PS4 players get Rabbids: Party of Legends and PHOGS, while those on PS5 get exclusive access to Luminous Productions’ Forspoken. Meanwhile, Premium subscribers can look forward to playing Sly 2: Band of Thieves, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, and Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy on PS5 and PS4, while PlayStation VR2 gets Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge.

All Classic titles sport rewind, custom filters, up-rendering and rewind functions, making it the best time to experience them. As for December’s PlayStation Plus Essential titles, head here for more details. They’re available until January 6th, 2025.

NOTE: This interview was conducted prior to the game’s launch.

"Hybrid cars bring a breath of fresh air to the WRC series. It was very exciting for us to have the chance to discuss with the manufacturers directly and to receive precise information concerning the behavior of the electric motors."

Hybrid cars are obviously WRC Generation’s headlining addition- how exciting was that for you in light of the 2022 season, and how big of an impact will this have on the moment-to-moment gameplay when players are behind the wheel?

Hybrid cars bring a breath of fresh air to the WRC series. It was very exciting for us to have the chance to discuss with the manufacturers directly and to receive precise information concerning the behavior of the electric motors (ICE). This helped us to get the most accurate simulation of a hybrid car. Regarding the gameplay, it adds a strategic decision, like in the real life, for the players to decide which mapping they must choose before each stage. During the race, players must also learn how to use the content of their battery sparingly, without risking losing control of their vehicle. It’s very challenging!

Beyond the actual racing mechanics, how do you see the addition of hybrid cars impacting other aspects of the game, such as customization?

As said before, players can now customize the mapping of their ICE and choose between three behaviors. The first offering a lot of power over a short duration and the latter offering less power but over a longer duration. The second is a compromise between the first and the third ones. The power given by the ICE will influence the behavior of the car depending on the road surface, too much power is not always the best choice and the player will have to make the right choice for the best performance.

WRC Generations’ new Leagues mode is looking like a significant step up for the series on the multiplayer side of things. Can you talk to us about the biggest changes and improvements it brings to the experience?

The new league mode is a new dimension for the competitive experience of the players on WRC Generations. They are now ranked into leagues during the seasons and according to their results. It’s a lot less frustrating for players because it means they’re competing against players of the same level as them. They also have a clearer objective to achieve during each season by trying to improve their ranking while entering a global competition, not just separate leaderboards, with all the community of players as this system is cross platform.

"Career mode in the WRC Generations is a very important mode as it provides a very immersive experience of the Rally discipline. For every new iteration of the game, we work on making it more realistic, engaging and well balanced."

Coming to the Career Mode, what sort of improvements can players expect to see over last year’s game?

Career mode in the WRC Generations is a very important mode as it provides a very immersive experience of the Rally discipline. For every new iteration of the game, we work on making it more realistic, engaging and well balanced. Over the work we made on the global balancing, the hybridization of Rally 1 cars this year was an opportunity to introduce a new dimension in the career management, with a new branch in the skill tree and more interest for the shakedowns which allow to test the car mapping in real conditions before starting a Rally.

The possibility of creating your private team is also more challenging and more rewarding for the player. Even the first steps in the WRC are more enjoyable with the new WRC3 Junior cars featuring 4WD this year.

Over the years we managed to make the career mode better and better, more engaging, immersive and realistic. WRC Generations is the ultimate version of this game mode considered by many people like the best career mode in racing games.

KT Racing’s WRC games have consistently made notable improvements in the audiovisual department year over year, which is especially important for a series that focuses on authenticity as much as this one does. What are the biggest improvements you’ve made on that front with WRC Generations?

New gens allowed us to reach a better framerate and more realistic renders of the lights, the weather, and the snow for example. The landscapes are gorgeous!

This is going to be KT Racing and Nacon’s final game with the WRC license as part of your current agreement. Is that something that was on your mind as you were developing the game? Is the intention to sign off with a bang and deliver the series’ best outing yet?

As the title of the game suggests, we wanted to give players a game that could last for generations. This required a solid competitive mode which we developed with the Leagues mode, as well as substantial content for solo players. So, we brought to WRC Generations the most extensive content ever seen in a rally game, with 22 different locations, over 150 stages and over 750 kilometers to cover.

As a studio, you’ve obviously grown in prominence with the WRC license over the years, delivering games that arguably got better each year. Going forward, are you looking to take that knowhow of developing rally racing sims and continuing to apply that, or would you like to move on to something different?

