There was a bit of speculation over social media as to what would take the Number One spot given both God of War Ragnarök and Elden Ring made up the number two and three spots, respectively. What could possibly trump two massive AAA titles for the coveted position? What other behemoth game had people been missing in their calculations?

Well, it was a little ditty from an industry veteran whose previous works have left an indelible mark on the gaming landscape, by way of Ron Gilbert and his (and his team's) return to form with Return to Monkey Island.

Surprised?

We were. But the way our internal voting system played out, it became an obvious choice and we stick by the process and its mantle now as the best game as judged by us for 2022. And the reasons are plenty.

For one, it is a formula much-loved and barely struck by the passage of time or the growth of technology. The Adventure Game is a living fossil. Like a crocodile ready to strike you can't help but stand in fear yet look upon it in pure awe for its raw power. Or maybe that's a bit overboard, but being able to paint colourful text and conversation is also a staple of the genre, as well as to deliver humour with a different kind of comedic timing, which is a commodity too long between drinks in the gaming world. And for those reasons a return to one of the best examples of the Adventure Game with modern sensibilities was kind of hard to overlook. Sure Elden Ring has its bosses and its open-world, and sure God of War Ragnarök has its epic tale, grand setpieces and its narrative conclusion. But its arguable in bite-size form that Return to Monkey Island has more heart than both combined, which is not a slight on them, but is rather saying a lot about Gilbert's return to gaming and our first run in with Guybrush in more than a decade.

Click here for our Top 10 Games of 2022 feature. (And be sure to Comment from the feature itself and not in this post.)