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  1. Welcome to the 6th annual Ninfora Game Awards, meticulously curated and hand-selected by a one-man panel of judges. 2022 was so jam-packed with games I wanted to play that I could barely keep up with them all (it doesn't help that there are some pretty long games on this list). Granted, this year was a bit weighted toward genres and franchises that I personally love, so maybe not everyone was quite as busy as I was, but hopefully everyone found something to love on the Switch in 2022. Best Pokémon Game: Pokémon Legends: Arceus As a spin-off rather than a mainline game, Legends: Arceus has a lot more freedom to be experimental with the franchise's battle and capture systems, resulting in a fantastic breath of fresh air for the series. Scarlet/Violet still does the usual Pokémon experience well, but this game feels like an actual evolution of the gameplay that is both more streamlined and more engaging. Here's hoping the developers don't ignore the lessons learned in Legends: Arceus as the series continues to find its footing in open-world, 3D adventures. Best Pikmin Game: Tinykin Tiny game, big adventure describes not only Nintendo's beloved Pikmin franchise but indie title Tinykin, a charming little game focused on exploration over combat. Even within that relaxed atmosphere though there is a ton to do and see in Tinykin, and picking your way through every nook and cranny makes for a delightful, relaxing time. Best Nobody: Nobody Saves the World How many games let you play as a Ranger, an Egg, and a Horse? Nobody Saves the World perfectly balances an extremely silly premise with satisfying dungeon-crawling, resulting in a game that is equal parts goofy and engaging. The top-down adventure game formula needed some sprucing up anyway, so what better way to do it than by flipping the usual item collection process on its head and allowing the player to come up with unique—and hilarious—character class combos? The Witch is Back Award: Bayonetta 3 From the first game's original release on other systems to getting added to the Smash Bros. roster, Bayonetta has had possibly one of the most bizarre video game careers that has definitely kept her fanbase on their toes. There's one issue that any video game fan can relate to though: the long uncertainty of when a new game will come out. It took eight years to get from Bayonetta 2 to 3, but this new adventure has all of the seamless combat and devilish style that fans love, including new uses for her demonic summons that further spice up the gameplay. And with the recent announcement of a spin-off prequel, it seems the Witch is here to stay, and hopefully another mainline adventure won't be far behind. Best Blast from the Past: TMNT: Shredder's Revenge Beat 'em up games have gotten their share of throwback revivals in the last few years, but Shredder's Revenge might blow them all out of the water. This game isn't just dripping in nostalgia (though it is clearly a meticulously crafted love letter to the classic TMNT games of the past), it also holds up beautifully as a side-scrolling, shell-kicking game that is tailor-made for gathering a few friends on the couch, ordering a pizza, and immersing yourself in the radical 90s action. Best Mouthful: Kirby and the Forgotten Land It took him a while to catch up to other key Nintendo franchises, but Kirby has finally made the leap to 3D exploration in a mainline game, and the result is as charming and fun as you'd expect. Adding another dimension to Kirby's gameplay was ultimately a pretty smooth transition and retained the balance of easy to learn mechanics with challenging optional objectives that makes Kirby the kind of game that any level of player can get sucked into. Best Cozy Game: Freshly Frosted When you think of cozy games your first thought might be some kind of cute farming game—and there sure are a lot of those these days—but there's something incredibly relaxing and satisfying about Freshly Frosted's donut conveyor belt puzzles. The puzzle design itself is spot on—levels are challenging but rarely leave you feeling frustrated—and solving the puzzle is topped only by the joy of watching the conveyor belt neatly deliver each donut to its respective goal to the rhythm of the happy background tunes. The satisfaction of a job well done has never been so sweet. Bwaaah-st Game: Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope Kingdom Battle was a complete shock in 2017, most of all for how much fun it really was to mash up Mario and the Rabbids, so I couldn't be happier to see the unlikely combo becoming a franchise of its own. Although Sparks of Hope makes some minor changes that ultimately make the difficulty level easier than its predecessor, the strategy gameplay is still extremely satisfying, the unique battle objectives and boss fights are a blast, and the wealth of options with both characters and equippable Sparks means that strategy fans can satisfy themselves with a whole variety of inventive tactics. Best Comedy: Return to Monkey Island Point and click adventure games are already made for comedy thanks to their abundance of writing, but even so Return to Monkey Island seems to pack humor into every single minute of the voyage. It makes sense, since the game is so text-heavy you need to incentivize the player for clicking on everything in the environment and testing all possibilities, but it's still impressive just how much goofy charm the developers are able to squeeze into an all-too-brief adventure. The clever puzzle design and fun plot weaving together references to the franchise's history is a pretty nice perk to the game too. Best Crossover Game: Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Who needs strategy when you can single-handedly level entire armies? Of course, Three Hopes has its share of strategy elements, whether you're playing solo or with a friend, but the joy of Musou games and their crossovers has always been the satisfaction of laying to waste hundreds of enemies with a single attack. It's arguably a bit brainless, but it's undeniably fun, and like previous crossovers, Three Hopes balances that action dopamine rush with a delightful return