Notable games coming out in the second half of August

The August round-up of notable games continues, this time covering the second half of the month. Featuring prison escapes, treasure hunting, football and dinosaurs, the second half of August has a little bit of everything for gamers.

'The Escapists 2'

“The Escapists 2” is a top-down strategy game, with players controlling prisoners that must escape from increasing difficult jails.

The game is being developed by Mouldy Toof Studios and published by Team17. It is the sequel to 2015's well-received game, “The Escapists.” This game is adding drop-in, drop-out online multiplayer, a new combat system and more. It releases on August 22 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. The game will also be on Nintendo Switch at a later date.

'Uncharted: The Lost Legacy'

“Uncharted: The Lost Legacy” is a standalone expansion to the popular “Uncharted” series. The game is being developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony. Players take control of Chloe Frazier, who teams up with mercenary Nadine Ross, to find the Tush of Ganesh in India.

It releases on August 22 for PS4.

'Madden NFL 18'

“Madden NFL 18” is a football video game developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports. The game will feature all the usual trappings of a “Madden” game with franchise mode, online play, and MUT. There is also a new story based mode called The Longshot, which centers around Devin Wade's journey to the NFL draft. “Madden” releases on August 25 for Xbox One and PS4.

'Absolver'

“Absolver” is a multiplayer only martial-arts focused action RPG. This is the first game developed by Sloclap and it is being published by Devolver Digital. Players control a warrior who travels across the land of Adai, as they fight other player and NPCs to improve their skills and try to join the Absolver peacekeepers.

The game releases on August 29 for PS4 and Windows. It will also be coming to Xbox One at a later date.

'Ark: Survival Evolved'

“Ark: Survival Evolved” is an open-world, action-adventure survival game. It is being developed and published by Studio Wildcard. The game has been in Steam Early Access since June 2015 and on Xbox's Game Preview Program since December 2016. Now, the game that has players survive, feed and tame dinosaurs will finally get a full release. It will be coming out on August 29 for Xbox One, PS4, Microsoft Windows, Linux and OS X.

'Hello Neighbor'

“Hello Neighbor” is a single-player stealth survival horror game with a seemingly simple premise. You must successfully sneak into the basement of your neighbor's house and uncover his dark secret.

The game is being developed by Dynamic Pixels and published by tinyBuild. It has been part of Steam's Greenlight program since the middle of 2015. “Hello Neighbor” is set for release on August 29 on Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and macOS.

'Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle'

“Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle” is a turn-based tactical RPG and is a crossover between Nintendo's Mario franchise and Ubisoft's Raving Rabbids franchise. The game is being developed by Ubisoft Paris and Ubisoft Milan and is being published by Ubisoft. Players will be able to control Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi and four Rabbids dressed like them. The game is single player but will feature will be two-player local co-op. It releases on August 29 for the Nintendo Switch.

'Life is Strange: Before the Storm' (Episode 1)

“Life is Strange: Before the Storm” is an episodic graphic adventure video game. It is being developed by Deck Nine Games and is being published by Square Enix. The game is a prequel to Dontnod Entertainment's surprise 2015 hit, “Life is Strange.” The prequel will center about Chloe Price and Rachel Amber, who were both key characters from the first game. Episode one releases on August 31 on Xbox One, PS4, and Microsoft Windows.