by That year 2022 started with a bang thanks to releases such as Elden Ring , Horizon Forbidden West or SIFU , and after a period of relative calm is preparing to overwhelm us again with games of all kinds. Since there is a lot of meat on the fire, we decided to create some specials dedicated to the most interesting titles of this 2022 . Today we will focus on action games and action RPGs (ARPGs), which we are sure will give us a lot of satisfaction. So, no more chatter, let’s get started!
No More Heroes 3
One of our biggest regrets is not being able to cover No More Heroes 3 at launch on Nintendo Switch. Far from being perfect or groundbreaking towards the genre, Travis Touchdown’s latest adventure is something all Suda 51 fans should play. And luckily, on October 11th, players from every platform between PlayStation, Xbox and PC will be able to get their hands on it.
NMH3 is a strange chimera, and just like its predecessors it is a crazy game. Not everything works perfectly, for example the activities in the open maps are once again weak, but overall it defends well. Between toilets to unclog and lawns to mow, you will have to deal with a group of aliens determined to conquer the earth. It is a game that surprises for the visual solutions adopted, thanks to extremely suggestive animated cut-scenes and the typical artistic direction of the series. The combat system has been further refined compared to the previous chapter, thanks to the implementation of new moves and death glove techniques, while the boss fights catapult us into increasingly absurd situations. In short, if you haven’t played it, you can finally fix it thanks to its reissue, which you can admire in the trailer released yesterday.
Thymesia
Do we have any Bloodborne lovers ? Because in just under a month Thymesia will arrive on PC and next generation consoles. The title is in development at OverBoarder Studio, an independent team that seems to have embraced the philosophy of From Software games. Thymesia will offer us a worthy challenge by throwing ourselves into a world afflicted by a plague: in the role of Corvus , we will face fearsome enemies using the disease itself as a weapon. The game action is characterized by dodges, parry and executions that we can enhance through a skill tree. The release of the title is scheduled for August 18 (previously August 9), also in retail format, and will be sold at a budget price that will surely appeal to you.
Valkyrie Elysium
The announcement of Valkyrie Elysium surprised us not a little, especially because after the mobile chapter of 2016 ( Valkyrie Anatomia ), we did not believe that Square would bring the IP back to fixed gaming platforms. Elysium , however, seems to differ a lot from the previous chapters, which provided for the recruitment of heroes to be used during battles by pressing the dedicated button. The chapter in question embraces the nature of an action RPG by offering us fights with a high rate of adrenaline as the Valkyrie .
The combat system involves the use of powerful Divine Arts, spirits to be summoned in battle and there should be a certain degree of customization in the combination of moves present. Technically it doesn’t seem like one of the most refined projects in history, but the graphic style adopted helps to mask the various shortcomings. We are not sure if Elysium will be able to have the same impact as Lenneth or Silmeria , but if the developers play their cards, we could find a more than worthy title on our hands. And let’s face it, it was time for Square to decide to dust off this series worthily.
Steelrising
Spiders is one of those teams that, despite very few resources, intends to make their mark. After the more than convincing GreedFall , the developers decided to take a break from BioWare-style ARPGs to focus on the hard and pure action. Steelrising catapults us into an alternative version of the French Revolution full of automatons and in the role of the Aegis, our task will be to eliminate them. The events will take place in certain districts of a Paris divided into macro-areas, which we will be able to explore the different enhancements of the protagonist. As per tradition in the titles of this genre, exploration, environmental narrative and of course the fighting will dominate.
We love the aesthetics of the game and the potential is all there, if the developers manage to refine the title as much as possible, we could find a real pearl on our hands. Its release is scheduled for September 8, 2022 .
Soulstice
After the businesses of the French cousins, we just have to talk about our compatriots, who are slowly making themselves felt in this sector as well. On September 20th Reply Game Studio could make us lose our heads with Soulstice , an old-fashioned hack and slash that makes the verse to titles like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry . Furthermore, the story told takes inspiration from works such as Claymore and Berserk, so if like us you love these things here, you can understand the hype level. What has been shown so far has convinced us and we hope that the feeling of the game will be good. We hope that the combat system is deep and that it allows a good variety of combos, complete with cancellations and advanced maneuvers.
Bayonetta 3
We have already talked about Bayonetta 3 on the occasion of the second trailer and, if you follow us, you already know what we think. To the eye it seems the most complete chapter of the series, so we hope that no slips are made with the balance of weapons or with the game mechanics. If the campaign offers inspired missions, with no downtime or boring sections, the game could stay on fans’ consoles for many hours. We hope so to happily consume our fingertips.
At this very moment Platinum cannot afford to slide (especially after Babylon’s Flop) and a serious burden falls on Bayonetta. If her new adventure lives up to the previous ones, then she will mean that the Osaka house hasn’t lost its luster.
God of War Ragnarok
Of the titles mentioned in this list, God of War Ragnarok is probably the most anticipated by the public. And we can understand that, after all, it will mark the epic conclusion of the Norse saga of Kratos, and we are sure that the story will offer endless twists. We liked the chapter of 2018 a lot, but its flaws are undeniable and we hope that this sequel will go to fix everything that did not work.
Without making eternal lists, we’d like Ragnarok to offer more interesting puzzles, as well as a bigger bestiary and boss fights worthy of the name. The first fight with Baldur is something that we will hardly forget, but the reiteration of him in the course of the adventure we did not like at all. More generally, the boss fights of GoW (2018) turned out to be less successful than the best seen in the previous chapters, and we clearly want Ragnarok to go back to raising the qualitative bar. Finally, if the game offered at least one more weapon, the fighting would be reinvigorated.
God of War Ragnarok is expected on November 9th and we are sure it will be a great success. However, we want the best of the best from it and we hope that it will not disappoint us.
Conclusions
These are the best ARPG and action games coming this year. In the coming days we will also talk about all those games belonging to other genres, including blockbusters and indie.
