What to Play in September: Astro Bot at Your Fingertips, Chaosites Shall Not Pass, Princess Zelda Saves Link and More. Autumn is the time for cool games, and September is the beginning of the holiday. In September, Warhammer 40,000 fans rejoice – they will get the release of a brutal action movie about ultramarines and an addition to the role-playing game Rogue Trader. There is also a reason to celebrate for PlayStation 5 and Switch owners – interesting exclusives are coming out on these consoles. Harry Potter and football fans have a holiday – the Quidditch championship and a new season in EA Football Club 2025 begin. But if you do not consider yourself a member of any of the mentioned groups, you can celebrate Knowledge Day – by finding out what other releases will appear in September!
September’s Main Releases
Astro Bot (PlayStation 5) – September 6
Image courtesy of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Source .
The cute robot Astro Bot has become the mascot of the PlayStation 5 console. A small technological demo with this character, pre-installed on each console, was supposed to demonstrate the advantages of the new DualSense controller. In addition to the touchpad, gyroscope and accelerometer, familiar to players from DualShock 4, the new product received adaptive triggers, an upgraded vibration mode and several other innovations. Astro Bot really skillfully demonstrated these technologies. Players liked the character himself. So Sony decided to release a full-fledged game with this character, without losing the technological advances of the demo version.
The new Sony exclusive is a 3D platformer that consists of more than 80 levels on 50 planets. The planets are scattered across 6 galaxies, and travel between them is carried out on the Dual Speeder ship, the shape of which resembles the DualSense. In addition to Astro Bot, the game features bots inspired by many famous characters from well-known Sony franchises: more than 150 VIP bots are announced.
PC and Xbox owners are not invited to this celebration.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S) – September 9
mage courtesy of Saber Interactive and Focus Entertainment. Source .
The Warhammer 40,000 universe hasn’t always been kind to games based on its license. Rarely have games caught the attention of even the most dedicated fans, let alone the general gaming audience. However, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 seems to have every chance of becoming one of the best games in the entire franchise. After an early version of the game leaked online two months before its release, even players who were initially skeptical about the project began to eagerly await its release. The leak turned out to be useful for the developers, as it showed off some impressive gameplay features.
Players will find a brutal and bloody action game. Space Marines use their deadly skills and destructive weapons to destroy enemies in dynamic and fast-paced battles. Not a single Tyranid or Chaos will leave alive. For the glory of the God-Emperor! In addition to the single-player campaign and the cooperative “Operations” mode for three players, the game also features PvP, where players can try on the armor of loyal orders or Chaos warbands!
The game will be available on September 9 on all current platforms and will be fully translated into Russian. Wealthier players who have purchased the Gold or Ultra Edition will be able to start playing earlier. Access will open on September 5 at 19:00 Moscow time on PC and at 16:00 on consoles.
EA Sports FC 25 (PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch) – September 17
Image courtesy of Electronic Arts Inc. Source .
The most popular and famous game in the football simulator genre is preparing for the new season. It will be released not only on modern consoles and personal computers, but also on devices of the previous generation. The developers promise that the new version will not only update the team rosters, but also introduce other changes.
Among the new features is the 5v5 Rush mode, which the creators say is a new way to play mini-football with friends in Ultimate Team, Clubs and Kick-Off. In addition, the tactical framework has been reworked, which should provide greater strategic control and more realistic movement at the team level.
Frostpunk 2 (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S) – September 20
Image courtesy of 11 bit studios. Source .
The land dying in the grip of ice from the first part of Frostpunk was liked by players. On Steam, this city-building strategy has the highest ratings – 92% of players out of more than 90 thousand who left reviews recommend this game. So the release of the second part was expected.
Jakub Stokalski, design director at Polish studio 11 bit, says that “Frostpunk 2 is still a game about the City and its society.” The game takes place 30 years after an apocalyptic snowstorm. The player is given the burden of leading a metropolis in which the remnants of humanity survive. You will need to manage the construction of the city, organize the extraction of resources, establish interactions between its different parts, as well as make difficult decisions about the future of the city and overcome the consequences of these decisions.
