October, 2023’s most crowded month, is here | Kaser Focus

A chill breeze, a red leaf on a tree, the distant sound of “Spooky, Scary Skeletons” playing — October has officially arrived. And while my non-gamer, civilian self revels in the sudden appearance of pumpkins, fall foliage and literal spooky, scary skeletons … my gamer self is battening down the hatches. Because the most crowded, games-heavy month of the year is finally upon us. You thought you had no time for games before? You really don’t have time for October’s release slate.

We’ve talked about it before, but just to remind you, here is a short list of the games that are coming out this month: Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Super Mario Bros Wonder, Cities: Skylines II, Alan Wake 2, Lords of the Fallen, Detective Pikachu Returns, Forza Motorsport, The Lamplighters League, Hellboy Web of Wyrd, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria and Ghostrunner 2. No wonder Alone in the Dark ran scared from this release window.

It’s been another downer of a week, with layoff news coming from Telltale Games, Team 17 and Naughty Dog. We’ve also heard news that several former Ubisoft executives have been detained by French police, who are investigating claims of sexual assault and harassment at the company (details of which broke in several 2020 reports). Even as we celebrate the deluge of fantastic games this month, it pays for us to also remember the people who made them — many of whom no longer have jobs.

In personal news, I’ll be playing more of Spider-Man 2 as we prep for the GamesBeat review — but I am definitely going to make time for Assassin’s Creed Mirage. This series and I have so much history that I feel obligated to make space for it in my life no matter what. I’ve also heard interesting things about the newly released Cocoon, and I might as well check it out since it’s on Game Pass.

What to play this week

What’s new:

• Assassin’s Creed Mirage
• Detective Pikachu Returns
• The Lamplighter’s League
• Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless
• Station to Station

New on subscription services:

• Gotham Knights (Xbox Game Pass)
• Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (Xbox Game Pass)
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy (Xbox Game Pass)
• The Callisto Protocol (PS Plus Essential)
• Farming Simulator 22 (PS Plus Essential)
• Weird West (PS Plus Essential)
• GRUNND (Prime Gaming)
• Ghostwire: Tokyo (Prime Gaming)
• Heads Will Roll: Reforged (GeForce Now)
• Thief Simulator 2 (GeForce Now)
• Battle Shapers (GeForce Now)
• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (GeForce Now)
• Arcade Paradise (GeForce Now)
• The Ascent (GeForce Now)
• Citizen Sleeper (GeForce Now)
• Dicey Dungeons (GeForce Now)
• Godlike Burger (GeForce Now)
• Greedfall (GeForce Now)
• Hypnospace Outlaw (GeForce Now)
• Killer Frequency (GeForce Now)
• Lonely Mountains: Downhill (GeForce Now)
• Metro 2033 Redux (GeForce Now)
• Metro: Last Light Redux (GeForce Now)
• MudRunner (GeForce Now)
• Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator (GeForce Now)
• Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew (GeForce Now)
• Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer (GeForce Now)
• Soccer Story (GeForce Now)
• SOMA (GeForce Now)
• Space Hulk: Tactics (GeForce Now)
• SpiderHeck (GeForce Now)
• SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE (GeForce Now)
• Surviving Mars (GeForce Now)
• Jeopardy! World Tour+ (Apple Arcade)