Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2019 i PLAY

“WE REVEAL THE FIRST DETAILS OF SONY’S NEXT PLAYSTATION. THE FUTURE’S GOING TO BE EXCITING.” GAME OF THE MONTH Days Gone FAVE GAME DUO Joel & Ellie Far from being a lazy spin-off, this issue’s cover game, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, looks set to reshape how we play in BJ Blazkowicz’s alt-history. Co-developed by MachineGames and Arkane Studios it marries the gunplay of the former with the open-ended sprawl of the latter. Read why this matters on p48. We also catch up with Respawn at Star Wars Celebration and discover how Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (p6) is cherry-picking from the Batman Arkham series, God Of War, and Uncharted; this could be the Force-powered game you crave. Reviews this issue leads on Days Gone (p74), and Dreams (p84) becomes our first 10/10…

“WITH NEW TWIN ANTAGONISTS AND THE CHILDREN OF THE VAULT CULT, IT MAY NOT JUST BE PANDORA UNDER THREAT.” Borderlands is back, and the long-awaited numbered follow-up packs even more baddies, Brick sax solos, and buff Sirens than we ever knew we wanted. And then there’s the little matter of one billion possible guns to loot and shoot with. Along with those, Borderlands 3 sees the return of plenty of favourite faces, like Sirens Lilith and now-long-haired Maya, as well as mechanic Ellie, Tina-the-no-longer-tiny, and an array of familiar Vault Hunters. As for the new blood venturing out into Pandora, you can choose from four fresh faces. Neither their names nor classes have been officially confirmed at the time of going to press, but leaks suggest they are Amara the…

IAN DEAN EDITOR “I WANT MARVEL AND CRYSTAL DYNAMICS TO PUT ON A SHOW AND FILL THE SONY-SHAPED HOLE.” A Sony-less E3 is like a banana split without the banana; it’s just a creamy split. But the hole in our schedule will mean more time to focus on the big non-exclusive reveals that always take the headlines. I’m hoping we finally see Crystal Dynamics’ Avengers game in action. Whether it’s online, episodic, or co-op expectations are already high for this one to make an entrance and put on a show, and that, deep down, is what E3 is all about. It’s a summer blockbuster event in its own right, and what better way to celebrate the hottest new games than with a bit of Marvel magic? Bring. It. On. JESS…

@RIOTRMD Off to promote @ControlRemedy again. London, Paris and Hamburg in four days. #ControlRemedy Also, thank you @OPM_UK for the support! @GAMESYOULOVED Just been to the shops to pick up a bacon sandwich – saw this months Official PlayStation mag. Couldn’t resist the sticker set and there’s a preview article on Shenmue to get stuck into. @THETATTOOEDBEAR Ta, for the #DaysGone poster in this months @OPM_UK mag! Definitely getting a frame for that little gem. @PHARELLPHARELL I love free shit. ASAP! @D3J08 Dead by Daylight made me see different sides of my friends @THEREALASLIATTA The person in under me is chatting shite @AMES_GAMES83 Assassin’s Creed and donuts what a combination @CAMMY_DEE_1702 You can totally tell I hate gaming right? Got these stickers with this month’s @OPM_UK and just knew exactly…

Sometimes, it’s best just to turn over a brand-new leaf. Over the past 27 years, Mortal Kombat has had its fair shares of hits and misses. During its early days, way back in the ’90s, it sent shockwaves all over the world, angering both parents and politicians alike, to the point of being one of the key controversial games discussed in hearings in the US Senate. As it approached the late ’90s and early noughties and transitioned into 3D, however, things took a nosedive. Mortal Kombat had had gallons of blood drained out of it and it became lifeless. And let’s not even begin to consider the cinematic atrocity that is Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Yep, I’m talking about the live-action film adaptation sequel with nauseating special effects and terribly choreographed…

“THIS IS AN ACTION MOVIE WHERE YOU GET TO BE THE ACTION HERO.” FORMAT PS VR / ETA 28 MAY PUB SONY / DEV SONY LONDON STUDIO “I think of the London Heist as being very much our love letter as a studio to the Guy Ritchie/ Cockney gangster/Snatch/Lock, Stock kind of movies, and it was very much in that world,” Stuart Whyte, director of VR product development at Sony’s London Studio, says of what was for many the standout demo of the VR Worlds lineup. That experience features plenty of action but it takes the form of shootouts where you are placed in one static point and have to defend yourself from there. The upcoming Blood & Truth massively expands this core gameplay feature yet is also a departure…

