Serious question here: With all of the games that came out in October (seriously, it felt like we had at least a dozen major games releases), was it actually possible for anyone to have played all of them? That’s a question that can easily apply to the whole year, as well — could anyone actually play all (or even most) of the amazing games that came out this year? I mean, the obvious answer is no, unless they’re paid to, but that’s my point. With so many games that came out this year, even a gamer that is excited for and would like to play all of them will have to prioritize certain titles over others, as a form of triage. The reason that’s important is because I fear that some great or even good games haven’t received the fair shake that they should have this year.

It’s fun to joke about just how many great games are coming out this year, but my fear is that some of them will do poor-to-middling in sales because they’re faced with so much competition. Earlier this week, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons allegedly told the company’s remaining employees that the company’s recent layoffs were at least partly caused by Destiny 2 underperforming the last year. Pre-orders for upcoming expansion The Final Shape were also low, but given the pre-orders opened in the last few months, it came out a time where there were a lot of exciting games to buy. Competition is likely not the source of all of the recent layoffs, but it’s still a sad irony to consider.

In other news, Blizzard made several announcements at today’s BlizzCon event, about several of its games. World of Warcraft, Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV each got new content updates. Microsoft’s head of gaming, Phil Spencer, even put in an appearance, wasting no time in reminding everyone who’s the new sheriff in town. Also, someone has apparently unearthed a playable version of a canceled PS2 Daredevil game called Daredevil: The Man Without Fear. Given that Insomniac have teased DLC related to Daredevil for Spider-Man 2, I’m slightly suspicious that this is part of a very insidious viral marketing campaign.

In personal news, it’s finally time for me to bat cleanup with the October games I didn’t get the chance to finish or play at all during the overstuffed month. I’m still working my way through Alan Wake 2, and I’m trying my best to get to the smaller-but-equally colorful games that came out this week, including Jusant and Thirsty Suitors. I dare not even contemplate the fact that Modern Warfare III, the first Call of Duty game in ages for which I’ve actually been excited, is coming out next week.

What to play this week

What’s new:

• WarioWare: Move It!
• Thirsty Suitors
• Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story
• Jusant
• RoboCop: Rogue City
• The Talos Principle II
• Silent Hill: Ascension
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Justice
• My Time at Sandrock
• Headbangers: Rhythm Royale

New on subscription services:

• Wartales (Xbox Game Pass)
• RAGE 2 (Prime Gaming)
• Fortnite (Luna Prime)
• Trackmania (Luna Prime)
• RIDE 4 (Luna Prime)
• Get Packed: Couch Chaos (Luna Prime)
• ENCODYA (Luna Prime)
• QUBE 10th Anniversary (Luna Prime)
• Tiny Lands (Luna Prime)
• Amid Evil (Amazon Luna)
• Once Upon a Jester (Amazon Luna)
• The Last Hero of Nostalgaia (Amazon Luna)
• StrangerZ (GeForce Now)
• Curse of the Dead Gods (GeForce Now)
• Daymare 1994: Sandcastle (GeForce Now)
• ENDLESS Dungeon (GeForce Now)
• F1 Manager 2023 (GeForce Now)
• Heretic’s Fork (GeForce Now)
• HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED 2 – Turbocharged (GeForce Now)
• Kingdoms Reborn (GeForce Now)
• Q.U.B.E. 2 (GeForce Now)
• Soulstice (GeForce Now)
• Virtex Stadium (GeForce Now)
• Knotwords+ (Apple Arcade)
• Devil World (Nintendo Switch Online)
• The Mysterious Murasame Castle (Nintendo Switch Online)