PS5 Officially Has 5 GOTY Contenders Coming in September

The flood of new must-play games has begun

Though all eyes are on Grand Theft Auto 6, the weeks leading up to its November release are packed with must-play video games. The onslaught of exciting new releases started in August with Marvel Tokon, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, and Star Wars Zero Company all coming out (the latter two on the same day). Things really start picking up in September, which we've known for a while was going to have way too many video games.

Here are five games PlayStation 5 players will want to keep an eye on. Don't be surprised if you hear a lot of buzz around these games this awards season.

1 The Blood of Dawnwalker

Release date: Sept. 3

The Witcher fans have been looking forward to The Blood of Dawnwalker since it was first revealed. It's from Rebel Wolves, a studio co-founded by The Witcher 3 game director Konrad Tomazkiewicz. It's an open-world medieval RPG, but instead of being a monster hunter like Geralt, you are a monster. Player character Coen has been turned into a vampire, and must decide if he'll control his new powers and bloodlust, or if they'll control him. The Blood of Dawnwalker has a unique day-and-night cycle and a ticking in-game clock, giving weight to all your actions and decisions. Because of that, you won't be able to experience everything the game has in one playthrough.

2 Onimusha: Way of the Sword

Release date: Sept. 4

Capcom has had runaway success in 2026 with Resident Evil Requiem and Pragmata. Onimusha: Way of the Sword has all the makings of being the company's next big hit. It's the first new mainline entry in the series in 20 years, though you won't have to have played any of the prior games to enjoy the action and story of Way of the Sword. Wield a katana to parry and hack-and-slash a variety of monstrous enemies throughout Edo-period Kyoto, and then have your sentient gauntlet consume those enemies' souls after you beat 'em (hell yeah). "So long as the action keeps delivering, I imagine Capcom’s 2026 hot streak won’t end here," Polygon's Giovanni Colantonio wrote in a recent Onimusha: Way of the Sword preview.

3 Marvel's Wolverine

Release date: Sept. 15

Marvel's Wolverine has been at the center of an online algorithmic headache and blowback against Sony's decision to end disc production for new games in 2028. It's a lot of chatter around a game that's not even out yet, and one that sounds like it's playing it pretty safe, judging by a wave of new previews. "I appreciate that the game feels lean and free of blockbuster bloat. But I do wonder if room after room of henchmen to chop into little pieces will be enough to sustain players' interest through the promising storyline," Polygon's Oli Welsh recently wrote. Still, players are eager to get their claws on Marvel's Wolverine, Insomniac's new take on the seminal character. Expect lotsa violence, lotsa blood, and lotsa pining for Jean Grey.

4 Control Resonant

Release date: Sept. 24

Remedy Entertainment follows up its 2019 Game of the Year-contender Control this year with a sequel that dramatically reinvents the series. In Control Resonant, you'll play as Dylan Faden, the brother of the first game's protagonist. Instead of exploring the confines of a drab office building, you wander a remixed version of Manhattan overrun with monsters. And instead of being primarily a third-person shooter, Resonant will instead focus on melee hack-and-slash combat. Expect Control Resonant to be bold and weird AF (it wouldn't be a Remedy game if it weren't.)

Recommended For You

5 Silent Hill: Townfall

Release date: Sept. 24

Just like last year, horror fans have a new Silent Hill to look forward to in September. Silent Hill f did something different by taking the series to a small town in 1960s Japan, and Silent Hill: Townfall will mix things up as well. It'll be a first-person horror adventure set on a Scottish island in 1996. You'll use a portable CRTV to tune into unstable signals around the island and to receive puzzle and navigation hints. You might want to play Townfall with the lights on as the spooks start right away. "The disorienting surrealism of Townfall’s opening sequence raises the tension to a simmer with remarkable efficiency, and for the rest of the demo, I was in a perpetual state of cat-like jumpiness. That’s exactly what you want with this kind of game," Polygon's Jen Glennon wrote in her preview.