SWORD ART ONLINE ALICIZATION LYCORIS FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2019 PUB BANDAI NAMCO DEV BANDAI NAMCO This latest game based on the anime about people in a VR MMO stays faithful to its source, being based on the current third season, the Alicization arc. This sees our long-time sword-wielding hero Kirito plugged into Underworld, which is a medieval fantasy land. Because of the setting, the game even plays a little bit like an offline MMO, complete with skill trees, NPC quests, and the works. Residents of this virtual world can’t break the rules, except for one named Alice, an old friend of Kirito’s, who he must rescue. ANCESTORS: THE HUMANKIND ODYSSEY FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2019 PUB PRIVATE DIVISION / DEV PANACHE DIGITAL GAMES Step into the hairy feet of…

The 1980s setting has enabled the developer to flex its passion for the era of John Carpenter (Escape From New York is a direct influence), VHS fuzz, and gradius synth rock. “Personally it’s been a lot of fun because I grew up in that era,” says Gustafsson, who tells us to look out for movie posters and other Easter eggs that pay tribute to the decade. “We try to do them in such a way that they bring back the ’80s feel, which is super-fun. And, of course, the art direction has a lot of ’80s elements.”…

The decision to have two female lead protagonists in a series that has traditionally been about a muscled male hero laying waste to hordes of Nazis is a bold one, but it’s not a reactionary one. The idea of putting BJ’s twin daughters Jessica and Sophia front and centre was taken even before work began on New Colossus. “In our entire career we have been working with male protagonists, so it is something new for us and also something that makes sense because we wanted to do an alternative storyline,” explains executive producer Jerk Gustafsson. “And we wanted to set the game in a different time period so it made sense to use the twins.” The developer is keen to stress “there’s no specific agenda” and he “doesn’t think in…

When you think about Japanese RPG titans, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Persona may spring to mind – all series with rich histories stretching back to origins in the ’80s. Rarely does a brand-new series become a similar sensation, but in Japan the free-to-play mobile JRPG Granblue Fantasy has become something of a phenomenon. “We set out to make a hit game, but the way Granblue Fantasy grew to where it is today is different from how we imagined it would go,” explains Tetsuya Fukuhara, the series’ director. “From the start, the goal was to make something that could rival JRPG franchises like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, and for all of Japan to know about the game.” NEW FANTASY It’s been developed in part by JRPG veterans – including…

Action games specialist developer PlatinumGames co-developed Relink through the first years of development, building the fighting system, character action, and level design. Here are some of the earlier masterpieces you might know the company from… Bayonetta PS3 / 2009 Directed by the legendary Hideki Kamiya, Bayonetta was one of Platinum’s first titles, and it set a new bar for character action titles. The now-iconic titular witch summons demons from her hair to fight angels, and it is riotous fun. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance PS3 / 2013 With the firm’s reputation for mastery of action established, Hideo Kojima turned to Platinum when he needed someone to get the action-packed Metal Gear spin-off right. Battles feel immense and oh-so satisfying. Nier: Automata PS4 / 2017 Yoko Taro’s sequel to the cult hit…

This ace fighting game developer is known not just for building competitive esport fighters, but also for creating beautiful anime-styled visuals for them – adapting other properties into fighting games as well as putting out its own flagship releases. Here are three you might know… Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 PS3, PS4 / 2017 This revised version of the most recent entry in the Guilty Gear series is a visual treat. Transplanting the pixel art of the 1998 PlayStation Original, its vibrant 3D animation looks like an anime in motion. DragonBall FighterZ PS4 / 2018 Paying astounding attention to detail, Arc System Works made this Dragon Ball fighter that’s approachable to newcomers and the fighting game hardcore alike. It has a ton of references to the source material. BlazBlue: Cross…

Young people, each seemingly with short-term amnesia and a dark secret, are forced to survive a strange situation together cut off from the outside world. If that sounds a bit Danganronpaesque, you won’t be shocked to learn this game is from the same company. This is no lazy filling of a template, though. Minor spoiler: you’re soon told – by two cartoon characters that talk at you from the TVs dotted around Garage Island – that the group is made up of clones, each with a lifespan of just 13 days. But! Once dead, be that via old age or otherwise, a clone can be reborn as a child via the ‘Extend Machine’. Death can come from various angles. Zanki is about 60% visual novel, 40% first-person survival dungeon crawler.…

