We survived the Madden release! And now that the yearly gridiron gauntlet is out on store shelves, September is looking like another strong month for gaming. Sony is announcing two new PSs, one slimmer (and hopefully cheaper) and one more powerful, built for 3D gaming and the future of tech. Nintendo’s NX console seems to be moments away from a full unveiling and the WiiU is sort of floundering as a result. 

Still, plenty of games are coming out to fill in the gaps including an expansion of one of the most popular online games, a racing game built for 4K and the best sports game played on ice. Check out our picks for the best five games out this month!

Destiny: Rise of Iron

Let’s get the clear winner out of the way right now, as Destiny’s latest expansions looks to give gamers a reason to load up their Guardians and increase their light level all over again.

So what’s new? There is a new raid, new story campaign, new social zone, tons of new weapons and armor pieces, and, of course, new PVP maps and modes. Earth is being opened up a bit more and the Plaguelands will become an unwelcome battlezone for players, introducing a new enemy race and plenty of bosses that need some destroying. That new PVP mode is essentially like Call of Duty’s Kill Confirmed, where fallen foes drop an orb that need to be collected in order to score points, meaning long range players will need to get their hands dirty if they actually want to contribute. If you’ve been cold on Bungie’s shooter since the last big expansion, schedule some time with your friends so you can raid on day one!  

Mother Russia Bleeds

We got a chance to check out this 2D brawler at E3 and were left wanting more. For those who grew up in the heyday of Streets of Rage, Final Fight and other “walk down the street and punch anything that moves” games will feel right at home with this digital bloodbath. But Mother Russia Bleeds is born out of the Hotline Miami style of game design, where mature themes and high-energy techno are the core components and ramping up the blood and gore only helps drive the message home.

This won’t be the perfect family game, but you could easily boot this up at a party; pass around the controllers and begin bashing skulls left and right without relying on expert skills or twitch muscle memory.

NHL 17

While Madden has its ups and downs, NBA Live has been a perpetual tire fire and FIFA continues to be a cash cow, EA’s NHL franchise has been the blue collar workhorse game for over a decade. 

Now there was a bit of a setback when the new generation of consoles launched, but all of the desired modes and features are back and the gameplay is just about where it needs to be. This year’s entry is bringing in some great features from their other games, like Madden’s Draft Champions (think fantasy hockey in short bursts) and the real world World Cup of Hockey will be represented with accurate rosters, jerseys, and arenas. The full franchise experience is of course back, and the gameplay improvements are mostly in net and in front of the goalie, where players can battle for position and control deflections better than ever before.

ReCore

ReCore has a lot going for it. It was created by Keiji Inafune (of Mega Man, Resident Evil and Dead Rising fame), developed by Comcept and is retailing for $40. The impressions coming out of E3 were mostly positive, as the game has a slick sense of platforming and adventure not seen in most modern games. You team up with a bunch of differently shaped and skilled robots to accomplish your tasks, from defeating enemies to traversing a dangerous land. The boss fights look like they will incorporate puzzle solving over sheer brute force, but the various weapons you find and upgrade over your playthrough won’t hurt.

This one is an Xbox One exclusive, but PC gamers will get to try out Microsoft’s new Play Anywhere promotion where buying it on Xbox gets you the PC copy and all of your progress will carry over from one version to the other.

Forza Horizon 3

September is a good month for Microsoft, as their flagship racing franchise Forza is back with their offshoot Horizon series and this one looks to be the best one yet.

First off, the visuals are gorgeous and playing it on a high-end PC makes it stand out above and beyond any other racing game we’ve seen thus far. Australia is the latest backyard for you to drive 150+ vehicles through, and the Outback is fitting for a new class of cars, like dune buggies that rip up the sandy beaches and off-road vehicles perfect for tearing through the jungle.

Horizon’s trademark sense of style is back in the form of another catchy soundtrack, as well as gorgeous vistas and over-the-top races against crazy vehicles like jets and helicopters. While the series has become a sort of known quantity, the team at Playground Games has obviously put a ton of heart and effort into this entry.