Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2020 i PLAY

Company shuffles aren’t always a bad thing. Some of the recent changes at Sony only hammer home the company’s fundamental dedication to games. These moves include Guerrilla Games’ Hermen Hulst being promoted to head of Worldwide Studios (Sony’s amazing suite of talented first-party developers), and former head and Sony veteran Shuhei Yoshida moving to spearhead a “new initiative” to work more closely with independent developers. “I AM BEYOND EXCITED TO LEAD SUCH A TALENTED TEAM.” A press release issued by Sony makes clear the long history Guerrilla Games has shared with PlayStation. The development studio had a very friendly relationship with PlayStation even before it was purchased by Sony in 2005. “I have worked closely with PlayStation and the entire Worldwide Studios family since 2001,” says Hulst. “I have the…

The latest entry in the legendary side-scrolling fighter series Streets Of Rage is resolutely retro in spirit and application. And that’s deliberate. “The common mistake is […] trying to add too many of today’s trends. You don’t need to implement RPG mechanics, you don’t want to over-modernise the game,” says designer Jordi Asensio. Though it’s been 25 years since Streets Of Rage 3 launched, this made-for-PS4 sequel feels like it’s been buried since 1994. The hand-drawn, hand-animated visuals sell the look, but it’s the combination of retro music and gameplay designed as it would have been in the 16-bit era that combines to make this a blast from the past fans will adore. Promising new characters and special combo moves but guaranteeing to feel old, Streets Of Rage 4 is…

RAIN DEAD A Death Stranding fan created a custom Instagram filter that allows you to create some moody shots that feel straight out of the game. It adds a rain effect, inky smudges that drip from your eyes, and an Odradek scanner at your shoulder. Check it out yourself at bit.ly/opm-dsgram. LOOK, DON’T TOUCH Japanese glasses brand Megane Ichiba is celebrating 15 years of Monster Hunter with seven pairs of glasses designed in the style of key franchise monsters. Rathalos, Fatalis, Nargacuga, Tigrex, Zinogre, Brachydios, and Velkhana are all represented and come with a case and cloth. Yours for ¥16,500 (£120). FIVE IN HAND Patents aren’t always concrete, but this new image from the Japanese patent office might suggest what PS5’s DualShock might look like. More rounded, it looks like…

PERSONA 5 SCRAMBLE: THE PHANTOM STRIKERS Painting the town red Format PS4 ETA 20 Feb 2020 (Japan) Pub Atlus Dev P-Studio, Omega Force “IT LOOKS INCREDIBLY FLUID EVEN WITH DOZENS OF ENEMIES PILING IN TO ATTACK JOKER.” Omega Force’s take on Persona 5 is far from a simple Warriors reskin. The dev is known for its “one vs a thousand” Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors hack-and-slash series, and so was the logical choice to develop the Persona series’ first action RPG. Six months on from their heart-taking adventures, the Phantom Thieves are taking a well-earned holiday when they have to tackle a menace threatening the whole country. This means taking part in large-scale battles in the Metaverse, with combat seamlessly incorporating the turn-based style of the main game in real…

OUTRIDERS Format PS4 ETA Sep 2020 Pub Square Enix Dev People Can Fly Less boisterous than its predecessor Bulletstorm, Outriders will still be edgy enough that you might want to put gloves on before handling it. One thing’s clear: People Can Fly gets the pure, fun appeal of shooters. Stir that into a one-to-three-player co-op game and you’ve a recipe that has our mouths watering. We’re intrigued to find out what’s going on with the brooding lady with good eyeshadow and her two beardy pals next year. DEATHLOOP Format PS4 ETA TBC Pub Bethesda Softworks Dev Arkane Lyon Julianna and Colt have a lot in common. Both are skilled assassins with the ability to harness supernatural powers, and are focussed on achieving their own goals. If only they weren’t at…

Format PS4 ETA TBC Pub Bigben Interactive Dev Cyanide Studio Cyanide Studio is ready to mix it with the Triple-As for its new game, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood. Set in the World Of Darkness tabletop RPG universe (which also has two Vampire: The Masquerade games incoming), this is an action RPG that enables you to mix werewolf forms to blend stealth, melee combat, and a choice-driven narrative. We chat with game’s director Julien ‘Patch’ Desourteaux about influences, ambition, and wolf rage… OPM: Why does the source material demand an action-focussed game? Julien Desourteaux: Werewolves are mighty and brutal creatures that have always fascinated writers but rarely videogames makers. The World Of Darkness adds to the werewolf’s myth with a very mature and rich background while still keeping the essence…

Format PS4 ETA 2020 Pub Modus Games Dev Dreams Uncorporated What happens if you can weaponise time? That’s the pitch of indie RPG Cris Tales. This blend of classic Japanese-influenced roleplaying and the unique idea of seeing three time periods on screen at once (and using them in combat to age and de-age enemies and weapons) is one of next year’s most original games. We sit down with Dreams Uncorporated CEO Carlos Rocha Silva to discover more… OPM: Where did the idea come from? Carlos Rocha Silva: We’re used to making games with very unique mechanics (the previous game the team worked on was Haimrik: a medieval game about a character walking on top of words and making them come to life). This one was an attempt at making a…

