Fami Your Consideration
Best Platformer
Tinykin
Tinykin was an excellent, unexpected surprise, combining a 'collectathon' 3D platformer with
Pikmin-esque puzzle-solving. The game revolves around gathering up tiny creatures (the titular 'tinykin') any using their abilities to traverse and manipulate the environment, with five distinct colours of pikmin each having their own ability - climbing, carrying and event exploding.
The puzzles are all pretty simple and there's little in the way of danger as Milo explores each environment, comprising six main rooms, each themed around different rooms of the house - living room, bathroom, etc. Despite this they're wonderfully satisfying to solve. While the graphics are fairly simple, each level's design is meticulously detailed, with a high degree of verticality and being packed with hidden secrets - but often signposted by the game's most common collectible, small pollen motes. This is where the 'collectathon' aspects of
Tinykin come to the fore, with most levels having over 1,000 pollen to collect. That may seem intimidating, but moreso these are spread in a way that rewards exploration - and it's perfectly possible to find everything without a guide, provided that you take your time to explore thoroughly, which also allows you to take in that impressive level design.
Best World
Horizon: Forbidden West
Absolutely the technical pinnacle of 2022's game releases,
Forbidden West's expansive open-world is stunningly beautiful and a joy to explore. From the numerous settlements, to the imposing machines and the simple natural beauty through which they roam, the world of
Forbidden West might be dying, but it always feels fantastically alive. Plenty of times I'd just stop and take it all in - and even as someone who doesn't really use photo modes in games, this one had me engaged a good number of times.
While I've missed the first few days of nominations, I'm pleased to see that my picks there all seem to be represented nonetheless - except that I'd have loved to see
Chained Echoes up for the best RPG.
@Irene This thread is easily missed if you browse the site other than from the Treehouse main forum list (and I know that some people overlook stickies). Can I suggest that an announcement would be worthwhile, for better visibility?