Sorry for the delayed Newsletter! I realized that I hadn’t gotten it out to you yet – I’ve had a very full schedule this week, and the time has gotten away from me. I hope that you guys don’t mind a leaner, more stream-lined newsletter.

This past month was one of the busiest yet with lots of games (or counter-picks) coming out for almost all the teams in the league! And this coming month of October is set to be even busier! So, now is a great time to be involved in the Deer Critics chat, getting in some last-minute trash talk or maybe checking in to see how your publisher’s projected points have moved around after some Open Critic scores have come through!

Here are the current D.C.L. standings as of October 2^nd (not September 30^th):

And these were the twelve (12!) games released in September:

• “Hollow Knight: Silksong” Bearded Brethren (23.2 pts)
• “Hell is Us” Dougsvest Digital (9.1 pts)
• “Cronos: The New Dawn” Dougsvest Digital (7.9 pts)
• “Borderlands 4” Agon Analytics (12.3 pts)
• “Dying Light: The Beast” Frozen Headlights Studios (11 pts)
• “Trails in the Sky 1^st Chapter” PixelPioneer Studios (19.8 pts)
• “Baby Steps” Frozen Headlights Studios (6 pts)
• “Silent Hill f” Bearded Brethren (16.6 pts)
• “Sonic Racing: Crossworlds” Iota Strain (12.5 pts)
• “Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian” PixelPioneer Studios (3.7 pts)
• “LEGO Party!” Bearded Brethren (11.9 pts)
• “Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles” Agon Analytics (19.1 pts)

Many smaller AA and indie titles made sure to move away from “Hollow Knight: Silksong” once the date of September 4^th was announced, and for good reason too. With an Open Critic score of 91.6 (23.2 pts) Bearded Bretheren (Adam) was able to secure one of the TOP SCORERS of the year! There were several other good games this month too, but all were a step or three behind Team Cherry’s masterpiece.

The next highest scoring games in September were: PixelPioneer Studios (Alex) with “Trails in the Sky 1^st Chapter” (19.8 pts) – a complete graphical overhaul of the very first “Trails game” that seemed to wow critics, Agon Analytics (Leiuna) with “Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles” (19.1 pts) – a very well-done remaster & port of a much beloved strategy classic, and Bearded Bretheren’s (Adam) 2^nd game of the month “Silent Hill f” (16.6 pts) – a new title in the survival-horror series that goes to a rural Japanese town and tells a frightening tale.

Also let’s remember the games in September that scored points, but probably not as many as their publisher would have wanted. I’m talking about two games in particular: Frozen Headlights Studios (Nate) with “Baby Steps” (6 pts) – a fun game for sure, but not exactly the kind of game that has a harder time trying to receive universal praise, and PixelPioneer Studios (Alex) with “Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian” (3.7 pts) – while some reviewers appreciated the classic Atelier style gameplay returning, others were not so keen to see the more action-packed style of Yumia absent from the game… [Maybe it was also a bad idea for Alex (me) to try and double-dip with two Atelier games in one calendar year.]

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Now quickly, I will list all of the October games that we are looking forward to seeing (there are 18 in total!):

• “Ghost of Yotei” Crystal Cross Games (10/02)
• “Digimon Story: Time Stranger” Dougsvest Digital (10/3)
• “Absolum” Dougsvest Digital (10/9)
• “Little Nightmares III” Dougsvest Digital (10/10)
• “Battlefield 6” Crystal Cross Games (10/10)
• “BALL x PIT” Crystal Cross Games (10/15)
• “Pokémon Legends Z-A” Suladun Software Ltd (10/16)
• “Keeper” Suladin Software Ltd (10/17)
• “Jurassic World Evolution 3” PixelPioneer Studios (10/21)
• “Ninja Gaiden 4” Iota Strain (10/21)
• “Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2” Ranch Walker (10/21)
• “Dispatch” Ranch Walker (10/22)
• “Double Dragon Revive” Iota Strain (10/23)
• “Once Upon a Katamari” Iota Strain (10/24)
• “The Outer Worlds 2” Frozen Headlights Studios (10/29)
• “Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake” Dougsvest Digital (10/30)
• “ARC Raiders” Suladin Software Ltd (10/30)
• “Mina the Hollower” Bearded Bretheren (10/31)

This is, by far, the most video games that are set to be released in a single month. Because of that (and because I’m already late getting this to you) I will try something different this month. Instead of picking a few games from the month and talking about the premise and/or my expectations, I am going to simply rank the games in order of which I think will score the highest.  We can come back at the end of the month to see how close I was to the actual scores, or whether I was completely off on some titles.

My Rank of expected October games by highest O.C. score:

• Ninja Gaiden 4 (88)
• Ghost of Yotei (87) [already out]
• Mina the Hollower (86)
• DQ I & II HD-2D Remake (85)
• ARC Raiders (84)
• The Outer Worlds 2 (83)
• Jurassic World Evolution 3 (82)
• Absolum (81.5)
• Battlefield 6 (81)
• Keeper (80.5)
• Digimon Story Time Stranger (80) [already out]
• Little Nightmares III (79.5)
• Pokémon Legends Z-A (79)
• Dispatch (78)
• V.T.M. – Bloodlines 2 (77)
• Once Upon a Katamari (76)
• Ball x Pit (75)
• Double Dragon Revive (74)

Okay – I guess we’ll see if I’m at all close.  I tried to not repeat scores to make it more interesting for me as I was deciding, but that got tricky and I did throw in some “1/2 points”. I’ll try to do a better job prioritizing the “End of October” newsletter as I realize that this will be a very telling month towards deciding who this year’s champion will be! Have a great October enjoy the “spookiness” if that’s something that you’re into, and I’ll see you around the Deer Critics chat.

Take care & God Bless,

Alex C.

UP TO DATE – DCL 2025 Round 1 Draft Choices:

1. Bearded Brethren – “Grand Theft Auto VI” DELAYED TO 2026
2. Iota Strain – “Fable” DELAYED TO 2026
3. PixelPioneer Studios – “Metroid Prime 4: Beyond”
4. Dougsvest Digital – “Unannounced Mainline 3D Mario Platformer”
5. Crystal Cross Games – “Ghost of Yotei” [87.3]
6. Suladin Software Ltd – “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach” [90.4]
7. Ranch Walker – “Elden Ring: Nightreign” [80]
8. Frozen Headlights Studios – “Mario Kart World” [86.3]
9. Agon Analytics – “Avowed” [81]