The WRC franchise has really allowed us to grow and strengthen our expertise every year. It would be a shame not to take advantage of it so I don’t think to abandon the rally completely. But it’s a new page that is turning and that leaves room for other and very different projects, like Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown.

"The WRC franchise has really allowed us to grow and strengthen our expertise every year. It would be a shame not to take advantage of it so I don’t think to abandon the rally completely. But it’s a new page that is turning and that leaves room for other and very different projects, like Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown."

Since the reveal of the PS5 and Xbox Series’ specs, a lot of comparisons have been made between the GPU speeds of the two consoles, with the PS5 at 10.28 TFLOPS and the Xbox Series X at 12 TFLOPS. How much of an impact on development do you think that difference will have?

Due to its faster clockspeed, the PS5 gives us “direct” “simpler” performance advantages from previous generation. Although the Xbox Series X’s GPU raw performance is better, it’s harder to exploit: it requires a better parallelism to exploits the 52 CUs. But I suppose devs could, in the long term, obtain better performance on the Xbox Series X.

The PS5 features an incredibly fast SSD with 5.5GB/s raw bandwidth. How can developers take advantage of this, and how does this compare to the Xbox Series X’s 2.4GB/s raw bandwidth?

IO bandwidth is really important: Asset quality (textures and meshes), and thus assets sizes increased a lot in the new game generation, faster than available RAM, so games need to be better at streaming data. We are currently exploiting consoles’ direct-to-ram tech (DirectStorage) and hardware decompression on PS5 (Kraken) for fast loading and streaming.

You might notice small timing difference on level loading or high quality mips appearing a bit sooner due to those hardware differences, but keep in mind that due to those big bandwidth increases on the next-gen consoles, the loading bottleneck might have shifted from IO to CPU processing. We are very happy by the technology choice and should be able to exploit it even better as our next game, TDUSC, is an open world game.

Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X boast Zen 2 CPUs, but there is a difference in the processors of both consoles. The Xbox Series X features 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.8GHz, whereas the PS5 features 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz. Your thoughts on this difference?

Both CPUs are great, we are happy to have very close performances between both console. Furthermore, as both architecture are very close (x64, instructions set, cache size, etc) any optimisation benefits both consoles.

What frame rate and resolution will the game target on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S?

On WRC Generation we really wanted to reach the best performances and stability on new and old generations.

On the new console generation, we offer 2 modes depending on the player preferences. For PS5 and Xbox Series X, the first is the quality mode with a 30 FPS and a resolution of 4K, the second is the performance mode with an increased frame rate of 60 and a resolution of 1440p.

The Xbox Series S has a less powerful graphic card, so the two graphics modes offer a slightly lower resolution: for the quality mode we have a 30 FPS with a 1440p resolution, and the performance mode runs at 60 FPS at 1080p.

"On WRC Generation we really wanted to reach the best performances and stability on new and old generations."

What are your thoughts on the Steam Deck? Do you have plans for any specific optimizations for the device?

As you know, this is the last time we are developing an officially licensed WRC game. So we plan to follow the game over time, but it will take us too much time and monopolize part of our team. In this context, we have not planned to adapt WRC Generations to the technical specificities of the Steam Deck.

Of course, there isn’t too much of a tangible difference between what the two are capable of, but each does have the leg up over the other in small ways and in different areas. For instance, with its 12 teraflop-GPU with 52 CUs, the Xbox Series X’s processor is better on paper than the PS5’s at 10.28 teraflops at 36 CUs. But what does that mean in actual terms?

As per KT Racing’s Benoit Jacquier, technical director on WRC Generations, the PS5’s faster clockspeed (2.23 GHz as compared to the Xbox Series X’s 1.825 GHz) actually gives it a bit of an advantage, allowing developers more direct and simpler performance advantages.

“Due to faster clockspeed, PS5 gives us direct, simpler performance advantages from previous generation,” Jacquier said in a recent interview with GamingBolt. “Although the Xbox Series X’s GPU raw performance is better, it’s harder to exploit- it requires a better parallelism to exploits the 52 CUs. But I suppose devs could, in the long term, obtain better performance on the Xbox Series X.”

As we move deeper into the generation, cross-gen games are beginning to drop off the map bit by bit, so we are finally getting to the point where new upcoming titles will be able to leverage the new consoles’ hardware much better. Whether that leads to more pronounced differences in what the Xbox Series X and PS5 enable to developers to do remains to be seen.

WRC Generations is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Our full interview with Jacquier will be going live soon, so stay tuned for that.

