New games releasing this week: August 28 – September 3

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The Destiny 2 PC beta, Mario + Rabbids, Kingdom Battle, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Yakuza Kiwami, Everybody’s Gold, Absolver, XCOM 2: War of the Chosen… there’s something for everyone this week.

After a couple of weeks off for reasons, the new releases round up is back right at the start of a very busy few months.

Here in the tail end of August, we see a quick rush of new releases that don’t quite stack up against the triple-A sledging to come, but deserve their time in the sun. On PC, they’re likely to be overshadowed by the Destiny 2 beta; our old pal Bestiny is grabbing the spotlight a week early.

If you escape that crushing vortex, maybe you can reunite with members of the Vortex Club in their younger years in Life is Strange: Beyond the Storm. This prequel series stars Chloe Price, armed with the power of backchat, and tells the story of her relationship to Rachel Amber, whose shadow hangs over the entire first season.

We’re all pretty excited for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, aka “XCOM, but the French lovingly disrespect Mario”, so stay tuned for Switch owners to discover the joys of turn-based tactics. If you prefer to take your blood from the vein, fabulous-looking XCOM 2 expansion War of the Chosen drops this week, too.

Another good look in is Yakuza Kiwami, a modern remake of the very first Yakuza game. If you’re intrigued by the open world underworld action epic after the chicken incident earlier this year, there’s never been a better time to get onboard.

You might also want to look out for the full release of Ark: Survival Evolved, hitting PC and consoles in all its glory and minus the early access or preview tag previously attached to it. Speaking of not-really-new-releases, there are a stack of definitive editions and other re-releases this week. Look for ReCore, Pillars of Eternity and Resident Evil: Revelations in new, shinier packages.

Finally, Sherif will be upset if we don’t mention martial arts effort Absolver, we’ll probably lose Brenna to Warriors All-Stars, there’s genuine momentum building around the new Everybody’s Golf somehow, and Myst spiritual successor Obduction makes its way to consoles.

New videos for the week of August 28 – September 3
Monday, August 28
Destiny 2 beta early access (PC)
Rock of Ages 2: Bigger and Boulder (PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Tuesday, August 29
Ark: Survival Evolved full release (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Destiny 2 beta (PC)
Everybody’s Golf (PS4)
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (Switch)
Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition (PS4, Xbox One)
Resident Evil Revelations re-release (PS4, Xbox One)
XCOM 2: War of the Chosen expansion (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Yakuza Kiwami (PS4)
Absolver (PC, PS4)
Dead Alliance (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Fishing Planet (PS4)
Grim Legends 2: Song of the Dark Swan (PS4)
Killing Floor 2 (Xbox One)
The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor (PS4)
Obduction (PS4)
ReCore Definitive Edition (PC, Xbox One)
Redout (PS4)
Sneaky Bears (PSVR)
Sonic Mania (PC)
Sparc (PSVR)
Still Time (PS4, Vita)
Surf World Series (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Warriors All-Stars (PC, PS4)
White Day: A Labyrinth Named School (PS4)
Windjammers (PS4, Vita)

Wednesday, August 30
Art of Fighting Anthology (PS4)
X-Morph: Defense (PS4)
Ys Seven (PC)

Thursday, August 31
Life is Strange: Before the Storm – Episode One (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
ACA NeoGeo: Zed Blade (Switch)
Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack (Switch)
Detention (PS4)
Last Day of June (PS4)
League of Evil (Switch)
The Lost Bear (PS4)