According to Wikiquote, some guy named Edwin Way Teale once said, “For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad. For people who play video games, it is a time of feverish anticipation, of staying up too late and occasionally calling in sick to work.”

Okay, maybe he didn’t say that whole quote.

Summer’s dead. Next week is PAX, and that means it’s fall in all-but-name. Let’s celebrate by recapping the last few video game tidbits of the summer.

GOG rolling twenties

Okay, so the best Dungeons & Dragons games of all time were already available on GOG.com—Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, et cetera. However, GOG did add about a dozen other D&D games this week, termed “Forgotten Realms: The Archives.”

From the press release: “You are sitting in a tavern. The mighty wizards bestow upon you their greatest treasures: Forgotten Realms: The Archives—long lost relics of an RPG renaissance that changed the face of gaming forever.”

The games are split into three collections, featuring a smattering of games developed by Strategic Simulations—everything from the beloved Eye of the Beholder series to the legendary Gold Box RPGs.

What’s in the box?

While we’re on the topic of vast, engrossing RPGs: Some ex-CD Projekt (a.k.a. the studio behind The Witcher) developers have announced their new game. Titled Seven, it’s an isometric RPG inspired by Thief, of all things. Here’s some art:

The press release boasts a “beyond post-apocalyptic environment,” “lots of branching choices and difficult moral decisions,” and “free-traversing obstacles on any height” thanks to the main character’s parkour skills.

Put me down as “tentatively interested.”

Under siege

Less than a week after I published our list of 15 games to look forward to in (the rest of) 2015, one of them got delayed. Of course.

Luckily it’s still coming out in 2015—just much later than expected. Rainbow Six Siege was supposed to drop mid-October, but has now been shifted to a December 1 release date a.k.a. the same day as Just Cause 3.

Another Rainbow Six Siege pre-release test (this time a beta for people who preordered) will start up on September 24 though, as previously scheduled.

Fight them on the beaches

Speaking of betas, Sega’s putting out a trial of the latest Company of Heroes 2 expansion prior to its official release. Okay, it’s less a beta and more “try the game for free,” but I needed some sort of segue.

There aren’t many details yet on how this free trial will go down, but it’ll be available from August 31 to September 2 and the official Company of Heroes 2 Twitter account says to watch for keys on August 30.

Vive la resistance

Some games dribble information at a snail’s pace in the months leading up to release. And then there’s XCOM 2, which put out a twelve minute gameplay trailer this week. Here it is:

The Grand Tournament

Hearthstone fans, be sure to enjoy this weekend. On Monday (August 24) Blizzard releases the next big expansion, The Grand Tournament. With 132 new cards and a brand new “Joust” mechanic, it may be a while before you have free time again.

When the lights go down in the city

That new Cities: Skylines expansion, After Dark, has an official release date now. On September 24 you’ll be able to get your in-game circadian rhythm going, plus zone for entertainment districts, add new unique buildings, and more. Those that buy the $15 expansion will get the full suite of content, though some of it will still be added for free to owners of the base game.

Go mad

I don’t know if Mad Max: The Video Game will be any good. On the one hand, it’s Just Cause developer Avalanche. On the other hand, it’s a PC game published by WB, which doesn’t have the most stellar track record lately.

I’m digging this new trailer, though. Like with Just Cause 3, Avalanche has put together a choose-your-own-adventure style video for Mad Max. Check it out:

More reading