This is the moment Red Deadheads have been waiting YEARS for (I’m one of them). All other publishers are playing with fire by releasing anything the week of the 22nd, but here we are. Throw in a new Assassin’s Creed, Forza Horizon, Black Ops, and Mega Man and this month is chocka-block full of solid titles, something for everyone.

On to this month’s releases:

Microsoft Xbox One

Week of October 1st

Week of October 8th

Chronus Arc

Week of October 15th

Week of October 22nd

Week of October 29th

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Nintendo Switch

Week of October 1st

Splash Blast Panic
Soulblight
Revenant Dogma
oOo: Ascension
Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story

Week of October 8th

The World Ends with You: Final Remix
Child of Light Ultimate Edition
Mark of the Ninja: Remastered

Week of October 15th

Starlink: Battle For Atlas
SINNER: Sacrifice for Redemption
DARK SOULS: REMASTERED

Week of October 22nd

Week of October 29th

Transistor

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Nintendo 3DS

Week of October 8th

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PC

Week of October 1st
Mega Man 11

Week of October 8th
Mark of the Ninja: Remastered
WWE 2K19

Week of October 15th
SOULCALIBUR VI
The Jackbox Party Pack 5
NBA 2K Playgrounds 2
LEGO DC Super-Villains
WARRIORS OROCHI 4

Week of October 22nd
Disgaea 5 Complete
Eternum EX

Week of October 29th
Call of Cthulhu
Project Hospital

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Sony Playstation 4

Week of October 1st

Week of October 8th

Week of October 15th

Week of October 22nd

Week of October 29th

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Sony Playstation Vita

Week of October 1st

Week of October 29th

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What are you picking up this month?

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)

I wish 43 year-old me could tell 12 year-old me I still got it #NES #NintendoSwitch #TecmoBowl pic.twitter.com/LFH6Xm2kF6

— Tony (@i_aint_yer_pa) September 19, 2018

Nintendo’s online service goes live next week, and I have mixed feelings. It’s not groundbreaking to declare Nintendo has struggled with “online”. On their part, it’s not for lack of trying. I’ve been playing Nintendo games online since Metroid Prime Hunters. That was TWELVE years ago. The game worked but the experience was painful. Friend codes has always been the hard mode of online infrastructure. Nintendo has had moments of online success (Animal Crossing: Wild World worked surprisingly well) but it’s been mostly sputtering. You would have thought they would have figured it out by now. I’m not convinced they have.

As soon as I had a Switch in my hands I had dreams of a fully functional Virtual Console. What we are getting is a pitiful facsimile. So forgive me if I’m not super pumped about “play[ing] classic NES games anytime, anywhere”. It’s an undisputed fact that the SNES is the greatest console of all time and the fact that I won’t be playing Super Mario World, A Link to the Past, Actraiser or Super Metroid on my Switch come September 18th is nothing short of a travesty.

The voice chat/party system (that Microsoft more or less perfected) on offer from Nintendo is kind of sad. A phone app? That’s the best we’re going to do, Nintendo? Nintendo’s reluctance for an all-encompassing online service has been partly due to a promise to keep kids safe. I’ve seen my kids interact with the online troglodytes and I respect Nintendo’s intentions. I assume the decision to create a phone app was made to self-select their audience, thinking most kids wouldn’t have a cell phone. In 2018 that is becoming less and less likely. I will give them credit for having a headset jack on the Switch that works with a microphone, but they have some work to do to develop any kind of online community. Maybe they aren’t even trying to.

Look, I’ll be signing up for this day one. Goes without saying. And I will have my eyes glued to the screen during nintendo direct today, just begging for more details on what will hopefully become a robust online service but more importantly, a virtual console with a giant library.

September brings a serious haul of new games with some tent pole franchises and a bunch of new indie titles (especially on the Switch). I normally grab the releases lists from Amazon but it’s becoming more and more clear that traditional physical copies are on their way out (if they aren’t already). The number of digital offerings on all the major platforms are starting to outnumber physical offerings (especially on the Switch). There isn’t anything I’m specifically focusing on this month, but there are plenty of options.

