The biggest and best video games coming out in early 2022

Olivia Richman Published 15/12/2021

There is an abundance of exciting games coming in 2022 for fans of all genres.

After an underwhelming 2021, 2022 is set to be an enormous year for gamers. Things are going to get kickstarted immediately.

Gamers have been seeing big releases teased in E3, Nintendo Direct, The Game Awards, and other big industry presentations. We have compiled all of the most interesting video games to keep an eye out for in the next few months.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvXnV2HMQ9s

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a Pokemon game like none other. The game takes place in the Hisui region, a forerunner to the Sinnoh region, where the Galaxy Expedition Team has come to study Pokemon in their natural habitat. Their center of operations lies in Jubilife Village, which also acts as your base.

Villagers will send you out on excursions. Once you are prepared for these adventures, get ready to openly explore different areas of the Hisui region. There you will discover a variety of Pokemon, including familiar faces and new regional variants. The goal is to build the region’s first-ever Pokedex.

While not open-world like players originally thought, this is still an epic Pokemon adventure that offers a variety of new features to the series.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is coming on January 28, 2022 to the Nintendo Switch.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68bZ1LKKh7Q

Dying Light came out in 2015 and now the survival horror game is back, available with a single-player adventure and four-player co-op. Set in a zombie-filled, apocalyptic, open-world environment 20 years after the original Dying Light, Aiden Caldwell uses his agility to explore City during the Modern Dark Ages. Aiden can quickly navigate the city with his parkour abilities and bludgeon new foes with a variety of melee weapons.

City is four times larger than the open world featured in the first Dying Light, giving players even more to explore while scavenging for supplies. You’ll come across various factions and settlements, allowing you to have interactions that shape how the other people see and react to Aiden. Players can either help or destroy various factions, with decisions having a ripple effect across the game’s world.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human is coming on February 4, 2022 and will be available on PC and modern Xbox and PlayStation consoles

Horizon Forbidden West

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQATS4HOxdo

Horizon Forbidden West is a sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn, following Aloy six months after the ending of the original. While on a quest to find the source of a mysterious and lethal plague, Aloy discovers the Forbidden West, a hostile region filled with the same sort of half-mechanical, half-organic monsters seen in the original.

Playing through ruined cities, tropical beaches, lush valleys, and snowy mountains, players will become immersed in a variety of environments as they fight new enemies. Throughout the journey, Aloy will start to uncover the reason the Earth is collapsing.

Like the first game, players can salvage and forage for items that are turned into weapons and supplies. The big change to the game is the addition of underwater exploration and the introduction of an even larger map.

Horizon Forbidden West is coming out February 18, 2021 for PlayStation 4 and 5.

Elden Ring

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3Huy2cdih0

If you’re looking for an action role-playing game that takes place in an intense fantasy world, look no further. From Software’s collaboration with fantasy novelist George R. R. Martin drops players off in the realm known as the Lands Between, which is now ruled over by a demigod corrupted by a shard of the Elden Ring.

Players must explore the realm to find all of these shards, known as Great Runes, to restore the Elden Ring and become the Elden Lord. But doing so comes with many challenges throughout the six main areas, which can all be explored freely. Combat is similar to previous Souls games, but with the addition of mounted combat and the ability to summon spirits to help in battle.

Game director Hidetaka Miyazaki said there will be a lot of customization. So far, special attack similar to Sekiro’s Combat Arts have been shown. There will also be a crafting in the same vein as other open-world games.

Elden Ring is coming February 25, 2022 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3LAkr0ANgw

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is an entirely new way to experience a Kirby adventure. It’s the first 3D Kirby game, allowing players to freely navigate areas while copying abilities and exploring a mysterious ruined city.

Kirby awakens in a “new world” where a past civilization seems to have long since disappeared. Instead, the land is inhabited by “Beast Corps,” enemies who seem to want Kirby eliminated. The Beast Corps have also kidnapped Waddle Dees, meaning it’s up to Kirby and his new allies to rescue them.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land was accidentally leaked by Nintendo before the Direct. It seems to be inspired by Kirby GCN, a canceled Nintendo Gamecube game. Now, Kirby fans’ dreams are finally coming true.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is coming to Nintendo Switch in Spring 2022.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-RAqyHU48M

This action role-playing first-person shooter is a spin-off of the popular Borderlands series. It’s based on Borderland 2’s expansion, Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep, taking place directly after its finale. This multiplayer game features split-screen action and allows players to create their own playable characters with mixed and matched skills.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderland features the same loot system from the original Borderlands series, which means there’s an abundance of weapons and gear that increase in power depending on their level. This is the first time that the series will have melee weapons. Players can also cast magical spells that range from catastrophic to funny.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderland is coming out on March 25, 2022, available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

View full profile