2021 games you should play in 2022

Many have predicted that 2021 will be a sluggish year for video games, and we can see the reason. Game creation is difficult enough without having to contend with the problems of working during the COVID-19 epidemic, industry-wide issues, hardware shortages, and a slew of other variables that have contributed to some of the year's delays and disappointments.

Nonetheless, at the end of this "slow" year, we were left staring at a list of many games that are more than deserving of being considered the best of both 2021 and many other recent years, but due to website space constraints, we could only list the best games to play in 2022 that were released in 2021.

In an odd sense, the combination of large titles being delayed and others falling short served to highlight the breadth of talent in today's gaming business. It's easier than ever to appreciate the vast amount of excellent gaming experiences that were out there waiting to be found in a year where those yearly franchise installments seemed to steal less of the attention.

 While we wish we had more time to tell you about every fantastic game that came out last year and may just remind you why you fell in love with gaming in the first place, these were the best of the best and, of course, the

best games to play in 2022

.

A brief list of 2021 games you should play in 2022

As you have been informed in the introduction we have put together a list of the best games to play in 2022 that have been released in the previous year. Needless to remind that many games keep their popularity despite being old and 2021 games, which have just become one year old, have just started to age.

It should be mentioned that this does not include the

biggest game releases 2022

and for that, you might want to check out another article.

Now without further ado let's hop into the article of best games to play in 2022.

Inscryption

Daniel Mullins Games and Devolver Digital have released Inscryption, a deck-building game. The game takes place in a cabin where the player must defeat a demonic entity in a card game in order to escape. On October 19, 2021, Inscryption was published for Microsoft Windows.

The game is divided into three acts, each of which modifies the character of the deck-building game, but the basic principles of how to play the card game stay the same.

The card game is played on a 3x4 grid, which is eventually enlarged to a 3x5 grid during the third act; the player puts their cards in the bottom row, while their opponent puts cards in the top row ahead of time, which are then automatically pushed into play into the middle row on the following turn. Each card has a health and attack value.

After each player's or opponent's turn, each of their cards strikes their opponent's card in the same column, dealing their attack value to that card's health, and if the health is reduced to zero or less, that card is eliminated. If the attacking card is uncontested, it does that much damage to the opponent directly.

Each damage suffered by the player is recorded on a weighing scale with teeth. The objective is to tilt the scales on the opponent's side by five teeth before they can do the same on the player's side. These are the game's core mechanics, albeit it follows a far more convoluted and mysterious tale that we will not reveal.

We highly recommend this game as one of the best games you would find on the market and one of the

best PC games 2022

.

Death’s Door

The next one on the list of best games to play in 2022 is an action-adventure game.

Death's Door is an action-adventure video game released by Devolver Digital in 2021. It was developed by Acid Nerve and published by Devolver Digital. On July 20, 2021, it was published for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, and on November 23, 2021, it was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

When it was first released, it garnered favorable reviews, with various media complimenting its gameplay, simplicity, and difficulty level, comparing it to The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls titles. It also serves as a follow-up to Titan Souls.

The player takes on the role of a little crow that works as a "reaper," gathering souls for the Reaping Commission Headquarters, a bureaucratic afterlife that looks like an office.

The adventurer is dispatched to retrieve the soul of a monster that refuses to leave life freely in the game's first assignment. After fighting it, a huge, ancient crow intervenes and grabs the soul before informing him of a possible plot involving other crows' disappearance.

The old crow tells that in order to unlock Death's Door, the player needs to travel through three dungeons and gather three "Giant Souls." More information about the Reaping Commission's history and leader, the Lord of Doors, is revealed during the game.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

Probably the most famous game on the list that made a lot of noise when it was released in 2021, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a third-person shooter platform game for the PlayStation 5 that was created by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2021.

It is the sixteenth installment in the Ratchet & Clank series, and it is a sequel to both Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus from 2013 and the Ratchet & Clank remake from 2016. In June 2020, Rift Apart was announced, and on June 11, 2021, it was published.

