

I spent some time with the game at this June’s Summer Game Fest and had to laugh at the graphical detail in the old Lycra-styled costumes and early ’90s fitness trainers, even as I winced at the higher-than-ever detail in all the blood and gore.

Mortal Kombat 1 (named because it involves a complete reset of the series’s timeline and characters) is bringing 30 years of history to bear with reimaginings of the cast as well as so-called Kameo fighters, tag-team assistants that include hilariously faithful re-creations of old friends and foes.

The Mortal Kombat games have set the modern standard for fun, full-featured single-player experiences in addition to the one-on-one fighting that the genre is known for-assuming that you’re cool with a lot of wildly over-the-top graphic violence. Mortal Kombat 1 Rated M PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (September 19) And for PlayStation players smarting over missing out on Starfield, Baldur’s Gate 3 launches on the PS5 on the same day, so it might scratch a similar itch. Plus, you can play with up to three friends, and there’s split-screen cooperative play. The buzz is well earned- Baldur’s Gate 3 is a huge game with an enormous amount of freedom and possibilities, along with an epic story and plenty of interesting characters to meet (and romance). Baldur’s Gate 3 continues the legendary PC RPG series based on the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms setting and has already generated years of buzz after an extended period of early access. If you’ve been craving an epic fantasy adventure where you can save the realms, find legendary treasures and villains, romance your companions, and, well, roll around as a big block of cheese for a while, your hopes and dreams are about to be answered. Baldur’s Gate 3 Rated M PC (August 3), PlayStation 5 (September 6), Xbox Series X|S (date TBA)
