) Disney Dreamlight Valley

PC/Mac/PS4/PS5/XBO/XBS/Switch, Gameloft/Disney, 2022

From the bottom of my heart, I wish I hadn't liked Disney Dreamlight Valley so much. As much as Disney films were part of my childhood, today it's difficult not to have many (MANY) cons with the great mouse machine. Having said all that, I LOVED DREAMLIGHT VALLEY. It's a game loop similar to Animal Crossing, but less slow and with more things to complete, especially each character's missions. It's still in early access, but I've 100% finished the content of all the updates released this year... and I'll probably continue next year.

17) Horizon Chase Turbo

PC/Mac/Switch/PS4/XBO, Aquiris Game Studio, 2018

Horizon Chase is my favorite mobile racing game because of its simplicity and controls. Its "expanded" version for PC and consoles, Horizon Chase Turbo, definitely doesn't lose anything in quality. In fact, it's quite a sight to see the beautiful low-poly visuals on a big screen. I ended up not being able to try the multiplayer, but the World Tour campaign is still great and a lot of fun. It's really good to see good Brazilian games getting out there and becaming known for its quality.

16) Wii Sports Resort

Wii, Nintendo, 2009

Last year, I went back in time a few years to understand the magic behind the famous "Wii bowling". And didn't they manage to make an even better game? Wii Sports Resort not only uses Wii MotionPlus very well to improve the experience, but it also brings other much cooler sports. The Wuhu Island and the whole summer vacation vibes are also really cozy and welcome. I spent many hours on the new bowling, table tennis and archery trying to get the best scores and I always come back to play another round.

15) The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe

PC/Mac/Linux/PS4/PS5/XBO/XBS/Switch, Crows Crows Crows, 2022

The Stanley Parable has become a video game storytelling classic largely because of the innovative way in which it challenges, with each player's action, the common media narrative and the expectations present in our imagination. The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe will become a video game storytelling classic by challenging the one thing that wasn't possible in 2013: the video game storytelling classic The Stanley Parable.

14) Tangle Tower

PC/Mac/PS4/XBO/Switch, SFB Games, 2019

2022 was a year in which I played way more narrative games than usual, mainly about mysteries to be solved. I want to play a lot more next year, but Tangle Tower was easily a pleasant surprise. Even though its structure is linear, the game has a very interesting story, great characters, good puzzles and a very unique way of asking questions about the plot. It's a shame it's so short, but I was hooked for a few days until I got everything the game had to offer.

13) Beacon Pines

PC/XBO/XBS/Switch, Hiding Spot Games/Fellow Traveller, 2022

In a double feature of narrative games, I also didn't expect to have swallowed Beacon Pines with the excitement I did. I never really played a lot of visual novels (specially if the Layton series doesn't count), but Beacon Pines was a great "first experience" of the genre, with a simple but interesting story, cute and charismatic characters and a smart way to give you pieces of the story while testing new narrative possibilities.

12) Codenames

Web, Czech Games Edition, 2020

I love board games, so having a good representation of the digital ones in the POTY this year makes me really happy, specially with a game so great as Codenames. It's easily one of the smartest party games ever made, with a high dose of interaction between players without getting boring or boring. Playing online doesn't have exactly the same magic, but it's a great option, mainly because it's free and there are cards in Portuguese now.

11) WarioWare: Get It Together!

Switch, Intelligent Systems/Nintendo, 2021

Is it any surprise to anyone that this crazy microgames thing is by far my favorite Nintendo franchise? Of course. But I also didn't expect WarioWare: Get It Together! would be so much fun in multiplayer. The game completely embraces chaos, switching characters all the time, and makes you happy for getting something at the last second (or laughing for not getting it anyway).

And I know it's a spoiler, but Penny's Song was one of the best songs ever made for a video game in history and anyone who disagrees is wrong.

10) Ynglet

PC/Mac/XBO/XBS, Nifflas Games/Triple Topping, 2021

One of the cool things about clearing the backlog this year was finding great games that were lost on my "one day I'll play" list. Ynglet was by far the best of them. With a super different "platform game" concept, it's really enjoyable to simply move through the levels, finding secrets and solving puzzles. Besides being very, very beautiful in its strange world of shapes and molecules. I wish more people played Ynglet and more games tried to be as different as Ynglet.

09) RPG Time: The Legend of Wright

PC/PS4/XBO/XBS/Switch, Aniplex/Deskworks, 2022

There was no way not to get emotional playing RPG Time: The Legend of Wright. It's the story of a child who wants to make games and wants to show you the latest ideas he has. It's not such a different story from little Gabriel, who cut paper and thought he was programming on the computer, you know? Furthermore, it's a fun collection of minigames, with a charm and sincerity that few games can have. RPG Time is about a happy child that wants to be a game designer and I couldn't connect to it more.

