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Here are 10 lesser-known late 2022 games to keep on your radar

The end of August is fast approaching, meaning there are, effectively, only four months left of 2022. Time flies, eh?

Naturally, this last third of the year is always a big one for entertainment, as companies plan all kinds of releases out in time for the holidays. In the world of gaming, specifically, we have such major upcoming 2022 titles as Splatoon 3 (September 9th), the Canadian-made Gotham Knights (October 21st), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (October 28th) Sonic Frontiers (November 8th), God of War: Ragnarök (November 9th) and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (November 18th).

But while those games are undoubtedly exciting, it’s safe to say most people already know about them. Instead, then, we want to highlight some other titles that are still on the way this year — those that you likely aren’t familiar with. Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that any of these could, in theory, get delayed, but for now, here are 10 lesser-known games set to release in late 2022 that are worth keeping your eye on.

Atomic Heart

Platforms: PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC (also on Xbox Game Pass day one)
Release date: TBA late 2022

While we’re still who-knows-how-many-years away from the next BioShock, developer Mundfish has a new action-RPG that should hopefully fill that void. Enter Atomic Heart, a retrofuturistic adventure set in an alternate USSR in 1955. In the game, players assume the role of a mentally unstable KGB agent who must investigate a facility overrun by robots and other freakish experiments. The appropriately creepy atmosphere gives off BioShock vibes, as does the first-person combat, which mixes traditional gunplay with a special glove that gives you the ability to shoot the likes of fire, lightning and ice.

The Chant

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release date: November 3rd, 2022

Good horror games don’t seem to come by too often nowadays, but The Chant, the first game from Vancouver-based Brass Token, certainly looks promising. Jess Briars (The Quarry‘s Siobhan Williams) heads to an island for a spiritual retreat, only to discover a deadly cult and all kinds of cosmic horrors. To survive, Jess will have to explore the interconnected areas of Glory Island, manage resources for crafting and use both melee weapons and supernatural abilities. Oh, and Mike Skupa, the lead designer on fan-favourite games Bully and Sleeping Dogs, is the creative director and CEO at Brass Token, which just sweetens the deal.

Harvestella

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC
Release date: November 4th, 2022

Sims have become increasingly popular in recent years thanks to the likes of Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and now, Square Enix is offering its own unique take on the genre. Notably, the game isn’t just about farming, although that’s certainly a key part of it. In addition to gathering crops, Harvestella has you venturing out to find resources, and you’ll occasionally battle enemies through an MMO-esque combat system. All told, it looks like Stardew Valley meets Final Fantasy, which certainly makes for an intriguing mix-up.

Immortality

Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Mac, Android, iOS (also on Xbox Game Pass on day one)
Release date: August 30th, 2022

Sam Barlow (Her Story, Telling Lies) is back with a new interactive FMV game, which features screenwriters Allan Scott (The Queen’s Gambit), Amelia Gray (Mr. Robot) and Barry Gifford (Lost Highway). The game is about a missing film star named Marissa Marcel, who made three films that were never released. As the player, you’ll have to explore lost footage from each film, carve your own path in the mystery and, ultimately, discover what happened to Marcel.

Pentiment

Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC (also on Xbox Game Pass on day one)
Release date: November 15th, 2022

Josh Sawyer is a big name in gaming thanks to his work on Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity. Now, he’s leading a small team at Xbox-owned veteran studio Obsidian on a fascinating and unique adventure game, Pentiment. Set in 16th-century Bavaria, the game follows journeyman artist Andreas Maler as he investigates a prominent murder for which his friend has been accused. But instead of presenting any gameplay challenges, Sawyer is instead focusing on an open-ended narrative, wherein the game will never outright identify the murderer, but players will have to come to their own conclusions through branching dialogue. Throw in a striking painterly aesthetic that enhances the historical setting and Pentiment looks like a must-play for fans of narrative-driven games.

A Plague Tale: Requiem

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch (cloud only), PC (also on Xbox Game Pass on day one)
Release date: October 18th, 2022

A Plague Tale: Innocence was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2019, and soon, developer Asobo will put forth the sequel. Picking up after the first game, young siblings Amecia and Hugo must find a cure for the latter’s blood disease while fleeing from both French Inquisition soldiers and deadly plague rats. While there’s still a heavy emphasis on stealth, Amecia is a much more capable fighter this time around and can wield a knife and crossbow on top of her handy sling. The first game’s novel historical setting was gripping, and the sequel’s significant gameplay improvements should only make for an all-around tighter experience.