As GamesIndustry notes, sales were down by 42 percent week-on-week but up by more than 40 percent compared to last year’s Call of Duty: Vanguard. FIFA 23 is in second place, with sales dropping by 12 percent. Several Nintendo Switch exclusives saw their sales increase and positions rise compared to the previous week. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was in third, with sales up by 35 percent.

Nintendo Switch Sports had a 54 percent sales increase and captured fourth, while Splatoon 3 rose to fifth place following a 19 percent increase. Among the new entries for the week were WRC Generations at 22nd place and Harvestella at 25th. Check out Gfk’s top ten best-selling physical titles in the UK for the week ending November 5th below.

To commemorate the rally racing sim’s PC and console launch, Nacon has released a new trailer. Check it out below. WRC Generations brings a number of major additions to the table, from a new competitive-focused Leagues mode to the addition of hybrid cars.

In our review of the game, we awarded it a score of 7/10, saying, “WRC Generations lacks the depth and polish of its simulation counterparts but still delivers a fun capstone to the several WRC games that lead up to it.” You can read the full review through here.

WRC Generations is, of course, the final officially licensed WRC title to be developed by Kylotonn and publisher by Nacon. Starting next year, the license will be held exclusively by EA and Codemasters. Reports have claimed that the first game under that partnership is facing development issues, but is still expected to launch sometime in 2023. Read more on that through here.

WRC Generations is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. A Nintendo Switch version is also in development, but doesn’t currently have a release date.

Racing in WRC Generations feels about as good as the last couple of games, as the arcade-style approach from 5, 6, and 7 has found a much more satisfying middle ground with subsequent entries including this one. and if you’ve gotten used to that more recent mix, you’ll take right to it in this latest outing. Generations makes some slight adjustments while largely sticking to the formula. One of the adjustments in Generations certainly seems to be a more intuitive traction system, where the percentage of snow or rain on the ground and the type and placement of your tires is more important than ever before. Despite some muscle memory from racing on some of these tracks carrying over, this new degree of sensitivity will shake things up. Whether that is a good or bad development for the series will largely depend on your tastes, but I ended up going back and forth on it a bit personally.

"Despite some muscle memory from racing on some of these tracks carrying over, this new degree of sensitivity will shake things up. Whether that is a good or bad development for the series will largely depend on your tastes, but I ended up going back and forth on it a bit personally."

On one hand, the more pronounced control I had over how much I want to slide or stick to the ground certainly adds depth, but on the other, you can end up being punished greatly for even small miscalculations, which, to me, is counter to the kinetic soul of the racing in the series which has always rewarded its players most during races and for making the correct choices on the track, not so much for spending copious amounts of time in preparation menus making sure everything is perfectly tuned for the upcoming event. Still yet, the three primary difficulty settings and handful of other game-wide modifiers can alleviate this quite a bit, but in doing so, WRC Generations makes a common mistake among modern legacy racing game franchises by trading in a bit too much of its own identity in exchange for being a more well-rounded game.  As so often happens when this path is taken, the game clearly tries to please a larger audience at the potential expense of those who have supported the series up to this point. It’s not enough to drag the entire experience down by any means, but it is a small thorn in the side of an otherwise reliably competent racing experience.

Other small thorns include some stability issues that lead to me having a few hard crashes at seemingly random points in the game. No one occasion seemed particularly hectic or intense to me, so these crashes were a complete surprise and perhaps that makes them even more worrisome. Another issue that continues to linger in the WRC series is the lack of meaningful difference between too many of the vehicles. While the selection of cars is large in number, and the different classes do vary pretty well, too many of them are just too similar to really make you look forward to experimenting within whatever class of vehicle fits the event you’re in best.

All that said, most of the fundamentals that have been routinely polished with every entry have continued to improve in this one. The vast and beautiful environments are better than they’ve ever been with enhanced weather effects and denser flora, the pronounced differences in track type from pavement to gravel to dirt all hit better than ever with the PS5’s DualSense making you feel every pebble and speck of dirt getting kicked up, and the well-designed pace notes that keep you informed about what to expect with peripheral info that doesn’t make you take your eyes off the road like a minimap would.

These things quickly become the bedrock of WRC Generations and it’s good to see them in excellent shape here, although the DualSense sounds blaring out of the speaker might be a little too pronounced on their default setting for my taste. Still, with all of that, on top of the series’ best iteration of crew management, livery editor, and tech upgrade trees ever, we see a compelling package take shape for those that click with the slightly floaty but still somewhat realistic WRC-style of racing. And despite the hard crashes, I generally encountered very little frame rate drops or any other sort of visual oddity.

