Time for our regular roundup of the mostly (but not strictly) retro-interest games releases on the way for the coming month, with trailers for everything and maybe a few snippets of fascinating information too! All sorts of stuff going on this month, including two games I really hope will end up in my game of the year reckoning, so let’s jump right in!

First up this month, and also coming on the 1st, is Mega Man X DiVE Offline on Steam, Android and iOS, which I think is a single player version of a recently shelved online version… The story is that data from various games is stored in the Cyberworld region of Deep Log, where a bug has caused the game data for Mega Man X to become corrupted, so you have to take control of Hunter Programs based on various incarnations of Mega Man and more to defeat the maverick data and repair the game. Sounds like that means customising characters to make them your own then trying them out in various Mega Man X scenarios, and as a mainly solo Mega fan I probably will.

We saw the PC version of Baldur’s Gate 3 emerge last time out here, and on September 6th it’s coming to PS5 too. Still the same narrative-heavy, party-based proper Dungeons & Dragons RPG, where “your choices shape a tale of fellowship and betrayal, survival and sacrifice, and the lure of absolute power.” Seems like the PC version has gone down a storm and I’m still very much looking forward to playing it when it eventually comes to something I can play it on!

What I definitely can play is Starfield, also out on the 6th for Xbox and PC via Game Pass. It’s Bethesda Game Studios’ first new universe in over 25 years, offering a “next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars” where you can create any character you want and do just about whatever you wan’t as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery. Whatever that is. All sounds very massive, and I really hope it lives up to expectations, although on previous form… We shall see imminently!

Super Bomberman R 2 brings its explosive mazey party battles to everything on September 12th, with new adventures and game modes that can be played solo (up to a point), local multiplayer and online too. In addition to its traditional Standard, Grand Prix and Battle 64 modes, a new one called Castle divides players to battle for the treasure, and that mode also gets a stage editor. Looks like there’s tons here, and loads of fun too, assuming you’ve got anyone to play with. Which, unfortunately, I haven’t!

I assume the same will be true of Monster Hunter Now, coming to mobile on the 14th. This is by Niantic, the Pokémon Go people, and the concept seems to be similar, where you’re teaming up with other nerds to hunt big monsters in the real world. There’s all the usual weapon crafting and other action RPG stuff too, although it seems to be pitched pretty casual. I’ve played a bit of Monster Hunter and a lot of Pokémon Go, so I’ll certainly give it a go even if I’m probably not equipped to get the most out of it.

Gloomhaven is out on Switch, Xbox and PlayStation on September 18, and is even more of a nerd-fest than Monster Hunter! Based on the board game of the same name, and I think already out on PC for a while, this console incarnation seems like a particularly unforgiving tactical RPG with card-based combat, where you lead your band of mercenaries, from a choice of seventeen unique characters, through 280 scenarios in dungeons, forests and dark caves filled with horrific monsters to reap your rewards. There’s loads of abilities to combine, a big variety of enemies and bosses to take down, and branching narratives you can play solo or with up to four players online. I’m intrigued but it all sounds a bit too hardcore for me!

Mortal Kombat 1 is the twelfth main entry in the series, and as such serves as a direct sequel to Mortal Kombat 11 but also the series’ second reboot, featuring reimagined versions of old favourites like Scorpion and Sub-Zero, the usual nonsense story mode, as well as online and offline play modes. The main addition to gameplay seems to be the Kameo Fighter function, which looks like the ability to bring in partner characters to help out in a match. Seems to be very optional but I’m up for it, as well as the returning Air Kombat combo system, and I’m really looking forward to the whole package when it arrives on everything on the 19th.

Two more new Evercade collections on the way round out an expensive month on the 28th, starting with Delphine Software Collection 1, which brings together four of the company’s cinematic “masterpieces” although I’ve really never got them, despite trying really hard to get into two of them in particular several times over the years! Three of them are from the Amiga, including time travelling point-and-click adventure Future Wars, another one involving an international mystery in Operation Stealth, then there’s surreal trial and error sci-fi platforming in Another World, and finally platform-puzzling your way to recovering your identity in Flashback, which I guess is probably the SNES version.

That’s joined on Evercade the same day by Sunsoft Collection 1, where you’ve got six platformers of various kinds from various old consoles, at least one of which is probably familiar! As well as the classic Blaster Master, there’s its Game Boy offshoot Blaster Master Boy, then Mr. Gimmick, appearing for the first time outside of Japan and, er, Scandinavia, and Journey to Silius, Arabian and Aero the Acro-Bat. Looks like great value for money but I’m still a bit on the fence with this one. Soon be Christmas though…

I know I’ve missed a couple of things like Lies of P and a new Harvest Moon and some mobile Final Fantasy VII spin-off but they really don’t appeal and there’s plenty here besides, so I hope you enjoyed a look through those and I’ll see you same time and same place next month! Tons to look out for then too, with new Super Mario, Spider-Man 2, Forza Motorsport, that new Metal Gear Solid collection and loads more!