Tactics Ogre Reborn

Platforms: PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, PC
Release date: November 11th, 2022

Although Yasumi Matsuno is best known for his “Ivalice” games (Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy XII), his original work on the Ogre Battle strategy series remains a cult favourite. Therefore, it’s exciting to now be getting a modern remaster of Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, the PSP remake of Matsuno’s SNES classic of the same name. In particular, Reborn features enhancements like HD characters and backgrounds, an updated UI, improved sound, a new unit-by-unit levelling system and other quality-of-life tweaks. Not to mention the well-regarded politically-charged civil war story — branching paths and all — remains intact. Fans of Final Fantasy Tactics, Fire Emblem or, most recently, Triangle Strategy should pay attention to this one.

Scorn

Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PC (also day one on Xbox Game Pass)
Release date: October 21st, 2022

Ebb Software looks to be cooking up something delightfully twisted in Scorn. This first-person game has you controlling a skinless humanoid who must explore a nightmarish alien planet. Areas are interconnected but can be explored in a non-linear fashion, and you’ll need to use various biomechanical weapons in order to survive. However, Scorn isn’t a traditional shooter, so each and every encounter, even with a single enemy, is intended to be tense and challenging. The world itself is also quite mysterious with little context directly given to the player, so you’ll need to parse things together through environmental storytelling instead.

Session: Skate Sim

Platforms: PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release date: September 22nd, 2022 (full release — has been in early access)

The next (Canadian-made) Skate game is still far out, so Montreal-based Crea-ture Studios has its own spiritual successor to the EA skateboarding series. Made by a team of self-described skaters, Session: Skate Sim features a dual-stick control scheme and real-life iconic skate spots to create an authentic experience. Customize your skater with gear from the top brands, rack up high scores and use a robust video editor to capture your best moments.

Somerville

Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC (also on Xbox Game Pass on day one)
Release date: TBA 2022

If you liked indie darling Playdead’s Limbo and Inside, this one’s definitely for you. Dino Patti, the co-founder of Playdead, has a new studio called Jumpship, and its debut work is an adventure game called Somerville. Like Playdead’s games, Somerville uses the world to tell its story — about a father, mother, son and their dog surviving the post-apocalypse — in place of dialogue. However, Playdead says the game isn’t strictly a 2D puzzle-platformer like those other games as some have believed and is instead focused more on exploration in a 3D space.

Which of these games are you looking forward to? Are there others you’re excited for? Let us know in the comments!

Image credit: 

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Microsoft expanding ads in Outlook for iOS, Android

Microsoft is ramping up ads in Outlook for iOS and Android.

The company confirmed to The Verge that it would start displaying ads in the single inbox view. Previously, the company would display ads in the ‘Other’ inbox for users with the ‘Focused inbox’ feature enabled. Focused inbox attempts to sort emails based on importance, allowing users to filter out the noise by sticking in the Focused inbox tab.

“For free users of Outlook, ads are shown in their inbox and they can choose to enable the ‘Focused inbox’ feature if they would like to see ads only in the ‘Other’ inbox,” says Microsoft spokesperson Caitlin Roulston in a statement given to The Verge.

Frustratingly, Microsoft designed the ads in Outlook to look like emails, and they appear at the top of users’ inboxes. While they do have a little ‘ad’ icon in the right corner, it’s easy enough to miss.

Naturally, Microsoft isn’t the only company that puts email-like ads into its free email tool. Google does so with Gmail, although ads only appear in the ‘Promotions’ tab with the default inbox setup.

Unsurprisingly, frustrated users have started leaving one-star reviews for Outlook on the Apple App Store, while others have hopped on social media to express their dissatisfaction with the change.

How ads appear in Gmail

It’s a bit of a bummer, given that Microsoft’s Outlook mobile app is actually pretty good and a Focused inbox is a feature I wish more email apps would offer (I’ve managed to somewhat Frankenstein my Gmail into a Focused inbox-like setup, but it feels like it’s always one email away from collapsing in on itself).

