Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2018 i PLAY

“WE WERE BLOWN AWAY BY CD PROJEKT RED’S NEW GAME… IT HAD TO LEAD THE ISSUE.” We’ve taken a slightly different approach to this issue’s cover, Cyberpunk 2077’s V isn’t a render but a photo of model Ben Bergmann (or Maja Felicitas for our regular subscribers). We were so blown away by CD Projekt Red’s new game, as well as with Ben and Maja’s portrayals, we had to team them up to lead our annual Hot 50 issue. And what a Hot 50: there’s gameplay revealed for The Last Of Us Part II, Ghost Of Tsushima, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. We get to go hands-on with Anthem, Rage 2, and Resident Evil 2 – it could be even better than the original. On top of this the new games just…

“YOUR DECISION COULD MAKE THE STREETS SAFER IN SOME WAYS, THOUGH MORE DANGEROUS IN OTHERS.” While a release date has not been revealed, we now know a follow-up to zombie action-adventure Dying Light is on the way. The first game’s signature parkour movement returns and looks better than ever thanks to Techland’s in-house C Engine. The complex environments you navigate can also respond to your presence in a number of dynamic ways based on your choices. These choices form part of a narrative web that will be thoroughly tangled by game designer and comic writer Chris Avellone. PAVING THE WAY This is certainly a gear change from the first game’s linear story. The E3 footage makes it clear Avellone’s career working on RPGs such as Fallout 2, Fallout: New Vegas,…

“YOU PLAY AS BRANDON HEAT, OR BEYOND THE GRAVE, A BACK-FROM-THE-DEAD GUNSLINGER.” Anime shooter Gungrave began life on PS2 (the sequel is available for PS3 on the store), and now it’s returning as a PS VR title after nearly a decade and a half away. Frantic gunplay features heavily throughout the games, and it makes sense for the series to venture into virtual reality. You play as Brandon Heat, or Beyond The Grave, a back-from-the-dead gunslinger. Mika Asagi, the daughter of crime boss Big Daddy, has been tracking the manufacturing of the narcotic SEED and needs your help to end the infestation of Orgmen – creatures transformed by SEED – in South City. You’ve got your twin pistols, both called Cerberus, bottomless magazines, a large coffin full of tricks and…

1 NIER: AUTOMATA Forget watching angling videos on YouTube: all you need for fishy success in Nier is one of YoRHa’s robotic POD pals. Stand near a body of water, and these automated allies will reel in everything from ickle carp to swordfish. Visit the Flooded City and you can even catch bus-sized basking sharks. 2 YAKUZA 5 There appears to be something with the number five and fish, if the rest of our list is anything to go by. Kiryu-san’s adventure is nothing if not eclectic. If Kaz isn’t yodelling his lungs out in a karaoke bar, he’s out catching Silver Arowana, and… um, strangely using tuna rice balls and bean paste buns for bait. 3 RESIDENT EVIL 4 Harpooning a blue whale-sized zombie salamander totally counts as ‘fishing’,…

Format PS VR ETA 2018 Pub Sony Dev Archiact As a fast-paced, bullet-hell fragger featuring solo and co-op PS VR play, Evasion feels rather like Farpoint… on steroids. Its setting and story don’t stand out from the familiar sci-fi pack, but Evasion’s smooth pacing and varied enemies – and the creative ways in which you obliterate them – offers a fresh spin on blasting baddies in PS VR. In our hands-on, playing as the tank-like Warden (other class-based characters include the Surgeon, Striker, and Engineer), we get to unleash hell from behind an oversized hand-cannon. In addition to delivering standard blasts and charged shots, the gun’s built-in shield enables us to deflect projectiles back at foes. Smashing them with their own armaments is a real blast. More fun comes from…

Format PS4 ETA 16 Oct Pub Sega Dev Sega The first game in the series is a neglected gem, a surprising mix of anime-styled watercolour visuals, top-tier strategy action, and an emotional, involving story. Valkyria Chronicles 4 is much the same, looking and controlling almost exactly as before, with just a few new bells and whistles. But that’s hardly a bad thing, as the previous sequels and spin-offs always changed things a tad too much (and 2 and 3 were PSPexclusive, with the third never coming west at all). Mechanically it’s easy to grasp, playing like a cover shooter – just one where you take it in turns, moving each unit at a time, and carefully taking shots and managing resources. The methodical nature makes it all the more rewarding…

“Metro Exodus takes the player across a large distance, passing through many different types of [large] environments. One is away from a built up city where you might expect a metro system to exist. There will be opportunities for classic underground / indoor gameplay that is part of the previous Metro experiences, and for new large outdoor environments. There can even be a mix of both in certain places.”Jon Bloch, executive producer, 4A Games Format PS4 ETA 22 Feb Pub Deep Silver Dev 4A Games Playing a Metro game has always required a particular kind of mind-set. The familiar first-person shooting aesthetic hides a slow-burning mix of gameplay styles that anyone entering these tunnels fresh from a tour of Call Of Duty may not immediately welcome. And after playing Metro…