However, construction and resource extraction in the harsh conditions of the snow apocalypse will not be enough. As the city grows, its population grows and basic survival tasks are solved, new factions appear among people who have their own views on the future of this world. And as a leader, you will have to decide which path to take.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Switch) – September 26
Image courtesy of Nintendo. Source .
The Legend of Zelda franchise has dozens of games, including remakes, re-releases, and non-canon projects. But in almost all of them, Zelda herself is a non-player character, and certainly not the main character. In Echoes of Wisdom, this will change. For the first time, Zelda will debut in the lead role. If this is not the case, then let the experts correct us in the comments on VK and Telegram under this post.
Echoes of Wisdom is also different in that it brings back classic gameplay that is significantly different from what players experienced in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Echoes of Wisdom is built on the same engine as the 2019 Switch game Link’s Awakening, which is itself a remake of the 1993 Game Boy game.
According to the plot, Link (the protagonist of the previous parts) is drawn into a mysterious rift that has appeared all over Hyrule (the game’s world). Other inhabitants of this world are also drawn into the rifts. So Zelda has no choice but to take into her hands a magical artifact – the Staff, given to her by the mysterious fairy Tri – and save Link and Hyrule. With the help of the artifact, the princess can duplicate objects, creating their “echo”, which can be used throughout the world.
Players will explore a vast world, visit dungeons, overcome obstacles, help residents, collect ingredients and make smoothies. You can also travel on horseback. In addition, players can change the appearance of the heroine and even take the form of Link’s spirit – with a sword and shield.
Worth paying attention to
The Casting of Frank Stone (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S) – September 3
Image courtesy of Supermassive Games and Behaviour Interactive Inc. Source .
It’s 1980 in the world of Dead by Daylight. The ghost of killer Frank Stone is haunting the town of Cedar Hills. A group of teenagers think it’s the perfect place to film a horror movie. In some ways, they were right. They really did find horror.
Unlike other games in the Dead by Daylight universe, The Casting of Frank Stone is a single-player game with a strong narrative focus. This is a new experience for Behaviour Interactive, the studio responsible for the franchise, so the company decided to turn to colleagues from Supermassive Games, known for the horror titles Until Dawn, The Dark Pictures Anthology.
With that in mind, we should expect The Casting of Frank Stone to be more of an interactive horror movie, which may attract a new audience to the franchise, but may, to some extent, scare off fans of the original’s asymmetrical multiplayer. The developers promise that the decisions the player makes throughout the game will affect the events. The game has several endings.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions (PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch) – September 3
Image courtesy of Unbroken Studios and Warner Bros. Games. Source .
Since the release of the first Harry Potter book, and then the first film based on the book, this magical universe has been loved by many players. Last year’s Hogwarts Legacy (see Maxim Dragan’s review ) sold out in huge numbers, although it left indifferent people who are indifferent to the world created by J.K. Rowling.
Legacy immersed the player in the atmosphere of the school of witchcraft, pleased fans, but received a portion of criticism for the lack of the opportunity to play Quidditch, a popular sports competition in the wizarding world. In Quidditch Champions, Warner Bros. decided to correct this misunderstanding. The new product is a simulator of sports competitions in Quidditch. We are sure that this will be an interesting experience for many players among the Potter fans, but it is doubtful that it will have the same success as Legacy.
The player will be able to create their own character or choose a hero from the Harry Potter film universe and take one of the positions on the Quidditch field: Chaser, Seeker, Beater or Goalkeeper. As befits a serious simulator, Quidditch Champions will have a career mode (single or cooperative), in which you need to fight for the title of champion. In addition, competitive multiplayer modes are available.
Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S) – September 12
Image courtesy of KT Racing and Nacon. Source .
The Test Drive series has a rich history. The first game was released by Atari back in 1987. The 2006 spinoff Unlimited rebooted the series and received good reviews. But the game couldn’t compete with Need for Speed. Although NFS Underground 2 from 2004 couldn’t compete with anyone, not even subsequent EA games. Now EA’s racing arcades are going through a tough time. The latest Unbound received mixed reviews.
Competitors, however, are not asleep: Forza Horizon from Xbox Game Studios is still popular with players, this year also saw the release of The Crew Motorfest from Ubisoft, and at the end of August, CarX Street from Russian developers was released on PC, the mobile version of which, albeit with reservations, is the best racing arcade on smartphones (see our review ).
