What’s Geeky in September 2022?

School is back for reals this time and there are so many cool Geeky things coming out this month that I literally cannot wait to share with you.

We’ve got (a ton) of movies and tv shows set during the Middle Ages, several remakes of classic games, and another Drizzt novel from R.A. Salvatore.

There’s so much to see, so let’s jump in.

Movies/TV Shows

September 2^nd:

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power—Amazon Prime

I am incredibly excited to announce that Amazon Prime’s long-awaited prequel to Tolkien’s The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings is finally here!

Set during the Second Age, thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit, The Rings of Power tells the story of the time after the War of Wrath, which saw the destruction of the Dark Lord Morgoth and the reshaping of Middle-earth, and will follow an ensemble cast as kingdoms are born and flourish in Lindon, Moria, and Númenor. And while powerful forces like Galadriel and Elrond work for good, Morgoth’s old lieutenant hides and waits and puts on a pleasant visage to bring about his own ultimate victory: the forging of the One Ring.

If you want to read more about The Rings of Power check out our article, Things You Should Know Before You See The Rings of Power.

September 9^th:

Brahmastra Part One: Shiva—theatrical

This movie is basically Bollywood’s response to the MCU, where a DJ named Shiva will sing, dance, and use magic fire given to him by the gods to defeat the forces of evil. This movie is entirely in Tamil, one of the—ahem—many languages of India, and will incorporate the concepts and tales of Indian mythology into a movie that the producers are hoping will be their own cinematic universe.

Medieval—limited release

If you liked the videogame Kingdom Come: Deliverance, then you should definitely check out this movie. Much like KCD, Medieval is based off of (somewhat) real events and the early life of the Czech national hero, Jan Zizka. Before he became the undefeated champion of the Hussite wars, Jan Zizka was a mercenary captain tasked with kidnapping Lady Katherine, the fiancé of the powerful Lord Rosenberg.

As Jan and Katherine fall in love, it quickly becomes apparent that Lord Rosenberg is even more dangerous than he appears as he allies himself with the ambitious and cunning man who will one day become Emperor: Kind Sigismund of Hungary.

September 11^th:

The Serpent Queen—Starz

Next, we have another piece of media set in the Middle Ages with Starz’s The Serpent Queen, a show about the life of Catherine de Medici who starts out as a naive orphan married to the French King who later ruled the kingdom in all but name during a period of almost constant civil and religious wars. Fans can expect to get a kick out of Catherine’s Cersei-esque method of dealing with her enemies.

September 12^th:

War of the Worlds—EPIX

EPIX’s reimagining of H.G. Well’s classic is in for their third season. Earth’s survivors of the alien invasion brace for a new threat as the aliens reveal their newest and deadliest weapon: opening a literal black hole on earth. This reimagining of the sci-fi classic stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Gabriel Byrne.

September 14^th:

The Handmaid’s Tale—Hulu

The dystopian thriller (that proved to be a little too prophetic for many of us) is BACK for it’s fifth season! After murdering her commander, June Osborn, formerly known as Offred in the authoritarian Gilead society, is free. But now so is the commander’s widow, Serena Joy, whose cruel streak and ambition will bring the two women on a collision course.

September 15^th:

Vampire Academy—Peacock

Next, we have the fantasy/horror reboot of the young adult novels by Richelle Meade. After living on the run for two years, Dhampir/guardian-in-training, Rose Hathaway, and Moroi princess, Lissa Dragomir, are brought back to St. Vladimir’s Academy, a boarding school for vampires. Sharing an inexplicable bond, the two women must navigate the dangers of forbidden romances as well as the powerful undead Strigoi.

September 16^th:

The Woman King—theatrical

Inspired by real events, The Woman King is the story of the Agojie, the all-female warrior unit of the African Kingdom of Dahomey. This movie follows the story of General Nanisca, played by Viola Davis, who must train and prepare the next generation of women warriors as they defend Dahomey from European invasion.

September 23^rd:

Catherine Called Birdy—Amazon Prime

This Medieval movie based on the book by Karen Cushman follows the adventures of Lady Catherine (called Birdy) as she outwits and outfoxes her greedy father and the foolish men he tries to marry her off to. Directed by Lena Dunham and starring Bella Ramsey and Andrew Scott, this movie looks to be full of imagination, humor, and ingenious defiance.

Don’t Worry Darling—theatrical

From the creative brain of Olivia Wilde comes the story of Alice and her husband Jack who live in the idyllic 1950’s experimental town of Victory, where all of the residents’ needs are met and exceeded in exchange for total loyalty to the top-secret Victory Project. But when Alice begins to have disturbing dreams, she starts to see through the façade into something much darker more sinister.