DEAD OR ALIVE 6 Jess Kinghorn makes Nyotengu her main After being thoroughly schooled by a Nyotengu early in my ranked career (and having been given a season pass and digital deluxe edition), I decided to turn the tables. Now, taking to ranked to test out a new character is ill-advised, and the first Kasumi I came up against battered my winged lady, but eventually, turn the tables I did… though Player 2’s dodgy connection may have had something to do with it. The adjustments made to how you unlock costumes also means that I may get all of the Lady Tengu’s impractical wardrobe this decade. BATTLEFIELD V Oscar Taylor-Kent has arranged a surprise The launch of Firestorm mode has reinvigorated my interest in DICE’s WW2-set FPS. Especially with the…

THE VANISHING 6 MAY Gerard Butler stars in this based-on-true story about lighthouse keepers who vanish after a trunk of gold washes up on their island. WELCOME TO MARWEN 13 MAY Flawed biopic of Mark Hogancamp, the victim of an assault who built a mini WW2 village as therapy. Watch the documentary instead. THE FAVOURITE 13 MAY Olivia Colman won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as Queen Anne, caught between two women vying for her favour. GLASS 20 MAY The third chapter in M. Night Shyamalan’s superhero universe is a sequel to both Unbreakable and Split, but after a riveting opening it falls apart. DRAGON BALL SUPER: BROLY 27 MAY The first Dragon Ball Super movie follows Goku and Vegeta as they encounter Saiyan Broly, and duke it…

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. It’s not the most imaginative name in the world, is it? Massive Action Game. MAG. If it sounds like a working title that stuck, that’s because it was exactly that. But when MAG’s servers were first opened to the public on PlayStation 3 in 2009, it was nudging revolutionary. So for the most part, that title was accurate. In an interview with Engadget, the producer, Alan van Slyke, said the team at Zipper Interactive wanted a name that stuck, that conveyed scale. “When you start coming up with these super-long names with multiple syllables, it tends to kinda get washed out pretty quickly. MAG is just a really solid name.” Job done. Massive? Its battlefields teemed with up to 256 players,…

1 UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END Nathan Drake’s swan song is a daring evolution. It combines series-defining set-pieces, quietly devastating storytelling beats, and sprawling levels that make you feel like a real-life explorer. This franchise finale retains its signature charm, with the wisecracks flowing as fast as the bullets, while the new characters each justify their inclusion. With an astonishing attention to detail, it’s Naughty Dog’s best yet. 2 RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 There are a lot of open world games, but none that make you feel like you’re a part of a world in quite the same way as Arthur Morgan’s wild west adventure. Tremendously physical, an epic story, and some of the most satisfying headshots you’ll ever find. 3 GOD OF WAR A departure in some ways but…

Oscar Taylor-Kent GAMES EDITOR Oscar flew to Chicago to cover the Fallen Order reveal, and eat original deep dish pizza. He was in his doughmain. GAME OF THE MONTH Ghost Giant FAVE GAME DUO Junko & Mukuro Jess Kinghorn STAFF WRITER After playing Blood & Truth Jess put her new SAS training to use, disarming Oscar of his biscuit treat. She’s such a nice person. GAME OF THE MONTH Far: Lone Sails FAVE GAME DUO Ico & Yorda Miriam McDonald OPERATIONS EDITOR Dreams is a highlight for Mim this issue. She’s planning an interactive garden. It’ll dreamatically change gaming. GAME OF THE MONTH Dreams FAVE GAME DUO Ratchet & Clank Milford Coppock MANAGING ART EDITOR A huge Wolfenstein fan Milf’s already planning his way around MachineGames’ ’80s Paris. It’s what…

JUMP TO IT, ALICIA The film adaptation of Crystal Dynamics’ 2013 take on Tomb Raider will be getting a sequel. It’s unclear whether it will in turn adapt 2015’s Rise but Alicia Vikander shall return as Lara Croft. Screenwriter Amy Jump, the pen behind Kill List and A Field In England as well as High-Rise, has joined the project. PAPER CUTS You may not know the name Eric Chahi but you should, as he made the classic Another World. He’s back on PS4 soon with Paper Beast. This PS VR adventure that enables you to explore a complete alien ecosystem in virtual reality. It looks incredible, and could be this year’s best new virtual reality game. ICE AGED ON PS4 The ‘social survival’ sim Frostpunk: Console Edition is heading to…

