The Chinese live-action PUBG trailer is a belter

Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Peaky Blinders: Mastermind are among next week’s new PlayStation 4 video game releases.

Back at E3 2018, the Thumbsticks team was literally locked in a room with the creative director of Owlcat Games. It was a hot day,. There were no windows. There was a lot of hair in the room. It was an intense experience (to say the least) but a pleasurable one. I don’t think we’ve ever met someone quite so smitten with a specific game genre. The result was Pathfinder: Kingmaker, a loving homage to the classic isometric CRPG’s of yore. The game did very well for itself on PC and now comes to PS4 with all previously released DLC.

Also coming to PS4 is Peaky Blinders: Mastermind, a promising puzzle adventure game from Futurlab which acts as a prequel to the hit BBC TV series. The timeline-based tactical gameplay involves choreographing the actions of the Shelby family to complete a blend action and stealth-based missions. Sounds bostin’.

Other new PS4 games on the way include New Super Lucky’s Tale, PGA Tour 2K21, and a brand new adventure for Samurai Jack.

Details of other new PS4 releases are sketchy, but we’ll update this post throughout the week as we get confirmation of any late additions.

New PlayStation 4 releases: August 17-21, 2020

Monday, August 17, 2020

• No releases

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

• Even the Ocean
• Pathfinder: Kingmaker – Definitive Edition
• Manifold Garden – TBC
• Mortal Shell

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

• Beyond Enemy Lines 2 – TBC
• Norman’s Great Illusion

Thursday, August 20, 2020

• Fuzzball
• Gleamlight
• Peaky Blinders: Mastermind
• Remnant: From the Ashes – Subject 2923
• Train World Sim 2

Friday, August 21, 2020

• Aokana – Four Rhythms Across the Blue
• Dungeon Scavenger – TBC
• Party Panic
• New Super Lucky’s Tale
• PGA Tour 2K21
• Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time

Playing on Xbox One? Here’s our round-up of next week’s new games.

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Head over to the Thumbsticks new releases page for the latest games. You can also follow the team via Flipboard, Facebook, Google News, and Twitter.

The big Xbox summer sale kicks off with savings of up to 65% available on hundreds of Xbox One.

Video game fans will not go wanting on Xbox One this month. In addition to this week’s impressive Deals with Gold and Spotlight savings, Microsoft has launched the Ultimate Game Sale. It discounts some of the biggest games on Xbox by up to 65%, with an additional 10% for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members.

It’s an excellent sale for exclusives, with Halo 5, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Ori and the Will of the Wisp, Forza Horizon 4, and Crackdown 4 all getting decent price cuts. Our first-party highlight is Gears 5, which honours the series’ past and points to its future with considerable style.

Elsewhere you’ll find discounts on a range of games from top IPs including Assassin’s Creed, Batman, Fallout, Call of Duty, Dark Souls, and Resident Evil, to name just a few. Our indie recommendations include the majestic Abzü, the rough and rustic American Fugitive and the sublime Sayonara Wild Hearts.

And if you would prefer something new to play, read our round-up of next week’s new Xbox One releases.

The Ultimate Game Sale runs until August 24 on the Xbox digital games store and Microsoft web store. Here are some more sale recommendations.

Xbox Ultimate Game Sale Highlights

• ABZU – 60% / 70% off
• Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown – 60% / 67% off
• American Fugitive – 60% / 70% off
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – Deluxe Edition – 60% / 70% off
• Assassin’s Creed Origins – Gold Edition – 65% / 75% off
• Batman: Arkham Knight – 50% / 60% off
• Battlefield V Standard Edition – 60% / 70% off
• Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle – 30% / 40% off
• BioShock: The Collection – 65% / 75% off
• Borderlands 3 – 40% / 50% off
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 – 60% / 67% off
• Call of Duty: WWII – Digital Deluxe Edition – 50% / 60% off
• Castlevania Anniversary Collection – 40% / 50% off
• Conan Exiles – 50% / 60% off
• Crackdown 3 – 50% / 50% off
• Dark Souls III – 65% / 75% off
• Darksiders III – Deluxe Edition – 50% / 60% off
• Diablo III: Eternal Collection – 60% / 67% off
• Dishonored The Complete Collection – 60% / 70% off
• Doom Eternal Deluxe Edition – 30% / 40% off
• Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – 30% / 40% off
• EA Sports FIFA 20 Champions Edition – 65% / 75% off
• Elite Dangerous: Deluxe Edition – 60% / 70% off
• Fallout 4 – 60% / 70% off
• Fallout 76: Wastelanders Deluxe Edition – 30% / 40% off
• Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition – 50% / 50% off
• Gears 5 – 50% / 50% off
• Ghost Recon Breakpoint – Ultimate Edition – 60% / 67% off
• Halo 5: Guardians – 30% / 40% off
• Halo: The Master Chief Collection – 20% / 30% off
• Journey to the Savage Planet – 40% / 50% off
• Life Is Strange 2 – Complete Season – 50% / 60% off
• Maneater – 10% / 20% offtimate Game Sale
• Monster Hunter World: Iceborne – 30% / 40% off
• Need For Speed Heat – 50% / 60% off
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps – 20% / 20% off
• Overcooked! 2 – Gourment Edition – 25% / 33% off
• Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds – 65% / 75% off
• Prey – 60% / 70% off
• Quantum Break – 65% / 75% off
• Rare Replay – 40% / 50% off
• Red Dead Redemption 2 – 40% / 50% off
• Resident Evil 7 Biohazard – 40% / 50% off
• Saints Row IV: Re-Elected – 65% / 75% off
• Sayonara Wild Hearts – 15% / 25% off
• Sid Meier’s Civilization VI – 40% / 50% off
• Sonic Mania – 40% / 50% off
• Star Wars Battlefront II – 30% / 40% off
• Team Sonic Racing – 40% / 50% off
• The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man Of Medan – 40% / 50% off
• The Jackbox Party Pack 6 – 25% / 35% off
• The Outer Worlds – 40% / 50% off
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – 60% / 70% off
• Tropico 6 – 40% / 50% off
• Valkyria Chronicles 4 – 65% / 75% off
• Watch Dogs 1 + Watch Dogs 2 Gold Editions Bundle – 65% / 75% off
• World War Z – 60% / 70% off
• Yakuza 0 – 25% / 35% off
• Yooka-Laylee – 65% / 75% off

