We’re into August and that means the traditional gaming season is fast approaching. But 2024 has very much been unlike other years, drip feeding the big guns over recent months. But there are still plenty of new gaming experiences to get excited by, with August 2024 seeing a number of super exciting launches on Xbox and Game Pass.
The biggest? Probably Star Wars. But which one, and do they ‘really’ release this month? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
For now, we’ve settled on a list of 13 great games, all due to land on Xbox and/or Game Pass during the month of August 2024. What will you be playing?
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
Star Wars fans are going to have a very enjoyable August with the release of not one but two titles set in this universe.
Let’s start with the first to come to Xbox in August – Star Wars: Bounty Hunter.
We’ve played as goodie Cal Kestis, but now it’s time to take charge as morally dubious bounty hunter Jango Fett as he shoots his way across the galaxy on a mission to capture a deranged dark Jedi.
A third person action-adventure set before the events of Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is a remake having originally been released in 2002 onto the Gamecube and PlayStation 2.
We’re hoping that the game’s had a major upgrade to take full advantage of its next-gen release and if the trailers have anything to go by, it’s looking promising.
Quriocity
Sticking with the space theme, our next pick is Quriocity – a sci-fi city builder game set on an alien planet.
As leader of the mission, your job is to build the first habitable location outside of Earth by creating cities for your human colonisers. With more than a nod to the OG – SimCity, you’ll have to make sure your inhabitants are happy and healthy and protect them against the odd space disaster.
With 5 maps to choose from set in various biomes like freezing tundra or blazing hot desert, this looks to be a game that will keep you busy for the entire month and beyond.
CYGNI: All Guns Blazing
We’re not leaving outer space just yet because our next game, CYGNI: All Guns Blazing is a twin-stick vertical scrolling shooter that sees you taking down alien enemies in either solo combat or with a partner.
The debut game from developer KeelWorks, who promise: ‘CYGNI does not seek to reinvent Shoot ’em ups but to elevate the genre to deliver the heightened sensations of a truly next-generation experience’.
We’ve been lucky enough to have a quick play ahead of its release to see if it lives up to this hype.
Volgarr the Viking II
Volgarr the Viking was a retro inspired 2D side-scrolling platformer released in 2013 and is infamous for being incredibly difficult.
The barbarian king’s story now continues in Volgarr the Viking II with the addition of new power-ups, forms of magic, enemy types and a thumping new soundtrack.
Grab your longsword, don your helmet and expect this violent viking romp to be just as challenging as the original.
Eden Genesis
Our next pick might be another platformer but it’s far from Volgarr the Viking II, both in time and style.
Set in the not-so-distant future, you play as Leah, a young cyborg, in a plot with something to do with mega-corporations controlling the populace with body modifications – the usual cyberpunk fare.
Eden Genesis promises fast-paced gameplay that requires quick reflexes and nerves of steel to survive against both environmental and enemy hazards.
Gori: Cuddly Carnage
We’ve been waiting patiently for Gori: Cuddly Carnage, which was planned for release last year. It provides a slightly different take on a dystopian future where humanity has been extinguished by a race of ultra dangerous pets, who were originally developed by a toy company to be the ultimate in cute and cuddly companions.
Playing as one of said pets – a hoverboard-flying killer cat, you’ll have to battle against the ‘adorable army’. Is it a warning against the evils of consumerism or just a gory combat-heavy romp?
We’ll let you decide when the game finally hits Xbox during August.
Creatures of Ava
If you like games with a strong narrative then Creatures of Ava is a game to put on your wishlist.
You step into the shoes of Vic, a 22-year-old nature adventurer, as she travels across the planet and its rich ecosystems, forming bonds with the (this time friendly) creatures that live there and using their skills to help her on a mission to investigate a recurring infection that is threatening Ava’s inhabitants.
Think Pokemon but with an environmental commentary.
Steamworld Heist II
Was Steamworld Heist II designed to teach us a thing or two about saving the planet?
Perhaps, as the central premise is that the sea has turned deadly, corroding the metal limbs and mechanical hearts of the pirate steambots.
The latest installment of the SteamWorld series sees you play as Captain Leeway joined by your ragtag crew as you engage in turn-based combat exploring and looting your way across the Great Sea.
Kena Bridge of Spirits
Originally released onto PlayStation and Steam back in 2021, Kena Bridge of Spirits is finally heading to Xbox and we can’t wait to get stuck into this third person action-adventure game.
Another example of a game with a cracking narrative, you’ll play as the eponymous Kena, a young spirit guide who uses her magical abilities to help deceased people move from the physical to the spirit world.
Just Crow Things
We loved Rain on Your Parade when it hit consoles in 2021 and so are excited to find out that Unbound Creations have designed a new game in the form of Just Crow Things.
Looking quite similar to a more recent favourite of ours – Little Kitty Big City, Just Crow Things is a sandbox adventure game where you complete tasks for your animal friends in order to prove your worth as the coolest crow in the city.
Dustborn
We don’t envy games designers having to come up with original ideas but Red Thread Games are treating us to a novel form of combat in Dustborn – the ability to weaponise words.
In Dustborn, you step into the shoes of Pax, who’s accepted a job to deliver a mysterious package through a reimagined Neo-Western America. Recruiting help along the way, and posing as a punk-rock band, you’ll visit diverse locations, build your team, manage relationships, tackle missions, and overcome escalating challenges.
Age of Mythology Retold
If you’re an Age of Empires fan then it is more than likely you’ve played Age of Mythology, the 2002 release from the same team.
Now this real-time strategy game has had a makeover in the form of Age of Mythology Retold which is optimised for Xbox Series X|S and promises to combine the best elements of the original with modern real-time strategy design and visuals.
Purchasing the Premium Edition of the game will give you 7 days early access, which brings this release into August – just.
Star Wars Outlaws
And now we come to arguably the biggest title to hit the Xbox in August – that second Star Wars game we alluded to at the start of this article – Star Wars Outlaws from Ubisoft.
This game looks to be massive in more ways than one due to the fact that it’s an open world action-adventure game set in space, which is a pretty big place. Taking the role of outlaw Kay Vess, you’ll chase, evade, fight and take flight as you try and outwit your way through the galaxy’s crime syndicates.
We have questions with ‘will it be better than Starfield?’ taking the top spot – and we don’t have too long to find out.
And there we have it – some 13 new games set to release on Xbox (and some into Game Pass) during August 2024. There’s no doubt that this is a strong month for new game releases, probably the strongest for a little while, but you should remember this is just the start of the usual gaming madness that plays out for the next few months.
So what’s next? What’s coming in September? We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves, but finally we should be seeing the drop of Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. Chuck in some new Ace Attorney, Funk Fusion, a remaster of Dead Rising and the arrival of some massive sports games, and we’re not quite sure how we’re going to fit it all in.
