What to Play This Weekend, August 29–30: TOP 9 VGTimes Editors' Picks

This week, the gamescom 2026 expo is taking place. Ahead of its opening, Geoff Keighley hosted the Opening Night Live 2026 ceremony, where a remake of the Heroes of Might and Magic 3 was announced and a trailer for the Songs of the Past DLC for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was shown. At the conference itself, live gameplay of this DLC was demonstrated. That said, you'll have to wait for these games. But in the meantime, you can check out the latest releases of the past few days. The best of them are gathered in this article.

A prequel to A Plague Tale: Requiem, devoted to the story of a young bandit named Sophia. The action unfolds on the Island of the Minotaur, and in terms of atmosphere it's closer to ancient mythology than to the grim medieval setting of the original duology. In terms of gameplay, Legacy is similar to the first two parts, but here the emphasis is on action instead of stealth. On top of that, plenty of puzzles await you, along with a decent story that opens up closer to the finale.

A distinctive counterpart to XCOM, but set in a galaxy far, far away. The game takes place during the Clone Wars. You're invited to lead Zero Company, which is entrusted with especially difficult assignments. It's quite a motley crew, since it includes both bandits and Jedi who wield the Force. What's more, to defeat your enemies it's important to combine your fighters' abilities so that they complement one another. Also worth noting is the destructible environment, which forces you to change your strategy right in the middle of a battle. Fans of the genre should take a look at our roundup of the Best Tactical Games for PC and Consoles: Top 24 Turn-Based Tactics Games and TRPGs.

An action platformer with pleasant pixel graphics and a well-crafted combat system. The battles here resemble clashes in slashers, where individual strikes need to be chained into combos and enemy attacks dodged in time. You can expand your list of moves with the help of runes, which you'll find as you progress. They grant unique bonuses and let you develop your own tactics.

Fans of adventure games should take a look at Lou's Lagoon. The protagonist has set off in search of his uncle, who sent a distress signal somewhere in the tropics and then vanished. To find him, you'll need to conduct an investigation, befriend the locals, and help sort out their problems. It's also a good idea to build your own house out of scrap materials and furnish it to your own taste. You can move between locations both on foot and by seaplane. Adventure lovers, we recommend checking out our article on the 120 Best Adventure Games on PC, PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

A grim top-down RPG that could be called a hybrid of Diablo and Dark Souls. It invites you to set off on a journey across the shards of all sorts of worlds, from medieval dungeons to cities of the distant future. There are no character classes here, so in combat much depends on your chosen weapon, each of which calls for its own tactics. As in FromSoftware's projects, every player here has their own adventure, but they can visit one another's worlds to help with progression.

A mystical action game from Patrice Desilets — who worked on the first Assassin's Creed and released the unusual survival game Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey — has launched in early access. The action of his new project unfolds in 17th-century Amsterdam, home to the Firstborn, ancient beings who pretend to be human. Your task is to identify and destroy them. The game is praised for its unusual setting and story, but criticized for its combat system.

The defining feature of this game is that it's 80% based on stories that happened in real life. The narration is told from the perspective of a bartender. He talks with people who come in for a drink, listens to their stories, learns interesting details, and, as events unfold, changes himself. If you win over your interlocutor, you'll gain access to secret stories that no one is supposed to know. We'll note that the most interesting representatives of this genre are gathered in our article on the Best Visual Novels in 2026: Top 35 Picks for PC, Console and Mobile.

The survival game Polylithic, which is devoted to the daily life of prehistoric people, spent three years in early access. But on August 27 it received a major update and reached full release. In it, you're invited to take up gathering and hunting, craft your first tools, and tame animals, and later on — to master primitive technologies and build settlements. If you like, you can play through the game together with friends.

After two years in early access, a game set in the world of Slavic mythology and devoted to the life of a real witch has been released. You're invited to furnish your home, subjugate the local beasts, gather ingredients, and brew potions from them. Then you can head to the nearest village and find out what the residents are complaining about. You're allowed either to help them or to harm them. Judging by the reviews, the concept turned out to be quite engaging.

Breathedge is a survival game from Russian developers, set in outer space. We'll note that this is something of a parody of the genre — the game is full of irony and dark humor. You can grab it on the Epic Games Store until September 3.

PixArk is a sandbox game that's been called a hybrid of Minecraft and Ark: Survival Evolved. It offers battles with dinosaurs, the use of magic, base building, and the taming of prehistoric animals. Until August 31, you can add it to your Steam account.

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.2 is a collection of two games, Guns of the Patriots and Peace Walker. They're worth checking out for anyone interested in the series who happened to miss these particular titles. Until this re-release, the fourth installment was a PlayStation 3 exclusive.

Titanic Escape Simulator is a hybrid of an adventure game and a survival game, set aboard the Titanic. The game begins before the disaster and lets you learn about the dark secrets hidden in the luxurious cabins of the legendary liner. And then the ship will begin to sink. To survive, it's important to search for safe routes that will let you make it out to a lifeboat. Along the way, you'll have to keep an eye on your stamina and try not to freeze.

Vampire Survivors: Legacy of the Bloodmoon is a set of unique characters and weapons for them, which you can test out on a big new arena. A solid option for those who have thoroughly explored the original game and want new challenges.

And what are you playing this weekend? Let us know in the comments!