App Trigger: Eric Halliday’s Top 10 PS5 games of 2022

2) Gundam Evolution

Hey, Gundam again! This was a damn good year for Gundam fans. With from Mercury came out and was incredible and a wealth of games dropped all over the place like a surprise Zeon invasion fleet.

Gundam Evolution promised to be Gundam’s answer to the “hero shooter” phase gaming is going through and it did not disappoint. And luckily, whoever designed it did a REALLY good job of picking the right suits for the job.

Instead of just being a collection of mainstream well-known mechs, you get the fun ones like Asshimar which transforms into a flying saucer-looking thing, or GMs which function as battle medics. Each one comes with its own unique play style that perfectly mirrors what the mobile suit is capable of and makes each character a unique experience.

My only complaint is the lack of worthwhile customization. As a long-time Gundam Breakers fan it feels weird to have a game in which I can’t paint my Gundam. Hell, just give me the option to unlock a skin that I can change the color on. You’d be amazed what us Gunpla heads would pay for that.

1) Arcade Paradise

This game is a zen garden for me. I love it so much. It has everything that I need to bond with a game. Running your own business? Check. Self-actualization? Check. A father figure that became very successful and has become clouded by the way the world works years later? Check check.

In this game, you’re tasked with running your father’s laundromat. You put in people’s clothing. Transfer it to the dryer. Take it out and put it in a basket in the pickup area. It’s simple. You also pick up trash and occasionally go into the storage room to empty the hoppers from the arcade machines that were left in there to rot.

Over time you realize that the arcade machines are making way more money than the laundromat and, despite your father ignoring your messages about it and telling you not to pursue that route, you start growing the arcade.

As the game continues you fill the arcade with a variety of different playable machines and do your best to encourage more customers to come in. Playing a game and getting your name on a high score list actually encourages more gamers to come in and try to knock you off of it.

The game plays in an accelerated time cycle that creates a pattern. And while sometimes the fast time flow can be frustrating, you get to the point where because of the rapid progression of time you actually feel the business change and grow as you do your job day in and day out.

While not a triple-A game in the least and while the graphics are a bit dated, it creates a very satisfying gameplay loop that has calmed me down on numerous nights.

My only complaint with this one is that once you hit the end there’s not a lot to do and it doesn’t seem like the game is doing to get a lot of meaningful content outside of a few random new arcade machines.