Fall is still officially a few days away, but don’t tell that to the videogame business. The avalanche of huge new games starts alongside September, and so far this month we’ve already seen the releases of heavily hyped games like Starfield and Mortal Kombat 1. There’s way more to come over the next three months, though, including the latest installments in best-selling series, the return of cult favorites, and, yes, even some brand new games. (Shocking, right?) Paste‘s games team—assistant games editor Moises Taveras, games intern Maddie Agne, and, uh, me (hi, I’m Garrett, I’ve edited this section for like 12 years now, nice to meet you) have pored over 2023’s release calendar and come up with a list of the 10 games we’re most excited for over the rest of 2023. Pretty much all the current platforms are represented, even something called the “Amazon Luna” (?), so no matter what hardware you own you’ll find something you can play in our Fall games preview. So sit back and dig in to our guide to what you’ll be playing over the next few months.
Alan Wake 2
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC
Release Date: October 27
Wanna feel old? The original Alan Wake came out roughly 13.8 billion years ago, immediately after the Big Bang formed the universe. Okay, it was actually released in 2010, but the point stands: it’s been way longer than it feels since Remedy’s mind-bending horror-adjacent game about a writer trapped in his own creation first graced our Xboxes. It actually came out just over a week before the series finale of Lost originally aired, which is very fitting: Alan Wake owed a lot to the kind of serialized mystery shows that popped up in the, um, wake of Lost’s massive success, but was better written and more bewitching than almost any of them. The first game wore its influences on its sleeves—Twin Peaks, Stephen King—but still created something new and unique, and although its title character and primary themes were revisited in 2012’s spinoff Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, the true follow-up doesn’t arrive until October.—Garrett Martin
Assassin’s Creed Mirage
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Amazon Luna
Release Date: October 5
Thank the Old Man of the Mountain: Assassin’s Creed is going short-ish again after years of punishingly long adventures. Assassin’s Creed Mirage promises to revisit the franchise’s roots, returning to the Middle East (Baghdad, primarily) for a story that should last maybe 20 hours, tops. Not only will it be a relief to not feel the weight of 100+ hours of play when you set off on your murderous hijinks, but it’ll be fascinating to see what modern tech can do with a setting that the series hasn’t really revisited since the 360 era. Set in the 9th century, a few hundred years before Altair’s original adventure during the Crusades, Mirage focuses on the early life of Basim Ibn Ishaq, a major character from 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. As reliably entertaining as Assassin’s Creed’s cocktail of stealth, parkour, historical fiction, and murder can be, its endlessly complicated and absurd meta-story about ancient aliens and a millennia-old hidden war between secret societies is just as much of a draw. Hopefully it gets even more ridiculous and confusing with Mirage.—Garrett Martin
Cocoon
Platforms: Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Release Date: September 29
Cocoon deftly carries the weight of LIMBO and INSIDE on its shoulders. Like them, it impeccably renders places both intimate and alien. It wordlessly ushers players across worlds, tasking them with steadily unraveling mysteries whose answers seem just out of reach. Curious orbs found throughout the game function at once as batteries as well as portals into other realms, and finding out how to nest these worlds within one another to navigate increasingly complex environments is just one of Cocoon‘s many surprising delights. To say almost anything else would meanspoiling the experience, and that would be doing Cocoon, a game that deserves to be seen and felt first-hand, an incredible disservice.—Moise Taveras
El Paso, Elsewhere
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC, Xbox One
Release Date: September 26
El Paso, Elsewhere is both intimate and insanely propulsive. Its in-your-face action reminds me obviously of Max Payne, but also the kinetic griminess of Kane & Lynch 2. It’s not just a throwback to a genre of moody third-person shooters, it feels in step with a lineage of games with a deeply felt sense of place. That and the confident direction of the few bits of story I got to see assures me that this is the full-throated expression of a team firing on all cylinders.—Moise Taveras
Endless Dungeon
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Date: October 19
I love a castaway story. I just do. I love abandoned space ships and I love having a little crew of friends to explore it with and, altogether, I love any game that makes me feel like a rootin’-tootin’ space cowboy. So imagine my thrill over Endless Dungeon, Sega’s new rogue-lite about exploring and escaping an empty space station with your pals. This game has all the color palette and jaunty attitude of fall with twice the monsters, treasures, and Saloons—that is to say one Saloon. The Saloon where you respawn, and, fingers crossed, meet a funny little bartender robot that will be my best friend.—Maddie Agne
