August is shaping up to be a relatively quiet month when it comes to videogame launches, at least when it comes to brand new diversions. It is, however, a weirdly busy month for remakes and remasters, which seem poised to dominate this part of the summer.
I like to pretend I’m above nostalgia, but in truth I’m an absolute sucker for my faves of the past being repackaged and resold to me. And next month I’m gonna be feasting, starting with Dawn of War: Definitive Edition on August 14.
Grimdark never changes
Dawn of War is an important RTS for me, with Relic showing it was one of the few developers who could make the shift to 3D without sacrificing anything. The expansions, too, were RTS high points, introducing dynamic campaigns and all the glorious 40k units you could want.
Out of all August’s remakes and remasters, this Definitive Edition definitely seems like the lightest touch. There are enhancements, certainly, but what we’re getting is largely the game as it was 20 years ago, just slightly modernised.
“We don’t want to fix something that isn’t broken,” design director Philippe Boulle told me. “The fundamental game still works. That’s what we want to deliver.”
Here’s what we’re getting: All the expansions and multiplayer modes are being unified under one executable, all the textures have been increased and it now supports 4K, there’s new lighting and reflections, the camera has been tweaked, and it’s finally a 64-bit deal, meaning it’ll be easier for modders to work on more ambitious projects.
Run for cover
Gears of War never went away, but it’s been a long time since it’s felt particularly relevant. Gears of War: Reloaded seeks to bring back those halcyon days by gussying up the game that started it all.
This one’s a harder sell for me. Gears of War was undeniably influential, but that influence was not entirely positive, cursing us with an endless cavalcade of brown-grey cover shooters for years after. The best remakes and remasters give us a second opportunity to play the kind of games we just don’t see now, whereas this is just letting us replay the start of something that became increasingly overdone.
Reloaded’s glow up is a bit more pronounced than DoW’s, however, and you can expect more significantly remastered assets and lighting that make it look, if you squint hard enough, almost like a game from this side of 2020.
We’re also getting cross-play, cross-progression, DLSS, HDR—all the modern bells and whistles. The Coalition also promises an optional “streamlined” control scheme, and naturally all the post-launch bits and bobs included for free. You’ll be able to play on August 26.
Country life
Aside from Stardew, I’m not really a life/farming sim lad, but if that’s your kind of thing then Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, the remake of the Harvest Moon DS game, is coming on August 27.
You could be forgiven for thinking that this was simply a modern life sim, rather than a remake of a somewhat niche handheld romp—granted, Harvest Moon occupies a significant niche. And it sounds like it features a bunch of stuff that other modern games of its ilk could learn from.
I’ll let Kara fill you in, and then you can read her Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar preview. “Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar has given me a look at what streamlined farm life could look like. Having put a year’s worth of work into my little farmyard now and the town’s bazaar, I already know it’s the type of game I could easily put hundreds of hours into without feeling tired out. I really hope future farming sims adopt these features in their own way as they just make life so much easier.”
Undercover boss
This is the big one. On August 28, we’ll finally get our hands on the remake of arguably the most fascinating game in the mainline MGS series, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. Just a wee bit exciting, then.
I’m a big ol’ hipster, so I’m still adamant that MGS2 is the best one—you’ve got butts, you’ve got rollerskating terrorists, you’ve got hands-down the best villain (Solidus was right), but there’s no denying that MGS3 was utterly spectacular and exceptionally ambitious.
Delta is also interesting because it’s Konami’s biggest MGS project since the departure of Hideo Kojima. I might be a bit worried about that, but as a remake, it can rely on the blueprint established by Kojima, which is a bit like bowling with the barriers up.
As a full remake, it’s very much a game of 2025, but standing on the massive shoulders of one of the early 2000s’ greatest games. We’re even getting new modes like the Fox Hunt multiplayer mode, along with fancy features like real-time wear and tear on clothes and injuries that leave a permanent mark on our ol’ pal, Naked Snake.
So while August is a quiet month for new stuff, there’s a heck of a lot to look forward to. I mean, it would be a notable month due to the release of MGS3 Delta alone, so things are looking pretty good.
And each is a very different take on nostalgia bait. Dawn of War is a simple proposition: the game you liked 20 years ago, but comfortably playful on modern PCs. Then you’ve got Gears of War for some moody, steroid-infused co-op. Grand Bazaar, meanwhile, feels like a chill palette cleanser, and it seems like a pretty forward-thinking life sim to boot. And finally there’s MGS Delta, which is as close as we’re gonna get to a brand new MGS for a good long while—unless Konami’s pachinko business starts to go under.