Talking Time curates September games: What are you anticipating? What's worth checking out?

[dosboot]

A thread for examining the new games of September! Share your personal picks, interesting curios, and not quite there possibles...

Did you discover some small game that not everyone knows about?
Share that and let us know what it is about!

Already know a thing or two that interests you?
Make a list of your interests and/or possibles!

Don't know what's so great about an upcoming game you keep hearing about?
Ask here!

Don't follow gaming news that closely and just want to passively see what BigGames™ people care about?
This is the place!

~

Thread concept:
The basic idea is to list new games that you are interested in, as well as games you are potentially curious about or want to give wider attention to. You can briefly describe them or ask other people to help fill you in. The hope is that regular threads like these can act as a collective filter/discovery mechanism to help people decide what is worth checking out.

"New games" means any new title that is being released or ported this month in any capacity (not "backlogs/what you are playing this month"). The angle here is sharing your anticipation and promoting game discovery (as opposed to sharing comments about a first playthrough in progress - that belongs elsewhere).

• If you want a handy list that covers most of the major upcoming games of the month, here's a few text lists of upcoming games:
  • Giant Bomb
  • Game Informer
  • Wikipedia
  
  Feel free to post other lists or list videos that you find useful.
  
  
• Final request: If you are the first person to mention a game please provide (at minimum) a short sentence description. (If it is a very big AAA release though, then don't worry about it.) This is a good convention that makes the thread more useful as a discovery mechanism, and especially helps out anyone who doesn't follow the news as closely as you.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

NGL, September lookin pretty dire. Which is historically very strange for September.

Which is fine by me, my backlog could use some trimming. But I think we’re definitely beginning to feel the pandemic pinch acutely.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Ni No Kuni 2 is heading to Switch and I understand it to be to the first game as Mega Man 2 was to the original in terms of improvement. Which is good because OH MAN did I want to like the original Ni No Kuni. It's an absolutely gorgeous JRPG that's all Ghibli as h*ck and it's also all Pokemon-y and everything.

Eastward kind of looks like Crosscode, but less fake-MMO and more Weird City. Games got some truly excellent art direction as well.

 

[Patrick]

I played the first NNK up through the third area maybe? I think it was a desert? I quit, but I basically feel like I got everything I was going to out of the game. And despite quitting pretty early on, I have really fond memories of it. Maybe I'll check out the sequel down the road?

 

[Sarge]

Even though I almost never buy them at launch, I figure Tales of Arise is a thing that will happen. Don't even know much about this one, but apparently it's been some time since Tales of Berseria. The series is nothing if not consistent, though - I don't know that I've played many truly bad main entries in the series, and they do a good job of scratching that semi-ARPG itch.

 

[SpoonyGundam]

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is out tomorrow! It's an adaptation of the Pathfinder Adventure Path of the same name, where you lead an army to fight off a demonic invasion. The big fancy thing in that AP was Mythic Paths, which were powerful subclasses the party gained that gave them divine superpowers. The game takes a different spin on them, and your main character's Mythic Paths are derived from one of many distinct powerful beings. So you've got basic obvious options like angel or demon, some more interesting things like gold dragon or lich, or the really spicy stuff like a time-traveling cop, interdimensional superhero with a dragon sidekick, swarm of sentient insects, or a minmaxer. Or none of them, that's also an option. Each path has a unique set of abilities and game-spanning questline that actually impacts the story in significant ways, and this is all on top of the absolutely preposterous amount of options for your base character. 25 classes, each having 6-7 additional archetypes to further define them. It's... a lot. I backed the game and had a lot of fun with the beta, so I'm excited to dig into the full release.

Also you can ride a triceratops.

 

[MetManMas]

Eastward is definitely the game that most interests me this month. Love the art direction.

 

[Torzelbaum]

NGL, September lookin pretty dire. Which is historically very strange for September.

Which is fine by me, my backlog could use some trimming. But I think we’re definitely beginning to feel the pandemic pinch acutely.

Trimming is never a bad idea. But I guess if you are looking to add to the backlog you could get something old that you missed or skipped when it was new.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Even though I almost never buy them at launch, I figure Tales of Arise is a thing that will happen. Don't even know much about this one, but apparently it's been some time since Tales of Berseria. The series is nothing if not consistent, though - I don't know that I've played many truly bad main entries in the series, and they do a good job of scratching that semi-ARPG itch.

