God of War Ragnarok is now the biggest challenger to Elden Ring for GOTY

Our God of War Ragnarok review is in, and so are a bunch of other reviews, and they're so overwhelmingly positive that the long-awaited sequel has become the second-highest-rated new game of 2022. 

That's according to Metacritic, which has a handy list of aggregate video game review scores for the year. Elden Ring is still number one with an average rating of 96, but God of War Ragnarok is right on its tail with an impressive 94. 

The confusing part is that Elden Ring actually holds the number one and number two spots on Metacritic's list on account of its Xbox Series X and PS5 versions, while Ragnarok is technically ranked seventh. The thing is, the four spots above it are occupied by the Nintendo Switch Portal Companion Collection, which is a ported bundle of some of the best puzzle games around, and the new-gen multi-platform versions of Persona 5 Royal, all ports of one of 2019's best JRPGs.

Incidentally, the PC version of Elden Ring is also rated 94 and comes in just below Ragnarok. The top 10 is rounded out by The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe – an expanded version of the 2013 indie hit which has now earned a 93 – and the recent PC release of the original God of War, also with a score of 93.

So in terms of brand-new games, it's really just Elden Ring and Ragnarok squaring off here, at least numerically. Elden Ring has the considerable advantage of being a multi-platform title that launched much earlier in the year, and this will undoubtedly influence the upcoming Game of the Year conversations, but Ragnarok is holding its own. 

Of course, 2022 has also seen plenty of stellar games that aren't on this small, repetitive list, but blockbusters are gonna bust blocks. There are sure to be plenty of dark horses and individual picks this year, but we'll also probably be seeing a lot of these two games at various award shows in the coming months. 

Here's everything you need to know about the God of War Ragnarok preload and release time, or get help with one of the game's first puzzles with the God of War Ragnarok waterwheel block puzzle here.