Alas, we reach the end of August, and as such, the end of the great annual summer gaming drought. But with each new end is a new beginning. And God help us, what is on the horizon is something to both excite us greatly and also fill us with the greatest of dread.
It’s the fall gaming onslaught, and it’s starting early this year. (Release dates according to Gamestop.com)
Usually we’re spared of this wallet-murdering avalanche until at least early October, but this year, the end of August and beginning of September will already see a number of hugely anticipated releases. The end of August sees the long-awaited release of Divinity: Original Sin II on consoles, and the following week of September 4th-7th will be host to the launch of Dragon Quest XI, Spider-Man, both NBA Live and NBA 2K19, followed the next week by Shadow of the Tomb Raider and FIFA 19. And that’s just September!
October doesn’t get any easier, with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Forza Horizon 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Battlefield V, Soul Calibur VI, a tiny little game called Red Dead Redemption 2, and that’s not even counting a number of smaller niche titles that will definitely have someone’s attention.
*Sigh* Okay, take a breath.. in November we have a little bit of breathing room, with Hitman 2 and Fallout 76 being the only big releases. Darksiders 3 also kicks off that month, if that’s on your radar. It’s a welcome reprieve though because we’re only getting started!
December brings us Just Cause 4, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition (hey this is a big one for me), Crackdown 3 (we’ll see), and Biomutant.
Oh, thank goodness, we got through Christmas. Now it’s smooth sailing into spring.
Not so fast, we still have January with Resident Evil 2 Remake and a game that absolutely no one has been waiting for, Kingdom Hearts III.
At least in February we only have to worry about Anthem, Metro Exodus, Days Gone, and Overkill’s The Walking Dead.
The Division 2 seems to have March all to itself, and it’s probably a good thing too, because half the damn world will probably be flat broke by this time.
We are approaching what is arguably the biggest and longest gaming season of all time. Usually the gaming industry blows its load halfway through November and then we chill for two or three months before the early spring titles release. But this year, Red Dead Redemption 2’s undeniably massive presence practically had its own gravitational pull, and the other publishers pushed their games far away from it, on both sides of its release, lest they risk their games being sucked in and swallowed. At the same time, there are more big releases than ever before.
The storm is on the horizon, and we have to prepare for the big one. It’s going the be the greatest and most miserable time of our lives.