Format PS4 ETA 2018 Pub Focus Home Interactive Dev Asobo Studio Orphan siblings Amicia and Hugo are on the run from the Inquisition – unfortunately, they’re in 14th-century France, and there are thousands of plague-infected rats between the pair and freedom from torture. We love the look of A Plague Tale. It’s fast shaping into this year’s Hellblade, a brilliantly simple game that could sneak up on you like a rat snuffling a tasty cheese morsel. The game mixes puzzle solving – the rat horde can be controlled by fire – with tense stealth moments. While the initial shocks come from seeing the mass of squirming rats, soon you realise they can be swarming allies in your bid for freedom. Wafting fiery torches at the throng keeps them at bay,…

Format PS4 ETA 2018 Pub Team17 Dev Adrian Lazar Our stranded pilot inches his way from his crashed spaceship and staggers across Planet Alpha’s visually arresting landscape. It’s a slow opener, our nameless hero dwarfed by the landscape, but one that sells the scale of this action-platformer. Early on, timed jumps lead into environment puzzles as we need to unlock routes through the world. An alien temple reveals a conundrum that has us manipulating a geocentric model of the local planetary system. Clues in the environment reveal the answer, but it’s a fairly taxing teaser. There’s action in here too, but it’s geared around thinking as much as fighting. In the early stages we use the world to dodge robot patrols and play with the AI to lure them away,…

Format PS4 ETA 4 Sep Pub Square Enix Dev Factor 5 Rainbow roads, bulky dragons who’re too cute to kill, and an army of gurning skeletons: the land of Lotozetasia is a place we want to roll around in until its colourful nonsense rubs off. Behind the charm is a sharp turn-based JRPG that’s been wooing Japanese gamers since last summer. The UK release has some improvements, including full voice acting, ensuring this Western edition will be the definitive version. The E3 demo refocused on the lead protagonist’s quest to discover who he really is and defeat a big bad. As it turns out he’s the only one who can wield the weapon capable of defeating the evil. Along for the ride are a cast of lovable characters we’re already…

Format PS4 ETA 28 Aug Pub Konami Dev Konami With FIFA snatching the Champions League and Europa League licenses from PES, it would be easy to write this year’s edition off as a miss-kick for Konami. But when has PES ever been about the licenses? Konami’s football sim has always done its talking on the pitch, and PES 2019 has neat touches that elevate the action. The visible fatigue helps sell the reality of a match, but it has a game-reason to exist – playing a match we notice tired players fail to get back into position and defenders don’t race into the box. The new weather system will pile on the problems too, with snow making a return. There are refinements to the animation: players trap the ball contextually,…

“THERE’S A BALLETIC FEEL TO THE DUELS AS JIN SPINS.” Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Sony Dev Sucker Punch There’s a moment in our E3 demo when Jin crests a hilltop, and the island of Tsushima stretches out into the distance. It’s both beautiful – trees dance in the wind and animals rustle through the grass – and heartbreaking. Smoke from burning villages wafts into the sky, signs of war. Nearby, a woman sobs over a corpse. “It’s a love letter to Kurosawa,” Billy Harper, the game’s cinematic and animation director, tells us. The passion for Japanese cinema is apparent in everything from the blocking as Jin leads his horse through the landscape to the leaves that rain down as swordsmen fight in the mud. There’s a balletic feel to…

Format PS4 ETA 25 Jan Pub Capcom Dev Capcom Three years after announcing Resident Evil 2 was being remade, we finally get to see it in action. The wait was more than worthwhile. Using Resident Evil VII: Biohazard’s RE Engine this remake features full 4K visuals and a similar control scheme to VII, meaning we get over-the-shoulder combat. No more clumsy tank controls, fixed camera perspective, or pre-rendered backgrounds. The switch to the modern control scheme doesn’t just ensure this Resi 2 remake plays like a current-gen horror, it means it’ll look like one too. The new perspective puts us into the police station, intensifying the atmosphere. Our E3 hands-on is full of nervy moments: a Licker is silhouetted in lamp’s beam and flickering fluorescent lights catch a zombie’s stagger…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB 11 BIT STUDIOS DEV DIGITAL SUN Looking for another old-school top-down action RPG with pretty pixels? Moonlighter does the job rather admirably. But forget adventuring; it’s your protagonist’s other humble profession that will hook you in. As the game’s merchant, the purpose behind your dungeon-crawling is to grab whatever loot you can carry so you can then sell it back at your shop in the village. With no clue as to the items’ value, it’s up to you to set the prices before you open your shop and let the magic happen. This becomes an utterly compelling process as you gauge your customer moods and work out whether they think your price tag is right, extortionate, or a bargain.1 The beauty of it…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB EUROVIDEO MEDIEN DEV BONUS LEVEL ENT., INDEP. ARTS SOFTWARE Ever imagined what Ghouls’N Ghosts would look like with a fox instead of an armoured knight? Nope, me neither, but somebody did, and this is the result. The fox is called Rick,1 and our hero enters into an uneasy alliance with a partridge named Patty. He ends up battling all manner of magical beasties on a quest to save the eponymous forests. What we have here is a retro-styled side-scrolling platformer, more forgiving than its most obvious inspiration. You can only shoot straight ahead, and then only while standing still. However! You also have a melee attack, and can (usually) take multiple hits before dying. You can strengthen yourself, and expand your repertoire, via…

