New video games are always scarce in the first few months of a new year. Developers who miss the holiday season’s deadline often cut bait and push the fruits of their labor into January or February to purchase some extra polish time.
Still, I don’t believe I’ve ever witnessed something quite like the beginning of 2022. The COVID bottleneck is relaxing, studios are functioning at full capacity, and Namco and Sony are releasing two of their most important titles on their respective schedules in the same week. Read on to find out more!
Ghostwire: Tokyo (PlayStation 5, Windows PC)
Tango Gameworks is best known for the pulpy, janky Evil Within series, but Ghostwire: Tokyo is the developer’s first foray into brilliance. It has abandoned American suburbia in favour of an eldritch, rain-soaked Tokyo, which is tormented by every angry demon from Japanese folklore.
Although the grind does drag Ghostwire down at times, I’ve been intrigued by its slick first-person animation and realistic adversary design, as well as Tango’s resonating hometown pride in the capital city. You will banish demons before stopping into an ersatz 7-Eleven for some health-restoring mochi in this game. It’s Japan during the apocalypse, shown as truthfully as possible.
- PC: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1475810/Ghostwire_Tokyo/
- PS5: https://www.playstation.com/en-sg/games/ghostwire-tokyo/
Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Nintendo Switch)
It wasn’t necessary for Pokémon to evolve with its high popularity in the gaming scene. Pokémon Legends: Arceus however, depicts a future in which Nintendo abandoned the overly basic RPG trappings in favour of something more significant.
Here you are, a Pokémon trainer alone in the wilds, getting a clearer, spookier picture of what life would be like among the wild Pikachus. Sneak up on Pokémon using a Poké Ball, engage your prey without being trapped in a turn-based slog, and flee for your life after angering a massive Electrode.
Horizon Forbidden West (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5)
It’s difficult to comprehend the setting of the Horizon series. You’re a neolithic cavewoman living in an ancient America inhabited by monstrous robotic dinosaurs. You’ll use a spear made of serrated silicon chips to fend them off. Investigate subterranean remains that appear to be the abandoned laboratory of a much more advanced human civilisation.
The original game, released in 2017, did an excellent job of weaving all of these disparate plot strands together, and Horizon Forbidden West continues that tradition. Gameplay-wise, it’s still a competent open-world adventure that’s at its best when you’re fighting one of those aluminum-plated T. Rexes. But, you’ll also stick around for the story, which deftly unravels more of the mysteries that have been lingering in this post-apocalyptic world.
Elden Ring (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X)
Over the last 10 years, FromSoftware has created some of the best single-player action games ever. Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro let us loose in interesting universes filled with terrifyingly challenging enemies and a teeming underworld of mysteries, Easter eggs, and branching pathways that piqued our interest long after the credits had rolled.
Elden Ring is the company’s most daring transformation as of yet. FromSoftware throws its conservative linearity out the window and masterfully stretches its epic, Souls-ian grandeur in every direction with a world map that rivals the vastness of Grand Theft Auto’s Los Santos. This is an open-world game developed to the highest conceivable standards, with bespoke scripted experiences adorning every inch of the atlas.
- PS4/5: https://www.playstation.com/en-sg/games/elden-ring/
- PC: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1245620/ELDEN_RING/
- Xbox: https://www.xbox.com/en-SG/games/elden-ring
In the year 2022, I believe that these are the games of the year Candidate basically soldered in. But this is barely half of what we’ve seen in terms of huge game releases at the moment. Let’s hope the rest of the year brings us more incredible games that we gamers will come to know and love.
This article was brought to you by Raj who is currently fleeing the battle~
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