Warhammer 40k: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters
Resurrecting the turn based strategy name of Chaos Gate from 1998(!), Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters is a brand new 40k title holding to a fan favourite legacy. Moving from controlling a company of Ultramarines to a single squad of Grey Knights, Complex Games seek to capture the hearts and minds of players by modernising the strategy RPG game.
Which means we’re referencing X-Com. An overarching strategy layer sees a story unfold where the Grey Knights must seek to stop a daemonic infection from the forces of the plague god Nurgle, with a story penned by the much loved franchise writer Aaron Dembski-Bowden,
With a strong legacy behind the name, a favourite writer in the narrative seat and a tried and tested formula for the gameplay, Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters has an awful lot going for it. Can it live up to that?
We’ll find out when it translates into realspace in 2022 on PC
Dordogne
Look at Dorgdogne! Just look at it! Beautiful watercolour paintings in motion. Capturing the experience of player character Mimi as both a 32 year old woman mourning her grandmother through exploring her home, and immersing herself in the memories of a 10 year old girl in the past living with her grandmother in Dordogne.
Promising a beautiful and hopefully poignant experience, I can only hope that the game itself will live up to the promise made by that art design.
Releasing in October 2022 on PC and Switch, we’ll find out by year’s end.
The Pale Beyond
Alright, disclosure, I know some of these folks as the studio is local! Inspired by Polar Expeditions and Victorian era adventurers, The Pale Beyond sees your expedition trapped in a frozen wasteland where you’ll have to manage resources and people to ensure as many people survive as possible. Because the Captain is gone, and the lives of all these people (and the snow dogs) now depend on your decision making.
Boasting an eyecatching hand drawn artstyle inspired by victorian etchings and with a firm emphasis on narrative and hard decision making, The Pale Beyond will have you making cold choices when it releases on PC in 2022.
Somerville
Yes, Somerville is a narrative game set after the apocalypse where you’re trying to keep your family together while navigating the mysteries of the mysterious antagonists.
That’s something there’s been a lot of, but hold on.
What if I said that it was created by a new studio with DNA from Playdead (Of Limbo and Inside) fame, and seemingly more than a little DNA from those games in their inspirations.
A narrative adventure game seemingly more about exploring what the world looks like after the end of the world, and also how normal people carry on and deal with their new reality.
Plus that visual style looks fundamentally stunning in its simplicity.
We’ll see whether Somerville can stand out from all the other post-apocalyptic games in 2022 when it releases on PC and Xbox Consoles.
We Are OFK
Billed as equal parts a Making of The Band Series and Interactive EP, We Are OFK is a visual novel/music video that chronicles the LA lifestyle and trials of tribulations of the titular OFK.
With some of the softest art on this list, making excellent use of the modern style, We Are OFK also has my favourite user interface on this list of Indie Games to watch in 2022. Every time a dialogue choice comes up or a phone conversation appears, I marvel at yet more wonderful aesthetic choices.
Will We Are OFK make the top 10 in 2022? We’ll find out when it releases on Playstation Consoles and PC.