“ROOMS EVOLVE FROM A-TO-B SPEED RUN COURSES INTO SANDBOX WORLDS.” INFO FORMAT PS VR ETA OUT NOW PUB PANIC BUTTON DEV ELECTRIC HAT Did I ever think I’d have so much fun pretending to be a robot monkey? Not in Oscar’s wildest dreams. Like all the best PS VR games this platform racer demands you leave your sheepish thoughts ‘out there’ and embrace its playful virtual world. The setup is simple: society is protected by superheroes dressed in robotic animal suits – naturally – and you’ve enlisted. To achieve your wings… erm, paws, you’ll need to jump, skate, and glide across 35 obstacle courses, beating the best times to earn enough tokens to unlock the next set of colourful levels. A little like Sprint Vector, moving is achieved by pointing…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB HEADUP GAMES DEV FABRAZ There’s no getting around it, Slimesan is an awful lot like Super Meat Boy, right down to the cute gloopy lad leaving a slime trail through the levels that sticks around on death, marking your failed attempts to conquer huge helpings of deviously designed rooms. But that’s no bad thing. Slime-san’s platforming is just as slick, tight, and speedy, but also packed with its own little twists and deviations that make it a bit larger in scale and more varied, though at times it can feel a tiny bit bloated. The main storyline revolves around Slimesan and his friends trying to escape from a massive worm that’s eaten them. Every level takes place in a different part of the…

“CROWDS MAKE SO LITTLE NOISE YOU SWEAR THEY’RE WATCHING SNOOKER.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB BIGBEN INTERACTIVE DEV BREAKPOINT STUDIO You spend four years waiting for a PS4 tennis game and then, like a District Line tube train, two materialise at once. Only the destination isn’t Wimbledon – or, as it’s called in-game, London Supreme Stadium – alone. As its name suggests, Tennis World Tour serves up aces at locations all over the globe. Sadly, it also delivers a generous supply of double faults. Last month we reviewed main rival AO Tennis, awarding it 6/10 and noting that its lack of immediacy was actually one of its stronger points, as the control system offered subtle nuances as you mastered it. World Tour suffers from the opposite problem. Made…

INFO FORMAT PS3 PUB 505 GAMES DEV ROLL7 REVIEW #150, 8/10 After a few false starts spent getting paired with AI, plus a not-negligible wait, we’re finally up against real people. While the AI presents its own challenge (and occasionally makes up numbers here), it doesn’t hold a candle to playing against actual humans. The waiting times do leave me concerned Laser League online will fly under a lot of people’s radars, which is a shame as matches here are far longer but no less tense or absorbing. Playing online additionally nets you experience and unlocks a neat selection of cosmetic goodies too. I’m still none the wiser what all the new equipment does, but it does look rather fetching. The only thing lacking about this mode at present is…

Oscar Taylor-Kent GAMES EDITOR Oscar went to E3 and will still be catching up on lost sleep as you read this. He should be recovered by next E3. GAME OF THE MONTH Resident Evil 2 BEST GAME TRAILER Cyberpunk 2077 Jess Kinghorn STAFF WRITER Having sunk her teeth into Vampyr, Jess is now adept at solving moral dilemmas. “Just eat people,” she advises. “Pie, anyone?” GAME OF THE MONTH Vampyr BEST GAME TRAILER Cyberpunk 2077 Miriam McDonald OPERATIONS EDITOR Mim can’t wait to create a custom villain in the next Lego game. He’ll have short hair, glasses and a blue shirt. [Wait, what? – ed] GAME OF THE MONTH Lego DC Super-Villains BEST GAME TRAILER Beyond Good & Evil 2 Milford Coppock MANAGING ART EDITOR Choosing which great PS4 game…

FORTNITE FORTUNE In the first Pro-Am match at E3, top Fortnite player Ninja and EDM DJ Marshmallow were victorious, winning $1 million for their charity of choice. MORE & MERRY Overcooked 2 returns with more chefs, more stages, and more Kevin on 7 August! [Calm down Jess – ed]. The usual high jinks are on show throughout the trailer; we can’t wait. DEMO-GOSSIP Telltale has announced a partnership with Netflix for a Stranger Things game. An adaptation of Minecraft: Story Mode will also come to the streaming service this autumn. ANDREW U OK? We’re no strangers to partying hard but the crowd at Bethesda’s conference seemed unfamiliar with the concept. We still love you, Andrew WK. HIGH FLUTING We were hyped for more from Ghost Of Tsushima though weren’t sure…