to Fódlan and all of the characters players grew to love in Three Houses. In the end it's a fantastic triple threat: charming characters, light strategy elements, and army-crushing special attacks. The Hunt is Back On Award: Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak Although I didn't really need a reason to get back into Monster Hunter Rise, Sunbreak was the perfect opportunity to set off on another series of intense and intensely satisfying monster hunts. But while the higher difficulty level and added combat features were welcome additions, the best new aspect might have been the new quest types that allow NPCs to join you on your adventure to utterly devastate the giant monster ecosystem. No matter how you're playing—solo, with NPCs, or online—Sunbreak is a fantastic addition to Rise and makes it one of the most complete and engaging Monster Hunter experiences to date. Most Delightful Lively Challenge: Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course The base Cuphead game is a one-of-a-kind experience, so following it up with a filling DLC was a tall order, but naturally the developers at Studio MDHR make it look easy. Delicious Last Course isn't just a fun continuation of the Cuphead formula, it really ups the ante with a particularly challenging series of bosses that is perfect for players that have mastered the base game. And just like the Cuphead experience as a whole, the only downside is that it has to end at some point. The Tip the Scales Award: Triangle Strategy What better genre than strategy games to throw tough storyline decisions at the player? Triangle Strategy nicely balances its richly engaging tactical gameplay with a compelling narrative full of branching paths. In both cases, you've got plenty of options laid out before you: which characters to use, how to approach objectives, which characters to trust or align yourself with. There's no one right angle from which to approach the game, which is what makes it such a satisfying experience ripe for multiple playthroughs. Best Dizzying Speedrun: Neon White The intensity of perfectly flying through a level and hitting every mark for an ideal speedrun is matched only by the relief and satisfaction of finally completing the run with a new record. Neon White brings that blend of engagement and joy to every level without ever making the experience feel stale or frustrating. It helps that the game is forgiving enough that you don't have to be a pro speedrunner to earn high scores, but the true smartest aspect of Neon White is balancing its fast-paced gameplay with a mysterious and intriguing story. Speeding through levels is good, but when you attach that gameplay to a narrative you care about, the game becomes great. Best Narrative Style: 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim I can't say for sure if 13 Sentinels is my favorite story of 2022, but it definitely earns huge points for telling a story in such a unique and engaging way. Fracturing the narrative across multiple protagonists in seemingly unconnected personal stories while also giving the player real-time strategy battles in giant mechs is a 100% original concept that makes every minute with the game intriguing and enticing, culminating in a pretty wild sci-fi ride. The Surf's Up Award: Wavetale No matter the genre or style of game, finding the right gameplay flow is crucial for keeping the experience engaging from the first moment to the last, and Wavetale nails this right out of the gate. The fluid satisfaction of running across the water and leaping into the air is delightful, and the colorful cel-shaded scenery makes for a gorgeous backdrop. Although the combat might not have the same level of polish, the fun of zipping around the world of Wavetale, seamlessly transitioning from running on land to running on water to flying through the air makes for a thrilling experience. Best Surprise: Live A Live Live A Live was such a surprising remake that I hadn't even heard of the game before it was announced in early 2022, but I couldn't be happier that this forgotten treasure has made its way overseas after only being released in Japan in the 90s. Perhaps it's understandable that the game's experimental, anthology structure didn't grab players in the 90s, but Live A Live is such a singularly unique experience that RPG lovers owe it to themselves to give it a try and discover one of the true hidden gems of Japan's already incredible 90s RPG scene. Best Multiplayer Game: Splatoon 3 It's perhaps a testament to how solid the core Splatoon gameplay is that Splatoon 3 has added relatively minor changes to the franchise. There are some fun new features to be sure, but the essential experience is pretty well preserved and just as exciting and frantic as ever (though I do lament the focus on narrow stages with fewer flanking routes now). The best new feature might just be the fact that the co-op mode Salmon Run is now always available and rotates stages every 40 hours, allowing players to jump into an equally hectic but uniquely challenging mode. I know that plenty of my hours in Splatoon 3 have been spent collecting eggs in Salmon Run, and I'm sure I'll continue to spend plenty of time in Splatfests and Big Runs in the next year. Game of the Year: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Each time it seems like the new Xenoblade game has some big shoes to fill thanks to its predecessors, and yet each time the developers deliver an outstanding RPG experience. Of course Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has the majestic, beautifully rendered environments that we've come to expect, and the combat system is perfectly balanced around engaging action-RPG mechanics as well as a wealth of strategic choices when assembling your party, and a cast of characters that easily grows on you over the course of the world-endangering quest, but it's still astounding how well the game manages to make every moment of this 100+ hour journey so engrossing. By combining the best of both worlds from its two predecessors, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 offers a fun, fresh and fantastic RPG adventure.
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