It has been such a fruitful year for video games that you couldn’t blame someone for wanting a light fall lineup to finish titles like Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur’s Gate 3. For better or worse, this season is stacked with AAA releases, long-awaited sequels and promising independent games. (Some games will be available before their official launch dates because of early-access programs.)
September
MORTAL KOMBAT 1 The fighting franchise that drew crowds at arcades in the early 1990s has conjured new gruesome fatalities for its second narrative reboot. A cast of familiar characters such as Scorpion, Kitana and Johnny Cage will be assisted in battle by partner fighters who leap onscreen. (Sept. 19; PC, Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation 5, Microsoft Xbox Series X|S)
LIES OF P This is not Disney’s Pinocchio. In a retelling set in the Belle Époque era, a puppet with one mechanical arm wields rapiers and greatswords against giant monsters in his way. Success will require the meticulous combat timing of the punishing Soulslike genre, which includes Dark Souls and Elden Ring. (Sept. 19; PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
EL PASO, ELSEWHERE Bullet time — à la “The Matrix” and Max Payne — is a crucial resource for a folklore researcher who descends into a supernatural motel filled with werewolves and fallen angels to confront his lover, the vampire lord Draculae. Designed by a small studio, this third-person shooter exudes neo-noir. (Sept. 26; PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
CYBERPUNK 2077: PHANTOM LIBERTY Nearly three years after the buggy release of the hyped role-playing game Cyberpunk 2077, an expansion thrusts Johnny Silverhand — Keanu Reeves did the voice and motion capture for the character — into a new section of Night City as a secret agent. The game’s underlying perk, upgrade and loot systems also get tweaks. (Sept. 26; PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S)
EA SPORTS F.C. 24 After three decades of FIFA brand extension, this soccer game returns without the license of the sport’s global governing body. Beyond the elimination of World Cup content, agreements with the Premier League, Bundesliga and others mean that little will change. Women’s soccer players are also being added to Ultimate Team, the squad-building mode that has been lucrative for Electronic Arts. (Sept. 29; PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
COCOON The lead gameplay designer from the acclaimed indie games Limbo and Inside explores the power of recursion for his first venture at a new studio. To solve the puzzles in a mysterious landscape, a bug must carry orbs that grant new powers as well as access to interlocking worlds. (Sept. 29; PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
October
ASSASSIN’S CREED MIRAGE This stealth historical adventure series promises to return to its tightly wound form after Odyssey and Valhalla sprawled toward the 100-hour mark. In the 13th primary iteration of the franchise, players will sneak, slash and soar their way through ancient Baghdad. (Oct. 5; PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN 2 Players can swap between Peter Parker and Miles Morales to battle villains like Venom and Kraven the Hunter in New York City. The first game featured dynamic webslinging via Manhattan skyscrapers; this one expands to parts of Queens and Brooklyn, birthplaces of the two Spider-Men. (Oct. 20; PS5)
SUPER MARIO BROS. WONDER In their return to a two-dimensional adventure, the exuberant plumber and his friends have a more surreal experience than ever. Rather than the fire flowers that turn characters into flamethrowers, wonder flowers distort the landscape of pipes and coins. Mario can transform into a spiky ball and an elephant. (Oct. 20; Switch)
ALAN WAKE II When the author Alan Wake traveled to the Pacific Northwest in a 2010 game influenced by Stephen King and David Lynch, he became trapped in a nightmare he wrote; in this sequel, an F.B.I. agent investigating murders encounters those eerie manifestations. (Oct. 27; PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S)
November
THIRSTY SUITORS A South Asian woman reeling from a breakup works to repair relationships with her ex-boyfriends and parents through skating, cooking, romancing and fighting. The role-playing game’s combat teases out the power of ego and resentments. (Nov. 2; PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE III Players will continue fighting an ultranationalist Russian antagonist in a more open world than in previous iterations of this military franchise. Among the multiplayer options are 16 remastered maps from the 2009 game Modern Warfare 2. (Nov. 10; PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)