While sports franchises like Madden stagnated in 2022, the indie scene picked up the ball and ran in a delightfully weird direction.
This story is part of our 2022 in Gaming series. Follow along as we reflect on the year's best titles. Sports games are one of the most ubiquitous genres in gaming, as NBA 2K, Madden, and FIFA top sales charts every year. These franchises also happen to be some of gaming’s most stagnant as their developers and publishers tend to focus on minor tweaks and changes year-over-year rather than significant innovations.
Roll7’s OlliOlli World, for instance, is one of my favorite games of the year. Skateboarding games have been a sports gaming mainstay since the 90s, but OlliOlli World realizes that formula in a way that’s as fulfilling to play as Sonic the Hedgehog’s best games. At its best, OlliOlli World is a colorful, fast-paced 2D platformer where each level has multiple paths that accommodate various player skill levels.
Chuhai Labs’ Cursed to Golf turns golfing into a 2D roguelike with card-based abilities. Clubs of different power levels, cards with various helpful abilities, and unique level gimmicks keep the experience fresh. It’s technically a golf game, but it appeals to and enthralls an entirely different crowd than a normalized simulation golf game like PGA Tour 2K23.
They might not be simulating a traditional sport accurately, but they are willing to get weird and explore how the video game medium can contort traditional sports. Every genre of game needs developers willing to push the limits of what that type of game can be; it’s good to know that sports games are no different.
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