The 22 most anticipated indie games coming in 2022

Independent studios that create games are crucial for the industry. These spaces are often the places where innovation occurs, where designers can experiment with mechanics and story. It was a great year for indie gaming, with many more to come in 2021 and 2022. 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. Even though it is disappointing, delaying a project can make developers more productive. This helps them stay healthy and safe while they create the game.

These are the 22 anticipated indie games that will 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.

Garden Path

Garden PathIt’s a game that focuses on the little joys of 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

Visai Games developer Venba is described as a “narrative cooking game,” set in 1980s Canada. The game centers around an Indian mother and players are tasked to cook lost recipes. It’s a story about “family, love, loss, and more,” the developer wrote on Steam. This game looks amazing. It’ll be out in November 2022.

Citizen Sleeper

Starting at Other WatersJump Over The Age Developer, Citizen SleeperThis role-playing game is inspired by tabletop gaming and set on 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.]

Cera Call me

Toadhouse games presents a visual novel. Cera Call me 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. Windows PC.

Dordogne

It is possible to define one thing in one way Dordogne, I would go with “stunning.” The game has a fantastic watercolor style that I was instantly drawn to. The narrative adventure game has the player engaging in “childhood memories,” according its Steam page. It’s set in the present and the past, but both of those worlds look equally gorgeous.

It’s coming to Windows PC in 2022. You can wishlist it via Steam.

Cleaning machines that are serial

Many video games feature violence and criminality. Cleaning machines that are serialIt’s about those who clean up after the victims. It’s a stealth game with a sleek look, coming in early 2022 from Draw Distance.

Frank Drake

Frank DrakeIt is said that it’s a modern take on classic novels such as Dracula FrankensteinThe world was turned-based and the focus of this story was on two different housemates who had opposite schedules. Appnormals Team Frank DrakeIt will be available for Mac, Nintendo Switch (PS4), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One and Windows PC.

Chinatown Detective Agency

Cyberpunk goes beyond just the superficial. Cyberpunk 2077You can find that out in Chinatown Detective Agency. It will take place in 2032, in an elegant Singapore. It was created by General Interactive Co. in Singapore, and looks promising. Like the others on this list, it’s coming in 2021.

Spirit Swap: Lofi beats to match-3 To

Soft Not Weak’s Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats Match-3 To is a rhythm match-3 game with with a killer soundtrack and a cast of witches and demons — some of which you can hang out with, get to know, and maybe date? This can be done in five match-three modes.

Mothmen 1966

Mothmen 1966 is described as a “Pixel-Pulp” game from developer LCB Game Studio — a blend of pulp fiction and 1980s-styled low-resolution art. It’s set during the Leonid meteor shower of 1966, where meteors appeared to “fall like rain,” according to NASA. Mothmen 1966It will arrive on Windows PC and consoles by 2022

Shiba’s Story

This Shiba is called Sunday, and you’re playing as a newbie dogsitter. Foxdog Farms was the original creator. Shiba’s Story is a slice-of-life game about life with a dog — and it looks very pure and good. Shiba’s StoryWindows PC will get it in 2022.

ValiDate – Struggling Singles In Your Area

ValiDate – Struggling Singles In Your Area It is, obviously, a dating simulation with beautiful art. Thank you cute characters. “Set in the Jercy City area, thirteen struggling singles in their twenties navigate through the trying ordeals of capitalism to find meaning in their lives,” developer Vertitable Joy said on Steam. “Includes a hint of love, cosplay, and even mediocre mixtapes in the mix.”

Super Space Club

Graham Reid’s Super Space Club is a colorful, lo-fi space combat game — something like Atari’s Asteroids, It would be an open-world video game. It’s expected out in 2022 on Windows PC, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One.

She Your DreamsAnd Other

She Dreams of Other PlacesAs you might have guessed it, this takes place in a dream. Described as an adventure role-playing game, this indie game has a surrealist vibe — the perfect setting for a bad dream. Mimi Page composed the music.

She Dreams of Other Places In 2021, it will be available on Mac, Nintendo Switch and Windows PC.

Insight

Insight is about objects; “the possessions we hold close,” according to developer Joel McDonald. Through those objects, as the player, we can look into a woman’s life — all of her life — when the game comes to Apple’s App Store, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC in 2022.

Norco

Norco developer Geography of Robots describes the game as a “sci-fi Southern Gothic point and click adventure,” a look into the “industrial swamplands and decaying suburbs of South Louisiana.” The gorgeous visuals and music create a haunting view of the sci-fi south. It’s out in 2022 on Windows PC.

Terra Nil

Terra NilFree Lives developed this strategy game. The goal isn’t to conquer all the world. Instead, the player must restore procedurally-generated wastelands and bring life back to the world. You can download a demo on Steam right now, however the complete release on Windows PC is planned for 2022.

Card Shark

Card SharkThis game is about playing cards swindling and rising to the top in 18th-century French society. Lie, cheat, and steal, but don’t get caught or you may find yourself on the uncomfortable end of a blade or gun barrel. This was developed by The Reigns studio Nerial, Card SharkIn 2021, the Nintendo Switch and Steam platforms will be available for purchase on PC via Steam.

Bear and Breakfast

Imagine if you owned a bed and breakfast but were actually a bear. This is possible, but you don’t have to create it. Bear and Breakfast developer Gummy Cat promises just that — a “laid-back management adventure game where you play as a well-meaning bear trying to run a B+B in the woods.” It’s coming in 2022 to Nintendo Switch and Windows PC in 2022.

Afterlove EP

Pikselnesia’s Afterlove EP Published by Fellow Traveller is a romance sim, rhythm game and narrative adventure. All of that takes place in Indonesia’s capitol city, Jakarta, with a story about loss and love.

It’s coming to Windows PC and consoles in summer 2022.

Silence

Silence is a black-and-white game set in the ocean’s depths — “a surreal oceanic void.” It looks like there’s a lot of exploration, but also tons of environmental puzzles to solve, too. It’s expected out in early 2022 on Windows PC, from developer Spiral Circus.

Thirsty suitors

Falcon Age developer Outerloop Game debuted Thirsty suitorsDuring The Game Awards 2021. The exciting trailer showed cooking, skateboarding, and “RPG turn-based combat,” seemingly a part of the dating parts of the game. Jala, a young woman from India who returns to her gossipy small town is the story. It seems like her family and friends will play an important role here as well.

Thirsty suitors doesn’t have a release date, but it’s expected out in 2022.