Someone says that, to realize the time that passes, you must necessarily take a point from which to start measuring. We will do a similar operation, but the opposite: let’s take this 2022 as a starting point, which promises to be very rich in video games, and we will go backwards.

We know recently it was a special day for long-time gamers who were celebrating the quarter-century of Final Fantasy VII. That’s right: those characters, those cities, those tunes set to music by Nobuo Uemastu, have just turned twenty-five.

Yet, Cloud and his companions are not the only ones to reach an important milestone this year: 2022 will be the year in which many video games will celebrate their first ten and their first twenty years .

And if the news of Final Fantasy VII has already made you feel a bit of back pain from an older age, wait until you see the rest …

The games that will turn 10 this year

Obviously it would have been unthinkable to make an all-encompassing list, so we decided to focus on some of the most prominent names, to evoke some nostalgia in you. Feel free to name more, as always, in the comments.

Far Cry 3

It was November 30, 2012, when Vaas and his madness made their absolute debut, in the generation of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It is particularly interesting to remember that this year will celebrate ten years of the game because, since then, the series Far Cry has almost lived the “weight” of the success of the third episode, failing to fully detach from it, and missing the call to revamp the franchise, at least until today.

Ten years later, Vaas remains one of the most iconic characters in the saga and the scenarios we explored guns in hand, while the maniac stalked us, are full of suggestive and funny moments. Surely, one of the peaks of Far Cry, but also a video game that must not continue to translate into remaining the same.


Journey

On March 14, 2012, European players got their hands on Journey for the first time. Whoever has done it has probably never forgotten it again: thatgamecompany’s masterpiece, which mixes interaction and glimpses of video art, allows you to discover the importance of the journey, not the destination – without forgetting that things are less frightening, perhaps more forgiving, when you live them with someone else.

A pearl of the videogame world that, in its short duration, has managed to win the hearts of millions of fans. With merit.


Dishonored

Raise your hand to those few who, on 12 October 2012 , already knew the uniqueness and genius of Arkane Studios. The Lyon team, under the aegis of Bethesda Softworks, gave birth to the progenitor Dishonored, transporting players to a decadent city of Dunwall in which you need to move stealthily, harness the unique powers of Corvo Attano and make the best decisions.

A game in which the artistic direction and the creative attitude are the masters, to the point of often surprising even the developers themselves – able to keep the door of emerging gameplay open. Even today, one of the best releases of 2012.


Hotline Miami

Action video games, over the top and with an extraordinary personality, can only steal our hearts: so it also happened on October 23, 2012, when the original Hotline Miami debuted, putting us in the shoes of Jacket and transmitting his terrifying thirst for blood.

In a whirlwind of action, perfect music and references to videogame pop culture, we are talking about a title that marked video games ten years ago.


Spec Ops: The Line

Although it was far from perfect in the third-person shooter game sector, Spec Ops: The Line is one of the most effective video games, from a narrative point of view, you will ever find yourself living.

Released on June 29, 2012 , the 2K Games title brought you to measure against your motivations, your morals and what you take for granted, as you step into the shoes of a decorated US Army officer sent to Dubai to solve a crisis. But how is a crisis resolved when the only solution you have been taught is to kill in order not to die?


Mass Effect 3

Yes: it’s really been ten years since the extraordinary controversy surrounding the epilogue of Mass Effect 3 and the Commander Shepard trilogy. Ten years in which, beyond all, the splendid journey we experienced on the Normandy has kept a little place in our hearts warm, to the point that many were happy with the return of the  Legendary Edition last year.

Ten years after the epilogue, who knows how long after the new beginning promised by the future Mass Effect now in the works. From 9 March 2012 , at a date to be decided – with the  Andromeda interval.


Forza Horizon

It was October 26, 2012 when Playground Games gave birth, following the successes of Forza Motorsport, to the spin-off Forza Horizon.

And the idea was, as we all know, a success: ten years after that progenitor, we are talking about one of the most prestigious IPs of the Xbox home, capable of attracting lovers of arcade four wheels to itself, among wonderful scenarios, racing cars of which get behind the wheel and a technical sector that is always at the forefront.


Max Payne 3

Again it’s a bit scary, but yes –  Max Payne 3 is also celebrating its 10th birthday this year. Released on May 18, 2012 , the title signed by the Rockstar house put the word epilogue to the events of the iconic ex detective, setting itself nine years after the events of the previous game.

Since then, we have known that the franchise has literally disappeared from the radar, but even today, fans continue to hope to see it flourish again, in some way.


Dragon’s Dogma

Diving into the world of fantasy role-playing games is not always easy, yet on May 25, 2012, the attempt made by  Dragon’s Dogma managed to collect enough acclaim and conquer a slice of fans.

Of course, it is almost strange to think that ten years have really already passed since the release of the title signed by Hidetaki Itsuno, but the calendar does not lie and, despite the improved version Dark Arisen, the rumours continue that they hope for a sequel, for now wrapped in more total shadow.


Nintendo Wii U

We know, it’s not a game, but it was 2012 when the Nintendo Wii U also came out . The console of the big N has remained in the imagination as proof that a wrong strategy cannot take cover even under the aegis of an ideal idea like Wii: in a very short time, the Kyoto house realized the false step taken with this machine, which in its own way became the cradle of Nintendo Switch.

The idea of ​​the hybrid game introduced by his GamePad, which was however not possible to take away from the body of the console, was the mother of the portable / domestic conception of Switch. We all know the rest of the story, even ten years later: Wii U itself didn’t have a good life, but it did have some really good games.


