There are plenty of games coming this year (and next)
(iStock/The Independent)
Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for insider tips and product reviews from our shopping experts
Sign up for our free IndyBest email
With the impressive dualsense controller, SSD, 4K support and a growing library of exclusives, the PS5 is a force to be reckoned with.
The console has been on sale since November 2020, and it has been one of the fastest-selling in Sony’s history, which led to it being unavailable at most retailers for an extended period of time.
Now that the stock situation appears to have calmed down for console hunters – though it is worth noting there has been a recent price hike due to inflation – the good news is there is now a burgeoning library of games with even more titles on the horizon. The past year has been somewhat slower for the console, due to ongoing delays and supply shortages, but more releases are finally starting to hit the shelves.
Whether you’re looking for the biggest exclusives, such as God of War: Ragnarök or Forspoken, we’ll be sure to include every big PS5 title we’re looking forward to playing in 2022 and beyond. As was the case for 2021, games can become delayed after their initial release date, so we’ll be keeping this list up to date as soon as we hear of any developments.
We’ll also be including all other cross-platform releases that have a confirmed worldwide release date. To find out which games we’re looking forward to playing, read the rest of this article.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the next upcoming instalment in the long-running Call of Duty franchise, and a follow up to 2019’s Modern Warfare, which was itself a soft reboot for the series.
In new gameplay revealed in June, players got a chance to see some returning faces, such as “Soap” McTavish and “Ghost” Riley. Expect to see a brand new single-player campaign as well as updates to competitive multiplayer modes, with Warzone 2 set to arrive on 16 November 2022 as well.
Sonic Frontiers is the latest 3D Sonic the Hedgehog title that will see the titular blue blur race across vast open fields in a mysterious new setting. A story trailer released during Gamescom 2022 showed off new details about “Starfall Island”, a new open-zone setting where Sonic must rescue his friends from a mysterious ancient threat.
God of War Ragnarok is the upcoming sequel to 2018’s God of War, that sees anti-hero Kratos continue his rampage against the Norse pantheon, with his young son Atreus at his side.
God of War was a critically acclaimed reboot of the original franchise from Santa Monica Studios and is widely considered to be one of the best games on the PS4 so fans have been eagerly waiting to find out what happens in the next installment after God of War left the series on something of a cliff hanger.
In this highly anticipated sequel, a now teenaged Atreus seeks answers on how to prevent Ragnarök from happening with his father’s help. While searching for these answers, Kratos and Atreus set out to meet the Norse god of war, Týr, who was previously believed to be dead.
A series so good they skipped the second one, Goat Simulator 3 is the follow-up to the popular (if not entirely realistic) Goat Simulator, which sees players control their own goats as they wreak havoc around the neighbourhood.
This latest instalment will feature up to four-player cooperative modes, so you can join in the carnage with your friends.
A wild west story with a twist, Evil West is set on the American frontier, which has been consumed by a dark menace. A top-secret vampire-hunting institute is the final line between humanity and the deep-rooted terror that threatens the United States.
Unleash a barrage with lightning-powered weapons and gauntlets as you take down the world’s monstrosities in style, either as a lone hunter or in co-op mode with a friend.
The Dark Pictures Anthology series comprises stand-alone branching cinematic horror games from the studio behind Until Dawn.
The Devil in Me is the fourth game in the series and the “season one” finale. In this story, a group of documentarians receive a mysterious call inviting them to a modern-day replica of serial killer HH Holmes’ “murder castle”, which sounds just lovely.
From the creator’s of the critically acclaimed XCOM strategy games comes Marvel’s Midnight Suns. In the game, the demonic Lilith and her fearsome horde unite with the evil armies of Hydra. Lead a team of unlikely heroes including Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and Iron Man to stop a growing apocalyptic threat. Expect to see Firaxis’s tactical turn-based action in true XCOM style.
The Need for Speed series is back behind the driver’s seat with a bold new visual style. Compete in street races, outrun the police and build up your garage as you race to the top. Unbound also features collaborations from A$AP Rocky and AWGE, with a hip-hop heavy soundtrack, as racers tear through the heart of the game’s setting, Lakeshore.
The Callisto Protocol is an upcoming survival horror game from Striking Distance Studios. Helmed by Glen Schofield, co-creator of the original Dead Space from Visceral Games, this latest title is set to be one of the biggest space-based horror games to come out this year.
