E3 2022 Review

E3 or not E3? That is the question, but whatever you prefer to call it, there was still plenty of games for everyone to enjoy and something for everyone.

Here are our five top games, in no order, from all of the summer 2022 reveals

Plucky Squire

Every year or two an indie game seems to grab everyones attention with it’s captivating art style that also looks to be matched by gameplay. In recent years, I think of games like Cuphead, Ori, and Tunic. This year the game that rose above the rest was The Plucky Squire. A game about a squire named Jot who is the lead character in a children’s fairy tale as you play from above on a realistic desk with the book open in a 2D format. This idea alone was enough to be original but then you also have to escape the book and platform in 3D around a teenage bedroom. Plucky Squire has vibes of Super Mario Odyssey, Astro’s Playroom, is being published by Devolver Digital and is being developed by former Pokemon Art Director, James Turner and his new studio All Possible Futures

The Last Case of Benedict Fox

The hunt is always on for the next great Metroidvania. In recent years the itch has been scratched by elite games like Metroid Dread, Ori and Hollow Knight. There have been a lot of attempts as the genre is never short of entries but getting all the ingredients right in the formula isn’t easy. The Last Case of Benedict Fox looks like it has a chance to join this elite club. Shown at the Xbox Bethesda Showcase, Benedict Fox feels like a blend of Stranger Things, Playdead and Ori with its very original art style and tight looking gameplay. Little is known but it is slated to hit Xbox in early 2023.

The Callisto Protocol release date

One of our most anticapted games of the year was starting to seem like it might be slipping into 2023. Striking Distance was founded in 2019 by Glen Schofield right before the pandemic, which means that staffing up and creating an elite game in about 3 years seemed monumental. However, after showing up at multiple events including State of Play and Summer Game Fest, the team seems confident that December is a realistic target. Callisto also looks like much more than a Dead Space clone with open environments, story, and multiple protagonists. Although at quick glance you can see plenty of similarities. Either way in the span of just a few months, survival horror fans will hopefully be playing The Callisto Protocol, Dead Space Remake and Resident Evil 4.

Cult of the Lamb Release Date

Cult of the Lamb is a blend of ingredients that shouldn’t go well together like the cute, cuddly world of Animal Crossing, the sadistic dungeon crawling of Diablo, with base building and rogue like elements thrown in for good measure . Unsurprisingly, a game of this tone is being published by Devolver Digital. The visuals and gameplay loop looks pretty incredible. Dungeon Crawl, gather followers for your cult and then expand your village. Cult of the Lamb will be available on August 11.

Silksong Release Date

With Nintendo absent from the typical E3 timeframe, Silksong having been only confirmed for PC and Switch, it seemed that it was going to be another big event season without hearing from Team Cherry. However, just a few minutes into The Xbox Bethesda 2022 Showcase and a battle cry of Hornet gave fans hope after years of silence. The last time we heard anything was back in 2019 and although we don’t have a concrete release date, we now know Silksong is due out within the next 12 months and is coming to Xbox Game Pass on day one.

There were a lot of excellent games that could have made the list and although some of the events felt like they were a little longer than they needed to be, we got a taste of some amazing experiences that will be coming to us in the near future.