It’s easy to overlook some of the most exciting titles set to launch this year when we’re still reeling from the end of 2021 (and still beavering away diligently at that Halo Infinite battle pass), but time waits for no-one, and look ahead we must. If you’ve clicked on this page, you’ve got at least a passing interest in what this ragtag bunch of misfits thinks, ey? Maybe you’re curious what racing game Tom is no doubt frothing at the bit to play next? Maybe you’re here to listen to Alex sound off about another RPG masterpiece that’s due to drop in 2022? Or perhaps you’re paralyzed by choice, and just want some people that give the impression that they know what they’re on about to rant at you about video games. Either way, we’re here to help. Have a gander at our choices below, make your scathing judgments about our questionable taste levels, then sound off in the comments about what you’re most excited about in the year to come. Bonus points to you if the game you choose hasn’t been mentioned yet.
Alex Donaldson - Assistant Editor
Most Anticipated Game: Final Fantasy 16 If we assume this game is coming out this year, since it doesn’t have a date yet, it has to be this, right? It’s practically almost an obligation. But, you know, I mean it, too. Final Fantasy has run through my career (and, honestly, my life) like a stick of rock, as the English saying goes - and so any new numbered entry immediately captures my attention. There’s a lot to be excited about, though. With seemingly two timelines, summons that possess people, and the most full-blown action combat system the series has ever attempted, it shows much promise. The staff are exciting, too. Beloved FF14 boss Naoki Yoshida is producing, while Hiroshi Takai is in the director’s chair. Takai’s last directorial gig was 360 RPG The Last Remnant, which is a solid 5/10 but had absolutely tremendous potential that could be fulfilled in a full-on Final Fantasy. And, while I love his art, I’m thrilled to see a numbed FF spotlight a lead artist that isn’t Tetsuya Nomura. I have a sneaking suspicion that when this was announced they already had a release date in mind that has since become impossible - which hopefully means it’s far enough along that it’s a lock for this year.
A new Fire Emblem. Three Houses felt like a fascinating sea-change for the series, and I want more. Street Fighter 6. I don’t think this’ll be out this year, really, but I’m already vibrating with excitement. Final Fantasy 9 Remake. If that Nvidia leak is true, a remake of The Best One could outshine The New One.
Runner-Up: The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild Sequel Nintendo said this one is 2022. I mean, we’ll see. But if it is, it’s easily tied with FF16. The difference between the two, I guess, is that each new Final Fantasy is an unknown - that series has quality all over the place. This, meanwhile? Well, I feel like I already know in my bones that this one is gonna melt my face off. It feels practically impossible to get wrong.
Connor Makar - Staff Writer
Most Anticipated Game: King of Fighters 15 In what might be the nerdiest sentence I’ve written in a while: I miss fighting game homework. Sitting down for an hour or so with a mug of tea, figuring out elaborate combos I could never pull off in an actual match. King of Fighters 15, with its classic inputs and bazillion launch characters, will be like buying a year’s supply of bath bombs and scented candles. A relaxation game, where I can repeatedly botch the same string of intricately timed attacks, learning complicated routines for characters I will never play competitively. Runner-Up: If it comes out in any form this year, I’d be super down for some of Riot’s Project L. It’s kind of the elephant in the room when you talk about this genre for dweebs and dorks. I will happily sacrifice any number of goats to get my hands on the game.
Tom Orry - Editor-in-Chief
Most Anticipated Game: God of War Ragnarok I tried really hard to think of a game that made me look cooler, but I don’t care - I’m super excited about God of War Ragnarok, the sequel to one of my favourite games of the last generation. I’m, in what is clearly not a smart move considering my line of work, trying to learn as little as possible about it so the game arrives fresh and unspoilt, but the few snippets I saw of the reveal trailer looked wonderful. God of War gets a bit of hate, partly because it became cool to be down on “dad” games, but for me Sony Santa Monica knocked it out of the park with one of the most gorgeous and memorable games I’ve ever played. Runner-Up: Kirby and the Forgotten Land This came as a bit of a surprise as I’m not a big Kirby fan by any stretch of the imagination. I think I’m just ready for another 3D platformer from Nintendo and this looks lovely. We haven’t seen much of it, but I trust the big N to deliver the goods on Switch this year.
James Billcliffe - Guides Editor
Most Anticipated Game - Starfield “It’s like Skyrim in space.” It’s hard to get more hype than that. Sure, Todd Howard (Steph’s future ex-husband) has been drawn to hyperbole before, but here’s hoping Bethesda’s latest sprawling RPG is a little less Fallout 76 and a little more having to deal with the fallout of playing the game for 76 hours straight. Details have so far been incredibly sparse for a game with a firm release date, which can only mean there must be a larger reveal imminent. But after squinting at concept art and listening to dev diaries, it at least seems like we’re in for space-age cities, cyberpunk streets, and a big, deep, and interactive world to get lost in. Let’s also hope the lack of detail doesn’t lead to massive overhype - which I am fully aware I am unironically contributing to - where we all dream up all the perfect features we want in our Greatest Game of all Time that were never feasibly going to happen. That’s already happened, hasn’t it? Runner-Up: Weird West Where Fallout 76 fell massively short, there have actually been a load of great Fallout-esque games in the last few years, both in the classic and more modern mould. Between Wasteland 3 and The Outer Worlds, I’ve had my fix of dystopian American adventure, and Wild West seems next in line to deliver a similar sort of nuanced questing in a stylised and memorable world. I’m a fan of pretty much any game Devolver Digital put out, and to paraphrase the famous quote, the recent delay gives Weird West a better chance of achieving its promise from the outset.
