Some Of The Best Picks For (Meme) Game Of The Year Before The Official Game Awards Announcement

The Game Awards' annual "Game Of the Year" is always a long-anticipated announcement. Ultimately, it doesn't even really matter what video game is nominated for the award because gaming is a very individualized experience and some award doesn't really make one better than another, however, every year, people tune in to obsess over whether or not their favorite game will become GotY, hoping that theirs will be crowned.

The official nominees for 2022’s Game of the Year might have been released by the judges, but here are four of the games most worth revisiting before the big announcement because of the impact they’ve had on meme culture in 2022.

This year’s pick for GotY will be chosen on Thursday, December 8th, so before that happens, here are just a few top picks for Meme Game of the Year.

Naturally, with some of the most popular games of the year, we've also found some of the biggest memes. So before the big announcement comes out next week, here are some of the biggest and most underappreciated competitors this year and the memes that are frequently associated with them.

4. Cult of the Lamb

Have you ever wished you could lead your own cult? Fortunately, your dreams have finally come true. Cult of the Lamb allows you to take on the role of a cult leader with a bunch of possessed lambs and live out your wildest cult leader fantasy, which is apparently something a concerningly large number of people are into.

This game came out in August, and ever since then, it's had a big impact online. There are lots of videos of gameplay, including both professional and amateur players, which have become especially viral compared to most other streamed games this year.

Whether they take the game seriously or go completely off the rails, these playthroughs have all been widely appreciated, especially on TikTok. Fans of the game often post about new developments in their cults and crowdsource ideas for how to make things even more “interesting” in their cult.

3. Vampire Survivors

This game, as you probably can guess from the title, is about vampires, and it's also a survival game. It certainly doesn't have the same special effects as Elden Ring, but a lot of people find it incredibly fun to play, with a much more laid-back gaming experience than some of the bigger names on the official nominee list.

Ultimately, this game has been very successful, with a perfect 10/10 on Steam and overwhelmingly positive reviews elsewhere, but it hasn't caught on as much as one might expect so far, since it was only officially released about two months ago after a long early-access period.

One particularly notable meme from Vampire Survivors is known simply as "garlic." In the game, garlic is a weapon of sorts, shielding the player from attacks, and it's frequently made fun of online.

First of all, garlic is a pretty ridiculous weapon, and second, this translates into the game as well because it's really not that useful. It certainly does have a pretty entertaining quality, though, and it’s one of the reasons this game caught on all over social media.

2. God of War: Ragnarök

Here’s an obvious one. This game is the fifth in the God of War franchise, which uses elements of Greek and Norse mythology. It was released just last month and was instantly met with impressive success.

Critics and fans alike are praising the game, leading it to earn a 94 out of 100 score on Metacritic. A series of leaks and hype surrounding the addition of Thor also led to an increased appreciation for the game before and after its release.

The fact that Thor is in this game has also had another effect on it. Ever since his design was announced in September 2021, people have been making fun of it because he looks a lot like fat Thor from Avengers: End Game. At the same time, he's much cooler than fat Thor, and this version is believed to be truer to Norse mythology.

There are many more memes to come, especially since social media is constantly flooded with GoW content, but Thor still remains one of the biggest memes from the new game.

1. Elden Ring

And now, for the even more obvious choice for Game of the Year. Elden Ring is undoubtedly a top competitor, and given how much hype its release had, it's pretty likely that it will get the award. This is a long-anticipated fantasy game resulting from a collaboration with George R.R. Martin, and it has managed to exceed everyone's already high expectations by a long shot.

The only thing standing in the way of Elden Ring having a 100 percent chance of being game of the year is the fact that it's a particularly difficult game that some beginner players wouldn't dare attempt, but that's not a bad thing by any means.

Elden Ring has given us lots of meme formats. A few include Try Finger but Hole, Touch Grace, No Maidens, Fia Hug, Soldier of Godrick and the infamous Let Me Solo Her.

This one has the advantage of being out since February, so it's understandable that it'll have a wider online impact than others, but it remains to be seen if another game will top Elden Ring's influence this year.