God of War: Ragnarök, Pokemon Legends: Arceus: The Most Anticipated Video Games of 2022
With the resurgence of COVID throughout 2021 delaying a lot of games’ development, 2022 ended up being jammed packed with a lot of great games. PlayStation is doling out a lot of next-gen first-party titles, Microsoft has some big exclusives coming from their acquisition of Bethesda including Starfield and Redfall, and Nintendo fans could finally get their hands on the long-awaited Breath of the Wild sequel. Not to mention, who knows what secret indie hits await us. So, before they do, let’s look at my most anticipated games of 2022.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Release Date: January 28th
Where to Play: Nintendo Switch
Dreams become reality on January 28th as Pokémon Legends: Arceus lets players freely roam a bygone era of Pokémon to go on a historic, one-of-a-kind Pokémon journey. The game allows players to explore the Hisui region, way before it’s known as the Sinnoh region, to build the first Pokedex and discover the secrets of the legendary Pokémon Arceus. Legends: Arceus instantly gives off Breath of the Wild vibes with the vastly diverse landscape of the Hisui region that players can explore freely. The game looks to be a bold step forward for Pokémon as core fighting mechanics blend excellently with new traversal methods and, more importantly, new Pokémon. Legends: Arceus puts players in a new kind of Pokémon world full of pure freedom and rich untold history.
Sifu
Release Date: February 8th
Where to Play: PS4/PS5, Microsoft Windows
Sloclap, the French developer behind Absolver, looks to create one of the most profound and engaging beat’em ups of all-time with Sifu. As a martial arts student, players will utilize their skills to hunt down five assassins responsible for murdering their family. Sifu’s combat looks incredible with the complexity and flow of basic attacks and the depth of the interaction they can have with their environment. Even when your foes get the better of you though, death isn’t the end as a magic talisman allows players to be resurrected and age to gain more physical strength but lose health as they get older. So, as they attempt to complete their path of vengeance, players will be in the fight of their life against fearsome foes as well as time, itself, making Sifu an enticing, combative journey that can’t be missed.
Horizon: Forbidden West
Release Date: February 18th
Where to Play: PS4/PS5
Guerilla’s next entry in the Horizon series comes in February as players will once again take control of huntress Aloy to explore the vast Forbidden West to fend off more terrifying machines and discover the truth behind the dangerous storms forming. Forbidden West is the first first-party PlayStation exclusive dropping in 2022 and Guerilla looks to deliver an epic next-gen title. The next chapter in Aloy’s journey looks visually stunning with the overgrown atmosphere of the Forbidden West and players can even explore new underwater areas. There are plenty of new abilities and weapons that expand Aloy’s abilities and plenty of monstrous new machines players will encounter. Zero Dawn was an impressive start for Guerilla starting a new franchise and Forbidden West looks even more ambitious.
Elden Ring
Release Date: February 25th
Where to Play: PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
The newest game from Dark Souls/Bloodborne developer FromSoftware, Elden Ring, is an epic collaboration between legendary game director Hidetaka Miyazaki and Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin. With Elden Ring, players will face some of FromSoftware’s greatest challenges yet as they attempt to restore a fantasy realm shrouded in darkness after the destruction of the Elden Ring. Elden Ring is FromSoftware’s biggest game to date as its map and monstrous enemies look larger in scope, its story lore feels grander, and the gameplay’s mix of magic and weaponry contains a lot of depth and variety. It truly looks like a pure masterpiece from FromSoftware and knowing how tough they make their games; Elden Ring will be an early gut-check for players.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Release Date: March 25th
Where to Play: PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
Inspired by the beloved Borderlands 2 DLC, Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep, Tiny Tina returns as the dungeon master for a D&D styled Borderlands adventure. As their own class-based character, players will band together to work through an adventure led by and constantly changed by Tiny Tina as they collect loot, dismember enemies, try to have some fun in a fantasy-filled Borderlands world. Given how much Borderlands fans loved that DLC, Wonderlands is a dream come true for them with how it puts Tiny Tina in the driver’s seat to offer a wildly hilarious story coming from her crazed mind and some dynamic gameplay that blends fantasy-based magic and Borderland’s distinct style of loot shooter gunplay to create a fresh experience for fans and newbies alike.
