GRIND's Recommendations for August 2025
Even though it's August, we've got a massive harvest!
August is finally here! The month of holidays, “lower” temperatures, and the Untold festival. Slowly but surely, we're preparing for the autumn harvest, but until then, we'll endure the heat a little longer. If, like us, you've spent the summer cooped up in the office or at home to escape the heatwave, then you're surely looking for new games to try in the eighth month of the year. As always, GRIND has some recommendations for upcoming games that have caught our eye.
Quick disclaimer: the initial list also included Dying Light: The Beast, but the game was delayed a few weeks to meet the studio's quality standards (besides, what's a few weeks when we waited four years for Dying Light 2?). Game releases lately tend to suffer last-minute changes, and since the Oracle of Delphi, Nostradamus, and Baba Vanga haven't been working for a while, there's no way for us to know beforehand what will be postponed. So, here are GRIND's recommendations for August 2025.
House of the Dead 2 Remake
Release date: 7 August 2025
Available on: Nintendo Switch, PC
The sequel to the famous on-rail shooter returns to our screens in 2025! Although officially announced in 2019, it took a while for the developers to finally reach the finish line with this project. This modern iteration comes bundled with the original story, remastered music, Co-op mode, multiple endings, and the typical gameplay that has defined the franchise since 1997. So, instead of being nostalgic for the bygone arcade days, we can enjoy the same unmistakable experience alongside new generations!
Chained Echoes: Ashes of Elrant
Release date: 7 August 2025
Available on: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC
After blowing us away in 2022 with Chained Echoes, a homage to JRPGs of old, Matthias Linda returns with his new studio (Umami Tiger) and releases the first DLC for this incredible game. So get ready for a grand adventure alongside members of the Crimson Wings clan, where you'll face 40 new enemies and explore the mysterious lands of Elrant. New allies will join, and what little free time you have left will be spent by the pond, playing the new fishing mini-game!
Mafia: the Old Country
Release date: 8 August 2025
Available on: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
We waited a long time, but it was worth it. The famous Mafia franchise returns in force with a prequel set in 1900s Sicily! You'll see the world through the eyes of Enzo Favara, a young man willing to sacrifice anything to join the Torrisi family. The new game from Hangar 13 promises an unforgettable adventure, inspired by classic Italian gangster films and that chaotic period in the history of the famous island of "families". Horse races, intrigues, authentic weapons, and betrayals all combine into an experience that will surely mark our August.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Release date: 12 August 2025
Available on: PlayStation 5
If you haven't had a chance to go through the latest chapter in Senua's adventure, no problem. The title that "delighted" players in the Xbox camp is now coming to PlayStation 5, with new options such as a Performance mode (60 fps), an additional challenge through the so-called Dark Rot, and an improved Photo Mode!
Drag x Drive
Release date: 14 August 2025
Available on: Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo doesn't forget us in the eighth month of the year and comes with a new sports title! This game promises an authentic wheelchair basketball experience, accessible to all players with the help of the Nintendo Switch 2's mouse-like control function.
Sword of the Sea
Release date: 19 August 2025
Available on: PlayStation 5, PC
After two unforgettable experiences (Abzu and The Pathless), developer Giant Squid returns with a new title that promises to keep us busy! The latest creation from the renowned indie studio, Sword of the Sea, is a surfing game where we step into the role of Wraith, a mysterious character trying to bring an abandoned world back to life! With the help of his magical sword (which is a combination of hoverboard, skateboard, and snowboard), the protagonist will solve various puzzles to restore life to the desert.
Black Myth: Wukong
Release date: 24 August 2025
Available on: Xbox Series X/S
On the 1st anniversary of its initial launch, Xbox Series X/S players receive a gift from Game Science studio: Black Myth: Wukong finally arrives on Microsoft's console! This version comes with all the additions from the last 12 months, including detailed maps of each level, new modes for masochists (such as a Boss Rush), and a free armour set, offered in the spirit of Chinese New Year. Inspired by the famous Chinese epic Journey to the West, the game is worth trying for everyone.
Gears of War: Reloaded
Release date: 26 August 2025
Available on: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
One of the most memorable campaigns in gaming history has been remastered in 4K and finally brought to PlayStation, to end the "console war" polemic once and for all. Relive (or discover) the first chapter of the Gears epic. Join Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago in the fight against the Locust forces!
Helldivers 2
Release date: 26 August 2025
Available on: Xbox Series X/S
SUPER-EARTH NEEDS YOU! Our planet's armed forces are looking for new recruits, and fans of the green camp are exactly the cannon fodder... sorry, the heroes we need to defeat galactic threats. So, put on your armour, practice your propaganda-tinged chants, and join the fight against the Terminids, Automatons, and Illuminates, enemies who endanger Super-Earth's vital interests: alien technologies, precious resources, and our daily crude oil!
Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star Crossed World
Release date: 28 August 2025
Available on: Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo's little glutton (or the black hole divinity, chaos and absolute entropy that will swallow us all) returns in a new version of the game released in 2022. This time, Kirby must uncover the mysteries of the bewildered world after a meteorite strikes the Forgotten Land. The new edition for Nintendo Switch 2 comes with an original story, new transformations, and considerable resolution and performance improvements.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
Release date: 28 August 2025
Available on: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Sam? Sam! SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ah, no, I got the protagonist mixed up... SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKEEEEEEEEE! Okay, now that I've got all that Death Stranding out of me, let's talk about this much-anticipated remake. Konami brings us the most beloved game in the franchise, rebuilt in a modern graphics engine, with all the options a gamer would want in 2025. Relive (or discover for the first time) the adventures of Naked Snake (a.k.a. Big Boss) in this epic story, full of intrigues, conspiracies, and betrayals. The Soviet jungle awaits you, with all the meta moments that made the original so special.
Lost Soul Aside
Release date: 29 August 2025
Available on: PlayStation 5, PC
What started as a solo project has, in the meantime, become a benchmark in the Chinese gaming market. Lost Soul Aside promises a spectacular adventure, where we will traverse multiple dimensions, face epic enemies, and repel an interdimensional invasion to save our sister. The game seems influenced by Final Fantasy XV, but proposes a dynamic and stylised combat style reminiscent of Devil May Cry. If you like fast-paced action titles, personal stories, and dramatic fights, then I suggest you give it a try.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
Release date: 29 August 2025
Available on: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC
SEGA is doing everything possible to prove to the world that it is still a titan of the industry. The new title in a legendary franchise (which hasn't had a new game in 14 years) promises to revive the series, attract new fans, and bring back old ones! Although the series has evolved enormously since 1978, Art of Vengeance manages to preserve the spirit of the original creation, even if it comes in a different form: a modern platformer, different from the hack and slash style with which the franchise debuted, but which still contains elements of the original genre.
Bonus: The Rogue – Prince of Persia
Release date: August 2025
Available on: PC
We already warned you that we can never know what changes might appear in a game's release plans. Ubisoft has given a release window for version 1.0 of their famous Metroidvania. The full version will finally bring the fight with the final boss, King Nogai, along with two new locations full of secrets and challenges. And, before I forget: 1.0 will also include a "true ending".
These 14 games caught our attention for August, although they are not the only interesting releases of the period. So, if you want to stay out of the sun, we hope one of our recommendations will catch your eye.