For many, the PS5 is the number-one platform for playing engaging titles. The latest console in Sony's illustrious line-up is a magnificent piece of hardware, made all the more desirable thanks to its improved capabilities and the innovative DualSense controller. Plus, aside from its specs, the PS5 has one more thing going for it: a fantastic array of games all set to launch on it in 2022.
A strong batch of PlayStation exclusives is lined up for the new year, including but not limited to God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, and GhostWire: Tokyo. And even discounting console exclusives, great third-party games are shuttling their way to the PS5 as well. Honestly, we here at TheGamer couldn't be more excited for the coming year. We all know exactly what we'll be playing on our PS5s in 2022.
Stray
by Meg Pelliccio
If you've ever looked at your pet cat and envied it for its more simple existence, then you can finally get a peek at what it's like to live life to the fullest as a feline in Stray. This interesting and unique game by BlueTwelve Studio has players taking to all four paws and hitting the streets in a cyber-themed world inhabited by curious robot humanoids. Fortunately, you won't be alone in your quest to reunite with your family, as you'll have the help of your drone buddy named B12.
You'll have to solve puzzles by navigating around the environment and moving objects to progress, roaming around on the sly, or choosing to unleash your inner kitten and being playful with your surroundings. While they say it's curiosity that killed the cat, in this game, it's the dreaded Zurks that will swarm and attack you. Cats, robots, a sprawling neon-lit city, and a mystery to solve? Stray looks like the purr-fect recipe for success.
Hogwarts Legacy
by Harry Alston
A return to the world of Harry Potter is on the Chocolate Frog Cards, even though I read the final book well over a decade ago. Those clunky Harry Potter games on the PlayStation 2 must've stuck with me because Hogwarts Legacy looks like a nostalgic throwback and then some. However, there are no iconic characters here. The game is set in the 1800s. But that's not a bad thing. It'll be a totally fresh take on the universe of Harry Potter, with flying carriages rather than Ford Anglias. After several delays, Avalanche Software's Hogwarts Legacy is set for a 2022 release.
If the promise of the trailers is even half delivered, then this is going to be one magical game. It's a title that fans of the series have been looking forward to for years and years. An action RPG set in the open-world of Hogwarts and beyond? Here's hoping that every nook of the castle is explorable, that there are collectible beans (because of course), and slightly better wand-waggling mechanics than its predecessors.
Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals
by Andrea Shearon
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Back in 2016, I fell in love with Night School Studio's Oxenfree—a supernatural thriller about a small group of friends looking to host a relaxing little get-together at a nearby island. The '80s horror vibes and Oxenfree's sound design made it an adventure far more frightening than I had anticipated, and I can still vividly recall the terrifying, distorted radio noises coming through otherworldly rifts as that island grew more restless.
Oxenfree 2 takes place five years after the first game, dropping yet another unsuspecting young woman, Riley, into a town plagued by those same dimensional rifts. Night School hasn't revealed much more on what Riley has waiting for her, but a trailer does show she'll use those same haunting radio signals to make contact with something that doesn't come in peace.
Goodbye Volcano High
by Stacey Henley
Look, are you not sick of me by now? Goodbye Volcano High was my most anticipated game for 2021, as I mentioned both on our Most Anticipated Games For 2021 list and TheGamer podcast. After it was delayed, I also wrote about it on our Most Anticipated Games For 2022 list. It's a PS console exclusive so, yeah. It's my most anticipated PS game, what else did you expect?
If you've missed those lists and our podcasts, then first off, screw you, but also, here's a quick rundown. Goodbye Volcano High is Life is Strange if Max Caulfield was a non-binary dinosaur in a rock band. If that doesn't sell the game for you then I'm afraid I don't want to be your friend. Bye!
I'll check back in with a different game on our Xbox list, since Volcano High won't be on Xbox.
Far: Changing Tides
by Raphael Bennett
Far: Changing Tides is the sequel to the little-known side-scrolling adventure game, Far: Lone Sails. The original game put players in the shoes of a small captain steering a decrepit steampunk boat-on-wheels through a post-apocalyptic world. I say post-apocalypse, but I mean eerie, beautiful, and most importantly, still landscape.
