Autumn starts late next month for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, so we’re looking ahead to what we’ll be playing as we scrape our melted bodies off the pavement and fashion cold weather facsimiles of our former selves. There are a ton of sports games to play in September followed by a handful of blockbuster-types in October and November: Mafia 3, Civilization 6, Dishonored 2, and of course, Farming Simulator 17. Here’s a breakdown of the biggest games releasing in the next few months.
The PC Gamer staff, Omri Pettite, and Ian Birnbaum contributed to this article.
September
ReCore
Release date: September 13
Keji Inafune’s Comcept studio, which recently underwhelmed with Mega Man successor Mighty Number 9, is behind this curious Xbox One and Windows 10 game. But also of note is the American studio, Armature, which is working with Comcept—Armature was founded by former members of Retro Studios, which made the Metroid Prime series. What we’ve seen so far is a mix of third-person shooting and platforming, a style typically relegated to consoles but coming to the Windows Store as part of Microsoft Studios’ initiative to release new games on both platforms.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2017
Release date: September 13
PES is one of the most fun sports games—mostly. It’s a shame that the 2016 port was so full of issues. We hoped for better in the 2017 iteration. A demo recently landed for console versions, but the PC demo is quietly absent. PES 2017 is said to bring a host of improvements, like players breathing fog in cold weather, a new ball control system, and new licensing partnerships that put world-class teams and stadiums in the game. That’s all true, but if players in the PC port waddle around on clay clogs like constipated muppets, a new ball control system means exactly nothing. We'll of course see for ourselves when it's out.
Dead Rising
Release date: September 13
Dead Rising's sequels both found their way to the PC years ago, but somehow the original zombie-suplexing adventures of war photographer Frank West remained in Xbox 360-exclusive purgatory. Thanks to an HD remaster that's finally changing, with a new version of the game running at 1080p and 60 fps hitting current consoles and the PC in September. Fingers crossed that on PC, that really means an unlocked resolution and framerate. Dead Rising's sequels may have improved on its weapon customization and other systems, but they never quite matched the original's quirky personality.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Release date: September 15 (Early Access)
We really loved Larian Studios’ previous game, Divinity: Original Sin. It caught us a little by surprise, starting as a lesser known crowdfunding success and ending up on our lists of best RPGs and best co-op games of all time. Success on that scale is hard to follow, but there’s a lot to be excited about in Divinity: Original Sin 2. The devs say they’re building an RPG that is bigger, more open, prettier, that comes with four-player co-op. Add in a new competitive multiplayer mode and work from Fallout: New Vegas and KOTOR 2 writer Chris Avellone, and it’s looking like the cRPG renaissance is about to have another banner year.
NBA 2K17
Release date: September 20
The PC misses out on a lot of the major sports games, but at least we get 2K’s NBA series. It’s often very good (though an issue with NBA 2K16 and the Windows 10 Anniversary update did cast a nasty shadow on it) and it should be fun to see how Visual Concepts deals with the league this year. What do you do about Curry and Durant? How well can it simulate choking when up 3-1? Tough questions.
H1Z1: King of the Kill
Release date: September 20
Originally a Battle Royale mode for multiplayer zombie-survival game H1Z1, King of the Kill became a standalone game and entered Early Access back in February. Already a hit on Twitch, King of the Kill sets over a hundred players loose on a post-apocalyptic map to scavenge weapons and gear, hunt each other down, and avoid an ever-encroaching cloud of toxic gas. The last player standing wins.
Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade
Release date: September 23
A grand-scale MMO shooter set in the pauldronclad grimdark Warhammer 40K universe feels all kinds of appropriate in a galaxy where strife breaks out faster than you can say “heretic”—but when Eternal Crusade sheds its Early Access shackles late September, we'll be presented with a slimmed combined-arms concept closer in comparison to Battlefield than PlanetSide. Still, the starting playable Space Marine chapters and their Chaos counterparts look good, and developer Behaviour Interactive has distributed its ambition across a free-DLC roadmap that'll eventually furnish Eternal Crusade with additional modes such as Destiny-style raids and multi-planet campaigns.
Forza Horizon 3
Release date: September 27
A full Forza game on PC, how about that? Like ReCore, Forza Horizon 3 is representative of Microsoft’s plan to turn Xbox One exclusives into Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusives. The game takes place in an open world rendition of Australia and includes over 350 cars, 12 player free roaming, multiplayer races, as well as a new 4-player co-op mode. That's a lot of stuff that sounds good, though along with Microsoft Studios' other games, it all hinges on the quality of the PC release.
FIFA 17
Release date: September 27
The annual update of the world’s biggest football sim is always exciting for big fans, and always a bit perplexing for everyone else. This year, though, the new Journey mode lets players control a rising star, hitting big goals and then being polite and charming in interviews until he’s the next Big Name in sport. FIFA 17 is also going to push the graphics another step forward—and you can see the toll it will take with these hefty system requirements. Be wary of a costly microtransaction structure, if FIFA 16 is any guide.
On the next page, October...