Tales games are all mechanically sound and quite fun to play. But they are all WAY too long in the tooth. I just can't handle 'em anymore. The stories they tell are never worth the 80+ hours of commitment. If they could condense the 100hr play times down to 25 or 30 I'd be all over them, but as they are now they're some of the more aggressively over padded RPGs you can experience.

 

[Sarge]

Probably true. I think the last ones I finished were Tales of Hearts R and Tales of Graces f, the former of which I picked up from a 30-hour save file, and the latter I'm pretty sure I finished under 40. I haven't actually finished (or played much) of Zestiria, Xillia 1/2, or Berseria. I enjoyed the mess out of Hearts R, though.

One I didn't care for as much as some was Vesperia. While I finished in 50 hours, it just felt like it needed to wrap up multiple times but kept going. My favorites in the series are Symphonia and Abyss.

 

[Violentvixen]

Wario Ware Get It Together play microgames with chaotic changing control schemes and couch coop. Here's the thread! If we do end up traveling in October as planned we might get it for the train ride. Otherwise it might be something where we wait until Christmas.

Webbed, you're a spider swinging around on a quest. Could be either tons of fun or frustrating to control, going to wait for reviews.

I mentioned it last month before I knew it was pushed to September, but Skatebird also looks like goofy fun.

I'll be renting Sonic Colors Ultimate. The game was fine but I don't see a need for a remaster or to replay the whole thing. I just wanna listen to Aquarium Park over and over again.

 

[dosboot]

Flynn: Son of Crimson. A 2D pixel sidescrolling action adventure. Think metroidvania, but perhaps not with that overarching structure. It appears to me to be more like a narrative adventure, and at one point in trailers you can see a Super Mario World-esque style point map. Gameplay is a combination of sword slinging and riding your mythical beast companion

Surprisingly, Flynn: Son of Crimson wasn't listed on any of the upcoming games lists in the OP. It is being published by Humble and showcased recently Xbox's Gamescom showcase (part of their "humble games on gamepass" initiative).

Severed Steel. Indie FPS that is about score attack/level completion using stylish moves and destructible enviroments. Think combo'ing parkour moves, sliding on the floor, and other action movie stunts with appropriate amounts of slow motion. The promise of the game are all these cool moments where you are switfly pick up a gun in order to return fire while sliding, or grabbing an enemy's gun while you kick off them, or all other sorts having fun with the enemy AI. Severed Steel reminds me of what would go through my own imagination when I would replay certain levels of Mirror's Edge just to mess around with the guards.

 

[karzac]

Deathloop, the new game from Dishonored and Prey developer Arkane, comes out September 14. I'm very excited.

It's an immersive sim with a 70s exploitations cinema style. You play as Colt, trapped on a hedonistic timeloop island. You're trying to break the loop by killing 8 high profile targets, all in a single day - something that's impossible at the outset (I think).

Judging by previews, the structure seems pretty interesting and unconventional, given the premise. It's not a single contiguous timeloop like Outer Wilds or something. Instead, there are 4 different levels, each with 4 different times of day (morning, noon, afternoon and night). Once you're in the level, there's no timer - you're free to take as long as you like. But once you leave the level, you can only move forward in time - and if you die, you're kicked back to the beginning of the day. So, you might start a run at the Docks in the Morning - go to the Factories at Noon - then Downtown in the Afternoon - and then die, and maybe start your next run Downtown in the Morning. (I don't know if those are the actual areas, I'm just making up examples).

That structure seems like a really interesting way of combining the blink-and-you'll-miss-it nature of timeloop games, with the detailed exploration of immersive sims. It also seems like it will lead to the sort of "explore every possibility" style of gameplay that you find in modern Hitman games. I imagine there will be a lot of "oh, this thing I just discovered doesn't do anything now, but if I come back here in the morning..."

Also, there's going to be Dark Souls-style invasions, where players can take control of Juliana, an antagonist who wants to stop Cole from succeeding. Seems wild, and maybe annoying, but also fun? That mode is optional though.

Anyway, it's an extremely high concept, but I have a huge amount of trust in Arkane to pull it off.

