Alan Wake 2 And Other Top Video Games Releasing In October 2023

Release date: 5 October

Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, iOS

One of the biggest video game launches of 2023, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a prequel story to one of the main characters of 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla — Basim Ibn Ishaq. The story follows Basim’s journey as a cunning young thief in ninth-century Baghdad to his becoming a full-fledged member of the Assassin Brotherhood.

Developed and created by Ubisoft, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is one of the few games that will have an iOS release for Apple iPhone 15 Pro models in 2024 alongside the Resident Evil 4 remake, Resident Evil Village and Death Stranding.

Image credit: Ubisoft

Release date: 10 October

Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PC

For those who love racing games, Forza Motorsport is the one to watch out for. It is the 13th main instalment of the Forza series. The makers, Turn 10 Studios and Xbox Game Studios, have given the racing simulation game a more realistic touch with ray tracing, spectra-photometer, progressive damage, dirt build-up during racing and finer details in the environment.

The game will feature 500 cars competing in thrilling races across 20 different locations, including world-famous names such as Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Silverstone Circuit and Suzuka Circuit. Among the cars are the stunning 2023 No.01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R race car and 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray. Additionally, here are 800 unique upgrades to improve the cars.

Image credit: Forza Motorsport/@ForzaMotorsport/Twitter

Release date: 17 October

Platforms: PS4 PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC

Sega’s iconic Sonic the Hedgehog is set for a new side-scrolling adventure. Players can choose among the super-fast Sonic and three other main characters — Miles “Tails” Prower, Knuckles the Echidna and Amy Rose. Each of them has unique abilities, which can be strategically used during the game. The objective is to defeat Doctor Eggman, whose henchmen, Fang the Hunter and a mysterious new adversary, are out to capture the giant animals of North Star Islands.

The 2D game incorporates 3D graphics. This has ensured that the landscape of the zones in the game looks both dazzlingly beautiful and near-realistic in their bright colours.

Image credit: SEGA

Release date: 17 October

Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC

Wizard with a Gun, as its name indicates, is about a wizard who shoots down enemies like a Wild West gunslinger. However, this is a fantastical realm, not the Wild West, where the player character, the wizard, will have to gather resources from woods, walls and other providers to craft unique bullets from them. The more unique the bullets, the more damage they can inflict upon the monstrous creatures that lurk in the shadows of this action adventure game by Devolver Digital.

Image credit: Devolver Digital/@devolverdigital/Twitter

Release date: 19 October

Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC

French video game developer Amplitude Studios created a ripple when it launched Dungeon of the Endless (2014), the third game of their Endless franchise. It now aims for greater glory with Endless Dungeon, the successor title to the 2014 hit.

Described as a “unique blend of roguelite, tactical action, and tower defence” by its makers, the gameplay of Endless Dungeon revolves around a group of player characters who are stranded on an abandoned space station and must find a way to escape. There are other stranded characters on the space station, who may or may not be able to help. The game can be played solo in which a single player controls one character and directs the rest or is in tandem with other players in control of multiple characters.

The game was originally set for release on 18 May but was delayed to October. It will also have a Nintendo Switch release at a later date.

Image credit: Amplitude Studios/SEGA

Release date: 19 October

Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC

Gargoyles Remastered is one of the most-awaited games for all who belong to the 1990s generation. It is, after all, an upgraded remake of the acclaimed 1995 Disney game Gargoyles, which was based on the animated series of the same name.

The game was originally released on the Sega Genesis console and is, as were most games from the period, a side-scrolling adventure featuring the hero Goliath. The story remains unchanged in the remastered edition. The objective for Goliath is to use his superhuman strength, wings and claws to defeat enemies and prevent the evil Eye of Odin from causing havoc.

The remastered edition has hand-drawn artwork similar to that of the cartoon. The game environment, therefore, looks more immersive and detailed. But players can change the graphics to the original 16-bit style to experience a retro feel. There is also a replay mode in the remastered edition, which helps players go back a few seconds in case they made a wrong move.

Image credit: Disney

Release date: 20 October

Platforms: Switch

Mario games have perhaps been among the best ever made. Any new title, therefore, immediately builds an air of excitement around it as there is a guarantee of loads of fun with Mario on his adventures.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is no exception. It is the first of the two Mario video games set for release in 2023 and comes after the massive success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is one of the highest-grossing films of 2023 with over USD 1 billion worldwide gross.

In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, players can opt to play as Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, the Toad or Toadette. For those who are beginners to the series, there are also two other characters, Nabbit and Yoshi, who are practically indestructible.

The gameplay marks a return to the traditional 2D side-scrolling style. It is almost like the older Mario games, featuring Warp Pipes and foes such as the Goombas and Piranha Plants in a more interactive environment. The “Wonder” in the title is for the Wonder Flower, which are basically unique power-ups for the player characters. For instance, the Elephant Fruit turns the hero character into an elephant and grants enhanced strength that can be used to smash enemies, move Warp Pipes and other abilities.

Charles Martinet, who voiced Mario for the last 30 years, will not return as the voice of the world’s most beloved plumber in this game as he has been elevated to the position of “Mario Ambassador.” Makers Nintendo haven’t revealed who will voice Mario in this game, leading to intense speculation in the media. Will it be Chris Pratt? Only the credits will reveal.

Image credit: Screenshot/Nintendo of America/YouTube

Release date: 20 October

Platforms: PS5

Peter Parker and Miles Morales, the two Spider-Men, come together for the first time after their individual adventures in Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018) and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020). Of course, they must join forces to protect their favourite New York City from a range of powerful antagonists, including Kraven the Hunter and, most importantly, Venom.

Developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, flashes of the gameplay released so far promise an edge-of-the-seat action with graphics that are possibly the finest in any game released to date. Several game observers believe that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 could end up as the best Spider-Man game of all time.

Image credit: Marvel

Release date: 27 October

Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Alan Wake 2 (or Alan Wake II) is one of the most-awaited video games of 2023 because it comes 13 years after the acclaimed original and is its first sequel.

The game follows Alan Wake, a world-famous author, who has been trapped in the supernatural Dark Place in a caldera lake near the town of Bright Falls. Dark Place has the power to bring his horror stories to life.

In the original game, although Wake manages to free his wife from Dark Place, he gets trapped by giving an ending to his horror story. Trying in vain to escape for the last 13 years, he might find some help this time in the form of an FBI agent named Saga Anderson who has been sent to Bright Falls to investigate a series of mysterious murders.

With this title, Finnish game developer Remedy Entertainment, famous for its groundbreaking third-person shooter Max Payne franchise, marks its foray into the survival-horror genre.

Image credit: Remedy Entertainment

Release date: 27 October

Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Fans of mixed martial arts and its leading promotion, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), will want to get their hands on the fifth instalment of the franchise which started with the first game in 2014.

EA Sports UFC 5 will see former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, current UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and former UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko gracing the covers of three different editions of the game.

Previous editions of the game have featured playable real-life MMA icons such as Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey and boxing titan Tyson Fury. The best part of the upcoming game? Playable boxing legends Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.

The fifth instalment is set to be more realistic than its predecessors. It comes with the all-new Real Impact System as well as the incorporation of the Frostbite Engine for the first time in the franchise. Enhanced and new features include blow-by-blow damage with hyper-accurate progression, fluid physics and particle systems, Cinematic K.O. replays, Doctor’s Checks and Stoppages, New Strike animations and Seamless Submissions.

UFC President Dana White has said that the game is the “most realistic MMA experience fans can have outside of the Octagon.”

Image credit: EA SPORTS UFC/@EASPORTSUFC/Twitter