These video games will take you through winter

Summer is over, and that means it’s time for the release of a bunch of new video games.

People are already playing the new Madden NFL 16, which is the best version of the football sim ever created by EA Sports. And Lara Croft GO is already on mobile devices, leveraging the unique board-game style of last year’s Hitman GO and with a decidedly Tomb Raider spin. Disney Infinity 3.0, which features Star Wars characters and stories in a game that brings action figures to life, should be considered essential.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which came out September 1, is likely the last game in the franchise from creator Hideo Kojima. Konami, which has rights to the game, will undoubtedly continue without him. I was not a fan of the short prelude, Ground Zeroes, because of its blatant misogyny. I can only hope that things will be better in The Phantom Pain.

If you’ve ever wanted to make your own platforming game, Super Mario Maker, released on September 11, is for you. With simple controls, you can easily design your own Mario game levels based on the styles and elements from four key games in the franchise. You can modify the visuals, the mechanics, and even the sound effects of your creation, and then share it online for others to play.

If there’s one game I can’t stop playing it’s Destiny, and I expect the next chapter to pull me even further into the universe. The Taken King, out September 15, adds a new world in the form of a massive spaceship. If you haven’t given Destiny a try, this is your chance to dive into the experience and start from the beginning, because the full version of The Taken King includes the first game and its two expansions.

Since the first release in 2011, we’ve been able to look forward to an annual Skylanders game that keeps the fun and adds something new. There have been giant characters, figures that could swap tops and bottoms, and last year the ability to trap villains. This year, in Skylanders SuperChargers (Sept. 20), players get to navigate their world in vehicles.

It was only a matter of time before Lego got into the toys-as-video-games business. With Lego Dimensions (Sept. 27), players can put up to seven toys—characters, vehicles, or gadgets—on the toy pad at a time. The toys are actually built from Lego bricks, and all worlds and characters blend together. This initial game has 14 levels, each a different world, including the likes of Oz, Ninjago, Metropolis, Middle-earth, and Back to the Future’s Hill Valley.

Music games make a comeback this fall. Rock Band 4 (Oct. 6) is an updated version of the game you know and love that uses those old instruments that may be collecting dust. Guitar Hero Live (Oct. 20) shifts the perspective, so you’re on-stage looking out at the audience. While you play the redesigned guitar controller, the crowd—footage of real people—responds to your performance.

After settings in the Middle East, France, and early America, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (Oct. 23) takes us to London during the Industrial Revolution. Twins Evie and Jacob Frye attempt to restore the order of assassins while becoming embroiled in the politics, and the criminal element, of the era.

In Halo 5: Guardians (Oct. 27), the story alternates between the perspective of Master Chief and that of Spartan Locke, who’s been tasked with apprehending him. While there’s no split-screen co-op, the story campaign was designed for four players, who can drop in and drop out without interrupting the game.

We’re well into the future in Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (Nov. 6), which takes place in 2065, 40 years after the previous game. You can now choose to be a female or male soldier, both of which are optimized with robotic components, and the story mode lets you play cooperatively with up to three friends.

Set in the Boston area, Fallout 4 (Nov. 10) shows us the nuclear apocalypse that creates the world for the franchise. For the first time, your protagonist has a voice. You emerge from your shelter hundreds of years after you went in, the sole survivor of your facility. The wasteland beckons.

The 2013 reboot of the Lara Croft franchise was a revelation. Rise of the Tomb Raider (Nov. 10) has the intrepid adventurer racing against the secret organization Trinity, which is after the same relics she is.

If you’ve ever wanted to just play in the Star Wars universe, Star Wars Battlefront (Nov. 17) promises to allow just that. The beautiful action game is a love letter to the original trilogy. You get to pick your side, starting off in the Rebel Alliance or as an Imperial Stormtrooper, and there will be opportunities to play as iconic characters, too.