The month of May 2022 sees quite a few game releases for the Xbox, including some exciting indie titles as well as productions by major game studios. Fun tactical card games are mixed in with noble samurai quests and high-stakes sniper shootouts, so there should be something for every type of gamer. Release dates are scattered throughout the month, but gaps between them are short, so there's plenty to keep busy with.
Among the games coming out in May, Trek to Yomi, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, Evil Dead: The Game, Floppy Knights, and Sniper Elite 5 stand out. All but Trek to Yomi are yet to release, and each one looks fun with their own unique charm. More games are also coming to Xbox's Game Pass in May 2022, including some well-known titles such as Danganronpa 2. Evil Dead and Sniper Elite are fairly popular, and Trek to Yomi was featured in March 2022's State of Play presentation, so they may already have plenty of players looking forward to them, but as an indie game without a big announcement, Floppy Knights may not be very well-known. Other notables some players may want to keep their eyes on include Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong and Dolmen.
May might not be the biggest month for releases, with titles like Starfield and Pokémon Scarlet & Violet coming out later in the year, but it still has plenty to offer. Fantastic worlds, fun gameplay, and gripping storylines come with its titles, with each being an adventure in their own right. Eiyuden Chronicle is actually a prequel to another game, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, so those who enjoy Rising may want to check it out when it releases in 2023. Xbox and Bethesda's June 2022 Showcase will also hopefully provide details on anticipated games, so players who don't find anything that interests them in May shouldn't have long to wait for something else to look forward to.
Trek to Yomi Released May 5
Trek to Yomi is a title from Flying Wild Hog that released early in May. It tells the story of Hiroki, a swordsman in Japan's Edo Period who was raised for the sole purpose of defending his village against threats both mundane and supernatural. After an attack by the warlord Kagerou, Hiroki finds himself in Yomi, the Shinto afterlife. Players can direct the story and make choices that will affect how the plot unfolds, and while the combat is simple, it serves its purpose in making players feel like a real samurai. The black-and-white aesthetic and obvious Japanese themes call back to the samurai films of the 1950s and 60s, and indeed Trek to Yomi seems a lot like a movie; the smooth transitions between cutscenes and gameplay make it feel almost more like a film than a game.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising Releases May 10
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, the prequel to Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, comes out on May 10. The game mixes 2D and 3D visuals to stunning effect, telling the tale of New Nevaeh, a town struggling to rebuild after a devastating earthquake. Explorers drawn in by the promise of riches flock to it after the earthquake revealed an ancient ruin, which hides some of the world's mysterious rune-lenses. The game is mostly based around building up the town and exploring the ruins, but it also promises a twisting storyline involving them that intertwines with the main character.
Rising will feature characters from Suikoden followup Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, which will be even bigger than the first and have over 100 playable characters. The series is published by 505 games and created by Japanese developer Rabbit & Bear Studios. It was the final stretch goal for Hundred Heroes on Kickstarter, where it was the third-most successful gaming project in the website's history. Although it looks like Rising will mostly serve to build lore for the next game, it should still be a fun and intriguing adventure on its own.
Evil Dead: The Game Releases May 13
Evil Dead is the story of Ash Williams, a man who finds an ancient book called the Necronomicon in a cabin in the woods and repeatedly unleashes armies of evil from it by accident. Evil Dead: The Game is a 1v4 survival horror game based on its movies and spin-off series, Ash vs Evil Dead. It features a multitude of available weapons and characters from the series, including Ash himself and his iconic shotgun and chainsaw. Players can also control a Deadite and attack the Survivors, somewhat like Dead by Daylight, though Evil Dead: The Game's previews show that it has a much greater focus on combat.
The goal of each round of Evil Dead: The Game is to seal away the Necronomicon by performing a series of rituals while fending off enemy Deadites. Along the way, they'll gather loot to better fight the armies of darkness, as well as upgrade their stats. They'll also have to manage their fear level, which will increase when they experience the jumpscares that the Deadite player can leave around the map. The Deadite can also possess various objects, and potentially even the survivors. A skill tree system allows players to customize their characters to their playstyle, and the bounty of Easter Eggs from the series may even stump the most devoted of its fans.
Floppy Knights Releases May 24
Floppy Knights may not be 2022's biggest indie game release, but it looks like it could become one of its best. The game is a combination tactical RPG and digital card game, where players summon physical projections of monsters known as Floppy Knights from old-school computer disks. It features the adventures of Pheobe and her robotic arm, Carlton, as they navigate a world filled with typical video game enemies such as slimes and goblins. The two will fight them and other disk users in the Gadget Cup tournament, using the various creatures, items, and effects that they unlock in the form of floppy-disk-like cards. The game's cutesy and fun aesthetic sets it apart from most of this month's releases, with unique gameplay and evolving card abilities that promise to keep it fresh throughout Pheobe and Carlton's journey.
Sniper Elite 5 Releases May 26
Sniper Elite 5 is the latest installment in the Sniper Elite series, promising refined gameplay and improved features. It's set in WWII France during the year 1944, featuring Karl Fairburne, an elite US Ranger on a mission to contact the French Resistance, and in the process discovers a secret Nazi project known as Operation Kraken. The game's kill cams look to be the most graphic yet, and since enemies' bones will affect the path of players' bullets, will also be unpredictable. Players can customize every individual piece of their weaponry, but will have to keep the environment in mind since the game's physics engine makes their weapon parts, wind direction, gravity, and even Karl's heartbeat factor into every shot.
The game also features co-op, allowing players to work as a team to fight their way through hordes of enemy soldiers and eliminate their targets. Invasion drop-ins let players barge into others' campaigns unexpectedly, which looks like it could either help or harm Sniper Elite 5's immersion, and should add an interesting twist to the game's main story missions. New game modes include competitive 16-player PVP battles, which promise a chaotic deathmatch where players can earn medals and XP, and a three-player Survival mode that will test players' skills against unending waves of enemies. It may be the biggest Xbox release of May 2022, standing above even Evil Dead: The Game.