Time to break out those wishlists
2022 is finally here and that can only mean one thing.
Games likeMonster Hunter Rise, God Of War and Rainbow Six Extraction.
Will he be able to control thatliteral tidal wave of ratswe saw in that reveal trailer?
Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora
Release date:2022From:Ubisoft Connect
Ollie:Look, I love Avatar.
I think it’s an absolutely marvellous film.
It’s well-trodden ground, but that doesn’t stop it from being great.
And that’s more or less how I’m approaching the prospect of an Ubisoft-made Avatar game.
Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora will be an open-world, first-person action-adventure game.
We already know what we’re getting ourselves into with this.
I, for one, really hope to see some great jungle stealth.
It’d be so good.
Don’t let me down, Ubisoft.
Decorating my cabin, cooking for guests, keeping them all happy with their holiday.
It all just sounds lovely, doesnt it?
In Bear and Breakfast, theres a little more to it.
However, the trailer ends with an eerie warning: do not disturb the wildlife.
With that, Im hooked.
Or, as Hank the Bear would say, excited bear noises!
PS: I wonder if Hank and Horace would be friends?
I bet Horace would take up too many rooms, being endless and all.
Alice Bee:The demo for this wasso fun and cute.
You cleaned up the trash in the forest to exchange for goods as a form of currency.
Yes, it is.
Plus: I admire games that take such a literal approach to their title.
I’ve dabbled, but never properly bitten the bullet, you know?
I never quite got round to playing the alpha build last year, butNate’s previewhad me hooked.
Sign me up, sarge.
You play as a possessed lamb thats been saved from annihilation by a mysterious stranger.
To repay the debt, you must build a following in his name.
And so your cult activities begin.
You perform dark rituals, explore a randomly generated world and do quests.
Gimme gimme.
Her introduction as a velvet-voiced charmer in Season of the Lost, well,hello thereSavathun.
I hope we don’t have to murder her, like we did her nerd brother.
She’s such a delightful presence telling one-sided truths and pulling strings.
This year, I hope Distant Worlds 2 will be one of those games.
The mechanisms of an Eve-like MMO, but with AI filling in all the roles.
As she explores, Mimi can take photos, capture sounds and find objects to document in her journal.
Its that second part Im most interested in.
Katharine:I’m also extremely here for Dordogne’s lovely watercolour work.
Will it be able to hold itself together and form a cohesive whole?
Still, I cant help but sense strong GOTY energy radiating from this one.
Katharine:Will this finally be a FromSoft game I’m not terrible at?
Chances are slim, but hey, I’m ready to be proven wrong.
Whatever challenges it brings, I’m ready for ‘em.
Fingers crossed it also has an interesting story to match its lovely visuals.
I like how colourful it looks too, mashing weird monsters on the streets of Tokyo.
Not sure what it is; do want to know.
Namely, because Id heard that Cygames and PlatinumGames were working on it together.
Being a sucker for Platinums flashy combat, I was all-in, basically.
Yet Relink seems like it holds something more?
From the gameplay Ive seen over the years, the animations and exploration seem more dynamic than Tales.
I dont know, it just has an air of charm about it thats hooked me in.
Heres hoping it turns out okay.
What a splendid idea for a roguelite.
You are Death, founder and CEO of the corporation that handles all things death and afterlife.
From what they’ve said so far, it sounds like they’ll do a great job here.
Phones out, oh thats so cute, do it again in a different box etc, etc.
Stealing fish, pouncing on objects that clearly arent alive, slinking into places you shouldnt and so on.
And for that, I want it.
(That’s at least one sub-genre of dating sim I haven’t been won over to yet.)
But he liked cats before he knew Pip, so uh, yeah.
I want to see what they’re doing now.
Because a tactical RPG superhero game that also takes the best bits from FiraxisandAtlus?
Now that’s something I’ve gotta see.
Men Of War 2, or Company Of Heroes 3.
Except that’s not where you’ve come from.
like, Nightingale, rain on me.
Im into it, in theory, and really hope it works in practise.
A game where it’s less about button-mashing, and more about puzzle-solving and running away from threats.
It looks jaw-droppingly beautiful, and I can’t wait to get lost in this fragile, threatened world.
