Who doesn’t game these days? Dads play retro games on Steam and grandmas are still trying to clock Candy Crush. Kids are obsessed with Roblox and your friend watches a CoD tournament. The girl at the desk next to you sneakily streams her favorite Twitch channel. In 2022, gaming is everywhere. This is part of why we want to see just what gaming trends to watch for this year. We’re looking at both the good and the bad.
A note before we launch into the list: We know microtransactions are still trending, and we’re interested in seeing their direction this year. While microtransactions are annoying, there is always a flipside in gaming. This 2022 article on the best video game-themed slots that can be played with no deposit needed and where you can win real money.
DLC
DLC, or downloadable content, gives us new bits of games to try, building on existing titles to spice things up a bit. DLC can include new characters, missions, areas, weapons, and gameplay options – the list is nearly endless.
DLC has become, in recent years, a super popular addition to the gaming industry. Made popular in the late 00’s, you might remember tack-on packages to games you’ve loved and played. Remember Grand Theft Auto IV’s The Lost and the Demand or The Ballad of Gay Tony? Or how about Fallout 3’s Broken Steel or Point Lookout?
Despite giving extra content to players and breathing new life into existing titles, there are grumbles from gamers who feel like content already developed in released games is being withheld deliberately. And it’s probably true.
More Accessibility
The gaming world is opening up to a far wider audience. Starting with The Last of Us Part || in 2019, with over 60 accessibility features, gaming houses have introduced a sweeping range of gaming options. These are designed to satisfy players with different needs. This is one of the most needed gaming trends in 2022. Everyone needs to be included.
Accessibility features can include Field of View options, controller rebindings so you can change button layouts, the elements available on-screen, color features for the colorblind, subtitles, motion aiming controls, removing head bobbing or blur or screen shake, and plenty more. While it’s clever more for game developers – as they can also sell more games, it’s also great for more gamers to appreciate the games more fully.
RPG Everything
Whether it’s a good thing or not is up for debate and probably also depends on whether you’re an RPG gamer or not. But one thing that you’ll have noticed recently is that RPG-style elements and game mechanics are everywhere. This includes skill trees, complex inventory systems, and sprawling stories.
While some people love that games go into super detail, others are happy just to have linear systems of play without all the other stuff. Game developers might do well to cut back on unnecessary complexity to avoid annoying their key target audiences.
Indie is Awesome
Have AAA games had their time? No, but if gaming trends are any indication, indie games are setting standards previously only achieved by significant releases. If you want some proof of this, you might want to refer to games like It Takes Two or the Life is Strange series. The often-referenced Stardew Valley or Cuphead can be a great play, even if you’re going a little bigger. Many AAA titles trying to make an extra dollar through microtransactions, releasing games before full testing, and so on. As a result, plenty of people have switched over to the smaller guys.
With indie games, while the game might not be as rich or long, satisfaction can often be higher – even if it does leave you wanting more.
VR – let’s get it
Despite the megahype about the Metaverse earlier this year, we’re yet to see how exactly gaming fits into and connects with the space, NFTs, crypto… There’s a lot to unpack and work out there and we’re not quite there yet. But there’s one sure thing: There has been an uptick in VR headsets and games sales. Is VR gaming becoming a teenager, in the grand timeline of VR gaming? There are now genuinely playable games rather than just games that exist mainly for novelty purposes.
The biggest games in 2022 are Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Beat Saber, Blade and Sorcery, and Everybody’s Golf VR. They’re not going to be as comprehensive as your average title on Playstation, Xbox, or PC. However, they’ll give you that immersion that makes you feel like you’re playing a longer game. Check them out or grab a headset to get playing.