The influence of tabletop roleplaying games is stronger than ever. Not only does almost every triple-A release feature experience points, stats, and other legacies of D&D, but we’ve a glut of adaptations, with everything from Shadowrun to Call Of Cthulhu to Cyberpunk going from page to screen. The thing is, all these RPGs have something in common: they’re decades old. It’s clear that the tabletop games that are inspiring developers are the ones they played as teens in the ’90s, ’80s, or even ’70s. They’re classics for a reason, but they’re the grandparents of the medium, rooted in old-fashioned ideas. 2077 looks fantastic, but how much does the 30-year-old Cyberpunk setting have to tell us about our present, let alone the future? Lovecraftian horror remains a rich vein, but do…

1 Anne Marks, your mum, is the head of the family in the wake of your father’s death. Unfortunately, the family business is not entirely above board. 2 Anthony Sharp wants to take over the Marks operation. His brother Keech, wrangles your family at gunpoint to get together the paperwork for their takeover. 3 You have to use every trick in the book to get to Keech, let alone anyone else. It turns out you can’t actually solve every problem with a bullet… 4 …Though you can solve a lot of problems that way. This is an action movie in PS VR, after all. You’ll be skulking through nightclubs, hotels, and casinos.…

CODE VEIN As a struggling paranormal photographer, you’ll have to perfect your timing to snap camera-shy vamps, proving their existence to the world. With a points multiplier determined by the number of teeth in the frame, it’d help if they smiled. FORMAT PS4 ETA WINTER FINAL FANTASY XIV: SHADOWBRINGERS A noxious cloud descended upon Eorzea after the Viera’s food festival was sabotaged. As an iron-stomached Hrothgar, you have to track down the perp in this culinary whodunnit. FORMAT PS4 ETA 2 JUL THE SINKING CITY In this shooter, this town is going to the docks. Eldritch landlords have bought up everything and are moving their developments into the ocean. You’re armed with nowt but a minigun against Oakmont’s housing prices. FORMAT PS4 ETA 13 NOV…

FORMAT PS4 ETA OUT NOW PUB WARNER BROS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT DEV NETHERREALM We only review finished games, so in Viewpoint we go hands-on with near-final code of a game that just missed our review deadline. Robin loves kombos, dekapitations, and unnecessary Ks, and he’s been putting Mortal Kombat 11’ multiplayer and arcade ladder through their paces This series has always gone its own way – from its exuberant storyline to its love of guts and gore to the distinctive feel of its bouts, Mortal Kombat does one-on-one fights like no-one else. And perhaps its greatest strength has been its willingness to reinvent itself with each entry. The cast of characters, with both their past and present looks reimagined via a convoluted time travel tale, stand out as Mortal Kombat 11’s…

Quietly reflective though he may be, the gleeful bombast of the now-21-year-old fighting game series Guilty Gear sprung rocking away from the mind of Daisuke Ishiwatari. A renaissance man, he’s the father of the franchise, acting not just as director, but also as designer, and sometimes as voice actor, character artist, and composer of the guitar-shredding jams, as well as doing the score for Arc System Works’ sister series BlazBlue. The very first game launched for PlayStation in 1998, and is being re-released soon for PlayStation 4. We sit down with him to talk through the last 20 years. OPM: It’s been over 20 years since the original Guilty Gear came out on PS1. Did you have any idea the series would be so long-lived? Daisuke Ishiwatari: I didn’t spare…

Before becoming captain of the Grandcypher, the main character led a solitary life in the small island town of Zinkenstill, with just the lizard-like Vyrn. Seeing an Erste Empire airship in the sky, they happened upon an Imperial Officer named Katalina, who was fleeing soldiers with a mysterious blue-haired girl, Lyria, in tow. After the soon-to-be Captain tried to protect Lyria, she merged their souls to save them from a mortal wound, and summoned the huge Proto-Bahamut to keep the Empire at bay as they made their escape. Lyria is a descendant of the Astrals – beings who could control the power of the primal beasts, god-like creatures which rule over different domains of the Skydoms. The group decided to search for Estralucia, the mythical home of the Astrals, in…

The original Granblue Fantasy is all about assembling a crew and heading out for adventure, so naturally over time hundreds of interesting and wonderfully designed characters have been added to the mix. Each has their own lore and special events where you get to know them. It’d be impossible to include them all in the PS4 games, but here are some of the ones we know will be appearing in Granblue Fantasy: Relink and Granblue Fantasy Versus… “The Captain” (Gran and Djeeta) Appearing in: Granblue Fantasy: Relink, Granblue Fantasy Versus It’s two for the price of one with Granblue Fantasy’s main protagonist character – the default names are Gran and Djeeta respectively for the male and female designs, but both are known as “The Captain”. In the original RPG, you…