AFTER THE FALL Format PS VR ETA TBC Pub Vertigo Games Dev Vertigo Games The developer behind Arizona Sunshine is embracing multiplayer for its next VR shooter. After The Fall offers post-apocalypse co-op scavenging, survival, and sharpshooting, set in an alternate 1980s when designer drugs have turned most people into zombies. “Where our previous foray into VR shooting, Arizona Sunshine, is a somewhat slower-paced survival experience, After The Fall is all about adrenaline-pumping action,” says game designer Nick Witsel. THE WALKING DEAD: ONSLAUGHT Format PS VR ETA TBC Pub Survios Dev Survios Survios’ take on the famous TV show’s undead will get the blood pumping in VR. There are a number of characters from the show to play as, too. The game mixes scavenging with melee and ranged combat. But…

Format PS4 ETA TBC Pub Modus Games Dev Chris Darrill Arts, Stormind Games Remothered: Tormented Fathers was widely acclaimed as a return to survival horror’s realistic roots. We sit down with artist and director Chris Darrill to learn how the sequel will scare. OPM: Would you say anyone else is making horror games like you? CD: It’s unusual to think that in such a rich and fertile genre there are no real competitors, both because it may be the only one of these new generation games to be able to boast [our] gameplay structure in third-person, and because the themes touched in the game always have a credible scientific component, which never crosses the pure sci-fi or the paranormal horror genres. Many players have ironically called the game - probably…

Format PS4 ETA 2020 Pub Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment Dev TT Games Nine in one. Do we need to say any more? Oh, all right then. The Skywalker Saga takes all nine Star Wars films (including the forthcoming The Rise of Skywalker), replicates them using millions of brightly coloured virtual bricks and scatters them among the stars for you to play in any order. “FROM THE SWAMPS OF DAGOBAH TO STARKILLER BASE.” Each film is represented not by one expansive hub area filled with that textbook Lego humour, but a collection of planets to venture to (which you can revisit at any time afterwards). It’s all here, from the murky swamps of Dagobah and the harsh desert of Geonosis all the way to the snow-capped Starkiller Base. Each chapter in…

Format PS4 ETA Early 2020 Pub THQ Nordic Dev Mimimi Games Playing like an isometric Hitman (if Agent 47 had gunslingers backing him up) Desperados III looks like it’ll scratch our stealth itch. Design director Moritz Wagner explains how we’ll win the west… OPM: How are the game’s controls being handled on PlayStation 4? Moritz Wagner: Gamepad controls are a top priority for us from the start of every project. Every ability and character is designed so it works well on a gamepad, even in early stages. The main difference to the control scheme compared to mouse and keyboard is that you directly control the characters. This makes the game feel different, but I think in a very positive way. It’s more immersive. Another very important aspect for our gamepad…

WHAT YOU DO IN… SWJ: FALLEN ORDER ALSO ON PLAYSTATION 4 PRO As you’d expect from any soulsborne, Fallen Order has two modes of play on PS4 Pro: performance and standard. The former runs at 1080p with 60fps for accuracy but drops detail, the latter has upscaled 4K visuals at 30fps. We found performance mode stuttered. COMPEL-O-GRAPH LOVING/ HATING LORE HUNTER Embracing Star Wars’ fantasy aspects and a bit of Tomb Raider, you can’t help but love the cinematic spectacle of Fallen Order. PLATFORM PERILS But moving and fighting in this world feels disappointingly loose and sloppy. Sadly, Fallen Order is less than the sum of its parts. TROPHY CABINET BRONZE Kick one of those irritating phillaks that has kicked you using Cal’s unlockable dodge-kick move. SILVER…

Already an internet sensation for all the wrong reasons, Visual Concepts’ new grappler has to be experienced to be believed – except there’s no way anyone should pay £50 to do so. This is the first game in the Smackdown lineage built without Japanese studio Yuke’s’ involvement, and it shows. Glitches, like characters teleporting or duplicating,1 are commonplace. Hair physics are shocking for anyone with a style longer than shoulder-length. Championship belts morph through clothing. Creation features are largely unusable, should you wish to avoid eternal loading screens or random crashes. Gulp. Yet for all its issues, this isn’t a complete failure. The core wrestling is solid, with bouts paced to match what you see on Raw or Smackdown, and a handful of areas improving upon WWE 2K19 – such…

Picture the scene. You awaken strapped and chained to a wheelchair, in a creepy mansion. You have no idea where you are, how you got there, or why. Your only hope of escape is a young girl who speaks a language you don’t understand. What’s the one thing that could make the situation worse? That’s right – homework. You’re not getting out of here without lots of lateral thinking. Your character’s predicament means that the game is played through head movement and liberal use of q. In your right hand is a strange remote with a single button. Pressing it activates the laser your mysterious captor has placed on your head; in this way, alongside nodding and shaking your head, you indicate to the girl what you want her to…

