In autumn, birds fly south, schoolchildren return to their desks, and developers start releasing games. If your gaming PC spent the summer asleep in standby mode, September will wake it up, even without громких releases. After all, there's something valued no less: continuations of legendary series, new chapters of old franchises, adventures with character, and shooters with the spirit of the 90s. Of course, some games will fly under the radar, but we're confident that some releases will be in classic collections a decade from now.
Main Releases of September
Hollow Knight: Silksong (PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, Switch 2) — September 4
If 2017's Hollow Knight became a symbol of the indie metroidvania revival, Silksong is more than just a sequel; it's one of the month's main events.
Team Cherry has a huge credit of trust, and players have even greater hopes. In seven years of silence, love for the world of Hollow Knight has not faded, but only grown stronger. Hollow Knight: Silksong is a return to one of the most mysterious and atmospheric worlds in the gaming landscape.
Now you are in the role of the main character — Hornet. Fast, deadly, and independent, she wakes up in captivity — in the distant kingdom of Pharloom, a world of golden cities, mossy caves, and misty swamps. Her path leads upwards — through trials and ancient secrets, under an orchestral soundtrack. Take a look at the trailer and enjoy the color, rhythm, and play of light and shadow.
The gameplay is a natural evolution of the original: the same intense choreography, emphasis on precision and exploration. But now Hornet has her own movements, her own skills, and a new mechanic with traps and accelerated attacks, adding dynamics and tactical depth to the battle. The developers are not revealing details, but it is already known about 200 enemies and 40 legendary bosses.
The world of Silksong looks huge. Each area calls for exploration, each character — with their own story. At the same time, the game remains true to itself: without громких innovations, without trying to go beyond the scope. Only immersion, meditativeness, victories, snatched from the world at the cost of blood and patience.
Yes, Silksong is a safe sequel. But in the context of the original, this is not a disadvantage, but a tribute. A lot has changed in seven years, but if Team Cherry has retained that magic — and everything indicates this — Silksong will not just be a worthy continuation.
It will be an event.
Cronos: The New Dawn (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2) — September 5
Bloober Team is known for its Silent Hill-esque horror games — not always perfect, but always with a palpable sense of atmosphere. Their remake of Silent Hill 2 showed: the studio understands this universe. But Cronos: The New Dawn is a step aside. This is no longer Silent Hill, but rather Dead Space with echoes of Resident Evil — set in Soviet Poland in the 1980s and the style of retrofuturism.
The action takes place in Krakow. The main character arrives there to collect the souls of those who died after the "Change" — a catastrophe that turned people into monsters known as "Orphans." These souls can stop the disaster. Or maybe reverse it.
The key mechanic is "merging." Killing an enemy is not enough. If you don't burn the corpse, the surviving monster can absorb the fallen one, mutating into a faster, more tenacious, and dangerous version of itself. Gameplay recordings published by gaming portals clearly show: neglecting cleaning means signing your own death warrant. Here you can't just shoot and run — you have to think, control space, stay one step ahead.
Inspiration from other projects is noticeable not only in the combat. The atmosphere, visual language, even the presentation of the story resemble Alan Wake. And yet Cronos has its own identity. According to the developers, this is not so much an action game as an "intimate story about people."
The game looks powerful, but the main question is — how will it play? Working with psychological horror and making a remake of Silent Hill is one thing, but a combat horror with tense gameplay is quite another. Bloober Team has almost no experience in this. Cronos is their attempt to go beyond the scope: loudly, violently, spectacularly.
If the studio manages to combine the dark aesthetics of the 80s, science fiction, and dense gameplay, the game could become one of the most memorable of the year.
But doubts remain. It's better to wait for the release and the first reviews.
Borderlands 4 (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2) — September 12
Borderlands is bright chaos, fun gameplay, black humor, and loot, loot, loot. Borderlands 4 promises not to deviate from any of the principles. Even the plot — this time truly new — is built into the foundation of the game world, and not just hung on top.
