The Top 8 Most Anticipated Games of 2022

Welcome all to another edition of The 8 Ball! I’m back this week, after a small vacation, to talk about the games that are coming out for this year. I’ll get to the disappointments of yesteryear next. 2022 has a pretty stacked lineup already but these are the games I’m most interested in playing, so far anyway. Enjoy:

#8: Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown

This is more of a “I hope this is actually good” type of thing. Almost two years before the first Forza Horizon game, there was Test Drive Unlimited 2, which was basically the prototype version of it. It featured two islands for you to drive around in, Ibiza and Oahu, had a day/night cycle, integrated multiplayer racers and so on. Since TDU2, the franchise has been essentially dormant but now Klyotonn has been tasked with resurrecting it. They are primarily known for the WRC racing series but now that they’ve lost the WRC license they got to make something else, so here we are. I’m hoping for at least a competent racing alternative, because it’s something that neither Crew game has been able to accomplish.

#7: Everspace 2

I’ve actually played a fair chunk of this in Early Access and I really dig it. The controls are responsive, it looks frankly gorgeous and it has a much deeper story than most space sims these days. It’s been frequently referred to as a modern-day Freelancer, which is good, since Freelancer is still one of the best space sims out there. I have full confidence they’ll be able to pull this game off before the end of the year, which is more than I can say for Squadron 42.

#6: Horizon Forbidden West

I was one of the few, it seemed, that wasn’t completely in love with Horizon Zero Dawn. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good game but it went on for way too long and was just filled with boilerplate missions that didn’t add up to much. I really hope Forbidden West doesn’t have this issue but I’m sure it will, since developers now seem to think that bigger always equals better. Still, I’ll be interested to explore this world some more, find more pre-apocalypse secrets and to explore the ruins of civilization again.

#5: Marvel’s Midnight Sons

I was actually pretty down on this game when it was initially announced. Mainly because I thought the yellow-inspired costumes were awful looking. Since then, they’ve released additional footage showing that you don’t need to wear those Sinestro-looking costumes, so I’m on board. Basically mixing “XCOM with Marvel” should be a lot of fun, even if it is a slightly…odd roster of heroes. I guess I’m curious about why they aren’t just making a straight version of this, then having the vampire thing be an expansion, but hey, what do I know? With this and the new Mario/Rabbids game, it should be a good year for strategy games.

#4: Kirby and the Forgotten Land

This game looks like the lovechild between Kirby and Nier: Automata. I am way into it! Although, I doubt this will have the multiple endings that Automata had. I think this is the first 3D Kirby game in the franchise, which, considering it’s almost as old as Sonic the Hedgehog but kept to its 2D roots, is really saying something. Letting you explore around a decaying city looks to be a lot of fun, especially given Kirby’s moves and ability to copy enemy abilities. I just hope there is some meat in the game, most Kirby games are short, almost by nature, so having a slightly longer one would be nice.

#3: God of War Ragnarok

Having not been a fan of the past God of War games, I was really blown away by how good the 2018 God of War was. So more of that is going to be an easy draw for me. I like the idea of a slightly more grown up Atreus having to deal with his own godhood and his place in the world. Also, having a fat Thor to contend with should be a lot of fun. If this game is even half of what 2018 was, and I’m sure it will be, then it will likely be an easy and early Game of the Year contender.

#2: Lost Ark

This and the last game on my list I’ve literally been waiting years for. While you can play this now in Early Access on Steam, I want to wait for the official release to come out before I start plunking money into it. Lost Ark is basically a Diablo-like game with MMO stuff as well. Like, there are towns with a lot of other characters, or you can go fishing or get mounts. There are the usual bosses of a loot game but there are also much bigger/badder bosses that are basically MMO raids later on. Also, this game has a ton of different classes, 15 at present, and still looks completely gorgeous, even if it is 4 years old.

#1: Granblue Fantasy: Relink

This is finally going to be the year of release guys, I can feel it! I have literally been waiting for this goddamn game since 2017 when I saw a trailer for it and immediately grew interested. That was back when Platinum was working on this, and they aren’t anymore, so that should tell you how long it’s been. Originally billed as a PS4-only game, but now on PS5, Relink is an action-RPG set in the Granblue universe. I actually have no idea what Granblue is, as a property, I just know the game looks great, combat is very fluid and there looks to be a lot of things to actually do. Considering the game is based on an anime franchise I know nothing about, and I’ve been excited for it for over 5 years now, this should tell you how much I want to play it. I really hope it does manage to come out this year.

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For comments, list which games you’re looking forward to in 2022 and why.

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Top 8 Disappointments of 2021