You are John Blacksad, a six-foot-tall black cat with a nose for fighting crime. In this noir vision of New York (based on the Spanish hit comic), there are no humans but all of the animals have very adult problems and understanding them is vital to unravelling this old yarn. A belligerent rhino barrels into your private detective office, demanding that you don’t dish his particular bit of dirt. After nearly punching your lights out and then threatening you, he attempts to bribe you. Characters’ behaviour is, in a word, messy and the writing places believable motives behind their actions. Barry Johnson convinces as John Blacksad, getting the furry detective’s charm and world-weariness down pat, but the rest of the cast are oddly understated. Familiar noir beats are faithfully recreated,…

Perhaps playing table tennis in a garage wasn’t the sort of adventure you dreamed of when you first bought a PS VR headset, but such a game does make sense. It’s something a huge number of people already understand the rules of, swinging a PS Move controller in VR is more immersive than moving a stick with your thumb, and chances are you don’t have space for the table in your living room. The problem is, this game is up pong creek without a paddle. The presentation immediately rings alarm bells. There are no player avatars, meaning that you and your opponent are floating ping pong paddles. While you can make things more exciting by pretending it’s a poltergeist sport, this is indicative of deeper problems, and we’re not just…

You could play Death Stranding offline and alone, but your life would be as hollow as those of the isolationist Preppers. Online, as you walk from one destination to another you constantly come across other people’s structures – ladders, bridges, generators, even safe houses. Large structures like roads between cities require a huge amount of resources, so players you’re connected to will chip in to create them. A month from release, the game’s still active, with the best structures being maintained and the less good degrading, as we all refine our journeys. Along with other players in our game we’ve connected every Prepper station in the Eastern Region with one giant zipline system. Heartwarming. VERDICT Few predominantly single-player games give you this feeling of connection with other players, or create…

GAME FACTORY Creator Keduko has put together a boardgame experience inside Dreams. You can play alone or against three friends across a series of minigames that test your skill and timing. We love the dice animation and the Bishi Bashi Special mix of ideas and game styles. WABBY AND DUCKY'S ADVENTURES There’s no game yet, just a beautifully sculpted tease of what creator SDorin has in mind. We can’t wait to see how this cute river rapids adventure evolves. In the meantime pay a visit to SDorin’s In Dreams page for some inspiration. BLAZING LAVA (TECTONIC TURMOIL REMIX) “About a year ago from now, I created a piece of music intended for a volcano level. Recently, I thought that it’d sound awesome in Dreams, so I decided to remix,” says…

The show must go on. Even though Borderlands 2’s fantastic antagonist Handsome Jack has passed on, it turns out his now-derelict casino space station has continued spinning ever onwards. Filled with the gaudy loot you’d expect from Handsome Jack, you can still gamble here… only now it’s with your life instead of chips. The Handsome Jackpot is a brand–new zone you can explore as long as you’ve reached the point in the story where you get a spaceship. It’s geared towards players at a humble level 13, but the challenges within will scale up so that everyone can enjoy it to its fullest, and get the best loot possible. The reason the casino is on your radar is because Moxxi has requested your help in carrying out a heist. Her…

Effluvia is already a problem in Monster Hunter: World. Getting hit by it reduces your maximum health by half. So how deadly could it become if powered up by Resident Evil’s T-virus? The answer it turns out, is almost the opposite of what you’d expect. The recent crossover event between Monster Hunter: World and Resident Evil 2 added items and a quest to the former game, one in which getting hit with effluvia while fighting Blackveil Vaal Hazak zombified you. Which… restored your health? “ZOMBIFIED, OUR HEALTH REGENERATED WHILE WE SHUFFLED AROUND.” Zombified, our health regenerated while we shuffled around, unable to perform some actions until we downed a nearby green herb. It added a new sort of push-and-pull to a classic monster fight – much less annoying than basic…

FORMAT PS3 / PUB SONY / DEV INSOMNIAC GAMES / RELEASED 2011 / SCORE 8/10 The long and winding road has led you to New York. You’ve fought demons – internal and real, human and alien – and discovered maybe, perhaps, humanity isn’t worth saving after all. But you want your wife and child to survive, and for them you plough on into New York’s snowy canyons. Tonally Resistance 3 has more in common with The Last Of Us than it does the previous me-too shooters, and it’s here in the final moments, as you reach New York, that the game throws a late gut-punch your way. The Chimera horde at the terraforming plant is too great for one lone wolf, and without the genius of Dr Fyodor Malikov, who…

If our favourite numbered assassin kept a small notebook of his favourite kills, there’s little doubt that it’d mostly be full of his escapades from his last two games. 2016’s Hitman and 2018’s Hitman 2 were phenomenal back-to-basics approaches to the series, filled with sandbox levels bursting with creative possibilities to commit bloody (and silent) murder. And now, IO Interactive has confirmed a brand-new Hitman game is in the works. “WE’RE MOVING MORE AND MORE OF THE HITMAN 2 TEAM TO JOIN THE NEXT HITMAN.” While Hitman 2 wasn’t constructed as an episodic game like its predecessor, IO Interactive has continued to add extra levels and content post-release. But “after 13 months of full-time support and content for Hitman 2,” the company says in an update on its website, “we’re…

