Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2019 i PLAY

GAME OF THE MONTH Tetris Effect 2019 PREDICTION PS5 will be revealed (maybe) Our annual bumper preview issue is always a thrilling one, as we look ahead to the great games coming to PS4 in the next 12 months and beyond. Personally, I think one of the most exciting is Psychonauts 2. On page 6 we talk exclusively to the legendary Tim Schafer about the new game, the importance of puns, and more. The Double Fine dev’s not the only one we catch up with this issue, either. Ubisoft Montreal chats about its Far Cry 5 sequel (p14), BioWare discusses Anthem (p50), and Avalanche reveals the ’80s fun to be had in co-op shooter Generation Zero (p58). This is on top of new hands-on previews of Resident Evil 2, Control,…

“15 TO 20 YEARS ON, I’VE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO WORK OUT WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN’T.” Videogame fans have a special relationship with soundtracks. As we interact with these virtual worlds, the adventures we have become our own, and listening to the music can remind us of those special times. So we’ve got good news if you’re nostalgic for classic Tomb Raider, as The Dark Angel Symphony – a remake of the scores to Tomb Raiders 4 through 6 – smashed its £60,000 Kickstarter goal and will be made. “It was overwhelming, exciting, and daunting but I was a big fan of the game long before I ever worked for Core Design so had a great understanding of what made it tick,” Peter Connelly, the games’ original composer,…

SOUL OF SUCCESS Hidetaka Miyazaki was awarded the Golden Joystick for Lifetime Achievement. The trophy was presented by two of his childhood heroes, Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. DEVIL MAY THRIVE Castlevania producer Adi Shankar is developing another series for Netflix. The new show will be based on Devil May Cry. TIME OUT One61 Studio has announced a Fallout SmartWatch, packed with all the biometric tools you’d expect. At $149.99, you’ll have to save up your Caps. FROM THE ASHES Overwatch’s latest patch will require many players to reinstall the entire game. This is due to a number of improvements, as well as new hero Ashe. MATERIA MEMORIES Talking to Famitsu, Tetsuya Nomura said development for the Final Fantasy VII remake was ‘progressing favourably.’ He offered no indication of when…

When you think ‘PlayStation’, what game comes to mind? Maybe it’s Uncharted or God Of War or, depending on your age, Metal Gear Solid. But firing up Tetris Effect transported me right back to the original PlayStation. It’s an intensely personal connection. For me, the shimmering visuals of Enhance’s psychotropic puzzler are like a portal to the first time I saw a PlayStation, round a friend’s house on his birthday. What I remember isn’t the games – maybe he didn’t have any yet – but just watching him pop in a CD, and marvelling at the music visualiser’s pulsating stabs of light, keeping perfect time with Wildchild’s ‘Renegade Master’. It was a simpler time. SPECIAL EFFECT Beyond that, Tetris Effect feels like an evolution of the original PlayStation’s promise, perhaps…

Format PS4 ETA 6 Feb Pub 505 Games Dev Overkill Software This online co-op survival zombie shooter has already released to mixed reviews on PC, but everyone agrees it has the potential to be great. Survival mixes shooting, scavenging, and role-playing elements, and you’re pitted against other survivors as much as the undead. It’s the fact the living are as threatening as the dead that gives Overkill’s The Walking Dead its appeal. Will that extra time spent in development on PS4 see us get an improved edition? We hope so.…

“YOU DISCOVER ARTEFACTS THAT ALLOW YOU TO DO MORE THAN JUST HURL STATIONERY AT HISS.” Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub 505 Games Dev Remedy Walking the constantly shifting floors of The Oldest House, Jesse Faden attempts to uncover the secrets of both the building and the Federal Bureau Of Control that occupies it… which, owing to an invasion of monsters called The Hiss, she’s the newly appointed director of. This is just the start of a very long first day. With the shapeshifting Director’s Service Weapon to hand there’s plenty of running-and-gunning to do in Jesse’s shoes, but you also have a repertoire of telekinetic tricks, giving you the ability to shield yourself with office detritus or lob furniture at enemies. However, we’ve now seen that even smaller bosses can…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Techland Publishing Dev Techland Techland’s Dying Light introduced us to the rather surprising combination of zombies and parkour. Acrobatic motion made sense when avoiding hordes of the undead at street level, and led to some nail-biting, desperate chases. The sequel could be the most thrilling zombie game yet. But how? OPM: What’s moved on with the parkour system for the sequel? Tymon Smektała: The goal for Dying Light 2 is to create the ultimate parkour game – with the emphasis on “game”. We’re very proud of what we achieved within the first one. […] To repeat the age-old mantra of “easy to learn, hard to master”, that’s something we want to achieve with Dying Light 2. If you want, you can traverse easily using just…

