Gadgets
Deathloop to eFootball: Games to Play in September
From next-gen consoles to macOS users, there’s something in store for everybody.
Browse through our guide to check out some of the most exciting September games, set to release on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
While titles such as The Medium and Ghostrunner are set to release on next-gen consoles (on September 3 and September 28, respectively), we’ve only handpicked brand-new games that will be released this month.
Life Is Strange: True Colors
When: September 10
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
If you have played any of the games in the Life Is Strange series and enjoyed them, you may not want to miss the latest chapter in the emotionally driven adventure series. Even if you haven’t played any of the previous instalments, fret not as Life Is Strange: True Colors brings a whole new story with a fresh protagonist in Alex Chen. Chen has the power to feel or experience the emotions of others around her, which she must use to find out how her brother really died. Life Is Strange games have always been driven by conversation-based gameplay and heart-rending storylines. By the looks of the trailer, True Colors doesn’t appear to be a shade different.
Lost in Random
When: September 10
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
From the studio that brought the brilliant platformer Fe, Lost in Random is yet another surreal adventure from Sweden-based Zoink. This EA Originals title will have you step into the shoes of Even, who must traverse through the Kingdom of Random to find her abducted sister, Odd. On her journey, Even will come across Dicey, a sentient and adorable dice who will show her that despite all rules, life is truly understood through its randomness.
NBA 2K22
When: September 10
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
It’s that time of the year again. 2K Games is set to bring its latest version of annual basketball simulator — NBA 2K22 — in September as usual. While WNBA was introduced last year, NBA 2K22 promises to build up on the exciting format with elements such as off-day experience, new player progression badges, and more. Oh, and Chicago Sky star Candace Parker is featured as the first female cover athlete for the series. As is the case with each edition, you can expect several minute changes in gameplay and presentation.
Tales of Arise
When: September 10
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
From the venerated house of Bandai Namco that brought some of the most iconic games all time — from Tekken to Dark Souls — comes a brand-new action RPG that will chronicle the tumultuous battle between the worlds of Dahna and Rena. Your adventure will revolve around Alphen, a native of Dahna, and Shionne, a native of Rena, who embark on a fantastical journey together. The combat promises to be fast paced, staying true to the Linear Motion Battle System seen in its spiritual predecessors: Tales of Zestiria and Tales of Berseria.
Deathloop
When: September 14
Where: PC, PS5
If you loved the fast-paced superpowered stealth action of Dishonored games (Dishonored 2 Review), we can’t think of a reason why you may not like Arkane Studios’ next big title — Deathloop.
The story revolves around Colt, an assassin who needs to break out of a time loop by taking out eight targets across an island before midnight. Every time you die, you start from square one. Every time a day gets over before killing all the targets, you start again from square one. However, Colt will remember everything from previous loops, to help take advantage of patterns and behaviours of enemies in every fresh run. Colt must find the right balance between using stealth to the fullest and make good use of his Dishonored-like powers to crack the game. Colt would also need to be wary of Julianna, a time agent who can pop up anywhere, anytime and will stop at nothing to take out Colt.
Although the game is only releasing on the PS5 and PC for now, Xbox users are expected to get a chance play Deathloop in September 2022, when the PS5-exclusivity ends.
Aragami 2
When: September 17
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
More stealth coming your way in the form of Aragami 2, a sequel to 2016’s action-adventure title that revolves around the eponymous assassin with supernatural powers. The co-op title lets you play in groups of three where you must “master the shadows” and find the right balance with your teammates to help achieve objectives. The first Aragami was known for its swift gameplay and cool stealth-based superpowers. Judging by the gameplay trailer, Aragami 2 doesn’t appear to be any different.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
When: September 21
Where: PC, PS4, PS5
Promising to showcase the next-gen muscles of PS5, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a third-person action-adventure that revolves around Kena, a spirit guide. She uses her magical abilities to assist the dead to travel from the physical to the spirit world. During her own journey, Kena will come across adorable minion-like creatures called the Rot, who can help her complete goals and defeat enemies. The trailer looks stunning and promises a fresh gameplay experience.
Diablo II: Resurrected
When: September 23
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
This is the age of remasters. From Age of Empires to Mass Effect, it appears every game that we grew up with is getting a remastered version for current and next-gen platforms.