The developers of Solar Crown have something to brag about. The game recreates Hong Kong on a 1:1 scale, which, according to the published materials, looks like the real thing. So if you dreamed of visiting this city, then thanks to TDU you have the opportunity to do so. In addition, many licensed cars are announced. In the future, the game will continue to expand. In the second season, a new map is promised – Ibiza, also recreated on a 1:1 scale, and in March 2025, the developers intend to add clan wars.
The Plucky Squire (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch) – September 17
Image courtesy of All Possible Futures and Devolver Digital. Source .
We traditionally do not ignore the games released by Devolver Digital. The publisher is known for its unique approach to choosing the games it publishes. Not all of them become hits, but almost all of them are distinguished by original game mechanics or unusual approaches to them.
The Brave Page (that’s how the game’s title translates) will tell you about the magical adventures of fairy-tale book characters who discover a three-dimensional world when they find themselves outside the pages of their book. In this cute adventure, you can travel between worlds: two-dimensional and three-dimensional, fight enemies, solve puzzles and become a hero of a collection of fairy tales.
The game has a full translation into Russian, so you can invite young players who are not yet very good at handling gamepads, mice and keyboards to the adventure.
Enotria: The Last Song (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S) – September 19
Image courtesy of Jyamma Games. Source .
The official description of the game states that “Enotria: The Last Song is a sunny soulslike based on Italian legends. Wear masks that change roles, fight fierce enemies, change reality with the power of Ardor and learn the secrets of Enotria – a country stuck in an endless play.”
Souls fans still seem to be lacking soulslikes, as almost every release in this genre is successful, unless the developers make obvious mistakes. Enotria from the independent Italian studio Enotria also has a chance to compete for players.
The main feature of the new product is the ability to put on masks of defeated enemies to take on their roles. Each role is a new style of play, a new fighter, with their own strengths and weaknesses. Leveling up is different. The developers promise 68 skills that allow you to create more than 150 million combinations. Also declared are 120 types of weapons in 8 classes, 45 spells and 8 parry modifiers.
Remasters
Age of Mythology: Retold (PC, Xbox Series X|S) – September 4
Age of Mythology is a spin-off of the Age of Empires series. In 2014, this real-time strategy already received an Extended Edition reissue (see Vitaly Kazunov’s review ), and now Xbox Game Studios is presenting a full-fledged remaster. If the developers do not stumble on level ground, then on September 4 we will see the revival of one of the best fantasy real-time strategies.
Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP (PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch) – September 12
Image courtesy of DRAGAMI GAMES, LTD. Source .
Juliet Starling was planning to celebrate her coming of age with her friends and introduce her boyfriend to her family. Instead, she had to arm herself with a chainsaw and save her classmates from hordes of zombies.
The action-adventure slasher Lollipop Chainsaw for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 was a hit in niche gaming circles (see Mikhail Shkredov’s review ), but it stood out due to its colorful protagonist. In today’s times, her outfit could probably even be called provocative. If the developers managed to preserve the humor, atmosphere, and well-made gameplay moments, while eliminating the shortcomings, we have every chance of getting a great slasher.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S) – September 19
The fourth installment of the hilarious zombie action game Dead Rising for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 (see Mikhail Shkredov’s review ) was pure fun, including the main character Frank West, who was notable for his jokes and cheerfully dealt with zombies.
This character first appeared in the first part of Dead Rising, the remaster of which is coming out this September for next-gen consoles. So we are expecting excitement and fun in a new graphic design.
Additions
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader – Void Shadows (PC) – September 24
Image courtesy of Owlcat Games. Source .
On the one hand, it’s strange to release an expansion to a game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe in the same month that Space Marine 2 comes out. On the other hand, Rogue Trader is something completely different. It’s a fairly hardcore role-playing game about free traders in the Warhammer 40,000 universe (see Maxim Ivanov’s review ). The game has a lot of advantages, and an equally large number of disadvantages.
So while some players in the role of Ultramarines fight for the glory of the God-Emperor, others will be able to thoughtfully understand whether the developers were able to retain the advantages of Rogue Trader, while making the game more comfortable and interesting.
