Elden Ring

I’ve been writing about video games for a decade at this point, and I have to say, February of 2022 has been one of the wildest, most action-packed and completely balls-to-the-wall bonkers months I’ve seen in this industry. Even though February is the shortest month of the year, this one was crammed with like six months worth of stuff.

There were some incredible highs and a few really low lows over the past month, so let’s just take a look back at some of the stuff that happened in February of 2022.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human (February 4)

Dying Light 2 - Aiden

The February deluge began with the release of the long-awaited Dying Light 2: Stay Human. And I have to be honest here: Even though I would consider the original Dying Light to possibly be the best zombie game ever made, the sequel failed to impress me.

Part of that is my fault, I admit. Instead of actually progressing anywhere in this game, I spent most of my time eavesdropping on random NPCs. I barely scratched the surface of this massive game, and focused on some of the most mundane parts of it.

At the same time, this open world — which I had been anticipating for ages — just didn’t impress me the way I hoped it would. So much of it feels roadblocked in the early section of the game, with certain locations only available at certain times of the day, and many of the game’s windmills being gated by stamina requirements. After tasting the true freedom that the open-world genre can offer, Dying Light 2 just doesn’t do it for me.

And did we really need another protagonist named Aiden?

Sifu (February 8)

Sifu

Sifu is one of those games I would have probably gotten really into in a normal February. But this was not a normal February, and I had too much other stuff to play to actually check out Sifu.

However, Half-Glass Gaming’s Julian got his fair share of the game, though that experience did not come without some odd technical snafus. Still, Sifu was one of the month’s standout titles, but because this month is so dang stacked, it just didn’t make the splash it should have.

Lost Ark (February 8 for early access, February 11 for full release)

Lost Ark

Lost Ark is another game I was really looking forward to but didn’t end up having time to play. This is the western release of an insanely popular free-to-play Korean MMO. At a glance, the gameplay reminds me more of something like Diablo than your usual MMORPG, but, like I said, I haven’t actually played this so I’m just going off what I’ve seen in trailers.

Still, this one seems to have reviewed pretty well, and it’s probably worth checking out. Probably.

CrossfireX (February 10)

CrossfireX

CrossfireX sees the immensely popular Crossfire series on consoles for the first time. And it seems like maybe the series should have stayed on PC, because this launch was a rough one. Boy was it ever. Sure, this is a free-to-play title, but the actual launch felt like a beta test, with incredibly janky gameplay (which is inexcusable for a multiplayer game with a ton of money behind it) and just a handful of maps and game modes. It feels like all of the development effort went into the microtransaction shop, with very little actual substance in the whole gameplay thing.

I do admit that, in those first days, TDM (Team Deathmatch) was actually super fun because everyone was so dang bad at it.

But all is not gloom and doom in the Crossfire universe, as Crossfire: Legion, the franchise’s RTS entry, seems to be coming along quite nicely.

Infernax (February 14)

Infernax

Now, the first half of the month saw a lot of unrealized potential (to put it nicely), but the second half? The second half of February was incredible.

And that really kicked off with Infernax, which I would argue is the first must-play game of 2022. What looks at first glance to be an 8-bit Castlevania clone ends up being an incredibly deep and satisfying game experience with multiple endings and way more secrets than I ever would have expected. Plus, the soundtrack wails.

Seriously, if you haven’t played Infernax yet, you really need to give it a try. It’s deceptively clever, maddeningly brutal, and absolutely incredible.

Cyberpunk 2077 – Patch 1.5 (February 15)

Cyberpunk 2077

Is Cyberpunk 2077 good yet? As it turns out, it kind of is (at least if you play it on PS5 or Xbox Series X|S).

February was the month when Cyberpunk 2077 finally turned itself around with the 1.5 update. I can’t comment on the launch-day version of the game, since I didn’t play it back then, but I did put about 12 hours into the post-1.5 version. And I have to say, what’s here is actually pretty impressive.

No, this isn’t a No Man’s Sky-level redemption story quite yet, but if CD Projekt Red continues to work on it, it has the potential to be at some point in the future.

No Man’s Sky Sentinel update (February 16)

No Man's Sky Sentinel

And speaking of No Man’s Sky, the near-infinite space exploration game got yet another free update, Sentinel. This one makes some much-needed changes to combat and gives the Sentinels an origin story. Plus, it paved the way for the Exobiology expedition, which is in full swing at the time of this writing.

Is this the end? Far from it, says Hello Games’ Sean Murray. Apparently No Man’s Sky still has a long future ahead of it.

Horizon Forbidden West (February 18)

Horizon Forbidden West

Horizon Zero Dawn was forced to eat its humble pie when it was eclipsed by the masterful Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild just three days after its launch (which was five years ago to the day, at the time of this writing).

With Horizon Forbidden West, Guerilla Games had the chance to prove they’d been taking notes. And it’s very clear that Forbidden West is determined to not repeat the mistakes of its predecessor. This is a massive open world that’s breathtaking to explore, and with some new tools at her disposal (like a paraglider), Aloy is better equipped for fully taking in that wonderful scenery.

And, I must say, Sylens continues to be one of the most compelling characters in the gaming world.

Monark (February 22)

Monark

February didn’t bring us just one game with Ark in the title, as Monark also came out this month. Monark is the brainchild of several folks who had worked on the Persona series, so fans of complex RPGs set in modern-day Japan were champing at the bit for this one.

And, well, Monark mostly succeeds, though the budget is clearly more limited than that of its Atlus-funded peers. If nothing else, Monark is an interesting experiment from a team of seasoned RPG veterans, and if you like your RPGs with a heavy amount of J, then you should at least check this one out.

Elden Ring (February 25)

Elden Ring

If I put together a list of things that happened in February of 2022 without mentioning Elden Ring, I would be completely failing at this. And I’d like to think that I’m not completely failing at this (though I’m sure we’ll have some commenters who disagree with me on that).

Elden Ring is the elephant in the room. Well, it’s more like the T-rex that is eating the elephant in the room. This is a phenomenon that people will be talking about for years to come. You know how in 2022, people still talk about Dark Souls (to the annoyance of everyone around them)? Elden Ring is that now. If you enjoy video games at all, you can’t ignore it.

But, I mean, it’s really good. Like, really really good. People are already anticipating this as the game of the year, and even the game of the decade. While those predictions might be eyeroll-inducing in 2022 (with eight years to go until 2030, and the PS6 generation of consoles likely to be out before the decade turns), from where we’re standing now, Elden Ring could actually be a contender.

Either way, we will probably still be talking about Elden Ring in 2030 (even if it doesn’t quite end up being the decade’s best), so don’t expect this one to disappear any time soon.

New mainline Pokémon games announced (February 27)

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

So, I’m going to mention one more thing, just because it happened in February and it feels important. Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet were announced at the end of the month, and they’re apparently coming out in 2022. Hopefully we’ll see a full National Dex this time around

Anyway, with all that said, I’m freaking tired. February was a whale of a month, and 2022 has barely started yet! I need to take a nap, and then I need to play more Elden Ring. So peace out, folks!

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