Get ready to say goodbye to all of your free time, because the best new games closing out 2018 are going to steal all of it. Red Dead Redemption 2 is already transporting countless players back to the Old West, Fallout 76 will officially launch its multiplayer post-apocalypse in a few short weeks, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be the de facto fighting game for the holidays when December rolls around. But those aren’t the only games you can look forward to in the near future. There’s plenty of greatness left to go this year before we start thinking about the new games of 2019 – and you might not have even known about some of these titles until now. Whatever your platform of choice, from your favorite console to the best gaming laptop, there are plenty of games you should keep an eye on over the weeks and months to come.

We’ve gone ahead and collected the standouts for your viewing pleasure as we near the end of 2018. Browse our selections, all ordered by release date, and see what you need to start saving up for ASAP.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One

Release date: November 13, 2018

Not to be outdone by the revival of Sony’s other would-be mascot in Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy , everyone’s favorite purple dragon Spyro is getting his very own three-pack remaster. Spyro Reignited Trilogy features the first three games in the series (i.e. all the best ones) rebuilt from the ground up with wildly improved Unreal Engine 4 visuals and a refined control scheme. We’d be shocked if this oft-requested trilogy didn’t eventually make its way to Nintendo Switch as well, so for anyone who missed them back in 1998, Reignited Trilogy will be a great way to enjoy a beloved slice of 3D platforming history.

Hitman 2

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC

Release date: November 13, 2018

Hitman 2 sees the return of expert assassin Agent 47, and though the series has switched publishers from Square Enix to WB Games, it’s still being developed by the dedicated folks at IO Interactive. As always, there will be plenty of exotic locales to explore, hilarious disguises to don, and high-value targets to eliminate through ingeniously crafty or violently direct means. You simply haven’t lived until you’ve knocked out a guard with a coconut while wearing a flamingo mascot outfit.

Fallout 76

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC

Release date: November 14, 2018

First things first: though Fallout 76 takes place in the same ’50s-esque, post-apocalyptic setting the series is known for, this isn’t a new single-player-focused story from the folks at Bethesda. Instead, Fallout 76 is a shared-world survival game set in in the irradiated expanses of West Virginia, 25 years after the conclusion of the Great War. You don’t necessarily have to play with others, but they’ll be out there, gathering resources, killing mutated beasts, building their own encampments, and possibly even launching nukes from silos found all around the map. Fallout 76 is reportedly four times bigger than Fallout 4’s map, and it’ll be fascinating to see how players interact in a Fallout that doesn’t revolve around a single wasteland hero.

Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee

Platform(s): Switch

Release date: November 16, 2018

Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee are two versions of the same game (in classic Pokemon style) that are set to make a splash on Nintendo Switch – but they’re not the core RPG you might’ve been expecting. Instead, think of this outing as a mix between the classic Pokemon Yellow on Game Boy and the megahit mobile game Pokemon Go. You’ll explore a spruced-up, 3D version of Kanto from a top-down perspective, with either Pikachu or Eevee at your side, catching Generation 1 Pokemon through simplified mechanics with Joy-Con motion controls (or the new Poke Ball Plus peripheral). There will be battles against other Pokemon Trainers, but you won’t be weakening wild Pokemon before you attempt to catch them.

Battlefield 5

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC

Release date: November 20, 2018

Battlefield 5 is taking the series back to its World War 2 roots, with infantry, tanks, and aircraft aplenty locked in combat across massive multiplayer skirmishes. Choose your preferred class between Assault, Medic, Recon, and Support, then master your role to turn the tide of battle one spawn location at a time. Veterans should be aware of a few key tweaks this time around: now any class can revive downed allies, so no more ignoring cries for help when you’re getting your snipe on. The classic spotting mechanic now highlights general areas rather than individuals, encouraging you to seek out enemies yourself without immediately flagging a target for death. And there’s a strong focus on Squad play in Battlefield 5, which rewards you for sticking with a designated group of men and women (including your very own customizable soldier). As in Battlefield 1, War Stories provide some single-player action, while the multiplayer does away with the traditional Season Pass in favor of Tides of War, a system modelled around Fortnite’s Battle Pass featuring limited-time events.