On to this month’s releases:

Microsoft Xbox One

Week of September 3rd

Dead Age
Elea – Episode 1
FullBlast
Ninjin: Clash of Carrots
Dimension Drive

Week of September 10th

Nefarious
Neonwall
Revenant Dogma
ADIOS Amigos

Week of September 17th
Transference
Hover
Anodyne

Week of September 24th

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Nintendo Switch

Week of September 3rd

Super Inefficient Golf
Sigi – A Fart for Melusina
FullBlast
SNK HEROINES ~Tag Team Frenzy~
Shikhondo – Soul Eater
Lifeless Planet: Premiere Edition
Hyper Light Drifter – Special Edition
Gone Home
Broforce
Ninjin: Clash of Carrots
Moonfall Ultimate
GOD WARS The Complete Legend

Week of September 10th

Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut
Super Dungeon Tactics
STAY
Old School Musical
Nefarious
Defunct
Bastion
Time Carnage
Dust: An Elysian Tail

Week of September 17th

The Gardens Between
Hover
A Case of Distrust
Undertale
Sword of the Guardian
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk

Week of September 24th

Valkyria Chronicles 4
Monster Loves You
TowerFall

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Nintendo 3DS

Week of September 24th

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PC

Week of September 3rd
DRAGON QUEST XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Digital Edition of Light
Claws of Furry
Another Sight
Immortal: Unchained
NASCAR Heat 3

Week of September 10th
NBA 2K19
Chiaro and the Elixir of Life
COLINA: Legacy
RUSH: A Disney • PIXAR Adventure
ReCore: Definitive Edition
Axis Football 2018
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Grimshade

Week of September 17th
Siberian Dawn
Gene Rain

Week of September 24th
Creed: Rise to Glory
V-Rally 4
Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Valkyria Chronicles 4
Life is Strange 2

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Sony Playstation 4

Week of September 3rd

Planet Alpha
Overload

Week of September 10th

Week of September 17th

The Gardens Between
Splody
Anodyne

Week of September 24th

---

Sony Playstation Vita

Week of September 17th
Pato Box

Week of September 24th

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What are you picking up this month?

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)

August is usually reserved for one title: Madden. Most publishers don’t release much of note the week of Madden and not much else the rest of the month, but this month looks to be an exception. Some very solid titles, including Dead Cells, Overcooked 2 and Divinity Original Sin 2 on consoles. On to this month’s releases:

Microsoft Xbox One

Week of August 6th

Dead Cells

Week of August 13th
Fernz Gate
Hero Defense
State of Mind
Airheart – Tales of broken Wings

Week of August 20th

Treadnauts

Week of August 27th

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Nintendo Switch

Week of August 6th

Unexplored
In Between

Week of August 13th

Manual Samuel
Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: Nitro Ball
Cosmic Star Heroine

Week of August 20th

Shio

Week of August 27th

Victor Vran Overkill Edition

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Nintendo 3DS

Week of August 20th

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PC

Week of August 6th
Gem Rush
Overcooked! 2
City of the Shroud
MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD

Week of August 13th
DEATHGARDEN
Phantom Doctrine
The Walking Dead: The Final Season

Week of August 20th
Shenmue I & II
Silence in Space – Season One
Guacamelee! 2

Week of August 27th
Strange Brigade
Shadows: Awakening
Gene Rain
Two Point Hospital

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Sony Playstation 4

Week of August 6th

Week of August 13th

Week of August 20th

Week of August 27th

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Sony Playstation Vita

No new releases.

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What are you picking up this month?

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)

This is the first July in a while that I can remember having more than one title I’m interested in. This is a great month for Switch owners in particular, with Octopath Traveler, Captain Toad and Go Vacation (the next Wii Sports?). Red Faction Guerrilla was fantastic back in the day, so that might be one to jump on if you haven’t played it in the past. On to this month’s releases:

Microsoft Xbox One

Week of July 2nd

Digital Releases
What the Box?

