It's Christmas time once more, which for many of us means time off work and a glut of food. But for us in the video game journalism career path, it also means doling out awards to all the games we loved this year.
But a lot of games don't quite make it into our GOTY list, and many more games don't even come close to being lauded. Don't those games deserve to be highlighted for what they've achieved this year, too?
So, it's time for some lighthearted awards that don't quite fit in anywhere else. Here we'll highlight games that might not get a shout in other fancy-pants categories but that we feel are deserving of praise nonetheless, as well as games that did... something notable this year. Yes, it's time to get whimsical with the Nintendo Life Alternative Game Awards 2022!
We've done this for the last few years, and this year is no different, so grab your hot chocolate/eggnog, get comfy, and enjoy our list...
Nintendo Life Staff Alternative Game Awards 2022
Best 'End-Of-Year Arrival That Dropped Too Late To Make Our GOTY List'
Winner: Floppy Knights
Floppy Knights is a brilliant little tactics-meets-cards game that has only just made it to Nintendo Switch in a shadow drop that no one was expecting. We don't want it to get overshadowed by GOTY lists, so we're putting it in this list, right at the top! Go play it — it's beautiful, goofy, and reminds us of the equally lovely Dicey Dungeons, which is no big surprise, because it's the same artist!
Runners Up: Lil Gator Game, Dragon Quest Treasures
Best Use Of $5
Winner: Lunistice
If you've got Christmas money burning a hole in your pocket, you can't do much better than the gorgeous Lunistice, a 3D platformer with a PS1/Sega Saturn-inspired art style. What could be more Christmassy than the crunchy pixels of a high-speed platforming adventure?
Read our review below to find out why it's one of our highest-ranking 2022 games!
Runner Up: Super Kiwi 64