“WHAT I MISS ABOUT SILENT HILL IS A WORLD WARPED BY THE CHARACTER’S PSYCHE.” Silent Hills’ cancellation was disappointing for several reasons. Chief among them that its teaser, PT, was one of the most effective slices of videogame horror that there’s ever been. Then there was the fact we’d never see what a collaboration between Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro looked like. But the biggest shame is that Silent Hills was the promise of a return to more psychological-themed horror in games, and with it gone nothing fills the vacuum. Great horror games have come along in the past few years. Resident Evil 7 and Alien Isolation unsettled in terrific ways, but by and large they dealt with more physical threats. What I miss about Silent Hill is a…

Cabela’s Outdoor Adventures The first entry in the series to combine hunting and fishing. Elmer Fudd would be thrilled. Dark Cloud Fishing points mean prizes in this cult PS2 hit. Trading catches in can reward Toan with weapon attachments. Sonic Adventure The speedster ‘hog’s pal, Big The Cat, uses a rod to catch his best chum, Froggy. Guess what type of critter it is. Did we miss your fave fishing game? Got a brilliant In The Mood For idea? Show and tell at twitter.com/opm_uk.…

Format PS4 / PS VR ETA 6 Sep Pub Konami Dev Cygames, Konami The follow-up to Hideo Kojima’s take on the mech shooter genre, this remade sequel can be enjoyed as a standalone adventure. Combat mixes long-range shooting with close-quarters laser swords. Blisteringly fast, you take on waves of enemy robots, feeling just as fluid battling large groups or rival mechs one-on-one. PS VR support puts your view inside the mech, and deserves to be experienced. Playing as Dingo, an ex-BAHRAM operative (a Mars-colony-based military force), you pilot Jehuty, which houses an advanced AI, ADA. You can expect plenty of Metal Gear-styled positing on the meaning of life as you try to stop those who wish to capture Jehuty, as together with its sister unit, it’s the key to operating…

Format PS4 ETA 28 Aug Pub Rebellion Dev Rebellion You can’t beat a tale of derring-do. In this multiplayer co-op adventure, you and three friends each play one of four supernaturally talented specialists taking on the Witch Queen Seteki and her hordes of undead. But it’s not just mischievous mummies you’ll have to manhandle. There are plenty of traps to contend with too. It’s amazing just how much you can achieve with a well-placed shot. With access to an impressive armoury of firearms, you can even shoot at puzzles until they’re solved. But chiefly, your bullets can turn your enemies’ traps against them. From explosive red vases to swirling blades to a spiky, swinging log, there’s plenty you can trigger to wreak devastation against the always advancing undead. And that’s…

Format PS4 ETA 16 Oct Pub Warner Bros Dev TT Games Why has it taken so long for Warner to realise the best characters in the DC universe are its villains? Letting us play with them is a decision that immediately makes the Lego formula more appealing than it has been for some time. The cast list includes all the snarky types you could wish for. The Joker, Clown Prince Of Crime, leads the roster, and with fan favourites including Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Reverse-Flash bumping blocks there’s enough character to carry the game. You can also create and develop your own villain to play in the DC universe. Like all Lego games, you’ll get more from this the more you play, unlocking new powers and abilities as you…

Format PS VR ETA 2018 Pub Sony Dev From Software Something of a ghost story in reverse, in FromSoftware and Hidetaka Miyazaki’s Déraciné you need to fiddle with the world around you to prove your own existence. This novel PS VR exclusive takes place in a secluded boarding school, complete with bare floorboards and dusty classrooms, where six children study and live. Pull the headset on and you become an unseen, ghostly faerie frozen in time within this virtual world. The story of the pupils’ lives develops around you like a traditional adventure, a VR visual novel in which you can affect the lives of the children. As you make progress you build special relationships with the students, changing their destinies by piecing together story fragments and using time itself…

Format PS4 ETA 15 Mar Pub Ubisoft Dev Massive Entertainment The poster child for the shoot-and-loot genre, Tom Clancy’s The Division paved the way for Destiny and others to take the limelight – though it didn’t fade into obscurity, passing 20 million players this year. This sequel looks to take over where the original, after numerous improvements, left off. The Snowdrop Engine looks better than ever, something developer Massive uses to tease us with as the demo opens on a vibrant rainforest. Has the series moved to South America? Nope. Pushing aside the foliage, the squad comes out in Washington DC’s botanical gardens. Set seven months after the outbreak of the first game, colour has come to Ubi’s co-op series. The mission continues to the control point, which turns out…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub 505 Games Dev Remedy Entertainment Max Payne’s creator returns to PlayStation with a new project that leans more towards the former’s supernatural trappings, though not without a healthy helping of the action and gunplay that made the latter so enjoyable. A shadowy organisation based in New York runs into a spot of bother with the otherworldly, and it’s up to you as the new Director, Jesse Faden, to regain Control. Boasting sandbox-style gameplay on the Northlight engine, Jesse will need to master an array of supernatural abilities as she takes on the challenges presented by an ever-shifting world. She’s definitely got telekinetic powers (we’ve seen her ‘throw’ all sorts of oversized objects at her enemies) and either she or her foes can rewind time. She’s…