The action moves to Kairos — a high-tech planet where the fall of the protective barrier has opened the way to anarchy. The player becomes a Vault Hunter and, by chance, becomes a participant in a rebellion against the Keeper of Time, a cruel dictator who leads the synthetic army of the Order. If this sounds like another absurd set of words — great. Borderlands is exactly about that. So you can dive in, even if you haven't heard of Borderlands before.
Gearbox promises the most "seamless" game in the series: transitions between locations without loading, a grappling hook, improved transport — everything to make exploration feel alive. At the same time, there is no "open world" here. What's the difference — is not yet clear. But there will be no more jumps between planets, as before.
They promise to preserve and even enhance the humor. Now it's not just in the dialogues: the Seekers react to the player's actions, creating spontaneous, crazy, and memorable moments. Thanks to the new planet, the team started with a clean slate: a new cast, a fresh setting, but without losing the signature visual style — the same comic-glitch, the same sarcasm in pixels.
There is almost silence about the mechanics. So, we are not waiting for cardinal changes. It is still a first-person looter-shooter with RPG elements, a cooperative, and new gadgets. The developers announced support: the first DLC will be released in 2026. "Buy it, it's for a long time," — reads between the lines. We answer: don't rush.
Yes, Borderlands 4 looks mature — as an ambitious return of the series with new generation technologies and a service capable of retaining players for years. But after Borderlands 3 and the catastrophic film adaptation, trust is at a minimum. Let Borderlands 4 first prove that this is not just another publisher's raid on players for loot.
Dying Light: The Beast (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S) — September 19
The authors of Dying Light are returning to their roots. The Beast is not just a sequel, but a return of Kyle Crane, a hero who seemed to have been left in the past forever. After 13 years of torture and mutations, he escapes from the clutches of the Baron — not as a fugitive, but as a weapon of retribution. His path leads to Castor Woods: a former tourist paradise has turned into a dead valley, where chimeras roam between the trees and abandoned buildings.
There is less metropolis here, more forests, industrial zones, and quiet villages. Parkour remains a key mechanic, but now an old SUV is added to it, capable of crashing into a crowd of zombies at full speed.
The main thing now is not survival, but superiority. Kyle's mutated body gives him new abilities, and the "beast mode" turns him into a wild element.
And yes — now you can shoot. Shoot a lot. Firearms cease to be an episodic tool: shootouts with the Baron's soldiers become part of the gameplay. The battle has become longer, tougher, bloodier.
The development of The Beast began as an addition, but over time it grew into a full-fledged game. Apparently, the developers have high hopes for this attempt to return to their roots.
It remains only to wait for the release and check whether they will be justified. The main problem of The Beast is that Dying Light fans will be interested to see how their hero has changed over the decade, but newcomers may not have enough context. After all, in their memory there is no that rage, pain, and bloody path that other players started ten years ago.
Silent Hill f (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S) — September 25
For the first time in many years, the Fog envelops not Silent Hill, but the Japanese village of Ebisugaoaka in the 1960s — quiet, surrounded by rice fields, with Shinto shrines and old houses. As before, Evil comes with the Fog. Fans argue whether it was worth leaving the usual town. The release of the game is unlikely to resolve these disputes, but, perhaps, for the first time a new part of the series will be able to stand in line with the best.
Neobards Entertainment, with the support of Konami, is betting on atmosphere. The main character is Hinako Shimizu, a schoolgirl, a stranger in her own family, torn from the inside. The world of the game becomes a mirror of her traumas: the streets are covered with fog, friends disappear, and monsters born from suppressed emotions shock not with cruelty, but with symbolism. Each of them is like a fragment of the unconscious. The script was written by Ryukishi07 ("When the Cicadas Cry"), and he remains true to himself: gloomy, personal, psychological.
The combat system — the most controversial element of the series — in Silent Hill f may be a surprise. The battles are tense: dodges, counterattacks, weapons break over time. There are no firearms. There are no superpowers either. Hinako fights with an ax, a pipe, whatever she has to. But the developers do not turn this into a Souls-clone: the difficulty can be reduced if the battle is not your forte.