Week of July 9th

Digital Releases
Insane Robots
The Spectrum Retreat
Warhammer: Vermintide 2
Ghost 1.0

Week of July 16th

Week of July 23rd

Digital Releases
Candle: The Power of the Flame
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1+2

Week of July 30th

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Nintendo Switch

Week of July 2nd
Digital Releases
The Wardrobe
Mushroom Wars 2 Nintendo Switch
Runbow
SpiritSphere DX

Week of July 9th

Digital Releases
Ghost 1.0
20XX

Week of July 16th

Digital Releases
Tanzia
Frost

Week of July 23rd

Digital Releases
Sleep Tight
Candle: The Power of the Flame
Mega Man X Legacy Collection
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2

Week of July 30th

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Nintendo 3DS

Week of July 2nd

Week of July 30th

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PC

Week of July 2nd
Deiland
Exposure
Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered
Draft Day Sports: College Football 2018

Week of July 9th
Shining Resonance Refrain
Pegasus-5: Gone Astray
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War
Ghostly Matter

Week of July 16th
Don’t Play With Dolls
Tempest 4000

Week of July 23rd
Ys: Memories of Celceta
Silence in Space – Season One
The Banner Saga 3

Week of July 30th
Resized
Yakuza 0
This Is the Police 2

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Sony Playstation 4

Week of July 2nd

Week of July 9th

Digital Releases
20XX

Week of July 16th

Digital Releases
Chicken Assassin: Reloaded

Week of July 23rd

Digital Releases
The Persistence
Train Sim World

Week of July 30th

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Sony Playstation Vita

Week of July 9th

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What are you picking up this month?

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)

On to this month’s releases:

Microsoft Xbox One

Week of June 4th

Week of June 11th

Week of June 18th

Week of June 25th

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Nintendo Switch

Week of June 4th

Week of June 11th

Week of June 18th

Week of June 25th

---

Nintendo 3DS

Week of June 4th

---

PC

Week of June 4th
Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn
Vampyr

Week of June 11th
Jurassic World Evolution
LEGO The Incredibles
Bus Simulator 18

Week of June 18th
Exposure
Darkest Dungeon: The Color Of Madness
Ghoststory

Week of June 25th
The Crew 2

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Sony Playstation 4

Week of June 4th

Week of June 11th

Week of June 18th

Week of June 25th

---

Sony Playstation Vita

Week of June 25th

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What are you picking up this month?

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)

I respect the dedication that goes into speedrunning and I am in awe at the dexterity required to pull these feats off. I also respect the amount of research and discovery that these communities do to find the little glitches and nuances that shave hundredths of seconds of runs. I love the combination of programming intuition and hardware limitations that make these discoveries possible. Since a lot of these amazing speed runs are older games, nostalgia plays a huge role in my enjoyment, as well.

But for my money, give me a video that delves deep into the mechanics of speed runs over the actual speed run. I came across this one from kottke.org recently that is in my wheelhouse.

The video is a bit long (5 times longer than the actual speed run itself) but is fascinating. It clearly spells out how Kosmic accomplished what he did, but it doesn’t discount the skill needed nor the luck he had during his run. I remember finding the first warp zone in 1-2 thinking I was the ultimate gaming wizard. I can’t even imagine pulling off some of the stunts needed to complete this type of run. (Crazy thing is? Just a couple months later Kosmic’s record was broken by somewes)

Enjoy the whole thing.

Other than State of Decay 2, there isn’t much this month that really catches my eye. But, seeing how it’s the 30th anniversary of Street Fighter, maybe my eyes just don’t work anymore (hashtag OLDMAN). On to this month’s releases:

Microsoft Xbox One

Week of May 7th

Week of May 21st

Week of May 28th

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Nintendo Switch

Week of May 14th

Week of May 28th

---

Nintendo 3DS

Week of May 14th

---

PC

Week of May 7th
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Ultimate Edition
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire – I recently restarted my Pillars of Eternity campaign and was really get into it before I lost steam.

Week of May 14th
EXAELLA
Wizard of Legend
1943 Deadly Desert
The Forest Below
Albion Online
FAR: Lone Sails

Week of May 21st
The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset
PixelJunk Monsters 2

Week of May 28th
Heroes of Umbra
Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
Time Golf Squad

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Sony Playstation 4

Week of May 7th

Week of May 14th

Week of May 21st

Week of May 28th

---

Sony Playstation Vita

Week of May 21st

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What are you picking up this month?

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)