SHENMUE 3 Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Deep Silver Dev Ys Net Thanks to the PS4 Shenmue I & II collection that landed earlier this year we’ve never been more prepared to experience the next chapter in Ryo’s quest to avenge his father, and uncover the spiritual mystery behind the dragon and phoenix mirrors. With the second game ending on a cliffhanger in 2001 it’s no wonder fans enthusiastically backed this one’s Kickstarter in 2015. But it’s not a game that should be rushed. LEFT ALIVE Format PS4 ETA 5 Mar Pub Square Enix Dev Square Enix You won’t need to know much about Front Mission to appreciate Left Alive, which is set in the same mech-infested universe. Playing as three different characters, you need to survive and escape the…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Bandai Namco Dev Dontnod Entertainment A broken phone, a bloody shirt, and no memory of the night before. This is the situation investigative journalist Sam finds himself in one morning. After a painful break up, he’s in his hometown, Basswood, to bury an old friend. Stumbling for the bathroom the day after the funeral, he’s confronted by The Double, his inner voice, and things only get weirder from there in this choice-driven narrative game. After a surreal jaunt to Sam’s mind palace, it’s down to you to piece together what happened and just what you’ve got yourself into.…

Format PS4 ETA 22 Feb Pub EA Dev BioWare BioWare’s return to PS4 following the poorly received Mass Effect: Andromeda gives the dev a chance to remind us why we love its games, including a focus on rich lore, clever storytelling, and team-based tactical combat. We sit down with Anthem’s producer, Thomas Singleton, and pick his brains. OPM: Is Anthem still a BioWare game as we know them? Thomas Singleton: There’s definitely a lot of ‘let’s bring in the depth, the richness, the immersive storytelling that BioWare’s known for’, and let’s bring that and merge that with the co-op environment and the multiplayer experience that we’re building in Anthem. You’re seeing a lot of that cross-pollination taking place at this studio. OPM: So good writing and narrative is still key?…

Format PS4 ETA TBC Pub THQ Nordic Dev Experiment 101 Be a furry friend: take on the World Eaters gnawing on the roots of the World Tree, and give your home a fighting chance of survival. Armed with customisable blades, guns, and the mechs you can find throughout the open world, you’re well-equipped for the task. You’re also able to use your foes’ own munitions, or even their allies’, against them. That said, Wushu-inspired moves form the backbone of combat. Each punch fills up your Wushu meter, which you can then empty for a special bullet time attack. This one definitely has claws, and we’re looking forward to seeing just how sharp they are.…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Bethesda Dev MachineGames Introducing BJ Blazkowicz’s twin daughters, this shooter set in ’80s Paris is a sequel to Wolfenstein 2. Developed by the team that made the previous two modern games, the inclusion of two playable characters means it’s a tempting co-op prospect. However, MachineGames has said the game will be playable alone. In either case, the thrust is the same: find and rescue your father. Expect more Da’at Yichud Power Suit silliness in 2019.…

Format PS VR ETA 2019 Pub Sony Dev Sony London Studio On the list last year, Sony London’s gangster shooter is still making our wishlist. A spin-off of The London Heist from the PlayStation VR Worlds demo pack, peppering Blood & Truth’s virtual world with bullets is a brutal joy. You grab magazines from your chest belt and stuff them into the gun, giving reloading a visceral and tactical edge. You move from cover to cover, shooting enemies who stand between you and the exit. It looks great, and plays even better, and that’s the blood and truth of it.…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub TBC Dev SNK First teased at the Tokyo Game Show, Samurai Spirits (the series is known as Samurai Showdown in the UK) is a weapon-based beat-’em-up from fight-master SNK. It has a bold new look that mixes large character models with a sweeping camera that showcases the special attacks up close. In terms of stages and fighter roster it looks like an Unreal Engine reworking of the sprite-based Samurai Showdown that released in 1993. Classic SNK on PS4? That’s worth fighting for.…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Ubisoft Dev Ubisoft Singapore What seemed, at first, to be a weird multiplayer spin-off from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is fast evolving into an engaging piratey MMO, like Overwatch with sea legs. PvE is now planned in addition to PvP, and having played it, we can reveal it’s a heck of a lot of lootery fun. With ships to buy and upgrade, solo missions, and team-based tactics to master, Skull & Bones promises to be much more than a game looking for a Pirates Of The Caribbean licence.…

“THE FULL VIEW OF THE SKIES IS SOMETHING SPECIAL.” Format PS4, PS VR ETA 18 Jan Pub Bandai Namco Dev Bandai Namco, Project Aces Long-running hybrid action-flight simulation series Ace Combat is being brought bang up to date in PS VR. This exclusive content comprises five totally original missions for a substantial three hours of content, alongside more than 20 non-VR missions in the main game. Placing you into the cockpit of fighter jet callsign ‘Trigger,’ the full view of the skies is something special. The level we play taxies us through a base under siege, planes screaming overhead. Cross chatter is panicked and far from reassuring as the runway before us becomes cluttered with detritus raining from above. After a frantic and far from ideal take off, conservatively tapping…

