When it comes to game releases, the last few months were all-around amazing, some more exciting than others. The incoming month, however, will arguably be the best month for video game enthusiasts. Let’s jump right into it!
1. The Medium
Horror fans, let’s start with you.
The Medium is a psychological horror game developed and published by Bloober Team, the developers behind Observer and Blair Witch. Released on January 2021 for Windows and Xbox Series X/S, the game now arrives to the PlayStation 5 on September 3, 2021.
Set in post-Communism Poland and played in third-person, players control Marianne, a medium who possesses psychic abilities that allow her to travel into the spirit realm. As Marianne tries to find answers for her troubled past, supernatural entities try to stop Marianne in her tracks.
Marianne’s psychic abilities can be utilized to kill the hostile forces that haunt her, recharging whenever the player interacts with energy spots called spirit wells, scattered throughout her journey.
As Marianne is able to travel between two worlds, and so is the player, with a split-screen feature. These two dimensions are a crucial aspect of the game, as they allow the player to solve puzzles that can only be completed when interacting with elements in both the real and the spirit world, in order to unlock new areas and progress through the game.
2. NBA 2K22
The world-famous basketball league is back for another entry.
From the developing studio of Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports, NBA 2K22 is releasing for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC on September 10, 2021.
Featuring the young Slovenian star Luka Dončić on its main cover, the well-established franchise gets its annual entry with some notable new features and improvements over its predecessors.
NBA 2K22 will have on-court gameplay improvements, giving the players more control over their team and players, on both sides of the game. On offense, a higher basketball IQ and mechanical skills will play a bigger role in the player’s success, with more skill-based moves, like jump shooting and dunking in traffic. On the defensive end, a revamped blocking and stealing system will bring more realism to the game. The impact of elite defenders will be increased, making it harder for the player to run the offense and get the ball in the hoop.
According to NBA 2K22’s gameplay director, Mike Wang,
All the things you do in the game, they’re a lot more skill-based. What you come away with is an experience that just feels a lot more rewarding.
3. Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Developed and published by Ember Lab, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an action-adventure game, set to release for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and on PC on September 21, 2021.
Set in a fictional world inspired by locations like Japan and Bali, the player follows Kena, a young spirit guide with magical abilities that help deceased people move from the physical to the spirit world.
Played through a third-person perspective, Kena uses her staff to deal light, charged, and heavy attacks, with a pulse ability that allows Kena to defend against enemy attacks. This staff can be upgraded into a bow.
To complete tasks and solve the several puzzles encountered throughout the game, the player must collect small spirit companions, known as the Rot. These small entities can also aid the player in battle, but they need to gain courage before attacking, which can be done by damaging enemies.
If you own a PlayStation 5 and you are planning to buy this game, then I have good news for you. Kena: Bridge of Spirits utilizes the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback to deliver an immersive experience, for features such as Kena’s bow.
4. Death Stranding Director’s Cut
After the great success of Kojima Productions’ mind-bending game Death Stranding, arrives its Director’s Cut version. Released on PlayStation 4 in November 2019 and on Windows in July 2020, the next-gen version arrives on PlayStation 5 on September 24, 2021.
The single-player action game is set in a post-cataclysm United States, which caused supernatural creatures to begin roaming the Earth. The player takes the role of Sam Porter Bridges, played by Norman Reedus, a courier tasked with supplying scattered and isolated colonies with resources, while at the same time reconnecting them via a wireless communications network.
The stellar cast doesn’t stop with Reedus. The game also features actors Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Troy Baker, Tommie Earl Jenkins, Margaret Qualley, and Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro in a supporting role.
The Director’s Cut version of the 2019 game features support for the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback, as well as adaptive triggers. The next-gen version also targets 60 frames per second at upscaled 4K.
Other than the performance-related features, Death Stranding Director’s Cut also gives the player a bunch of new content, from new missions and explorable areas to new cosmetics and in-game items.
5. Deathloop
Last but not least comes an action-adventure game with a time-related twist to it.
Developed by Arkane Studios, the creatives behind the Dishonored series and Prey, and published by Bethesda Softworks, Deathloop is set to release on PC and as a PlayStation 5 timed exclusive on September 14, 2021.
Deathloop is set on Blackreef, a fictional location, where an assassin named Colt is stuck in a time loop. In this loop, the residents of Blackreef continuously throw a party that keeps happening repeatedly. The partygoers don’t recall the events of the last party they throw. However, Colt retains every memory and pattern of the people in the party. With a mission to kill eight targets across the island, the player has to utilize Colt’s memories and learned patterns to complete the mission.
With a combination of parkour, stealth, gadgets, and gunplay, the player has no time limit to complete the mission, allowing for strategic and thoughtful gameplay.
Deathloop also features a multiplayer mode, in which the player can take the role of Julianna, an agent tasked with the killing of Colt, in order to protect the time loop. The player controlling Julianna has to interfere with the player that is controlling Colt, with the ultimate goal of ruining Colt’s mission.
September has got it all. Horror, sports, action, adventure, you name it. Exciting times to be a gaming fan.
Do you agree with this list? Does August’s selection outperform this one? Let me know in the comments down below!
