With the scheduled 2021 release of many video games pushed back due to the pandemic, 2022 was always going to provide a bumper year of exciting new offerings. With the crop of new games that have already been released this year or that are due to be unleashed onto the gaming public over the coming months, choosing the few to focus on may be a tough ask.
But we can help narrow things down a little. Below are the top five that should be on every gamer’s wish list right now!
Elden Ring
Following the huge success of Dark Souls, the studio responsible for this game, FromSoftware, released Elden Ring into the arms of an audience buzzing with anticipation and ready for more fantasy-action role-playing at the end of February 2022.
Having the Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin contributing narrative elements to the epic game was always a good sign; in this fantasy world, players may encounter dragons, wolves, soldiers, and trolls, to name just a few of the types of humans and creatures that wander its borders! Elden Ring is an open-world, interactive gaming experience which can be explored either solo or along with other players. Within the first five weeks of its release, Elden Ring sold more than thirteen million copies.
God of War Ragnarok
The next adventure for Kratos, previously seen in the ever-popular God of War game, takes him on further forays into the world of Norse mythology. The game also won the Most Anticipated Game award at the Game Awards 2020 and received a similar accolade by Playstation in the same year. And this is one game that truly lives up to the hype; the fact that it spent five years in development is a testament to the attention to detail and craft that has gone into its production.
With its cinematic backdrops, heart-stopping action, and immersive play, God of War Ragnarok should be on every gamer’s must-own list this year. The action centers around the coming end of days, and the death of several other Norse Gods, hinted at in the finale of the previous installment.
Starfield
Due to be released later this year – although no fixed date has yet been set by the studio – Starfield is already positioned to be a classic. This epic role-playing game is from Bethesda, the company that previously brought you the wildly successful and much loved Elder Scrolls series. It’s set – approximately! – in the year 2023.
Players must first design their space explorer before venturing out into the stars to explore the nearby solar systems; either a first or third-party perspective can be chosen, depending on the gamer’s preference. Starfield focuses on two key groups: the United Colonies and the Freestar Collective, who are currently experiencing a tentative peace after the end of a bloody, long war that culminated two decades before the game’s beginning.
Starfield is already highly anticipated, and its teaser trailer suggests it could be a landmark sci-fi game.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
For Nintendo Switch owners, this as yet unnamed sequel is likely to be one of the hottest new releases of 2022. It’s the follow-up to the previous installment of the series, which came out in 2017: this former game was the strongest selling chapter in the Zelda franchise to date but also garnered significant critical acclaim, too.
The teasers and trailers released so far suggest that Breath of the Wild 2 will be every bit as spectacular as its forebear, with the level of detail such that virtually every part of the game’s landscape can be explored.
There have been hints that the game could take a darker turn as compared to the nineteen previous Zelda installments and that it will also feature a new floating island landscape for players to discover.
Horizon Forbidden West
Expect stunning visuals with high levels of realism in this game which re-introduces the character of Aloy, the red-haired dinosaur killer…who also happens to be a robot! Released earlier this year, the game has already collected a plethora of positive reviews and features a huge map for players to explore and new underwater elements.
Continuing the story of Aloy, last encountered in Horizon Zero Dawn, this newest installment is set in a post-apocalyptic version of the Western United States which has suffered an extinction-level event. The game is open-world, and players need to complete quests while also facing off against a variety of hostile machine-type creatures.
Horizon Forbidden West has been hailed as beautiful, wonderfully realized, and rich in design and detail; it topped the best-selling video game charts upon its recent release.
A Year of Great Gaming
As the list above suggests, 2022 is set to be a huge year for spectacular, groundbreaking gaming. Any one of the offerings on this list will provide hours of entertainment and immersive, rich gameplay in a variety of worlds.
And if you’re already wondering what your gaming of 2023 will look like, then Songs of Conquest, Dune: Spice Wars, Achilles: Legends Untold, Redfall, and Age of Darkness: Final Stand are all likely to be on your wish list!