Darksiders 3

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC

Release date: November 27, 2018

First there was War, then Death, and now Fury is the next Horseman (or more accurately, Horsewoman) of the Apocalypse to star in her own fantastical action adventure. The Darksiders series is famous for essentially being a blood-soaked, bone-crunching take on The Legend of Zelda’s open-world exploration with a dash of Devil May Cry combat mixed in, full of ridiculously proportioned (but undoubtedly cool-looking) character designs by cult favorite comic artist Joe Madureira. Darksiders 3 ‘s leading lady Fury is more magic-focused than her compatriots, and wields a spiky whip as her signature weapon. You’ll be cutting down swaths of demons across the ruins of post-Biblical-apocalypse Earth, fighting back against hellish embodiments of the Seven Deadly Sins themselves.

Artifact

Platform(s): PC

Release date: November 28, 2018

Valve is finally making games again, starting with Artifact, the studio’s first foray into the card game genre. Featuring the many heroes, minions, and items of team brawler Dota 2 (which still tops Steam’s most-played charts daily), Artifact plays like a cross between Hearthstone and the three-lane battlefields typical of most MOBAs. Minions spawn, towers must be taken down, and five heroes on each side fight for victory – all via cards played during rapid-fire turns. Beyond some gorgeous art and Valve’s exemplary levels of polish, Artifact has some amazing things going for it: the design team is being led by none other than Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering, and unlike Hearthstone, players can actually trade and sell cards via the Steam Community Market. Interestingly, it’s also one of the few digital TCGs that will not be free-to-play, requiring a $20 upfront cost before you even think about buying card packs.

Battle Princess Madelyn

Platform(s): Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Wii U, PS Vita

Release date: Fall 2018

If Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts swapped out Arthur and his heart-emblazoned boxers for a heroic, 7-year-old girl, it’d be Battle Princess Madelyn, a loving tribute to Capcom’s legendarily difficult 2D platformers. This spiritual successor has a heartwarming origin, as the lead developer is essentially making the game for his young daughter by featuring her as the protagonist (and taking diligent notes on her feedback and art direction). All the old-school tuning is spot-on, from the imaginative, pixelated monster designs, to way Madelyn double-jumps in a set arc, to the optional scanlines for that classic arcade feel. And with its scaleable difficulty, Battle Princess Madelyn should be way more accessible for anyone who didn’t have to take their lumps during the 16-bit era.

Override: Mech City Brawl

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC

Release date: December 4, 2018

From Gundam to Pacific Rim, Power Rangers to Big O, there’s something inherently appealing about the power fantasy of suiting up as the pilot of a skyscraper-sized mech. Override perfectly taps into our obsession with giant robots, featuring two to four massive mechs duking it out in destructible cityscapes. Its behind-the-back, third-person camera and speedy movement evokes cult classics like War of the Monsters, Virtual On, and Armored Core, while the roster is already nice and varied when it comes to designs and fighting styles. A story campaign lets you take a break from beating up ‘bots in multiplayer to lay the smackdown on some freaky aliens. And best of all, there’s a mode that lets you live out your lifelong Megazord dreams: four players teaming up to control one mech, where a lack of coordination will lead to (likely hilarious) city-demolishing chaos.

Just Cause 4

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC

Release date: December 4, 2018

Rico Rodriguez returns to wreak more open-world, physics-based havoc, this time in the South American wilderness of the fictional Solis. Just Cause 4 still has the frenetic third-person action you know and love, grappling hook and all, but the biggest addition this time around is an extreme weather system that tears up the environment as often as you do. Giant twisters and severe storms cause even more chaos in a firefight, and you’ll also get the chance to run wild in arid and snowy biomes in addition to the South American jungle.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Platform(s): Switch

Release date: December 7, 2018

The gang’s all here. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate brings the series to Nintendo Switch in a big way by including every playable character from the series’ history in its massive roster. In addition to all the old fighters, exciting newcomers like fan-favorite Ridley, Splatoon’s Inklings, and Daisy (an “Echo Fighter” of Peach, which is how Ultimate now classifies its clone characters) are joining the fray. The pace of the matches has been tweaked to be even faster, most notably in the Final Smash attacks which have all been reworked to get you back into the action as quickly as possible. And just about every character has been tweaked, refined, or slightly rebalanced in some way, so it’ll be fascinating to see how your favorite character from Smash games past plays this time around.

