The 2022 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Game of the Year

While endless awards categories look to pay tribute to games of all shapes, sizes, and formats throughout the year, the coveted Game of the Year award is always the big one, the one that everyone hopes their favorite release of the year gets. Choosing a Game of the Year was no easy task during ComicBook.com’s 2022 Golden Issue Awards either with several acclaimed franchises putting out some of their best (or first) games in years, but only one game could earn the top spot.

That game is one which dominated not just a significant portion of gaming-related conversations for the year but also in years before 2022. It’s one that topped the best-of lists for many others than 2022, and it’s one that people are still probably playing through either for the first time or for their umpteenth playthrough.

The winner of the 2022 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Game of the Year is…

Elden Ring!

Between games like Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok, and more than one Pokemon game, 2022 was stacked with contenders for the Game of the Year award. But among all of those competitors, there was simply nothing quite like Elden Ring neither in this year nor in years prior. The game released in February with a fervent fanbase behind it already thanks to FromSoftware’s past releases including Dark Souls and its follow-ups, but due to the buzz around the game and the sheer scope of FromSoftware’s open-world departure from its usual formula, it attracted plenty of newcomers and was their first SoulsBorne game, too.

Elden Ring swept end-of-year awards at large this year, but it still may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Though vast and ambitious, it’s still just as relentless as FromSoftware’s other titles, and the sheer scope of the game may make it a difficult one to see through to the end. But the flip side of the size of the game and its multitude of options is the replayability it offers to present players with totally new experiences based on build tweaks big and small, decisions on which areas and quests to pursue first, and other variables. It’s still getting new content, too, and depending on how that and future releases go, it may still hold up as some hardcore fans’ game of the year in 2023.

The full list of nominees for Game of the Year included the following:

• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Elden Ring – WINNER
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Pokemon Legends: Arceus