F1 2022

F1 22 is out in July worldwide for those who didn’t purchase the Champions Edition for early access. Along with the usual 10 teams and 20 drivers, Grand Prixs, and MyTeam and MyDriver Career Modes, there are a bundle of new features in this year’s iteration. Formation Laps and Pit Stops can either be Immersive, with the player in control or automatic; new Sprint Races are now in play on eligible tracks; redesigned cars offer changes to the driving; and VR has been added for the first time ever on PC.

Then there’s F1 Life, a new lifestyle element with clothes to purchase, interior decorating for one’s crib, and Supercars to collect. F1 22 releases on July 1st for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC.

Rune Factory 5 (PC)

Just a few months after finally releasing in the West for Nintendo Switch, Hakama’s Rune Factory 5 is coming to PC on July 13th via Steam. Following Rune Factory 4 Special, the sequel sees the amnesiac protagonist in Rigbarth. After joining SEED, the town defense force, players can set about completing tasks for the townsfolk and help combat growing threats.

There’s farming to be done, monsters to tame, festivals to attend and up to 12 different companions to bond with. The real-time combat is also faster-paced and sleeker-looking while featuring new mechanics like Link Attacks. Though its Switch version was plagued by performance issues, Rune Factory 5 on PC seems to offer consistent 60 FPS performance.

As Dusk Falls

Though first announced in July 2020, As Dusk Falls shone in its recent trailer at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase. The narrative adventure title starts in Arizona in 1998 with a botched robbery. Two families are involved and throughout two books across decades, one has to make decisions that will affect their fate.

Inspired by the likes of Breaking Bad, Fargo and Dog Day Afternoon, As Dusk Falls also supports multiplayer for up to eight players online and locally (or even a mix of both). It’s out on July 19th for PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S along with Game Pass.

Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels

Playground Games has been doing an exceptional job with its open-world racing title Forza Horizon 5, releasing new features, updates and cars since its launch last year. On July 19th, it will receive its first paid expansion with Hot Wheels, adding 10 new cars based on the toyline like the 2000 Hot Wheels Deora II. Players can also race and create outrageous tracks from more than 80 pieces. The expansion will be available for Premium Edition, Expansions Bundle and Premium Add-Ons Bundle owners of Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

Arcadegeddon

Illfonic of Predator: Hunting Grounds and Friday the 13th: The Game have something a little different to offer with Arcadegeddon. In early access since July 2021 on PlayStation and PC, the co-op shooter focuses on Gilly, who becomes mixed up with an evil megacorporation to save his beloved arcade. Offering a mix of PvP and PvE, Arcadegeddon sees up to four players battling through evolving stages in various biomes.

The full launch promises new Surge abilities, a new PvP mode, new Gangs and much more. It’s out on July 5th for PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S with cross-platform play supported.

KLONOA Phantasy Reverie Series

The ear-flapping, platforming goodness of Klonoa returns when KLONOA Phantasy Reverie Series launches on July 8th for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch worldwide. It features remasters of the very first two Klonoa games – Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, which first launched in 1998 for PS One, and Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil, which released in 2001 for PS2. The visuals have been significantly revamped, whether it’s the character models or the environments and lighting (for better or worse in some cases).

It also features two-player co-op, difficulty settings – including an Easy Mode which reduces damage taken, grants infinite lives and five health hearts – and runs in 4K/60 FPS.

Loopmancer

While several roguelites embrace various kinds of animated styles, eBrain Studio’s Loopmancer offers realistic 3D visuals to go with its fast-paced action. The setting is Dragon City in 2046 with detective Xiang Zixu investigating the death of a famous journalist. He eventually meets his demise but finds himself back in his apartment, seemingly trapped in a time loop.

With seven stages to explore, over 100 weapons, and various skills and items, players will make different decisions throughout loops to ultimately find a way out. Loopmancer releases on July 13th for PC.

Stray

Cyberpunk adventure Stray releases on July 19th for PS4, PS5 and PC (while also available in the Extra and Premium tiers for PlayStation Plus). As a stray cat in a run-down cybercity inhabited by deteriorating machines, the player’s goal is to reunite with their family. They’re joined by B12, a small drone, and must solve puzzles, gather clues, and platform through environments to progress.

Along the way, there are swarms of Zurks and various hostile drones to avoid. With its gorgeous visuals and setting, and unorthodox protagonist, Stray promises an atmospheric adventure unlike any other.

Digimon Survive

Over four years, multiple delays and a developer change since its initial announcement, Bandai Namco’s Digimon Survive is finally on the verge of release. Part visual novel, part tactical RPG, it follows Takuma Momozuka and his friends as they visit a mysterious temple during Spring Break, discover Digimon and find themselves dragged into another world. The group must look for a way to survive but can also engage in turn-based tactical battles with their Digimon.