For Outlook users desperate to avoid ads, the only options now will be either downloading another email app, or forking out for a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Source: The Verge

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Square Enix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender mobile game soft launches in Canada this month

Square Enix has confirmed that Avatar: Generations, a new Android and iOS game based on Nickelodeon’s beloved Avatar: The Last Airbender series, will soft launch in Canada, Denmark, South Africa and Sweden sometime later this month.

Access will expand to additional countries and territories “in the months following,” according to Square Enix.

Developed by Square Enix London Mobile in partnership with Vancouver’s Navigator Games (Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast), Avatar: Generations is a free-to-play turn-based RPG in which players control fan-favourite characters like Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko and Iroh. At launch, the game’s first chapter will retell the events of The Last Airbender, with future expansions adding new stories and characters, including Avatar Kyoshi, Korra and Roku.

Players will be able to upgrade and customize characters while experiencing “fan-favorite locations, stories, and events in an open world, as well as brand new stories that expand the universe.”

It’s worth noting that Square Enix hasn’t released any official footage from the mobile game, although a few YouTubers have started posting early access gameplay. Given Generations‘ free-to-play nature, it also remains to be seen how microtransactions will work.

Image credit: Square Enix/Nickelodeon

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Apple is going after third-party websites hosing iOS developer betas

If you can’t wait for Apple to drop the public beta of its various operating system updates, your options are relatively limited.

You can either sign up for a $99 USD (roughly $126 CAD) developer account or venture to the shadier areas of the internet to find developer account beta profile builds for the tech giant’s various devices’ operating systems.

The latter option gives you access to iOS, iPadOS and macOS developer beta profiles for free, but you also run the risk of installing a potentially dangerous profile on your Apple device. That said, there are several pretty reliable developer beta profile sources out there.

And, free is free, but it looks like Apple isn’t pleased with these third-party websites undercutting it.

In a recent tweet, @BetaProfiles, one of the more popular third-party sources for Apple developer beta files, has announced that it has shut down its website betaprofiles.com. According to the tweet, the owner of the website doesn’t “want to get into a legal battle with Apple.”

Other popular third-party websites that host iOS, iPadOS and MacOS developer betas will likely soon disappear as well.

Source: @BetaProfiles Via: XDA Developers

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Hindsight is an achingly beautiful reflection on family that hits close to home

I’ve always had a strained relationship with my father.

Being primarily raised by my single mother, I often resented him for rarely being around, and for fighting with me whenever he was. There are few things a kid needs more than their parents’ love, and I felt like I was lacking half of that. As a result, there’s this perpetual feeling of pent-up emotions — things that I’ve just wanted him to understand — even though he’d never listen, and we’ve since been estranged for years.

As I played through Hindsight, the latest game from boutique indie publisher Annapurna Interactive, I found myself revisiting many of these thoughts. In the point-and-click narrative adventure title, a young chef named Mary returns to pack up her childhood home in the wake of her mother’s death. Naturally, this stirs up many long-forgotten memories from her earlier years, forcing her to process her feelings and come to terms with her grief.

In this way, Mary’s story — rife with conflicted, unresolved feelings towards a parent — hit surprisingly close to home, and it made the already solid Hindsight even more impactful as a result.

A fresh spin on “cinematic”

Before all of that, though, I was quickly taken aback by the presentation in Hindsight. Developer Team Hindsight, led by creator Joel McDonald (Prune), has opted for an understated, painterly aesthetic, which enhances the overall solemn atmosphere. But it’s how you interact with these visuals that Hindsight becomes downright transformative.

While basic pointing and clicking will get you in and around various parts of Mary’s home, Hindsight employs a novel approach to taking you through Mary’s actual memories. Throughout the environment are “apertures,” which are represented by everything from raindrops and flowers to birds and piano keys, and you’ll have to engage with each of them to segue into the next scene. Sometimes, this is done simply by rotating the camera around the object in question until you line up the next memory within, while other instances require simple, short minigames, like arranging dishware on a table or moving books on a shelf.

Hindsight horse aperture

This creates a wonderfully refreshing cinematic look — one uniquely accomplished not with photorealistic graphics, but through stylish transitions that move the camera in a wide array of twists and turns. In one instance, I panned into the family’s moving car before pulling back outside to zoom through a horse that Mary distractingly was imagining, snapping me back to their living room. In another moment, a sequence portraying Mary’s rising culinary career continued playing each time I cut a carrot, akin to how a flipbook tells a little story. Admittedly, it could be a bit frustrating to figure out where the next aperture was, given that they could be small at times, and I did occasionally run into some jarring slowdowns with them. On the whole, though, it’s remarkably inventive, and, more impressively, no two transitions are repeated in the three-hour campaign, keeping the whole experience visually engaging throughout.

