Video Gaming has started on February 25, 2022. If you ask anyone around he would tell you the same answer. Gaming didn’t exist before that date and that’s all because of the worldwide advent of “Elden Ring”, which literally had people worrying that they would die before playing it …. in addition to the annual “I wish I wouldn’t die before One Piece” from anime fans. We write today to remind you about the hidden gems you might have missed in 2022 so far because you were entranced in Miyazaki’s masochistic unforgiving world and surely might have overlooked some or all of them.
Gaming Hidden Gems of Early 2022
Windjammers 2
Available on: PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
I feel like playing games has been stressful lately, especially because of the amount of preparation and RPG elements you have to deal with, especially in the AAA ones. Sometimes, we just need a simple experience to help us wind off and stop thinking. Sports games are supposed to be intended for that, but lately, they started to overcomplicate them with management elements and other boring stuff. Windjammers 2 does not have any of that.
In a world where realism is considered the norm for game quality assessment, video games like Captain Tsubasa and Windjammers 2 are a breath of fresh air. You can use multiple special powers and EX moves to gain the advantage and devastate your opponents with never-before-seen moves in sports history. It has an arcade mode, single-player and local multiplayer, and even features cross-platform play between Xbox One and Windows Versions. It’s a very polished experience that requires time to get used to, but is worth every single penny.
COGEN: Sword of Rewind
Available on: PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Another game you can grab and play immediately for cheap. This is not an article against RPGs I promise, it just happened that they released so many of those Arcadey retro-inspired games in a short time span. Any player who remembers Megaman should definitely get on Cogen, but with a twist unique only to this game. As you might have guessed from the name yes, TIME MANIPULATION. Nothing is cooler than becoming the god of time and reversing all your mistakes because you just can, Embrace your fantasy and forsake realism.
But with great power comes great responsibility, there are many challenging segments and enemies with unique attacks. It’s not about having the ability or passing that level, it’s about where and when to use its ability. Not everything depends on dashing and not every enemy can be defeated using the same attacks. Some platforms are also tied to your powers so new elements will be added regularly to make you have different perceptions about using your powers even though they haven’t really changed in function. Td:lr, you owe it to yourself to play this game.
Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Luminos Avenger is literally Cogen but on steroids. Instead of having just one mechanic, you have an array of weapons and abilities at your disposal. You can dash in the air and lock on to your enemies and even take the weapons of your enemy bosses and use them to destroy other adversaries. This is not a homage to Megaman Zero or something, this is literally Megaman Zero and it’s not even shy about wearing its inspirations on its sleeves.
The goal in this game is not to beat levels, but to perfect these levels in both speed and power, that’s why you have a wide range of movements to allow you to choose how to go through each level with minimum losses to get that high score. So it really depends on what you want from your side-scrolling action experience. Of course, both this game and Cogen are relatively short experiences that take only 10 hours to complete once you have gotten used to their systems, so put this in your mind when you are attempting to buy or rent any of them.
GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon
Available on: PC, Nintendo Switch
A game I can solely recommend for its visual style. I mean, have you ever seen something like this before? I know Okami exists but come on. The game is vastly different from its original prequel though and can be considered an entirely different experience that is akin to rouge lites and specifically dead cells. There is a decent amount of platforming next to the fighting sections, and because it has randomly generated levels, the challenges will get more unique with each playthrough.
GetsuFumaDen, or the legend of GetsuFuma is one of the hidden gems that rely on intuition and memory. You will need to choose the correct weapon for each purpose, and sometimes traverse sections while relying on your memory on how to jump and where to land. It’s not a very forgiving game by any means, even if u get to keep special moves and abilities after death, so look no further if you want a really hard experience that doesn’t hold your hand, with a beautiful Japanese aesthetic to boot.
Monark
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch
This game was not just overshadowed as one of the hidden gems by Elden Ring, but also because Shin Megami Tensei itself, the game it takes inspiration from, was released a bit earlier. Although it’s hard to call it an inspiration when it was developed by the same developer who worked on the earlier SMT games, particularly Shin Megami Tensei iF. We have talked in depth about Monark’s approach to psychology and its story in general in our previous article here.
It should be warned that the game received a bit of criticism for its repetitive environments and lack of enemy variety, but it contained multiple other unique design concepts that fans of old JRPGs with mature themes will probably adore and have a margin of forgiveness for the faults that greatly seem to be caused of the lack of budget. I personally think it’s also worth it despite its shortcomings, and in fact, I was even invested in its concepts more than SMT V, but in the end, it’s up to the players to decide.
Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden
Available on: PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch
If you are enthusiastic like me about real hidden gems like Table Top RPGs, but don’t have friends to play with them, or can’t because of the social precautions, then Voice of Cards is just for you. Every game in this series (Currently 2 released games with a promise for more) is like going on a magical journey like no other. There is a narrator for the journey that helps bring everything to life, and the card aesthetic is spot on. The designer really cares about the unique details in every character’s clothes, and it shows even from the attached picture that there is a lot of love that went into drawing them.
As you might have also noted from the attached interview, the story of the game is much more mature than its predecessor. It has a gratifying narrative and many unexpected plot twists as it’s known from the creator Yoko Taro, who is infamous for tricking and playing with the feelings of the players. The only downside to this series, in general, is that it has many random encounters, though they added a turbo button in the second game, this might not be your cup of tea. Also, it relies on exploration a bit to be able to unlock all of its endings, so it’s better played when you want to have a cozy leisure time.
Skautfold: Shrouded in Sanity
Available on: PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
Do I even need to say it at this point? It’s screaming Castelvania. When I first glanced at the art I thought the artist has made his return, but I was surprised to find out it was the work of a new artist with a striking similarity to the old heritage. But weirdly enough, Castelvania is not actually cited as an inspiration source for this game, but other games such as Resident Evil 2, Dark souls and Eternal Darkness, and the game itself is described as survival horror.
Is it good? I think it’s really amazing. It captures the atmospheric horror reminiscent of the old RE games, but without the janky Tank controls, and instead replaces them with a control method similar to Hades and Dead cells. The enemies are pretty hard in this one, and you have to master the combat to at least deal hits to them. There are also types of enemies that cannot be killed, therefore, you will have to traverse the areas while dealing with that in mind, just like the old hidden gems of survivor horror , so it’s a mix of two things you didn’t know you need in your life.
Cyanotype Daydream
Available on: PC
A departure from the hidden gems of normal genres but a much-needed side trip to the world of visual novels. One of the Scifi visual novels that are considered masterpieces in Japan has finally been released in English, and not just that, but the author himself has foreseen the development of this new port and took care to add many many new additions that are too long to list here, such as music mode, scenario, and index of all the background information of the game, you can check the full list of content updates from the developer’s website.
As for the scenario itself, it’s very wrong to spoil a visual novel, but all I can say is that it has something beneficial and educational, and is not just your run-out-of-the-mill dating simulator. According to the steam description, it has already moved the hearts of thousands of Japanese players, and it might move your heart next, so really don’t miss out on this one if you want a moving and well-written story beyond any common tropes you might have gotten tired of.