GOLD AWARD Awarded to a game that’s brilliantly executed on every level, combining significant innovation, near-flawless gameplay, great graphics and lasting appeal. EDITOR’S AWARD Not at the very highest echelon, but this is a game that deserves recognition and special praise based on its ambition, innovation or other notable achievement. 10 INCREDIBLE The kind of phenomenal experience rarely seen in a console generation. 9 OUTSTANDING Unreservedly brilliant – this should be in every collection. 8 VERY GOOD A truly excellent game, marred by just a few minor issues. 7 GOOD A great concept unfulfilled or the familiar done well, but still well worth playing. 6 DECENT Fun in parts, flawed in others, but more right than wrong. 5 AVERAGE What you expect and little more, this is for devotees only.…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB DEVOLVER DIGITAL DEV BINX INTERACTIVE The best thing about I Hate Running Backwards1 is that, as a couch co-op game, it’s a good way to get two people to sit down and spend time together. Conversation might switch from ragging on how tiresome the 3D low-poly Minecraftesque blocky graphics are to just talking about Terry Pratchett for a bit – after all, with a game as basic and dull as this, you can’t expect us to stay on topic all the time. Which is almost pleasant in its own way. So what do you actually do? Well, the title gives it away. It’s sort of an upside-down shmup where your blocky character progresses up the screen,2 but faces towards the bottom, blasting enemies…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB WALES INTERACTIVE DEV D’AVEKKI STUDIOS FMV, a relic previously left behind as the medium of games marched on, has returned as an indie darling. Well, maybe not so much darling as a little so-and-so. Be that as it may, there is something compellingly quirky about a game that uses live-action footage… despite all its limitations in this arena. In this playable B-movie, you must unravel the mystery of your predecessor’s death by interviewing his patients.1 As a therapist, your clients have a whole host of issues to work through but many of them present a little outside of your specialisation. It’s up to you to discover whether it’s all pure delusion or if there is something else at play. You get to the…

“DO THE SAME THING FROM MINUTE ONE TO HOUR 20: GO FAST, GET SMASHED, REPEAT.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB DEEP SILVER DEV CODEMASTERS You can tell a lot about a game by its loot crates. Here, they drop in on a scuffed chassis, and come complete with a screen displaying a worried-looking digital face. Hold q and the crate is utterly obliterated by a vehicle going so fast you can barely make it out. It’s not exactly subtle, but it’s silly, entertaining, and exhilaratingly quick. That, dear reader, is Onrush to a T. It’s a racing game with a difference – in the sense that it’s not really a racing game after all. There’s no starting grid. No finish line, either. But as the game’s narrator drawls,…

“IT’S NOW EVEN MORE ACCESSIBLE AND FORGIVING ON LOWER DIFFICULTIES.” INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB MILESTONE S.R.L. DEV MILESTONE S.R.L. The move to Unreal Engine 4 should have been a massive leap forward for the MotoGP series. With all-new physics and lighting, such sweeping change is rare in an iterative videogame series, and the prospect of a bleeding-edge, ultra-modernised MotoGP is mouthwatering. What a shame, then, that not only is the finished game extremely familiar in design, it looks and runs worse than last year’s MotoGP 17. On a standard PS4, MotoGP 18 runs at around 30fps, with some extra dips in replays, whereas last year’s game was targeting 60fps. That’s a big step backwards. While the always-exemplary bike handling is still good, it feels woollier than before.…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB PQUBE DEV ARC SYSTEM WORKS Mashing together well-loved characters from BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, Under Night In-Birth, and RWBY, this 2v2 fighter prays you love its roster, because behind the yapping soundbites and dazzling visuals is a simple brawler. It’s all the more surprising because Dragon Ball FighterZ developer Arc System Works is behind the combos. If you loved the tag team nuance of DBZ, or the meter management and pressuring of Guilty Gear and BlazBlue, then you’ll find Cross Tag Battle wanting. This a stripped-back take on Arc System Works’ other series, one that puts spectacle ahead of depth. It’s not without its systems, however, as you can perform team attacks, activate meter-bleeding Distortion moves, and launch into Extra combos.1 They’re all…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB ANNAPURNA INTERACTIVE DEV JASON ROBERTS Do you love to look beyond a painting’s subject into the background and wonder about all the little stories going on there? Then Gorogoa is certainly going to pique your interest. It has you peering into beautiful illustrations, constantly shifting perspective and recontextualising what you see. It’s a puzzle game that’s solved simply by looking. Your goal is to help a boy find five mystical fruits, all part of a story that’s abstract, but touching and moving through its use of symbology. Poking around these images allows him to progress, and to flit between many odd places, revealing hidden meanings. To be specific, you’ll be poking around square scenes in a 2x2 grid. Within each one you can…

LASER LEAGUE Jess Kinghorn is heading for the bright lights of 2150 Generally prim and proper, landing a blow using the Sword ability in a match encourages a chuckle from me that can only be described as channelling either Eartha Kitt’s I Want To Be Evil or, more accurately, the villain of Emperor’s New Groove when she is transformed into a helpless kitten (coincidentally, also voiced by Eartha Kitt). This has not gone uncommented upon within OPM Towers, though the team has quickly become acquainted with my newest motto: “If you’re not nice, my blade will slice.” BLOODBORNE Someone stop Oscar Taylor-Kent ringing that darn bell! The Old Hunters DLC is a beautifully designed toughie – with some of the most nightmarish bosses in the game. I didn’t stand a…

