Greetings! We're approaching The Game Awards and the end of 2021. The pandemic really hindered the gaming industry, much like everything else, so a number of promising titles were delayed. Fortunately, we'll see many of those games in 2022 and the next few years. We're getting a smorgasbord of awesome video games on the latest consoles. These delays might also give you enough time to grab a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or Nintendo Switch OLED. It was difficult to narrow down my list because many exciting releases are coming, but I made it work. Let's check out my top 25 anticipated games of 2022 and beyond.
1) Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora I know people aren't rooting for an Avatar game. However, I believe Avatar could potentially work better as a video game than a movie. Come on; the original film even looks like a video game. Pandora definitely holds strong potential for exploration, open world building, a decent RPG system, and creativity. Hopefully, the game will also have a better story than the movie. I'm willing to be optimistic. It seems like Frontiers of Pandora will likely release in 2022. 2) Avowed This game might be an Elder Scrolls clone, but who cares? Medieval fantasies have an excellent track record in gaming. I don't know many details about this release, but it will probably be a large scale RPG with a huge environment, a lot of side missions, and complex character creation. Avowed is going to be exclusive to the Xbox Series X and PC. For those of you who think the Xbox won't have many exclusive titles, the next few years are going to be quite a shock. 3) Bayonetta 3 Honestly, I've never played the Bayonetta games before, but I felt intrigued and amused by the announcement trailer. It's kind of Devil May Cry with a sassy femme fatale. Bayonetta is also a witch who can summon kaiju sized demons. Bring it on! I love hack and slash games. It's also worth noting, the next Bayonetta game is going to be an exclusive title for the Nintendo Switch. Heads up! You’re going to see a lot of console exclusives on this post. 4) The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me This horror series could use more scares, but I enjoyed the last couple releases anyway. The Devil in Me is a choose-your-own adventure and survival horror game. It appears to feature a serial killer who taxidermies his victims. Doesn't that sound impeccably gruesome and disturbing? I'm willing to bet this game will have a weird twist at the end. That seems to be a recurring theme for The Dark Pictures Anthology. At first glance, this game appears to have a human enemy, but we might see supernatural undertones in a twist. We'll find out next year when it comes out. 5) Dead Space I still haven't played the original Dead Space games yet, so this will be an interesting experience for me. The remake of Dead Space is probably a ways down the pipeline, but I don't mind. It looks utterly terrifying, atmospheric, and a solid blend of sci-fi horror. I hope the gameplay will be challenging without being overwhelmingly frustrating. Stay away from this release if you can't handle scary games. 6) Dragon Age 4 Xbox Game Pass is such a gold mine. I played Dragon Age: Inquisition on Game Pass and it was a 60 hour treat of dragons, magic, swords, political intrigue, and epic fantasy. Skip Game of Thrones and play the Dragon Age games. I assume the title, Dragon Age 4, is just a placeholder. I should also mention the project's creative director resigned. That doesn't mean the game was canceled. In fact, this type of turmoil happens more often than you might imagine. Hopefully, the next Dragon Age game will be another massive adventure with a great RPG system, strong storytelling, and a lot of character choices. We probably won't see Dragon Age 4 until 2023 or 2024, but I'm sure it will be worth the wait. 7) Fable Here's another Medieval fantasy on my list, but Fable is more of a comedy than a serious tragedy. It has one trailer, which includes a frog who eats a fairy. Just watch the trailer on YouTube. It's short and funny. Again, I haven't played the earlier Fable games yet. Maybe I'll check them out on Xbox Games Pass before the latest title comes out. The reboot of Fable is going to be an Xbox Series X exclusive and we probably won’t see it for a couple years. 8) The Elder Scrolls VI The gaming industry is reviving Medieval fantasies in droves for some reason. Microsoft acquired Bethesda studios and as a result, the entire Elder Scrolls franchise is under the Xbox umbrella. I never understood why Skyrim was such a huge phenomenon, but the next Elder Scrolls game might be modern enough for my taste. If Bethesda creates a great combat system, solid RPG elements, and epic world building, I should be perfectly happy. It seems like Microsoft is planning to turn The Elder Scrolls into an exclusive franchise for the Xbox Series X and PC. They could change their minds, but I doubt it. Sorry PlayStation fans, but your Elder Scrolls days might be done. 9) God of War: Ragnarok This upcoming release should definitely make PlayStation fans ecstatic. The previous God of War entry was a Game of the Year winner and a beautiful take on the action-adventure genre with hack and slash combat. It's one of the best video games in the past decade. Ragnarok is the concluding chapter in the Norse mythology arc and I expect it to be another creative vision of strong gameplay, high quality graphics, and cinematic storytelling. You don't even have to like the old God of War games to play the most recent ones. Ragnarok was delayed to 2022 and we should get a complete release date at some point. 