While that might not appeal to some, it may be intriguing to pick up a childhood favourite and re-experience it in reimagined graphics and gameplay. Diablo II: Resurrected doesn’t appear to change much of the original gameplay — after all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it — with the added glitz of modern-day graphics and network functions. It could be fun to revisit this classic action RPG, over two decades since its first unveiling.
Sable
When: September 23
Where: PC (Windows, macOS), Xbox Series S/X
No combat. No linear narrative. Sable promises to be a unique open world explorer that revolves around the eponymous protagonist who must find a ritualistic mask in order to return to her clan. The game will feature a lot of puzzles, and even more open world exploration segments where you must navigate through ruins and sand dunes.
Death Stranding Director’s Cut
When: September 24
Where: PS5
When Hideo Kojima first released Death Stranding as a PS4-exclusive a couple years ago, fans of the iconic game director were heavily polarised. While some found the game nothing more than a glorified walking simulator, others claimed that the game’s unique gameplay and gripping story made it one of Kojima’s best.
Now, PS5 owners can get a majorly overhauled version of the game that not only introduces new elements such as changes in main story, but also adds brand new gameplay features such as racing (we kid you not) and fresh weapons. It also promises to make the game’s exploration less tedious and the added allure of PS5’s next-gen graphical prowess. If the preview trailer is anything to go by, Death Stranding Director’s Cut appears to be a whole new game and not just a re-release with next-gen upgrades.
Lost Judgment
When: September 24
Where: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X,
A spiritual spin-off of Yakuza games, this JRPG will chronicle the adventures of private detective Takayuki Yagami who will find his way through the streets and mysteries of Yokohama and Kamurocho cities to investigate a criminal accused of murder. The console-exclusive promises a fair balance between signature JRPG action sequences and stealth-based gameplay.
New World
When: September 28
Where: PC
Seemingly a truly fresh MMORPG. Developed by Amazon Games, New World has seen its fair share of delays since it was first announced way back in 2016. Finally seeing the light of day, New World will see players come online to explore and conquer a 17th-century world modelled after the Americas.
There’s also a massive 50 vs 50 battle mode called War that hold promises of standing up to classic titles such as Guild Wars 2 or World of Warcraft. New World is a buy-to-play title and hence won’t need a monthly subscription fee.
eFootball
When: September 30
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
FIFA contender Pro Evolution Soccer, or PES, was announced in July to be overhauled into a free-to-play title, simply known as eFootball. This came a few years after Konami’s annual football simulation release carried the title of eFootball PES. The new eFootball will offer cross-platform play and promises to bring notable alterations to its tried-and-tested gameplay. As of now, the initial release will only comprise nine teams and six stadiums, apart from cross-generation console support. Later in autumn, eFootball will receive its first major update, that will bring cross-platform support, a team building mode, and a match pass system, among others. eFootball drops only a day before FIFA 22 is set to break cover on October 1.
Hot Wheels Unleashed
When: September 30
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
Years before Fast & Furious began sending cars into space, we broke the laws of physics daily (in our imagination) with brightly coloured diecast vehicles simply known as Hot Wheels. Developed by Milestone, Hot Wheels Unleashed brings the same madness straight from our childhood on our screens. Not only do you get crazy tracks to conquer, but you also get to (virtually) collect some of the most iconic Hot Wheels models ever made. Each car comes with its own powers, and you can customise your Hot Wheels as well.
Do you think we’ve missed out any worthy titles? Let us know on our dedicated Gaming Forum.
Gadgets
Microsoft Partners With Inworld to Bring AI Game Development Tools to Xbox
“At Xbox, we believe that with better tools, creators can make even more extraordinary games,” Haiyan Zhang, GM, Xbox Gaming AI, said in a blog post. “This partnership will bring together: Inworld’s expertise in working with generative AI models for character development, Microsoft’s cutting-edge cloud-based AI solutions including Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft Research’s technical insights into the future of play, and Team Xbox’s strengths in revolutionizing accessible and responsible creator tools for all developers.”