Honorable mentions

The list could be really long, but we will limit ourselves to a few other small honourable mentions: it was 2012, in fact, when Assassin’s Creed III was also released , which took the responsibility of moving away from the Ezio saga to lead us to the conquest of America. as Connor during the American Revolution. Controversial, the chapter has had many lovers and detractors, including those who appreciated the historical context and those who remained more sceptical of the introduction of new weapons inspired above all by Native Americans.

2012 was also the year of Sleeping Dogs for those who appreciated this illegitimate son of  True Crime who put you in the shoes of a detective infiltrated in Hong Kong organized crime. Between flips, martial arts, neon lights and fist fights, the game had a great atmosphere and that makes it even more painful to think about the dismissal of United Front Games.

The games that will turn 20 in 2022

The names of the games that will celebrate twenty years in the course of 2022 are probably even more impressive . If, in fact, many of the games that turn ten are still quite fresh and talked about, it is almost curious to realize that twenty have passed since the launch of the ones we will mention.

Again, an all-encompassing list would have been unthinkable: feel free to mention your games from twenty years ago in the comments to the article.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

With an extraordinary musical theme and the concept of an open world role-playing game in which to literally get lost forever – but this time in three dimensions – The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is, without question, a seminal title for the role-playing game.

In the province of Morrowind, the player took on the role of a character whose characteristics he could decide, venturing on a journey where the freedom of choice was total. If Skyrim exists and is how it is, it owes it above all to Morrowind, which was born on May 2, 2002 in Europe.


GTA: Vice City

Here it was easier to realize the age, considering that the game has almost remained almost the same in the recent  Trilogy , released in 2021. GTA: Vice City left, on November 8, 2002 in Europe, the criminal streets of Liberty City to return in the middle of the 80s, between  Video killed the radio star and phosphorescent lights.

His Vice City inspired by Miami and films like Scarface is a triumph of occasions and over the top gameplay, with a Tommy Vercetti still remembered by fans as one of the best protagonists of the Rockstar saga.


Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Imagine a society where the flow of information is so constant that it becomes difficult to navigate between reliable sources and what one ends up believing in just because enough people have started to do so.

Hyperconnection, the virtualization of interactions and identity, the influence that the flow of information to which we are subjected in free will collects: we are not talking about today’s society, that of 2022, but the key concepts of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty , a visionary masterpiece by Konami and Hideo Kojima which, arriving on March 8, 2002 in Europe (but released at the end of 2001 in Japan and the USA), anticipated the dystopia in which we find ourselves by more or less twenty years.


Kingdom Hearts

It took a while, to get to the epilogue, but for the Kingdom Hearts series it all started on November 15, 2002 (at least in our territory), when the players took on the role of Sora, a young man on the Islands for the first time of Destiny who found himself the protagonist of an extraordinary journey that mixed the characters of  Final Fantasy and those of the Disney universes  .

The idea, signed by Testuya Nomura, had an extraordinary success, establishing itself as one of the most famous franchises of the Square Enix house.


Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

On October 4, 2002 , the Hitman saga made an epochal leap forward: compared to the original game, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (which also arrived on consoles) was extraordinary in the variety of maps, in level design, in being able to tell even a story. who moved away from the almost cartoonish tones of the progenitor, marrying the moral dilemmas of a hitman, Agent 47, in search of a little peace.

The road to peace, however, is paved with good intentions that resulted in murders, from a villa in Sicily in which to infiltrate as a postman or as a delivery man to eliminate a mafia boss, passing through the corruption of St. Petersburg or high society of Malaysia. One of the spearheads of the Hitman saga , still today, which already showed the awareness of the great potential of the non-militarized levels – which then became the heart of the experience of the most recent games.


Neverwinter Nights

BioWare returns in this article all feels and nostalgia even with its Neverwinter Nights, which saw the light in Europe on July 3, 2002 .

Lovers of third-person RPGs will definitely remember this extraordinary classic based on Dungeons & Dragons, capable of simply becoming a true institution in the genre – and dedicating the team’s talent to RPG making.


Splinter Cell

On November 29, 2002 , Sam Fisher left for his first videogame mission: it was that of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, the first Ubisoft home video game inspired by the famous silent agent of Tom Clancy’s novels.

In a tactical stealth of extraordinary intelligence, which required patience, planning and coldness, Fisher became an icon of the genre and even today fans are waiting for his return: something has moved recently, but we are waiting to find out where it will take us, twenty years later.


Ratchet & Clank

We continue our small selection of games that celebrate their twentieth birthday with a PlayStation home institution: we are talking about Ratchet & Clank, which on November 8, 2002 won the hearts of PlayStation 2 owners.

After the success of the Spyro trilogy,  the guys from Insomniac Games gave birth to a new icon for the world of Sony, creating a platform action in three dimensions with the aftertaste of an animated film. Since then, the two heroes are still on the crest of the wave, as evidenced by the reception they received last year by Rift Apart on PS5.


Super Mario Sunshine

Recently dusted off, Super Mario Sunshine is most blatantly one of the Super Mario games that demonstrate how Nintendo is able to reinvent and reinvent itself, always keeping the same concept as a basis, practically indefinitely.

Playing with water (literally), this Mario release arrived on the Nintendo GameCube in Europe on October 4, 2002 – and was most recently featured in the Super Mario 3D All-Stars box set.