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From FIFA 22 to Guardians of the Galaxy, Games to Play in October
As for remasters, you can choose between the head-spinning horror Alan Wake Remastered and the high-octane action of Crysis Remastered Trilogy. Extreme sports enthusiasts can get their wingsuits on as Riders Republic is also set to hit the stores. Fans of real-time strategy games on PC will get to command and conquer powerful civilisations in Age of Empires IV.
Browse through our handpicked collection of brand-new titles set to release in October on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
FIFA 22
When: October 1
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
EA is back with its annual FIFA release yet again. So, what’s new this time? Definitely not the cover star, the World Cup-winning French hero Kylian Mbappé, who also graced the FIFA 21 (review) cover last year. Users on the current-gen consoles or PC will have pretty much the same experience as the recent titles, apart from some changes in cutscene animation, here and there. However, next-gen console owners will get to experience HyperMotion Technology that promises improved AI, notably better player animations, and more realism.
FIFA 22:All You Need to Know
Alan Wake Remastered
When: October 5
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
If you have already played 2010’s anxiety-inducing horror action title from Remedy Entertainment, you’ll know what to expect. For those of you who haven’t, Alan Wake follows the story of an eponymous novelist who tries to take on supernatural forces to find his missing wife. The original game was marked by impressive visuals — way ahead for its time back then — and a unique horror survival gameplay that had you constantly on the run. The Remastered version will bundle two DLCs, The Signal and The Writer, and also bring in upgraded 4K visuals at 60fps. Alan Wake Remastered has reportedly been rated for Nintendo Switch, but nothing has been confirmed by the developers so far.
Far Cry 6
When: October 7
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
The Far Cry series has always been known for its villains and unrestricted open world gameplay. However, none of the series villains have tasted as much popularity as Far Cry 3’s Vaas, brilliantly voiced by Michael Mando. This time around, his Breaking Bad universe co-baddie Giancarlo Esposito (who played the devious Gus Fring) is set to voice ‘El Presidente’ Antón Castillo — the Machiavellian dictator of the fictional island of Yara, where Far Cry 6 is set. Gamers will get to experience a new Caribbean setting, along with several new companions (including a crocodile) as well as new class of weapons (including rocket-launching backpacks a la Boba Fett).
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Metroid Dread
When: October 8
Where: Nintendo Switch
Originally planned as a Nintendo DS title in the 2000s, Metroid Dread overcame several technical limitations to break cover on the Switch. Metroid Dread will pick from 2002’s Metroid Fusion, following the side-scrolling adventures of bounty hunter Samus Aran as she takes evil EMMI robots on planet ZDR. While staying true to the tried-and-tested 2D gameplay from the previous titles, Metroid Dread also promises some stealth elements.
Back 4 Blood
When: October 12
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
A spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead 2, Back 4 Blood brings back the four-player co-op that popularised the zombie shoot-em-up series. It will also have an eight-player PvP ‘Swarm’ mode. The premise is pretty much the same as the hordes of zombie franchises out there. You play as one of the ‘Cleaners,’ a band of survivors who must take on and survive the multitudes of zombies (called ‘Ridden’) created by a global outbreak of a parasite. To keep things interesting, Back 4 Blood will feature a card-based loadout before each session, where players can stack up various abilities to up their gameplay. The AI, in turn, will also use Corruption cards to throw a spanner in the works in the form of larger hordes, environmental hurdles, more.
Crysis Remastered Trilogy
When: October 15
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
Crysis is back in a shiny new NanoSuit. Known for its severely impressive PC requirements, all three Crysis games were marked by gorgeous graphics and memorable NanoSuit powers. Remasters of the single-player campaigns from Crysis 1, Crysis 2, and Crysis 3, will be available as an all-in-one bundle. Customers can also pick up individual copies of Crysis 2 Remastered and Crysis 3 Remastered, to be made available on October 15. The remastered editions will bring in visual enhancements throughout, along with 60fps gameplay at up to 4K resolution.
NHL 22
When: October 15
Where: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
Even if you aren’t a huge fan of ice hockey, EA’s NHL games are still a lot of fun to play. NHL 22 is the first in the franchise to use the Frostbite game engine, promising greatly overhauled graphics and player animations. NHL 22 will feature Superstar X-Factors, which are nothing but abilities that make each player feel different and more similar to their real-life counterparts. So, if you decide to try a different sports game this year (apart from FIFA or NBA), NHL 22 is a great choice.
Guardians of the Galaxy
When: October 26
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
Time to fire up your rocket boots as Guardians of the Galaxy is set to make its video game debut. The title has nothing to do with the MCU movies — the characters don’t even look the same as their actor counterparts. You will get to play as Star-Lord and use his many gadgets to blast though enemies. Sadly, you won’t get to play as Drax, Gamora, Groot, or Rocket. However, Star-Lord will get to issue commands to each of the Guardians and all the characters have unique skills and abilities that can be used smartly to your advantage. Judging by the trailers, the game appears to be just as tongue-in-cheek as the James Gunn movies.
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Age of Empires IV
When: October 28
Where: PC
The Age of Empires games have always been considered to be the apotheosis of real-time strategy games. The last original title, Age of Empires III, was released way back in 2005. Barring a few remasters, this is the first time fans of the series will get to play a brand new Age of Empires title. Staying true to the classic gameplay, Age of Empires IV will bring to table eight civilisations, including the likes of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mongols. No word on whether this title will have the cheat-code enabled Cobra Car (that uber-cool indestructible sports car) from Age of Empires II though.
Riders Republic
When: October 28
Where: PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
From developers Ubisoft Annecy, the same studio behind 2016’s Steep, comes its spiritual successor Riders Republic that promises to go beyond snow-capped mountains without compromising on the high-on-adrenaline gameplay. Riders Republic broadens the horizon with an activity-rich open map which picks up elements from American national parks such as Bryce Canyon and Yosemite Valley. Over 50 players can compete with each other in activities such as mountain biking, wingsuit flying, and skiing. An invite-only beta was rolled out in August for a limited period, and here’s what we thought of the game back then.
Mario Party Superstars
When: October 29
Where: Nintendo Switch
Over 100 minigames remade from past games in the Mario Party series, five redesigned maps from the Nintendo 64 era (including the iconic Space Land), and a collection of all your favourite Super Mario characters — Mario Party Superstars appear to be a fun title to pick up on your Switch.
“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.
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.
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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