The word ‘drought’ is being thrown around more and more this year, but it couldn’t quite level the term on our game schedule. For the second month in a row, we have completely failed to hold Up Next at ten games. In fact, there are so many new Xbox games that we’re excited about, that we’re stretching all the way to thirteen for September 2022. The games are really exciting.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R
As fandoms go, there are few more spirited than Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. We imagine they’re giddy with excitement, as September sees the all-too-late release of a new game in the beat ’em up series, All-Star Battle.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R is making all the right noises. It carries the All Star Battle System that is now twenty years old, incorporating fifty fighters from all things Jojo: the comics, the anime series, and the included games. Capture the characterful animations of Hirohiko Araki’s original art. Also, it includes all the voice actors from Part 6. All together now: ゴゴゴゴゴ!
lego fights
Perhaps we are being cynical, but there is a bit of bad timing for lego fights. Released shortly after multiverse which, to our surprise, is breaking it in terms of sales and live streaming, both are in the same ballpark and not nearly as captivating. Sure, you can build your warrior in true LEGO style, but what’s this deal that Multiversus and Smash Bros don’t?
We’re sure LEGO Brawls would say “go ahead,” waving a yellow cup-shaped hand at us. It certainly captures the joys of LEGO as you and your team collaborate to make sizable contraptions like planes and robots to battle your enemies. And then there’s the simple thrill of seeing a friend explode into studs. Maybe we were wrong, after all.
theme
theme it has a tone that makes you look for wads of cash to hand over. what if you took Pokemon, but turned it into an MMO? Shut up and take our money.
This creature collector from Humble Games has been tearing it up on PC, so it’s a relief to see it finally reach Xbox shores. Here’s a meaty campaign, full of colorful creatures that are at least on par with some of the best Pokémon. And you will come across countless other human players, each with their own Temtem. Events appear and disappear randomly, and you can play them solo or cooperatively. We hope this is half as good as we imagine in our heads.
NBA 2K23
September has not one, but two gigantic new entries in the best-selling sports franchises. NBA 2K23 may not be the juggernaut that FIFA 23 is, but it’s still a likely contender for the number one spot on the game sales charts. Until FIFA 23 kicks it off, of course.
What do you get in this iteration? MyNBA says ‘What if?’ route, launching various scenarios and allowing you to play them. What if the Houston Rockets made Michael Jordan their number one pick? What if Kobe and Shaq still played together? It’s a good version of an old formula.
Then there’s the jordanian challenge, as you follow his career from the street courts to the big time. Will you get to play his short baseball career? We sincerely hope so.
train sim world 3
Choo choo! Clear your Game Pass accumulation, as train sim world 3 you’re arriving on your first day of duty, and it will consume more of your free time than a three-hour drive.
Dovetail Games is updating Train Sim World with a few additions that mean very little to me, but someone is making a 360-degree fisticuff. You can transport containers through Cajon Pass with the ES44C4. It can reach speeds of 280 km/h on the ICE 1 between Kassel and Würzburg. Ever wanted to drive the Class 395 out of London? No, you can, little grizzly!
We are very impressed that your age train sim world 2 DLC will still work with 3. You can always impress us with a bit of value.
rise steel
Now this is more our speed. rise steel is an action RPG that strays far enough from the usual scenarios (no apocalyptic world here) to target the Paris of 1789. Now, imagine that instead of being dethroned by a revolution, Louis XVI builds a mechanical army and quells it with gallons of blood.
You play as Aegis, a mysterious automaton, as you take on Louis and become his army of robotic cat-dogs. He looks pretty dapper, if you ask us, and he’s come out of nowhere. We’re going to put on our powdered wig and have our cake and eat it.
Metal: Hellsinger
We have not been able to confirm if you can play. Metal: Hellsinger with a Rock Band or Guitar Hero peripheral, but we hope so. This is the game that most intrigues us in September: a Doom-style FPS, but soundtracked by some of heavy metal’s best, like System of a Down’s Serk Tankian and Trivium’s Matt Heafy. Headshot a demon with the tune and you’ll become more powerful, able to kill the next one with a single bullet.
The campaign is also narrated by Troy Baker, so if the talent involved is any measure of the quality of the game, we should be in luck.
