2020 and 2021 were some of the worst years on record for video games. With the worldwide pandemic slowing the whole industry to a crawl, then causing development issues to arise with the increase of “crush” development where staff would be working long overtime for next to no extra pay, and also not sleeping for days at a time, showing the whole world the terrible practices that gaming companies are put under to create the games we play. Then there are the other issues, like mistreatment in the workplace, and management who just do not get the hint about what they have done wrong.
Outside of the company problems, there were other things happening that would cause the games industry, and its players, a lot of issues: Like games coming out unfinished (Looking at you Cyberpunk 2077) or just lacking any Quality Testing (Grand Theft Auto: The Definitive Edition for example), and other games going heavily down the microtransaction route or just developers thinking that they know what the player base wants more than the players do.
But let’s put all these things aside and look towards the future. The second half of 2021 showed us that the gaming drought is over and there are a LOT of games coming up in 2022. So, let’s have a look at some of the games that I personally am looking forward to playing in 2022.
Name: WWE 2K22
Developer: Visual Concepts
Publisher: 2K Sports
Release Date: March 2022
While I’m no longer a fan of WWE in general, I’m still looking forward to this new version of the WWE 2K series. After the disaster that was WWE 2K20, and the microtransaction mess that was WWE Battlegrounds, Visual Concepts has taken everything back to the drawing board with WWE 2K22 and rebuilding it all from the ground up. It’s very possible that WWE 2K22 can become a terrible mess that is found in other 2K Sports franchise games like NBA 2K, with microtransactions mixed into the career mode so much it overtakes things, however, it’s possible that we could get one of the best wrestling simulation games ever made since 2K Sports is known for being very technical and realistic in their games.
On the other hand, given the huge amount of roster releases that have happened in WWE in 2021, it’s going to be hard to see if there is anyone on the roster I give a damn about and if there are any stories in the career mode that will make things exciting. But in the end, I’d mostly be getting WWE 2K22 in order to download all those lovely character creations and arena mods to change it from a WWE game to an AEW game while waiting for AEW to get things into gear and release their video game.
Name: Saints Row
Developer: Volition
Publisher: Deep Silver
Release Date: August 23, 2022
I’ve been a fan of the Saints Row games for a long time, but I often don’t get a chance to talk about them. So when this new version got announced, I started getting excited for all the wacky and over-the-top action that the series has become known for… However, the more I watched the gameplay, the more I read interviews with the developers, the more my excitement for Saints Row began to waver.
Seeing Saints Row “return to its roots” with it trying to be a more serious open-world action gang game, I think Saints Row is losing on what made it stand out from other games of the same type like Crackdown and Grand Theft Auto. Then there is the attitude of the developers, who have come out saying that this game is all about inclusion, diversity, and other buzzwords that companies like to throw around these days to please the Twitter mobs. I hate this current trend where developers try to market everything to the “Gen Z” players, many of whom don’t understand a game like Saints Row, won’t play the game, and will only bitch about it on Twitter.
Name: Sifu
Developer: Sloclap
Publisher: Sloclap
Release Date: February 8, 2022
Sifu is one of those games that sells me on its concept alone. Playing as a Martial Arts Master who only grows older after each defeat, you seem to go through various different levels fighting against gang members. At this time there is not too much known about the story of Sifu, but I look forward to learning more about the game thanks to the preview that was sent to the outlet recently. When the full game is released, its still going to be a mystery to me and that is something that excites me, even more, to play come Feb 2022.
Name: Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: 2K Games
Release Date: March 25, 2022
Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon’s Keep was one of the best expansions from Borderlands 2, far surpassing anything that Borderlands 3 had to offer. So when Gearbox announced that they are making a full stand-alone game based on the “Bunkers and Badasses” concept, then I’m already all in. Since Gearbox announced Wonderlands, they re-released Assault on Dragon’s Keep as a stand-alone game so everyone could get a taste of the madness that is to come, a game that I am currently playing again to remind myself of what is coming up in March.
Name: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge
Developer: Tribute Games
Publisher: DotEmu
Release Date: Unknown Date – 2022
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has spent some time reading anything I write here at The Outerhaven. My love of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been published over and over again, from the toys to the cartoons, to just about everything else in between. I’ve published more TMNT content on this site than anyone else here, and I’m not going to stop.
So when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, a game based in the older 1988 cartoon designs, complete with gameplay ripped right out of some of the best TMNT video games out there: The Konami arcade games, was announced; I was beyond hyped to see what the developers at Tribute Games have come up with using the Heroes in a Half-Shell. Also, with the addition of April in the character lineup, it looks like this game might even surpass the arcade games of the day… If only we get a release date in the next 12 months.
