2022 is set to be a huge year for gaming and there are several highly-anticipated RPGs that fans can't wait to play, including Starfield. These RPGs have the potential to be the most commercially successful games of the year, as the hype levels are off the charts for some of them, even though they are months away.
2021 was a great year for RPG releases. The Nintendo Switch had some fantastic exclusives, including Monster Hunter Rise, Shin Megami Tensei V, and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. There were some amazing multiplatform titles, like Neo: The World Ends With You, Tales of Arise, and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. The PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S are still trying to get their exclusives out of the door, so they didn't have much in the way of RPGs, but that's set to change in the coming year.
The action RPG and turn-based RPG genre are set to receive a number of games in 2022, including Babylon's Fall, Triangle Strategy, Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream, Tunic, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, and Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong. There are some high-profile titles that are set to be released throughout the year, which fans have waited years to play. The time for these games to hit store shelves is almost here, and only the ever-present threat of a last-minute release date delay will keep these RPGs out of gamers' hands in 2022.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus Will Release January 26
The Nintendo Switch is kicking the year off strong with a huge exclusive, as Pokémon Legends: Arceus is set to launch in January. The Pokémon series is going back to the past, as the next entry is set centuries before the events of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl when the Sinnoh region was known as the Hisui region. The land of Hisui is an untamed wilderness, home to all kinds of powerful Pokémon that don't exist in the modern era. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is going for more of an action-oriented approach, with the player exploring the wilderness and having more of a role in battles, rather than the stationary Pokémon trainers of the mainline games.
Elden Ring's Release Date Is February 25
FromSoftware may well have the most highly-anticipated game of 2022 on its hands. Elden Ring is a collaboration between Dark Souls creator FromSoftware, and A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin, in what is the latest entry in the Soulsborne series. Elden Ring is set in the realm of the Lands Between, where the Elden Ring has been destroyed, leaving only powerful shards behind. The shards have fallen into the hands of powerful beings that have been corrupted by their magic. It's up to the player to slay these foes, reclaim the shards, and restore the Elden Ring to its former glory. The previews of Elden Ring have been overwhelmingly positive, with fans praising its vast world and implementation of mounted combat mechanics. Elden Ring may be a strong contender for 2022's GOTY and all titles released after it will have to suffer by comparison.
Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Should Drop On March 18
2022 will mark the 35th anniversary of the Final Fantasy series, which will be marked by an unusual remake of the original Final Fantasy in the series. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a Soulslike retelling of the original storyline, where the Warriors of Light are not quite the heroes of legends, and their leader may eventually become a villain that threatens to warp time itself. There have been two demos released of Stranger of Paradise so far and the second one improved the quality of the controls and given fans a glimpse of the world outside of the Chaos Shrine, with the promise that the entire world of FF1 will be part of the game. The people who want to experience the original FF1 can do so in the Pixel Remaster series, but the first world of the franchise is being reborn on modern systems in 2022 as Stranger of Paradise.
Forspoken Will Come Out May 24
Forspoken is an PS5 console exclusive by Square Enix, which combines sorcery with fast-paced parkour action. The protagonist of Forspoken is a woman named Frey, who resides in New York City. Frey is transported to the world of Athia, where she learns how to use magic. Athia is currently being taken over by a magical mist, called the Break, which is uninhabitable to humans. Frey is able to survive within the Break, so she departs on a quest to find its source. Forspoken lets the player unleash powerful spells against their foes while using magic to quickly traverse its vast and beautiful world. The last preview of Forspoken's brand of magical parkour showed some technical hitches with the game and it's a strong contender for being delayed, but it seems far enough in development that it should still launch in 2022.
Starfield's Release Date Is November 11
It's almost time for Microsoft's $7.5 billion buyout of ZeniMax Media to start bearing fruit, as Starfield is coming to PC and Xbox Series X in November. Starfield is a sci-fi action RPG by Bethesda, set three hundred years in the future, where mankind is exploring the outer reaches of space. The storyline starts twenty years after the Colony Wars, where the two major factions in the galaxy once fought among the stars. Bethesda hasn't shown much gameplay footage of Starfield, but it has nearly a year to build up hype and get fans excited. The fact that Starfield is coming to Xbox Game on day one will also be a huge moment for Microsoft's subscription service and could be the turning point in the current console war.
Baldur's Gate III Should Release Its 1.0 Version In 2022
Larian Studios has said that it's aiming for a 2022 release date for Baldur's Gate 3, but the game currently lacks a solid date. Baldur's Gate 3 is set in the same world as the previous games but isn't a direct sequel to their story. The game uses the fifth edition rules of Dungeons & Dragons, with the player creating a character who is swiftly captured by Mind Flayers and has a parasitic worm inserted into their brain. It's up to the player to find a way to cure their condition or risk turning into a hideous monster of dark fantasy that would also feel at home in Elden Ring's world. Baldur's Gate 3 is currently in Early Access on Google Stadia and PC, so those who want to check out the first part of the game and explore some dungeons can do so right now, rather than keep waiting for Pokémon Legends: Arceus or Starfield to finally come out.