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.…

For a game built around VR, Space Junkies is resolutely old-school. Its multiplayer deathmatches hark back to ‘90s arena shooters like Quake and Unreal Tournament,1 dropping four players into a map scattered with weapons – pistols, shotguns, and an explosive slingshot – where they trade headshots, respawn, and repeat until someone hits the score limit. The key difference is that, rather than using their legs like suckers, each player steers a jetpack using a combination of head tilts and the analogue sticks. It’s an appropriately floaty way of navigating, given the zero-G environment, although more motion sickness-prone players beware: this can lead to some real ‘ground control to major vom’ situations. The shooting is less responsive, because Space Junkies doesn’t allow you to use PS Move controllers.2 Instead, you aim…

April’s line up wasn’t fooling around. Your two PS4 titles were united by a core theme: survival. Both plopped you down into dire straits where it’d perhaps be far more expedient to list the things not actively trying to kill you. In CONAN: EXILES you began as a crucified outcast, punished for crimes you may or may not have committed. After tweaking the infamously intimate particulars of your created character, titular bad lad Conan freed you to explore the prehistoric stylings of the surrounding desert. Originally the only biome, in the PS Plus version this arid open area fed into The Frozen North thanks to a recent update. Both environments not only boasted harsh climates but also plenty of beasties and bosses you had to approach with caution. The content…

Like an extra-tight pair of biker leathers, there are some things about Trials Rising as a service that don’t seem to fit quite right. The introduction of ‘season’ challenges feels a bit odd; and the cosmetic-based lootboxes, online store, and multiple currencies are eye-rolling. Global multiplayer matches you with up to eight randos to race it up with. ‘Up to’ is noteworthy, as sessions will struggle to match you with even half that and hang like nobody’s business. That’s why the simplest aspect of Trials’ online still holds up – ghost data. As you play each level, you’ll see the ghost of your PSN friends and random players racing alongside you, taunting you with better times while also revealing tips for improving your route. VERDICT Private multiplayer is still “coming…

ULTRA HD TEXTURES Get ready for Borderlands 3 with this free enhancement to Borderlands: The Handsome Collection that bumps it to 4K when you play on PlayStation 4 Pro. HANTU PORT This Sniper Challenge in Hitman 2 is currently only available as part of the Expansion Pass. New challenges and targets await Agent 47 and a coop friend in Singapore. PLANTOIDS SPECIES Unlock a different race to play as in Stellaris – the Plantoids. These sentient plants have devised space travel, and want to spread their seeds and roots to more galaxies. FREE UPDATES GRIP: Combat Racing has been shaken up with an update that adds a ton of extra content. Four more tracks, plus all-new team multiplayer modes, will challenge you. PARKLIFE Finally Blur have the Cities Skylines DLC…

Every gamer loves a good Easter egg. An Assassin’s Creed leap of faith in Metal Gear? Sign us up. And what’s better than Easter eggs? Real Easter. There was plenty to celebrate in Easter events this year. The “shellebration” kicked off in Final Fantasy XIV with Eorzea’s Hatching-tide. For that we needed to find hidden eggs and solve tricky puzzles – but we were amply rewarded with eggs to decorate our homes and fetching armour based on the egg-fiend Spriggan monsters. Easter also saw the return of the rather wholesome Eggcellent Adventure as part of Ark: Survival Evolved. The best part was the community-based egg painting competition that saw you finding and painting in-game eggs freehand (there were different categories for mouse-wielding PC players and PS4 DualShock warriors). All you…

1 “WHETHER YOU’RE BEING STRANGE ALONE OR WITH OTHERS, IT’S A BRIGADE WORTH JOINING.” 2 “AN EPILOGUE IN COMPARISON TO THE PS3 TRILOGY, BUT IT WILL BE REMEMBERED AS THE SERIES’ DEFINITIVE GAME.” 3 “AN MMO SHOOTER THAT RISES ABOVE STORY PROBLEMS BY LETTING YOU CREATE YOUR OWN EPIC NARRATIVE WITH FRIENDS EVERY SECOND OF PLAY.” 4 “A MONSTROUS RELEASE, A BEAST OF A GAME THAT’S MANAGED TO MAKE COMPLEX IDEAS COMPREHENSIBLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE SERIES’ HISTORY.”…