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Platform: PlayStation 5
Release Date: October 20
Far be it for me to make this assertion, but Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is hitting all the right notes. It’s telegraphing the storied conflicts of the movies and comics into a game that actually feels like it can manage (and maybe even uplift) them. The game has expanded into Queens and Brooklyn, so I can now be an even more obnoxious New Yorker than usual. Peter Parker and Miles Morales are now on equal footing, sharing the screen as fully playable protagonists that each bring their own style to combat. Speaking of style, Peter is now in his famous Symbiote suit and developing an intense and dangerous attitude, teasing some familiar storylines. Who knows, maybe we’ll even get a Bully Maguire easter egg in the game now. And wherever there’s a symbiote, you can bet that all 19 inches of Venom aren’t too far behind. The stage has been extravagantly made for a game that feels like it’ll be both bigger and, amazingly, better.—Moise Taveras
Star Ocean The Second Story R
Platforms: Switch, PlayStation 5, PC, PlayStation 4
Release Date: November 2
I know we don’t always think of fall as science fiction season, but it is my firm belief that the genre goes hand in hand with the approaching spookiest time of year. I mean, seriously, nothing is scarier than the Ready Player One movie, and it’s around this time that I begin to feel the itch in my bones to rewatch The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe. But, rather than pay for a Max subscription to get my Doctor Who fix this fall, I could pick up Star Ocean The Second Story R. Due to release in November, The Second Story R is a remake of the Star Ocean series’ second installment and looks to be a magically immersive videogame. Set on a mysterious planet with a quest involving destiny and prophecies—and, not to mention, beautiful graphics—this looks to be the perfect balance between cozy mystery and science fiction, and should satiate my need for the two… for now, that is…—Maddie Agne
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Platform: Switch
Release Date: October 20
Just when you start to worry that you’ve grown numb to the charms of a Mario game, Nintendo does something unpredictable, like turning the li’l guy into a goldarn elephant. Okay, transmogrification is Nintendo’s standard go-to when it comes to sprucing up the Mario realm—this humble Brooklyn plumber changes up his look more than Bowie and Madonna combined, despite wearing the same cap and overalls ensemble for over 40 years—but I mean, just look at that lovable little freak above. Who could say no? Wonder is the latest in the side-series of side-scrolling Marios, something we haven’t gotten a new take on since 2012, and if it keeps up the work of the New Super Mario Bros. games it’ll be a fun romp that plays around with some of the most basic Mario traditions in cute and unexpected ways. We’ll find out in a month.—Garrett Martin
Super Mario RPG
Platform: Switch
Release Date: November 17
Wonder isn’t the only Super Mario action we’re getting this fall. The 1996 classic Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is getting a remake this year with 3D graphics, an updated score, and a variety of quality-of-life changes you’d expect a 2023 remake of a mid ‘90s RPG to have. (If you’re wondering why the original hasn’t popped up on Nintendo Switch Online’s SNES hub, despite being available on both the Wii U’s Virtual Console and the SNES Classic miniconsole, well, that’s your answer.) You can trace the legitimately funny writing of games like Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi series right back to Super Mario RPG, the first RPG to star Mario, and an upgraded and modernized version is just what today’s audience needs to enjoy its genius first-hand.—Garrett Martin
Thirsty Suitors
Platforms: Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Date: November 2
Ah, cuffing season, that magical time of year when we get to watch our friends cozy up with new partners to brave the coming months of cold, dark, and damp. That beautiful season when we celebrate the most romantic time of year—perhaps better known as fall. And what better way to subvert your amorous autumnal expectations than with turn-based combat with your exes? Allow me to introduce you to Thirsty Suitors, the second ever release from developer Outerloop Games and a story about the epic highs and lows of skateboarding, family, and vanquishing—er, reconciling with—old flames. Thirsty Suitors may not be your typical cozy fall game with dim colors, soft music, or even a spooky plot (depending on what you call spooky), but would you rather sip your cocoa in comfort or in the impending horrors of going back to your hometown?—Maddie Agne