October 2014’s must-buy PS4 and Xbox One games

September may have kicked off a holiday season filled with blockbusters, but now we’re in the thick of it. Hope you’re over Destiny because things are only picking up this month with the release of games like Sunset Overdrive, NBA 2K15 Driveclub, Alien: Isolation, and The Evil Within. But with so many games coming out this month, it won’t hurt to be a bit selective. With that, let’s take a look at some of October 2014’s Xbox One and PS4 games that I consider “must-buy”. Also, keep in mind that this list is not based on reviews (though we are playing some of them currently), but rather impressions from hands-on time as well as trailers, interviews, and other news for each game.

Alien: Isolation – PS4 & Xbox One – October 7, 2014

Given the disappointment experienced with Aliens: Colonial Marines (and just about any other game carrying this franchise’s name), it’s understandable why you’d be skeptical about Alien: Isolation. But I’ve played the game, and I can promise you that this is the first game that I can say truly lives up to the expectations set forth by the films. Granted what I played was a survival mode and not part of the actual story campaign, but it definitely gave me a feel for the type of game Alien: Isolation will be. It’s not about shooting hundreds of aliens as Colonial Marines was about; it’s more stealth-focused, which I think is a good thing for a game based on the iconic Alien franchise.

Driveclub – PS4 – October 7, 2014

This is the game PS4 fans have been waiting for since the release of the PS4, as it was originally slated as a launch title. Well, it was delayed to give the team “more time in order to deliver on their vision,” and now it’s time to see if they will. Although I currently have Driveclub listed as a “must-buy” game for PS4 fans, there is an alternate option for those of you who have PlayStation Plus memberships. For those of you PS Plus members, you can download a slightly stripped down PS Plus Edition of the game which will include one location (India), 11 tracks, 10 cars, and access to all game modes. Comparatively, the full version of the game will come with five locations, 55 tracks, 50 cars, and 50 tour events. However, racing games aren’t for everyone, and because of that maybe check out the PS Plus Edition first — especially since this is a new IP.

The Evil Within – PS4 & Xbox One – October 14, 2014

This is another game that you may be skeptical about thanks to a few reasons: 1) early hands-off demonstrations of the game at events like E3 and PAX led to some bad impressions; 2) we’ve been promised scary with past survival-horror games and many fail to live up to the expectations. The Evil Within is different though; it’s being helmed by the father of survival-horror and creator of Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami. Plus, I’ve actually played the game for a decent amount of time (at a preview event earlier this year) and I can safely say that it is as scary as advertised.

Sunset Overdrive – Xbox One – October 28, 2014

Easily my most-anticipated games of October, Sunset Overdrive is an open-world, third-person shooter from Insomniac Games. But it’s so much more than that. It’s crazy and wild as you zipline and grind your way through Sunset City while taking out the OD’d (humans transformed into monsters) with the most oddly entertaining weapons — like a teddy bear stuffed with dynamite. That’s the kind of fun sh*t that games should be about.