Games created by smaller independent studios are important for the video game industry as a whole: These are frequently the spaces where true innovation happens, where developers get to experiment and play around with story, mechanics, and gameplay. There were so many glorious indie games to play in 2021, and 2022 is no different. There are plenty more exciting indie games to look forward to — many, many more than I could fit on this list.
Some of the games on this list were included in last year’s roundup, but their launches were pushed to 2022 during another year full of challenges. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing; not only 2021 was not only a year of great video games — indie or otherwise — it was also a year where companies large and small reckoned with how they work. Delaying a game, while disappointing, can help the developers who work on them: More time (hopefully) means less crunch, and helps employees stay safe and healthy while creating their art.
Here are 22 indie titles expected to launch in 2022. As I said before, there are far too many exciting games coming, and for sure I haven’t mentioned one in this list. I’d love to hear about your most anticipated titles in the comments below.
The Garden Path
The Garden Path is a game about the small joys in gardening. Developer carrotcake said it’s a game in which players will “uncover a long forgotten garden, and help it grow anew to attract vegetable inhabitants and curious animal travelers.” It looks absolutely delightful, and is coming to Windows PC.
Venba
From developer Visai Games, Venba is described as a “narrative cooking game,” set in 1980s Canada. It centers on an Indian mother, with players tasked with cooking and remembering lost recipes. It’s a story about “family, love, loss, and more,” the developer wrote on Steam. It looks incredible. It’ll be out in November 2022.
Citizen Sleeper
From In Other Waters developer Jump Over The Age, Citizen Sleeper is a role-playing game inspired by tabletop games, set in an old space station. “[Citizen Sleeper] is about surviving in precarious conditions, about gig work, about living in a body that sometimes feels antagonistic to you,” developer Gareth Damian Martin said on Twitter. “It is also about hope, support and building a life.”
[Disclosure: Nicole Carpenter wrote once for Heterotopias, a digital zine and website created by Citizen Sleeper developer Gareth Damian Martin.]
Call Me Cera
A visual novel from Toadhouse Games, Call Me Cera centers on a thought I’ve had a lot in my adult life: How do I make friends as an adult? The full game is out in 2022, but a demo is out now — one of the vignettes is about running a food stall during Ramadan. Coming to Windows PC.
Dordogne
If there is one way to describe Dordogne, I would go with “stunning.” The game has a fantastic watercolor