"While the selection of cars is large in number, and the different classes do vary pretty well, too many of them are just too similar to really make you look forward to experimenting within whatever class of vehicle fits the event you’re in best."

For the most part, WRC Generations seems to round out the ups and downs of the previous few games with an arguably ideal combination of what worked best in recent installments. While I wish it went further than surface level with its upgrades, it has by no means phoned in this entry. Its gameplay is just deep enough for big-time enthusiasts to justify spending dozens of hours in, while its learning curve is just shallow enough for more casual or arcade style racing fans to get plenty of enjoyment out of it too.

While it does ultimately pay the price of probably not wow-ing most people in either camp, it does handle the task of maximizing the knowledge the developer has clearly gained from the past few games while minimizing the price paid for the few wrinkles they were never quite able to totally iron out. Had the stability and variety been stepped up just a bit more, it would be a stronger recommendation, but as it is, I certainly wouldn’t ward you off if WRC Generations is something that you’re interested in. If you’re familiar with the series and generally know what to expect, then this is arguably the apex of the series up to this point but even if you’re new to the series, I still think there’s plenty of reason to give it a shot with some moderated expectations.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

Here are the 15 biggest games to look forward to in November.

The Chant

“Weekend getaway to a spiritual retreat turned to hellish survival against cosmic monstrosities,” isn’t the worst description for Brass Token’s The Chant. After a rift to The Gloom, a dimension of negative energy, opens and various horrors take over a peaceful island, it’s up to Jess to collect weapons like salt and incense, craft items, and harness spiritual energy to fight back. And also run away, because flight is sometimes just better than fighting.

Along with managing her spirit, players must also care for Jess’s physical and mental health – these will influence her survival and abilities throughout the story. Then there are the other survivors, slowly giving in to the negative energy perpetrating the island. Can they be saved? We’ll find out when The Chant launches on November 3rd for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

God of War Ragnarok

Over four years since its predecessor debuted, selling millions of copies over a few days, and three years past in-game, the sequel to God of War (2018) is finally upon us. The story sees Odin and Asgard preparing for Ragnarok while Kratos and Atreus avoid the conflict. Of course, it’s not long before they’re involved, battling the likes of Freya, the Valkyrie, the Einherjar, and the mighty Thor himself.

A lot has been said about the experience, with reports extolling its massive size and the development team claiming it’s bigger than they envisioned. Nine realms to explore, new shields and abilities to equip, an expanded combat system, more verticality, larger levels, more enemy variety – the list of improvements goes and goes. On November 9th, the world will finally have a chance to play it on PS4 and PS5.

Sonic Frontiers

If nothing else, you have to admire the guts of Sega releasing Sonic Frontiers just one day before God of War Ragnarok. Nevertheless, those looking for a brand-new 3D platformer to dive into should find promise in Sonic’s latest adventure. After his friends disappear during a hunt for the Chaos Emeralds and he delves into Cyber Space, Sonic finds himself on the Starfall Isles. This archipelago of five different islands is filled with mysterious mechanical beings, and a new enemy named Sage also emerges.

Sonic Frontiers goes for an open-world-esque approach for its exploration, with the different islands presenting various platforming challenges, puzzles, and Guardians to fight. Upon accessing a portal, he can venture into Cyber Space with levels inspired by older titles. Sonic Frontiers launches on November 8th for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch, and is undoubtedly the biggest Sonic title yet.

Football Manager 2023

Another year, another promising new Football Manager title from Sports Interactive. Football Manager 2023 marks the series’ return to PlayStation but also features improvements to its scouting, squad planning, AI managers, and more. The UEFA Europa League, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa Conference League are all fully licensed, and new features like Supporter Confidence and Dynamic Manager Timeline promise to bring you closer to the sport than ever.

Football Manager 2023 is out on November 8th for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, and Apple Arcade, along with launching day one on Game Pass.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Bloody Ties

Techland has been updating Dying Light 2 Stay Human regularly since launch, and on November 10th, its first paid DLC Bloody Ties will release on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC. Aiden enters a tournament to take on various challenging foes in Carnage Hall for fame and rewards. Things aren’t what they seem, though (surprise, surprise), and you’ll soon be investigating the tournament’s true purpose. In addition to a new story, Bloody Ties also provides new gear, a new weapon in the Shield Glove, and arena missions called Spectacles. You can also fight new mutated foes in Arena Challenges to truly test your limits.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Yes, it’s another Pokemon game on the Nintendo Switch for the fourth year in a row. Nevertheless, Pokemon Scarlet and Violent look genuinely interesting. Instead of a regional approach like Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Paldea is a seamless open world. As a student of Naranja or Uva Academy, the player participates in a treasure hunt with the freedom to go just about anywhere. All the tropes of a Pokemon title are here – an enthusiastic rival Nemona; Professors Sada and Turo; and even new Legendary Pokemon like Koraidon and Miraidon that serve as mounts when exploring the region.

