Please note that some of these games may have 2022 as a tentative release date as of the time of writing this feature, and are subject to change. 

With that out of the way, let’s begin:

God of War: Ragnarok

Sony Santa Monica delivered an excellent reimagining of God of War with its 2018 reboot which masterfully combined sincere storytelling with adrenaline-pumping gameplay. Those familiar with the game would know that the story ended on a cliffhanger, and naturally – fans are more than excited to see the narrative unfold with the sequel. The aptly titled God of War: Ragnarok will continue the adventures of Kratos and Atreus as they bring about Fimbulwinter. God of War: Ragnarok releases on 9 November 2022 for PS4 and PS5.

Century: Age of Ashes

After being delayed to get out of the way of Battlefield 2042 (which is hilarious in retrospect), Playwing’s Century: Age of Ashes is slated to release on December 2^nd for PC. This free to play competitive multiplayer arena title is pretty unique in that players ride dragons and battle in high-speed aerial bouts. Along with three classes to choose from, each with their own unique abilities, there are three modes – 6v6 Carnage, the CTF-style Gates of Fire, and Spoils of War which involves slaying foes and stealing their gold. It may seem fairly straightforward but given its looks and concept, Century: Age of Ashes could end up being a dark horse…er, dragon in the multiplayer department.

Solar Ash

Heart Machine’s Solar Ash is its first major release since the spectacular Hyper Light Drifter in 2016. It’s a 3D action adventure platformer, focusing on Rei as she ventures into the Ultravoid to save her planet. Along with encountering various entities, players must traverse the surreal environments of the black hole, grappling between obstacles and dealing with gravity shifts. Eventually, they’ll combat the massive Sentinels and destroy their weak points while hanging on for dear life (not unlike Shadow of the Colossus). Solar Ash is out on December 2^nd for PS4, PS5 and PC via the Epic Games Store.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun – Aiko’s Choice

As a new expansion to Mimimi Games’ acclaimed stealth title, Aiko’s Choice sees the titular kunoichi going up against her former master, Lady Chiyo. Thankfully, she won’t be going it alone as the gang reunites for three new main missions and three interlude missions in new levels. Much of the gameplay remains the same though – you can either infiltrate locations quietly and dispatch opponents in non-lethal fashion or massacre everyone, synchronizing your squad’s abilities for deadly assassinations. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun – Aiko’s Choice is out on December 6^th for PC and doesn’t require owning the base game.

Halo Infinite

The wait has been long but Halo Infinite is nearly here. Though the multiplayer is already available – and under fire for numerous reasons – the campaign launches on December 8^th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. As Master Chief ventures to Zeta Halo, what happened to Cortana after the events of Halo 5: Guardians and how does The Weapon fit in? What are the goals of The Banished? It’s up to the Chief to find out, exploring a semi-open world with various side missions and points of interest, unlocking new equipment like the Grappleshot, and battling new foes like the Skimmers. If nothing else, it should offer the same tight gun play that fans love.

Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach

While previous titles were known more for their jump-scares, Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach leans more into first person exploration and survival horror. Trapped in Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex, protagonist Gregory must survive against various deadly animatronics until the morning. In an interesting twist, Glamrock Freddy is a friendly animatronic whose suit can be hidden inside of when required. Enemies can also be stunned using the new Faz-Cam and Fazblaster, and along with minigames, there are also boss battles to overcome. Releasing on December 16^th, Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach is coming to PS4, PS5 and PC.

The Gunk

The SteamWorld series is beloved for its quirky style and solid gameplay but with The Gunk, Image and Form is offering a completely different, fully 3D adventure. As Rani, players venture to a planet corrupted by a slimy parasite called Gunk. Armed with a power glove that can suck up the Gunk, one battles monsters, utilizes the environment, and scavenges resources while learning more about the planet’s past, before deciding whether to save or exploit it. The Gunk is out on December 16^th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

White Shadows

Following The Great War, civilization as we know it has evolved into half-human, half-animal beings that reside in The White City. As Ravengirl, players must venture to Tin Town in search of freedom, navigating the city’s monochromatic terrors to escape. Touting itself as a “modern fable,” White Shadows features an interesting aesthetic with puzzle solving and platforming challenges. It’s out on December 7^th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

After the Fall

While Arizona Sunshine leaned into zombie-slaying, Vertigo Games’ After the Fall leans into a different kind of post-apocalyptic VR (read: one with lots of snow). Taking place in snowy Los Angeles during the 1980s, players must survive and craft weapons while also wielding powers to survive against the undead hordes in an evolving world. Along with standard zombies, there are Special Zombies and bosses to battle with four player co-op and 4v4 competitive modes. After the Fall releases on December 9^th for PlayStation VR, Oculus, Steam VR and Vive.

Syberia: The World Before

Microids’ Syberia series is an underrated classic for adventure game fans (except for the terrible third game which was released in 2017). Syberia: The World Before is a brand new story with Kate Walker, taking place across multiple continents and time periods. Along with playing as Kate in 2004, players will also venture back in time to 1937 as pianist Dana Roze with World War 2 looming over Europe. Syberia: The World Before arrives on December 10^th for PC so here’s hoping it signals a return to the series’ compelling roots and gameplay.

Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo

Developed by Pendulo Studios, who also made Blacksad: Under the Skin, Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo is another 3D adventure title with plenty of mystery. It’s not a direct adaptation of the film, instead focusing on Ed Miller who suffers from vertigo after a car accident. With his wife and daughter missing, Ed undergoes therapy to learn the truth via flashbacks. Vertigo could be an intriguing mystery but that all depends on its storyline – hopefully, the Alfred Hitchcock name will be more than just an attempt at brand recognition. It’s out on December 16^th for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.

Chorus

Chorus is a brand new space combat title from Fishlabs, best known for its Galaxy on Fire series. It offers a distinctively stronger narrative focus with Nara, former right hand of the Circle, abandoning the cult and rising against them with the help of Forsaken, a sentient ship. Throughout their journey, the duo will gather allies, undertake various missions – from eliminating Circle targets to taking back space stations – and navigating Ruins of the Faceless to ultimately bring down the cult. Chorus is out on December 3^rd for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC and Google Stadia.

"The game is freely inspired by Hitchcock’s movie, but it features indeed a completely new story with all brand-new characters."

Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo is, of course, inspired by the classic Hitchcock movie, but it’s not a straight adaptation of it- can you talk a little bit more about that? How much does the game stick to the source material? How much does it stray from it?

The game is freely inspired by Hitchcock’s movie, but it features indeed a completely new story with all brand-new characters. So, the likeness is to be found in the main themes, but also in the structure, the camera work (from detail shots that immerse us into the characters’ psyche to the actual “dolly zoom” or “Vertigo” effect, which was first used in this movie), the Hitchcockian use of suspense (as opposed to surprise), the intricate plot, the “quid pro quo”, and even Hitchock’s signature move, the MacGuffin.

Sticking with the themes of the movie but presenting them via a different story is an interesting challenge to take on. How does the game strike a balance between remaining true to the movie in essence but still doing something new of its own?

The main question that we had to ask ourselves during the early stages of the development was: “What is Vertigo really about?”. Of course, the main theme of the movie was not just “vertigo” per se, as in fear of heights or dizziness. Instead, “vertigo” is a specific and unique way for Hitchcock to talk about obsession, madness, manipulation, identity, and the confusion between imagination, dreams, memory and reality. Once we made sure we were tackling the same primary topics, we created a storyline that departs from the original story while being consistent with the movie’s essence.

Where exploring multiple timelines is concerned, can you tell us how this will be implemented in the game as a gameplay mechanic, and what role it will play in the core loop? Additionally, What can you tell us about the three playable characters? How are their stories going to interact with each other, and will gameplay mechanics differ across all of them?

While there are no multiple timelines per se, we created a unique narration aimed at giving players the impression to complete piece by piece. By using this unique narration, we wanted to give the players the impression to complete piece by piece the whole picture of the story. For example, we will be able to play the same event controlling two different characters, and each one of them will give us a different understanding of what really happened. One of the main gameplay mechanics consists of exploring the past and memories, by means of a new feature in which we will control a psychiatrist entering the mind of another character via hypnosis.

"One of the main gameplay mechanics consists of exploring the past and memories, by means of a new feature in which we will control a psychiatrist entering the mind of another character via hypnosis."

Pendulo Studios as a developer has a long history of working on graphic adventure games. What lessons have you taken from your previous games into the development of Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo?

As big fans of Hitchcock’s movies, we already drew inspiration from his work into our previous titles. Besides, ever since we started making video game thrillers, like Yesterday: Origins or Blacksad: Under the Skin, we’ve found ourselves consciously using his cinematographic techniques or watching over and over particular scenes from his movies, or even making open references to him. Regarding what we learnt before and brought into Vertigo… Well, it’s not easy to summarize almost three decades since Pendulo was born, and every new game has taught us things that we would implement in the next one.

Roughly how long will an average playthrough of the game be?

Depending on the player experience, it would take between 12 to 14 hours to fully complete the game.

The PS5 features an incredibly fast SSD with 5.5GB/s raw bandwidth. How can developers take advantage of this, and how does this compare to the Xbox Series X’s 2.4GB/s raw bandwidth?

This was the main bottleneck during the previous generation. The PCs, with fast SSD, allowed sometimes a better experience & performance than consoles, until now. This reading bandwidth from the disks gives us the opportunity to load massive and detailed environments really fast, having short loading times and a smoother experience in-game overall. It’s a substantial improvement for developers that also provides players with a much better experience. Another important topic is the new memory capacity, on both platforms, improving the final quality of the textures, details and graphics.

The Xbox Series S features lesser hardware compared to Xbox Series and Microsoft is pushing it as a 1440p/60fps console. Do you think it will be able to hold up for the graphically intensive next-gen games?

Both Xbox Series consoles are very similar, with the Xbox Series X benefitting from a helpful boost in terms of graphics. The hardware remains a very important thing, of course, but in our opinion, the most crucial element is the improvement and the time that developers could spend on optimizing the games’ framerate as well. With this in mind, next-gen games will be able to hold up as much as the developers want.

"As big fans of Hitchcock’s movies, we already drew inspiration from his work into our previous titles."

Super Resolution is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. How do you think this will help game developers?

This new technology is really helpful because one of the things that could increase the framerate of a game is the target resolution. In a minor resolution, the game will run much better than in higher resolution… so, if the developers could use lower resolutions (for example 1080p), and the graphics card (with their AI algorithm) upscale it to 4K without performance impact and only losing a little bit of graphic quality, it’d be a very big deal for developers and players.