From Hogwarts Legacy to Callisto Protocol: What’s next in 2022? (update)

As is well known, the first three months of 2022 were packed with exciting new releases. Let’s just take it Lost Ark (under review), Elden Ring (under review), Horizon Forbidden West (under review), Elex 2 (under test) or Total War: Warhammer 3. There were also new expansions for Guild Wars 2 (End of Dragons review), Destiny 2 and SWTOR, but of course also Patch 9.2 for WoW: Shadowlands and new content for the Season of the Championship.

After that it became much quieter and there were also some postponements, but we can still expect a few hits in the coming months. We’re taking the flood of information from the gaming events of the last few weeks as an opportunity to update our preview list of upcoming games highlights. We are once again concentrating on the most important games announced for 2022 that could be of interest to all buffies and MMORE readers (i.e. RPGs, online games, games with a fantasy or sci-fi setting).

The Elder Scrolls Online: High Isle

Although the PC version of The Elder Scrolls: High Isle has been online for a little while, the launch for Xbox and Playstation is still on June 21, 2022. You can find out whether it is worth traveling to the new areas of High Island and Amenos in our Review of TESO: High Isle. Here is a quote from the opinion box.

“The regions are well designed, the quests are fantastically written and voiced, and there’s plenty to do. Unlock companions, rank up in the tales of glory, master the new trial, or take on the various world bosses, volcanic vents, vaults, dungeons, and skyshards Pay a visit. In detail, however, I am disappointed with High Isle, on a high level. The quest design was more varied, and since you don’t have to be careful in the fights at any time, you just play your boots down in the usual way , without experiencing a highlight that stands out in terms of play until the final battle. In addition, it’s about time that Zenimax upped the skills again. New class, new weapon types, something that brings a breath of fresh air.”

Forspoken, the first real next-gen title from Square Enix, should be released on May 24th. Should. The rumors were confirmed in March: The game is postponed to October 11, 2022.

Even then, Forspoken lets us slip into the role of Frey, who is suddenly sucked out of her complicated life in New York and into the fantasy world of Athia, where she meets the chattering Cuff bracelet and can cast magic. You can expect chicly staged story sequences, fights against large groups of opponents with Final Fantasy 15 vibes and an expansive world through which you move thanks to magic parcour skills in sprint and hop steps. Here is our video preview:

When you consider how many fantasy enthusiasts have devoured the Harry Potter books and movies, it’s almost a crime how few good video game adaptations there are for the enchanting world of muggles and magicians. The first 2020 Hogwarts Legacy trailer therefore struck a chord with many fans. THAT looks like a great game in the Harry Potter universe!

We’re not just heading to Hogwarts, no, we’re expecting an open world full of wonder and magic, and with all the wondrous places and details that we know from the books and films – only in the 19th century version. We’re already looking forward to the wags and wags, fantastic beasts and all the adventures that await us in and outside of school. And now we even know that the game should be released around Christmas (Holidays 2022) and what we can expect in terms of gameplay:

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 – Reunion

In the course of the 25th anniversary stream of Final Fantasy 7, the people responsible for Square surprisingly announced a remastered version of Crisis Core. It’s called Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 – Reunion and should – unlike Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth – Coming later this winter for Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X and Nintendo Switch. You can watch the trailer that was released at the same time here:

In this new version of the game, according to Square Enix, we can expect improved HD graphics and 3D models revised from the ground up. With full voice acting (in English and Japanese) and newly arranged music, the epic story of conflict and heroism is set to shine in a whole new light within the Final Fantasy 7 universe.

The successor to Overwatch will be released on October 4th, 2022. Blizzard announced this in mid-June. The most important innovations: Overwatch 2 will be based on a Free2Play model and exchange the loot box system for an in-game shop, seasons and Battle Pass. With Push there will be a new game mode. You can expect cross-play and cross-progression. With Sojourn (DpS) and Junker Queen (Tank), the developers have so far announced two of the three new heroes. And for the different modes there should be six new maps.

Unfortunately, we have to disappoint anyone who misses the PvE mode in this list. The first PvE campaigns and hero missions will probably not be integrated into the game until 2023 – as part of the seasonal content. You can find more details about all the innovations in this Overwatch 2 article.

Thanks to the exciting setting, Steelrising already caught our eye when it was officially announced. The Spiders (Greedfall) Action RPG takes place during an alternate version of the French Revolution. In this world, Louis XVI. crush the revolutionaries with his merciless mechanical army. Of course, it’s up to us to scrap the steampunk robots. From when? From September 08, 2022. On which platforms? On PC, Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Despite the gloomy setting and the similarity in name, Soulstice’s fast-paced battles, in which aerial maneuvers are also possible, remind us less of a Souls-like and much more of a Devil May Cry. And if we look at the last trailer as well as the video preview of the colleagues (see above), then you should definitely keep an eye on the action RPG from publisher Modus Games and developer Reply Game Studios. Soulstice will be released on September 20, 2022 for PC, Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. You can find more information about the game in this article.

The action RPG from OverBorder Studio and Team 17 was supposed to be released in December 2021. Now it’s August 9th, 2022. And the wait could be worth it, because in the trailers Thymesia exudes the sombre and desolate atmosphere of a Bloodborne, with the fighting speed and acrobatics even more reminiscent of Sekiro. But see for yourself (above).

Engage in XCOM-branded tactical combat with Marvel superheroes like Blade, Ghost Rider and Magik in Firaxis’ Marvel’s Midnight Suns. The developers promise a profound story with lots of chic staged story sequences and relationships between the characters, like in a Mass Effect or Persona. We are still skeptical about the skill system, which is based on a deck of cards that we put together beforehand. The randomness of such deck systems can quickly become frustrating in a tactical RPG. And now there is even a release date: October 7th, 2022.

The more trailers we see of The Callisto Protocol, the more excited we are to play the survival horror game on PC, Xbox or Playstation starting December 2nd. That just looks gloriously-awfully like Dead Space. With extremely disgusting beasts that we can shoot off individual limbs in a targeted manner, at least if the ammunition is enough.