The PC games we’re most excited about in September

With another Gamescom now successfully concluded and a load of new games to look forward to in the future, it’s time to turn our attention back to the near term as another month rolls over (hopefully bringing with it an end to the damn heatwaves). So, with that in mind, here’s a selection of some of the most interesting games coming out in September.

ProbablyMonsters’ soulslike promises to play like the punishing riffs that soundtrack it: fast, but heavy. In a genre that often deploys weightiness as a difficulty slider, the crisp and deliberate movements of Crimson Moon’s human-angel Nephilim protagonist feel refreshingly lithe. But that speed doesn’t come at the cost of a thunderous pummelling, as each blow still lands with a satisfying impact. Charge your Angelic Grace meter and you can take advantage of Angel Ascension, which transforms you into a number of Nephilim variants with different abilities. Rather than a linear stomp, Crimson Moon breaks its action down into wards which you visit during roguelike runs, permanently unlocking purified gear, upgrades, and equipment with each sortie. Best of all, you can do all of this with a friend in co-op mode, sharing lives, reviving each other, and unlocking skill-based synergies. Actually, that’s not the best bit – the best bit is that it only costs twenty quid.

The first Moonlighter was delightful, putting you in charge of a shop that you run by day but gather stock for at night by exploring dangerous dungeons. The sequel comes out of the gate swinging, dropping the effortlessly charming 2D graphics for, I’m going to say it, slightly less charming isometric 3D graphics. Not that it doesn’t look lovely in its own right, and the Wind Waker vibes and snappy combat (which includes being able to wield your trinket-filled backpack as a crowd-control weapon) bring a brighter feel to proceedings. The game leaves Early Access at the beginning of September, so if you haven’t already dabbled, this is the perfect excuse to dive in.

Immortality has a nasty habit of chipping away at the notion of consequence. Vampires, bless them, needn’t give too much thought to their actions when human lifespans are a diminishingly noticeable fraction of their own. Freshly recruited bloodsuckers, however, may still give a hoot or two, especially when the conversion ritual only went halfway, they have all the powers but none of the need for factor 500 sunscreen, and their family are being saved for food in next month’s ritual. That’s the predicament Dawnwalker protagonist Coen finds himself in, and developer Rebel Wolves leans into this by making your choices matter. You have 30 days and nights to rescue Coen’s fam, with each period broken up into eight segments – you can gad about the open world as much as you like, but taking on tasks and quests will use up a set number of these segments. As such, you won’t be able to complete everything, or save everybody, as you spend the days wielding a sword and the nights crawling up walls. It’s an intriguing premise.

Aside from a couple of remasters and a VR spin-off, the Onimusha series has been rather quiet of late (remarkably, it has been 20 years since the last main-series entry, Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams), so it’s high time the series was revisited. Way of the Sword brings things bang up to date with a new protagonist and setting, a whole suite of new moves (don’t worry, if you have a high risk tolerance you can still go all in on red with Issen counterattacks), more than 300 animations across the game’s Parry and Deflect moves to keep things fresh, and extremely attractive RE Engine visuals. It’s enough to forgive the absolutely mad English-language voice acting. Have a read of Geoffrey Bunting’s Onimusha: Way of the Sword review to find out more.

I can’t imagine there are many people who haven’t tried Valheim at this point – it has been in Early Access since 2021, gradually evolving its forlorn take on open-world survival. But Iron Gate’s procedurally generated Viking world goes full 1.0 on September 9, dropping in new enemies, weapons, dungeons, and bits to finesse your elaborate buildings with, along with a final biome to explore. If anyone wants to join me, please note that I’ll continue to improve my elaborate and increasingly comfortable longhouse fort and rely on you to go out into the cold and scary world to gather resources.

Milestone’s Hot Wheels games have been surprisingly brilliant thus far, and there’s no reason that racing specialist studio won’t be able to stick the landing as it scales things up into an open-world format. Four islands, 150 cars, and Rush Master bosses to beat, it’s all looking suitably colourful and frenetic. While I doubt the rush will be infinite, the very heavy nods to Burnout Paradise here are undeniably appealing. 

RuneScape meets Valheim? Well, sort of – on first glance things look worryingly similar, but there’s a very different game lurking beneath those first impressions. There’s a heavy focus on magic which sees spells woven through the basic mechanics – tossing a spectral sword through trees to instantly fell them is a satisfying twist on genre norms – and the 1.0 release promises further combat revisions and a new equipment tier. Whether you choose this or Valheim will probably come down to your history with RuneScape, so it’s hardly likely to struggle to find a player base.