After picking up trophies for Best Narrative and PlayStation Game Of The Year for Days Gone at November’s Golden Joystick Awards, the team behind the open world survival-horror adventure got very excited. When asked what’s next the game’s studio director, Chris Reese, told us enthusiatically: “I would love to see more and see how it unfolds, absolutely, yeah…” “I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE AND SEE HOW IT UNFOLDS.” Though Days Gone received mixed reviews (we loved it and scored it 9/10 in OPM#162, mind) the game found a passionate audience and sales have been good. A summer of free DLC, including a Crazy-Taxi-style minigame in which Deacon St John must ferry survivors to safety past Freakers, proved a novel approach for Sony. “It is certainly a passion of ours,…

Whether you liked, loved, hated, or were indifferent to Death Stranding is irrelevant, really. Me? I thought it was a game surprisingly accurate at replicating a significant-if-mundane part of my childhood, one spent delivering errands for a disabled mum around a South Yorkshire pit village. At times my mind shifted to the memory of my beloved six-gear mountain bike, ultimately torn away from me by a horrible scrote as I foolishly left it outside the fish and chip shop. I’m over it. Really I am. Almost two months from release, it’s preposterous to be talking about Death Stranding’s legacy. Nobody would have asked Stanley Kubrick what 2001: A Space Odyssey meant for the cinematic medium a month after release. Fifty years on, Paul McCartney still fields questions about the inner…

“STACK UNLOCKS TO CREATE NEW AND UNIQUE VARIANTS ON ELLIE’S SKILL SET.” Format PS4 ETA 29 May Pub Sony Dev Naughty Dog This sequel is going to be big. So big it needed one more short delay to polish the details, but we’ll give Naughty Dog the time; it’s in the developer’s DNA. Where the original game was a fairly narrow adventure that rarely strayed away from Joel and Ellie’s story, The Last Of Us Part II looks to have broader narrative strokes. The world is larger, and alive. The surviving humans have begun to rebuild society. Camps have become towns, and there’s a semblance of normality in Ellie’s life – previous gameplay teases have shown us the warmth of this new world as she dances with her girlfriend, Dina.…

Format PS4 ETA 16 Apr Pub CD Projekt Dev CD Projekt Red Beautiful symmetry: the game based on Mike Pondsmith’s tabletop RPG Cyberpunk 2020 is going to be releasing in that very same real-life year, though with the setting shifted forward a positively futuristic 57 years (picking up some threads from the original setting). Given the dev’s The Witcher 3 credentials, we fully expect CD Projekt Red’s take on the neon-’80s gritty projection of the future to be massive and sweeping, packed to the brim with story quests and different ways to spec your character. Taking place within the densely inhabited walls of Night City (and its outskirts), you play as V, a mercenary who you can customise however you want. Not only does that cover things like their body…

Format PS4 ETA 13 Mar Pub Koei Tecmo Dev Team Ninja 2017’s Nioh was a pleasant surprise, offering Dark-Souls-inspired combat in Sengoku-period Japan, infused with magic and fantasy. Nioh 2 feels like everything a followup could and should be (set before the first game, it’s a prequel of sorts). “WE SUMMON A HAMMER, BRINGING IT DOWN ON OUR UNSUSPECTING FOE.” Our hands-on sees our new, customisable half-demon protagonist making his way through a village, dispatching impish creatures with relative ease – although just as in FromSoftware’s soulsborne games, any enemy you encounter will prove startlingly dangerous if you don’t keep your distance. SWORDS AND SORCERY You can see Team Ninja’s Ninja Gaiden DNA here – cherry blossoms fall delicately from trees, while stone walls give way to bamboo structures, and…

Format PS4 ETA Summer 2020 Pub Techland Publishing Dev Techland This zombie post-apocalypse doesn’t just use a span of 15 years to set itself apart from its predecessor. In this sequel, you take on the defined calf muscles of new, infected protagonist Aiden Caldwell as he parkours across a city waiting to be shaped by your choices. You’ll be clambering, wall-running and grapple-hooking your way through the city using almost twice as many parkour manoeuvres as you could in the last game. You can even use the infected to break a steep fall. The zombies themselves tend to prefer the night and the darkest corners of the city. They’re not as easily avoided this time round, and if you spend too long surrounded by them in dark areas the situation…

Format PS4 ETA 2020 Pub Blizzard Dev Blizzard The granddaddy of loot’em-ups is returning, and it’s learned a few tricks from the kids. On the surface Diablo IV looks like Diablo III with a new grimdark makeover, but this sequel is embracing MMO elements to bring it into line with the likes of Destiny and The Division. The game will be always-online and the world will be populated by other players keen to team up with you – though some will be ready to steal your loot in a new PvP addition to the series. “THE WORLD WILL BE POPULATED BY OTHER PLAYERS TO TEAM UP WITH.” There’s some balancing to be done to maintain Diablo’s sense of isolation, that feeling of exploring a dangerous fantasy world alone with only…

Format PS4 ETA 15 May Pub Square Enix Dev Crystal Dynamics You can’t often say that one of next year’s biggest releases might also be the biggest of the following year. But that’s the kind of juggernaut Crystal Dynamics is building. The studio’s focussed on building not just a single great Avengers adventure, but a platform on which many adventures will take place. All these ongoing updates, which we’ve been told could be even be supported for years, will be free, adding even more heroes and stories to the game. (So far only premium costumes have been touted as extra content that you have to purchase.) The story, as it’s been revealed so far, centres on six superheroes: the core Avengers team most of us are familiar with (Iron Man,…