The entire game is a push and pull between fueling the ship and hanging onto keepsakes of a long-lost world. If the team behind the original can keep the subdued storytelling of the original and deliver another gorgeous throughline, it'll be an absolute treat.
Elden Ring
by Stephanie Minor
I can't believe I can finally write about Elden Ring as a game with a definitive launch date. After spending months and months bashing my head into a wall every time we heard some kind of new rumor without any actual substance, it's finally coming! I could start explaining how Elden Ring's story is about the Tarnished who were banished from The Lands Between, but let's be real—I'm excited for it because George R. R. Martin collaborated with Hidetaka Miyazaki to bring us something that looks epic, terrifying, and fascinating.
I'm not sure how many times I watched the trailer in a row just to try to soak in all the details on the monsters and scenery, but I have a feeling I'll still be sitting here with my jaw dropped when Elden Ring launches in January 21, 2022.
The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum
by Roxxy Haze
My precious! Lord of the Rings continues to prove its timelessness with the recent collaboration with Build-A-Bear and next year with the release of its Gollum-themed game. I am looking forward to exploring Middle Earth as the corrupted Hobbit. It was announced in 2019 that the game was to have a 2020 release. However, it was delayed a year due to the pandemic. Since then, not much has been released about the game. What we do know is that the game is story-based and will be a single-player experience.
Personally, I love the cinematic feel that has been shown in clips and the trailer. Watching Gollum climbing and scaling walls makes me feel like I am right in the Misty Mountains with him. The Lord of The Rings: Gollum is set to be released sometime in Fall 2022 and will be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Life Is Strange Remastered Collection
by Amanda Hurych
Life Is Strange contains a veritable storm of aspects that makes it one of the premier choice-driven narrative games of its generation. The characters are unforgettable, the rewind mechanic lets you see the short-term consequences of your decisions, and who can forget that soundtrack. I'm still listening to songs that I got introduced to while playing Life Is Strange.
Not only will the release of the Remastered Collection give me a chance to revisit the world of Arcadia Bay on a new generation of consoles, it will also enhance the one feature of the game that was sorely lacking. While the art style of Life Is Strange is superb and fits the story well, some of the animations were less than stellar. A lot of the emotion from narrative beats relied solely on the voice acting and writing. With remastered visuals, the heart-wrenching twists and turns of Max and Chloe's journey will hit that much harder. I honestly can't wait to make the same mistakes over and over again.
God Of War Ragnarok
by George Foster
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Oh man, where do we even start with this one? Not only is God of War Ragnarok one of the most anticipated PS5 games of 2022, but it's also one of the most anticipated games on the console ever. It looks that good! Most of the excitement was before we'd even seen a trailer for it, but now that we've actually had a gameplay reveal, it looks to offer the same fantastically visceral combat of the first game, but in brand new locations and icier iterations of areas we've seen.
Even more exciting than the combat is the story, which looks to explore characters like Tyr and Thor with accuracy to the source material, whilst also continuing the tale of Kratos and the nearly grown-up Atreus. If it's even half as good as the first game, we're in for a treat here — now we just have to hope it actually launches in 2022!
Ghostwire: Tokyo
by Meg Pelliccio
Gaming giant Bethesda Softworks is delivering a brand new action-adventure game for players to sink their teeth into (or scare them silly) in 2022. Ghostwire: Tokyo has players stepping into a very different Tokyo than the one we know today, where most of the citizens have seemingly vanished and strange spirits have taken their place. This first-person game will have you using supernatural and elemental abilities to curb this serious case of haunting while you try to figure out the mystery of the missing population.
Amongst the spectral Visitors are well-known Japanese ghost and folk tales legends, all of which are running rampant in the modern cityscape that features recreations of real-world locations, such as Shibuya Crossing and Tokyo Tower. It's up to you to discover the truth and face the unbelievable in Ghostwire: Tokyo.