It’s no secret that the past month and the upcoming four weeks are a bit of a quiet time for new releases. While we’ve had the odd hit like Stray and Live a Live dropping, it’s far from the busy months of October and November where it feels like we’re drowning in games from AAA developers and the odd indie gem makes some waves.
Fear not, though, as we’re here to help keep you playing while you await God of War Ragnarok, CoD MWII and all those other anticipated titles coming from September onwards. Here’s 10 underrated 2022 games to get you through the Summer gaming drought.
FAR: Changing Tides
FAR: Changing Tides sailed its way onto all major platforms in March, tasking players with discovering the wonders of a flooded world as they fueled their ship, caught the wind with their sails, and navigated various puzzles as they moved their ship from left-to-right across the screen.
It’s very simple gameplay, but there’s something oddly charming, calming and relaxing about the whole thing. There’s no enemies to take care of, unless you consider pesky walls and obstacles that get in your way to be your opponents, but as you watch your ship gather speed as you adjust your sails just right, and let the soothing soundtrack carry you away, it’s easy to forget about all of the stresses of everyday life… or just that game of Warzone that went horribly wrong.
Citizen Sleeper
Citizen Sleeper has been getting a lot of love for its text-based, choice-driven gameplay, but even then it feels like it’s still underrated given the quality of the experience on offer.
You step into the shoes of an escaped worker who finds themselves on a lawless space station at the edge of an interstellar society. From there on out, it’s down to you to survive and thrive in this futuristic, desolate world.
How you go about that it is entirely up to you. Will you work yourself to the bone, hang out in the yard, make or break alliances, or focus on doing nothing more than surviving a very simple, often depressing life? Citizen Sleeper’s writing truly elevates a fairly simplistic experience, but it’s one of the finest examples of worldbuilding you’ll come across, painting a stunning picture in your mind of the perils your character faces.
With branching narratives, a basic but beautiful visual style and an incredible soundtrack, Citizen Sleeper is an easy recommendation for anyone who’s not yet played it. The whole thing comes in at around 6-8 hours for a playthrough, and it’s on Game Pass, meaning you won’t have to spend a penny if you’ve already got a subscription.
Rogue Legacy 2
Despite critical acclaim, Rogue Legacy 2 didn’t seem to do itself any favors when it somewhat shadow dropped at the end of April. The sequel to the 2013 classic, Rogue Legacy 2 is a roguelike platformer where every time you die, you’ll take on a new character with their own unique traits and abilities.
These aren’t always beneficial, though. For example, the Algesia trait removes the brief invincibility window a character normally has after taking damage, and the Colorblind trait removes color from the screen entirely. They’re very clever twists and takes on the gameplay that help to keep the experience fresh, but all the more painful when a God-tier build eventually dies.
With punishing, platforming gameplay, bigger and more innovative level design over its predecessor, and a charming art style, Rogue Legacy 2 is the best kind of sequel, and we suspect not enough of you have experienced what could be one of the sleeper hits of 2022.
Elex 2
Elex II wasn’t too positively received by critics when it released back in March. Panned for its iffy combat and often incohorent dialog, it’s understandable why Piranha Bytes‘ latest might not be for everyone. But for those looking for what feels like a next step in open world exploration, then this might be worth checking out.
Elex II’s strengths are its genuinely interesting open-world, filled with interesting things to see and, admittedly, some generic quests to take on. All of this is made all the more compelling, however, through the use of exploring the world with a jetpack, which makes the whole experience that little bit more freeing.
Again, though, the game had some pretty hefty performance issues, its combat is clunky, and the quests can feel a little hit-or-miss. If you’re willing to take a chance, or you just enjoy the titles Piranha Games has delivered in the past, then this might be something to help you pass a few days at the very least.