Fall’s Best New Video Games

Analog games are treasures themselves, but so are their from-paper-to-pixel descendents: video games. I usually slide you my seasonal video game recommendations in our quarterly Wondercade Entertainment Guide, but our glorious Games Guide is an even better home for the latest batch. Here are some of the top titles you (or the gamer in your life) have to look forward to in the coming months.

First up is something up any thespian’s alley: Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (out August 10 on Windows and all consoles). Roleplaying musical! I mean, helloooo. The gist? Greek gods live in the real world, among us, and you have to find them, work with them, and uncover the truth around Calliope’s death. Speaking of things that are stray…there’s another game called simply that. Stray (Aug. 10 on Xbox One and Series X/S) came out last year on other consoles, but the Xbox version is out this month. This game is cuteness overload, but also absolutely captivating: you play (a criminally adorable) lost cat, separated from its family, as you try to piece together a mystery wandering around on four legs in a decaying, neon-drenched cyberpunk urban hellscape. A final recommendation out this month: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Aug. 18, Windows, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S), inspired by the classic horror flick(s). Neutralize the killer before he (permanently) neutralizes you.

If chainsaws are less your speed, and fairy tales are, I’ve got good news and bad news: The good news is, there’s a new Pinocchio-inspired game called Lies of P (Sept. 19, Windows, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S). The bad news? Pinocchio is here to eff some shiz up. Not necessarily with a chainsaw, but with a massive broadsword that’s as big as he is. Control this Timothée Chalamet-resembling iteration of Geppetto’s creation as you slash your way through a sea of baddies. Looking for some cartoon-ier action? Let me direct your attention to Super Bomberman R 2 (Sept. 12, Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S). The iconic bomb-dropper is back and you can play with up to 64 players. That’s like, bigger than a whole bowling team. Several bowling teams, in fact.

Starfield (Sept. 6, Windows and Xbox Series X/S) is the first new universe in 25 years made by Bethesda, the legendary studio that brought us the unbelievably massive fantasy world, Skyrim. Starfield is a similarly huge open-world role-playing game: create your own character, but this time, it’s the final frontier that’s your playground. Then shift gears from a futuristic sci-fi world to Baghdad in the year 861 A.D. in Assassin’s Creed Mirage (Oct. 12, Windows, Playstation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S), the latest in the wildly successful (and fun…especially for history lovers) series. Step into the boots of a famous thief (one who’s having strange visions) to sneak around and unravel a strange mystery. Finally, there’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Oct. 20, Nintendo Switch). Mario as an anthropomorphic elephant? ’Nuff said.