Whilst the effects of the pandemic are still being shaken off, 2022 has seen a return to some sense of normalcy after two years of the film and TV world being hit by disruption.
Superhero films are still the only films that seem to be doing consistent business, though this year at least saw some titles outside that genre do well.
TV and gaming saw some strong contenders, with some of the year’s best works arriving early in the year – allowing for plenty of time to savour them.
Today, Metacritic.com has unveiled a list of what films, games and TV shows were the best of the year based on the aggregate scores of the top critics.
As per usual, I’ve divided the lists into three sections – films, TV shows and major video games. Each section lists the titles nabbing the best critical scores and those which were the most discussed in 2022 by said critics.
Films have to have over sixteen reviews to be considered, which is why some high-scoring works are not included. Here’s the full breakdown:
Best Films
1. “Aftersun” – 95/100
2. “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” “TÁR” – 91/100
3. “Hit the Road,” “The Worst Person in the World” – 91/100
4. “Great Freedom” – 89/100
5. “Three Minutes: A Lengthening” – 88/100
6. “The Banshees of Inisherin” – 87/100
7. “All That Breathes,” “Happening,” “One Fine Morning,” “Playground” – 86/100
8. “To Leslie” – 85/100
9. “Decision to Leave,” “The Fabelmans” – 84/100
10. “Belle,” “EO,” “Fire of Love,” “Is That Black Enough for You?!?,” “Moonage Daydream,” “Neptune Frost,” “Riotsville, U.S.A.,” “RRR,” “The Territory,” “Turning Red” – 83/100
There’s also a list of the films most frequently placed high on the top ten lists this year by critics. On that front, the highest-scoring films were: “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Tar,” “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Aftersun,” “Nope,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” “The Fabelmans,” “Decision to Leave,” “RRR,” “EO,” “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” “Saint Omer,” “Women Talking,” “Happening,” “Crimes of the Future,” “Bones and All,” “No Bears,” “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” “The Batman,” “Triangle of Sadness,” “Elvis,” “The Woman King,” “Benediction,” “Hit the Road”
Best TV Series
The reviews for shows on the site are often for the first few episodes of a season, and so aren’t as reliable overall as the film scores:
1. “Barry” S4,” “Better Call Saul” S6, “Harley Quinn” S3 – 94/100
2. “Atlanta” S3,” “Better Things” S5, “Reservation Dogs” S2 – 93/100
3. “Evil” S3 – 92/100
4. “The Last Movie Stars,” “This Is Going to Hurt” – 91/100
5. “Abbott Elementary” S2 – 90/100
6. “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock” S1 – 89/100
7. “All Creatures Great and Small” S2, The Bear” S1, “Hacks” S2, “Mind Over Murder” S1 – 88/100
8. “Borgen: Power & Glory,” “Pachinko” S1, “The Responder” S1 – 87/100
9. “Chloe” S1, “The Rehearsal” S1, “Somebody Somewhere” S1 – 86/100
10. “George Carlin’s American Dream,” “Heartstopper” S1, “Peaky Blinders” S6, “Prehistoric Planet” S1 – 85/100
There’s also a list of the shows most frequently placed high on top ten lists this year by critics. On that front, the highest scoring shows were: “Severance,” “Better Call Saul,” “Andor,” “The Bear,” “Reservation Dogs,” “The Rehearsal,” “Abbott Elementary,” “Barry,” “The White Lotus,” “Pachinko,” “House of the Dragon,” “Atlanta,” “Bad Sisters,” “Heartstopper,” “This Is Going to Hurt,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” “Stranger Things,” “Better Things,” “Interview with the Vampire,” “Hacks,” “The Dropout,” “Somebody Somewhere,” “Our Flag Means Death,” “Derry Girls” and “We Own This City”.
Best Video Games
Scoring for games on the site is a mess as episodic releases, DLC add-on packs and iOS games are often given their own scores. To keep the list reasonable, I’m sticking to full-game releases or major DLC only:
1. “Elden Ring” – 96/100
2. “God of War: Ragnarok” – 94/100
3. “Dwarf Fortress,” “God of War: PC Edition” – 93/100
4. “Chained Echoes,” “Cuphead in the Delicious Last Course” – 92/100
5. “Persona 5 Royal” – 91/100
6. “Neon White,” “Rogue Legacy 2,” “Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe” – 90/100
7. “I Was a Teenage Exocolonist,” “Norco,” “Xenoblade Chronicles 3” – 89/100
8. “13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim,” “Horizon: Forbidden West,” “Immortality,” “The Last of Us Part I,” “Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales: PC Edition,” “Pentiment,” “Tunic,” “Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection” – 88/100
9. “Destiny 2: The Witch Queen,” “Gran Turismo 7,” “Inscryption,” “Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered: PC Edition,” “OlliOlli World,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge,” “Tinykin,” “Two Point Campus” – 87/100
10. “Bayonetta 3,” “Cult of the Lamb,” “The Last Friend,” “Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero,” “Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope,” “Monster Hunter Rise,” “Return to Monkey Island,” “Tactics Ogre: Reborn,” “Vampire Survivors” – 86/100
Other titles that just missed out include “Citizen Sleeper,” “Kirby and the Forgotten Land,” “A Plague Tale: Requiem,” “Red Matter 2,” “Infernax,” “Prodeus,” “NeverAwake,” “Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion,” “Victoria III,” “Crusader Kings III,” “Nobody Saves the World,” “Splatoon 3,” “Stray,” “Grounded,” “Moss Book II,” “Marvel’s Midnight Suns,” “Pokemon Legends Arceus,” “Triangle Strategy,” and “Dorfromantik”.
