Sam Hallahan, Deputy Lead Evergreen Editor

Sam's GOTY list got us started this year. You'll find some recognisable big-hitters at the top of the charts, followed by a game that may seem out of place alongside all that triple-A gold, but only if you haven't played it.

Helen Ashcroft, Evergreen Editor & List Trainer

Helen is our resident sim game super-fan and when it comes to games in this genre, her knowledge is unparalleled. What was the best sim game of the year? Well, you'll have to read the list.

Joshua Robertson, News Editor

An excellent variety of games appear on Joshua's list, covering every genre and style. It flips from colourful to gritty game by game, and the title that gets the number one spot is unpredictable, to say the least.

Rhiannon Bevan, News Editor

From a double-helping of speedy Sonic to squelchy Scorn, Rhi's list is eclectic, and topped off with an extraordinarily underrated game that everyone should play. Now. Right now. Before the end of the year.

Vaspaan Dastoor, News Editor

An excellent list from Vaspaan that pays dues to both the indie darlings of 2022 and the heavy triple-A hitters. Includes one of our favourite entries so far: "Personal Award: Best 'Totally Better Than Marvel Snap' Award."

Joe Parlock, Tabletop Editor

Joe's GOTY list features, as you might have guessed, a few card games - although no one could've predicted what would take the number one slot this year. Especially our Editor-in-Chief, Stacey Henley, who is frequently flabbergasted by some of Joe's hot takes.

Justin Reeve, News Editor

Justin's GOTY list is a testament to how great the indie game scene has been in 2022. There are real gems on this list, from simulator, to story-telling, to fast-paced action, and they're all worthy of a mention up against some of the year's heaviest triple-A blockbusters.

Amanda Hurych, Lead Evergreen Editor

Amanda's enthusiasm for her number one game this year infected the entire team at the site. One of our social evenings turned into a three-hour-long group therapy session while everyone's mind dissolved into the brilliance of this game. Just a tip - it's not Elden Ring, that's for sure.

George Foster, Lead News Editor

George is well-renowned at TheGamer for his love of pretty much any video game Intellectual Property you can possibly imagine. It's extremely fitting that George's game of the year is essentially IP soup, but don't miss the lesser-talked-about gems that find their way right near the top of this list.

James Kennedy, Specialist Writer

James' list is another electric mish-mash of every genre and style you can imagine, with a focus on indie games. There are also two games that involve skateboards and rollerblades, including the game that gets the crown on this GOTY list. We always had an inkling that James was an extreme sportster: something about him really screams adrenaline junkie.

Dan Lipscombe, Specialist Writer

Dan is one of our newest staff writers, and this list is perfect, which means he passes his probation period by default. Stacey's rules. There are a couple of newcomers on this list, including an adorable puzzle platformer that probably should have got more love. Never fear, Dan is here to sing its praises.

Harry Alston, Senior Specialist Writer

Dwarves, vampires, sleepy citizens. A list of indie games and an MMO that devoured Harry's life for three months.

Ben Sledge, Features Editor

Looking through Ben's list right now, we've realised Marvel Snap is the only game with even a shred of colour in it. All the other games are some variation of grim, dark, miserable, or dystopian. Seriously. Look for yourself.

Axel Bosso, Guides Trainer & Evergreen Editor

Axel is one of our resident fighting game fans, so there's no surprise you'll find at least a couple on this list, but it's the indies that really shine this time around. Also, one of the first horror games to make an appearance full stop in TheGamer's GOTY countdown so far. 

Andrew King, Features Editor

The king of critique, Andrew has put together an excellent list of games with some very thoughtful commentary throughout. In a year that Andrew has professed to have broadened his view beyond just video games, it makes perfect sense that his number one is a heartfelt visual novel rather than a glitzy triple-A production.

Ryan Bamsey, Evergreen Editor

We love a list with a theme! Pointing, clicking, and indie games, sometimes all smushed together, make up the majority of the games on Ryan's list. Some of them feel like gems from yesteryear, but there are a few fresh faces that make an appearance, too. Ryan was also brave enough to write guides for Victoria 3 this year. Don't worry, that's relevant to the list, we just thought we should tell you because we're very proud of him.

Meg Pelliccio, Lead Guides Editor

In what is an impeccably curated list, Meg has selected an erstwhile replacement for Stray as best animal-based-adventure-game of the year, the first VR game to appear across any of our lists, and a number one game that should come as no surprise to anyone that has heard/spoken to/seen Meg from a distance this year. 

That's the second-biggest monkey head I've ever seen!

Lu-Hai Liang, News Editor

After some truly bizarre rules laid out by Lu-Hai for this list (Hardspace: Shipbreaker and Citizen Sleeper were not allowed to feature simultaneously because they were too similar, one being a Simulator and the other an RPG, of course), the result is a stellar list that includes a healthy dose of mobile games, including some hidden gems you'll want to check out after you've finished reading. We'll stop taking the piss out of your weird rules now, Lu, your list is great.

Eric Switzer, Features Editor

Eric Switzer, also known as the "resident good-take-haver" at TheGamer, which he will love to hear confirmed in public like this, has produced a list of ten brilliant video games from 2022. You'll find one triple-A hit, two dystopian games with heavy anti-capitalism themes, three doses of Indie magic, and a partridge in a Destiny 2. We missed a line there, but it was harder to pull off than we thought.

Issy Van Der Velde, Cross Department Editor

Issy's list is a soft Victoria sponge of beautiful Indie games with a triple-A cherry on top. This goes a little against the mold of TheGamer this year (even more surprising because, by most accounts, Issy is a bit of a hipster), but we can only imagine an Indie game didn't take the title because he spent too long tooting on Trombone Champ. Who can resist those subtle parps?

Jade King, Lead Features Editor

Champion of all things gay, Jade's list features a wealth of beautiful story-based games and tear-jerkers that highlight the power of our medium beyond action games and shooters.

David W. Duffy, Evergreen Editor

David Duffy, who once lived in a certain country that shan't be named here (sorry David and sorry to anyone else reading this, we'll try to keep the in-jokes to a minimum), has put together a list of tantalising RPGs that highlight just how RPG-obsessed our Evergreen team is. This list was also responsible for crowning our website's GOTY title, so thank you, thank you from us all.

James Troughton, News & Photo Editor

James has delivered a list that jumps from indie darling to triple-A hit from entry to entry. It also features a rare sighting of Pentiment, which we had hoped might get a little bit more attention. James also edited every single picture you see here, so cheers to you James, you make the world (and TheGamer.com) a brighter place.

Stacey Henley, Editor-In-Chief

And so it ends where it all began, with Stacey Henley, our Editor-In-Chief. Stacey often says that her taste is impeccable (in jest...we think) and the best representation of everything trendy in the video games' industry, and with more games on her personal list featuring in the eventual TheGamer GOTY list than any other writer here, we are inclined to agree with her.

TheGamer Game Of The Year Top 10 List

And here we have it, the articles have been written, the numbers have been tallied up, and we have our official top 10 Games Of The Year for 2022. Thanks for reading, and see you next year.