PICK #1 VIRGINIA Jess Kinghorn is still sleuthing A surprisingly colourful noir, the Twin-Peaks-inspired Virginia is one you’ll want to stay hot on the trail of, even though you’ll be under close scrutiny. It’s a case I’m turning over in my mind some time later. What starts out as a simple mystery regarding a disappearance quickly becomes a disorienting web of cinematic cuts and surreal, supernatural sequences. This is a bizarre journey well worth making. PICK #2 GONE HOME Oscar Taylor-Kent should visit more often Arriving home from overseas, you find your family house in Oregon empty. This leads you to explore the notes and clues around the place, gaining access to locked areas, and unravelling just what happened. As you learn more about your character’s past and the lives…

PS Vita has welcomed all into its broad library, but it’s always given an especially warm reception to niche genres, which have flourished on the system. It’s a JRPG haven. Fittingly, then, the long-awaited re-release of the very first Utawarerumono is heading West early in 2020, and will be doing so even on PS Vita (alongside a PS4 version). A tactical JRPG, its thinking-cap-requiring battles are perfect for picking up and putting down in small bursts. Sun Tzu was no couch potato – war is active.…

Editorial Editor Ian Dean @IanDean4 ian.dean@futurenet.com 01225 442244 Managing Art Editor Milford Coppock @milfcoppock Operations Editor Miriam McDonald @crinolinerobot Games Editor Oscar Taylor-Kent @MrOscarTK Staff Writer Jessica Kinghorn @KoeniginKatze Editorial Director, Games Tony Mott Brand Director Matthew Pierce Content Director, Games & Film Daniel Dawkins Senior Art Editor Warren Brown Contributors Vikki Blake, Sarah Connock, Jordan Farley, Laura Francis, Malindy Hetfeld, Ford James, Luke Kemp, David Meikleham, Dom Peppiatt, Alex Spencer, Robin Valentine, Ben Wilson Advertising Media packs are available on request Commercial Director Clare Dove clare.dove@futurenet.com Account Director Kevin Stoddart kevin.stoddart@futurenet.com 01225 442244 Subscriptions Head of subscriptions Sharon Todd Circulation Head of Newstrade Tim Mathers Production Head of Production Mark Constance Production Project Manager Clare Scott Advertising Production Manager Joanne Crosby Digital Editions Controller Jason Hudson Production Manager Vivienne Calvert…

’80s The neon-soaked decade that’s the setting for the new Wolfenstein. 1,189 Seconds in the very first PlayStation State Of Play stream. 10 New games came to PS Now last month, including Metal Gear Solid V. 692 Times Oscar has died to the Guardian Ape’s fart attack in Sekiro – so far. 250,000,000 Fortnite players – every one ready to snipe at us the instant we leave cover. 70.7 Percentage of The Division 2 players with the trophy for calling for backup. 6,221 Miles we travelled from OPM Towers to the Star Wars Celebration.…

Concrete Genie whimsically brings a whole new meaning to ‘life drawing’ as in it your painted creations come alive. In addition to the main campaign (centred around a boy called Ash and his quest to liven up the walls of his drab seaside home, Denska), two PS VR modes have been announced for the upcoming title. The first of these is called the VR Experience mode, and in it you get to know one of the paint-splatter-sprites-come-to-life, Splotch. Beneath Denska’s forboding lighthouse, you join Splotch on an adventure to unlock a mysterious power. Your Living Paint powers are pretty mysterious as it is, so we’re looking forward to donning our headsets and investigating further. IN LIVING COLOUR The second VR mode is Free Paint. After you’ve completed the VR Experience…

THE STATE OF IT PlayStation’s inaugural State Of Play livestream highlighted a great year for PS4, and for VR in particular. ID I DO It happened! You can now alter your online PSN ID, and the first change is free. If you miss your tag you can even change back! Personally speaking, Team OPM are happy with our past selves. SHOT OF FUN Rage 2 shared its crazy weapon and ability combos in a blitz of new footage. We can’t wait for this colourful, open-world Doom-alike. NO BUNNY BOYS Final Fantasy XIV’s Tokyo Fan Fest gave us a look at the rabbit-like Viera race coming in the Shadowbringers update. But it’s a female-only race. Boo! FINDING SMILE Team Grounding, developing Space Channel 5 VR, is trying to contact Apollo Smile.…

