2022’s Gaming Releases are Very Reminiscent of 2017

2017 was one of the greatest (if not the greatest) years in gaming history, Nintendo made a splash with the Switch and released both Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. PlayStation saw one of the biggest new IP launches with Horizon: Zero Dawn and Nioh, a third-party exclusive. Fans of Resident Evil, Xenoblade, Persona, and even Gravity Rush were all given new games in their respective franchises, and gamers around the globe were overjoyed! The industry was booming and it was a feast for different genres and playstyles. Five years later the industry is experiencing a similar if the not louder boom in 2022.

It has been just under three months since 2022 began and even now I am struggling to keep up. January saw the launch of Pokémon’s biggest leap forward with Pokemon Legends: Arceus and February was packed! The long-awaited Dying Light 2 has finally released, followed by Horizon: Forbidden West. Then there is the game that has been overshadowing Forbidden West and has been garnered as one of the greatest games ever crafted by From Software, Elden Ring.

Still, the rest of the year has so much to offer, such as Lego Star Wars, Pocky and Rocky Reshrined, Hogwarts Legacy, God of War Ragnarok and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 just to name a few. Each genre is being represented again and gamers have been waiting for a moment like this again. Each year, I look back at the games released and it forces me to reminisce on the moments in my life these games were released. Thinking back on it, I think that while 2017 was the last great year of games, it was also a hard one personally.

When I look back to 2017 in my personal life I wasn’t in the best place. I was in my second year of high school and (like many others) I do not remember that time fondly. Stress was rampant, support from friends and family was non-existent and my mental health was at an all-time low. However, the games are what always kept me going.

Persona 5 got me through my finals, Breath of the Wild gave me a truly free open world that I could dive into whenever I needed. With the launch of the Switch, I took full advantage of that. Both Yakuza Kiwami and Horizon: Zero Dawn helped me cope with a partially nasty breakup. 2017 was a tumultuous year, and five years later in 2022, things have definitely improved.

2022 has been dishing out its fair share of punishments though. However, Elden Ring has been right there helping me cope with the stress and anxiety while Horizon: Forbidden West and Pokémon Legends: Arceus transport me to a world entirely different from our own. In turn, they have given me much time to destress and relax for the first time in years.

2022 feels like a spectacle year for gaming, one of those years that only come around once in a console generation. A year for the industry that sticks around in the memory of players long after we said goodbye to it in 2023. Each year has meaning to many different players, but I don’t think that one or two great games make a year. There has to be a special feeling and both 2017 and 2022 share this same sort of magic to them, making every new title released a small celebration in its own right.