Positive reviews were given to the game, with particular acclaim for its aesthetics, combat, and technical developments.

The game has a lot of gameplay in common with Ratchet & Clank (2016) and other Ratchet & Clank games. Strafing, gunplay, bolt collecting, automated weapon, and health upgrades, manual Raritanium weapon upgrades, and gadgets all return from previous Ratchet & Clank games.

Ratchet is the main playable character. Clank, his robotic pal and sidekick, is draped on his back. Rivet, a playable female Lombax, is also included in the game. Ratchet and Rivet must go through a variety of locales and stages, killing adversaries with a variety of weapons and gadgets and overcoming obstacles in order to fulfill critical mission objectives.

To guarantee that all players can enjoy the action and complete the tale, the game includes a high contrast mode and toggles for simpler navigation, camera sensitivity, flight aid, and other accessibility features.

Psychonauts 2

This game was supposed to be one of the biggest game releases 2022 but it was released in 2021 and is a perfect fit to be played in 2022.

Double Fine's Psychonauts 2 is a platform game published by Xbox Game Studios and developed by Double Fine. The game was revealed during The Game Awards 2015 ceremony and was published on August 25, 2021, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with macOS and Linux editions planned at a later date.

The player controls Raz, a teenage acrobat in training to become a Psychonaut, a member of an international task force that employs psychic talents to thwart individuals who conduct malicious actions using their own psychic energies, similar to the game's predecessor.

Psychonauts 2 got generally positive reviews upon its release, with several commentators believing it lived up to the excellence of its predecessor. Platforming, level design, aesthetics, scripting, and tone received praise, but portions of the gameplay and boss encounter received criticism.

It Takes Two

Ranked as one of the best PC games 2022, It Takes Two brings a different meaning to this list and to all other typical 

.

It Takes Two is an action-adventure platform game published by Electronic Arts and developed by Hazelight Studios. In March 2021, the game was launched on Microsoft Windows, Sony PlayStation 4, Sony PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

The game, like Hazelight's initial release A Way Out, does not include a single-player mode; instead, it is only playable via online or local split-screen cooperative multiplayer between two players. It Takes Two garnered mostly positive reviews from critics and earned a number of year-end awards, including The Game Award for Game of the Year at the 2021 Game Awards.

A month after its release, the game had sold over 1 million copies. Over 2 million copies have been sold by June 17, 2021. 3 million copies have been sold by October 2021.

Let us move onto the top 5 of the

best games to play in 2022

list.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is a 2020 platform game published by Activision and developed by Toys for Bob. It was first launched on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows versions arriving in 2021.

Crash Bandicoot and his sister Coco are tasked with recovering the all-powerful Quantum Masks in order to prevent Doctor Neo Cortex and Doctor Nefarious Tropy from seizing control of the multiverse. Their past foe Dingodile and an alternate-dimension counterpart of Crash's old girlfriend Tawna assist them indirectly.

The game keeps the main platforming action of the series while adding new features like the Quantum Masks, which may change levels and give ways to navigate or conquer barriers.

Additional game modes for repeating levels are included, as well as the option to control five characters, three of whom – Cortex, Dingodile, and Tawna – each with their own gameplay and levels.

The game was well-received by critics, who praised the game's preservation and improvement of the series' basic formula, as well as the addition of new gameplay concepts. This is why this game is one of the best games to play in 2022.

Resident Evil Village

Resident Evil Village is a survival horror game created by Capcom and released in 2021. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is the sequel (2017). After a disastrous meeting with Chris Redfield, players control Ethan Winters, who is hunting for his abducted daughter and finds himself in a community full of mutant animals.

While Village retains the survival horror components of the Resident Evil franchise, it has a more action-oriented gameplay style than its predecessor.

The game was published on May 7, 2021, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, and was revealed during the PlayStation 5 reveal event in June 2020.

Resident Evil Village got generally positive reviews, with acclaim for its gameplay, location, and diversity, while it was panned for its puzzles, boss battles, and Microsoft Windows version's performance concerns.