Sherif Saed - Staff Writer
Most Anticipated Game: Elden Ring FromSoftware games have always been events. Even before the studio broke it (somewhat) big, you couldn’t escape all the puzzling together of story beats or the efforts to solve mysteries that kick off immediately after one of those games come out. I can’t quite tell when it happened, but there is no game I look forward to now quite like a FromSoftware game. The brief Elden Ring network test held towards the end of the last year felt like it was custom-built for me. It immediately accentuated my two favourite things about the studio’s games: the sense of discovery and exploration, and challenging combat. All my fears about going open world diluting the precious Souls experience were put to rest in my first few minutes. If the Elden Ring we get in February is just that area from the test, I would be thrilled. But the idea that there’s more to explore, boss fights to enjoy the spectacle of, and new gameplay systems to master in a game by FromSoft has me more excited than anything else coming out this year. Runner-Up: Stalker 2 Part of me still can’t believe Stalker 2 is a game that exists, and one that’s actually coming out this year. When the sequel was initially announced, it felt like GSC Game World was looking to build a team and figure it out from there, which didn’t give me any hope. Now that Stalker 2 has been shown, there’s something tangible to excited about. The original games were set in a harsh, unforgiving world. Heavy on systems, obfuscation, and RPG mechanics, Stalker games were intentionally unforgiving. What we’ve seen of Stalker 2 so far makes it look like a Metro game, and not quite the janky measurable Stalker I know. It remains to be seen how much classic Stalker will be in the new game, it’s nonetheless exciting.
Dom Peppiatt - Features Editor
Most Anticipated Game: Marvel’s Midnight Suns Given how little I cared for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel’s Avengers or either of the Sony Spider-Man games, I’m as amazed as you that this game is sitting up top as one of my most anticipated of the year. But how can I not be enthralled by the idea of ‘Slay the Spire meets XCOM’ with a Marvel/Persona friendship simulator woven into the fabric, to boot?! It’s a ludicrous proposition. Plus, the game is drawing on all the too-edgy-for-you, cosmic horror Marvel stuff of the 90s – where I first fell in love with comic books and superheroes. Skulking around the bleakest and most obscure parts of the Marvel universe is a much more thrilling concept to me than superhero-landing on the viewing platform of the Avengers Tower (again). There’s a very promising game here (especially when you factor in Marvel basically allowing Firaxis to do as it pleases with the property), and when you know the core gameplay experience is going to be as solid and compelling as any XCOM game, it’s hard not to look forward to this with a frankly embarrassing amount of enthusiasm. Shame it got bumped into the latter half of the year. Runner-Up: Digimon Survive Will it come out this year, finally? Probably not. But still. If you told me a couple years ago that one of my most anticipated games would be a Shin Megami Tensei x Digimon hybrid where your ‘mon can perish for good if they fall in battle, I’d have called you a liar. Yet here we are. Sure, I’m jazzed about the likes of Horizon Forbidden West, Elden Ring, a potential new Street Fighter game, maybe the new Hollow Knight and Pokemon Legends Arceus (even if they did butcher my boy, Scyther)… but I just can’t take my bloody eyes of Digimon for some reason. Guess it’s time to go play the PSOne Digimon World for a bit to tide me over.
Stephany Nunneley – News Editor
Most Anticipated Game: Elden Ring In February, Elden Ring will finally arrive after what seems like a long wait. Well, in the grand scheme of game development, the wait hasn’t been too terribly long, but for those of us wanting to get our hands on it, it sure seems like it. As someone who has read most of George RR Martin’s novels, and has almost broken many a controller playing Hidetaka Miyazaki games, I have to say I have been looking forward to playing this game ever since its initial announcement. I am particularly interested in learning the overarching backstory which Martin wrote and while there is a narrative, like the Souls series, we will likely be interpreting the story for ourselves. And from what I have seen so far, I am really keen on the dark medieval fantasy style of the game and I cannot wait until I am faced with a dragon dropping out of the sky on me as I ride across the Lands Between. Because there are two of us in the house, I will be picking this up on day one for both PC and Xbox One when it drops on February 25. It sure would be nice if I could nab an Xbox Series X before then to play it on, but, I am not counting on that happening. Runner-Up: Other titles I am looking forward to this year, so far, include Evil Dead: The Game and Cuphead - The Delicious Last Course.
Dorrani Williams - Video Producer
Most Anticipated Game: Elden Ring I never thought I’d be this guy; I’m a competitive shooter fan and MOBA player so why am I so f*cking hyped for Elden ring, man! Damn, I never thought it would come to this. Over the holidays I made the silly mistake of playing Sekiro and Bloodborne and fell in love with the challenge the FromSoft’s games have to offer. Intricate map designs, weighty combat, side quests I have to Google the solution for, and the most infuriating boss battles I’ve ever experienced… yes, I’m looking at you, Guardian Ape! I’ve never been there at the release of a FromSoft game before, but I’m excited to be a part of the community from the jump this time and also have those water cooler conversations with my friends who are also excited to play it. Roll on February 25. Runner-Up: The Day Before This runner up list could really include about 10+ games but the rest of the VG247 team have done a good job speaking about the obvious bangers this year. I’m going to take a different approach and highlight a game that I’m really rooting for, The Day Before. The Day Before’s concept is my dream game! An open-world MMO survival shooter that’s taken clear inspiration mainly from The Last of Us and The Division, but I can see some DayZ sprinkled in there, too. The visuals are undeniably good – proper new-gen stuff – but I’m cautiously optimistic and won’t believe it until im playing it because I used to watch a little show called The Real Hustle on BBC Three that had a famous saying “if it looks to good to be true, it probably is”.
