The best FPS games of 2022: shooter games you should be looking out for this year

It’s 2022 and shooters have blended with just about every other genre to create a diverse set of games. These are the best FPS titles coming this year.

No matter what else is going on in the gaming world, the presence of shooters will surely be eternal. They dominated several console generations, from the story-based shooters like Half-Life or Halo campaigns to the modern arena/looter shooters like Rainbow Six or Destiny 2. Even though the marketplace is far more diverse now, there will always be room for shooters.

In 2022, shooters have blended with just about every other genre, some more successful than others, to create a diverse set of games that redefine what a shooter really is. It’s no longer a term that refers to one specific genre of game, it’s now a single element that can be attached to just about anything.

Sker Ritual (Summer 2022)

Sker Ritual. Picture: Wales Interactive

Sker Ritual is the sequel to 2020s Maid of Sker, which was a horror shooter that leaned into the horror, disturbing even some of the most hardened horror fans. Naturally, something that pushed the limits that much would get a cult following, and the sequel promises to deliver a similar experience. This sequel is going to be a co-op survival game with a greater focus on stealth, which should help it stand out from classic co-op shooters like Left 4 Dead.

Scorn (October 21, 2022)

Scorn. Picture: Kepler Interactive

To say Scorn has had a turbulent path to release would be an understatement. It was first announced in 2014 and suffered through a failed Kickstarter campaign in 2015. Development stumbled on until a second Kickstarter launched in 2017, this time successfully. Now the game is just a few months away from launch on PC via Steam and on Xbox Series X/S, and it promises to be a wild ride, with disturbing screenshots of biomatter and mechanical structures intertwined in a story that’s still a complete mystery.

Bonelab (TBC 2022)

Bonelab. Picture: Stress Level Zero

To truly immerse yourself in an FPS experience, VR is the way to go, especially with the technology behind it getting more advanced by the day. Bonelab is the sequel to 2019’s Boneworks, which was a revelation in the VR shooter space for using an experimental physics system that made just about any kind of movement and interaction possible in the world. It was one of the most advanced VR games when it first came out, and Bonelabs looks like it’ll continue that legacy in 2022.

Graven (TBC 2022)

Graven. Picture: 3D Realms 1C Entertainment

The term ‘boomer shooters’ has come around in the past few years to refer to the early wave of shooter games that saw you tear your way through linear levels of enemies with simple weaponry. Whether the term is endearing or insulting depends on the user, but either way, 3D Realms is determined to keep the boomer shooter alive and well. They prove the style wasn’t outdated in 2019 with Ion Fury, and their new project Graven is applying the same design philosophies to a medieval fantasy world. It is playable now in early access, aiming for a full release in 2022, and it’ll hopefully be worth the wait.

I.G.I. Origins (TBC 2022)

I.G.I. Origins. Picture: Toadman Interactive

Slapping an old title on something new is done fairly frequently in the games industry, but rarely do they pick something this obscure. The original Project I.G.I. was released in 2000 and had stealth-focused shooter gameplay, which was quite innovative for the time, but it has been largely forgotten by history. Clearly, someone at Antimatter Games remembers it though, as I.G.I. Origins is a prequel to the original set for release in 2022.

Written by Ryan Woodrow on behalf of GLHF.