Control—limited release

A woman is woken up in a padded room and told to complete a series of progressively difficult tasks that range from moving a pencil to saving her husband from suffocating in a glass box slowly filling with sand. Success means being put to sleep and moving on to the next task while failure means the death of her daughter. But what neither she nor her captors realize is just how powerful an angry mother actually is.

LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation—Disney+

And now for something completely different.

Finn has arranged the perfect vacation for his friends aboard the Galactic Starcruiser, the Halcyon. But when something goes wrong and Finn is left alone aboard the starship, he is visited by the Force Spirits of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Princess Leia, who each share their own stories of vacations a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

September 30^th:

Vesper—limited release

Described as a “bio-punk fairy tale,” Vesper is the story of a 13-year-old girl caring for her father in a postapocalyptic future as they live on the fringes of the techno-feudal “Citadel,” trading what little they have for genetically modified seeds. When a girl from the Citadel crash lands nearby, Vesper will have to use her gift for bio-hacking to get the girl to safety as well as fight for a future for herself.

Hocus Pocus 2—Disney+

The Sanderson Sisters are back, twenty-nine years after the Black Flame Candle was first lit! It’s now up to three high-school students to stop the witches from wrecking havoc in Salem, Massachusetts once again. Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker reprise their roles from the 1993 cult classic as the comedic villains who must consume the souls of children in order to stay young.

Video Games

As always, there are a lot of video games here to get excited about but definitely a number of remakes of cult classics—and regular classics—for us to enjoy.

September 2^nd:

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R

PS 4, PS 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC

The hit anime and manga has now been brought to new life from Bandai Namco. Originally published for the Playstation 3, All Star Battle R will feature 50 playable characters from all of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure arcs, as well as a variety of game modes and stunning visuals in the art style of Hirohiko Araki.

LEGO Brawls

PS 4, PS 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC

Originally released for Apple Arcade, the mobile platform fighting game is now available for computer and console users as well. Players will be able to create their own “hero” (in true LEGO format) or play from a collection of minifigure characters from throughout LEGO history including Pirates, Ninjago, and Jurassic World.

Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness

PS 4, Switch, PC

Another game based on a hit anime, Made in Abyss allows you to relive the story of the original anime as Riko and Reg discover the power of the Curse of the Abyss and run into the primeval creatures who call it home. In addition, the original anime cast has reprised their roles for the game.

The Last of Us Part I

PS 5

Rather than being a remaster of the original, The Last of Us Part I is a ground-up remake of the original The Last of Us for the Playstation 5. For the few of you who don’t know, the game follows Joel as he is tasked with smuggling the 14-year old Ellie out of a military compound, which turns into a brutal cross-country journey through an infected and ravaged landscape.

September 6^th:

Biomutant

PS 5, Xbox Series X/S

The anthropomorphic kung fu action RPG is now available for higher-level consoles. You play as a mammalian warrior in a world of mutated animals completely devoid of humans. When a natural disaster strikes the Tree of Life and the once life-giving tree starts spilling out pollutants, you must decide whether to save the tree and end the tribal warfare or bring it all down.

Temtem

PS 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC

This massive-multiplayer creature collection game allows you to play as a Temtem trainer as you collect Temtems across the Airborne Archipelago, battle other trainers, customize your house, and explore the lush online world.

The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition

PS 4, PS 5

After a very early release, The Tomorrow Children has finally been green-lit after the rights were bought by the creators, Q-Games. A hard game to describe, it mixes collaborative building (a la Minecraft), social economics, and a Soviet-themed dystopian world with a playful animation style.

September 8^th:

Steelrising

PS 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

After King Louis XVI brutally destroyed the French Revolution with an army of automatons, the cause of freedom must be carried by the automaton Aegis, a female-designed automaton who can use her speed, weapons, and her ability to withstand the might of her fellow steel soldiers to take up the cause of the Revolution and right history.

September 9^th:

Splatoon 3

Switch

Shoot colored ink at your foes in the world’s messiest game of paintball. Nintendo has returned with their third-person shooter game where you get to deck the world in an ink battle. Like the previous games in the series, Splatoon 3 will feature a lively multiplayer setting and a single-player campaign called “Return of the Mammalians.”

September 13^th:

XIII

Switch

The cult first-person action game based on the comic is back, this time for Switch users. You play as a mysterious assassin with amnesia who is being hunted by the FBI for the murder of the president. The only clue to your identity is the number XIII tattooed on your collarbone and a locker key. The game has been reinvented with cel-shading design and will now allow for fierce multiplayer fights.

September 15^th:

Metal: Hellsinger

PS 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

This game is described as a rhythm FPS where you can receive bonuses for shooting in time with the music. The music: Heavy Metal (obviously). What you’re shooting: All the demons of hell. With intense music blaring, you become The Unknown as you fight your way through the Eight Levels of Hell for vengeance.