Format PS4 ETA 8 Feb Pub Bandai Namco Dev Bandai Namco The more we play God Eater 3, the more the anime/ Monster Hunter: World comparisons keep coming. The mix of creature hunting and manga storytelling is compelling, and while this game doesn’t have the same level of crafting depth as Capcom’s classic, nor does it feature such lovable monsters, the core battling feels great. The Burst Arts special attack system adds an explosive twist – these massive damage attacks change depending on how you’re moving. Having played the game, it’s fast and entertaining, and should deliver those co-op thrills if you’ve weaned yourself off Monster Hunter.…

1 GOD OF WAR This e-Norse-mous adventure reinvented the Kratos myth Despite releasing quite early on in 2018, Kratos’ latest journey stayed in our hearts all year long. It’s filled  with plenty of spectacle, as you’d expect from the series – bloody, violent fights, epic brawls in fantastic worlds, and clashes with giant, mythical monsters. But ultimately it’s the more human story that ties the whole thing together and leaves the biggest impression, that moving father-son journey as Kratos takes Atreus to the highest peak in the land in order to scatter the ashes of Faye, the boy’s mother. It gives scale to the rest of the adventure. Much more introspective than its Greek-themed predecessors, this almost entirely one-shot directed game was a personal journey through the big world of…

Yet another anime fighter graces PS4, this time based around the popular anime/manga My Hero Academia. Taking place in a world where it’s common for almost everyone to have superpowers (called “quirks”), it focuses on a high school class of heroes-in-training. The lead, Midoriya, has no powers of his own – until a special quirk is bestowed upon him by the world’s greatest hero, All Might. One’s Justice is a 1v1 3D brawler where you punch each other with flashy superpowers until one of you is knocked out. The arenas feature some destructive elements, and a couple have ring outs, but for the most part it’s fairly basic. It captures the look of the anime without being spectacular, though care’s been taken to present the breadth of powers with variation…

Maybe it’s just us but we always feel a little bit introspective towards the end of the year. This December was no different as we strained our brains to pick our top games of 2018 (see p30). Thankfully, in order to recover from such exertion, we had a delectable selection of PS Plus titles to tuck into. Existential horror SOMA got top billing and, thanks to the addition of Safe mode earlier this year, there was never a better time to play Frictional’s deep water descent. It had a lot on its mind, not least themes of transhumanism, and with Safe mode minimising the threat of enemies the story was able to breathe. If you were looking for something to sink your teeth into after stripping the turkey, this was…

Oscar Taylor-Kent GAMES EDITOR Final Fantasy. Las Vegas. A free breakfast buffet… Oscar was living the dream this issue as he got the scoop on Shadowbringers. GAME OF THE MONTH Spyro Reignited Trilogy 2019 PREDICTION PS Vita 2 (in his dreams) Jess Kinghorn STAFF WRITER Having spent hours playing Beat Saber Jess has already hit her New Year’s gym quota. More guilt-free egg baps for our writer. GAME OF THE MONTH Déraciné 2019 PREDICTION Catherine is Katherine Miriam McDonald OPERATIONS EDITOR Mim’s still not finished The Witcher 3. We suspect our super-prod is not playing it correctly – you don’t need to kill everyone, Mim. GAME OF THE MONTH Fallout 76 (the soundtrack) 2019 PREDICTION Not getting on that unicorn Milford Coppock MANAGING ART EDITOR When not designing hundreds of…

IAN DEAN EDITOR “WITH PS VITA ON ITS LAST LEGS, I’M MAKING A PROMISE TO PLAY MORE ON-THE-GO CLASSICS.” Oscar loves PS Vita. His portable PlayStation goes everywhere with him like an adult security blanket. So when I announced next year I’ll be playing more on-the-go classics I was shocked to see him turn to me with a smile and say, “It’s not for you”. He probably has a point; my tolerance for anime otome games and visual novels is very low. But the suggestion PS Vita is some kind of secret society only a select few with a love of yelping anime girls and boys are allowed into has me even more intrigued. Besides, there’s a wealth of PS1 games on the system – it’s a retro haven. JESS…

What do you guys make of Sony not going to E3? They only announced a few things in advance of this year’s show then pulled out some surprises; do you think they’ll do it again? Or is 2019 going to be a bad year for PlayStation fans? Ed Kimble via email 2019’s guaranteed to be a great year, Ed – our coverage of what you’ve got to look forward to begins on p30. As for Sony not being at E3, we don’t know what it’s got planned but we do know Sony never lets us down. We’re going to enjoy seeing what all the third-party developers reveal at E3 (hopefully news of The Avengers and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order), and keep an eye on the likes of Death Stranding,…