For even more video game savings, visit our dedicated sales page. You can also follow Thumbsticks on Twitter and Facebook.

There’s an excellent lineup of new games released on Xbox One next week.

Most notable is the return of two beloved franchises. First to launch is the new Microsoft Flight Simulator. Asobo Studio’s game features a staggering level of detail, including a full simulation of Earth generated with topographical data from Bing Maps. We’ve pulled together a handy guide of all the planes and airports available in the game.

Next up is the return of Rash, Zitz and Pimple in a brand new Battletoads. The game certainly looks the part and couch co-op fun is all but guaranteed. We’re not sure the humour quite hits the mark, but it’s a welcome revival nonetheless.

Other new Xbox One releases include William Chyr’s first-person puzzle game Manifold Garden and golfing simulation, PGA Tour 2K21. The console port of Pathfinder: Kingmaker is one for fans of old-school isometric RPGs, and we’re also curious to see if Peaky Blinders: Mastermind fulfils its promise.

Oh, and how could we forget New Super Lucky’s Tale?

Each new game can be purchased from the Xbox One digital games store and the Microsoft web store. We’ll update this post throughout the week with any late additions.

New Xbox One releases: August 17-21, 2020

Monday, August 17, 2020

• No releases

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

• Helheim Hassle
• Pathfinder: Kingmaker – Definitive Edition
• Manifold Garden
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Mortal Shell

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

• Beyond Enemy Lines 2
• Even the Ocean
• FuzzBall
• Norman’s Great Illusion
• She Sees Red
• Stones of the Revenant

Thursday, August 20, 2020

• Battletoads
• Gleamlight
• Gryphon Knight Epic: Definitive Edition
• Peaky Blinders: Mastermind
• Remnant: From the Ashes – Subject 2923

Friday, August 21, 2020

• Dungeon Scavenger
• Harvest Moon: Mad Dash
• Party Panic
• New Super Lucky’s Tale
• PGA Tour 2K21
• Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time
• The Blobs Fight!

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Head over to the Thumbsticks new releases page for the latest games. You can also follow the team via Flipboard, Facebook, Google News, and Twitter.

Injustice 2 and NASCAR Heat 5 are this week’s Free Play Day games on Xbox One.

NetherRealm Studios’ excellent superhero fighting game and 704Games roundabout racer are free to download and play on Xbox One until 11:59 pm PT on August 16, 2020.

Injustice 2 pits Batman against Superman in a one-on-one combat jamboree. It’s a well-liked game that balances an engaging story with improved fighting mechanics. NASCAR Heat 5 is the official game of the 2020 season, but – other than a roster update – it offers few improvements over last year’s entry.

As ever, all save progress and unlocked achievements carry over to purchased copies of either game. As luck would have it, there’s a crop of new discounts to encourage such a purchase.

It’s also worth remembering that The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited remains free to play on Xbox until August 19, 2020.

Xbox One Free Play Day Deals

Injustice 2

• Standard Edition – 75% off
• Ultimate Pack – 80% off

NASCAR Heat 5

• Standard Edition – 20% off
• Gold Edition – 20% off

The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited

• Standard Edition – 50% off

For even more video game bargains, visit our dedicated sales and free games pages. You can also follow Thumbsticks on Twitter and Facebook.

A Total War Saga: Troy just launched today, but it’s already free on the Epic Games Store.

Creative Assembly’s brand new strategy game will begin retailing at $49.99 tomorrow. But, for now, you can grab the latest entry in the long-running series for free.

Reviews for the new Total War are strong, too. Not quite as strong as the reviews for last year’s game-changing Total War: Three Kingdoms,but, IGN and Eurogamer both recommend it.

All that said, A Total War Saga: Troy isn’t even technically one of this week’s free games. Remnant: From the Ashes and The Alto Collection are the titles currently highlighted in the store’s Free Games section.

Remnant is a 2019 third-person co-op shooter. Its punishing difficulty and tough bosses earned it comparisons to Dark Souls. But, its game feel is more akin to Gears of War.

The Alto Collection is also up for grabs, assembling mobile sand/snowboarding games, Alto’s Adventure (2015) and Alto’s Odyssey (2018).

But, for me, the most interesting free game is 3 Out of 10 EP 2: “Foundation 101.” This is the second episode in Terrible Posture Games’ five-part series. Unlike most episodic games, this one is releasing on a weekly basis, with plans to conclude by early September. I thought, the first episode, “Welcome to Shovelworks” did a pretty good job blending the game’s animated sitcom storytelling with short and varied interactive sections. I haven’t been blown away by the writing so far, but, hey, you can’t judge a show by its pilot.

With all these games up for grabs, Epic has unveiled next week’s freebies. Expect to get Enter the Gungeon (a free game for the second time) and God’s Trigger next Thursday. Plus, 3 Out of 10 will be back with its third episode.