 

[4-So]

Final Fantasy 4 Pixel Remaster is out on September 8th and is probably the one I'm looking forward to the most.

Beyond that, Tales of Arise and Deathloop both seem like swell times. I've never played a Tales Of game (aside from about 15 minutes of Phantasia on emulator) and Deathloop I'm interested in just from the pedigree. Arkane has never done me wrong.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is something I've followed since it was announced, looks like it'll finally be out on the 21st. High level overview: It's an action-adventure game with very Pixar-ish designs that reminds me of the best parts of Horizon or Breath of the Wild.

 

[Peklo]

​

Espgaluda II launches on the 9th in all regions. Live Wire's previous Cave port in Mushihimesama was excellent, so this should be no different. I'll support them unconditionally.

 

[Sarge]

Weirdly enough, I stumbled upon Espgaluda II Black Label in a clearance store. Not the place I'd expect to find anything import-related, much less an arcade shooter on 360!

 

[zonetrope]

Deathloop, the new game from Dishonored and Prey developer Arkane, comes out September 14. I'm very excited.

It's an immersive sim with a 70s exploitations cinema style. You play as Colt, trapped on a hedonistic timeloop island. You're trying to break the loop by killing 8 high profile targets, all in a single day - something that's impossible at the outset (I think).

Judging by previews, the structure seems pretty interesting and unconventional, given the premise. It's not a single contiguous timeloop like Outer Wilds or something. Instead, there are 4 different levels, each with 4 different times of day (morning, noon, afternoon and night). Once you're in the level, there's no timer - you're free to take as long as you like. But once you leave the level, you can only move forward in time - and if you die, you're kicked back to the beginning of the day. So, you might start a run at the Docks in the Morning - go to the Factories at Noon - then Downtown in the Afternoon - and then die, and maybe start your next run Downtown in the Morning. (I don't know if those are the actual areas, I'm just making up examples).

That structure seems like a really interesting way of combining the blink-and-you'll-miss-it nature of timeloop games, with the detailed exploration of immersive sims. It also seems like it will lead to the sort of "explore every possibility" style of gameplay that you find in modern Hitman games. I imagine there will be a lot of "oh, this thing I just discovered doesn't do anything now, but if I come back here in the morning..."

Also, there's going to be Dark Souls-style invasions, where players can take control of Juliana, an antagonist who wants to stop Cole from succeeding. Seems wild, and maybe annoying, but also fun? That mode is optional though.

Anyway, it's an extremely high concept, but I have a huge amount of trust in Arkane to pull it off.

This sounds awesome, thank you for alerting me to its existence.

EDIT: Ahh bummer, PS5. Maybe I'll see if my PC can handle it.

 

[Vaeran]

Ni No Kuni 2 is heading to Switch and I understand it to be to the first game as Mega Man 2 was to the original in terms of improvement. Which is good because OH MAN did I want to like the original Ni No Kuni. It's an absolutely gorgeous JRPG that's all Ghibli as h*ck and it's also all Pokemon-y and everything.

The first Ni no Kuni absolutely bored me to tears, but I found the sequel charming, fun and engaging. And as far as I can tell the two don't have any meaningful plot connections.

 

[Violentvixen]

Oh I forgot, Hoa looks pretty so I'm curious about that too.

 

[Mightyblue]

The first Ni no Kuni absolutely bored me to tears, but I found the sequel charming, fun and engaging. And as far as I can tell the two don't have any meaningful plot connections.

There's a few references and returning locations, but they're almost entirely standalone games.

 

[karzac]

This sounds awesome, thank you for alerting me to its existence.

EDIT: Ahh bummer, PS5. Maybe I'll see if my PC can handle it.

Given that Microsoft owns Bethesda now, I'm sure it will come to Xbox eventually.

 

[Gaer]

There's a few references and returning locations, but they're almost entirely standalone games.

Can you tell me if it has less or preferably no distressingly common unexamined pro-colonialism sentiments?

 

[Mightyblue]

It's been a while since I played NNK 2 and even longer since I played through 1, but I'm going to say that 2 is probably a lot worse in that regard than 1, as a not insignificant part of 2's plot is you the MC (an isekai'd not-American President into a younger body) acting as the guide and advisor to a young king looking to build a new kingdom after being exiled from his old one.