I need to play it this instant.
I dont know, but its cool.
One of them is like, a cryptozoologist YouTuber.
It all resonates a bit more with a millennial like myself, you know?
Like, souped up Goosebumps where people swear and have big guns.
Yes kindly, show me more.
Its pixel art is just HNNNGH, I mean look at it.
And those fight scenes?
I just hope it feels as brilliant under the thumbs as it is to look at.
You know, the Saints Row deal.
The bit Im most interested in is the setting, a big weird playground called Santo Ileso.
It looks big, and weird, and like a fun playground.
Thats three ticks right there.
Alice0:Yeah, I think they’re not really sure how to market this one.
In short, I’m hooked.
You play as a bloke trying to make his family whole again amid a large-scale conflict.
Theres also a dog, which can only signal a crushing moment of loss.
Not to mention that this is being developed by Jumpship, whose co-founder is Dino Patti of Playdead andInsidefame.
And yet, new S.T.A.L.K.E.R., man!
New S.T.- alright stuff that, new Stalker!
The originals are still an astonishing experience so I want to believe.
And Stalker 2 will be on Game Pass, so it won’t be expensive to gawp.
They could make something remarkable!
I’m very keen to see what they might create with a whole new sci-fi setting to play in.
I mean, beyond the near-inevitable attempts to remake Oblivion and Fallout: New Vegas once again.
Strange Horticulture
Alice Bee:This game is outsoonand I cannot wait.
In real life I am terrible at looking after plants.
I have made houseplants out of yarn because they will never die.
Everywhere I look there are differently shaped buds, strange smelling flowers or suggestively luminous fungi.
Each must be catalogued; each examined against the descriptions and uses in my tome of odd plants.
And also there is a murder mystery and a cult in there.
Chaos, I am coming for you.
Like many Borderlands fans, I thought Tiny Tinas Assault On Dragon Keep DLC was a corker.
It was inventive and surprising, with terrible jokes and a hint of DND about it.
So to have an entire game spun off Tiny Tinas unhinged DND campaigns could be a real treat.
The Borderlands lootathon formula remains, only with a fantasy twist.
You use guns, yes, but also swords and bows and axes.
Should keep me co-oping in 2022.
My money’s on surprise werewolves, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Just hopefully not for too long.
I must admit, this is the one I’m the most intimidated by.
While we wait, I’m going to be reading up onNate’s excellent faction analysis.
Trek To Yomi
Release date:2022From:Steam, Game Pass
Ed:Come on, justlookat it.
Trek To Yomi oozes the style of classic samurai films and captures their spectacle.
I’m confident this won’t be “just another game set in Feudal Japan”.
Again, justlookat it.
Disclosure: RPS co-founder Alec Meer (RPS in peace) is the writer on Trek To Yomi.
Two Point Campus
Hayden:Oh man, I feel silly.
For years, Ive shied away fromTwo Point Hospitalbecause the sheer mention of hospitals gives me anxiety.
I didnt even watch a trailer.
But when Two Point Campus was announced, I knew this was for me.
Everything looks suitably weird as well.
Instead of math and English, the pupils are attending Knight School and Gastronomy.
That seems like a big tonal shift away from serious medical procedures and anxiety-inducing hospitals?
Again, I feel very silly because, well, Two Point Hospital is very silly.
ValiDate: Struggling Singles in Your Area is 2022’s promising prospect.
The thing that really makes ValiDate stand out for me, though, are the personalities on display.
Why not try thefree demowhile we wait?
But in the intervening 17 years (wait, it’s beenhowlong?!)
Alice Bee:I am really interested to see if we find anything out about Bloodlines 2 this year.
Its going to make one hell of a The Oral History Of… article one day.
And yet, a decade after the stompy, shooty, original, Space Marine 2 lives.
And its got Titus in it!
A fine fit indeed for 40Ks bolters and Tyranids.
Well, maybe not nice.
But a few different shades of grim wont hurt.
Alice0:I hope we finally meet Spice Maureen this time.
Seriously,everythingI’vereadabout Weird West so far just sounds delightful.
I sure it will be worth the wait.
We’d honestly be here all day.
