22 AAA Games to Watch in 2022

22 AAA Games to Watch in 2022

I’ve got more than a little trepidation about writing a list of 22 AAA Games to Watch in 2022.

Because, hands up, I was ambitious about 2021. Too ambitious. Of the 21 games I listed last year, only 13 actually came out. 

So let’s take those remaining as definitely coming out in 2022 and that we’re all excited for them.

So go back, all my comments still stand. 

For everything else, let’s go through 22 AAA Games to Watch in 2022. (And please let’s all pretend they won’t slip to 2023)

Total War: Warhammer III

I cannot stress how little I believed Total Warhammer III could excite me with new things. They’d filled in almost every faction in the Old World and even expanded the Vampire Pirates to make it viable. 

Sure they could add the four demonic factions of the Chaos Gods, that would be cool. Ogres too! Big bunch of lads eating stuff. Great work. 

But then you offer me Kislev?! A faction which has something like 20 Models Total, ever? And work with GW to design and flesh out the entire region of Cathay!?

Day one, take my money Creative Assembly and let me finally start the Mortal Empires Campaign that will span the entirety of The Old World. 

Launching February 17th on Steam, Epic and Day One on Gamepass for PC. 

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin 

This list is made up of AAA Games to Watch in 2022, and this entry exemplifies why. 

I don’t actually so much want to play Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. But I do want to know exactly what it is. 

Some sort of weird retelling of Final Fantasy 1?

An isekai story about people falling into the FF games and becoming the warrior of light? 

Something even more meta and nonsensical?

I don’t know! But I’m very excited to watch people find out. That Team Ninja tend to make actually pretty good action games in general is just the icing on the cake. 

Launching on PC as well as the Xbox and Playstation console families on March 18th, 2022

Redfall 

The pitch: A Co-op first person shooter… but with Vampires. And also by Arkane Austin.

Set on an island controlled by science mistake vampires, literally where the sun don’t shine (because the vampires blocked it out)

Arkane make fantastically detailed worlds so delving into a horror setting feels like it will be new territory for the studio to explore. It also looks absurdly stylish.

With the Co-op FPS genre being as quite as saturated as it is, it’ll take something special to stand out. Can a highly detailed world and a fun take on a classic setting make the difference?

We’ll find out when Redfall releases on PC and Xbox in 2022(?)

Dead Space 

Alright, this one might be ambitious to put on a list of AAA games to watch in 2022. Dead Space (2008) is getting a remake which “in theory” will be releasing by the end of the year. Coming from Motive Studios (of the excellent Star Wars Squadrons) we know that this will be a remake rather than a remaster. 

As such, beyond just a simple graphical upscaling, this should involve fixing elements of the story that didn’t quite work as well as overhauling the mechanics and gameplay for modern audiences. 

Remakes are tricky! Just ask the team behind XIII. But for many folks, more Dead Space of any kind is hopefully worth a little bit of change. 

Coming (hopefully) late 2022 on PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5

The Callisto Protocol 

So a Dead Space Remake from Motive doesn’t quite thrill you. You’re a fan of the original, don’t trust new folks to get the spirit right. 

Great news! 

Glen Schofield was the original creator of Dead Space. His new home of Striking Distance Studios is making a sci fi horror game where you play one unfortunate man caught up in the midst of an alien incursion, using whatever tools are at hand to survive. 

Sound familiar?

With a special focus on taking advantage of Next Gen consoles ability to use new lighting, sound and haptic feedback techniques, The Callisto Protocol is being positioned to bring real horror into the next console generation.

Coming 2022 on PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5.

(Though hopefully not the same time as Dead Space. Because that would get messy)