When TheGamer’s feature team closed the book on 2022, they left behind a collection of sharp observations that still echo across the industry in 2026. The final column of that year didn’t just celebrate the hits; it asked hard questions about mobile gaming, virtual worlds, character design, and the growing pile of unfinished releases. Looking back, the arguments feel less like nostalgia and more like a roadmap for what games would become.
📱 The Mobile Rebellion Finally Got Serious
For years, mobile games carried a stubborn stigma—too casual, too exploitative, not “real” games. That argument was always shaky, but in 2022 it got kicked to the curb. Features Editor Eric Switzer made the case that the year proved mobile gaming had grown up.
Marvel Snap led the charge. It wasn’t just another card game; it reinvented how a collectible card game could monetize without leaning on pay-to-win traps, aggressive pop-ups, or predatory spending. If anything, its model felt closer to Fortnite, a title that offered a fair runway for everyone. Then came Netflix Games, quietly building a library of exceptional indie titles, Pokemon Go still kicking since 2016, Apex Legends Mobile arriving with real cross-platform ambitions, and Pokemon Unite continuing to show that mobile can host deep competitive play.
Let’s face it—the “mobile gamer” joke finally ran out of steam. The phone in your pocket had become a legitimate gaming platform, and the rest of the industry was forced to pay attention.
🧩 A Year Inside Roblox: Theme Park or Future of the Internet?
Senior Specialist Writer Harry Alston spent an entire year inside Roblox, a feat that deserves a medal of its own. His verdict? Roblox behaves less like a single game and more like a giant theme park where every ride is free and built by the visitors themselves.
In some ways, Roblox succeeded at building a metaverse long before the buzzword became a blockchain pitch. But this wasn’t the hollow, avatar-legs version pushed by NFT enthusiasts. It was a creative sandbox where you could stumble onto almost anything—a survival horror map, a pizza delivery sim, or a fashion show. That freedom is exciting, but it also brings real problems: the exploitation of young creators, security gaps, and a moderation system that often feels stretched thin.
Even with those bruises, Alston’s conclusion was startling. Roblox might be the closest thing we have to a preview of the internet’s future—global communities, online economies, and user-generated worlds all tangled together. It’s not a comfortable thought, and that’s exactly why it stuck with readers.
👩🎤 Female Characters Deserve More Than Armor or Aprons
Editor-in-Chief Stacey Henley wrote about a familiar frustration: for years, female protagonists came in two flavors. You could be a heavily sexualized action hero like Lara Croft or a silent armored warrior like Samus Aran. There were exceptions, but the range was painfully narrow.
By 2022, games had improved, but the leading roles still skewed toward “badass warrior” or “guardian of a quaint town.” The real variety tended to hide in side characters or less story-heavy hero shooters. Henley’s point was simple: women leads shouldn’t have to choose between a sword and a small-town charm. Gaming needed more flavors, not just more female faces.
⚔️ Alternating Between God of War Ragnarok and Pentiment Was the Real Win
Sometimes the best gaming experience isn’t a single title—it’s the rhythm between two very different ones. Features Editor Andrew King discovered this while juggling God of War Ragnarok and Pentiment, two games that landed almost back-to-back.
God of War Ragnarok was an action-heavy spectacle, full of mythic battles and cinematic set pieces. Pentiment, by contrast, asked players to slow down, observe, and solve a murder mystery as a freelance painter in a rural medieval town. One demanded reflexes; the other demanded patience. Together they formed a perfect seesaw—each game giving the player’s brain a rest from the other. It was a reminder that variety isn’t a luxury in gaming; it’s the whole point.
💥 2022's Biggest Bummers
Not everything sparkled. Eric Switzer rounded up the year’s biggest letdowns, and the list was a tough pill to swallow. Halo Infinite stumbled at nearly every opportunity, eventually abandoning its much-anticipated couch co-op. Pokemon Scarlet & Violet launched in a state so rough it could barely run on the only console it was made for. Google Stadia shut down, dealing a heavy blow to cloud streaming’s momentum. Diablo Immortal and Overwatch 2 made Blizzard’s outside look as ugly as its inside, while pandemic-driven delays continued to push games further into the future.
The hope back then was that 2023 would be the year the industry got its act together—fewer unfinished messes, better treatment for employees, and a steadier release calendar. Four years on, that hope has become an ongoing conversation. Some lessons stuck; others are still being learned the hard way.
By revisiting that final 2022 feature column, one thing becomes clear: the issues and innovations of that year didn’t fade. They set the stage for the messy, exciting, and still-evolving industry we’re playing through today.