What to Play in August: 13 Notable Upcoming Games

RPG/Strategy
Out August 24 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch

The first official direct sequel to New World Computing's 1990 strategy/RPG King's Bounty—the game that launched the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise in all but name—King's Bounty 2 follows 2008's King's Bounty: The Legend, a game directly inspired by the 1990 original though more spinoff than sequel. (The new game doesn't actually continue any storylines, so newbies can jump right in without missing anything.) The gritty tactical RPG is set in a fantastical open world—the Blight-infected land of Nostria—and incorporates multiple changes from all of its predecessors. Among other things, the camera angle has changed to an over-the-shoulder viewpoint, voice acting brings characters to life with spoken dialogue, and a new "Ideal" mechanic gives your character unique bonuses while also narrowing your available narrative choices based on which of the four potential alignments (order, power, finesse, anarchy) you adopt.