Shackbattle Game of the Year 2022 - Wreckfest

Shackbattles are a staple in our Chatty community. These community events are a way for folks to kick back, relax, and play multiplayer games with each other. The longest-running Shackbattle is Wreckfest, which has been going strong on Wednesday nights for years. It’s why for the third year in a row, we’re giving the demolition racer the award for Shackbattle Game of the Year.

While trends and gaming habits may come and go, members of the Shacknews Chatty have continued to come back to get together for Wreckfest nights on a regular basis, with ThomW being a frequent organizer of those gatherings. Of course, the sheer enjoyability of Wreckfest is what keeps players coming back time and time again.

Bugbear’s demolition racer is pure unadulterated fun in every sense of the word. The seemingly endless ways that you can damage and demolish your vehicles as well as those of other players always makes for hilarious moments. Wreckfest is the rare racing game that’s still a good deal of fun even when you’re coming in last place. In fact, some players find more joy in trying to destroy cars and run other players off the road than actually going for first place.

Wreckfest is also home to a decent offering of maps, many of which contribute to the absolute chaos the game is known for. Maps like Deathloop and Hellride are Shackbattle staples, and we’ve got them burned into our brains.

Wreckfest is a delight to play and has continued to be the most prominent Shackbattle for the third year straight. While games like Team Fortress 2 and Battlefield 2042 certainly made a splash in the community in 2022, there’s no denying that Wreckfest is still the king.

Check out our Year of the Games: 2022 article to see all of the other Shacknews Awards that have been announced so far.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_