PC Gamer is supported by its audience. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
By published
Let’s shine a light on them. 
Elden Ring has consumed much of our attention lately, trapping us in the Lands Between for so long that other games just don’t get a look in. And even now that we’re almost halfway through the year, its hold on us remains firm.
But 2022 has been a pretty cracking year for new releases so far—they’ve just had a trickier time lodging themselves in our brain while we’ve been trying to follow enigmatic quests or figure out the perfect strategy to topple the next cruel boss on the list. So here are all the great games that Elden Ring overshadowed: go show them some love.
In his opening paragraph to his Sifu review, Tyler makes it very clear what this game is and who it’s for: «Sifu’s protagonist wagers that revenge against the kung fu masters who murdered their father is worth their entire adult life, and as I fought one of those masters for the 20th time, I couldn’t help but feel like I was becoming the butt of a joke. Was mastering the ability to dodge bullshit spinning trip kicks really worth this portion of my lifespan?»
You’ll get your arse kicked, but eventually you’ll be glad of the bruises. Mastery is the reward. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? But it’s a tad unfair to present Sifu as just another tough game in a long line of tough games. Where most soulslikes will take you weeks or months to finish, Sifu is a five-level journey, with each stage capped by a boss fight where there are no tricks, just raw combat ability.
It’s got its own quirks, too, like the way you age every time you’re resurrected, giving you 10 chances to complete your run before you’re too old and have to start again. But regardless of your age, you’re going to be firing off some impressive moves with all the style and grace you’d expect from a character who’s dedicated their life to beating up goons. And now that I’m done with Elden Ring, I can finally enjoy it. 
But it came out just as I was on the cusp of giving Elden Ring, which I hated, one final try, urged on by tales of powerful magic spun by our online editor, Fraser. And holy cow, with a staff in my hand and some mana in my belly, Elden Ring clicked, very suddenly and very powerfully. Since then, it’s all I’ve played—poor Changing Tides sits, half-finished and ignored. It’s earned critical and player acclaim alike, including our 86% review and I hope that the two games are different enough that Elden Ring hasn’t impacted Changing Tides’ sales too much. But personally, I’m afraid I’ve made my choice: I will play Far: Changing Tides, and I will love it and sing its praises all day long—but first, the Lands Between beckon, and I must answer.
The best thing about the expansion is how much it fills out these roguelike runs with new variability. Instead of merely piling on more items, the expansion will randomly add «void zones» to some levels, which are dangerous bubbles that constantly sap your health and spawn particularly nasty enemies. Kill those enemies to dissipate the void zone, though, and you can access a new class of item that «corrupts» some of the ones you’ve already gathered. My favorite is the needletick, which turns your items that cause bleed into ones that «collapse» enemies instead. Pump up your attack speed and you’re basically detonating a dozen mini black holes on an enemy every second. Survivors of the Void is a $15 add-on to an already killer game. Hard recommend.
Core Keeper definitely didn’t get ignored, selling half a million copies in its first two weeks on Steam, but I do think it would have gotten a bit more attention if Elden Ring mania wasn’t still in full swing when it launched. On the plus side, it’s still got plenty of time to find new players while it’s in early access. Dedicated servers have been added and a new ocean biome is in the works.
Tunic is a fantastic study on classic action adventure and does its Zelda inspirations proud with puzzles, secrets, and gear collection. Its enemies can be intimidating at first, until you get the hang of circling them with your shield and swiping away with your sword at the right moment or tossing a little dynamite stick. Every area has treasures tucked away in hidden hallways and outcroppings you’ll have to be paying attention to find. Tunic earned every bit of the impressive 86% review we gave it. 
In my review of Ghostwire: Tokyo, I basically called it the best PlayStation 3 game we’ve had in years, and I mean that as a compliment. While we were all stomping around the Lands Between, glorious as it was, it could get a little exhausting. There are so many decisions, so much lore, so many NPCs to try and save or help. Though Elden Ring is a stroke of genius, Ghostwire: Tokyo provided me some light relief. Combat that was fairly shallow but flashy and fun. Short little side missions that didn’t take you too far off the beaten track. A mainline story that could be finished in under ten hours. Ghostwire: Tokyo provided a really solid and fun diversion.
It’s a stealth game seen from above, like Commandos or Shadow Tactics: Blade of the Shogun, but you move with WASD rather than the mouse and have a bunch of hotkey abilities to keep track of—two sets at any time, one based on the character you’re playing this chapter, the other on which of your weapons is drawn. I guess it’s closer to isometric thief-em-up Seven: The Days Long Gone, but who else even played that?
I feel like Weird West was overshadowed both because people still wouldn’t shut up about Elden Ring even as March died, but because it’s the kind of game that needs full focus. I didn’t end up finishing it at launch, and trying to return now is tough as old leather. There are a lot of systems to track, and once sneaking fails and shooting starts, things get chaotic. I hope more people give it a chance, because even though I’m struggling to get back into it I think there’s something fascinating in Weird West—if only I could chew through the leathery thing.
Elden Ring isn’t solely to blame, of course. Teardown has been the thing that it launched as (read: a wonderfully chaotic voxel sandbox wrapped in a surprisingly compelling heist sim) for some time, and 1.0 was less a defining moment for the game than it was one final, welcome update. That’s just how early access goes. But Teardown was one of my favourite games of last year, and I should have spent the run-up to release reminding people how bloody good it feels to tear stuff down in its simulated voxel backlots. Instead, I was mired in conversations about what Godrick’s whole deal is, or banging my head against a Magma Wyrm at level 15, or taking a wee trip to Yharnam to keep my FromSoftware kick running as long as possible.
Teardown’s full release kind of came and went without fanfare, and that’s a shame. It’s a smashing great game, pun intended.
Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he’s been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He’s also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he’s not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.
Sign up to get the best content of the week, and great gaming deals, as picked by the editors.
Thank you for signing up to PC Gamer. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
PC Gamer is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.
