Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Silent Hill 2 and other hot fall 2024 games

It’s been a staccato summer in the world of video games, with a few highlight releases amid more layoffs in an industry that’s already seen more than 11,000 jobs cut this year.

However, the fall slate of releases is an impressive one. Here are six games that seem worthwhile in their own right and may help turn the tide for the industry.

Astro Bot

When PlayStation 5 released to the public in 2020, it came preinstalled with Astro’s Playroom. What was initially viewed as a tech demo for the console and its new controller quickly earned praise all its own for its sense of nostalgia for 25 years of PlayStation history and its excellent gameplay use of the DualSense controller. Now we’re getting a full-length sequel in Astro Bot, which will have more than 80 levels across six galaxies and 50 planets to explore — along with the return of the adorable little robot at its core. (PlayStation 5)

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

Normally it’s the hero Link who saves the day in The Legend of Zelda franchise. Not this time. In a first for a mainline Zelda game, the titular character will be the main protagonist. Utilizing the same gorgeous art style of the 2019 remake of Link’s Awakening, Zelda and her magical Tri Rod will embark on a journey to save Link and the rest of Hyrule from mysterious rifts that are causing chaos throughout the kingdom. (Nintendo Switch)

Until Dawn

When Supermassive Games released Until Dawn in 2015 on PlayStation 3, the interactive horror drama quickly became one of my favorite games. Its blend of heart-pounding storytelling, stunning graphics and consequence system (your actions, shown in a butterfly-effect chart, dictate how the game unfolds, especially for who lives and who doesn’t) was breathtaking at the time. Now, we’re getting a remake for PS5, and the game looks even better. If you haven’t played this phenomenal game before, this is the perfect time to try to survive … until dawn. (I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it.) (PS5, PC)

Silent Hill 2

Silent Hill 2, which originally released in 2001 on PlayStation 2, has long been considered one of the best survival horror games. Its story of a grieving husband fighting through the horrors of a fog-blanketed town is a masterful examination into the psychology of loss, anger and trauma. Combine that with horrifying creatures and a haunting soundtrack, and you have a game not easily forgotten. The remake, being handled by Bloober Team and set to take twice as long to complete as the original, is getting plenty of love from early previewers, and its recent trailers look promising. (PS5, PC)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

The story campaigns for the Call of Duty franchise can be, well, hit or miss. If we’re being honest, most people who pick up a CoD game do so to play the multiplayer modes. The story for Black Ops 6, however, is looking pretty meaty, with a focus on espionage, trust and the aftermath of the Cold War in the early 1990s. The follow-up to 2020’s Black Ops Cold War, developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, also rocks some stunning graphics in its latest trailers, making for an even more enticing experience. And then there’s, you know, the multiplayer modes, if that’s your cup of tea. (PS5/4, Xbox Series X/S and One, PC)

Life Is Strange: Double Exposure

While there have been plenty of spinoffs to Square Enix’s Life Is Strange, we never got a proper sequel to the story of Max Caulfield, the protagonist of the original 2013 game. In that five-chapter episodic game set in a fictional Oregon town, photography student Max discovers she has the ability to rewind time. However, she also discovers that messing with time can have dire consequences. It was a gripping adventure with deep character development and interesting time-rewind mechanics. In Double Exposure, Max’s powers have changed: Whereas in the previous game she could move back in time, here she can experience two parallel timelines at once, jumping between the two — a skill that will come in handy as she tries to solve (and prevent) a friend’s murder. (PS5, XSX/S, Switch, PC)