Metal Slug Tactics
Classic Metal Slug, but in an entirely new form. I spent a lot of time as a kid playing Metal Slug games, and the series holds a special place for me as a result. The reveal of the latest game in the series as a gridbased tactical RPG with some roguelike elements has my interest piqued.
With all the evidence so far suggesting that Metal Slug Tactics will hold on to the same retro artistic sensibilities but presented from a completely new angle, there’s a lot to look forward to on Nintendo Switch and PC in 2022.
Oxenfree II: Lost Signals
Keeping this in the indie section despite Night School Studio being acquired by Netflix because 1. They were working on Oxenfree II: Lost Signals before all that and 2. I really like Oxenfree.
Set five years after the original game, Oxenfree II reckons with the events of Oxenfree, exploring the effects of the strange radio waves on the small coastal community setting of the first game. More than that, it promises the same incredible dialogue systems and conversations that the first game made so meaningful, especially with an angle of how the past, present and futures of the cast will be impacted by the eerie phenomena of the otherworld breaking through.
Breaching the veil sometime in 2022 on PC, Switch and Playstation Consoles
A Little To The Left
Sometimes the simplest games can be the most promising. All A Little to the Left asks of you is to find the order that various objects can be stacked in, then stack them. SImple, evocative visuals bring the humdrum knick knacks of a home to life, and the risk of a wayward cat scattering your successful stacks offer some level of danger to taking too long.
A Little to the Left brings order to chaos when it releases on Mac and PC in April 2022,
Star Trek: Resurgence
Like many people, I took the Pandemic as a chance to develop myself, my work ethic and learn new hobbies. And then I knocked that on the head and started watching all the Star Trek series through. (Sisko is the best captain FYI)
So the idea of a new Star Trek adventure game from the folks fleeing the reanimated corpse of Telltale makes me interested. Promising a “Choice Driven Adventure” in the classic setting, Resurgence has the look of a classic Telltale Game. Explore environments, solve mini puzzles, make choices that other characters will remember.
The questions are whether 1. People can enjoy a Telltale game in that fashion so many years later and 2. How comfortable Trek fans can get with the first game in the Franchse in years (not adapting a JJ Abrams Movie that is)
Boldly going on to Playstation, Xbox and PC in 2022.
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
The Spiritual Successor to Jet Set Radio, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk looks to replicate everything great about that game as players attempt to tag graffiti on any surface they can reach. Incredibly punk cel shaded visuals, free flowing movement based around developing strings of combos before the timer runs out and a soundtrack from the mind of Hideki Naganuma.
Beyond anything else, the Steam Page for the game promises that “You will encounter a lot of weirdos” and what more could anyone possibly ask for than that.
Styling hard on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2022
Arc Raiders
A free to play co-op sci fi shooter wouldn’t normally rate too high on my radar, but Arc Raiders has two extra things in it’s favour. 1. It’s a squad of AI players fighting absolutely gargantuan robot aliens. 2. It’s made by a bunch of Ex-DICE and Battlefield developers. With a 70’s pulp sci fi inspired aesthetic, and a whole lot of talent behind an intriguing premise, Arc Raiders will hopefully stand out from the many other co-operative shooters releasing in 2022.
Appearing on Playstation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC some point in 2022.