Format PS4 ETA 2020 Pub TBC Dev Oddworld Inhabitants Described as a ‘retake’ of Abe’s Exoddus, with Soulstorm Oddworld Inhabitants hopes to get the quintology back on track. It follows 2014’s New ‘N’ Tasty, itself a reimagining of PlayStation 1 platformer Abe’s Oddysee, and is intended to be a true continuation of Abe’s journey as he becomes the leader of a revolution. Of course, one Mudokon does not a revolution make. You once again recruit a horde of followers to traipse after you, though this time around they’re useful for more than determining which ending you get. These ones can fight back. In our time with a demo, we saw our amassed Mudokons hurling an array of flammable craftables at armed Sligs that would have annihilated Abe had he gone…

There are lots of similarities between Earth and Hell in Afterparty, which might say more about our own existence than the fire-and-brimstone one inhabited by demons and tormented souls. Yes, those who find themselves in the bad place have to deal with eternal torment, but only as part of the 9-to-5 to give their torturers a break. Outside the workplace, humans and demons share drinks, and party long into Hell’s night. Recent college graduates Lola and Milo unfortunately find themselves graduating life too, entering into Hell together due to their untimely deaths being linked. Narrowly missing sentencing as they turn up late, they’re granted one free night in Hell, and end up pursuing a loophole they hear about – outdrink Satan in a drinking game, and he’ll let you go…

The Need For Speed series has always been at its most ebullient when the streetlights are on and the sirens are flashing, and Heat embraces this front and centre. But modernity insists focussing on the thrill of the chase alone in 2019 would be too narrow. So Heat gives you a choice between gameplay styles – and the result is literally night and day. If you want to go and cause trouble with the cops and then try to lose them and bank your newly-earned street rep, just select ‘Night’ before setting out. After dark, they’re hot on the heels of miscreants. If you’d prefer to go exploring and do all the usual Burnout Paradise-style billboard smashes, stunt jumps, speed traps, and collectible hunting, you can go out during the…

Eery time I find and collect a new weapon my on-screen hero enters a state of gun-happy euphoria. The screen explodes, shakes, and pulsates violently, and in the middle of the psychedelic lightshow a tiny figure bangs his head to the chugging riffs engulfing my speakers. Hair flailing, music raging, new gun in hand, this is a shooter that’s happy to wallow in its absurdity. And I want to play so much more… It’s Flash Gordon riding a hoverbike against a wall of lasers as Queen’s power chords crash out of the screen; it’s Spinal Tap’s hilariously tiny Stonehenge; two friends headbanging to Bohemian Rhapsody; a gooey Galaxy Of Terrors demanding to be blasted. Valfaris is the feeling of all of these things wrapped in a tailored take on classic…

Do you ever look at politicians on the news and think, ‘I could do better’? Then you’re a little weird and need a virtual power trip. We’re in the realm of empire building, of taking a group of tiny humans huddled by a campfire to the heady heights of becoming a global superpower. A legend on PC, turn-based strategy sim Civilisation VI finally, ahem, turns to the PS4 to spread its reach. It’s a game where megalomania is a good thing, but in this edition staying on top is harder than ever. It ticks all the boxes you could want from a tactical world-builder: there are both single-player and multiplayer modes. The music is just the right side of grating.1 The core loop has you gathering resources to upgrade your…

There’s a lot to be said for a simple, accessible online racer and Grid is delightfully easy to get into. Quick Race gives you a three-stage mini championship, and private matches go up to five. Collisions are solid and pleasantly survivable, and the racing is close and enjoyable, though it all seems to play out on the same few circuits. Computer cars fill empty grid slots, but oddly the AI can suffer from lag, so someone is clearly hosting everything. Rep earned carries over to your offline level, but otherwise there’s no consequence to victory or failure besides your own pride. The lobby’s waiting area sees you driving around the original’s Demolition Derby track (albeit without the jump), sadly highlighting what could have been. VERDICT Grid online is instantly playable…

“RAIN CAN ADD ATMOSPHERE – PEACEFUL OR MELANCHOLY – TO YOUR SCENE IF IT’S DONE RIGHT.” Welcome to another instalment in our Dreams tutorial series. In this episode we’re talking about weather effects, specifically rain. Rain can add a lot of atmosphere to your scene – peaceful, refreshing, or melancholy – if it’s done right. It’s a game of balance, though, and the effect can get distracting and weaken the overall impact of your scene if it’s overdone. The technique we’ll use in the tutorial can easily be tweaked and modified, and once you master it, other effects (such as sparks, smoke, and fire) should be less daunting to explore on your own. They’re all based on the same principle of manipulating brush strokes, fleck types, fleck spacing, fleck effects…

