Top 10 NEW Games of August 2021

SophiaBolton
Updated on 2023-06-29
A bunch of new games is releasing, so here are new video games in August, you should think about trying.

August is coming up quick, and you know what that means? A bunch of new games is releasing, so here are new video games in August, you should think about trying.

NO.1:12 Minutes 

Starting at number 10, it's "12 Minutes". We've been seeing more games recently about time loops. "Death Loop" is a big one, but that's big 3D, it's an Arkane game, and it's coming in September.

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"12 Minutes" is a much smaller, much more intimate affair in which a man finds out his wife is pregnant, a police officer comes in, accuses the wife of killing your father, and the police officer ends up killing her and the unborn child. Time then resets, you retain all the knowledge, and from that point, you're supposed to attempt to find the best outcome to beat the game.

Now, it's only a 12-minute loop, but the game will be somewhere between six and eight hours and plays out like a point-and-click adventure game. It's top-down. It is a pretty good-looking game considering it's just in a single apartment from a single camera angle. And honestly, to me, it seems like an intriguing concept that could end up playing out very well.

I'm interested in it, and I will be playing it when it comes out on Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and S on August 19th.

NO.9: Lone Echo II

At number nine is "Lone Echo II," the sequel to the VR adventure game, where the goal is to move around a zero-gravity environment by grabbing and pushing and using physics in a VR environment.

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It's very cool. And basically, you have to solve various puzzles, et cetera, et cetera, and continue the plot by somehow time-traveling the main characters to a space station 400 years in the future where the biomass they encountered in the first game has evolved into like, little bugs.

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You have to solve the mystery of an abandoned space station. And I think that it's kind of funny because it mirrors a lot of like these, oh, you go to an abandoned place and find out what happened way back, except for you're probably actually from a long time before the events that you're investigating.

Imagine if Isaac Clarke was like a 1990's inventor guy who time-traveled forward to the Ishimura and found out that in the past, but his future, there was some horrible incident on this ship. What's interesting to me is the possibility that that is also perhaps part of the plot.

My fingers are crossed, "Lone Echo II" is coming to Oculus Rift on August 24th.

NO.8: Ghost of Tsushima: Directors Cut

Number eight is "Ghost of Tsushima: Directors Cut." Now, you know "Ghost of Tsushima" as a fantastic, open-world, action-adventure, stealth tour de force. At this point, I doubt that I have to tell you anything about what "Ghost of Tsushima" is, but I do have to tell you that the Director's Cut includes a new story that takes place on new locations on Iki Island.

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Essentially, Jin arrives on the island, a Mongol shaman rules it, and you have to learn about things to keep your people safe. This is more about Jin Sakai, the main character's past and where he's coming from in the main game and is being described as a story of healing on the official PlayStation blog.

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But really, what I'm interested in is just spending more time in "Ghost of Tsushima." They include a lot of options for PS4 and PS5 mobility. If you're upgrading from the PS4 to the Director's Cut, it's 20 bucks. If you're upgrading from the PS4 to the PS5 to get the Director's Cut, it's 20 bucks. If you buy the Director's Cut on PS4 and want to upgrade to Director's Cut on PS5, that's ten bucks. And you can buy it for 60 bucks for PS4 or 70 bucks for PS5.

All of that lands on August 20th.

NO.7: Humankind

Number seven is "Humankind." A 4X historical, turn-based strategy game that will probably give you "Civilization" vibes. It's essentially you building a human civilization across six major eras.

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The idea is to expand society, develop cities, conquer, you know, the whole 4X thing. Now, it's published by Sega, but Amplitude develops it, and their city building will be following the model from "Endless Legend" if you're familiar with that.

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Essentially, they regard this as like a big jump over "Endless Legend" and "Endless Space," calling it their Magnum Opus and saying, "It wouldn't have been possible "had Sega not acquired the studio."

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It's been delayed a little bit for polishing. And I think that that's not a bad thing. It looks like it has the potential to be a huge, interesting game that might take on the "Civilization" series. It would be cool to have more than one game in that genre dominating everything.

We'll see, though, when it comes out on August 17th.

NO.6: RiMS Racing

At number six is "RiMS Racing," a game that the developer, RaceWard Studio, labels a completely new approach to the motorcycle simulation game experience. One of the big things that have people talking about this game is the extensive customization options. Like, we're, of course, very aware of motorcycle simulation games, but do we see customization down to, like, brake fluid?

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You can swap out almost any part from what I have found in researching this game. A direct quote from RaceWard is that Players can fully disassemble their motorbike and replace every element to achieve the best possible setup by choosing over 500 official components from tires to discs, to pads, suspension, air filters, et cetera. 

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It's also a beautiful-looking game. Honestly, there are many nice reflections I've seen in the trailer, but also a lot of really cool dirt stuff.

All in all, definitely an interesting motorcycle racing game that's coming to PC, the PlayStations, the Xboxes, and it's coming on August 19th.

