As we make our first steps into 2022, we look back at 2021 as Riot Games managed to keep us sane during tough times.
Blizzard eats the dirt
Eat your heart out Blizzard-Activision because Riot Games are coming up with new things one game at a time while you only rely on nostalgia trips and scrape the bottom of the barrel.
Between making missteps in WoW’s lore and the lawsuit against their unprofessional workplace, Blizzard have their own fires to put out before they can even start anew. Overwatch 2 has been delayed yet again and Blizzcon 2021 was cancelled due to the immense brain drain. Let’s be real, it isn’t 1995 anymore and nobody in their right mind would want to work at Blizzard at their current state.
Valo-ranting our year away
With its launch in 2020, Riot’s Valorant continued to grow in popularity. While many were initially put off by the movement penalties and Overwatch-like skills, as they started to understand the mechanics and the context, many got into the multi-faceted gameplay quickly. After all, it is still an FPS at heart and if you’re not good at aiming, you’re not killing anything.
What’s there to look forward to in 2022? With various rumours lurking about a mobile version of Valorant, perhaps we will be able to plant spy-cams (in game) while in the restroom (real life) sometime this year?
Augmenting Tactics
It goes without saying that the current iteration of Teamfight Tactics (Gizmos and Gadgets) is one of the best ones yet. Riot’s introduction of Augments on 3 November 2021 broke new ground as it gave players the option to play the way they wanted without being hard-locked into items or Champions.
Gone are the days where you can just hard-force a certain team composition to win the game. Players are now indeed forced to adapt and play with the champions available and they’ll still (hopefully) be able to make them work.
Forging their road ahead
Riot’s development branch, Riot Forge, has been hard at work producing new games based on the world of Runeterra and possibly more.
The launch of Ruined King and Ziggs’ Hextech Mayhem in 2021 was just a start. The turn-based RPG and the Rhythm game were both made with such quality it was hard to peel ourselves away from the controller. But something tells us that we’re only scratching the surface of what Riot Forge can offer.
Up next, we can look forward to a 3D-RPG in Freljord in The Song of Nunu. After which, a 2D-platformer follows Ekko in his crusade against Chem-barons, Convrgence. We can’t wait to get our hands on these games ASAP in 2022.
Arcane is Magic
If we thought that Riot Games offered just games, perhaps you haven’t heard of Arcane. The Netflix series took the world by storm in Nov 2021 and is still 100% Critics & 97% Audience FRESH on Rotten Tomatoes. No other video game adaptation could ever live up to this standard.
We’re still reeling from the consequences of Episode 3 and hungering for a Season 2 after watching Episode 9. While it is highly unlikely that we will see Season 2 this year, we will be keeping our eyes peeled for any semblance of a teaser or trailer in 2022. Yes, it is that good. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favour and give it a go.
The truth is, there is way too much to look forward to from Riot in 2022. Esports alone is entertainment enough, but now we have several games to work through as well? Let’s just say I’ll be using my annual leave wisely this year.