A thoughtful and personal reflection on longing

On a deeper, more meaningful level, the aperture mechanic also brilliantly ties into the game’s larger themes about memory and perspective. Quite literally having you look at the world from different viewpoints mirrors what Mary herself is doing with her past. And because her mother is now dead, all of Mary’s thoughts about her are presented through an inner monologue, as read by Reiko Aylesworth (24) in an effectively melancholy performance. As such, Mary is aware that she’s having a one-sided “conversation” with her mother, and, therefore, is forced to try to see things from a different perspective. It’s not enough to just think fondly about her father, the parent she did wholeheartedly cherish.

It’s through this framework that Hindsight truly began to resonate with me. While my father isn’t dead, he is, in a similar fashion, gone from my life, and so I related heavily to Mary’s disappointments regarding pouring her heart out to someone who isn’t there to hear it. Writer Emma Kidwell’s script expertly captures all feelings that accompany this. The bitterness over missing all of the family dinners mixed with the warmth you felt with the other parent who was there for you. The confusion that lies in wondering why they’re not around, and the painful thought that this means they might not care about you. The stubborn rejection you give them when they do finally turn up.

Hindsight Mary alone

Making everything even more personal is the fact that Team Hindsight made the conscious decision to make Mary mixed-race, just like me. There’s a uniquely isolating culture clash that can be felt when you have two completely different backgrounds, which Hindsight explores to great effect. Not unlike how my dad’s side of the family impressed upon me their Indo-Guyanese culture and associated Hindu religion, we see how Mary’s mother repeatedly tried to teach her daughter about her Japanese heritage.

Just like how I viewed this as overbearing and detracting from letting me just be a “regular” child, so too did Mary see her mother’s customs as barriers to everyday activities like playing with other kids. It’s rare to see mixed-race characters portrayed in media in general, and it was especially lovely to see that represented in this game authentically thanks to Kidwell’s own half-Japanese background.

What I found genuinely moving, though, is that Hindsight offers a commendably nuanced take on this dynamic. I won’t spoil what sorts of conclusions adult Mary eventually comes to, but suffice it to say that the narrative has a lot of empathy for both daughter and mother in ways I didn’t know I needed. While I don’t think I’ll be able to find quite the same resolutions with my own family issues, Mary’s ability to more maturely process her feelings as an adult — particularly by learning to take the good with the bad — nonetheless proved touching, cathartic and even inspirational.

An unforgettable trip down memory lane

Hindsight Mary in field

Hindsight was a game that kept surprising me. The aperture mechanic was a smart means to keep the gameplay simple and approachable yet distinctive and compelling. But moreover, the story about the pain one feels toward an absent parent is layered, heartfelt and eminently relatable. Hindsight can be a sad and difficult journey at times, but it’s ultimately a beautiful and profound one that’s well worth playing.

Hindsight will release on Nintendo Switch (reviewed), iOS and Steam on August 4th.

Image credit: Annapurna Interactive

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Jetpack Joyride 2 coming exclusively to Apple Arcade later this month

More than a decade later, Jetpack Joyride is getting a sequel.

Launching on August 19th on Apple Arcade, Jetpack Joyride 2 will offer the same side-scrolling, endless runner action as its 2011 predecessor. This means you’ll be tapping the screen to rise and fall to avoid incoming obstacles and snag power-ups.

In Jetpack Joyride 2, you can also ride new vehicles beyond the titular jetpack, including a UFO and a mech suit. Developer Halfbrick is also promising a “story-driven experience” for the sequel, although it’s unclear exactly what that means.

It’s worth noting that Jetpack Joyride 2 soft-launched in a few markets last year, including in Canada, although August 19th will mark its full, official release.

An Apple Arcade subscription costs $5.99 CAD/month.

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Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent now available globally on Android and iOS

Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is now available as a free download on Android and iOS.

The Square Enix RPG was originally released in Japan in October 2020, but July 27th marks the game’s official worldwide launch.

