2022 had the potential to be the biggest year for new video games since 2017 — a standout year that brought us Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Horizon Zero Dawn, Persona 5, Resident Evil 7, Assassin’s Creed Origins, and so much more. Unfortunately, a number of big delays (Breath of the Wild 2 and Starfield among them) took some of the wind out of this year's sails. Yet even with those setbacks, there have still been over 70 games released in 2022 that IGN awarded a review score of 8 or higher.
To keep track of the year’s best new releases we’ve compiled this running list of every new, standalone game (no DLC) that received an 8 ("Great”), 9 (“Amazing”), or 10 (“Masterpiece'') from IGN. Click through the gallery below or continue scrolling for our full list of 2022's best games, ordered from lowest score to highest.
This list will be updated throughout the year as new games are given qualifying review scores.
Review Score: 8 ("Great")
These games leave us with something outstanding to remember them by, usually novel gameplay ideas for single-player or multiplayer, clever characters and writing, noteworthy graphics and sound, or some combination thereof. If we have major complaints, there are more than enough excellent qualities to cancel them out.
Among Us VR
From our review: Among Us VR is a great ground-up reworking of a classic social game that feels right at home in virtual reality, remaining faithful to Innersloth’s hit while feeling fresh in a new perspective and with a few sneaky new tricks in play. This still feels like the same game many of us fell in love with years ago, yet thanks to new elements like proximity voice chat and mini-games made to work with motion controls, Among Us VR revitalizes action across The Skeld. Additional maps and cosmetics can’t come quickly enough, but if they’re up to the standard that Schell Games has set with the one that’s currently available they’ll be worth a bit of a wait. This is easily one of the best VR adaptations of an existing game yet. – Henry Stockdale
Anno: Mutationem
From our review: Excellent, punchy side-scrolling combat against diverse and interesting enemies is almost enough by itself to make Anno: Mutationem an easy recommendation. When you add in the neon urban sprawl of Skopp City, bursting with flavor and character around every corner, it gets even easier. An unwieldy plot and less than amazing script show that if the project was missing one thing, it was probably an editor. But none of that stopped me from thoroughly enjoying all the things it did well. – Leana Hafer
Apex Legends Mobile
From our review: Apex Mobile is a surprisingly fun battle royale experience that brings everything Apex Legends does on PC/console to mobile devices in a way that is in some ways better than the original. While a few things are still being worked on, like reliable controller support, I found myself wanting to spend more time on, especially immediately after finishing a match. Being able to play Apex anywhere on a platform that can handle its fast-paced movement and gunplay well is incredible, and extra touches like the directional audio visualizer and an exclusive Legend that introduces new tactical possibilities give me a few reasons to play here instead of my usual stomping grounds. Some of its tweaks mean teamwork isn’t as encouraged as it is on other platforms, but sometimes there’s nothing wrong with a little lone-wolfing. – Stella Chung
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer
From our review: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the most fun I’ve had in CoD multiplayer in a good long while. It’s taken what was already a mechanically solid multiplayer game and improved on it with a weapon customization system that's almost limitless in its possibilities, and its new focus on bigger maps with tons of players has paid off bigtime. The giant Groundwar and Invasion maps have struck a fantastic balance between hectic and manageable, giving them a feeling of controlled chaos, and the cooperative Spec Ops missions are a treat to play through. That’s on top of the usual load of modes, and they all let the excellent, weighty gunplay shine. That said, performance issues on PC and even some across consoles put a damper on the fun, and at launch there are a lot more issues than I would have expected – including temporarily turning off that awesome weapon customization. But aside from those hiccups it’s been great, and the constant stream of unlocks are a really effective carrot on a stick that keep me interested moving forward. – Seth Macy
Capcom Fighting Collection
From our review: The Capcom Fighting Collection has everything it needs to succeed: a collection of great games alongside some rarities, an impressive museum filled with interesting art and music, and a snappy UI linking everything together. Online play has been flawless ahead of launch thanks to easy matchmaking and modern rollback netcode. It’s a bummer that there’s no cross-platform play and Street Fighter III is conspicuously absent, but other than that Capcom truly has a collection worth collecting on its hands. – Ronny Barrier
Cult of the Lamb
From our review: Cult of the Lamb is as adorable as it is unsettling, an eclectic mix of genres and themes that come together extremely well. Its combat is immensely satisfying even if its short runs and the relative lack of variety between them doesn’t give it the lasting appeal of other action roguelikes, and building my very own cult base and tending to a flock of followers was just as fun as any swing of the axe. I may not revisit it now that the credits have rolled, but Cult of the Lamb is something altogether different that I had an absolute blast playing. – Tom Marks
Disney Dreamlight Valley (Early Access)
From our review: Disney Dreamlight Valley is an awesome life simulator that flexes its iconic characters to riveting, satisfying effect. Adding these instantly recognizable villagers to your magical kingdom and forging friendships with them through quests is a blast, even when many of those amount to mundane village errands. Even with a ton of bugs and a missing final act in this early access state, spending 40 hours running around with the gloriously beefy Maui from Moana and cooking meals with Remy from Ratatouille was a consistently delicious treat.– Travis Northup