10) Gotham Knights I think a lot of people have Batman fatigue at this point. Gotham Knights might be a good way to enjoy Gotham City and Batman's iconic villains without another version of the Caped Crusader because the story focuses on his supporting cast; Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin. I really hope this game will clean up some of the frustrating elements from the Batman Arkham series, such as confusing maps and a wonky Batmobile. Gotham Knights could be a fresh start for an old IP and a fun action-adventure game. So far, this release was delayed to 2022. 11) Hogwarts Legacy This video game entry in the Wizarding World is another delay that spills into the 2022 schedule. You should watch the full length trailer on YouTube. It's so good! Hogwarts Legacy seems like a single player adventure that focuses on many components from the Harry Potter universe, such as charms, magical creatures, Hogsmeade, Quidditch, otherworldly combat, etc. I'm also tired of Harry Potter, but a separate adventure in Hogwarts sounds like a fabulous idea. 12) Horizon Forbidden West Here's another promising exclusive title on the PlayStation. I'm a huge fan of Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel has excellent promotional material. This franchise is a far less grim post-apocalyptic setting than most. Horizon Forbidden West takes place in a futuristic Stone Age with robotic dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals. At this time, the graphics look amazing and the gameplay is quite impressive. This game is also the first major release in 2022, which is exciting news. We'll have a chance to play this game on February 18th. I also doubt we'll see another delay because this title already had a couple of big postponements in 2021. 13) Kirby and the Forgotten Land Finally! We're getting a legitimate Kirby game on the Nintendo Switch. The previous Kirby game was cute, but it had a barebone amount of substance. Kirby and the Forgotten Land seems like a full scale adventure with better gameplay, exploration, platforming, and enemy variety. I discovered something from the first trailer. Apparently, the Kirby universe takes place on Earth and the human race is dead. In fact, we've been extinct for a really long time. Who knew? I'm pretty sure this game is coming out next year unless it has a huge delay. 14) Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Insomniac has an terrific Spider-Man series. The characters, gameplay, story, and environment are top notch. I wouldn't expect anything less from Spider-Man 2. Right now, I don't know many details about this game yet. It features both Peter Parker and Miles Morales, which should make every Spider-Man fan happy. It seems like most enthusiasts are split between team Parker and team Morales. The trailer hinted at Kraven the Hunter and Venom as significant villains. I'm sure we'll see more Spider-Man villains as well. Be patient because it's going to be a couple of years before this game comes out. As expected, this game will be exclusive to the PlayStation 5. 15) Marvel's Wolverine Sony landed another great exclusive title for the PlayStation! It's going to be the first Wolverine game we've seen in years. There's very little information about this release, but it's under development by Insomniac, the same creators of Marvel's Spider-Man. I have a lot of faith in their work. The trailer didn't show Wolverine's face, but I hope we can move away from the Hugh Jackman version in the X-Men film series. I'm ready for a different actor. We’ll have to wait quite a while. Spider-Man 2 isn’t coming until 2023, which means Wolverine is probably a ways off. Regardless, it should be an awesome hack and slash adventure. Come on, Insomniac! Give us Sabretooth! 16) The Outer Worlds 2 Obsidian was another recent acquisition by Microsoft. That means The Outer Worlds 2 is coming exclusively to the Xbox Series X and PC. It's going be a long time before this titles goes on sale because Obsidian is prioritizing other projects, such as Avowed. The first Outer Worlds game is a space adventure, first person shooter, and RPG with a lot of witty humor. Watch the trailer for The Outer Worlds 2 on YouTube. It's downright hilarious. I assume the sequel will be very similar to its predecessor. If you enjoy the Fallout games, this series will probably be appealing. I just hope The Outer Worlds 2 has a mode that allows players to explore the environment after completing the main story. That part was gravely missing in the original release. 17) Perfect Dark After a long hiatus, we're finally getting a reboot of Perfect Dark within the next couple of years. Most likely, it will be a first person shooter with a mix of stealth combat and blatant gunfights. It's also going to be exclusive to the Xbox Series X and PC. Anything could happen in this game, but I hope it will be a faithful adaptation with modern gameplay mechanics. Maybe we'll see another trailer at The Game Awards. 