Set a few years before the events of 2018’s Octopath Traveler, Champions of the Continent follows “the Chosen One,” a hero who must save the land of Orsterra from ruthless tyrants.

Beyond being a prequel to the 2018 game, Champions of the Continent has several other elements in common with its predecessor. For one, it sports the stunning ‘HD-2D’ aesthetic — which mixes 2D sprites with HD polygonal graphics — that was introduced with the first Octopath and used in multiple games since. Acclaimed Octopath Traveler composer Yasunori Nishiki has also returned to produce new music for Champions of the Continent.

Gameplay-wise, Champions of the Continent features similar turn-based combat to the original Octopath Traveler, except it’s centred around a party of eight instead of four. Altogether, you’ll be able to recruit over 64 characters, including Tressa, the playable merchant from Octopath Traveler. 

Of course, this being a free-to-play game means that how you unlock characters will be left up to chance, with a suite of in-app purchases supported to more easily acquire better party members.

In related news, Square Enix just launched another HD-2D game, Live A Live, on the Nintendo Switch on July 22nd. For more on that ambitious, once-Japan-exclusive title, read our full review.

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Indie darling Papers, Please coming to Android and iOS in August

Critically-acclaimed indie game Papers, Please will release on Android and iOS on August 5th.

Creator Lucas Pope shared the news on his personal Twitter. The puzzle simulation title debuted on PC in 2013 and was ported to iPad in 2014 and the PlayStation Vita in 2017.

In Papers, Please, you play as an immigration officer who must use a suite of limited verification systems to determine who can enter the country. The game has been praised for its empathy-driven storytelling and immersive mechanics.

Pope didn’t confirm a cost for the mobile version of Papers, Please, but for context, it’s priced at $10.99 CAD on Steam. That said, he did joke in a follow-up tweet that console versions are coming in 2031.

It’s worth noting that Pope’s most recent game, the adventure-puzzler Return of the Obra Dinn, is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, but not mobile.

Image credit: Lucas Pope

Via: The Verge

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Star Wars: Hunters now delayed until 2023, despite soft launch

The launch of Star Wars: Hunters is being delayed until 2023. Zynga confirms that in order to meet the studio’s “high expectations,” the title is being pushed from its September 2022 release.

On Twitter, Zynga clarifies that the delay affects the launch of the game across all devices. The studio first announced the game in 2021 and that it would arrive on Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android. “We invite all gamers to join us on Vespaara when Star Wars: Hunters launches in 2023 on Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android devices,” the studio says.

Star Wars: Hunters is a PVP arena-based shooter set in the Star Wars universe between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Players build a team of characters across the Star Wars universe. Ranging from bounty hunters to Rebellion heroes and Imperial fighters, players face off in various arenas.

The announcement of a delay comes despite Zynga having soft-launched the game earlier this year. To gauge community feedback and allow hands-on time with Star Wars: Hunters, select regions have been able to play the game via the soft launch.

“We truly appreciate your support and feedback as we work to make Star Wars: Hunters the best it can be,” Zynga says. The studio will continue to roll out content updates for its game until the game is ready for a worldwide launch. A new update is set to arrive within “the next few weeks.”

Image credit: Zynga

Source: @ZyngaStarWars Via: Android Police

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New emoji candidates include high five and shaking face

Ahead of World Emoji Day (July 17th), Emojipedia revealed a glimpse of what new emoji could arrive on smartphones later this year.

According to the Emojipedia draft list and sample images, ‘Emoji 15.0’ features 31 new emojis from the Unicode Consortium. The emojis are submitted in a draft list and, once approved, are expected to release sometime in 2022 and 2023.

Notable contenders expected to make the cut are the ‘shaking face emoji,’ ‘high five emoji’ and the ‘wireless emoji.’

The ‘high five emoji’ could be quite useful given the ‘praying hands emoji’ is often currently used to represent a high five.

Other notable emojis include new mammals, birds, fish, instruments and more. To be more specific, jellyfish, moose face, donkey, blackbird, goose, a wing, hyacinth, ginger, pea pods, maracas and flutes are just some of the other emoji candidates included in the draft list.

Although there are 31 recommended emojis likely coming this year, this number is low compared to 2021’s 112 and 2020’s 334.

The list won’t be finalized until September 2022.

Image Credit: Emojipedia 

Sources: Emojipedia Via: The Verge