Essays 04 September 2024, 02:44

The best releases of September. Games of September 2024

As I mentioned, September is really a busy month. There is no possibility to describe all the games that are coming out at this time. That's why below we present a few recommendations from our editorial team. For example, I will find time to play Core Keeper, which recently left Early Access. And what are you particularly waiting for?

Ara: History Untold

As I didn't like Humankind 2 at first sight... sorry... Civilization VII... one look was enough for me to know that Ara: History Untold was a strategy for me. While it may appear to be a typical example of the 4X subgenre at its foundation, the system of actions and prestige, a touch of crafting, and a "living world" should bring in enough novelty to extend "just one more turn syndrome." I also have great expectations from the simultaneous rounds. In a different situation, I would probably wait for the first major price drop, but since Ara is coming to PC Game Pass at launch, I have no intention of postponing its conquest of the world. Cultural, of course.

Hubert "hexx0" Sledziewski

NBA 2K25

I'm starting to miss staying up late to watch the best basketball league in the world as it's been a while since the last NBA game. Dealing with longing, at least for some period, will certainly be helped by NBA 2K25, which will finally be a full-fledged title for all players. Why am I writing that for some period? Undoubtedly, like every year, the 2K studios' "basket" will be overflowing with microtransactions, and the game will once again resemble a casino simulator. The lack of any competition (R.I.P. NBA Live) makes the devs feel too confident in this area. However, If you prefer not to compete with players from around the world and are only interested in playing with friends on the couch, NBA 2K25 is the perfect fit for that. It's all about 19!!

Marcin "Nicek" Nic

Caravan SandWitch

In recent years, there has been no shortage of colorful games about exploring cozy places. Most of them went by without catching my interest, but with Caravan SandWitch it's a different story. Perhaps it's due to the stunning graphics, which eschew a clichéd cartoon style in favor of resembling animated bande dessinée comics. Or maybe it's the gameplay elements, which indicate that it won't be a walking simulator and will instead feature numerous platform and logic challenges. The accompanying trailer song by Antynomy also did its job. Regardless of what was most important about it, the result is that I'm just crazy about Caravan SandWitch. This game promises to be a beautiful, magical, and above all, incredibly French adventure.

Adrian Werner

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - Reforged

The first Broken Sword is kind of a mini-Doom - if you name any gaming platform, there's a good chance that some edition of this brilliant point&click adventure has already appeared on it. I managed to play this title on a PC (original and Director’s Cut), the first PlayStation, and partially on the smartphone. Do we need another remaster? Probably not, but I am eagerly looking forward to checking out the upcoming September release of Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - Reforged (preferably on a console with trophies), reuniting with old friends, revisiting familiar places, and enjoying the familiar humor. It's good that it's not a complete remake with an attempt to introduce radical changes, such as three-dimensional graphics, which I will always associate with the weakest installments in this series.

Jacek „Stranger” Halas

Hollowbody

Small, independent teams have started making exceptionally interesting survival horror games in recent years. After the excellent Signalis and Conscript, the next gem of this type has a chance to be Hollowbody. This title is more graphically advanced than the two mentioned items. Instead of 2D graphics, we will get full 3D here, realized in a style modeled on early games from PlayStation 2. This position will combine horror with cyberpunk realities, and during the game, there will be no possibility to control the camera. Instead, the game itself will choose the best shot. The atmosphere of the project is reminiscent of Silent Hill, but the gameplay is more reminiscent of the Resident Evil series. The demo (unfortunately, no longer available) demonstrated that these ingredients will be combined into a tasty feast of horror, as you can see, there are plenty of them here. On one hand, referencing classics from a few decades ago, and on the other hand, introducing several modernizing solutions to them. This could be one of the best horror movies of this year.

Adrian Werner

The Plucky Squire

There are many games in the world that approach storytelling in a very creative way. Literally. Someone in the game reads a book, and then players get a piece of non-obvious gameplay, like in What Remains of Edith Finch. The Plucky Squire does something similar but with a children's book theme. The flat character from the flat world suddenly has the opportunity to go outside and become three-dimensional. Flipping through the pages of a book, running around a child's desk, transporting objects between the paper world and the real one, fighting, jumping, puzzles, dialogues... The idea is great; everything indicates that the game is fantastic to play (like "Zelda" on steroids?), and on top of that, the whole thing looks flawless. This could be the "indie" GOTY!

Filip "fsm" Grabski

Age of Mythology: Retold

Maybe because of the nostalgic charm, I think that visually, Age of Mythology hasn't aged much and doesn't look like it's 22 years old. This doesn't mean, however, that the remake isn't needed - nicer graphics, slightly more modern controls, and the game's presence on PC/Xbox Game Pass should breathe new life into this "best (because mythological) installment of the Age of Empires series." The gameplay presented suggested that World's Edge studio didn't mess around, making the gameplay smoother, and the first reviews confirmed it. A good RTS is a difficult RTS, it's a fast RTS, it's an RTS with an old-school edge. And what if my reaction speed may not be like it used to be years ago? Well, I will try to make up for it by planning a few steps ahead.