18) Redfall If you enjoy vampires and Borderlands, this game might be a good choice. Redfall is going to be a co-op shooter with an open world environment. The details are pretty vague, but I'm under the impression the game will be similar to the Borderlands series. For example, you can play any of the Borderlands games in single player mode, but they definitely favor multiplayer. Even though I stay away from multiplayer games, Redfall sounds entertaining and intriguing. This game will only be available on the Xbox Series X and PC. By the way, you can play all of Microsoft's exclusive titles on Xbox Game Pass from day one. 19) RoboCop: Rogue City I suppose licensed games are making a comeback. This first person shooter is allegedly coming out in 2023. Rogue City is based on the original RoboCop film trilogy. Beyond that, I can’t tell you anything helpful. I assume Rogue City will have a single player mode, but you never know. Given the title, this game might have open world components. We’ll have to see what happens. I’m hoping to see more details at The Game Awards. 20) S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl This Xbox exclusive is coming to retailers in April of 2022. I never played the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, but this one seems like a post-apocalyptic adventure and first person shooter with a heavy emphasis on sci-fi elements. It doesn’t seem like Microsoft is throwing a lot of promotional material to the masses, so I’m keeping my expectations low. Hopefully, it will be satisfactory for the post-apocalyptic crowds. I’m getting tired of bad post-apocalyptic games. Quality is infinitely better than quantity. 21) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I’m sure PlayStation fans are jumping for joy because this remake will be exclusive to the PS5. Don’t freak out if you’re having a hard time finding a console because this game isn’t coming out any time soon. I’m really excited, but there’s a catch. Turn-based combat isn’t my cup of tea. In fact, I despise turn-based games with the exception of Pokémon and Monster Rancher. So, I hope Knights of the Old Republic will include a hack and slash combat style and RPG elements instead. The Final Fantasy series made a lot of changes through the years and it was a turn-based franchise for a long time. That means Knights of the Old Republic can move forward too. Don’t let me down, Sony. 22) Starfield Unless we see delays, Starfield is coming out in November of next year. That’s pretty exciting news. Keep in mind, this game is only coming to the Xbox Series X and PC. I’m under the impression that Starfield will be a massive open world game and action RPG. Basically, it’s going to be like The Witcher III, The Elder Scrolls, or Dragon Age in space. That’s good because I’ve never been a fan of Halo, Mass Effect, or Star Wars: Battlefront, which are simply Call of Duty in space. I’ve never had a talent for military shooters. 23) Stray I found a spot for one indie game on this post. Stray is a post-apocalyptic game that features a cat who’s trying to find a path back to his family. It looks surprisingly realistic and considerably different than most games. I love cats and the post-apocalyptic genre, so this title should be a great choice for me. How often can you be a cat in a video game? Take advantage of the opportunity. Stray is coming to PlayStation consoles and PC in the first quarter of 2022. 24) Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League My list doesn’t have a whole lot of cross platform games, but this Suicide Squad adaptation looks pretty good. Warner Bros. Interactive hasn’t shown any gameplay yet. However, I heard it’s going to be a four player co-op experience with both multiplayer and single player options. For example, single players can probably rotate the Suicide Squad characters at their convenience. At this point, the cinematic trailers look superior to both of the Suicide Squad movies. It happens. Personally, I think the recent Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy games are better than the movies. 25) Tiny Tina's Wonderlands This game looks hilarious. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a fantasy spinoff from the Borderlands franchise. It’s a looter shooter, Medieval fantasy, and comedy at the same time. Plus, you’re equipped with guns. That sounds awesome! I’m not sure if this game will be great for single players like me, but it certainly looks entertaining. Wonderlands is coming to most platforms in March of next year. Let’s be realistic. I haven’t noticed any delays yet, but it could happen. There you go! We’re getting a fantastic assortment of games during the next handful of years. Expect delays because of the pandemic. Believe me. It’s much better to take extra preparation than to release a game like Cybperpunk 2077. Truthfully, the video game industry was infamous for delays, even before the pandemic happened. It takes a long time to make successful video games. Are you looking forward to any particular titles? Do any of the games on my list spark your interest? Leave a comment. We’ll probably get more announcements during The Game Awards. That’s all for now. Be careful and enjoy the rest of your weekend. Good night!
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