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However, while the aforementioned titles will likely top most people’s most-wanted lists, there are also plenty of new IPs looming large on the horizon, many of which seem to be shaping up to be every bit as good. In fact, without the weight of expectation pressing down upon their shoulders, these impressive new IPs have the potential to be some of the best games of 2022.
Forspoken
It’s very rare for a brand-new IP to attract quite as much hype and attention as Forspoken, though, looking at all of the gameplay footage released so far, it’s easy to see why. The game looks fantastic and boasts some of the most fluid and fast-paced action of the current console generation. The latter doesn’t just apply to combat either, but also to map traversal, which is something that many other open-world action RPGs have struggled with in recent times, more so as the size of those worlds has grown larger and larger.
Originally announced as Project Athia in mid-2022, Forspoken is one of several PS5-exclusive titles currently being worked on by Square Enix and was at one point slated to release in May of 2022. However, just a few months before its planned release date, Forspoken was pushed back to October to give the team more time to polish the title so that it better matches their vision. Though disappointing to some, many praised this decision, which will almost certainly lead to a better end product.
Starfield
Another of 2022’s most anticipated games, Starfield has been in the works for quite some time. First announced at E3 2018, it will be the first new IP developed by Bethesda in more than a quarter of a century, with the team having devoted almost every ounce of its attention to the Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises during that time. Due to the pedigree of those series, to say that expectations are a little high for Starfield would be a bit of an understatement. In fact, like the game itself, they’re out of this world.
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Starfield will take place across numerous star systems some 200 years in the future and has previously been described by Todd Howard as “Skyrim in Space.” Set against the backdrop of a beautifully rendered star-filled sky, the game looks truly stunning and boasts both regular and vehicular combat. Players will also be able to switch freely between first and third-person perspectives, allowing them to choose the one which works best for them. The game will be incredibly realistic too, with Elon Musk and SpaceX having reportedly helped to provide some of the finer details.
The Quarry
Though not everybody is a fan of interactive drama games, most will likely be in agreement that Supermassive Games are one of the genre’s true pioneers. Together with Quantic Dream, the developer has been responsible for many of the very best examples over the past decade or so, and The Quarry seems destined to be yet another horrifying hit for the blossoming British studio.
Set in a summer camp that feels eerily reminiscent of the one from Friday the 13th, The Quarry will once again make use of the studio’s fantastic facial mapping expertise to include some of the very best character models around. The game will also feature a movie mode, enabling players to disable things like QTEs and action scenes so that they can better focus on the branching storyline. Though a single-playthrough will only last around ten hours, the plethora of choice-based possibilities - which can lead to a staggering 186 different endings - should add a lot of replayability to the experience.
Stray
Stray was one of the more unusual announcements to come out of PlayStation’s Future of Gaming event in mid-2020, though it could perhaps be argued that this actually helped it to stand out. It’s a third-person adventure game in which players control a stray cat and must explore a futuristic world inhabited by robots rather than humans. One of these robots is a drone called B12, which will serve as a companion character of sorts.
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Set in a world that was heavily inspired by Kowloon Walled City, Stray will feature puzzles, platforming, and combat, as well as a fully-fledged narrative. How exactly the latter will work given that the playable protagonist is a stray cat remains to be seen, though there are seemingly a lot of people who are eager to find out. For those who love games about animals or anyone who enjoys exploring beautifully-rendered environments from unique perspectives, Stray may just end up being one of the best games of 2022.
Wanted: Dead
Described by its publisher as “a AAA love letter to the sixth generation of video game consoles,” Wanted: Dead has crept under the radar to a certain degree. It was first announced during 110 Industries’ presentation at the 2021 Tokyo Game Show, with several trailers dropping in the months since. However, the team behind the project seem content with quietly going about their business for the time being, with minimal marketing having taken place thus far. Given how epic some of the footage released has been though, it may not end up needing all that much of a push.
Wanted: Dead is being developed by Japanese studio Soleil, which is made up of several former Team Ninja developers who worked on the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden franchises. It will draw much of its inspiration from the latter, with players able to slice off the limbs of their enemies using their trusty katana as they explore the rundown remains of a futuristic version of Hong Kong. They’ll also have an impressive array of guns at their disposal, which should help to keep combat feeling fresh for the duration of the game.
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