Insurgency: Sandstorm

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC

Release date: December 12, 2018

For a certain subset of shooter fans, hardcore simulation games like Arma 3 represent the pinnacle of the genre, giving you almost zero in-game information to recreate all the uncertainties of actual combat. Insurgency: Sandstorm is an FPS in that same vein – the sequel to a cult classic Source mod, now done up in Unreal Engine 4. Minimalism is the name of the game in this tactical shooter: there’s barely any HUD, and no hit markers or kill indicators to speak of, so you’ll often have to confirm that an enemy is down with your own two eyes. Bullets are also extremely lethal, so quick burst fire will often be fatal. Whether you’re playing head-to-head or co-op against AI-controlled militia, Insurgency: Sandstorm’s multiplayer firefights will put you in a constant state of high alert, which is exactly what some players are looking for.

GTFO

Platform(s): PC

Release date: TBC 2018

If you often reminisce about the horrific hordes and harrowing escapes of the Left 4 Dead series, GTFO looks to be your next fix of four-player, co-op FPS. There’s a heavy emphasis on suspense, as you and your squad of operatives (in employ of the mysterious Warden) explore mutant-filled catacombs. An AI director ensures that your party gets to enjoy the chills of creepy exploration and the thrills of staving off swarms of attackers in equal measure. And unlike the standard zombies of L4D, these ghoulish creatures can terrorize you from a distance with their grotesque extending necks. But what really has us excited is the cryptic – yet mesmerizing – narration from an unknown narrator in GTFO’s gameplay-filled reveal trailer .

Wargroove

Platform(s): Switch, Xbox One, PC

Release date: TBC 2018

It seems Nintendo isn’t about to revive Advance Wars any time soon; thank goodness developer Chucklefish stepped up to the plate to bring back turn-based strategy featuring delightful GBA-style sprites. The overworld map and battle animations perfectly mimic the charming aesthetic of the Advance Wars series, set in a high fantasy world full of knights, dragons, skeleton dogs, and witches. As one of 12 unique commanders, you’ll wage war over land, sea, and air to establish dominance over the map, one little square space at a time. With online and local multiplayer for up to four players, custom map creation, and loads of adorable unit types, Wargroove’s got everything an Advance Wars fan could ask for.

Knights and Bikes

Platform(s): PS4, PC

Release date: TBC 2018

This charming top-down adventure game, developed by two Media Molecule alums and published by Double Fine, strives to recapture the sense of wonderment and improvised fun inherent to childhood expeditions. Our two young heroines, Nessa and Demelza, explore their quaint island town brought to life by charming picture-book visuals, battling imaginary creatures with frisbees, water balloons, and all manner of improvised weaponry. Though it’s playable solo, the ideal way to enjoy Knights and Bikes is in two-player co-op, where Nessa and Demelza will often devise spur-of-the-moment competitions – like racing their bikes to the next point of interest – that create fleeting moments of giddy rivalry with your co-op pal to see who can lay claim to those sweet bragging rights.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PS Vita, PC

Release date: TBC 2018

We were so accustomed to a steady stream of excellent exploration-based Castlevania games for so long that we didn’t realize what we had until they were gone. No more! In 2018, the mastermind behind Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow, and many others will bring us Bloodstained. Koji Igarashi’s first major post-Konami project is Castlevania in all but name, with the same smooth action, gothic atmosphere, and haunted locale spelunking we loved for so long.

Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC

Release date: TBC

If you’ve not played the PC-centric Mount & Blade games before, they’re essentially For Honor on a sprawling Battlefield-sized scale. Whether on foot or on horseback, players take part in massive medieval skirmishes in a giant sandbox world, with intricate melee combat mechanics that take physics and positioning into account. Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord promises the same scope and intense dueling, modernized with a much-needed facelift of its predecessors aging visuals. Anyone with a fondness for chaotic close-quarters combat should love wildly swinging a sword and shield in this sequel’s monumental sieges, regardless of which side of the ramparts you’re on.