In terms of story, players can choose from three different routes – Path of Legends to locate the Herba Mystica while fighting Titan Pokemon; Victory Road to challenge eight Gym Leaders and eventually the Pokemon League Champion; and Starfall Street, where they must battle against Team Star. With several new Pokemon, new moves and items, and Terastallization providing new properties for each Pokemon, Scarlet and Violet could be the best 3D titles in the series yet. They’re out on November 18th for Nintendo Switch.

Evil West

Third-person shooter meets stylish beat ’em up combat in the Weird Wild West with Flying Wild Hog’s Evil West. As Jesse Rentier, players must battle vampires in the American frontier. This is done in several violent ways, from firearms to a gauntlet that can electrocute enemies. Throughout the campaign (which supports co-op), you’ll discover new weapons, unlock new perks and upgrades, and ultimately save the country. Evil West is out on November 22nd for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC.

WRC Generations

Originally slated to launch last month, KT Racing’s WRC Generations was delayed and now launches on November 3rd for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC. Career Mode, multiplayer, Quickplay and other modes return along with Split Screen for local play. Leagues Mode is new and involves players completing different events every week and receiving a ranking.

In addition to new Hybrid Cars, major revamps have been made to the progression and Team Creation while cross-platform play has also been implemented. As the developer’s last game under the license (for now), WRC Generations could see it going out on a high note.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me

A documentary crew is invited to a recreation of serial H.H. Holmes’ infamous “Murder Castle” by a mysterious recluse – what could go wrong? Not every scary situation in The Dark Pictures Anthology is as avoidable as this, but I digress since The Devil in Me is going for something different with its killing rooms. You’ll still have to make decisions that can influence whether the central cast lives or dies.

But this time, there are more movement options like running, climbing, and jumping, an inventory for managing items, puzzles that require tools, and more. This is in addition to online mode and five-player local co-op. As the season finale, The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me should end things with a venerable bang when it launches on November 18th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, and PC.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (PC)

Warhammer: Vermintide developer Fatshark’s latest title leans more into the sci-fi Warhammer 40K universe, eschewing hack and slash for more first-person shooting (but still having some hacking and slashing). It’s set in the Hive City of Tertium on Atoma Prime, which has seen an influx of Chaos forces. As a “reject,” one must undertake missions across various maps, working their way up to better weapons and gear while opting for tougher difficulties.

Four classes – Psyker, Zealot, Ogryn, and Veteran – are available, each with different subclasses to specialize in different play styles (like the Skullbreaker Ogryn being more melee-focused). It will sound pretty familiar to Vermintide fans, which isn’t the worst considering how much fun co-op was in that series. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is out on November 30th for PC, with the Xbox Series X/S version launching “shortly after.”

The Entropy Centre

Amid all the action-packed titles releasing this month, it’s nice to have something more laid-back and cerebral. Stubby Games’ The Entropy Centre takes place after an extinction event seemingly wipes out mankind and as perhaps the last one alive, you venture to the heart of the Entropy Centre, which orbits the Earth in a space station, for answers.

The first-person puzzle-solving and time manipulation will look familiar, but Stubby Games puts an interesting spin on this by having you find the solution and then rewind time to solve the puzzle in reverse. The Entropy Centre is out on November 3rd for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC.

Gungrave G.O.R.E.

Announced back in December 2017, Gungrave G.O.R.E. has been a long time coming. It’s out on November 22nd for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4, and PC, and launching day one on Game Pass. Set after Gungrave VR, it follows the Gunslinger of Resurrection, who is out for revenge.

Along with third-person shooting, there’s also close-quarters combat and brawling, and various types of enemies like mechs, zombies, and more to take out. Despite the long development cycle, it remains intriguing and worth keeping an eye on.

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PC)

If you’ve already played Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on PC, then Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a no-brainer. Taking place one year later, it sees Miles Morales as Spider-Man, protecting Harlem from the conflict between Roxxon Energy Corporation and the Tinkerer’s Underground. While many of the same environments and gameplay elements remain, Miles has unique abilities like Venom Blast and Camouflage to even the odds.