The aforementioned AI design copilot is a toolset that will help game designers turn prompts into scripts and dialogue trees. In contrast, the character runtime will enable dynamically generated plot beats and quests. We’ve already seen heavy AI integration in games by way of procedural generation — a more recent example being the 1000+ planets in Starfield. Not to mention, enemy AI has been around for way longer.
Inworld made headlines in August when it launched a modded story mode for Grand Theft Auto V, Sentient Streets, in which players had to investigate the rise of a bizarre AI-worshipping cult — a segment loaded with characters that spoke in AI-generated dialogue, on the fly. The mod was later taken down by publisher Take-Two, leaving a permanent strike on the creator Bloc’s YouTube channel. As per The Verge, Inworld’s AI technology can also be used for narration in top-down RPGs to warn players about any events awaiting off-screen and respond to questions like we’ve seen in the past year with AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Bing Chat. Microsoft has also been heavily banking on artificial intelligence, having made a $10 billion (about Rs. 83,254 crore) investment in OpenAI. The company has also integrated AI tools into its popular suite of services and also added an AI copilot to Windows.
Despite being a Microsoft-affiliated AI toolset, it would be interesting to see whether titles using them will be allowed to thrive on other platforms. In July, Valve claimed that it would be cracking down on games that included AI-generated assets if the developer didn’t own the copyright to the piece of art. For the uninitiated, when you insert a prompt to create something in AI, the software simply repurposes existing assets found online and mushes them together — basically stealing from other artists and writers without appropriate commercial licenses. Infringing them would lead to the game not being distributed on Steam, forcing the developers to seek proper licenses for the asset by reaching out to the AI companies involved. It’s unclear how Microsoft’s partnership will play out — as long as AI content is being used as a catalyst to innovate and create something new, it should be fine.
Gadgets
BSNL Offers Free 4G SIM Upgrade: Here’s How to Get It
In a post on X shared by BSNL’s Andhra Pradesh (@bsnl_ap_circle) unit, the company confirmed that BSNL users can upgrade their older 2G or 3G SIMs to a 4G SIM for free. Not only will the upgrade be free, but a promotional image shared with the post suggests that users who opt for the upgrade will also receive 4GB of free data that will be valid for three months. It is speculated that BSNL is aiming to boost its upcoming 4G services with this offer. The announcement was first spotted by Telecom Talk.
To access the free data offer and the free upgrade, BSNL users are requested to get in touch with executives at BSNL’s Customer Service Centre, franchisee or retailer stores, or contact one of their Direct Selling Agents (DSA). The promo image also adds in a finer print that the offer is available with certain terms and conditions, but hasn’t detailed any, so far.
Reliance’s Jio recently launched the 4G-supported Bharat B1 feature phone in India. The handset is priced at Rs. 1,299 in India. Alongside 4G connectivity, the phone comes with JioCinema and JioSaavn applications pre-installed.
The Jio Bharat B1 is equipped with the JioPay application, which is said to allow users to make UPI payments. Aiming to increase accessibility, the phone supports 23 languages overall, including multiple regional languages.
Gadgets
Realme GT 5 Pro Teased to Feature 3,000 Nits Display; More Details Revealed
Realme, via Weibo, announced the arrival of the Realme GT 5 Pro in China. The display of the handset is confirmed to offer 3000 nits peak brightness. It has also been teased to offer heat dissipation with a surface area of around 10,000mm2. It is confirmed to ship with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. The post doesn’t specify the exact launch date of the smartphone, however, given the release of the teasers, the launch could be just around the corner.
The Realme GT 5 Pro has been in the news a lot lately. It is expected to feature a 6.78-inch (1,264×2,780 pixels) AMOLED display and is tipped to come in 8GB, 12GB, and 16GB RAM options along with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB inbuilt storage options.
For optics, the Realme GT 5 Pro is said to have a triple rear camera unit comprising two 50-megapixel sensors and an 8-megapixel shooter at the rear. The camera setup might include a Sony LYTIA LYT808 sensor, an OmniVision OV08D10 secondary sensor, and a Sony IMX890 telephoto sensor. For selfies, there could be a 32-megapixel sensor at the front. It is said to carry a 5,400mAh battery with support for 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging.
The Realme GT 5 Pro is expected to come with upgrades over Realme GT 5. The latter was launched in China in August with a price tag of CNY 2,999 for the base model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
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