The best games of 2022, spring-summer edition, on PC, Xbox and PlayStation

Even so, it's strange to prepare for a busy release season. Whether due to changing release calendars, less reliance on the retail sphere, or delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 was a strange, yet rewarding year of massive AAA games punctuated by awesome indie projects.

Below, we have prepared some game recommendations for you from the multitude of ambitious titles that are worth trying.

NBA 2K23

NBA 2K23 is a landmark work in sports video games, the culmination of a 20-year ideal that veteran developers at Visual Concepts have long championed: let players go back in time, rewrite and play the franchise their favorite. It sets a new standard for other sports developers, who have only offered the history of their leagues in very limited ways, and certainly none as immersive as the new MyNBA Eras mode.

NBA 2K23 is available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, along with less feature-rich versions on Windows PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

Tinykin

Tinykin asks, "What if Pikmin was created by Nintendo in the late 90's Rare and not the early 2000's?" It's a collecting game in the style of Banjo-Kazooie, but with the gameplay of an army control series like Overlord or, yes, Pikmin. Your goal – as a beetle-sized person – is to explore a human house and collect household items to create a spaceship. Sound familiar?

Tinykin is available on Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

Disney Dreamlight Valley

Dreamlight Valley combines Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, replaces all the townspeople with beloved animated characters, and hires a major mobile game publisher to incorporate microtransactions.

This game was built with a surprisingly genuine degree of care.

Dreamlight Valley brings a number of quality-of-life improvements to the Animal Crossing formula, and features a calendar of new characters, including Scar from The Lion King, as well as Buzz and Woody from Toy Story.

Disney Dreamlight Valley is available on Windows PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch.

F1 manager 22

Management simulation games come in all shapes and sizes, but none have felt as real as F1 Manager 22. It's the first officially licensed F1 Manager game in more than two decades and the tried and true developers of Planet Coaster and Planet The zoo made the wait worth it.

With complex systems for data geeks, useful guardrails for players new to the genre and sports, and amazing visual and audio immersion, F1 Manager 22 is a shining example of the subtle propulsive power of sims management simulators.

F1 Manager 22 is available on Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.

Rollerdrome

Set in a fascist police state, Rollerdrome can be categorized as an arena shooter mounted on roller skates. Others called him "Tony Hawk's pro skater with guns." I'm here to tell you that shooting a grenade launcher while coming off a 360 backflip is fun, no matter what you call it.

Rollerdrome is available on Windows PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.

Cult of the Lamb

In a landmark year for management sims, Cult of the Lamb stands out with a blend of roguelite dungeon-crawling, religious ambiguity, and a puerile art style that lends itself to monstrous acts. It's one of those games that, on paper, shouldn't work. But in practice, it's great fun.

Cult of the Lamb is available on Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch.

Bear and Breakfast

You are a bear in an abandoned forest and come across a series of dilapidated buildings. What other choice do you have? You start a guesthouse for human tourists. That's the premise of Bear and Breakfast, the debut adventure and management simulation game from Romanian developer Gummy Cat.

There's more to the forest than you might initially expect, and that story unfolds as the resort expands – something like Theme Hospital meets Stardew Valley. Sometimes you just want a game that doesn't stress you out and is fun to play, and Bear and Breakfast has accomplished that more than once.

Bear and Breakfast is available on Windows PC and Nintendo Switch.

Sniper Elite 5

This was no easy task considering that the newest outing brings the franchise to World War II-era France, arguably the most popular video game destination. But developer Rebellion Developments has found new ways to make Normandy's beaches interesting.

Elements of IO Interactive's Hitman trilogy are on display here, as villain Karl Fairburne is forced to sneak into bunkers and cobbled alleyways, swapping his trusty sniper rifle for a handgun. There are also abundant reminders of Arkane's Dishonored games, with multiple approaches to each objective ranging from non-lethal to what I can only describe as very lethal. Sniper Elite 5 elevated an already fantastic franchise to the pantheon of great immersive sandboxes.