10 Best Video Games Of 2022

3. Neon White

I don't think anyone expected the guy who made 2018's physics-based gentrification 'em up Donut County to return with an arcadey first-person puzzle-shooter, but here we are.

Neon White is one of those games that immediately feels innovative and made with purpose.

It's in the way leaderboards are handled; the way levels are tight satisfying tests of your aiming, parkour skills and ability to read the best route through a map all at the same time. It's how even after an initial run, entire other ways of reaching the goal get shown off with distant collectibles, encouraging you to try combinations of rocket-jumps and enemy kill-chains to reach 100%.

It's how even boss encounters are themselves time trial stunt-runs, with weak spots only opening up if you can chain the right set of motions together and get every last motion right, before dealing the killing blow.

From score to mechanics, physics to art style, Neon White is a refined beast of a game, wielding the thrill of video game competition itself and daring you to jump in.