The DioField Chronicle
A Square Enix game? That requires some input from our expert Richard Dobson…
Square Enix already has a prestigious pedigree when it comes to creating tactical RPGs, so every time a new one is announced, we stand up and take notice. Their latest release is due out in September, and after playing the demo, we couldn’t be more excited.
The DioField Chronicle fuses traditional tactical RPG with real-time battles creating a unique twist on both. Coupled with the fact that it’s designed as a tabletop game as your armies do battle on diorama-style battlefields, and there’s something potentially very special on the horizon.
In DioField Chronicle, a small group of friends have managed to sneak into the resistance army after saving one of the high-ranking officers from a bandit ambush. Their reasons for wanting to join may be related to a tragic event eight years earlier, but for now, they’re making the right impression by taking on various missions.
At this point, though, all you really need to know is that The DioField Chronicle looks like Square Enix making another tactical RPG. That alone should make your taste buds salivate. Ours certainly are.
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
A place of deep role-playing games always awaits us, and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous delivery in september. A sequel to Pathfinder: Kingmaker, does absolutely nothing with the original plot, but goes to a completely different place, as you play a citizen of the nation of Mendev, showing your quality in a battle with demons. This thrusts you into the role of Commander of the 5th Crusade, as you take the battle to Worldwound – a giant portal teeming with demons. Maybe you shouldn’t have done so well in that first battle, huh?
Released in 2020 and released on PC last year, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous was hell-bent on improving Pathfinder’s engine and underlying mechanics. We’ll find out if it manages to do so when it launches later this month.
fifa23
Have you heard of FIFA 23? Haven’t heard of FIFA 23. I’m sure an EA Sports FC was supposed to release at this point. Maybe next year.
Very good, very good, the greatest game in the world, fifa23, it was hardly going to skip a year, right? It’s back, and this time it’s got HyperMotion2 technology, women’s club soccer, cross-play features and more. Yes, we also had to go back to the first one. HyperMotion 2 is an attempt to make animations more fluid and realistic, incorporating machine learning into the process and completing various motion capture shots, including an entire Women’s Soccer League match, to ensure that FIFA looks as it should. as realistic as possible.
rebel beach
We are not going to circle around the AAA titles. It’s just not us. There are some fantastic indie titles this month, and our favorite is the delicious rebel beach.
It is a narrative adventure that casts you as Casey, a curious girl who visits her family in an airship that doubles as a hospital. What bothers us is that the stories happen whether you’re watching them or not. This is an aircraft that is absolutely full of life, and you can focus on any conversation or event you want. Follow someone in the halls and see where it takes you. This is a nosy neighbor’s dream, and we are eager to inappropriately insert ourselves into people’s private lives.
electric circus
What if Darkest Dungeon was set in the Victorian era and instead of barbarians and cranky wizards, you played clowns and strongmen? Are you now so committed to playing electric circus as we are? Thought so.
The world has gone completely to the pot, with a virus that turns the general population into delusional killers. For reasons that are not entirely clear, the virus is not affecting circus performers. That leaves you in the strange position of saving the world. Saving the world happens in turn-based battles against lunatics, as you man your devotion bar so you can pull off circus-based combos as you run through six desperate districts. Shotgun the mime.
sonzo
Seasoned Verdun Y Tannenberg M2H developers return with their latest historical FPS, sonzo. What makes this one so interesting isn’t that it’s a WWI FPS (we’ve got quite a few of those), but that it’s looking to bring the Italian warfront to console, and that means mountain warfare. You’ll fight in the Isonzo Valley, in battles like Strafexpedition and Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, cutting through barbed wire to reach mountain outposts and taking out enemies on mountaintops.
There’s a point of base building here, too, as you keep incoming threats at bay with sandbags and mortars. It sounds a bit more realistic than a Warzone game.
Were it not for various delays, we would have brought you more announcements in September. Fortunately, in a way, Deliver us Mars and Evil West, among others, saved our little fingers by being delayed for months to come.
Which brings us to the outlook for October. We are truly in the exciting period of the year, where AAA games grow properly on the trees. Expect Overwatch 2, No More Heroes II, PGA Tour 2K23A Plague Tail: Requiem, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, New Tales from the Borderlands, Persona 5 Royal, Gotham Knights, and the small matter of a new Call of Duty game, Modern Warfare II. Charming.