Despite possessing a notoriously terrible fanbase (if you want to despair for humanity, google “Rick And Morty Szechuan sauce”), Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon’s misanthropic adults-only ’toon is as wildly entertaining and inventive as ever, some two-and-a-half years after the show was last on the air. New to Rick And Morty? Imagine if Back To The Future’s Marty and Doc Brown went on time-travelling adventures with plots as immature as they are ingenious. Rick is a narcissistic asshole with a god complex, Morty is his put-upon grandson. Once, Rick got turned into an OP pickle. That covers it. Season four starts strongly with the Edge-Of-Tomorrow-spoofing “Edge Of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat”, a textbook slice of Rick And Morty madness as Rick dies over and over again, with horribly escalating consequences.…

1 “REMAINS A HOLLYWOOD SHOOTER, RIGHT UP UNTIL THE FAN-SERVICE POST-CREDITS ENDING.” 2 “PS1’S PREMIER KART RACING GAME IS ALSO THE FINEST ON PS4. WITH FREE UPDATES TO COME, WE’RE STAYING ON THE GRID.” 3 “SOMEHOW FINDS TIME NOT ONLY TO EXPLORE THE BONDS OF NON-TRADITIONAL FAMILY UNITS BUT ALSO TO TELL AN AFFECTING TALE OF FAILED FATHER FIGURES.” 4 “BETWEEN THE STARBOARD IMMOLATION AND OCCASIONAL RAPID DECOMPRESSION AFT, IT’S SILLY FUN, BOASTING A BUBBLY PERSONALITY.”…

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.…

“THEY SPAN TWO CONSOLE GENERATIONS AND TWO HANDHELDS, AS WELL AS THE RELEASE OF PS VR.” Spanning two home console generations and two handhelds, as well as the release of PS VR, whittling down ten years of PlayStation games into the best 15 is a thankless task. But we did it. 15. LIFE IS STRANGE While The Walking Dead and Gone Home did it first, it was Life Is Strange’s socially aware writing, subverted character archetypes, and heartfelt childhood drama that took the template to new heights. We miss Max and Chloe. 14. FINAL FANTASY XIV: ONLINE A game that spans the entire decade, Final Fantasy’s online world went from pariah to MMORPG phenomenon. Constantly evolving, designed with PS4 in mind, and crammed with memorable moments, few games have managed…

Having recently secured funding from an investor, and with a follow-up to Erica under way, the mood is good at Flavourworks. Jack Attridge, co-founder and creative director, shows us around the company’s cosy studio in the heart of London, strewn with props from Erica (one of the perks of making a live-action game), and discusses how they’re thinking about a bigger space to grow. “WE COULD DO THINGS THAT TRIPLE-A GAMES COULDN’T DO EFFECTIVELY.” Although the PS4-exclusive thriller hasn’t been out long, the team is already preparing to strike while the iron is hot. “With the next game, not only do we want to push it more into feeling like a game you can marinate in, but also build on completely new mechanics and support a very different genre from…

Naughty Dog and art curation specialists Cook & Becker have teamed-up to offer four gallery-quality framed prints of concept art from The Last Of Us Part II. Seattle Arrival by John Sweeney depicts Ellie on horseback set against the skyline of a crumbling city. It evokes the feel of a classic western scene. There’s continuation of the Wild West feel to the second artwork, Powerlines by Robby Johnson. Joel and Ellie are silhouetted against a sunset, framed by bent and aged pylons. The old world is definitely over in this sequel. The third scene, Hunting In The Woods, another by artist John Sweeney, shows Ellie raising her rifle to an unseen enemy hiding in the woods. The final artwork is the most interesting. Painted by Ashley Swidowski, it shows Ellie…

Format PS4 ETA 3 Mar Pub Square Enix Dev Square Enix Next year marks 23 years since Final Fantasy VII released on PS1, changing what JRPGs could be. It told a mature story through the mechanics we’d come to love in previous games in the genre, with a cinematic flair that could only be accomplished on the newest hardware. It was a literal game changer. In 2020, Final Fantasy VII Remake will accomplish the same by reimagining the story for a new generation, bringing the Midgar portion of the original to life once more. While it was impressive before, on PS4 the tiered city of Midgar is grittier and more believable than ever, its sprawling alleys teasing new stories and secrets we haven’t seen previously. It’s technologically advanced, and powered…

BOUNDARY Format PS4 ETA March Pub Huya Dev Surgical Scalpels We emerge through the space station’s solar panels like a submarine breaching the ocean’s surface, and as the glass glitters in the sun’s rays our rival is taken by surprise. Two shots is all it takes. There’s no up or down in zero-G shooter Boundary, and it ensures we’re learning new tactics with every round. It’s more than Call Of Duty in space; the weapons and upgrades are tailored to orbital combat and offer novel ways to play – such as ’floating’ medikits to teammates. Boundary will be one of 2020’s hits. DISINTEGRATION Format PS4 ETA TBC Pub Private Division Dev V1 Interactive This game is nothing like you expect as it’s a) not a The-Cure-based adventure and b) not…

HUMANITY Format PS4, PS VR ETA 2020 Pub Tha Ltd Dev Enhance Tetris Effect, Enhance’s last game, was a deeply human experience. This quality carries over in Humanity, a game all about following the crowd – one of hundreds and hundreds of people. Lo-fi renditions of people walk around, following each other to create dense, ant-like traffic, over narrow bridges in the sky, changing direction at large floating arrows, and clashing against others dressed in black going the wrong way. Expect this beautiful puzzler to be meditative. PROJECT SAKURA WARS Format PS4 ETA Q2 2020 Pub Sega Dev Sega What if 1940s Japan had had robot mechs piloted by women? As alt-history goes, it’s a unique premise, and one that’s finally returning – the last Sakura Wars game came out…

