2021 will not be remembered as a great year for the world of video games. The coronavirus, the supply crisis and chip shortage were conspired to create a perfect storm that affected the entire industry, marring the arrival of the new home consoles from Sony (PS5) and Microsoft (Xbox Series S and X) and, above all, delaying several of the games that are most popular. they were waiting for last year. The good part? That 2022 will reap all the fruits of the industry, promising a year full of major works.
The first big title will arrive on the 28th of this month and will be Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the new installment of the role-playing game and monster collection (remember, the most profitable franchise in history) for Nintendo Switch, which will bet on a three-dimensional open world. In february will arrive Dying Light 2 for all platforms, the sequel to the zombie action game that came out in 2015; but it will be at the end of the month when two of the jewels of the year appear: on the one hand, Horizon Forbidden West (PS5 and PS4), sequel to the colorful post-apocalyptic world full of mechanical beasts that enchanted players in 2017, and on the other the medieval dark fantasy multiplatform Elden Ring, which involves the collision of two titans: Hidetaka Miyazaki, father of the third-person role-playing saga Dark Souls (the most influential game of the past decade), and none other than George RR Martin, the writer of Game of Thrones, who is in charge of the story. A safe bet.
If in 2020 it was Forza Horizon 5 the one who presented his candidacy for the great car game, this year he will be the Gran Turismo 7, which will arrive in March on Sony consoles. As video games are an iterative medium (that is, the playable formula is refined as the different continuations appear) it is not surprising that this list is full of sequels, but what is becoming less and less strange is to watch remakes and tuning. One of the most anticipated is the Grand Theft Auto V for PS5 and Xbox Series, which will appear in March. The original, which came out in 2013, is also one of the most beloved games in history. for its mix of action and driving, the most profitable cultural product in history (last April it had raised more than 6,000 million dollars). Now it will generate even more money. In april will arrive STALKER 2, one of the great promises of Xbox and PC, and in May Forspoken (for PS5 and PC), an adventure of magic and fantasy from the developer of Final Fantasy, Square Enix.
Dates uncertain
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Video games are not like movies or series; delays are more frequent and many announce their departure date shortly before they appear on the market. For this reason, many of the most anticipated games of this year have not confirmed the day of their arrival, although they are expected for the second semester.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 (Switch) will undoubtedly be one of the game of the year candidates. For the Nintendo console they will also arrive (in principle) Metroid Prime 4 Y Bayonetta 3. Another of the great candidate games for all the awards will be God of War: Ragnarok (PS5 and PS4), which continues the path traced by its predecessor, which places the Greek god Kratos in a setting of Norse mythology. And at the end of the year, hopefully, fans will be able to enjoy another of the great blockbusters that are looming on the horizon: Final Fantasy XVI. Another of the most beloved fantasy sagas, Harry Potter, you will return to the virtual world with the open world game (and for all platforms) Hogwarts Legacy. And two sequels that promise to delight players will be Hollow Knight: Silksong (PC y Switch) y Hellblade 2 (Xbox and PC). And, if it is not delayed, another of the most anticipated has its basis in another great literary saga: The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which will tell the story from the perspective of the grimoso (ex) owner of the unique ring.
Independent jewels
Eleven years after the launch of TES V: Skyrim, one of the best-selling titles of the decade, the giant Bethesda will present this November Starfield (Xbox and PC), his new flagship, with which he will replace the magical medieval world with spaceships and stars. But, as in other arts, not all good stories are preceded by a big budget. It is the case of the so-called indies (from independents, in English), games developed by a small group of people with limited capital.
The representation of this type of projects for the new year will come from the hand of Stray, a multiplatform where the player will put himself in the shoes of a lost cat that is looking for his family in streets full of neon lights and robots. Will also arrive Card Shark (Switch and PC), a card game set in the France of the Enlightenment, in which you will have to climb social strata by cheating the games. With a pixelated art style, which combines 2D with 3D, he presents his proposal Replaced (Xbox and PC), with settings and a musical setting reminiscent of the adventures of Rick Deckard in the film Blade Runner (1982). Other indie warranty for PlayStation will be Little Devil Inside: You are a mercenary in Victorian times, and a university professor hires you to investigate the paranormal activities of the region.
Of course, large online multiplayer players will continue to dominate a large part of the market, as they have been doing in recent years: League of Legends, Fortnite, Genshin Impact, Fifa The Minecraft. But, taking into account the new launches on the agenda, this 2022 promises to be a year that is going to give a lot of play.