08) Meow Tower: Nonogram

Android/iOS, Studio Boxcat, 2021

Look, who knew, I spent a lot of time playing Picross for another year! Meow Tower: Nonogram is a great choice if you already love nonograms, or if you've never played it before. There are many many puzzles, it's available for free on mobile devices, without abusive microtransactions AND THERE ARE CUTE KITTENS. LOTS OF KITTENS. YOU TALK TO THE KITTENS, CLEAN THE KITTENS' HOUSES, THEY PUR AND THE KITTENS ARE HAPPY, PLAY MEOW TOWER NOW. For the kitties <3

07) Escape Academy

PC/PS4/PS5/XBO/XBS, Coin Crew Games/iam8bit, 2022

I can't say that Escape Academy is perfect, because it isn't. The visuals aren't incredible, the characters are a bit monotonous and the game's story itself is a bit mixed. But, even with all that, it's probably the best digital escape room experience ever made, and I say that as someone who loves and has even created escape rooms in real life. The rooms are incredible, the puzzles are very clever and even the hint system works well. If are your first (or last) escape room experience, this academy will be a great class.

06) PowerWash Simulator

PC/PS4/PS5/XBO/XBS/Switch, FuturLab/Square Enix, 2022

It's not a game for everyone, but PowerWash Simulator was definitely made for me. The proposal is simple: use a high-pressure water machine to clean increasingly crazy scenes and objects while actually following a story (yes, a story) that tries to make sense. In the end, it was just relaxing and rewarding to take a filthy place and make it shine again. Just remove the obnoxious water sound, put on a podcast and you'll be ready to relax.

05) Psychonauts 2

PC/Mac/Linux/PS4/XBO/XBS, Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios, 2021

I haven't played the first chapter of this story yet, but Psychonauts 2 is almost a masterpiece in narrative, gameplay and world creation. Moving Raz is fun, exploring the increasingly wacky psychic worlds is fun, understanding the story behind the Psychonauts is fun. The only thing that didn't worked for me was the half-assed combat, but it was easily overcome by the accessibility options. You can clearly see that they did everything they wanted because they weren't expecting a third game, but I wanted Psychonauts 3 so badly...

04) SteamWorld Dig 2

PC/Mac/Linux/PS4/PSVita/3DS/Switch, Image & Form, 2017

I remember playing the first SteamWorld Dig on the 3DS when I bought the game as a self-birthday gift. I didn't expect to like it so much, but it totally became my jam: exploring, completing, improving and continuing this cycle in a beautiful world. SteamWorld Dig 2 managed to be better in ALL aspects. The movement is better, the gameplay loop is better, the story is better, the progression is better, even the visuals are more gorgeous (even on the small 3DS screen). If this is your type of game, you need to play SteamWorld Dig 2 NOW.

03) A Little to the Left

PC/Mac/Android/iOS/Switch, Max Inferno/Secret Mode, 2022

I started to believe in "love at first sight" when I saw the first trailer for A Little to the Left. Inspired by each person's quirks, the idea is to organize common everyday objects in the most pleasurable way possible. The puzzles are smart, new mechanics appear all the time and there's even a kitten causing confusion. I found the game so fun and enjoyable to play that all the anticipation waiting for it all year was worth it. It almost got the Top 1 on this POTY, but you have to try it.

02) Tinykin

PC/PS4/PS5/XBO/XBS/Switch, Splashteam/tinyBuild, 2022

Exploring beautifully crafted worlds — and building a game around it — is what makes Tinykin such an incredible and special game. Whenever I talk about this game, I use the concept of "dense worlds" because that's what Tinykin does: every room in the gigantic house you find is full of secrets, mechanics and missions to make the most of it. The movement is incredible, everything is very charismatic and it's a great injustice not to see this game on all the "Best of 2022" lists out there because it definitely deserves a place there.

01) Sayonara Wild Hearts

PC/Mac/iOS/PS4/XBO/Switch, Simogo/Annapurna Interactive, 2019

Thanks to a gift from a good friend, Sayonara Wild Hearts was the first game I played in 2022 and it has NEVER left 1st place since then. I cried at the end, so incredible was the experience I had in this catharsis of pop music and neon lights. I can't explain very well why I liked the game so much, but it manages to use the interactivity of the media to tell a great story, with great visuals and an impeccable soundtrack. Sayonara Wild Hearts got the gold position on my Played of the Year 2022!

Honorable Mentions

• Didn't I start playing Pokémon GO again? It feels like a completely different game than it did in 2016, with many more options, features, and weekly events.
• Half of the list were already Xbox Game Pass games, but it's still worth mentioning other really cool titles that I played there, such as Last Call BBS, Bugsnax, Costume Quest and The Gunk.
• Some new rhythm games also came my way this year, like the Rhythm Heaven-like Melatonin, the Apple Arcade exclusive Taiko no Tatsujin: Pop Tap Beat and the meme you've probably seen that is actually a cool game Trombone Champ.
• In a week off between jobs this year, I practically marathoned Bayonetta 2 on the Wii U and it was a much cooler experience than I expected. I should try to play the first game in the franchise next year.
• In honor of the series' 60th anniversary in 2023, I began my journey of playing everything Doctor Who I could. While this led me to some interesting things, like The Lonely Assassins, it also led me to the two worst games I've played this year: Evacuation Earth and Top Trumps Doctor Who, both on Nintendo DS.

And that was my 3rd Played of the Year! You can see a more complete list on my Backloggd, if you want. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and see you on POTY again next year!