This has been an above-par year for sports gaming. For all its critics, FIFA 19’s Ultimate Team remains a brilliantly moreish time sink. A focused MyCareer mode returned WWE 2K19 to relevance. And NBA 2K18, NHL 18, and MLB 18: The Show put in stellar showings. Yet the most fun two hours I had within the genre involved none of these. Instead, it was a 73-ball century from Jonny Bairstow in little-heralded PS4 effort Ashes Cricket. Released last November, Australian developer Big Ant kept its bat ’n’ ball sim strong with patches and fan-created team updates. Yet the immediate reaction from both friends and social media when I espouse its joyfulness is “it’s no Brian Lara” – usually followed by some remark about the ten-year wait for a decent cricket…

1 RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER Lara uses her Survival Instincts to get out all of sorts of Siberian scrapes. In need of a life-saving snack? Click the stick to illuminate a herd of deer. Want to clear out an enemy camp without raising an alarm? Crofty’s X-ray sense can help you plan a stealthy ambush. Lara’s eyes are exquisite. 2 HITMAN: ABSOLUTION The smouldering slaphead can use Instinct to spot enemies through walls, and also employ the ability to throw guards off his sociopathic scent. Instinct is equally useful for identifying homicidal opportunities, like a disco ball that’s just begging to fall on a sleazy nightclub owner. 3 HORIZON: ZERO DAWN Aloy can thank her Focus for her robot-peeping powers of perception. The little sci-fi doodad is an AR…

“FLUID AND CHAOTIC BATTLES WHERE PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING GOES.” Format PS4 ETA May Pub Bethesda Dev Id Software, Avalanche Studios This is a marriage made in hell, or at least in Stockholm: the joining together of Id Software’s love of first-person grotesque mutant shooting with Avalanche’s broad-stroke open world fun promises to be one of 2019’s most joyous events. It’s a partnership that has led both teams to re-evaluate how they make games. For Id Software it’s been a learning curve. With its trademark solid shooting set free from steel corridors, the dev has had to learn how to anticipate everything we will do. The game is better for it. The original Rage on PS3 had fantastic set-pieces and some perfectly enjoyable vehicle combat, but for the sequel Id Software…

“INVADING A CAMP RESULTS IN SOME VERY UNCHARTED-LIKE COVER SHOOTING.” Format PS4 ETA 26 Apr Pub Sony Dev Sony Bend Studio We’re Deacon St John, riding his steel horse down a dirt track in an Oregon forest. Trees arch overhead and pine needles claw at us, caught under the motorbike’s tyres. There’s a poetic quality to Days Gone. That is, is until a Freaker spots us. Rearing up from a deer’s bloodied carcass, half-masticated flesh falling from its mouth, this infected feral human stares at us, points, screams, and charges. We raise our rifle, zoom in, and put the non-zombie out of its misery. Well done us. Then more Freakers emerge from behind trees, running out of the forest mist. It’s a startling sight, but an impressive one. Days Gone…

NAME TYMON SMEKTAłA LEAD GAME DESIGNER, TECHLAND “We knew that we created a game that’s fun to play, but I’d be lying if I said we expected it to become a staple of this generation and a bestselling title of the year it was released in. Did it put pressure on us? Of course we want to exceed our past success, but I think the biggest thing it gave us is confidence into following our intuition and ideas. Dying Light was a game unlike any other and I do hope we’ll be able to say the same thing about Dying Light 2 when it’s released.”…

“ DANTE CAN NOW GET INTO PUNCH-UPS WITH DEMONS.” Format PS4 ETA 8 Mar Pub Capcom Dev Capcom Dante returns to full playable form for Devil May Cry’s fifth outing. He and his nephew Nero must clean up the demonically overrun streets of Red Grave City, having taken on a job from a mysterious new client, V. This dark and mysterious sandal-wearer spouts William Blake and sports a rather fancy cane, and is also playable, though we’ve not yet seen him in action. The younger son of Sparda can still swap between his trusty twin pistols, Ebony and Ivory, as well as his ruddy great big sword, Rebellion. He can now also get into punch-ups with demons thanks to the Devil Arm Balrog. These demonic greaves, shoulder pads, and gauntlets…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Bandai Namco Dev Supermassive Games Supermassive returns to horror with a succession of standalone scares. The first of these episodes, Man Of Medan, throws together a put-upon sea captain and a group of American tourists, then crams them all together in the titular ghost ship. Swapping between the perspectives of the five characters in this unlucky tour group, their fate is in your hands. However, you’re not going it alone as a strange figure, The Curator, can offer snippets of cryptic guidance.…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Bandai Namco Dev Ganbarion Considering the anime/manga series is all about exploring the bizarre seas of Eiichiro Oda’s extremely creative world, it might seem a little out of character that this game’s set on a single island. But captain of the Straw Hat Pirates Monkey D Luffy’s adventure across Jail Island is the first proper open world One Piece game. With his stretchy rubber powers, Luffy is great for exploring a large area. World Seeker could successfully build on the promise of Ganbarion’s previous One Piece: Unlimited World Red, though so far it has less colour and vibrancy than UWR’s pirate brawling adventure.…