The game's greater emphasis on action compared to its predecessor drew more mixed reviews. Resident Evil Village received a number of awards at the end of the year, including Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards.

Resident Evil Village sold almost three million copies in its first four days of release, making it the Resident Evil series' third-fastest-selling title, along with Resident Evil 2 from 2019. Capcom also revealed that the series has sold 100 million units worldwide since its launch in 1996.

Famitsu ranked the PlayStation 4 version top in the Japanese game rankings from May 3 to May 9, 2021, selling 111,171 units in a week. The PlayStation 5 version of the game sold 38,713 units, placing it fourth in the rankings. Resident Evil Village was also the best-selling game in the United States and the United Kingdom in May 2021.

Deathloop

Starting the top 3 of the best games to play in 2022 list with Deathloop.

Deathloop is a first-person shooter game released by Bethesda Softworks in 2021. It was developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks.

On September 14, the game was launched for Microsoft Windows and as a limited-time console exclusive for the PlayStation 5. Critics loved the art design and playability, and it earned mostly positive reviews. At The Game Awards 2021, Deathloop won Best Game Direction and Best Art Direction and was ranked as one of the best PC games 2022.

In Deathloop, the player assumes the position of Colt, a time-trapped assassin charged with eliminating eight Visionaries throughout the island before midnight, since leaving even one alive will force the time loop to reset and reverse his work.

Colt will also wake up at the beginning of the cycle if he dies before taking out the eight targets. As in Arkane's previous Dishonored and Prey games, the player moves through the game environment using a combination of stealth, parkour, attack skills, firearms, gadgets, and abilities.

They must evade or remove guards, study Colt's target patterns, and choose the best sequence in which to eliminate these targets utilizing weapons, physical attacks, or other environmental means.

According to review aggregator Metacritic, Deathloop earned "generally positive reviews" from critics.

Gabriel Solis noted in a Wired review that the game's "deep meditation on time" kept him "interested" in it. Juliana had "no fascinating options" to utilize against the other player, according to Ars Technica, who criticized the invasion feature in Deathloop.

Eurogamer praised the graphical style, describing it as "an upper cruster's carnival with heady overtones of Tarantino and Wolfenstein."

Forza Horizon 5

Finally, a game for the

fans in this part of the best games to play in 2022.

is a racing video game released in 2021 by Xbox Game Studios and developed by Playground Games. The game is set in a fictionalized version of Mexico, and it is the series' twelfth major installment. It was published on Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on November 9, 2021.

According to review aggregator Metacritic, Forza Horizon 5 garnered "universal praise."

The game received a 9 out of 10 rating from PCGamesN: "Familiar, outstanding, and polished to an almost impenetrable level. You'll be quite delighted here if you enjoy riding vintage Porsches on joyrides through landscapes that would make a poet bawl." The game was named Game of the Year by IGN.

Over 1.2 million players have purchased the premium edition of the game or the premium add-ons package as an Xbox Game Pass subscriber before the game's release on November 9th, with Video Game Chronicle predicting gross income between $54 million and $118 million. In addition, the game topped the Steam weekly rankings for the week of November 1 to 7, 2021.

On November 9, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer said that more than 4.5 million people had played the game in less than 24 hours, making it the fastest-selling Xbox Game Studios title ever, with three times the number of concurrent players as Forza Horizon 4.

Halo Infinite

The last game on the list has been one of the most expected ones over the last 5 years.

Halo Infinite is an Xbox Game Studios and 343 Industries first-person shooter game set in the year 2021. Following Halo 5: Guardians, it is the sixth mainstream entry in the Halo franchise, and the third in the "Reclaimer Saga" (2015).

The campaign of this amazing game follows the human supersoldier Master Chief and his war against the hostile Banished. The multiplayer element of the game is free to play, unlike prior iterations in the franchise.

Critics overwhelmingly praised Halo Infinite, with some describing it as a return to form for the franchise. The game's aesthetics, open-world design, grapple shot function, and plot have all received praise.

Thank you for reading our list of

best games to play in 2022

. We would also prepare another article about the biggest game releases 2022, so stay tuned.

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