CYGNIA CUP CHALLENGE Play in Apex Construct’s pre-apocalypse world in this PS VR DLC. Enter six arena locations and battle robot-waves for leaderboard domination. NATURAL DISASTERS All your favourite acts of god are now available in Cities: Skylines, from meteor showers to the classic earthquake. Even veteran Skylines mayors tremble. BACKYARD STUFF Now you can add all sorts of lovely things to the ‘backyards’ of your houses in The Sims 4, like waterslides. All we have in OPM Towers’ garden is a rusted, mangled bicycle. NIGHTFALL This campaign expansion to the stealth-‘em-up Aragami is a prequel to the main story. Hyo and Shinobu’s unique shadow powers add a new layer to these challenges. JURASSIC CARS The ‘iconic’ Jeep Wranglers are coming to Rocket League, with decals based on both Jurassic…

BLOCK PARTY The brains behind Lumines and Rez Infinite, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, is bringing Tetris back. These 30 levels feature unique animation and music triggered by your actions to create an emotional story. New Zone mode enables you to pause play to rejig tiles. All of this and PS VR support; the pieces are falling nicely. DANCE YOUR HEART OUT Fans of Persona 4’s foray onto the stage will be thrilled that Persona 3: Dancing In Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing In Starlight will be strutting their stuff on PS4 and PS Vita come Early 2019. These rhythm games will provide ample reason to listen to some fabulous Persona OST remixes. EYE OF THE ANIME BOY In a fight between Super Saiyan Goku, ninja Naruto, straw hat pirate Monkey D. Luffy…

“Those are all real systems that players will experience when they play,” Neil Druckmann says of The Last of Us Part II’s gameplay reveal. “Starfield is playable but Elder Scrolls VI […] not in that way yet,” Todd Howard said, explaining that the next Elder Scrolls is only in pre-production. “I want to make [this project] count and the person that has influenced me the most and that I look up to most is Lindsay,” explains Hideo Kojima.…

“THE BIGGEST TEASE? STEALTH REVEALING A NEW STAR WARS GAME AT EA’S E3 CONFERENCE.” Who’s this random audience guy at the EA conference? Why’s a mic being shoved in his face? Oh, it’s Respawn’s Vince Zampella and he’s got something to say… “The teams are kicking ass”. Thanks Vince, but… “Oh yeah, we’ve decided on the name of our new Star Wars game, Jedi: Fallen Order.” WHAT!?! Was this the stealthiest way to announce a new Star Wars game yet? And one by Titanfall 2’s Respawn no less. While details were as sparse as the interviewer’s Star Wars knowledge, the idea of a Respawn-developed Jedi campaign already has my midichlorians tingling – they’re still a thing. “YOU MAY CALL ME A CONTROL FREAK BUT THIS SUPERNATURAL SHOOTER LOOKS CRACKING!” They…

“WHO’D SAY NO TO ANOTHER PORTABLE PLAYSTATION? ONLY THOSE WHO’D NEVER OWNED ONE.” The slow decline of PS Vita has been sad to witness. While Sony’s current home console continues to sell brilliantly, the company’s contemporary handheld has, effectively, been retired. Launched in 2011, PS Vita held incredible promise, delivering some of the best visuals ever seen on a portable. But seven years on, Sony has announced that it will cease physical production of PS Vita games outside Japan within the 2018 financial year, and PlayStation Plus support will be pulled in March 2019. Speak to Vita owners and they’ll effortlessly list its strengths. Its original OLED screen puts rivals to shame. Its library contains true gems – step forward, Gravity Rush, Persona 4 Golden, and Tearaway. It’s a fantastic…

“Overkill’s The Walking Dead asks you and your friends to try to make your way through very difficult levels, so co-operation and synchronisation between each of the players is extremely important; it’s imperative that you play together and check your surroundings. It’s hard, but that’s also what makes it good.”Almir Listo, global brand director, Starbreeze Studios Format PS4 ETA 8 Nov Pub Starbreeze Studios Dev Overkill Software Before we dive into our demo of Overkill’s The Walking Dead, Starbreeze Studios’ global brand director, Almir Listo, offers this advice: “This is not an easy game, so don’t be a hero.” As a group of walkers gorges on our spilling intestines – just a minute or so into our session – we start taking Listo’s warning seriously. Unlike many zombie fraggers, the…

Format PS VR ETA 2018 Pub Sony Dev First Contact Entertainment PS VR has enabled us to get up close and murdery with aliens and zombies, but we’ve had far fewer opportunities to frag our friends in a virtual space. Firewall: Zero Hour – a multiplayer shooter designed specifically for PS VR – looks to rectify this gap in the hardware’s games library. Sporting a single, straightforward versus mode, it pits two teams of four players against each other. During our hands-on, we play as both defenders and attackers, charged with protecting a briefcase as the former, and with stealing it as the latter. Unfolding within a labyrinthine-like warehouse, every match feels surprisingly tense, as we creep around shipping containers, carefully pick our targets, and call out enemy locations to…

