Another year is in the books, which means we can start getting excited for another round of video game releases. I will be keeping my list strictly PC, Nintendo, and Xbox just because I don’t have a way to play Play Station at the moment.
It’s hard to be excited about things that you can’t play yet. You know? However, there are still a lot of fantastic titles that are slated to release this year for these other platforms, so let’s get into it.
10. Open Roads
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, PC
Release Date: 2022
Open Roads promises to be the exact slice-of-life and road trip game that will have me smiling through the entire playthrough. Tess and her mother find a bunch of notes in their attic and decide to investigate them by going on a trip.
The art style looks fantastic, like a playable cartoon, which I absolutely adore. I can’t wait to learn about these two characters and whatever mystery they may uncover about the past. As long as the writing holds up to its premise, this could land on my favorites list next year.
9. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PC
Release Date: 2022
It’s tough to get a great sense of how this gameplay will be, but it’s being developed by Rocksteady, who singlehandedly proved that Batman could make a great video game, so they earned my trust.
Suicide Squad actually takes place within the Batman Arkham universe, and Rocksteady has said that ongoing story threads could continue or make appearances in the Suicide Squad.
This is fantastic news, and I’m so glad that they are expanding on the universe. I just hope that each of the squad members is fun to play as and don’t feel like they are crammed into the game like the Avengers game did.
8. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release Date: December 8, 2022
This is probably the title that I know the least about but based on the short gameplay trailer that I watched, it reminds me a lot of the Metro games, which I love.
I’ve been largely falling out of the gritty FPS genre for a bit now, but I think that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 looks intriguing enough to prepare to fight in this dilapidated setting. It looks like it’s going to be available on Game Pass, so I will definitely be trying this out on day one and seeing if it holds a candle to Metro.
I would appreciate it if there were elements of horror in it, but if not, I will settle for a gripping story. I just need something a little more than just straight gunplay, and the campfire scene in the trailer makes me believe that I have some things to look forward to.
7. Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: January 28, 2022
I already know that I shouldn’t be excited about this, but I can’t help it. We are finally getting an open-world Pokemon game, and it’s introducing new iterations of Pokemon and an ancient take on the Sinnoh region. There is a lot of potential here, and I am excited to see how it turns out, but I am also apprehensive.
Game Freak hasn’t exactly been making quality titles compared to their earlier work recently. All Pokemon games are meant for children, but Sword and Shield felt like they were the Nick Jr. to Silver and Gold’s Nickelodeon. Just give me something that I can kind of justify playing Game Freak, please.
6. Starfield
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release Date: November 11, 2022
The long-awaited new IP from Bethesda Studios is arriving this year. It promises to be another Bethesda epic and potentially even more so. There is some talk that Bethesda has been more passionate about this than some of their most recent projects (I don’t know how true that is, but whatever).
At its more basic, Starfield will be “Skyrim in space,” and I don’t have a problem with that as long as the world is as fully realized and fun to explore as Skyrim was. I don’t know how many more chances I will give this studio, but I have to believe that they can meet their prior peaks again.
5. Redfall
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release Date: 2022
We didn’t get too much official information regarding this title besides the cinematic trailer at E3 2021, but it’s being developed by Arkane Studios, who have worked on Prey, Dishonored, and most recently, Deathloop.
They are on a hot streak when it comes to their games, and I don’t see any reason why Redfall should be the first misstep. It’s a coop open-world game that is dealing with a vampire problem.
Judging from the trailer, it looks like superpowers, gadgets, and gunplay are going to be some of the fundamentals of the gameplay, and I am all for that. I just hope it can pull a Borderlands and still be enjoyable in singleplayer. This is another game that only has the release window for 2022, but I’m sure at E3 2022, we will get a better idea of specifics.
4. The Callisto Protocol
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PC
Release Date: 2022
The Callisto Protocol is finally coming this year. A spiritual successor to the Dead Space series and directed by Glen Schofield, the former lead on the original Dead Space, I think it has the potential to be one of my favorite horror video games.
We still don’t know too much about gameplay but it’s supposedly set in the Player Unknown Battlegrounds universe which leaves me with more than a few questions.
Honestly, the hype for this game for me comes purely from the pedigree and promise that it holds. I’m sure we will be seeing a more detailed reveal any week now but for now, all I can say is I’m very excited.
3. Hollow Knight: Silksong
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC
Release Date: 2022
Like many people, I fell in love head over heels for the original Hollow Knight. The ambiance of Hollow Nest was something that I had never really experienced in a 2D game up until that point. It reminded me a lot of when I ventured into Rapture for the first time and was consumed by the art style and music for weeks.
Based on the trailers so far, Silksong promises to bring its trademark difficulty with a whole new world to explore. I’m so excited to master Hornet’s quick combat and I hope the game can deliver on the fluidity that seems to be so present in the gameplay.
If this is even half the game of the original, it’s going to be another classic. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait the entire year for its release. But please Team Cherry, let this year be the year. It feels like this was announced so long ago.
2. Elden Ring
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, PC
Release Date: February 25, 2022
Elden Ring had me spellbound since its original announcement trailer. It looks absolutely stunning and seems to be the ying to Bloodborne’s yang in terms of tone. This will be the first truly open world developed by FromSoftware, so it’ll be interesting to see how they connect the world.
After all, the interconnected paths of the Souls games are kind of part of its identity next to its difficulty. On top of that, George R.R. Martin was involved in writing some of the lore for the game. I can’t wait to explore this new world, and we don’t even have to wait that long as it releases on February!
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: 2022
Breath of the Wild almost single-handedly got me back into gaming back in 2017. I hadn’t been excited about games or truly invested in anything for years at that point but BoTW reminded me how magical games could be. Breath of the Wild 2 looks like it’s going to be introducing a ton of new mechanics while changing the terrain of the Hyrule we came to know so well.
We are going to be taking to the skies this time around and I’m curious how this is going to change up the overall feel of exploration for us. I don’t want it to lose that giant sandbox survival feel that it had before but I can see how it might be more linear in parts as well. I guess we will find out sometime in 2022.
The Game Campaign 
Reblogged this on DDOCentral.
LikeLike