Amplitude’s asymmetric 4X strategy sequel is leaving Early Access, building on the excellent original with a swathe of improvements and shifting the unending tussling to a verdant oceanic paradise rather than the original’s winter-torn, barren expanse. But the most intriguing addition is Tidefall, a mechanic that attempts to address late-game fatigue by revealing new land and resources as waters gradually recede – it can even scupper any geographical strategic advantages settlements had up until that point. 

Control was an exceptional action-adventure game which allowed Remedy Entertainment to flex its singular prowess when it comes to telling a gripping yarn, and making it look astonishing. More importantly, the game felt brilliant to play as the generally accepted rules of reality were casually tossed aside. Now, fresh from its Alan Wake victory lap, Remedy is returning to that intoxicatingly creepy world with Resonant, which casts you as Dylan Faden (the younger brother of Jesse, Control’s protagonist) and sees the anomalies previously contained within the Oldest House spill out into Manhattan. With Pragmata’s similarly twisted Manhattan so fresh in the memory, I’m especially interested to compare and contrast Remedy’s take.

I still think back fondly to my first steps in the original Silent Hill, and how each and every one of them was wholly reluctant. I hadn’t been so wholly unnerved by a game since playing Ecstatica as a kid, and I loved/hated every moment. Of course, since then I have been entirely desensitised by a procession of pummelling horror games to the point that the genre has no effect on me whatsoever (this may or may not be a fib designed to make me seem a lot tougher than I actually am…), so the prospect of zooming into first person for the first time in the series’ history is tantalising. There are elements of P.T. here, of course, but also Fatal Frame via the new CRTV tool, which allows you to detect threats in the fog and learn more about the world. Also, and this cannot be understated, the shift to Scotland from the usual US settings is a decision of which I fully approve.

35 years is a profoundly sobering period of time to have passed since any game that I have fond memories of was released. I was only ten at the time, granted, but much has changed since I was sat in my dad’s study nervously exterminating xenomorphs in Alien Breed. The current trend for anniversary glow-ups has alighted on the Team17 series, and this collection features all six of the Amiga-era games (yes, including the two really-quite-good-actually-thank-you-very-much Doom clones). As is de rigueur for these endeavours, the collection adds modern control options, improved multiplayer, new modes including Horde, and a bunch of quality-of-life tweaks. Whether anybody needs to play these games again remains to be seen, but I am cautiously optimistic that I’ll get some mileage out of this.

The Dungeons series is the babychino to Diablo’s quadruple espresso, providing an excellent gateway drug for parents like me – I spent many hours playing the first game with my son, and I plan to get him hopelessly addicted to coffee at the earliest opportunity which won’t result in him being taken into care. Mojang’s sequel doubles the jeopardy by expanding the adventure across the overworld and a new dimension called The Sift, as well as showering players in more crafting options and adding minecart-based fast travel. Right, I need a coffee.

Nivalis Nights’ scope is vast, allowing you to build a business empire of restaurants and nightclubs, buy and personalise an apartment, play minigames with the locals, grow and fish for ingredients, and even skulk about after the night-time curfew to sabotage other businesses. Oh, and just in case that wasn’t enough to worry about, there’s also a serial killer at large. But the thing I’m most looking forward to here is running a noodlebar in a neon- and rain-soaked cyberpunk city and just watching the world go by.

The BAFTA-winning Toem: A Photo Adventure was cute, unusual, comfortingly subdued, and boldly black and white. Developer Something We Made is revisiting this recipe for the sequel, expanding the original idea with new camera tools (you can cut things with scissors, for example, or cathartically smash stuff with the hammer) and improved movement that feels snappier (geddit?) and also introduces climbing and jumping. It’s all wrapped in subtly upgraded visuals that introduce more 3D elements without losing the cut-out diorama feel – just don’t expect any colour.

Can I really find the time to play this again? It’s tempting, certainly – announced at the end of this year’s Gamescom Opening Night Live, Remastered adds almost enough to convince myself that I’m playing a whole new game. The full path tracing is an irresistible siren call, but there are also substantial changes to the combat, looting, and skills systems, new handling for Roach, a transmog system for fashionistas, and more dangerous monsters. Maybe if I just don’t sleep, I’ll be able to fit another playthrough into my life.