The video game industry has been hard at work cranking out excellent titles for you to enjoy throughout the summer. For example, July had awesome indie, artsy, and cutesy titles, including Stray, a game featuring a cat wandering through a fascinating and haunting post-apocalyptic cityscape managed by humanity’s robotic successors. For a more expansive, but no less engrossing experience, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 arrived on the Nintendo Switch at the tail-end of the month to deliver anime-fueled drama about war and camaraderie.
August's release schedule is just as dense and features highly anticipated games. Sure, the expected, annual Madden game arrives this month to satisfy football fans, but there's a wealth of throwback compilations, quirky action, and fascinating puzzle games to enjoy this month, too. If you’re still itching for mutant-powered action after Shredder’s Revenge, Konami has a surprise in store with the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, a beefy compilation with 13 classic games. For a more modern action experience, Marvel’s Spider-Man, the acclaimed PlayStation 4 title, swings to PC with a remaster that features enhanced visuals and new screen support options.
There’s more to look forward to over the next few weeks, including spooky card-based battles, racing management sims, and even brawl-fueled battle royales. Read on to explore our top 10 picks for the month, and scroll down to our comment section to share your most anticipated console and PC games.
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: August 11, 2022
MSRP: $24.99
In the land of false prophets, one lamb stands above all others. Cult of the Lamb combines roguelike, action-adventure, and even farm-sim elements to create a bizarrely unique and charming game about a Lamb and his cult. You assume the role of a possessed lamb who must amass followers for your savior by venturing into randomly generated worlds to recruit other animals into your cult. You can assign tasks for your adherents to strengthen your base, and erect monuments. Of course, you must also purge non-believers, destroying enemies and rival cult leaders to assert dominance.
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Release Date: August 11, 2022
MSRP: Free
This bonkers battle royale game drops 40 players into Grapital City, where they must settle their differences with sick wrestling moves until only one person is left standing. Rumbleverse is a free-to-play brawler exclusively focused on multiplayer action. There are no guns here: only fists, kicks, and grappling skills. Of course, chairs, bats and melee weapons are fair game. Scramble to find stat-boosting potions and skill-teaching magazines to give yourself an advantage.
Platform: PC
Release Date: August 12, 2022
MSRP: $59.99
Play as New York’s beloved, web-slinging super hero in this action-adventure title that's remastered for PC. Swing between Manhattan’s legendary skyscrapers, clean up New York's thug-riddled streets, and take down some of Marvel’s most iconic villains in this action-packed experience. This remaster includes the original game's campaign and DLC, but not the Miles Morales sequel. The PC enhancements include ray-traced reflections, DLSS, and ultrawide screen support.
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: August 20, 2022
MSRP: $39.99
If you’re still hungry for more half-shell heroes, Digital Eclipse and Konami have a collection for you. The Cowabunga Collection is a compilation of 13 iconic TMNT games from the 1980s and 1990s. This includes the NES classic, arcade sweetheart Turtles in Time, the Tournament Fighters fighting game, and other memorable titles. The collection also adds save states, rewind functionality, and button-mapping.
Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Release Date: August 23, 2022
MSRP: $59.99
This side-scrolling RPG delivers frantic, team-based action that makes it stand apart from other games in the genre. It most closely resembles Valkyrie Profile, except that it features real-time action. Timing attacks and defensive shielding is crucial to your survival, especially later in the games when weak defense spells death. The Fallen Legion Collection is a two-game bundle available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. PC gamers already have the first game available for purchase, and with the second title, Fallen Legion Revenants, launching on the August 23 alongside the deluxe console versions.
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Release Date: August 23, 2022
MSRP: $59.99
Developer Volition has gone back to the drawing board with Saints Row, a reboot of the wacky, crime-focused, action-adventure franchise. This retelling moves away from the series’ iconic Stilwater city, and instead takes place in Santo Ileso, a Southwestern American city based loosely on Las Vegas. It also shies away from the later games' sillier elements by balancing comedy and gravity. In Saints Row, you and your fellow disgruntled gangsters form your own crime empire, muscling in on rival territories to stake your claim.
Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Release Date: August 30, 2022
MSRP: $39.99
Play as Crypto, a grey alien clone posing as President of the United States during the height of the Cold War. Conflict with the Soviets has blown Crypto’s cover, forcing him to take action against the KGB and any unfortunate soul who gets in his way. Use zany alien tech to blast, abduct, befuddle, and even body-snatch hapless humans across open-world environments. Unravel the mystery behind the Soviets' nefarious plot, and wreak havoc for the glory of the Furon alien race.
Platform: PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: August 30, 2022
MSRP: $49.99
Dusk Divers is a stylish 3D brawler that combines Persona-like teenage flair with combo-centric, beat-‘em-up action. A rift tears through the streets of Taipei, twisting the bustling city into a monster-riddled perversion of itself. A young college girl named Yumo attains the power to challenge the chaotic beasts, and partners with other guardians to protect the boundary between cities. Released earlier this year on PC, Dusk Diver 2 arrives on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch at the end of August.
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Release Date: August 30, 2022
MSRP: $54.99
This Formula 1 sim puts you in the shoes of a team manager. Play through career mode and select your vehicle constructor, driver, and staff. Guide your team through the F1 2022 season, nail your goals and targets to keep the board happy, and secure your team’s standing for the coming years. Scout for new staff and poach from rivals, monitor your team’s performance, and keep your finances in the black. Plan your every move and strategy during a race, from managing weather and track conditions to tire choice and callouts.
Platform: PS4, PS5
Release Date: August 30, 2022
MSRP: $19.99
Released on PC in 2021 to overwhelming praise, Inscryption is a thoroughly disturbing, highly stylized, deck-based card game. It has rich gameplay that constantly evolves as you progress through the acts, making the strategy dynamic, challenging, and amazingly atmospheric. Inscryption launches on PS4 and PS5 this month, giving PlayStation owners a fantastic card game with creepy vibes and unique puzzle mechanics.
The Best PC Games
The Best SteamOS-Verified PC Games
The Best Nintendo Switch Games
The Best Microsoft Xbox Series X/S Games
The Best Sony PlayStation 5 Games
The Best Free PC and Console Games to Claim This Month