“THE COMBAT IS SO GROUNDED IT’S DOWNRIGHT MUDDY.” Format PS4 ETA 2020 Pub Sony Dev Sucker Punch Productions Think of Sucker Punch Productions and you’ll immediately think of games such as the colourful and cartoony Sly Cooper Trilogy, or its edgier, flashy superhero saga InFamous. Ghost of Tsushima, by comparison, is reined in, but no less dripping with the creativity we’ve all come to expect from this first-party studio. Set during the 1274 Mongol invasion of Tsushima, an island between mainland Japan and Korea, the game builds on the experience Sucker Punch already has in creating open worlds that sparkle with opportunity. Playing as the island’s last remaining samurai, Jin Sakai, where you go and what you do is in your hands. The map doesn’t have waypoints, but unfolds based…

Format PS4 ETA 2020 Pub Sega Dev Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Thought you’d seen the end of the Yakuza series after Kazuma Kiryu’s final outing? Your man Ichiban Kasuga is taking the mantle of protagonist from Uncle Kaz and venturing away from Tokyo’s Kamurocho in favour of pastures new: Yokohama’s own fictionalised red light district, Isezaki Ijincho. Swapping street-fighting fisticuffs for RPG-style bustups, the seventh Yakuza game is a departure from previous Yakuzas in more ways than one. Ichiban, much like our Mim, loves Dragon Quest, giving more than a bit of fantasy RPG flair to fights. Not only is he able to change costume and weapon depending on his ‘job’ (the Hero carries a baseball bat, whereas the Host has a bottle of bubbly for his weapon of choice),…

Format PS VR ETA 28 Feb Pub Sony Dev Camouflaj The wonderful thing about pairing Iron Man with PS VR is how the two complement one another; it’s the ideal match of licence and technology. As we chat with the game’s director, Ryan Payton, he’s clear that perfecting the sense of flight came first. “The initial prototype came together extremely quickly thanks to the incredible work of Camouflaj engineer Troy Johnsen, and I think even he was blown away by how fun the game was after only a few days of work,” reveals Payton. “Even in its early ‘grey box’ form, it was really fun to fly around using physics thrusters from the palms of your hands.” Having played the game we can say it is one of the best…

Format PS4 ETA TBC Pub Blizzard Dev Blizzard Has Blizzard revealed a sequel or an expensive expansion? That’s the question. If you’re a current Overwatch player then you may see this as overpriced DLC, but if you’ve never met Tracer, D.Va, Widowmaker, and the gang before then Overwatch 2 is the sequel aimed at getting you hooked into Blizzard’s blend of team-based shooting. Regardless of your take, there’s definitely content here that fans new and old will love. All-new to the game are Hero and Story Missions. These PvE modes offer a unique spin on Overwatch’s fast-paced gunplay. The draw of co-op Hero Missions is the opportunity to grind through various locations in the Overwatch universe, fighting for randomised goals against established characters, and levelling up your favourite hero in…

PREDATOR: HUNTING GROUNDS Format PS4 ETA 2020 Pub Sony Dev Illfonic Ever been watching the iconic ’80s movie and found yourself thinking: “if I were the Predator, I could do better”? Well, now you can put your laser where your vertical mandibles are. This fun asymmetric multiplayer sees a fireteam of four soldiers fighting NPC mercs in a jungle, while a fifth player tries to add their skulls to their trophy collection. Predator powers abound, from thermal vision to plasmacasters, but the soldiers aren’t pushovers, making every match exciting. TRIALS OF MANA Format PS4 ETA 24 Apr Pub Square Enix Dev Square Enix For years it looked as though the 16-bit sequel to Secret Of Mana would never be released in English, but now we’re getting it all decked out…

Format PS4 ETA 4 Feb Pub Rebellion Dev Rebellion Developments As weird and crazy as its premise is – post-war Europe is threatened by a Nazi army of the dead led by a zombie Adolf Hitler – playing Zombie Army 4: Dead War it’s clear everyone involved is taking this at face value. It’s got the tone of the excellent Overlord mixed with peak House-Of-The-Dead-era Sega. There are hordes of zombies to shoot, and a whole lot of quipping and blood and bangs between you, your friends, and the game’s end. “SWAP BETWEEN YOUR RIFLE AND CLOSE-QUARTERS WEAPONS.” Playing Zombie Army 4 brings back memories of the dev’s previous co-op shooter, Strange Brigade. “There are links,” teases Tim Jones, head of creative at Rebellion Developments. “Some of which, if you’re…

WHAT YOU DO IN… SHENMUE III STAT PACK 8 Toys to collect from the Gem set capsule machine – trade in a full set for 1050 Yuan. 18 Years since Shenmue II released, though the story carries on right where it left off. 6.3 Million dollars – how much the Kickstarter raised to start development. 5 Thousand Yuan needed to pass a late-game roadblock. Save those herbs to sell! FRIENDS & ENEMIES Daughter of the stonemason you need to find. Becomes your rock. Bad boy with a heart of gold and a keen nose for treasure. You can call this hot dog vendor from the first game on the phone. HOW TO… MAKE SOME MONEY 1 Complete capsule collections can sell for a lot of dough, but every…