There are also puzzles that move the plot. The passage will take about 15 hours — a little by modern standards. There are several endings, but none gives complete answers. There are no "good" or "bad" endings here. There is interpretation. Yours.
The published 30-minute cut leaves a feeling of real horror — in a good sense. The game knows how to scare. But the battles, on the contrary, do not scare, but captivate. Perhaps Konami has really created a new Silent Hill. Even if it is now — in Japan.
EA Sports FC 26 (PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, Switch 2) — September 26
It's hard to write about EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA) every year. The same formula, the same success. EA has long killed competitors and turned the football simulator into a monopoly. Of course, from time to time projects like ReMatch appear — a game capable of surprising (as it pleasantly surprised our reviewer Eduard Epstein). But there is only one real "adult" simulator in the industry, and its name is EA Sports FC.
The innovations of 2026 are modest: redesigned dribbling, slightly smarter AI in positioning, more lively animations of goalkeepers, and minor edits around the edges. The main update, as always, is fresh lineups. But this is enough. Success is guaranteed.
Because EA Sports FC is not so much a game as a subscription. Every year, fans pay for it as for a full-fledged release. And, frankly, many don't need another game.
Worth Paying Attention To
Metal Eden (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S) — September 2
Looking at Metal Eden, you want to shout: yes, this is it — a modern boomer shooter! It's not the pixels that make the game a boomer shooter, but the speed, drive, and uncompromising action. And not as a seasoning for multiplayer, but as the core of a single-player story passage — with modern graphics and fresh mechanics like wall running and a grappling hook. Nothing special? Show alternatives!
Reikon Games is a Polish studio founded in 2014. It hasn't had громких hits yet. Publisher Deep Silver is not top-notch, but has a knack for niche projects. And this gives reason for cautious optimism.
Metal Eden is not just a shooter. It's an ultra-dynamic raid through the vertical labyrinths of Möbius — a city conceived as a cyberpunk paradise, but which has become a tomb. You run along the walls, push off from the ceilings, crash into crowds of enemies in the form of an armored ball, take off on a jetpack, and shoot on the go. Parkour here is not a feature, but the basis of the gameplay on a par with shooting. Battles turn into a symphony of futuristic chaos: the weapon seems to be assembled from the catalog of the future, and everything is picked up right on the go. Classic!
The game does not copy old shooters — it melts them down. Against the background of the gameplay, the world is slightly lost. The authors lacked depth in the details. But, according to players, the demo version on Unreal Engine 5 shows excellent performance. A plot with a philosophical subtext is also promised: about the price of immortality, the nature of consciousness, when the body is metal, and the soul is code. Well, let's see. For a shooter, this is still secondary.
I want to believe that Metal Eden will become the shooter that it looks like in the trailers. I want to praise for the old gameplay in a new package. But "Polish shooter" is still associated with secondariness. So we believe. We hope. But for now — without buying.
Otherskin (PC) — September 2
Otherskin makes a mixed impression. On the one hand — Game Atelier, the studio behind Monster Boy, a game with warm reviews and skillful implementation of metroidvania. On the other hand — Otherskin is no longer a bright fairy tale, but a dark adventure in the format of a third-person shooter, where the tone is set by the plot, not the graphics.
The main feature of the project is the heroine's ability to absorb defeated enemies and change. Each alien morph can give a new ability: wings for flight, weapon, or protection. The more you fight — the more you transform and discover new opportunities. It sounds powerful, but it is not yet clear how it will affect the gameplay in the long term.
The developers' experience in metroidvanias is felt: the emphasis is not on battles with hordes, but on exploration and overcoming platform sections with the help of acquired abilities. The world of Otherskin is large, beautiful, and deadly. Jungles, floating islands, a space station — each biome is unique, and behind the beauty lies the Corruption, a mysterious disease that devours this world from within.
In general, the project looks modest: it lacks scale and visual gloss. But maybe this is a plus. For those who are looking for something strange, deep, and non-standard, Otherskin can be a real find.