NAME: BRIAN FLEMING PRODUCER, SUCKER PUNCH PRODUCTIONS “The red leaves are a visual metaphor for this story in Ghost Of Tsushima, but also for the path it takes to create a game. Ideas swirling around can almost be overwhelming for me – and at the same time incredibly beautiful and exciting. The first task is identifying a clear vision, picking out the one red leaf among thousands. Once you find that idea, you set out to pursue it relentlessly as the wind carries it in exciting new directions.”…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Bigben Interactive Dev Eko Software Billed as the first action RPG to be set in Games Workshop’s Warhammer fantasy universe, this Diablo clone should do the tabletop series justice. As you’d expect, there are spells and melee boosters to unlock and upgrade, plus side-quests to follow. But much of your time will be spent fending off the followers of Nurgle (who explode into satisfying floating hit points). What can we say? Sometimes you just want to hit a Nurgle cultist.…

Format PS VR ETA 2019 Pub Bethesda Dev MachineGames A companion game to Wolfenstein: Youngblood, this PS VR shooter is set in the same ‘80s Paris, but now you’re a hacker who’s taken control of the a Panzerhund and turned it on its masters. Your goal is to aid the French Resistance, and we expect crossover with Youngblood. Bethesda is teasing more machines to control, too. Having brought The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim VR to PS VR, Bethesda’s track record is excellent, so hopes are high.…

IAN DEAN EDITOR DAYS GONE The jury seems to be out on this one, but having played it I can’t wait to go hands-on with the final game. I love the idea of a world that’s just collapsed, so we still get remnants of the society we’ve lost and see it crumble in front of us. It plays well, too. The bike handling is physical, the combat evokes Uncharted, and the Decimapowered world looks stunning. MILFORD COPPOCK MANAGING ART EDITOR DEATH STRANDING No, we still don’t know what the game actually is yet, but whatever Hideo Kojima is involved with usually turns out to be both innovative and totally bonkers crazy. I’m really keen to see how he pulls together such disparate strands as the baby in a bottle, the…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Bigben Publishing Dev Frogwares With no guides or map markers, this detective horror adventure could send you loopy. Maybe that’s the point. Like all games loosely based on HP Lovecraft’s work The Sinking City’s unreliable narrator is on the verge of madness. Set in Oakmont, a town ravaged by floods, mysterious deaths, and supernatural terrors, the open world has a Silent Hill feel. You make progress by investigating crime scenes, which can lead to some weird discoveries. How much of it can be believed? Now that’s the real puzzle.…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub TBA Dev Mossmouth, LLC OPM: What were your first thoughts on making a sequel? Derek Yu: My first thought was that I wanted to figure out what made Spelunky feel uniquely Spelunky and push those aspects as far as I can. There are a lot of great roguelikeinspired games now, but I think that Spelunky still occupies its own unique space. OPM: Online multiplayer is one of the biggest new additions to the sequel. How did you find the response to co-op in the first game? DY: The best thing about co-op for me was that it brought people together, regardless of age or skill level. I heard from parents who enjoyed playing the game with their kids in co-op and platformer fans who enjoyed…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub 1C Company Dev Layopi Games Polish author Paweł Lesniak founded his own studio to turn his fantasy novel Równowaga (Equilibrium) into a game. The series in question follows its protagonist Desmond as he becomes caught in the war between Heaven and Hell. Intended as the first game in a series, Devil’s Hunt features a familiar mix of puzzle solving and melee combat, with skill points being put towards steering your Desmond towards a physical or magical fighting style. Either way, the lead hero mixes both demonic and angelic powers into his combos as you explore Hell, an American environment, and an ‘ancient city’. It sounds promising, like a mature Devil May Cry.…

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.…

Right down to its simulated dice rolls, Space Hulk: Tactics is a faithful digitisation of Games Workshop’s legendary board game. In both, a squad of Space Marines explores the titular Hulk,1 pursued by Tyranid Genestealers – it’s basically Aliens with heavier gothic stylings. There have been many videogame adaptations of Space Hulk, but for the first time Tactics lets you play either side, in dedicated campaigns or multiplayer. Genestealers first appear on the map as motion-tracker blips, only revealing their true nature – each blip could contain as many as three sharp-clawed xenos, or none at all – when they wander into the Marines’ vision cones. They’re lethal up close, but have no long-range defences. The Marines, meanwhile, are walking tanks. They have fewer action points each turn, and those…

