As 2022 comes to a close, the Shacknews staff has assembled our annual list of awards. The Shacknews Awards 2022 deliberations were held over the first few weeks of December, and we will begin announcing winners here. Over the next 12 days, many articles and videos will be popping up across our platforms as we honor video games the Shacknews way. Check back every day for updates to this article. Our Shacknews GOTY 2022 will be announced on December 31.
Quietest Lobby of 2022 – Halo Infinite
For a game that started so well in 2021, this year has been a bit of a tough one for the beloved franchise. This category isn’t about putting a game on blast – it’s about recognizing a title that we adore, one that we wish got a bit more love and attention, and Halo Infinite fits the bill. You know it’s a valid winner for this award when Sam Chandler, someone playing from Australia, find more matches with 180+ millisecond ping when playing with his mates than matches based on Oceania with 15 millisecond pings. The lobbies are too quiet, there are too few players actually playing, and it’s beginning to show. We want nothing more than to see Halo rise once more and, hopefully, bring more players back in. Here’s hoping we get to talk about the game at the end of 2023 for our “Most Improved” category.
Halo Infinite is available on Steam and Xbox Game Pass.
Game that should be on Switch 2022 – Deep Rock Galactic
Deep Rock Galactic might just be the best Left 4 Dead game since L4D. You and three mates take on the role of stocky dwarves, each with their own weapons, abilities, and tools. Your goal is to mine beneath the earth, collecting rare resources to fill a quota. Where’s the “zombie” portion of this Left 4 Dead comparison, I hear you ask? Well, every so often, swarms of alien bugs will overrun your crew. You’ll be minding your own business, setting up an oil refinery, only to spend the next several minutes backed into a corner, calling down an ammo drop, and desperately trying to revive your fallen ally. We’ve loved it on PC, we’ve sunk time into it on Xbox, and we dug our way through PlayStation, and now it’s time it comes to Nintendo Switch. So, come on Ghost Ship Games, let us do it for Karl on Switch.
Deep Rock Galactic is available on Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox Game Pass.\
Best Old School Throwback of 2022 – TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge
It was an altogether great year for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a whole, but the absolute peak of that greatness was undoubtedly Shredder’s Revenge. This beat’em-up from DotEmu and Tribute Games didn’t just bring good TMNT brawler action back. It also refined it in fantastic ways. Six-player play; April, Splinter, and Casey Jones as playable characters; and very easy local and online drop-in-drop-out co-op play made this an absolute delight to play with friends. It’s also stuffed to the brim with great cameos and easter eggs any TMNT fan can appreciate and an absolutely bopping soundtrack perfect for laying Foot Clan beat downs. Put all of these things together and TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge was a brilliant kick in the nostalgia and beautiful modern refinement of the arcade action of yesteryear.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is available on Steam, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Game Pass.
Biggest Surprise of 2022 – Marvel Snap
Spend any amount of time playing video games and you’ll basically feel like you’ve seen and heard it all. Very little actually manages to surprise you. So you can imagine our, well, surprise when Marvel Snap grabbed our attention, sunk its teeth into our palm, and refused to let go as we dove head first into one of the best card games ever made. We could wax poetic about Marvel Snap for days (and we did during our deliberations), but the short of it is that the game manages to be approachable but complex, challenging yet fair, and most importantly: incredibly addictive. The short nature of the matches means it’s easy to pick up and put down and the constant collecting of cards taps into that desire to find the one that’s right for your deck. If you see us holding our phones, moving them around while going “Ooh” and “Aah” there’s a good chance we’ve just upgraded one of our cards and are admiring the new graphics. We’ve been pleasantly surprised by Marvel Snap, making it the ideal victor for this award. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a deck to build and foes to crush.
Marvel Snap is available on Steam, Apple App Store, and Google Play.
Best Headshot of 2022 – Prodeus
In a year with no new Doom game, Prodeus felt like a true spiritual installment in the influential first-person shooter franchise. This rock n’ rolling shooter delivered some intense violence, including a dope headshot. You go up against some powerful foes during your journey, and nothing is as satisfying as quickly dispatching them with a well-placed headshot.