There are no games this year that I am truly excited for. Unless The Last Of Us 2 or Ghost Of Tsushima release then nothing really piques my interest. DMC5 and Sekiro look worth a go but aren’t really things I am passionate for. 2018 was a completely different story. God of War, Detroit, Spider-Man, Red Dead 2, Destiny 2 expansions. What a year it was! I’m not sure it will ever be topped. But I’m not upset about there being a lack of games for me this year. Because of this I have had the chance to slow down and explore the wonderful worlds of RDR2 and God Of War. So I’m not bummed out if this is a quiet year for PS. I’m relishing it! John Allen via…

1 HEAVY RAIN Microwave meals have rarely looked more depressing than in David Cage’s interactive drama. Tasked with feeding his son on a dreary school night, Ethan can make Shaun a healthy(ish) dinner, or the world’s saddest microwave pizza. Being the terrible PlayStation parents that we are, of course we went for the soggy pepperoni pie. 2 FINAL FANTASY XV By Gordon Ramsay’s sweary Glaswegian tones does playing FFXV ever make us hungry. Square Enix goes all-out when it comes to treating Noctis to satisfying eats. Not only are dishes like the Fried Frontier Skewer so tempting you’ll want to lick your telly, but Ignis can cook over 100 recipes when the group makes camp. 3 UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END After Nate faffs about in the attic during the…

“THE DISC JOCKEY’S SHINING SCALP IS CRACKED OPEN IN THE FINAL STAGE.” FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2019 / PUB METRONOMIK / DEV METRONOMIK Drum and guitar duo Bunk Bed Junction has had a bad run. Its members, Mayday and Zuke, are left with no option but to live in the sewers as the titular EDM empire reigns above. But it wouldn’t be rock ‘n’ roll without a bit of rebellion, so the pair strike back against No Straight Roads’ retinue of artists and try to take back the city. While cousins Wan Hazmer and Daim Dziauddin were working in Tokyo (on Final Fantasy XIV and Street Fighter V respectively), the pair would meet every other Saturday to bounce ideas off of one another. Both had achieved childhood dreams of working…

This wasn’t meant to be so important. On paper this spin-off sequel to Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, a prequel to Wolfenstein III (while not officially announced, the Wolfenstein games have been referred to by devs as a ‘trilogy’), is a spiritual successor to Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. But the play on its namesake is cover for something more remarkable. This entry in the series is taking the run-and-gun formula of old and pushing back the boundaries and embracing the open-ended flexible gameplay of co-developer Arkane Studios. It’s a game that – to paraphrase Freddie Mercury and embrace Youngblood’s ’80s mood – ‘wants to break free’. While MachineGames is the lead developer and still the franchise runner, the inclusion of Arkane Studios, famous for creating games embracing player choice and freedom,…

While introducing co-op, open-ended missions feels like a bold step forward for the series, the core of the game is still the brutally fun gunplay we’re come to love from MachineGames’ Wolfensteins. “We are sticking to a lot of things we like about the last game. The combat experience in general feels like what we have done before; of course when you are two players the whole thing becomes a different dynamic. But the gun feel is something we try to make better for each game,” highlights executive producer Jerk Gustafsson. There are many weapons returning from the previous games, as well as some new ones to master. But that’s not to say it’s all business as usual. For Youngblood the dev has evolved the upgrade system to offer more…

1998 GUILTY GEAR The attention to detail in the designs of Guilty Gear’s characters and mechanics, coupled with the lightning-fast combos, made it a hit with fighting game fans in the know. 2000 GUILTY GEAR X Like oil paintings indeed, the leap to PS2 made the pixel art gorgeous. The story was fleshed out and mechanics sharpened, introducing cancels. 2014 GUILTY GEAR XRD -SIGN- Any anxiety we’d had about the move from 2D to 3D evaporated when we saw Xrd in motion. Like an anime come to life, you hardly notice it isn’t 2D until its sensational camera flourishes prove otherwise.…

“YOU’LL SOON DISCOVER IT’S ONE OF MANY MISDIRECTIONS THAT BUILD TO TELL AN EMOTIONAL STORY.” Deacon St John is a name that evokes ’70s aftershaves and casual sexism. It is, honestly, a terrible name. But it’s also a name the game pokes fun at, at the expense of its hero. “Holy shit, was your dad a preacher or something? What a *blorp*ing crazy name,” quips a late-game sidekick. Not everything is what it seems, or as expected, in Sony Bend’s open-world apocalyptic scavenger hunt. Not least its hero, whose bear-with-a-sore-head persona softens to reveal shades of a likeable lead. Thankfully Deacon St John is less a grizzly and more Yogi bear, albeit one with a penchant for furrowing his brow in a mid-’90s Harrison Ford grump. And shout a lot.…