Hell is Us (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S) — September 4
Rogue Factor is not a newcomer. Mordheim: City of the Damned and Necromunda: Underhive Wars did not become mainstream hits, but won the respect of their audience. Now the studio is taking a step forward with Hell is Us — an adventure action game that looks like the most ambitious project in its history.
The graphics are a noticeable leap forward. The world is gloomy, atmospheric, with an emphasis on realism, although with elements of fantasy. There is no map, compass, or hints here. The developers say directly: rely only on your intuition. You will have to explore on your own — following traces, inscriptions, scraps of dialogues. The locations are large, semi-open, filled with details, enemies, and characters for conversations.
The combat system is clearly inspired by Souls-games: slow, deliberate strikes, dodges, a high price for error. The arsenal includes swords, spears, axes. The battle feels heavy, tactical, almost physical.
But there are also its own features. A drone assistant operates with the hero. It does not just accompany: it distracts enemies, lifts them into the air for rapid attacks, becomes a continuation of your strategy.
The plot is also not шаблонный: the return of the grown-up hero home — to a country torn apart by civil war and strange creatures. The presentation is in the spirit of Souls: hints, fragments of truth, silence instead of monologues.
Hell is Us is already called a "soulslike." There is some truth in this, but it is not a copy. Rather, a "souls-spirit" in the shell of an adventure action game. Ambitious? Yes. Typical? No. Will it be able to hook — is a question. But it looks like one of the most unexpected contenders for attention in the genre.
LEGO Voyagers (PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch) — September 15
Two lego-men, one ship, and an adventure that cements friendship. LEGO Voyagers is compared to Split Fiction, but if there is a large-scale adventure that left our reviewers very warm impressions, then here — a quiet, almost intimate journey of two friends.
This is a puzzle-platformer with a warm, almost poetic story about how important it is to have someone nearby who will jump with you into the unknown. Red and Blue, stuck in a world of lego-parts, are trying to restore an abandoned ship. But the path through the landscapes of childhood memories is not easy: here each puzzle requires coherence. Without a partner, you can't pass a single level.
Cling to details, rotate on mechanisms, connect into one structure — move in unison, as if you are two pieces of one whole. The heroes do not speak, but their actions are a language of gestures, trust, and synchronicity. But you and your friend will have to talk. A lot.
Cooperative here is not an option. This is the meaning. Without a second player, Voyagers loses its soul. You can play locally or online — with Friend's Pass: if one bought the game, the second joins for free.
This is not just a mechanic. This is a philosophy: the game is more valuable when you share it. And, perhaps, this is the main meaning of Voyagers — not in saving the ship, but in who you take with you.
Endless Legend 2 (PC) — September 22
Larger. More dynamic. Deeper. If Endless Legend 2 had a motto, it would be this. The sequel to the fantasy 4X-strategy does not just expand the universe — it rewrites the rules of the game.
The world is no longer static. It breathes. Moves. Changes. The borders of empires creep, as before, but now the world itself is able to change their outlines. Catastrophic tides expose the seabed, opening up new territories for colonization, resources, anomalies… and threats. Yesterday's sea tomorrow becomes an arena for the struggle for survival. This changes a lot.
Where to build a city if land may appear here? How to plan a strategy if the map is radically transformed even at later stages? In other 4X-games, exploration fades by the middle of the campaign. Here it remains the key to victory until the very end.
The battles are turn-based, tactical, with manual control of squads. Each faction is unique: abilities applied at the right moment can turn the tide of battle.
At the start — four factions, six paths to victory, and one oceanic world: Sayadha. It has procedural generation, complex diplomacy, a system of districts in cities, and the freedom to choose a path: to build an empire quickly, cruelly, cunningly, or wisely.
This is not the final version, but already a full-fledged experience. Endless Legend 2 does not just continue the series — it develops it. While many 4X-strategies are treading water, this game is trying to take the genre to a new dimension. It remains to be hoped that the implementation will match the ambitions.
