Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Xbox One l PS4 l PC
DEVELOPER: MachineGames
PUBLISHER: Bethesda Softworks
RELEASE DATE: October 27, 2017

A follow-up to MachineGames’ hit revival of the Wolfenstein franchise, 2014’s Wolfenstein: The New Order, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus looks to build on what the developer created with another action-packed adventure showered in bullets and blood.

The New Colossus—also the title of the Emma Lazarus poem etched on a plaque at the Statue of Liberty—is set in a surreal and terrifying alternate history in which the Nazi party was never stopped during World War II, and they have now taken control of America and are molding it to fit their ideals.

The Evil Within 2
Xbox One l PS4 l PC
DEVELOPER: Tango Gameworks
PUBLISHER: Bethesda Softworks
RELEASE DATE: October 13, 2017

A sequel to Resident Evil co-creator Shinji Mikami and his Tango Gameworks’ 2014 survival horror title, The Evil Within 2 was released recently. The game follows Sebastian Castellanos, who once again finds himself in a nightmarish world in an attempt to locate and save the daughter he thought he had lost.

I’m in an unusual position with this one, as I haven’t actually played The Evil Within…for reasons I’ll dive into a little later. But when the opportunity to review the sequel presented itself, I decided to give it a go simply to present a unique perspective to anyone out there who may be interested in playing despite having not played the first game. Plus, it is the right time of year. Suffice it to say, it was an interesting experience.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole
Xbox One l PS4 l PC
DEVELOPER: Ubisoft San Francisco
PUBLISHER: Ubisoft
RELEASE DATE: October 17, 2017

One of my favorite games of 2014 was South Park: The Stick of Truth. A game that transported fans into the world we’ve been watching on TV for a couple of decades now. Now the highly anticipated sequel, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, has arrived.

In the game you once again play as the new kid in town, a frustratingly quiet kid who also happens to possess some impressive special abilities, especially in the art of flatulence. And as you quickly find out, the neighborhood children are no longer playing in the fantastical world they were in the first game. Now, they’ve moved on to superhero franchises.

Dungeons & Dragons: Tomb of Annihilation
Hardcover
D&D Accessory
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Release Date: September 19, 2017

Man, I love Wizards of the Coast. This past weekend I came back from a conference in Orlando to find a package waiting on my desk. I dropped everything and tore the box open to find not just the hardcover Dungeons & Dragons: Tomb of Annihilation but also the companion dice set and a load of stickers and literature for this amazing new adventure! I am including a photo below but hang on for the review as this is one wild ride of a story line!

Observer
Xbox One l PS4 l PC
DEVELOPER: Bloober Team
PUBLISHER: Aspyr Media
RELEASE DATE: Aug 15, 2017

From Bloober Team, the developer behind the 2015 horror Layers of Fear, comes a cyberpunk horror titled Observer (stylized as >observer_).

The game is set in the year 2084, in a dark and depressing world that’s the result of two devastating events: the Nanophage—a sort of computer virus which caused thousands of deaths when it affected the cybernetic augmentations most people now have in their bodies—and a massive nuclear war known as the Great Decimation, which killed millions and left many areas of the planet uninhabitable. You play as Daniel Lazarski (Rutger Hauer), a neural detective called an Observer who’s able to dive deep into the minds of others to acquire necessary information.