The top-down shooter enjoyed a revitalisation with Hotline Miami, and in the intervening half a decade (yes, it’s been that long since it came to PS4) there have been many pretenders to the throne. Most recently, The Hong Kong Massacre swapped out Miami’s neon-bright, ’80s throwback schtick for a more straitlaced, John Woo aesthetic. God’s Trigger is more like an episode of Supernatural.1 Demon Judy and angel Harry are on a mission from God… sort of. To avert the apocalypse, the pair take on the four horsemen through stylish comic panels and sadly far more by-the-numbers in-game cutscenes. The unlikely allies are characterised in broad strokes but their quipping is endearing enough and at first glance their distinct fighting styles offer a compelling amount of variety. Fighting with a chain,…

For the past year or so it’s felt like everyone has been trying to capitalise on the success of the battle royale genre. What makes Battlefield V’s own attempt, Firestorm, great is that it doesn’t feel tacked-on. It feels natural. It feels like Battlefield. That’s down to a combination of both speed and a lack of it. Everything still has the weighty realism you’ve come to expect. It all feels fluid, but your movements feel like they have consequence. Ammo is scarce, and different weapon types are important, but matches themselves feel lighting-fast. Capped at 64 players, matches don’t overstay their welcome, and the titular wall of fire encroaches in fast bursts. It’s not ponderous – it’s tense, it’s quick. Either solo or in squads of four, it’s terrific fun.…

SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER – THE GRAND CAIMAN Kit out with a new pack of gear and see if you can take the heat in this new volcanic challenge tomb. Avoid lava below and all sorts of spitting fire traps to avoid Lara Croft becoming a well-done Lara Crispy. DEAD BY DAYLIGHT – ASH VS THE EVIL DEAD A new survivor joins the fray – Ash Williams from The Evil Dead. He might not have a shotgun or a chainsaw, but he can still escape the evil that hunts him. Importantly he’s voiced by Bruce Campbell and does say “groovy”. Comes with unique player perks. DEVIL MAY CRY 5 – BLOODY PALACE Take your pick of devil hunter – Nero, Dante, or V – and pit them against a…

Love ’em or hate ’em, after five films of utter Bayhem the Transformers series was in need of a fresh lick of paint. Enter animation whiz Travis Knight, who has given Hasbro’s robots in disguise a welcome fresh start. Hailee Steinfeld stars as Charlie, a down-on-her-luck teen who discovers a yellow VW Beetle being sold for scrap… but it’s much more than meets the eye. In pursuit of the exiled Bumblebee are Decepticons Shatter and Dropkick, the bad bots aided in their efforts by John Cena’s military man Agent Burns. Under the direction of Michael Bay the Transformers films became less about the bond between man and robot, and more about how many explosions could be squeezed into a single film. Bumblebee returns to the spirit of the former, as…

The first six years of my adulthood were spent working in kitchens, and despite the blood pressure-raising chaos of working the prep and the pass, there was something soothing about it – an immediate gratification in creating something and tasting the fruits of your labour right away. I thought Overcooked would emulate all the best parts of the experience… but it hits closer to home than I expected. When you pick up a videogame like this – something advertised as a family-friendly co-op extravaganza – you don’t expect it to cost you your friendships. But somehow, Overcooked manages to distill the frantic chaos of being a line chef into four face buttons and Bomberman-inspired level grids. “DISTILLS THE CHAOS OF BEING A LINE CHEF INTO FOUR FACE BUTTONS.” Overcooked’s reputation…

1 TETRIS EFFECT Tetris, yeah? It might be a great game, but it’s easy to understand why you’d brush this off as just more Tetris at a glance. Yet Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s trippy, transcendent take on the block-based puzzler is nothing short of a masterpiece. Sure, you can play it without PS VR, but in the virtual space it really becomes next level, transforming one of the tightest puzzle games ever made into an emotional ride. 2 THE PERSISTENCE This first-person horror roguelike offers perfectly sized chunks of survival bursts. It’s everything you’d expect from a full PS4 release, but in PS VR it’s filled with clever ideas, unique weapons, genuine jump scares, and fab looks – plus great couchplay. 3 REZ INFINITE Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s vision becomes reality in PS VR.…