Before we get excited about the year ahead with our chock-a-block 2019 feature (starting on p30), it’s worth looking back. 2018 was a year of huge releases, and that was particularly true for PS VR. A number of new titles entered our Hall Of Fame, and the headset saw a price drop in March that made it even more of a must-have. But of course, that isn’t the only highlight of the last 12 months. Take a trip down memory lane with us… January RUNNING RINGS Legendary Sonic The Hedgehog developer Yuji Naka leaves his own studio to work for Square Enix. An excellent match, given the pair’s shared fondness for spiky-haired protagonists. FAR FROM OVER IT The Overwatch eSports League enjoys its very first season. Beginning as it means…

RACE TO WIN The next big motorsport has an “e” in front of it. The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) certified its first eSports competition – the Gran Turismo Championship. Brazil’s Igor Fraga took home the Nations Cup trophy, with Team Lexus winning the Manufacturers’ Series. DO NOT STEAL Taking a leaf out of Oscar’s fashion wardrobe, Jump Force allows players to mix and match things like Dragon Ball and Naruto outfits. You can create your own custom character, tweaking their looks and giving them moves from your favourite anime in this crossover Shonen Jump fighting game. GOD OF COMICS The story of 2018’s God Of War was so good we just can’t wait for more. A sequel is still probably a way off, but that’s where Dark Horse’s prequel…

There’s a reason that CORSAIR has become synonymous with comfort and quality to PC gamers the world over. It’s because the company has, for little over two decades, been steadfast in dedication to creating the very best peripherals on the market; when you’re rolling with CORSAIR, you just know that you’re going to have an edge over the competition. Now, and for the very first time, CORSAIR is bringing its premium headsets to console, giving you PS4 owners out there the opportunity to experience their legendary comfort, build quality and audio performance for yourself. Why should PC gamers have all of the fun? We are so right on this one. We know this to be true because the CORSAIR HS60 Surround Gaming Headset comes equipped with…

@THETATTOOEDBEAR Christmas issue was an awesome read! A massive portion was anything n’ everything @RE_Games .. so it was a given, really @SAMBRIDGETT @OPM_UK does do a rather nice line in free gifts. A t-shirt transfer to be proud of, there. @THE1LIKESAF Picked up this months issue of the @OPM_UK mag. Full of Resident Evil 2 goodness! I really can’t wait for this game to drop!!! @THERBALDWIN99 I low-key buy @OPM_UK mag for the awesome posters @PURPLE_DRAGON25 @PetRemy17 according to @OPM_UK - in issue 155, you would dye your hair purple if Spyro went Number One... well he’s number one so you gotta dye your hair lol @IAMPHENOMENAL01 This is the UK PlayStation Magazine why are you didn’t articles with items in dollars ? [EH? – ed] @BL00MYB0Y I’ve just…

Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy was the best-selling PS4 exclusive in 2017. Considering that was the year Horizon Zero Dawn released, it was a staggering achievement for the two-decades-old game. While a remake or remaster is by definition not an innovation, Crash paved the way for more remakes – which will continue into 2019 with MediEvil. Film has a notoriously bad track record regarding remakes. Disney is currently remaking a number of its animated classics in live action, which hasn’t been well received. Arguably this is down to a lack of originality and for not exploring anything new with the source material. If you want to watch your favourite film, you can access it with relative ease and enjoy 120 minutes of run-time that you’re able to recite backwards in your…

Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare Sadly, the X-Ray Personalization Pack DLC doesn’t let you see through walls. Boo! Deus Ex: Human Revolution Adam is obsessed with augs, so it’s not surprising he had his eyes tweaked so he could see through objects. Metal Gear Solid V If Snake punches the ground with his metallic mitt, he can scan nearby enemies. Hooray for X-ray fists! Did we miss your fave X-ray power? Got a brilliant In The Mood For idea? Show and tell at twitter.com/opm_uk.…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub THQ Nordic Dev Black Forest Games This survival RPG places you in the fur-lined boots of Ash, leader of a band of humans eking out a living in the frozen wastes of a near-future dystopia. The grind of scavenging for resources is shattered by the eldritch creatures lurking in the wilderness. The Ripper’s your basic clawed critter, but others include an explosive, bulb-spitting beast, and more nature-based nasties. Worse than these is the weather, which will sap the life from your party if you don’t prepare. Currently sneaking under the radar, it could cause a storm in 2019.…

DIRT RALLY 2.0 Format PS4 ETA 26 Feb Pub Codemasters Dev Codemasters There’s a certain thrill to a good rally game that’s hard to put across – it’s the feeling of maintaining control against the odds, and of dirt splashing against your windscreen as you eke out just the right amount of control. Codies is back doing what it does best, with a game that’s bigger, better, and downright filthier than the first (which we gave a deserved 9/10 back in #122). More official licences mean it’ll deliver on realistic interpretations of both rally and rallycross. TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION 2 Format PS4 ETA 15 Mar Pub Ubisoft Dev Massive Entertainment Where the first game’s Manhattan was suffering from a post-pandemic winter, The Division 2’s Washington DC is in the…