Forspoken
Release Date: May 24th
Where to Play: PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows
The newest game from Luminous Productions, who had a hand in making Final Fantasy XV, brings players on a stunning next-gen adventure with enhanced traversal and magic mechanics. As Frey (voiced by Ella Balinska), players will be transported to the vast fantasy world of Athia that’s full of fearsome dragons and the tyrannical Tarta to survive and find a way to return home. Every inch of Forspoken looks absolutely amazing thus far with the level of detail and depth Athia’s atmosphere has, and the flowing traversal and epic magical abilities Frey has look incredibly unique. Everything we’ve seen of Forspoken screams next-gen experience and if everything comes together right, Square Enix could have a breakout hit on their hands.
Saints Row
Release Date: August 25th
Where to Play: PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
Volition’s reboot of Saints Row brings the explosive action and high-tech mayhem to a new location for some chaotic gang warfare. Although fans weren’t exactly sure what to make of Volition’s take on Saints Row, it’s recently started to look like a worthy reboot. The setting of the southwest inspired Santo Ileso looks like a Vegas-inspired playground that fans will have a blast destroying and decimating with all the crazy tech and diabolical weaponry this reboot is offering. The different gangs players will have to take out in order to make the Saints take control fit right with the franchise. The new Saints also looks like a blast with their distinctive personalities, so it looks like Saints Row is in the right hands and could a triumphant return for the series.
Gotham Knights
Release Date: TBA
Where to Play: PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
WB Montreal returns to the world of Batman with their own original game that lets players take control of other fan-favorite characters. After the apparent death of the Dark Knight, players will play as Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood to keep Gotham from descending into chaos at the hands of an underground secret society known as the Court of Owls. WB Montreal is creating an entirely new Batman experience by not only allowing two player co-op, but also through each characters’ unique abilities and playstyles. There’s likely to be a lot of villains coming out to play now that Batman is dead and gone, for now, so players will have plenty of challenges to face in becoming Gotham Knights.
Evil Dead: The Game
Release Date: TBA
Where to Play: PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows
Fans of the Evil Dead franchise will get an incredibly immersive experience when Saber Interactive’s Evil Dead: The Game releases this year. In a fight against the evil entities spewing from the Necronomicon, players will take control of their favorite Evil Dead and Ash vs. Evil Dead characters in co-op and PvP modes. It’s not only a blast to see fan-favorites like Ash Williams, Dana DeLorenzo, and Pablo Simon Bolvar return, but it’s even better that they’re played by their respective actors. Yes, Bruce Campbell is back and ready to kick ass in some iconic returning locations and blood splattering gameplay that fans will gush over. Evil Dead: The Game looks like the perfect kind of celebration for the cult classic horror franchise.
God of War: Ragnarök
Release Date: TBA
Where to Play: PS4/PS5
The long-awaited return of God of War is nearly here with Ragnarök set to release in 2022. The final chapter of Kratos’ Norse saga now sees the father and son going on a quest to understand the meaning of Atreus’ true name Loki and to find the Norse God Tyr as the prophecy of Ragnarök begins. Through their journey through the nine realms, Kratos and Atreus will face new threats that include the teased debut of Thor (voiced by Sons of Anarchy’s Ryan Hurst) and fight new monsters as pretty much all Asgard is thrown in their path. A climactic conclusion has been set up by Sony Santa Monica and it looks like Ragnarök could deliver one of the best PlayStation experiences of all-time. The gameplay looks mind-blowing with some of the new weapons in Kratos’ arsenal and incredibly massive in scope with some of the new areas that players will explore. In short, God of War: Ragnarök looks amazing and is THE game everyone should be looking out for.
Mooreviews 