Salutations and jubilations, you joystick-jostling jokers – October is nigh, which means another flood of funtastic gaming glee is about to come pouring in! But fear not: LOADING… is here to part the waves of confusion and provide a boat built with only the very best titles that’ll see you safely to the isle of November and beyond.
If every release lives up to its respective hype, October could well be this year’s very best for gaming glory: from long-awaiting AAA titles like Far Cry 6 and indie curiosities like Tandem: A Tale of Shadows, to returning megastars like Samus Aran in Metroid Dread, there’s something for every gamer. So enough preamble!
Let’s see what’s LOADING… this coming month (aside from jump-scares and house eggings!)
Far Cry 6 Loading by: 7th October
It feels like, of all the games on this list, Far Cry 6 has had the most coverage and hype enroute to its release on the seventh. Whether that’s down to the utterly captivating trailers, the stellar cast or simply the legacy the Far Cry franchise has carved for itself in recent years, it’s made quite the pedestal it now has to climb.
If the rumblings are anything to go by, it’ll be a must-play piece of guerrilla warfare. Saving a nation looks anything but straightforward, but hopefully the bumps – and bombs – in the road will make for a truly tremendous experience. Oh, and it’s offering animal companions and co-op play, so… add those to the positives pile while I pet my alligator. And no, that wasn’t a euphemism.
Metroid Dread Loading by: 8th October
In its spine-shatteringly suspenseful reveal trailer back in June’s Nintendo Direct, we were introduced to the E.M.M.I bots that will be the bane of our bounty-hunter existence, and September’s Direct delved even deeper. More baddies, backdrops and abilities abound in Samus’ unexpected new outing – and you should definitely be excited.
Metroid Dread will feature all of the aspects we’ve come to love from modern action platform-puzzlers like sprawling interconnected maps, seemingly impassable passageways and secret areas for only the most eagle-eyed of players to pillage – think Ori but in a sci-fi setting. If you’ve never screw attacked as Samus, this is absolutely the time to suit up and head to Planet ZDR. This could easily be 2021’s Switch game of the year.
Tandem: A Tale of Shadows Loading by: 21st October
When you think of indie puzzle platformers, you’ll probably think of Fez. And though flipping between the 2D- and 3D planes in Tandem: A Tale of Shadows is undoubtedly reminiscent of the pixelated prince of puzzling in this way, that is almost entirely where the direct comparisons cease.
That said, Tandem does look to offer a thoroughly unique gaming experience all of its own, and one with a remarkable art style to boot: think Henry Selick’s Coraline (oddly befitting of this game’s Halloweeny release window) but with a touch less murderous intent. Controlling both Emma and her stuffed teddy bear Fenton in the aforementioned differing planes presents the player with some strikingly distinctive tasks to overcome which, when combined with the game’s unique vibe and atmosphere, make this a must-have for fans of both brain-teasers and creepy-weird mansions.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Loading by: 26th October
It feels like only five minutes ago that Guardians was even announced, and yet here we are: mere moments away from meandering across the vast everythingness of space as everyone’s favourite fruitloop, Star Lord. From the trailers and previews, the majority of the fun looks to be found within the interplay between the ragtag team – but would we really want it any other way?
Undoubtedly one of the best of E3’s surprises this year, should the game deliver in a manner more similar to Marvel’s Spider-Man than Marvel’s Avengers (even if the two are no longer mutually exclusive – apparently), it’ll bang harder than Quill’s cassette tape. So much of the vibe will be determined by how the battling handles, as an everyday button-bash won’t do the comic book characters justice in the way they really deserve but, if early previews are to be believed, this one is more of a dance groove than a dance flaw…
Age of Empires IV Loading by: 28th October
Let’s not lie to ourselves: all any of us want from the fourth act of Age of Empires is something less overloaded than the third instalment, but somehow as captivating as the second. And, by all accounts, that looks to be what we’ll be getting – and that’ll put a smile on just about any true RTS fan’s face.
It’s been 15 long years for Relic, the studio behind Age of Empires IV, but they’re bringing along a starting stack of eight unique civilisations to choose from, as well as the promise of more down the line – plenty of people-folk for your pennies. Promising to modernise the series without ever scrapping what brought the game to the dance in the first place, maybe this one really will be the future of historic warfare. Oh, and the whole soundtrack is being composed by The Witcher 3’s Mikolai Stroinski, witch is never a bad thing!
There are too many titles to touch on in this month’s LOADING… so sound off in the comments about your most anticipated October release – I’d love to know what’s burning a hole in your bank balance! And, whatever you play, I hope it’s less trick and more treat, my little pumpkins!
Glitchqraft is a place where all video game lovers can rejoice together about how bloody awesome gaming art, history and storytelling really is. Come and see what all the noise is about, and don’t forget to check out Glitch’s other articles right here at Robot Republic.
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