Format PS4 ETA 28 Aug Pub Sega Dev Sega Because of a small print run and the fact it was a PS2 game released in 2008 in the west (PS3 came out early in 2007 in the UK), Yakuza 2 is one of the most overlooked games in a fantastic series that’s been ignored as a whole for a long time. Taking ex-Yakuza with a heart of gold Kazuma Kiryu beyond Kamurocho to Sotenbori, Osaka, it really pushed the series at the time – bigger, better, slicker, and with a story that revels in the freedom to weave a compelling thriller over the already strong Yakuza base. Dragged into a conflict between the Tojo and Omi, Kiryu must face off against the Kansai dragon. As you’d expect from a full…

Format PS4 ETA Spring 2019 Pub Koei Tecmo Dev Team Ninja Fan service isn’t dead and gone, but it will be toned down for the first Dead Or Alive game in seven years. Many characters’ movesets will be recognisable to long-time fans, and familiar faces remain but they all look a little different. This is most obvious in protagonist Kasumi’s redesign. Rather than her often-leered-at blue dress, the skilled ninja now sports something more tactical. From what we can see, there isn’t a jiggle in sight. And she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty – the sixth game has improved dirt effects for its dynamic character models. DOA wants an unfiltered take on fights, through bloody, brutal close ups, and even a new arena called The Throwdown – a…

“ALMOST AS DEEP AS PRO 3D MODELLING SOFTWARE, BUT HAS NO AWKWARD COMPLEXITY.” Format PS4 ETA TBC Pub Sony Dev Media Molecule There’s a lot to talk about with Dreams. After all, it’s more than a game, it’s an in-depth piece of software that covers just about every aspect of crafting a 3D videogame. We could focus on how it’s a beautifully layered but easy to use tool that takes you through building individual models to making a whole game, and how easy it is to share and catalogue these assets so you can pick and choose how homebaked to make it. But the real treat is simply being taken through how to use Dreams. Watching someone create is almost as wonderful as getting hands-on yourself. There’s an element of…

Format PS4 ETA 14 Nov Pub Bethesda Dev Bethesda Studios Bethesda’s stalwart commitment to single-player experiences is on the wane, the last bastion of solo adventuring has caved in to the zeitgeist for multiplayer with Fallout 76. Played online this new take on the Fallout universe emphasises building a base with friends, partnering up to fight massive mutants, and working in teams to defend your vault from rival players who want your loot. With so many Vaulters running around there are some changes afoot. The map is around four times the size of Fallout 4’s, and the pace of the game has been ramped up, playing more like a standard FPS than the V.A.T.S.-geared tactics of the offline RPG. You’re unlikely to lose your loot when killed, too. There will…

Format PS4 ETA 28 Sep Pub EA Dev EA The big transfer news of the summer is the UEFA Champions League license leaving PES for FIFA, and if that doesn’t have you reaching for a pre-order then EA has a few tweaks in store that it’s hoping will win you over. The Champions League will actually be woven through much of what’s new in FIFA 19, with EA using the new tournament to develop the game. It has a significant impact on the story mode. We see Alex Hunter’s career conclude in FIFA 19, with the narrative taking Clapham’s best footballer to Europe’s biggest stage. Naturally you can play a new Champions League tournament mode and experience a cup run in the career mode, but it’s in Ultimate Team where…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Bandai Namco Dev Dontnod We’ve all been there, we’ve all woken up in a hotel room covered in someone else’s blood with no memory of the night before [Really? – ed]. But this isn’t a Blackpool stag night sim; Twin Mirror is Dontnod’s new narrative adventure. Like the developer’s breakout hit, Life Is Strange, this new choice-driven game places heavy subject matter and decision making front and centre. Main character Sam is going through a heavy break up, and now he has to deal with his best friend’s funeral as he returns to his hometown of Basswood, Virginia. Wading through themes of truth, duality, and polarity, the choices you make will dictate Sam’s future and his relationships, and uncover why he’s drenched in blood. An…

Format PS4 ETA 21 Sep Pub Activision Dev Toys For Bob The first game in the Reignited reimagining was playable at E3, looking as gorgeous as we’d hoped. There’s a level of care that goes right down to the details, like the grass singeing as it comes into contact with your fiery breath. But, perhaps most impressively due to Insomniac Games losing much of the source material during a company move some years ago, this remake remains faithful to the level layouts of the original game. It’ll be time to bust out your muscle memory soon! There were three key parts of the first game on show – the Toasty boss fight, Speedway time trial Sunny Flight, and the frustrating Tree Tops. Each brought back memories, with the same enemy…