There are also new gadgets like the Gravity Well, Holo-Drone, and more to further spice up the gameplay. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is out on November 18th for PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, and while it’s not as long as the previous game, there’s still a great story, side content, and suits to collect.

Tactics Ogre: Reborn

Tactics Ogre: Reborn is coming to PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC and serves as a remaster of Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. Even with the upscaled HD visuals and artwork, re-recorded soundtrack and fully-voiced cutscenes, there is so much here to make it feel like a brand-new game.

Random encounters are gone, replaced with Training Battles; skills have been retuned while Finishers now use MP; Buff Cards throughout different battles provide positive and negative effects; new Charms provide different bonuses; and much more. You can even rewind actions within the last ten turns in case of an unfavorable outcome. With its numerous classes and skills, incredible branching story, and various quality-of-life improvements, it may end up a dark horse among some of the bigger releases this year.

Harvestella

The world, governed by four crystals called Seaslight, periodically suffers the effects of the Quietus, which ruins crops and brings death. As the duration of the Quietus increases, you control Ein and must figure out how to stop it.

Along the way, you’ll visit various towns, each with unique crops, materials, and recipes, and interact with many characters (including Aria, who is seemingly from the future), fish, craft and more. Maintaining a farm to fund your mission is one thing – you also need to venture out and fight monsters to make progress with the investigation. Good thing there are 12 different classes, each with unique weapons and abilities to assist in this.

Releasing on November 4th for Nintendo Switch and PC, Harvestella could fill that Rune Factory-sized hole.

Leagues Mode is available for solo and team players, with ranking for the latter based on points earned from each player. It supports cross-platform play (except on Nintendo Switch) and features six Leagues – Legend, Champion, Professional, Rookie, Junior, and Beginner. These are divided into three tiers, with each having groups of players.

You can have 30 solo players and eight teams in a group, with the League lasting for a few weeks or a season. Players complete the week-long qualification phase and compete in ten weeks of daily and weekly events. Re-ranking is done after each week concludes based on one’s performance.

Each event provides three attempts (though you get a warm-up mode to train for special stages), and events are different for solo and team players. While daily events consist of rally races with certain conditions and add to the group classification when the day is over, weekly events are a complete rally that must be completed in several sessions.

You can select a car in a category while taking care of damage, repairs and tire choices in the service park. After the season concludes, the top three teams and players worldwide will enter the Leagues Hall of Fame.

WRC Generations launches on November 3rd for Xbox One, Xbox Series, PS4, PS5, and PC, with the Nintendo Switch version releasing on December 1st. The first season starts on November 28th, but a two-week pre-season will begin on October 31st for players to learn the mechanics.

LEGO Bricktales

While LEGO Brawls was all about combat, Clockstone’s LEGO Bricktales is a more chilled-out experience. You explore gorgeous LEGO dioramas, from deserts and a castle to Caribbean islands, solving puzzles and receiving new skills to spice up your grandfather’s aging amusement park. The main appeal is being given bricks and figuring out the solutions.

It’s an interesting mix of engineering and sandbox gameplay with five biomes to explore, multiple collectibles and side quests and a dedicated Sandbox Mode to tinker around in. LEGO Bricktales launches on October 12th for Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

Persona 5 Royal (Xbox, PC, Switch, and PS5)

After garnering critical acclaim on the PS4 for two years, Persona 5 Royal is finally coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Nintendo Switch and PS5 on October 21st. As an enhanced version of Persona 5, Royal offers new story events, a new Palace, Ultimate Persona, quality-of-life features, a third semester, and a new party member in Kasumi. All previously released DLC is also included for free, and it’s also launching on day one for Game Pass.

If you’re yet to fall in with the Phantom Thieves and experience one of the best RPGs ever, then Persona 5 Royal is worth a look.

Dragon Ball: The Breakers

Ever wanted to play an asymmetrical, Dead by Daylight title but with Dragon Ball characters, running in fear from overpowered villainous beings? Dragon Ball: The Breakers is your oddly specific ticket, pitting seven ordinary humans against the likes of Frieza, Buu and Cell. Venture to different regions for keys to activate the Super Time Machine and either avoid the villains or use Dragon Change to fight back as legendary heroes like Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks.

