It used to be that October meant a spooky game or two was on the horizon. Now it means publishers are trying to avoid the November juggernauts by releasing their titles early and getting them prepped for the Black Friday stampedes.

This month sees the return of a beloved Microsoft franchise; the return of a former Microsoft-only franchise; a highly-anticipated open world crime saga; everyone’s favorite Italian plumber and the birth of consumer-priced virtual reality. It’s going to be a tough month on your wallet, as will November, but check out the top five games you need to play this October!

Mafia III

Mafia III has a lot going for it. The third game in a flawed series of Grand Theft Auto is looking like a title that has learned from all the mistakes and shortcomings that maligned the early offerings.

Graphically, Mafia is looking stellar, with character models and environments unlike any other current open world game. Playing as a black Vietnam vet who is back from the war and hell-bent on revenge against the Italian mob that wronged him is both fresh and relevant, with real world racial tensions at their highest since the time in which this game takes place. Taking down the various money making aspects of organized crime (gambling, prostitution, etc.) will weaken the empire and make them easier to defeat once you decide to go in guns blazing.

All platforms get Mafia III when it hits on October 7, so you have no excuse to skip out on this awesome game!

Gears of War 4

The war between the COGs and Locust will seemingly never die. Even after the heroes from the prior games grow old and die, their kids pick up the mantle and chainsaw guns to close emergence holes across the planet.

New to the series are some new weapons and moves, like being able to pull enemies out of cover for a quick kill or hopping over a barrier feet first right into the enemy’s jaw. Horde mode is back and looks crazier than ever, using a currency-based system to help you build defenses wave after wave to stop the endless amount of enemies from killing you and your team. Still, we’re guessing rolling up on a dude with your shotgun out will accomplish 99% of what you need to do to win the war, so get geared up on October 11 on Xbox One or PC!

Paper Mario Color Splash

Poor, poor Paper Mario. This used to be the coolest side project Mario starred in, with hilarious writing, great RPG mechanics and a unique take on the tried and true Mario formula. But release after release has stripped away the RPG elements, replacing leveling up with card collecting or some other streamlined gimmick.

MORE: 5 Reasons to be Optimistic About ‘Paper Mario: Color Splash’

Color Splash doesn’t look to be a return to form, but it is the first console Paper Mario in almost 10 years and still has the charm only this series can provide. The Sticker Star gameplay is back, so people who hated the trading cards will not be happy, but those looking for any reason to dust off their Wii U and see what a proper Paper Mario game is all about, October 7 is your day.

PlayStation VR

This is a bit of a cheat, as PS VR is a platform and not a game. But because there hasn’t been that one killer app announced for the game just yet, we recommend trying both the demo disc packed in with the headset and a few other titles. Rez Infinite looks incredible but won’t last you more than a session or two if you’re not into the trippy visualizations and techno music. Super Hyper Cube looks awesome, as do a few other micro games like Farpoint and Batman: Arkham VR.

This is most certainly going to be an important moment in gaming history, as the expensive and power-hungry headsets available on the PC can’t match the price and ease of use that the PS VR has, even if they do perform at a higher graphical rate. October 13 is going to be a big day for Sony and can be the day you embrace your inevitable virtual reality.

Titanfall 2

While the new Battlefield is out this month and World War I is a bit of a shift for that series, it’s all been done before. Titanfall is attempting to do a ton of new things at once: add a compelling campaign, go multi-platform, shake up the Titan dynamic and convince gamers that the woes of the beta aren’t still in the final version.

Respawn has been good about responding to fan feedback during development, revealing beloved modes and maps from the first game, but the final product will have to feel as good as the first to win over both new fans and older ones. Launching on both consoles this time around will definitely help, as a large swath of the 40 million PS4 owners were pretty bummed about missing out on this exclusive last time. When Titanfall is firing on all cylinders, it does something no other shooter can provide, so here’s hoping Respawn has it all figured out and we’re treated to another brilliant robot fighting shooter come October 28.