Best soundtrack, champion $5 game, champion 'Game That Doesn't Fit Neatly On Any Of Our Genre Lists'

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• by Kate Gray 2 hours ago

Image: Nintendo Life

It's Christmas clip erstwhile more, which for galore of america means clip disconnected enactment and a glut of food. But for america successful the video crippled journalism vocation path, it besides means doling retired awards to each the games we loved this year.

But a batch of games don't rather marque it into our GOTY list, and galore much games don't adjacent travel adjacent to being lauded. Don't those games merit to beryllium highlighted for what they've achieved this year, too?

So, it's clip for immoderate lighthearted awards that don't rather acceptable successful anyplace else. Here we'll item games that mightiness not get a outcry successful different fancy-pants categories but that we consciousness are deserving of praise nonetheless, arsenic good arsenic games that did... something notable this year. Yes, it's clip to get whimsical with the Nintendo Life Alternative Game Awards 2022!

We've done this for the last few years, and this twelvemonth is nary different, truthful drawback your blistery chocolate/eggnog, get comfy, and bask our list...

On this page:

1. Nintendo Life Staff Alternative Game Awards 2022
   • Best 'End-Of-Year Arrival That Dropped Too Late To Make Our GOTY List'
   • Best Use Of $5
   • Best 3DS Game
   • Best Soundtrack
     • Xenoblade Chronicles 3
     • Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
     • Neon White
     • Signalis
     • Kirby and the Forgotten Land
     • Sonic Frontiers
   • The Frog Fractions Award For 'Best Bait-And-Switch Game'
   • Best 'No Thoughts Head Empty' Game

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 simply a superb small tactics-meets-cards crippled that has lone just made it to Nintendo Switch successful a shadiness driblet that nary 1 was expecting. We don't privation it to get overshadowed by GOTY lists, truthful we're putting it successful this list, close astatine the top! Go play it — it's beautiful, goofy, and reminds america of the arsenic beauteous Dicey Dungeons, which is nary large surprise, due to the fact that it's the aforesaid artist!

Runners Up: Lil Gator Game, Dragon Quest Treasures

Best Use Of $5

Winner: Lunistice

If you've got Christmas wealth burning a spread successful your pocket, you can't bash overmuch amended than the gorgeous Lunistice, a 3D platformer with a PS1/Sega Saturn-inspired creation style. What could beryllium much Christmassy than the crunchy pixels of a high-speed platforming adventure?

Read our reappraisal beneath to find retired wherefore it's 1 of our highest-ranking 2022 games!

Runner Up: Super Kiwi 64