The villain’s role is simple: Hunt down the survivors, level up and become stronger, and destroy any means of escape. That means decimating entire parts of the map, wrecking the time machines and beating survivors to a pulp. Dragon Ball: The Breakers is out on October 13th for Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

New Tales from the Borderlands

Gearbox Entertainment returns to the adventure-style format (sans Telltale Games) with New Tales from the Borderlands. Out on October 21st for Xbox and PlayStation platforms along with PC and Nintendo Switch, it features three new characters – scientist Anu, her brother Octavio and Fran, the owner of a frozen yogurt store. Together, they’ll search for a Vault Key while hopefully surviving against Pandora’s various hazards and corporate entities.

As with the first game, quick-time events and dialogue choices can affect the narrative, resulting in different outcomes. Will it have Rhys and Vaughn in cameos? One can always hope.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was already a stellar title that fused two unlikely intellectual properties together in a strategy RPG bonanza. But Sparks of Hope looks to be even bigger, featuring multiple planets to explore, massively expanded exploration with puzzles, side quests, and secrets, and a new antagonist in Cursa. Combat has been overhauled, doing away with the grid-based movement and adding new abilities along with the Sparks for elemental damage.

If that weren’t enough, new characters like Edge, Rabbid Rosalina and Bowser join the roster for even more unique squads. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch on October 20th.

Gotham Knights

Batman is dead, guys. For really real. As a result, it’s up to the Fumbling Four – er, the Bat Family to protect Gotham in his absence. Unlike the Arkham series, Gotham Knights is an action RPG with four playable characters – Nightwing, Robin, Red Hood, and Batgirl – each with unique abilities and play styles, gear, and stories to experience. As you fight crime, you’ll encounter classic villains like Harley Quinn, Mister Freeze, Clayface, and the mysterious Court of Owls.

Gotham Knights is out on October 21st for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC with support for two-player co-op.

A Plague Tale: Requiem

As the follow-up to Asobo Studio’s breakout action-adventure title, A Plague Tale: Requiem sees Amicia and Hugo on the run again. This time, the siblings must travel to a mysterious island, seeking a cure for Hugo’s disease before it consumes him. Things are far from ideal as mercenaries hunt them, and the plague rats are as hungry as ever.

With new weapons like a crossbow, alchemical potions, and Hugo’s ability to control the rats for devouring any foes, A Plague Tale: Requiem promises a much bigger experience. It releases on October 18th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch via the cloud, along with Game Pass.

Scorn

What do you get when you combine “ick” with a whole lot of “yuck”? Probably Ebb Software’s Scorn, a first-person survival horror title with a biopunk aesthetic inspired by the works of H. R. Giger and Zdzisław Beksiński. Explore fantastical, disgusting structures made of machines and flesh, implant various weapons into your body, and seek answers for this whole mess across a non-linear story.

Scorn may require around 6-8 hours, probably more, on your first playthrough, but there’s nothing like it. It launches on October 21st for Xbox Series X/S and PC, along with Game Pass.

WRC Generations

KT Racing’s final WRC racing game is out on October 13th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5, with the PC version releasing in November. It’s the biggest one yet with brand new hybrid model cars and revamped physics, 37 Legendary Cars, and 750 km of tracks spread across 22 countries. Progression has also been revamped, tracking tasks completed across the game, and the Livery Editor returns with more options and the ability to share your creations with other players. There sadly won’t be any post-launch content, but at least the new Leagues mode should satisfy fans for the long haul.

Dakar Desert Rally

If one rally racing game isn’t enough, there’s Saber Interactive’s Dakar Desert Rally. Promising the “biggest and most epic off-road rally racing adventure ever developed,” it offers 30 stages from the 2020-2022 Dakar Rally races. Players can race across a massive open world with officially licensed SSVs, quads, trucks, and much more while tackling dynamic weather like rain, snow, and the blazing sun.

With a Career mode, online multiplayer events, and four seasons to experience, Dakar Desert Rally launches on October 4th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, and PC.

Marvel Snap

Are your current Hearthstone and/or Marvel needs not being met? Worry not, because Marvel Snap releases on October 18th for PC, Android and iOS. Developed by Second Dinner Studios, which consists of Hearthstone veterans, it’s a 1v1 multiplayer CCG with over 150 unique cards to play (and more coming post-launch).

Matches play out in random locations with different effects and players can “Snap” to effectively double down in a match. Whether it overtakes Hearthstone and Legends of Runeterra, the fast-paced gameplay and gorgeous comic book illustrations make Marvel Snap worth checking out.