Reissues, Remakes
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter (PC, PlayStation 5, Switch, Switch 2) — September 19
Trails in the Sky was never as громкая as Final Fantasy. But its story — about aspiring bracers, free guardians of order, Esther and Joshua — found its players. Without unnecessary pathos, but deep, it became cult not due to scale, but due to soul.
Now it is being recreated from scratch. And this is not just an HD-remaster, but a full-fledged remake — in the manner of Final Fantasy VII Remake. The world of Trails in the Sky is rethought in full 3D with modern graphics, animation, and atmosphere. This is no longer nostalgia, but an invitation to start all over again.
For old-timers, turn-based battles remained — a classic of the series. But now there is also an alternative: real-time battles that can open the game to a new audience. Those who were previously repelled by outdated graphics or a slow pace will now find it easier to immerse themselves in this world.
Once Trails redefined what "saga" means in RPG. Now the remake redefines Trails itself. So far — only the first part. But if players accept it, it is likely that others will follow.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles (PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch) — September 30
Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the darkest, most politically acute, and philosophically loaded games in the series. The Ivalice Chronicles does not recreate it from scratch, but gives a chance to rethink this story on modern platforms.
After the defeat in the Fifty Years' War, the kingdom of Ivalice is bursting at the seams. Religious intrigues, class inequality, betrayals — all this comes to the surface again. And now you can immerse yourself in this world deeper than before.
Although the project is more of an HD-remaster than a full-fledged remake, Square Enix has invested more in it than expected. Yasumi Matsuno, the creator of the original, personally supplemented the plot: 60% more text in Japanese, new dialogues, scenes, and revealed motives of characters. The English version received a completely new localization, including key moments.
For fans, there is a bonus: you can switch to classic mode — graphics and gameplay from 1997, but with text from War of the Lions, a version that many consider the standard.
Otherwise, the changes are more cosmetic. The battles remain tactically rich: three-dimensional fields, elevation differences, shelters, angle of attack, order of moves — every step matters. This is not a dynamic action game, but bloody chess.
For FFT fans, The Ivalice Chronicles is a must-buy. For newcomers, it will be difficult, gloomy, and sometimes old-fashioned, despite the updated graphics. Even in HD, the picture looks outdated, the pace is not for everyone. But if you are ready for a story where every decision puts pressure on your conscience, The Ivalice Chronicles can become a real discovery.
Additions
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch) — September 4
Although the original Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was rightly considered one of the best games of last year — according to our reviewer Maxim Dragan, — it never gained special popularity among players. Either Indiana Jones is no longer as attractive as before, or this is another mistake of the Xbox marketing team. But this is not a reason to pass by the first story addition.
The Order of Giants takes Indiana Jones to Rome, where he encounters a secret cult, ancient catacombs, and the myth of the Nephilim — giants from forbidden legends. Together with a young priest named Ricci, he has to solve the puzzles of Roman emperors, penetrate abandoned ruins, underground sewers, and even the Vatican.
The addition develops in parallel with the main campaign, expanding its world and deepening the mythology of the Nephilim. And the hints lead further — to the icy deserts of Antarctica, where, perhaps, the last part of the Great Circle is hidden.
Assassin's Creed: Shadows - Claws of Awaji (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S) — September 16
Assassin's Creed Shadows is an ambiguous chapter of the franchise. Ubisoft has invested a lot of effort in it, seeing in the release a chance to get out of the crisis. The game turned out to be visually impressive, with gameplay that collected the best from previous parts — albeit not too new. Our reviewer Eduard Epstein rated it positively, but also noted obvious problems, especially in the plot.
The addition Claws of Awaji continues the story of Naoe and Yasuke: now they go to the mysterious island of Awaji to find a lost treasure. Their path, as always, passes through shadows, battles, and clashes with a new faction that can shake the foundations of all of Japan.
Not much time has passed since the release of the main game, and I want to believe that Ubisoft has listened to the criticism. The addition is free for those who purchased the game by pre-order. The rest will have to buy it.