DREAMS Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Sony Dev Media Molecule It almost feels unfair to call Media Molecule’s new revolutionary project a “game”. But “software” doesn’t capture its magic either. Perhaps “Dreams” really is as close as you can get to an accurate description. In Dreams you can create, play with, and share creations you mould and shape with startling ease and beautiful efficiency. If you can think of it, Dreams gives you the ability to make it – whether that’s detailed 3D models, or whole game worlds to play around in. INDIVISIBLE Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub 505 Games Dev Lab Zero Games There’s a lot to love about this smooshing together of 2D platforming with a JRPG-esque battle system. From Lab Zero’s hand-drawn animation to the score by…

“NICO IS A GENIUS WHO HAPPENS TO BE A MARTIAL ARTS FIGHTER.” Format PS4 ETA 15 Feb Pub Koei Tecmo Dev Team Ninja Telling a tale of escaped ninjas, business execs who like to scrap, and a super-secret fighter chick who really wants that extra-curricular credit, this ridiculous fighter returns. Swapping out sexier classic costumes for more tactically minded default get-ups for its protagonists, the sixth entry is switching things up just bit. That’s not to say the new game hasn’t kept the series’ playful side, as you can see in new fighter NiCO (pictured). This teen is a genius scientist who also happens to be a keen martial arts fighter. Mixing her two favourite things she fights with plasma attacks and makes use of her tech – EMF Rings…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Bethesda Softworks Dev Id Software The thing about the 2016 Doom is its entire approach to being an FPS was revolutionary… by not being all that different to the very original 1993 classic, just injected with all the power of modern tech. It is a fast-paced shooter that keeps you constantly on the move, and always on the tear with power-ups and supercharged weapons. Glory Kills let you finish off weakened enemies with a melee attack, forcing you to close those gaps. With Doom Eternal following closely in its footsteps, you could be forgiven for thinking the continuation isn’t going to be as interesting as the revival. Well, you’d be wrong. While all the standard sequel elements are here (bigger weapons, meaner bad guys, and…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Bandai Namco Dev Witchcraft Despite the anime being popular around the same time as the other ’mon TV show, Digimon was always the darker of the two. Transported into the digital world while on a camp picnic, Takuma Momotsuka meets his partner Digimon, Agumon. The two have to survive in this perilous world in an adventure that hits some mature notes, in which you really feel the struggle to survive. The story’s conveyed in a visual novel style with exploration elements, and combat takes the form of an isometric strategy RPG system with 2D characters in a 3D world. Your choices change endings and digivolutions, and affect who lives or dies.…

MEDIEVIL Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub Sony Dev Other Ocean Interactive Two decades ago the PlayStation original captivated us with its distinctly British dark sense of humour. It saw Sir Dan, a fallen, then resurrected, knight, setting out to save the kingdom of Gallowmere from the evil necromancer Zarok. At the time it was a great step forward for 3D hack-and-slash platformers. (It also had some light puzzle elements.) Now Dan steps forward again, into environments rich in character and detail, on PS4. As he’d say – get on with it! CONCRETE GENIE Format PS4 ETA Early 2019 Pub Sony Dev PixelOpus Polluted as it may be, there’s still a strange beauty to the city of Denska, which you explore as young doodler Ash. Fittingly for a game about making…

Format PS4 ETA Early 2019 Pub DotEmu Dev Lizardcube, DotEmu, Guard Crush It’ll be 25 years between games when this direct sequel to the 1994 Sega brawler arrives on PS4, and it’s taking three studios to make it happen. Together Lizardcube, DotEmu, and Guard Crush are creating a game worthy of the name. Lizardcube’s expertise in designing beautiful hand-drawn characters particularly jumps out. We’re practising our one-button combos in anticipation of Axel and Blaze’s return.…

Format PS VR ETA 2019 Pub Sony Publishing Dev Clap Hanz Why has it taken this long to get a virtual reality golf game? PS VR is made for it. Sony’s own Everybody’s Golf VR will be the first to arrive for the headset, using either DualShock 4 or a PS Move controller – holding the latter like a golf club, you’ll be able to line up and swing for glory. Inside PS VR you’ll be able to see the undulating course, read the bumps, and also experience the layout in 360 degrees. This is shaping into a PS VR classic.…

