CONSOLE YOURSELF AS NIGHTS DRAW IN...
WE ROUND UP THE HOTTEST NEW RELEASES WHICH ARE SURE TO KEEP YOU ENTERTAINED
THE spooktacular month of October has arrived, meaning we’re on a countdown to the creepy delights of Halloween.
But it’s not all fun – the 10th month of the year also heralds the arrival of longer, darker nights – which get even longer when the clocks turn back an hour in a few weeks’ time. There’s no need to despair, however.
This month also sees the arrival of a clutch of lovely new games that will help to keep you entertained during the long autumn nights.
A sci-fi classic finally lands on the PS5, and Switch, Call of Duty’s latest game arrives, plus there’s a new adventure awaiting everyone’s favourite Ghostbusters.
No Man’s Sky (PEGI 7) PS5, Switch Release: October 7
Heavily inspired by classic science fiction, No Man’s Sky is a first-person, open world survival game, where players explore planets in a procedurally generated universe.
I’m not going to lie, but when this first landed in 2016 I was exceedingly disappointed, never feeling like it quite lived up to its promises. But all that has changed.
No Man’s Sky is possibly the most immersive game I’ve ever played, and I’ve lost myself for hours exploring alien worlds, meeting new life and expanding my little ship. The game’s arrival on Switch is nothing short of a miracle.
With everything you see in the game being procedurally generated by the console you play on, you can imagine the labour of love it’s been for developer Hello Games to make the title run on the Switch’s humble hardware.
One trade off has been there is no multiplayer mode here, but that’s a sacrifice I’m sure many players will be willing to make.
Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova (PEGI 7) PS4, XBOX X/S, Switch, PC Release: October 14
While we’re on the topic of strange new worlds, new life and new civilisations, there’s a new Star Trek game in the offing this month. Star Trek Prodigy is one of the latest series in the Star Trek universe, an animation that’s set five years after the USS Voyager returned to Earth. Set aboard the USS Protostar, it follows the journey of a motley crew of young aliens trying to escape the Delta Quadrant and get to the Alpha Quadrant. This game sees the crew battling to save their friends, the Protostar, and an alien planetary system from a supernova. It’s a title that promises fun for young and older gamers alike.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed (PEGI 12) PS4, PS5, XBOX ONE, XBOX X/S, PC
Release: October 18
It’s been a while since the last Ghostbusters game, and at least a decade since the last good one.
Spirits Unleashed features one half of the famous foursome, with Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson voicing their much-loved characters Ray Stantz and Winston Zeddemore.
Here you get to decide if you want to be a hunter or the hunted.
Play as a Ghostbuster, tracking down free-roaming spirits haunting libraries, hotels and museums, trapping them and bringing them back to your base.
Or you can play as a ghost, lurking in the shadows to scare and slime unsuspecting members of the public, and maybe even a Ghostbuster.
Bayonetta 3 (PEGI 16) Switch Release: October 28
Fans have been waiting eight long years for this one, and it really looks like it’s been worth it.
For the uninitiated, Bayonetta is a gun-slinging, acrobatic witch who slays her enemies in over-the-top combat, with some of the most outlandish finishing moves.
The first two games are absolute classics that grip you and refuse to let go.
Bayonetta has four guns and is pretty nifty with a sword. And when hacking and slashing isn’t enough, she can use her amazing hair as a weapon, and even transforms into an animal.
This third outing sees the heroine wield yet another new skill, Demon Masquerade, which sees Bayonetta summon the demon linked to her weapon to complete some hairraising combos.
If you’ve not dipped your toes into the Bayonetta waters, now is the perfect time to dive in.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
(PEGI 18) PS4, PS5, XBOX ONE, XBOX X/S, PC
Release: October 28
Another year, another Call of Duty. Modern Warfare II – not to be confused with 2009’s Modern Warfare 2 – is the 19th instalment of the franchise, and a direct sequel to the 2019 series reboot.
Developer Infinity Ward has said this game brings several massive changes to CoD gameplay, including an advanced AI system in the campaign and co-op modes, water physics and swimming mechanics, as well as a major overhaul of the game’s vehicle system.
Featuring several returning characters from the 2019 game, this is set in modern times and follows the fortunes of elite multinational counter-terrorist unit Task Force 141.
Currently in its Beta period (the second phase of testing in which a select group of gamers get to try the product out) early reports are that the action feels quicker and tighter, with promising maps and responsive controls.