Outer Wilds

PS 5, Xbox Series X/S

Now available for the higher-level consoles, Outer Wilds follows a character stuck in a Groundhog’s Day-esque time loop, 22 minutes before the planet’s sun goes supernova. Explore the empty solar system in that time and find out the reason for the time loop as well as discover the secrets of the solar system’s previous alien colonizers.

Wayward Strand

PS 4, PS 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC

“A heartfelt story told in a curious way,” is how the developers describe this game where you play a young girl aboard an airborne hospital visiting her mother at work. While there, you have the option to meet, interact with, and learn the stories of the hospital’s eccentric characters.

September 20^th:

Evil West

PS 4, PS 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC

In this “Weird West” genre game, you play as one of the last surviving agents of an anti-vampire government task force trying to eradicate the vampire threat in the Wild West. With your trusty gauntlet and an arsenal of firearms that would make Arthur Morgan nod appreciatively, fight to save the United States from the supernatural hordes.

Soulstice

PS 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

In a dark fantasy world ravaged by Wraiths from beyond the veil, you play as Briar and Lute, two sisters who have been reforged into a monster-hunting Chimera, after one of them was sacrificed. As you fight to reclaim the city that was overrun by monsters, you begin to discover the Order you belong to may have nefarious intentions.

September 22^nd:

No Place For Bravery

Switch, PC

This 2D top-down action RPG follows the story of Thorn, an old and ambitious warrior. When he finally finds a clue to his daughter’s disappearance from years ago, Thorn will take up his sword, and his disabled foster-son, Phid, and try to bring his family back together.

Serial Cleaners

PS 4, PS 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC

You play as four cleaners working for the mob, each with their own skillsets and different styles, and it is their job to clean up the murders and mayhem left by their employers in the blood-soaked streets of New York City in the ‘90s. Get rid of bodies, clean up all the blood, get rid of the evidence, and above all, don’t get caught.

The DioField Chronicle

PS 4, PS 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC

Square Enix’s new RTS RPG game follows the adventures of four mercenaries, the Blue Fox, as they fight to defend their homeland against an encroaching and terrible empire. With rich and detailed animation and strategic tactical battles, the game is sure to be a wild ride in this fantasy universe.

September 27^th:

Grounded

Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Playing either alone or with up to three friends, you must survive a treacherous landscape: the backyard. This is especially dangerous since you’ve been shrunk to the size of an ant and must now craft supplies in order to survive the hordes of bugs as well as discover the mystery of why you’re here in the first place… and how to get back?

Hokko Life

PS 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC

Hokko Life is a cozy community sim game where you get to build and design not just your own island but an entire town. Hopping off the train, you arrive in Hokko, a small town that needs your help to design and build homes and shops for all of your new friends in order to make it into a town that everyone will love.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero

PS 4, Switch, PC

Experience a new RPG adventure from the Legend of Heroes series as you follow Lloyd Bannings as he returns home to Crossbell. Instead of joining the police force, Lloyd is made a member of the Special Support Section, an oddball group that will discover just how deep the criminal corruption in Crossbell goes.

Tunic

PS 4, PS 5

Now available for Playstation, Tunic is an isometric action game about “a small fox on a big adventure.” Stranded in a strange land, you will collect items, explore deep labyrinthian dungeons, and fight colossal monsters.

September 29^th:

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

PS 4, Xbox One, Switch

From the people that brought you Pathfinder: Kingmaker, comes a new adventure in the Pathfinder universe, now available on consoles. Join the crusade that will lead you to the Worldwound, a place with a rift between the Mortal World and the Abyss. Choose between 25 different classes and 12 character races and lead a party of adventurers to save the world… or destroy it.

Valkyrie Elysium

PS 4, PS 5

Valkyrie Elysium follows the story of a new Valkyrie, Maria, as she is created by the All-Father, Odin, to prevent the completion of Ragnarok. While Maria journeys through a desolated Midgard and summons powerful Einherjar to fight beside her, she must also deal with the mysterious Valkyrie Hilde, an agent of Fenrir.

Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth

PS 4, PS 5

Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is a remaster of the original Valkyrie Profile from 1999 and a great opportunity to introduce fans to the game that started the franchise. As a Valkyrie, Lenneth claims dead souls to be her allies in the upcoming war of the gods, but there is one soul that she meets of a man who recognizes her as his dead lover.

Books

You know the drill! Tons of books for your entertainment, but definitely be on the lookout for a new Drizzt novel as well as a new Evil Librarians book from Brandon Sanderson and even another “Ninth” novel from Tamsyn Muir.

Good hunting!