Set in 2320 at a prison colony called Black Iron, located on Jupiter’s moon Callisto, the player takes the role of prisoner Jacob Lee as he finds himself caught in the midst of an alien invasion.
In Hello Neighbor 2, players will need to sneak around their neighbour’s property to uncover its mysteries, all while evading the enigmatic presence of the moustachioed Mr Peterson. Where its predecessor was limited to the confines of one house, Hello Neighbor 2 will expand further and bring an entire town into the grand conspiracy.
Players will take control of Quentin, a reporter undergoing an investigation into several missing-person cases that brings him to the sleepy suburb of Raven Brooks. Many of the residents have secrets to hide, and each new neighbour is designed with unique AI and behaviours, such as the local baker, the mayor and the taxidermist.
Following on from the success of 2020’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and hitting shelves before the release of next year’s Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, this gameis an upcoming remaster of the highly acclaimed 2007 spin-off.
With characters such as Cloud Strife and Sephiroth making appearances, Crisis Core told a new story about Shinra and its team of mercenaries seven years before they came to be defined by the events of Final Fantasy 7.
Forspoken is an action RPG that will follow the journey of Frey, a young New Yorker transported to the fantasy world of Athia. Developed by Luminous Productions, known for Final Fantasy XV, Forspoken has been designed as a console exclusive for the PS5 with a large open world. It was originally slated to release in May 2022 before gradually being pushed back to January 2023.
Sci-fi horror games set against the abysmal backdrop of space are like buses – you wait for one then two come along in quick succession. Hot on the heels of The Callisto Protocol, Dead Space is an upcoming remake of the original 2008 title, which sees unlucky systems engineer Isaac Clarke trapped on the USG Ishimura with a hoard of hungry necromorphs that have decimated the crew.
With little more than some steel-capped boots and a makeshift arsenal of futuristic DIY equipment that would be the envy of any Screwfix catalogue, Isaac must fend off the shambling, shrieking alien creatures long enough to find a way off the ship.
The game has been completely rebuilt from the ground up, with improved lighting, as well as the removal of the original’s timely loading screens.
Remember when Dead Island 2 was originally supposed to be released in 2015? No, neither do we. But much like the hoards it depicts in its trailer, it looks like the game is back from the dead.
Set against the sunny backdrop of downtown Los Angeles (which, last time we looked at a map, was definitely not an island), players must face off against zombies with melee weapons, guns and more.
Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world tie-in to the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros. Interactive this game will take students into the ever-changing halls of Hogwarts as we’ve never seen them before. The game was delayed but, according to the game’s developers, is now scheduled to be released in early February.
The game is set before the events of Fantastic Beasts, and players will attend Hogwarts in the 19th century, as a customisable student in one of the four main houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.
Ishin! has been a cult favourite over in Japan for a few years now and it’s finally getting a western release after much anticipation.
This instalment in the Like a Dragon franchise (formerly known as the Yakuza series) trades in the bright lights of modern day Osaka and Yokohama for a feudal setting, complete with warring samurai and katanas.
Originally conceived after the high praise for Assassin’s Creed Black Flag’s naval combat, this ship-em-up from Ubisoft will see players take to the high seas to plunder and pillage the Caribbean against the backdrop of piracy’s second golden age (the third was when everyone sang sea shanties on TikTok).
It was originally slated to release back in 2018 but has been pushed back every year since then.
Skull and Bones was most recently due to be released in November 2022 but, thanks to more delays, this has been pushed back to early 2023.
The original Resident Evil 4 was released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2005 and has since been ported to just about every modern platform under the sun. There’s even been a version of the game released for virtual-reality platforms.
The original game has long been considered one of the best ever made, and the fourth mainline entry into the series was revolutionary in third-person shooters as well as taking Resident Evil in a new action-oriented direction. Now the title is getting a similar treatment to Resident Evil 2 and 3, being remade using the RE engine with updated graphics, gameplay and even a PS VR2 mode on the way.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will see players step into the role of the ring-obsessive as he navigates his way through the land of Mordor after being captured by Sauron’s forces. The game is set to venture further into the reaches of Middle-earth with unique quest lines, new characters to meet and a dual personality that will see players make choices as either Gollum or Smeagol. As an action-stealth adventure, it looks like one of the most interesting licensed The Lord of the Rings properties and will apparently stay true to Tolkien’s vision of his fantasy setting.
The game was originally slated for a September 2022 release but has since been pushed back “by a few months” according to the game’s developer. No exact date has been given but we’ll keep you updated as soon as we hear more information.
