2021 just barely ended, and already the slate of games coming out in 2022 is pretty beefy. A lot of titles that were supposed to come out at the tail end of 2021 were pushed to early 2022, and that means February is absolutely bursting at the seams.
But that isn’t to say there aren’t going to be more games throughout the year. It’s still early enough that not every game planning to release has a firm window, let alone specific date, so this list will more than likely become a bit outdated as the year progresses.
That being said, in the order of their currently listed release dates, let’s get into my list of most anticipated games of 2022.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human
I have been looking forward to this sequel for what feels like an eternity now, considering how many times it has been delayed at this point. And I can only assume Techland decided that releasing Dying Light 2 in the busiest month of the first half of the gaming year was its best chance for success.
I hope that this title delivers on what has been promised, and also that it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. I loved the original (even though I couldn’t bring myself to finish the main story), so the idea of more parkour-themed zombie-slaying action is tantalizing enough. Add to that a game world that reacts to the tough choices you’ll be tasked with making along your journey, and you’ve got me hook, line, and sinker.
What seems like development hell could lead to mixed results, but I have high hopes that Techland will deliver the goods and then some. My only reservation is that Dying Light 2 will be a cross-generation title, which could spell shaky performance on last-gen hardware, while possibly hampering the scope of the game on current-gen consoles.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human is slated to release February 4, 2022, For PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Sifu
Although the prospect of playing this game legitimately kind of frightens me, what with my shaky history of parrying in combat games, I am still intrigued by this action brawling title. The idea of a lone warrior on a martial-arts-fueled quest of redemption and revenge is just so tantalizing, especially in the wake of movies like The Raid series, that I am willing to suck it up and face my demons.
I mean, have you seen this game? The action looks brutal and intense, and the art style feels like a mix between the John Wick movies and Old Boy. Add to all of this the game’s aging system, in which your character ages whenever you die (before you get resurrected to fight again). The idea of playing as a 70-year old dude wrecking shop is something I really look forward to.
Sifu releases February 8, 2022, for PS4, PS5, and PC.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl
My history with the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series is mostly as an outsider looking in. I’ve only played a small portion of the opening hours of the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and i haven’t touched any of the sequels, so I am a bit of a novice here.
However, I’ve played a wealth of other titles inspired by S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (such as the Metro series) — enough that I feel initiated if only by association. I will, of course, be looking forward to finally getting into the action properly when S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl releases in a few short months.
For my money, this game really seems like it’s up my alley, with its atmospheric survival horror set in my favorite real-world hellscape, Chernobyl. It’s as if this game was made with me in mind. I plan to dabble with the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. before the next installment in the series launches, but regardless of whether or not I actually get around to finishing the original, I have a feeling S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is going to comprise a good deal of my gaming time once it releases.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl is supposed to release on April 28, 2022 for Xbox Series X|S and PC, and it’s coming to Game Pass.
The Day Before
What looks like one part The Division, another part The Last of Us, and a third part DayZ, in total equals a really impressive-looking open-world zombie action title with looter/shooter elements. We haven’t seen a whole lot of this yet — not really — and what has been shown mostly seems curated and handpicked. Even so, The Day Before sounds like a fresh take on the zombie survival genre — on paper, at least.
There will be a lot of moving parts here, which means there are a lot of different ways this game could utterly fail to deliver the experience it promises to. That being said, it does like developer Fntastic might have a real stew going with this one. Here’s to hoping they can pull it off.
The Day Before is slated to release on June 21, 2022, on PC, with console ports scheduled for an undetermined future date.
The Swordsman X: Survival
The idea of a action survival title set in feudal Japan is a pretty tantalizing one. I’m not the first person to say this, but The Swordsman X: Survival looks like a version of Ghost of Tsushima with survival and building elements tossed in. I don’t know a lot about this title yet, but that general description has me salivating all over my work shirt.
The Swordsman X: Survival is set to release on Steam at some point in 2022.
Conclusion
So there you have it, the list of games I am currently looking forward to for 2022. There are plenty more, I am sure, but with release dates still up in the air and for an industry still struggling to deliver during a pandemic, it’s best to err on the side of caution.
