It’s been a wild year inside and out of the gaming world, but we’re here to talk about the gaming side of things. Some of the games we were really excited for flopped.  Some were delayed or pushed back until 2022, but plenty of genuinely impressive titles were released as well. Some we had known about for some time while others appeared totally out of the blue. We here at eXplorminate are compiling our lists and checking them twice: here are some of my favourites from the year 2021 as well as an extensive wish list for 2022.

5. Trials of Fire

Trials of Fire by Whatboy Games was quite popular with the eXplorminate community and when our own Ben (Battlemode) talked me into trying it out I could see why. With fantastic tactical battles, a blend of roguelite and RPG systems, diverse characters and deck-building elements packed into a game where runs can be completed in a few hours, this makes for a very enjoyable time.

4. Slipways

Slipways by Beetlewing games came highly recommended by Rob and Omar after his review. One of its main selling points for me was how it condensed an experience normally provided by a much longer strategy game into about an hour of playtime and to that end, it’s been a lifesaver this year when I’d been time-poor for long periods but still wanted to play something. The short length of a playthrough is a strength: stuffed up so badly you can’t recover or been unable to play at all for a few days and forgot what you were doing? It doesn’t matter, just start again and lose almost no progress. 

Slipways is deceptively simple and it feels kind of like Offworld Trading Company, except the only competition is yourself. The simple but effective UI, the wonderful music and visuals combined with the addictive, highly replayable gameplay will see me coming back to it regularly for a long time to come.

3. Age of Empires IV

Despite my initial concerns about whether Relic Entertainment could handle this project after their last game, I was immediately hooked on Age of Empires IV since I played it in beta and my impression of it only improved once the full game launched. It feels like a more modern remake of Age of Empires II which I don’t think is a bad thing at all. It’s almost like a soft reboot of the franchise, which seems sensible given that the third entry was released an entire sixteen years ago and all we’ve had since are remasters.

I usually prefer to play the campaigns over the multiplayer in RTS games and the campaigns for AoE IV have been a wonderful experience. The glorious set-piece battles with narrated videos describing the background behind them are a superb touch. The civilisations feel unique but are well balanced. I like the visuals myself and there have been a lot of great quality of life upgrades made. It’s modern but it still feels like Age of Empires (and not Total War). No one makes this sort of RTS anymore, it’s great to see the franchise is still alive and kicking.

2. Gloomhaven

I’d never played Gloomhaven in board game form but the PC adaptation piqued my interest early and I wound up buying it not long before its 1.0 release. I played a bit on my own then played for quite a few hours with a friend. I was very impressed with the whole experience. It feels a lot like a dungeon crawler with deckbuilding, where the player can craft their own story as they explore the world and the digital translation does a great job of automating the administrative work normally required of the player, greatly streamlining the experience.

The combat is the highlight of my experience with Gloomhaven. It’s rich and intense with the player exploring character synergies, balancing risk and reward with every engagement and juggling deck management while attempting to complete personal and dungeon-related objectives. I’ve seen a lot of praise for Asmodee Games for the quality of this PC version so presumably they’ve done well on that front. All I know is it’s a phenomenal dungeon crawling experience, alone or with friends.

1. Highfleet

I’ve played a few decent contenders for my top pick this year but none of them have managed to top Highfleet, made by Konstantin Koshutin. This game came completely out of left field for me- I knew virtually nothing about it or Konstantin’s previous games but after reading a few reviews I decided to grab a copy. I was absolutely blown away from the first moment  I played it. This game oozes atmosphere and is so immersive it almost jumps out of the screen, partly thanks to the diegetic interface. It mashes so many mechanics and concepts together in a setting vaguely like Dune meeting Soviet-era Afghanistan and somehow, it works perfectly.

There’s the free-form map with interconnected towns that have features essential to keep the fleet moving towards Khiva. Intense strategic gameplay involves the gathering of intelligence, codebreaking, use of strategic assets to whittle down enemy fleets, basic cartography to track enemies on the map and resource management. The story is told through narrative events and card-based conversations with Tarkhans, basically leaders of local regions. On top of that, Highfleet throws in crazy arcade-style ship-to-ship combat. I haven’t experienced anything like the joy of filling a screen full of shells during an engagement with a strike group in quite some time. The thunderous sound effects and detailed visuals are absolutely top-notch. Any background noise is drowned out by the roar of cannons ripping up the sky during a thunderstorm, the music fits the theme perfectly. Everything on the interface clunks or beeps, rain spatters against the “camera” and it all feels almost real.

Highfleet is not for everyone. It is brutally difficult at times, difficult to learn solely from playing the game without any guides and you will not win your first run. Losing is inevitable and baked into the design with roguelike mechanics that add bonus funds for the next campaign. I have yet to win a game but I’ve been playing it wrong, trying to brute force my way through the campaign and tinkering with custom ships made by its community. It requires the use of all of the means at the player’s disposal. One must adapt to the hostile world of Gerat or perish! I keep coming back though. It’s an amazing game for those willing to take it on and definitely my game of the year.