“The Focus meter is kind of a risk and reward idea. You can either use it to heal yourself or, if you build up the bar in a certain way, you can pull off a finishing move. As you play you ask youself, “Do I want to heal real quick or wait for that really extravagant move and take the guy out instantly?”Bryan Intihar, creative director, Insomniac Games Format PS4 ETA 7 Sep Pub Sony Dev Insomniac Games After watching Sony’s E3 conference and sitting passively as Spidey chased what could end up being this game’s take on the Sinister Six through a raging prison breakout, we were left asking: does it play as well as it looks? We didn’t have to wait too long for our answer, as we…

INFO  FORMAT PS4, PS VITA ETA OUT NOW PUB RAINBITE DEV RAINBITE Toromi Island has everything you need for a summer getaway: sun, sea, sand, and talking koala bears. Young Tai’s holiday isn’t all just bronzing on the beach, however. This fictional New Zealand island is plagued with angry spirits that must be put to rest so its inhabitants can resume their carefree ways. Based on the legend of Maui And The Giant Fish,1 this colourful adventure is brought to life with remarkable charm thanks to its old-school aesthetics and the islanders’ knack for witty one-liners. With six dungeons to explore, Reverie provides a bite-sized adventure that’s perfect for gaming on the go. These labyrinthine locations offer a good mix of activities that include battling enemies and solving puzzles using…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB SPEARHEAD GAMES DEV SPEARHEAD GAMES You know that friend who always seems to show up when bad stuff happens? That’s you, that is. Or rather, that’s you, the Harbinger, who arrives to herald imminent armageddon care of a giant worm. But hey, don’t shoot the messenger: old apocalypse-features has only shown up for the first time in 300 years because a powerful priestess has been murdered, and you’re actually here to solve that mystery and stop the world from ending. Your job, then, is to Groundhog Day those final 24 hours until you’ve picked up enough clues to get to the bottom of things. To which end, you’ll team up with a series of different companions, harnessing their skills to open up new…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE DEV STREUM ON STUDIO / CYANIDE Years ago, a younger me would have stampeded over an army of miniatures to play a first-person shooter set in the Warhammer 40K universe. Now it’s here, the older me is disappointed. Pounding through Space Hulk, a planet-sized amalgam of space debris, and joined by two squad members to form the titular Deathwing, this game conveys what it must feel like to be a tank – slow, clumsy, and powerful. There’s little finesse to the shooting. Most weapons fire in random patterns, and when confronted with enemies that need to be picked off with precision you may as well pray to the Old Ones. Later weapons help a little; the flamethrower’s randomness works in…

INFO FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB CAPCOM DEV CAPCOM Poor old 1987 Street Fighter. Packed into this 12-game collection, it’s little more than a sideshow to the main events. It’s a retro curiosity that demonstrates where the classic one-versus-one fighting game was born, and it’s the rare misstep here. It’s left to Street Fighter II and its variants to showcase the potential of the original template, which, if you’ve been living like Oro for the past 30 years, involves beating down an opponent’s health bar using combos of kicks and punches. Spin-off series Street Fighter Alpha takes the series in a bold new anime direction – characters are beautifully animated. The Alphas introduce air blocking and Chain combos, and in consequence it’s a series that’s easy on the eye…

June delivered some red-hot action as we saved humanity from aliens, ourselves from zombies, and humanity (again) from itself. After all that, we needed a bit of relaxing puzzling – thanks, PS Vita! XCOM 2 got top billing. Set after a successful alien invasion, the last, rebellious humans must act decisively if they want to turn the tide of battle in this strategy game. Unfortunately, the Random Number Generator Gods could be pretty decisive and swift in their punishment themselves. While it can be tricky, this follow up still bagged a 9/10 from us when we originally reviewed it, ultimately proving to be worth the fight. If you didn’t want the fate of our entire species resting upon your shoulders, there was also TRIALS FUSION. This at-times-surreal arcade take on…

INFO FORMAT PS4 PUB FUNCOM DEV FUNCOM REVIEW #150, 6/10 The life of a barbarian can be a lonely one. Thankfully, online play is driven into the heart of Conan Exiles like a sword into a snake-man. Choose from PvE, if you want a co(nan)-operative experience, or PvP, if you’d prefer to go head-to-Hyborian-head. For the most part, even online it’s still a quiet existence. You’ll stumble across other players only occasionally, and it can be hard to tell them apart from NPCs, until they get close enough that you can see the whites of their eyes – and the helpful PSN ID floating above their head. If you’re willing to put in the time, you can build a proper community on a server, but otherwise don’t expect much kindness…

DRAGON BALL FIGHTERZ – NEW CHARACTERS Available separately or as part of the season pass, both Vegito (blue-haired Super Saiyan God version) and Zamasu are joining the roster. As well as spectacular moves, they come with alternate colours, avatars, and Z-stamps. PROJECT CARS 2 – SPIRIT OF LE MANS PACK This third expansion is all about Le Mans, adding a Le Mans vintage track, ten liveries, nine cars, and five career events. The pack unites the two standout eras of sports cars in one big endurance blowout that’s a love letter to the classic race. THE COUNCIL – EPISODE 2: HIDE AND SEEK We had a great time with the first episode, which we gave a 7 in OPM #148. Louis is still searching for his mother in this second…