NO.5: No More Heroes 3

At number five is "No More Heroes 3", which is, interestingly enough, a Nintendo Switch exclusive. We've seen this series on the Wii, on PS3, Xbox 360, it's been on mobile, and it's always been a satirical, kind of edgy place. And to me just, it's bizarre that the newest incarnation of this is landing on the Switch.

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However, I'm not upset about it. This is a game that has provided a pretty fair amount of laughs through the years, and it's got excellent action in it as well.

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The big thing about this one is that it is returning to the open-world formula. So I do think that's going to be an interesting aspect of it. If you're aware of the previous two games, though, this is a good hack and slash series that will make you laugh at some point.

It's exclusive to the Nintendo Switch and is landing on August 27th.

NO.4: Aliens: Fireteam Elite

At number four is "Aliens: Fireteam Elite," a multiplayer co-op shooter that also functions as a sequel to the original "Alien" trilogy.

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It's a third-person co-op shooter, I would compare it loosely, and I mean loosely, because the gameplay does look slightly different to me, to "Left 4 Dead", like that type of format. However, it looks a little bit more like a serious shooter.

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Not characterizing it as like "Rainbow Six" type tactical shooting, it's still probably closer to "Left 4 Dead". It is functioning as a direct sequel. As I said, it's set 23 years after the original films, has you as an anonymous Space Marine answering a distress call from the colonies.

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For me, this has the potential to be a real hit. It also has the potential to land like a lead balloon. I don't know. I'm interested in it, though. I like the "Alien" series, and the lore is always interesting to me. I don't know exactly how deep we're going to see them go into that. It is primarily an action-shooter from the looks, but we'll see.

It's coming to the PlayStations, the Xboxes, and PC on August 24th.

NO.3 New World

Number three is "New World”. For me, this is going to be worth watching, not necessarily because I'm excited about it, but because Amazon Games has, well, not exactly put out the best stuff. And I would say they have a large amount riding on this game. So from that perspective, I'm pretty interested in seeing if they can put something out that's good.

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"New World" is a massively multiplayer online RPG, MMORPG. At this point, you know what that is. It has had a slightly tumultuous development cycle, was originally going to release in May 2020. It's more than a year after that. The pandemic played a role in that, but there are probably other reasons why it took that long.

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For me, this isn't necessarily a game that I am intent on playing. I'm sure that MMORPG fans will find things to like. I'm more interested in if they put out something that is good quality. Amazon's injected themselves into the gaming world with this game studio, and it hasn't gone well up until now. So, frankly, at this point, that is an exciting prospect.

"New World" comes to Microsoft Windows on August 31st.

NO.2: Psychonauts 2

At number two is "Psychonauts 2", which, let's go ahead and say, it's been a long time since the original "Psychonauts." A VR adventure game based on "Psychonauts" progressed the story and kind of functions as a lead-up to this one, but this is a straight-up "Psychonauts" game. It's a platformer. It's the first by Double Fine since Microsoft acquired them, which gave them a lot of money to work with. An exciting aspect is that they're publishing for the PlayStation 4, but not five while publishing to the new Xbox Series X.

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I mean, "Psychonauts" is a fantastic puzzle platform. There's just a lot that I'm looking forward to jumping into again because these are games that are put together intricately and with a lot of care. And the reason why it takes so long is that these guys have a particular vision for these games. That's something that can be irritating, but at the same time, the result is usually pretty good.

"Psychonauts 2" is landing on Microsoft Windows, the Xboxes, and PlayStation 4, August 25th.

NO.1 Kena: Bridge of Spirits

And finally, at number one is "Kena: Bridge of Spirits," which I am very interested in. It looks kind of like "Breath of the Wild" combined with the first "Ni no Kuni," where you've got kind of that same familiar dynamic going on.

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Although not to the same extent, I don't know that the spirit companions in "Kena" are particularly combat-oriented. It's more along the lines of distractions, moving objects, completing tasks. But it does seem like they function in the battle to at least some extent. And obviously, the combat is real-time and not turn-based.

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Anyway, this is a gorgeous-looking game. Japan and Bali inspire the world itself. It's developed by a 14 person independent studio, and the way they were originally burst onto the scene was a "Majora's Mask" oriented, the short film they made. Artistry is showing through with this game, as well as obviously. They're wearing their influences on their sleeve.

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I think this has the potential to be a perfect game. It's coming to the PlayStations and Microsoft Windows on August 24th.

Some bonus games for you

Kings Bounty II

A couple of quick bonus games for you. "Kings Bounty II," a turn-based RPG, which is a direct sequel to a game from 1990, where you lead an army across the world, and I don't know, it's a very epic game that's landing on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, on August 24th.

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Madden 22

"Madden 22", the latest incarnation of EAs long-running "Madden NFL.," That's landing on the PlayStations, the Xboxes, and Microsoft Windows on August 17th.

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Glitchpunk

And finally, "Glitchpunk," which kind of looks like really excited, old school, "Grand Theft Auto" from the top-down perspective in a cyberpunk dystopia. That's landing on PC on August 11th. It's coming out of early access.

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