Shaun’s Wish List For 2022

Regiments

I wasn’t really aware of this one until it popped up during the Steam demo fest in the middle of the year. I immediately fell in love with the skirmish mode. It feels to me like the map scale of Steel Division with gameplay that handles like World in Conflict. Regiments was originally supposed to launch at the end of this year but it’s been pushed into 2022. I’m keeping a very close eye on it and I’ll be all over it when it releases. 

Broken Arrow

I haven’t seen nearly as much in the way of gameplay or information about Broken Arrow but it seems to be in the same vein as Regiments with a more modern setting. Again, it gives off major World in Conflict vibes. I believe Eugen Systems are working on this in some fashion so it might be more on the Wargame side of things. Whatever it is, I want to see more of it in Q2 of next year.

Steam Release of Galactic Civilizations IV and Phantom Brigade

Galactic Civilizations IV and Phantom Brigade are both currently in early access on the Epic platform but their respective developers are clearly using their time there wisely, because both games are coming along really well. I’m not sure when these games will be launching on Steam but I can’t see either of them being pushed out of 2022 given their current status. 

Nebulous: Fleet Command

I’ve actually had access to Nebulous for some time, having backed their Patreon for early access. I haven’t spent a lot of time with it but it’s already shaping up to be a solid game. It’s basically a real-time naval wargame in space, made by a studio with a currently serving US Naval officer as its lead developer, so they know what they’re doing. Definitely looking forward to its official early access launch in February 2022.

Falling Frontier

Falling Frontier is already very well known among our community and is probably expected to be one of the bigger releases next year. Originally intended to launch in 2021, after acquiring a publisher, Stutterfox Studios pivoted to launch with a slice of the Titan Rising campaign and a robust-looking scenario creator instead. This pushed Falling Frontier back to 2022. It looks like it’s shaping up to be something really special and every video gets me more hyped for it. Someone put me into a coma until Q2. 

Fragile Existence

Another exciting solo work, Fragile Existence is an RTS/4X/survival game that gives off a bit of a Battlestar Galactica vibe, or something akin to Operation Anabasis from Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock. Featuring some novel mechanics and an intriguing tale about humanity on the run, Fragile Existence is one to look out for in 2022.

Homeworld 3

I’m a massive fan of the Homeworld franchise and after Blackbird Interactive made Deserts of Kharak, the possibility of a Homeworld 3 became real. After its very successful crowdfunding campaign It’s still a while off, slated to launch in Q4 of 2022 but Homeworld 3 may be the release I’m most excited about for next year.

Dune: Spice Wars

Announced at this year’s Game Awards, Dune: Spice Wars is the latest title in the works from Shiro Games. I quite enjoy Northgard and Shiro has done a great job supporting it. I have a theory that some of the features they’ve added could be in this new Dune game. I’m definitely not expecting a new Dune II at any rate but I’m definitely interested in Spice Wars when it launches early in 2022. Ya hya chouhada!

Jagged Alliance 3

One of the more controversial announcements this year was that Haemimont Games are working on Jagged Alliance 3. A lot of people including me are a little uncertain about this one. Those who are familiar with the franchise don’t seem to have much hope that a good sequel can be made at this point and I’m not sure of Haemimont’s ability to make a turn-based tactics title based on their existing catalogue. It’s looking like the most high-profile tactics release on our radar, apart from Marvel’s Midnight Suns, so at the very least it’s something to keep an eye on.

Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate- Daemonhunters

Yes, it’s another turn-based tactical Warhammer 40K game. This time featuring the Grey Knights, who are pitched against the forces of Papa Nurgle. Possibly some kind of spiritual successor to the Chaos Gate game released in the late 90s. So far all there is to go off are a couple of short gameplay trailers which show fairly standard turn-based combat, the strategic layer and a cool terrain destruction system. I’ll freely admit I’m a sucker for these games so I’ll be watching it for sure.

Total War: Warhammer III

This one will probably be one of the more high-profile releases next year. I love the first two entries in the Total War: Warhammer franchise and Creative Assembly seem to be cranking everything to eleven for the third entry. The unit spotlight trailers look absolutely bonkers, the sheer number of factions and campaigns being introduced are of a scale not yet seen in the franchise and it looks amazing all round. I believe it was originally intended to launch this year but it’s been given an official release date of the 17th of February, 2022.

As you can see, there’s a lot to look out for. Many of these are games pushed forward from 2021, making next year rather jam-packed with releases. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what’s to come in 2022 and I hope you’ll join us there.

Shaun Pearce

Shaun is eXplorminate’s new tactics eXpert, having expressed an immense love and fondness for the genre. His passion motivated Rob to feature tactics games more prominently here! Look forward to seeing more coverage from him and eXplorminate as a result.