The fall games season kicked off in earnest this October with Forza Horizon 4 on October 2 and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey on October 5. With these and so many other huge titles on the way in the next few months, we’ve created this guide for PC players to help you decide which games to spend your cash on.
Forza Horizon 4
October 2 (PC, Xbox One)
The Forza series is divided between the more realistic track racing of Forza Motorsport and the open-world driving of Forza Horizon. This latest entry to bear the Horizon moniker gives you free rein of a large swath of the UK and introduces dynamic seasons that can dramatically affect gameplay. For example, race in the winter and you’ll be able to skim across a frozen lake for a nifty shortcut. And if you’re concerned all this off-roading will put you on a direct path with animal life, don’t worry: The sheep in Forza Horizon 4 are more elusive than Barry Sanders on his best day.
It’s also getting rave reviews. You can check out FANDOM’s 5/5 review here.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
October 5 (PC, Xbox One, PS4)
The Assassin’s Creed series reinvented itself last year with the stellar Assassin’s Creed Origins, which added in a heavy seasoning of RPG mechanics and tweaked its combat to reflect the more methodical, tactical approach of the Dark Souls series compared to the more button mashy flavor of earlier games. Developer Ubisoft Quebec aims to build on Origins’ base with additional RPG features like branching dialog and multiple endings, a new setting in Ancient Greece, and two new heroes — the first time players will be able to manually able to choose their character.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
October 12 (PC, Xbox One, PS4)
The most noteworthy aspect of the latest Call of Duty game is the addition of Blackout, which brings battle royale to the series for the first time. The recent beta for the mode was positively received by fans and critics, which combined with Call of Duty’s built-in fan base means this game has the best chance to dethrone Fortnite as the reigning battle royale champion. Black Ops 4 also includes standard multiplayer modes and a time-traveling Zombies cooperative mode — but notably no single-player campaign.
Overkill’s The Walking Dead
November 6 (PC; Xbox One and PS4 coming in 2019)
This new entry in The Walking Dead universe, with completely new characters, is the rare major title that’s coming out on PC first. PC gamers will be able to waste Walkers starting in November, while console fans will have to wait until February 2019. The game looks to pick up the mantle from 2008’s classic Left 4 Dead, with a strong emphasis on cooperative strategies to beat back the undead hordes.
Hitman 2
November 13 (PC, Xbox One, PS4)
The future of IO Interactive’s well-received reboot of the Hitman franchise seemed in doubt when publisher Square Enix dropped the developer from its roster. But IO managed to weather the storm as an independent studio and Warner Bros. Interactive stepped in to snap up publishing rights for the sequel. Unlike 2016’s Hitman, Hitman 2 won’t be episodic — but it will have a new mode called Sniper Assassin that introduces online co-op to the series for the first time.
Fallout 76
November 14 (PC, Xbox One, PS4)
Speaking of online co-op, that’s Fallout 76‘s most significant addition to the venerable post-apocalyptic franchise. For the first time, players will be able to explore the Wasteland with up to three friends in Power Armor. You and your friends won’t be alone, however: Each server will be populated with other players who can either aid or attack you. It’s all wildly ambitious and a little bit scary for single-player fans of the series, but developer Bethesda is confident the experience will be fair for all players.
Battlefield V
November 20 (PC, Xbox One, PS4)
The WWII-centered Battlefield V recently slipped from October 19 to November 20 to make some final tweaks to core gameplay. It also gives the game some breathing room from Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, which can only be a good thing. Like Black Ops 4, Battlefield V is introducing a battle royale mode, called Firestorm, to the series for the first time. It’s also introducing a new narrative approach called Tides of War, which will introduce new events, vehicles, weapons, and more to keep gameplay fresh without having to purchase any DLC.
Darksiders III
November 27 (PC, Xbox One, PS4)
Darksiders III has navigated an incredibly circuitous route to release. Darksiders II was published in 2012 to positive reviews from publisher THQ, who immediately commissioned a sequel. Then THQ went bankrupt, the rights to the franchise were purchased by Nordic Games (since rebranded THQ Nordic) in 2013, and the series lay dormant until Darksiders III was announced in May 2017. Developed largely by staff who worked in the previous Darksiders games, the action-RPG stars Fury, sister to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, as she hunts down the Seven Deadly Sins. So, you know, pretty lighthearted stuff.
Artifact
November 28 (PC)
Artifact is the only PC exclusive entry on this list, but more significant is the fact that this is the first game from developer Valve since Dota 2 back in 2013. The card-based strategy game actually features characters from the Dota universe, similar to how Hearthstone drafts from the Warcraft world. It was created by the iconic tabletop designer Richard Garfield, who also created Magic: The Gathering. The combination of both Valve’s and Garfield’s pedigrees has this one of the most highly anticipated releases of the season and solid counterprogramming to the shooters and action games that typically dominate these lists.
Just Cause 4
December 4 (PC, Xbox One, PS4)
The final major release for PC owners this year is Just Cause 4, the latest entry in the “anything goes” sandbox franchise. While the unparalleled destructibility the series is known for remains, Just Cause 4 is striking a more somber tone. Protagonist Rico Rodriguez will have to battle extreme weather conditions like blizzards, tornadoes, and sandstorms in addition to the usual enemy NPCs, who also boast beefed-up AI designed to make them more difficult to take down.