As the sun rises on Kurken Island and Ryza, Lent, and Tao sneak off to find a boat and reach the mainland, so too is it rising on a brand-new chapter of Atelier. The three friends just want a taste of adventure, and they get it. Meeting an alchemist in the forests of the mainland, Ryza quickly decides to learn the arcane craft herself – and the trio quickly end up embroiled in a dangerous conspiracy that could threaten their island home. What this means is a story that feels more like a traditional JRPG than ever, albeit a brief, lightweight one that unfortunately strays a bit too far from the series’ core alchemy premise. Often Ryza’s own journey feels more like an afterthought.1 The new combat system has you…

WHAT YOU DO IN… NEED FOR SPEED: HEAT STAT PACK 127 Licensed cars in the game, including Ferraris and Lamborghinis (but no Toyota). 16 Simultaneous online players, which is double the number in Need For Speed Payback. 435 Collectibles to find, and speed traps, long jumps, and drift zones to beat. 18 Districts on the Miami-inspired map, from Rockville to Cape Castille to Mendoza Keys. HOW TO… GET HOME SAFELY Gas Stations fix your car instantly three times every night, and 10,000 credits buys you a Repair Kit from the Auxiliary Mods section early on – just tap e for a health boost. Another 20K buys you damage and defence perks. Now… run! LOVING/ HATING LOOKING SLICK The customisation options are superb. Brilliant decal editing, aftermarket spoilers,…

We all enjoy the feeling of moving forward in games (honestly, who likes grinding or doing busywork?), and this action-RPG gives you a satisfying sense of progression, despite its simple retro appearance. You play as a mechanic named Ada who must stop the Baron from destroying the land of Geodia. The basic combat1 is introduced by way of a brief tutorial, after which you’re whisked to the safety of the Refuge, which acts as the main hub. Here you meet the locals, who task you with collecting the game’s currency, the titular mineral Sparklite, which you can then use to access new weapons and gadgets, or upgrades for your health and damage. Heading out into the procedurally generated world, you encounter enemies and quirky mini-dungeons.2 You occasionally find chests that…

Listen, and understand. The Terminator franchise is out there. It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. Even James Cameron doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are beaten into submission and accept they’ll keep making more of this stuff… With Terminator: Resistance the developer only has the rights to make a game based on The Terminator and T2. As Teyon’s opted to tell a prequel set in post-apocalyptic 2028 Los Angeles, just prior to Kyle Reese jumping back in time, that means we at least get to shoot it out in the films’ iconic future war. Playing as resistance soldier Jacob Rivers we’re trying to find John Connor’s unit and warn him of the new Arnold-model T-800s. Terminator:…

01 ONE LINE IS ALL IT TAKES Go to Modes>=Paint Mode. Select Tools>=Rule Flecks. Set the fleck type to circle. Enable Guides>=Grid snap and draw a vertical line like this from top to bottom (the direction our rain will fall). It can be difficult to get it completely vertical, and it doesn’t matter if it’s slightly angled. This is really all the manual work you need to do. The rest of the rain effect is done through tweaking this line. 02 FROM ONE TO MANY Open the Paint properties (scope out of Paint mode and select your object). Choose Tweak Selected, then the Duplicates tab. If you need the rain to always appear around the player, you can make positional duplicates around the camera. (I chose the Inside sphere option.)…

SOULCALIBUR VI – HILDE This Princess General heralds the beginning of the fighter’s second season pass (£26.99), and is also available separately. With sword and spear in hand, her regal arts are fierce. She also brings customisation options and her own story. SID MEIER’S CIVILIZATION VI – EXPANSION BUNDLE PASS Two expansions for the strategy game – Rise And Fall and Gathering Storm – in one bumper bundle. The former adds the dark ages and golden ages, the latter brings in a host of new environmental and weather effects. BLAZBLUE CROSS TAG BATTLE VER 2.0 Update your game with nine new characters from various franchises, including stories for them and additional colours for all. Akatsuki Blitzkampf and Senran Kagura characters join the fray, alongside more RWBY, Persona 4, Blazblue, and…

ARROW SEASON 8 FORMAT SKY ONE PRICE VARIES DEPENDING ON SUPPLIER Eight years and one small-screen universe later, Oliver Queen is hanging up his bow after the current run of Arrow episodes wraps up. The multi-series Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover (which concludes mid-January) will form the crux of the season. SUPERGIRL SEASON 5 FORMAT SKY ONE PRICE VARIES DEPENDING ON SUPPLIER Superman’s big-screen future is in question, but Kara Danvers, aka Supergirl, is keeping the Krypton torch burning. Leviathan is this season’s big bad, while season 5 will deal with the fallout of Lex Luthor revealing Kara’s identity to his sister. THE FLASH SEASON 6 FORMAT SKY ONE PRICE VARIES DEPENDING ON SUPPLIER Arguably the best of the Arrow-verse shows, The Flash has achieved what the movies have thus…