Prodeus is available on Steam, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Game Pass.
Best Voice Actor of 2022 – Kevin Conroy (MultiVersus)
It feels unfair to think that we could ever move forward to a future with Batman where Kevin Conroy isn’t voicing the character. Conroy embodied Bruce Wayne and Batman in a way no one else has ever reached. He gave the character a distinct life all his own and made it work opposite of Mark Hamill’s Joker for decades across the likes of Batman: The Animated Series, the Arkham series, and so much more. His performance in MultiVersus is one of his last as the character before his untimely passing and Conroy brought Batman to life here as much as anywhere. His quips and even unique dialogue with certain characters in MultiVersus were so fun to listen to as we played. Many may pick up the cowl and pretend to play Batman. Conroy was Batman, and we couldn’t thank him enough for all he gave the character.
MultiVersus is available on Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms.
Best Ongoing Game of 2022 – Destiny 2
Destiny 2 continues to be a game that we keep going back to. Every single week, no matter what’s going on, you’ll find us in orbit, looking at our build, and plotting out our next grinding session. For a game that has been going on since 2017 and has had its fair share of ups and downs, it’s a testament to how great it feels to play that we’re back in there each week. Plus, the release of the Witch Queen expansion ushered in one of the best campaign experiences. That Legend difficulty setting is just perfection. Throw onto this crafting and you’ve got yourself ample reason to return to the game each week. With promises of a seasonal shakeup on the horizon and the impending release of Lightfall, we couldn’t be more excited to be a Destiny 2 player.
Destiny 2 is available on Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms.
Best PC Port of 2022 – Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales was a stunning game to have alongside the PS5 at launch, and its PC port is somehow even more gorgeous. The graphical flexibility of PC allows for even more customization, making this heartfelt web-slinging adventure prettier than it’s ever been.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is available on Steam, Epic Games Store, and PlayStation platforms.
Here’s a list of Shacknews Awards that have yet to be announced:
Shacknews Top 10 Games of the Year 2022
Shacknews Game of the Year 2022
Do it for Shacknews Award 2022
Person of the Year 2022
Shacknews Top 10 Indie Games of the Year 2022
Shacknews Indie Game of the Year 2022
Best Open World Game of 2022
Best Narrative Game of 2022
Best FPS Game of 2022
Best RPG of 2022
Best Horror Game of 2022
Best PC Game of 2022
Best Gaming Accessory of 2022
Best Art Style of 2022
Most Improved Game of 2022
Best Strategy Game of 2022
Best Early Access Game of 2022
Best Fighting Game of 2022
Best Remake of 2022
Best Developer of 2022
Best Graphics of 2022
Best Mod of 2022
Best Nintendo Switch Game of 2022
Best Racing Game of 2022
Best Sports Game of 2022
Best Co-Op Game of 2022
Most Overlooked Game of 2022
Best Expansion of 2022
Best Comeback of 2022
Best Strand Game of 2022
Outstanding Achievement in Accessibility 2022
Best Multiplayer Game of 2022
Best VR Game of 2022
Modojo @ Shacknews Mobile Game of the Year 2022
Best Xbox Series X Game of 2022
Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2022
Best Publisher of 2022
Best PS4 Game of 2022
Best Xbox One Game of 2022
Best Trendsetter of 2022
Best Hardware of 2022
Esports Hero of the Year 2022
Shackbattle Game of the Year 2022
Best DLC of 2022
Best Online Presentation of 2022
Best Gore of 2022
Pop! Goes the Culture! Presents Best Adaptation of 2022
Best Cameo of 2022
Best Platformer of 2022
Best Free-to-Play Game of 2022
Best Action-Adventure Game of 2022
Best NPC of 2022
Best Music of 2022
Best Nintendo Switch Port of 2022
Best Water of 2022
Best Sound Design of 2022
Best Pet of 2022
Best Puzzle Game of 2022
Please check back here every day for an updated list of all of the Shacknews Awards 2022. We will be announcing our GOTY 2022 on December 31, but there are plenty of awards that will be announced between now and then.
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