Based on one’s decisions, different routes, digivolutions and endings can be unlocked. While not quite like The Quarry in terms of the body count, it’s also possible for characters to die if you make the wrong choice. With about 80 to 100 hours of gameplay promised for all of the routes, Digimon Survive could be a dark horse in terms of RPGs this year. It’s out on July 29th for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC and Xbox One.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Almost five years after the launch of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, the story is finally continuing. MonolithSoft’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is out on July 29th for Nintendo Switch as one of the rare games moved up from its original September release. Set in the world of Aionios, with two nations – Keves and Agnus – in constant conflict, it focuses on Noah and Mio. Though opposed to each other, both are off-seers who use flutes to mourn the fallen soldiers. Along with their respective companions, the party embarks on a seemingly common mission to Sword March while a strange threat looms behind the scenes.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 continues the series tradition of open world exploration with stunning locales, dangerous wildlife and numerous quests to partake in. Combat features six party members (along with heroes that can be recruited as a seventh member) with numerous classes, character switching mid-battle, Chains, and much more. The new Interlink system also allows two characters to fuse into a single powerful entity called Ouroboros with a dedicated progress tree.

With compelling characters, a serious story and cool-looking combat, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 may be the series’ best outing yet.

Now, however, it seems the scope of that introduction is being scaled back. In another report on Xfire, Henderson states that since his previous leak, Codemasters has internally decided to scale back the addition of Supercars in F1 2022. As per Henderson, following a request from Formula One Management (FOM), Codemasters will not be including supercars in the game’s multiplayer component after all, though they will still be available in time trial races and the career mode.

In his report, Henderson also states that cross-play – which is reportedly going to be introduced in this year’s game – has been internally delayed as well, and will now arrive as part of a post-launch update. There’s no word on when that update will arrive, but Henderson states cross-play will still be introduced with F1 2022. Meanwhile, a couple of circuits – Portimao (Algarve International Circuit) and China (Shanghai International Circuit) – will also be added to the game post-launch.

Finally, Henderson states that much of F1 2022 is going to be largely unchanged from its predecessors, with various elements of the gameplay being brought over from last year’s game as is, including handling, customization, ERS, the penalty system, Podium Pass, co-op, graphics, game engine, servers, career mode, and MyTeam.

This is all unofficial information, of course, so take this with a grain of salt for now. We are approaching the timeframe when new F1 games usually launch, so we’ll probably have concrete details sooner rather than later. Stay tuned for more updates.

As per a report published on Xfire by reputed insider Tom Henderson, F1 2022, due out later this year, will not feature a second rendition of Breaking Point, the new story-driven mode that served as the headlining addition in F1 2021. While there will be no story mode though, the report claims that the game will be adding a new feature called F1 LIFE.

F1 LIFE is reportedly being designed as a new player hub that will give players “a more behind-the-scenes look at the lives of actual Formula 1 drivers”. Players will be able to purchase and collect various “luxurious” items within the mode, such as “expensive watches and designer glasses”- and, more crucially, supercars, which seems to be the big new addition in this year’s game.

Supercars can also be used in races, which also includes online races against other players. The game will launch with 23 tracks, according to the report, and the new supercars will be drivable on all of them- though not against actual F1 cars. The report goes on to claim that “despite the introduction of supercars, no resources from other features of the game have been removed” and that the career mode is still going to be featured.

What’s interesting is that as per the report, next year’s F1 2023 will bring back the story mode, with Codemasters having had to make the decision to skip it for one year due to “time constraints encountered during development of the game.”

Additionally, a couple of other new features will also be making their debut in F1 2022, according to the report, such as VR support (though there’s no mention of which platforms that will apply to) and support for cross-platform multiplayer. A recent report, also written by Henderson for Xfire, claimed that later this year, FIFA 23 would also introduce cross-play support.

Henderson also adds that F1 2022 will not remove the the Russian F1 track ‘Sochi Autodrom’. EA Sports recently announced that it would be removing Russian teams from its NHL and FIFA games due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing crisis involving the two nations, so this very much falls in line with that.

F1 2022 hasn’t yet been officially announced, so details on what the game will and will not include aren’t yet concrete. We’ll keep an eye out for more details though, so stay tuned for more updates.

GRID Legends

While the GRID reboot didn’t exactly reignite interest in the franchise, Codemasters’ GRID Legends is looking a lot better. It features a new story mode called Driven to Glory with a professional cast and protagonist Nathan McKane finally being voiced. There are also over 130 tracks and more than 100 vehicles from electric cars to trucks competing in numerous events, though players can also create custom races that throw every vehicle type together. GRID Legends is out on February 23^rd for PS4, Xbox One, PS5, PC and Xbox Series X/S.