Tom Clancy’s name is seen in the world of gaming—and the world of writing, for that matter—as a sign of unpredictable quality. On one hand, you have games like Rainbow Six: Siege revolutionizing the competitive tactical FPS genre and on the other, you have games like The Division whose earliest iteration probably gave Todd Howard inspiration for Fallout 76.

Where Breakpoint lies on that spectrum is sadly not yet clear, as it’s diverging from series norms like bullet-drop, real locations, and being mostly played on-foot in ways that seem to de-emphasize the methodical approach that drew fans into the series, to begin with. But on the plus side, the new premise of being actively hunted by dangerous enemies in an open-world sounds like an exciting concept and John Bernthal's performance as the game's villain seems to be on point so far. Early impressions aren't glowing, but we'll keep our fingers crossed up until Breakpoint’s release.

It's the most divisive game of this year's E3 (according to IGN, anyway) and the latest installment in Activision's annual cash cow. Everyone knows what to expect from a Call of Duty game by now, even people who don't play video games, but it's safe to say running, camping, shooting, and grenade lobbing will all be in abundance. Certain components will be removed like the classic zombies mode, forgotten features like killstreaks will be reintroduced and extra elements like the fast-paced gunfight mode will be unveiled. The game is unlikely to draw new converts to the series, but it seems that die-hards at least won’t be disappointed.

Some games are destined to never meet mainstream appeal despite overflowing with charm, and Stranded Sails is one such game. Part survival game, part town management sim and part Zelda-lite adventure, this independent tale of shipwreck and peril is packed with appeal. Its best quality isn't that it seems to be doing any one of those things exceptionally well, but that it aims to deliver a quality experience for each in a single package, elegantly wrapped in a quirky but cute Playmobil meets Wind Waker graphic style.

The racing game genre is a bit stagnant all things considered. Sure, a kart racer will come out now and then that will have everyone collectively revving their engines, but the more realistic simulation racers have been essentially limited to the Forza series as of late. And that’s far from an ideal situation, considering those games are exclusively available on the somewhat unpopular Xbox One. Enter Codemasters, who are bringing classic racing action multiplatform through a reboot of their hit GRID series.

You'd be forgiven for not knowing about this one yet since it's had a fairly limited media presence in spite of the franchise's legacy, but there's still a lot to be excited for. Its promises of deep mechanics, complex A.I. and an appearance from F-1 superstar Fernando Alonso acting as the game's mentor and final boss have us excited.

JRPGs have been getting a lot of attention in 2019. Dragon Quest XI is getting a release with good music arrangements, Pokémon Sword and Shield’s controversy has been the talk of the town and the first good look at the Final Fantasy VII remake in years has got veterans frothing at the mouth. With all that going on at once, you may have been understandably overlooking smaller genre contemporaries, but that’s sure to change in October, as Takayuki Kusano’s beloved series teleports behind you for the western release of Trails of Cold Steel III.

The Legend of Heroes franchise has never matched its Japanese success in the foreign market, but it’s a true heavyweight back home, where it’s spawned so many classic games that it’s had multiple spinoffs grow into their series and won the hearts of many an otaku along the way. Of course, it had endearing stories, engaging combat and some of the best worldbuilding in any JRPG series to help it along the way. And if the Japanese reception is to be believed, the latest entry will be no different.

Dominic Robilliard has had a rough directing career. The first project he led had masses captivated, but unfortunately, it was Star Wars 1313 and had to get canceled so we could instead receive bad Battlefront remakes. His second game, Entwined, was the first project for his own PixelOpus studio and was actually able to release, but it received mixed reviews among a consensus that it held strong artistic qualities but a weak gameplay experience. With Concrete Genie on the horizon, this unlucky creator may finally reach the success that has barely exceeded his grasp for so long.

The game has been primarily marketed through its introspective story, but having learned from the mistakes of Entwined, Robilliard and his team will make players experience this story through action and puzzle set pieces to keep players invested. It's a game that's been given a strong push by Sony ever since its reveal at Paris Games Week and even though it's not exactly looking like the PS4s killer app, its vibrant presentation and inviting gameplay make it harder and harder to look away every time we see it.

It’s no household name, but the Trine series is a brand built on consistent and rigorous polish (except for that third game, but we don't talk about that here). A gorgeous graphical style, lush environments, a witty sense of humor, friendship-defining co-op, genius brain-teasers, and an epic soundtrack by Angry Birds composer Ari Pulkkinen are all series staples that The Nightmare Prince has shown itself to fully uphold so far. There’s not much more to explain about it than that. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

But, if you really need more reasons to get excited, Frozenbyte has promised that Trine 4 will feature a strong emphasis on story, greater customization options, the ability for multiple players to play the same characters, dynamic puzzles that change in difficulty depending on the number of people playing and best of all, a level that pays tribute to Kenneth Grahame’s A Wind in the Willows. If that still doesn’t strike your interest, we think you’re the problem.

First Crash, then Spyro, and now Sir Daniel Fortesque will be the third classic PS1 mascot to be revived in a new remake for modern consoles. Not only has the precedent for this sort of release been solid thus far, but MediEvil has the strongest foundation of the lot in certain ways, since the PlayStation original generally holds up much better today than either Crash or Spyro’s first outings thanks to its strong controls and design, both ahead of their time by far.

Granted, the fact that this remake will be standing alone whereas the other PS1 revivals gave an entire trilogy is a bit of a buzzkill, but a price of only $30 makes it hard to complain (plus there’s only one other game in the series anyway). Besides, it has exactly the kind of gothic horror atmosphere this Halloween’s gaming season is desperately lacking. It’s much more spoopy than spooky, to be fair, but that won’t stop it from helping us get into the season.

Fallout sucks now, we can all agree on that at this point, right? Even if you were one of the people who actually liked the direction the series took with Fallout 4, you have to admit that the featureless, unstable dumpster fire that is Fallout 76 was insulting. Less of a barren wasteland like the other games were by design and more of an unfinished void, the only thing worse than the game itself is that Bethesda has decided to double down on making new premium content for it while it's still fundamentally broken in many ways instead of a new entry in the series that will actually play properly. The franchise is in a pretty crappy state right now.

Fortunately, Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarski, both known for the first 2 Fallout games, as well as the rest of the talented folk at Obsidian Entertainment have left Blizzard to use their power for good and The Outer Worlds is the result. Chaotic, complex, open, fun and driven by player decision; it’s everything you’ve been missing from Fallout.

Alright, so we may not have been entirely right about no horror games coming out in October since the best Mario brother will be gracing our Halloweens with a new solo adventure. We've seen a lot of footage of the game so far and all of it has shown an inspired art direction, expanded combat, a large enemy roster, and watermelons… for some reason.

Regardless of what produce awaits us through Luigi’s Mansion 3’s many new haunts, we know we’ll get to experience it through what are easily the best looking to be the best graphics and animation ever seen in a Mario game and best of all, we’ll even be able to bring a friend. Multiplayer was present in the previous game, yes, but it was limited and came off as an afterthought, one that the Switch entry promises to expand.

Not only will the entire game be playable with simultaneous co-op, but one player will be given the privilege of controlling Gooigi; a sentient pile of goo Luigi poops out that looks and controls exactly like him. Both characters are limited in different ways by what they can and can’t do, so co-ordinating between them will be an asymmetrical puzzle/combat experience we can’t wait to experience.