It sure seems like the launch of Hollow Knight: Silksong has all but dominated any gaming-related conversation for the foreseeable future, but it's worth remembering that Team Cherry's long-awaited sequel is just one of several highly anticipated games that released this week. PS5 owners, in particular, have Silksong and a whole slew of other great titles to choose from this weekend, potentially setting up some conflicting schedules as players try to narrow down which games are most deserving of their coveted free time. Each of the following new releases has a strong claim for players' attention and covers a wide range of genres and interests.
Hell Is Us
Rogue Factor and Nacon's Hell Is Us initially wowed players with a strong public demo that showcased the title's dark atmosphere and hard-hitting combat, and it finally made its debut yesterday as part of an especially stacked September 4 release calendar. While some might have taken to calling Hell Is Us a Soulslike upon first impression, the reality is that it's actually much more akin to a traditional action-adventure game, complete with an atypical approach to how players pursue quests and explore the map. There's even a bit of Metroidvania DNA to be found in Hell Is Us' core gameplay loop, making it a strong Silksong alternative.
Hell Is Us
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 78 /100 Critics Rec: 79%
- Released
- September 4, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Rogue Factor
- Publisher(s)
- Nacon
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure, Open-World
Cronos: The New Dawn
Today marks the release of Bloober Team's newest survival horror title, Cronos: The New Dawn, and its launch on a Friday perfectly primes it to be one of the top games on PS5 this weekend. Bloober Team is coming off an incredibly impressive showing from last year's Silent Hill 2 remake, and Cronos is the studio's first new IP following that breakout success. By all accounts, it's a very Dead Space-inspired take on the survival horror genre that sticks to the fundamental elements players would expect. If you're in the mood for some genre "comfort food", Cronos might just fit the bill.
Cronos: The New Dawn
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 78 /100 Critics Rec: 77%
- Released
- September 5, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Bloober Team
- Publisher(s)
- Bloober Team
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Science Fiction, Action
Metal Eden
Some of the more well-known titles in the "movement shooter" subgenre include modern classics like Titanfall 2 and both Ghostrunner games, and this week's Metal Eden blends elements of all three into a short but sweet FPS campaign, even sprinkling in a bit of 2016's Doom for good measure. Metal Eden is the latest game from Reikon, the same studio behind the criminally underrated twin-stick shooter Ruiner, and it has a similarly sinister futuristic setting and story that act as the carrot on the string to pull players along. That said, the real draw of Metal Eden is its incredibly satisfying movement and traversal mechanics, which include a wall-run, double-jump, and jetpack that make scooting around each level as fun as taking out scores of robotic enemies.
Metal Eden
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 75 /100 Critics Rec: 63%
- Released
- May 6, 2025
- ESRB
- M For Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Developer(s)
- Reikon Games
- Publisher(s)
- Deep Silver
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Action, Shooter
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots
The Hot Shots Golf series (better known in Japan as Everybody's Golf) is making its triumphant return this week after nearly 10 years, and this time it's a multi-platform release. But the Hot Shots/Everybody's Golf games have long been associated with PlayStation hardware, making it feel like a natural fit for any PS5 owners looking for a great golf game that errs more Mario Golf than PGA Tour 2K25. Like the other games in the series, Everybody's Golf Hot Shots places a premium on fun and accessibility, but has a surprisingly high skill ceiling for those looking to take their arcadey golf game a bit more seriously.
- Released
- September 5, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Hyde, Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Sports
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Assuming that players can actually download Silksong and install it on their PS5 ahead of the weekend, Team Cherry's long-awaited Hollow Knight sequel is likely at or near the top of the list for most players this weekend. Yesterday's launch was a watershed moment for indie games and the gaming industry in general, with the hype for Silksong's release effectively crashing the servers for Steam, the PlayStation Store, and the Nintendo eShop, and the game quickly reaching more than half a million concurrent players on Steam just hours after its launch. And by most accounts, the 6-year wait between Silksong's announcement and yesterday's launch was very much worth it.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 91 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- September 4, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
- Developer(s)
- Team Cherry
- Publisher(s)
- Team Cherry