September 6^th:

• Black Panther: Uprising by Ronald L. Smith—Book 3 of Marvel’s Black Panther, Middle Reader’s, Superheroes, Science Fiction
• No Game for Knights by Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell—Science Fiction and Fantasy anthology
• Marina and the Kraken by Lauren Magaziner—Book 1 of The Mythics, Middle Readers Fantasy
• Final Heir by Faith Hunter—Book 15 of A Jane Yellowrock Novel, Dark Fantasy with Romantic elements
• Monsters Born and Made by Tanvi Berwah—YA Fantasy
• Shades of Rust and Ruin by A.G. Howard—YA Steampunk Science Fiction and Fantasy
• Ithaca by Claire North—Fantasy and Mythology
• Deploying Dragons by Dan Koboldt—Hard Science Fiction and Technological Thrillers
• Naomi Teitelbaum Ends the World by Samara Shanker—Middle Readers Fantasy

September 13^th:

• Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott—Urban Fantasy
• Secrets of the Looking Glass by J. Scott Savage—Book 2 of The Lost Wonderland Diaries, Middle Readers Fantasy
• The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber—Book 2 of Once Upon a Broken Heart, YA Fantasy
• The Secrets of the Stormforest by L.D. Lapinski—Book 3 of Strangeworlds Travel Agency, Middle Readers Fantasy
• Windswept by Margi Preus—Middle Readers Fantasy
• The Gingerbread Witch by Alexandra Overy—Middle Readers Fantasy
• The Area 51 Files by Julie Buxbaum—Middle Readers Science Fiction
• Leviathan by Jason Shiga—Book 1 of Adventuregame Comics, Kids’ Fantasy
• Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans—Urban and Humorous Fantasy
• Wishtress by Nadine Brandes—YA Fantasy
• Lucky Girl, How I Became a Horror Writer by Mary Rickert—Dark Fantasy and Horror
• The Sea Dragon Secret by Stephanie Kate Strohm—Book 2 of A Mermaid’s Tale, Middle Reader Fantasy
• Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa—Urban Dark Fantasy
• Second Self by Una McCormack—part of Star Trek: Picard, Space Opera

September 14^th:

• Hate Machine by Stephen Blackmoore—Book 8 of Eric Carter, Urban Dark Fantasy
• Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir—Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction

September 20^th:

• Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland—YA Historical Fantasy
• Legendary Creatures by Adam Auerbach—Kids’ Fantasy and Mythology
• Imperium Restored by Walter Jon Williams—Book 3 of Dread Empire’s Fall, Military Space Opera
• Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson—Book 6 of Alcatraz, Middle Readers Fantasy
• Bone Weaver by Aden Polydoros—YA Dark Fantasy, LGBTQ
• Devouring Darkness by Chloe Neill—Book 4 of An Heirs of Chicagoland Novel, Urban Fantasy with Romantic Elements
• The Vanquishers by Kalynn Bayron—Middle Readers Fantasy
• The Witch and the Tsar by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore—Historical Fantasy
• The Quest for the Ring of Power by Samira Ahmed—Kids’ Fantasy
• MapMaker by Lisa Moore Ramee—Middle Readers Fantasy
• The Dao of Drizzt by R.A. Salvatore—Fantasy
• Threader God by Gerald Brandt—Book 3 of Quantum Empirica

September 27^th:

• Leech by Hiron Ennes—Post-Apocalyptic Horror and Gothic Science Fiction
• A Field Guide to Mermaids by Emily B. Martin—Middle Readers Fantasy
• Lark Ascending by Silas House—Dystopian Science Fiction, LGBTQ
• Stroke of Midnight by Jordan Quinn—Book 18 of The Kingdom of Wrenly, Middle Readers Fantasy
• Curse of the Werewolves by Rex Ogle—Book 2 of The Supernatural Society, Middle Readers Fantasy and Horror
• How to Succeed in Witchcraft by Aislinn Brophy—YA Urban Fantasy, LGBTQ
• House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson—Dark Fantasy
• The Dead Take the A Train by Richard Kadrey and Cassandra Khaw—Book 1 of Carrion City, Dark Fantasy
• Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong—YA Historical Fantasy
• Jekyll & Hyde, Inc. by Simon R. Green—Dark Fantasy
• The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik—Book 3 of The Scholomance, Fantasy
• Hell’s March by Taylor Anderson—Book 2 of Artillerymen, Alternative History and Science Fiction
• Hither & Nigh by Ellen Potter—Middle Readers Fantasy
• Soul of the Deep by Natasha Bowen—YA Fantasy

That’s September

That’s September, Geeks!

We’ve got a lot of stuff to look forward to this month and even more stuff to look forward to next month. Sign up for Geek Alerts to be the first one to hear all about it.

Keep it Geeky!