Winter is coming...
But don’t despair, these new releases will provide hours of entertainment on those long dark nights
THE spooktacular month of October is near, meaning we’re on a countdown to the delights of Halloween.
Sadly the new month also heralds the arrival of longer, darker nights – which get even longer when the clocks turn back an hour in just a few weeks.
But there’s no need to despair. This month also sees the arrival of a clutch of lovely new games – games that will keep you entertained on the dark winter nights ahead.
There’s football fun with the new FIFA 22, the Alan Wake remaster finally gets a release and there’s a familiar face looking to cause trouble in Far Cry 6.
FIFA 22 (PEGI 3)
PS4, PS5, XBOX ONE, XBOX X/S, Switch, PC
Release: October 1
Another year, another FIFA game.
The developers are making constant strides to make FIFA feel as close to being on the pitch as possible, and this year’s release introduces hypermotion technology.
EA used ‘hypermotion’ to motion-capture real world footballers and render them into the game to give a more immersive experience.
But this latest tech will only be available for next gen console owners, with PS4 and XBOX ONE players missing out.
This is also the first game to feature the 11 teams of the Indian Super League.
Far Cry 6 (PEGI 18) PS4, PS5, XBOX ONE, XBOX X/S Release: October 7
Star Wars and Breaking Bad fans will need no introduction to the dictatorial ruler of Yara.
For not only is Anton Castillo voiced by Giancarlo Esposito, he’s modelled on him too.
The fictional Caribbean island of Yara is being billed as the ‘largest Far Cry playground to date’, ruled by the iron fist of “El Presidente” Castillo, who is raising his son Diego to follow in his own terrifying footsteps.
Dropped into the mix is guerilla fighter Dani Rojas, who you must help topple Castillo and his regime.
It’s been widely publicised that this open-world actioner will not feature ray tracing (a method of
graphics rendering that simulates the physical behaviour of light), on consoles, instead opting to prioritise 4K at 60fps. Only PC players will get this feature.
Metroid Dread (PEGI 12) Switch Release: October 8
One of my favourite bounty hunters is back with a new adventure.
Originally pitched for the Nintendo DS back in the mid-2000s, Dread was eventually cancelled, only to be resurrected by developer MercurySteam, which impressed the gaming giant with its work on Metroid: Samus Returns.
Dread picks up straight after the events of 2002’s Metroid: Fusion, in which Samus Aran wiped out the lethal X parasites along with planet SR388.
Now Samus finds herself lured to planet ZDR, after a source indicates that the X are still alive.
Retaining the side-scrolling gameplay that Metroid is now famous for, Dread looks stunning.
Alan Wake Remastered (PEGI 16) PS4, PS5, XBOX X/S Release: October 5
It’s hard to believe it’s been 11 years since Alan Wake made his impressive debut on the XBOX 360.
The chilling survival horror/ action-adventure game follows the best-selling author as he attempts to find his missing wife in the small, backwater town of Bright Falls.
Playing out over six episodes, it went down the TV thriller route in that each ‘episode’ was loaded with cliffhangers and plot twists.
It’s also dripping in references to pop culture.
Now it’s been remastered in glorious 4K, with improved frame rates and graphic textures.
It’s also the first time the title will be available on the PlayStation, so Sony console owners can find out what they have been missing.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (PEGI 16) PS4, PS5, XBOX X/S Release: October 26
Developer Eidos Montreal finally confirmed we were getting a new Guardians of the Galaxy game in June.
Billed as a story-driven, singleplayer, third-person action-adventure game, you play as Star-Lord (aka Peter Quill), blasting around in jet-boots spitting pithy one-liners at your enemies.
While you play as Peter, your trusty team of misfits will be at your side, including a bearded Rocket, and a hard-as-nails-looking Groot.
The developers don’t have the rights to use the likenesses of the actors from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so everyone looks very different.
But given that it’s from the studio that rebooted the Deus Ex games, this promises to be heaps of fun.