Format PS4 ETA Early 2019 Pub Drastic Games Dev Drastic Games Created by former Epic games devs, this dungeon crawler mixes twin-stick shooting and rhythm action. Playing as Melody, a music-loving, vinyl-obsessed teen, in Drastic Games’ take on Diablo you’re transported to the world of Symphonia where sound comes to life and musical puns chime with the regularity of a Kanye West tantrum – the Big Bad is called Discord. It’s a promising idea that could offer a fresh take on the dungeon-crawling template, and played in co-op we’re predicting a harmonious time.…

Format PS4 ETA Feb Pub Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment Dev TT Games Based on the events and characters of the original The Lego Movie, and its sequel, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, out in time for this game, you can expect the usual blocky platforms and puzzles in February. We’re told this one will feature multiple open worlds and will leave the confines of Bricksburg for the wider, new Systar System. Expect plenty of weird life forms as well as a lot of blocks and builds to collect.…

Format PS4 ETA 22 Feb Pub Deep Silver Dev 4A Games Underwhelmed by Fallout 76? Need a dose of solo post-apocalyptic survival? Metro Exodus is your sci-fi saviour in tattered leathers. Like past games in the series, Exodus looks like an FPS but plays like an RPG. If you go into it with the mindset of a Call Of Duty veteran you’ll burn through resources, attract the attention of a mutant bear, and upset the locals. Basically, you’ll be rat food. Freed from Moscow’s tunnels, Artyom and his group are taking a train across Russia looking for a safe place to settle. The game takes place across one year, shifting mood with each season. Survival is the key, and much of your time spent in Exodus’ small open world maps…

Format PS4 ETA 2019 Pub TBC Dev Cygames, PlatinumGames Neither Cygames nor Granblue are household names in the West, but this could all change in 2019. Confirmed for the West but with no UK date yet, Granblue Fantasy Project Re: Link is the PS4 edition of the dev’s insanely popular JRPG for mobiles. Co-developed with PlatinumGames and featuring some of the most beautiful visuals we’ve seen this side of Final Fantasy, as well as an OST by Nobuo Uematsu, Granblue Fantasy Project Re: Link could well be that rare JRPG that arrives with little fanfare but takes us all by storm.…

The optimist in us wants CYBERPUNK 2077 to release in 2019, and given Bandai Namco has recently signed to publish the game in the UK, we’re crossing our figures for it. However, the reality is CD Projekt Red’s epic sci-fi action-RPG will likely creep into 2020. The game’s environment city co-ordinator Hiroshi Sakakibara told Japanese magazine Famitsu that Night City will be “The face of the game”. Mixing modern and ancient Asian influences this vast city will feel alive and dirty, but also fresh and open. Sakakibara-san offered the mix of wet streets with blue skies and swaying palm trees as an example. With Kingdom Hearts III now finished, Tetsuya Nomura has stated FINAL FANTASY VII: REMAKE is now his priority. But Square’s remade classic isn’t the only Japanese game…

Combining two flavours of Warriors (Dynasty and Samurai), this crossover series combines figures from Chinese and Japanese military history… and throws them into a world of monsters, gods, and magic. If you missed the first three games, don’t worry – the returning characters have lost their memories. Hurrah! Like 90% of Omega Force’s output, this is a game that pits you against hilarious odds in each stage. Unless you’re going for a speedrun, your kill count at the end of each battle will sit well within quadruple figures. Yes, there is (appropriately) an army of these games out there, but even though it doesn’t have the anime hook of Berserk And The Band Of The Hawk this is a pretty good starting point. It’s incredibly easy to get started: just…

FINAL FANTASY XIV Jess Kinghorn heads back to Eorzea After Oscar’s trip to the Fan Fest in Las Vegas [p16], I find myself longing for the warmer, simulated climes of Gridania. No, I’m not jealous… least of all of the jetlag he had to contend with. Making the most of server Louisoix’s XP boost for new characters, I make an Au Ra lancer and set to work giving Gridanian denizens a helping hand. Unfortunately no good deed goes unpunished as my colleague and I soon realise we are separated by servers. Thankfully it just takes one world transfer and a magical cat girl to rectify things. NEVERWINTER Oscar Taylor-Kent rolls the dice on an MMORPG I’ve been expanding my culture the only way I know how: dice in hand. Neverwinter…

Given the myriad match types in ‘real’ WWE, online options within its digital equivalent are a touch vanilla. 3v3 brawls offer chaotic fun, but in 2018 net-based Royal Rumbles and Elimination Chamber contests should be more than a pipe dream. Still, there’s much to commend in terms of using online options to expand your single-player experience. DLC characters such as Bobby Lashley, EC3, and War Raiders bring an already great roster up to date, while the Community Creations servers deliver thousands of fan-made grapplers from NXT, TNA, WCW, old school WWF, and so on, in addition to detailed arenas past and present, enabling you to relive Hulk Hogan’s win over Yokozuna at WrestleMania 9 as often as you like. VERDICT A grapple sim whose online elements are essential outside of…