Overwatch 2

Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch 2 finally launches on October 4th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch…as an early access, free-to-play title. It’s pretty much an update to Overwatch 1 with three new heroes – Junker Queen, Sojourn and Kiriko; six new maps; and the new Push mode. Assault is out, and teams now consist of five players with only one Tank. A seasonal model of content releases is also in effect, meaning no more loot boxes but yes to an in-game store and Battle Passes.

Time will tell how it pans out. All players will need to enable SMS Protect while new players have to unlock each hero and play 50 Quick Play matches to unlock Competitive (not to mention unlocking Kiriko and future new heroes in the Battle Pass). But at least it supports crossplay and cross-progression with all Overwatch 1 cosmetics carrying over.

PGA Tour 2K23

Two years after PGA Tour 2K21, the next edition of 2K Games’ golfing simulator will release on October 14th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, PS4, and PS5. Aside from the usual PGA Tour mode and MyPLAYER (which offers new skills and archetypes), male and female pros are now playable. The Course Designer also returns with cross-platform support and online sharing. With multiple control options, online multiplayer (including Divot Derby) and Online Societies for Clubhouses, it should be a sizable leap over its predecessor.

NHL 23

Also launching on October 14th is EA Sports’ NHL 23. Along with mixed women’s and men’s teams in Ultimate Team mode, the hockey sim offers new gameplay features like Last Chance Puck Movement. It allows for hitting the puck even after tripping, with players taking advantage of new Stumble Actions to score. Enhanced goalie AI, on-ice projections, more customization in HUT to go with new reward tiers in the rotating HUT Rivals playlist, and more also await. NHL 23 will be available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5 at launch.

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is IllFonic’s latest asymmetrical multiplayer title, which sees a squad of four Ghostbusters taking on a single mischievous Ghost. As the Ghostbusters, one must explore a map and track down the Ghost, taking care to calm civilians in the process. Meanwhile, the Ghost must terrorize everyone, possessing objects to stay hidden and ultimately evading capture to haunt a location.

With crossplay, original actors like Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson reprising their original roles, and co-op and offline play, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed should be a fun diversion when it launches on October 18th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC. And remember – don’t cross the streams.

Bayonetta 3

The Umbra Witch finally returns as Bayonetta 3 launches exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on October 28th. While the basic hack and slash combat remains, the sequel introduces several new mechanics. Demon Slave allows for directly controlling Infernal Demons to bash giant foes, while Demon Masquerade sees Bayonetta fusing with a demon to gain new abilities. Throw in new weapons, a new playable character Viola, and a multi-world threat in the form of the Singularity, and Bayonetta 3 promises to be the series’ most explosive title yet.

Second Extinction

Systemic Reaction, which has been in the news for its upcoming open-world rogue-lite Ravenbound, will finally release its co-op dinosaur shooter Second Extinction on October 20th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The idea is to survive against hordes of dinosaurs with two other players, and there are six heroes, 11 weapons and multiple missions to tackle.

The real twist is War Effort where the threat level of a region increases or decreases based on how the community performs. If you’re still holding out for a new Dino Crisis, then this could make the wait easier.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Along with the campaign, fans can look forward to multiplayer with new modes and weapons along with a revamped Gunsmith. There are also co-op missions for two players and Raids that offer in-depth puzzle solving and firefights for three players. If battle royale is more your speed, Warzone 2.0 will launch just a few weeks later and offer a new Gulag and AI foes.

A new trailer is available, showcasing Marcus Grönholm’s Peugeot 206, which is a bonus for pre-ordering the title. A Fully Loaded Edition has also been announced for $49.99, which includes the game, 48 hours of early access, bonus items for the Livery Editor and a “Career Starter Pack” with experienced crew member cards to use in Career mode.

Other content includes Sébastien Loeb’s Citroën C4 WRC, more livery for Romain Dumas’ Porsche 911 GT3 RS RGT, and three months of access to WRC+, the FIA World Rally Championship’s official streaming service. On Twitter, the developer also clarified that pre-orders on Steam and Epic Games Store wouldn’t be available.

Instead, all players that purchase the Standard and Fully Loaded Editions until November 17th will receive the Peugeot 206 for free. For more details on the title, including its new Leagues Mode, check out our feature here.

Steam & Epic Games Store won't have pre-orders available, to compensate the Peugeot 206 DLC will be available for free to users purchasing the Standard or Fully Loaded Editions of WRC Generations in the first two weeks after the game's launch (until November 17).

— WRC The Official Games (@WRCTheGame) September 30, 2022