Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2021 i PLAY

We’re often told that digital is the future of gaming. Countless games have been splurged onto digital storefronts without ever being sold in physical form. This shift to digital should make it easier for companies to keep selling products for longer, free of the need for factories, warehouses, and stores, but the threat of no longer being able to buy PS3, PSP, or PS Vita games digitally gave many players and collectors pause for thought. “We have two conflicting opinions when it comes to the digital market,” says Jay Sherman, co-director of Super Retro Bros, a retro gaming shop in Nottingham. “There’s many great games available exclusively on the PS network that will soon disappear that haven’t had physical releases, like Bomberman Ultra and Spelunker HD, and as gamers and…

“I WISH TOMB RAIDER WOULD GO TO ITS ROOTS A BIT MORE. THE NEW ONES ARE GOOD, BUT THEY AREN’T TOMB RAIDER.”LUKE CRUTE WISHES LARA WOULD GO BACK TO BASICS “WITH ALL THE REMAKES BEING MADE, THE ORIGINAL WOULD BE SO WELCOME.”SHANE BEAR AGREES VOTE NOW! Tell us the five games you can’t wait to play at ian.dean@futurenet.com 01 Gran Turismo 7 After months at home, we’re all ready to hit the road once again, even if it is just on our PS5s. Format PS5 ETA 2022 02 Horizon Forbidden West Aloy’s next adventure draws ever closer – and as it does, you get keener to play it. Format PS5, PS4 ETA 2021 03 Deathloop We’ll have to wait a little longer to break the time loop:…

“EQUIPPED WITH A GIANT THROWING STAR, YUFFIE’S A UNIQUE FIGHTER.” FORMAT PS5 / ETA 10 JUN / PUB SQUARE ENIX / DEV SQUARE ENIX / PLAYERS 1 The first part of the Final Fantasy VII Remake series will return as an expanded rerelease for PS5. It will include a new chapter called Episode Intermission, starring Materia hunter Yuffie Kisaragi in pursuit of her biggest mark yet. The episode follows the mystery ninja as she leaps into conflict against the Shinra Electric Power Company. One of two completely missable characters in the original PS1 classic (the other being Vincent Valentine), Intermission suggests that Yuffie will be a far more important character this time around. Due to her optional status in the original JRPG, she’s absent from pivotal late-game scenes. Over the…

FORMAT PS5 / ETA 2021 / PUB MERGE GAMES / DEV ITALIAN GAMES FACTORY / PLAYERS 1 Science and fantasy collide in a galaxy just a little further away than the famous one we all love. Out in the newly discovered Neterun galaxy humankind has located a powerful energy source, Sonic Matter, and millions of people have raced to settle there and harvest the new resource. But they’re not alone. “THE GALAXY IS LITTERED WITH ALIEN STRUCTURES.” The spirits of an ancient, lost alien civilisation haunt massive relics scattered throughout the galaxy. Like a story ripped from the pages of 2000AD or Heavy Metal, Haunted Space is a ship-based shooter where sharp horror and time-worn science fiction rub shoulders. ALIEN MINED As a Raider you explore Neterun from the comfort…

FORMAT PS5 / ETA 2021 / PUB MODUS GAMES / DEV WE CREATE STUFF / PLAYERS 1 Somehow, your apartment building being contaminated and surrounded by strange chemicals is only the start of your problems. Dodging ‘shades’, you find tapes of your patients in your therapy office, and have to dive into their memories as you battle your own mind. Of course, it’s haunted. Last time we laid on We Create Stuff’s couch to go hands-on with In Sound Mind, it was with Virginia’s tape. She haunted a supermarket as a wraith-like ghost, and we used a broken mirror to show her her reflection and scare her off. Each tape introduces unique approaches and actions that you can take, and the tools you discover can be brought forward to open…

“YOU’RE FREE TO EXPLORE AND DISCOVER OVER 30 SIDE-QUESTS.” FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 2021 / PUB FROGWARES DEV FROGWARES / PLAYERS TBC Young Sherlock is 21 and taking in the sun and sights of the Mediterranean-inspired island of Cordona. Not one to avoid tragedy, soon the great detective is embroiled in solving the murder of his own mother and a wider family mystery. Like Frogwares’ previous game The Sinking City, this detective yarn is played out in an open world; you’re free to explore and discover over 30 side-quests and crimes to solve. The deduction process from its Cthulhu RPG returns too, meaning gathered clues and witness evidence is added to your Casebook, from which you can draw your own conclusions. Combat is improved over The Sinking City. Sherlock…

FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2021 PUB MICROIDS / DEV MR NUTZ STUDIO / PLAYERS 1 You’ll get the chance to Roman around the world of this classic comic-book series in Mr Nutz Studio’s take on the iconic characters. Sail to beloved locations from the books as Asterix and Obelix and ‘slap them all’ in a bid to free Gaul from the clutches of the Roman Empire. Action is standard mix of melee combat and potion-swigging power-up shenanigans but everything’s brought to life by the hand-drawn and -animated visuals. There’s little to surprise you here, but Asterix & Obelix: Slap Them All! is a brawler that isn’t trying to reinvent the cart wheel. If you have a hankering for retro games stuffed with bad puns, you’ll be slap-happy.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA SPRING PUB PM STUDIOS / DEV SKROLLCAT STUDIO, KYX STUDIO / PLAYERS 1 Playing as the titular Hoa, a fairy who returns home to find her land asleep, you must jump and solve puzzles to bring life back to the place. It’s a standard setup that’s been given a fresh look with charming hand-painted art and beautiful animation straight out of the Studio Ghibli playbook. You may have played similar puzzle-platformers before but they probably haven’t looked as good as Hoa. The PS5 edition of the game features DualSense support designed to bring the action to life in your hands. Hoa can fly for short spells but as she depletes her energy to stay aloft the i trigger becomes stiffer. In keeping with the twee…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 2021 PUB MODUS GAMES / DEV JUTSU GAMES / PLAYERS 1 A name reminiscent of a brand of microwavable burgers and a protagonist with a passing resemblance to Jimmy Hopkins show this game’s developer isn’t wary of poking the copyright bear. It’s all part of the fun in a title that takes the Grand Theft Auto template and throws it back in time to a ‘historically inaccurate’ medieval world of cart chases, crossbow shootouts, and MMA (Medieval Martial Arts) cage fights. Everything you love about PS2-era GTA is in here, given ye olde spin and brewed just short of a cease-and-desist notice. The game even has a mandolin hip hop soundtrack – but you’ll need to recruit a bard to accompany you in this radio-free…

New-generation VR is coming to PS5, but PSVR 2 isn’t due until “beyond 2021”. In the meantime, there’s still plenty of fun to be had on the current hardware as developers work on games that’ll continue to push experiences in the medium. What makes PSVR so special, and where do we go from here? The immersion you get when you put a PSVR headset on and interact with a world via motion controls is deep. Actions become more intuitive, and therefore the whole experience feels more real, in VR. “Because your range of motions is so much greater when given use of your hands and head, the controls are more intuitive and require less buttons since so many actions are contextual,” explains 17-Bit’s founder Jake Kazdal, talking about making survival…

Our hero with no name stands on a dune and tips his hat against the sun as the music swells and a new dawn breaks. Mission accomplished, we see cinematic vignettes interrupt the rolling credits as characters we met along the way react to the new world order we’ve created. It’s very MCU, and feels meaningful in a clumsy SyFy way. That a loot shooter can raise any emotion after 40 hours of grind (other than cold gambler sweats for all the legendary gear you missed) is testament to Outriders’ focus on narrative progression. Unlike Destiny or The Division, which throw you back to a central hub to restart missions in areas you’ve already shot up, Outriders keeps the caravan rolling with the promise of new adventures. ENOCH KNOCK… Humankind…

WHAT YOU DO IN: BALAN WONDERWORLD HOW TO… BREED TIMS The Tims are equivalent to Nights’ A-Life system or Sonic Adventure’s Chaos, and love to eat the gems you collect. The gems are coloured, and if you feed Tims enough of them, they earn badges to show what they’ve eaten. Combine two Tims with all three badges and you can make a king Tim! FRIENDS & ENEMIES LANCE Balan’s counterpart completes the word ‘Balance’. But what is the pair’s relationship? FIONA DEMETRIA One of the 12 people you help, Fiona loves dolphins… before one nearly kills her. WORVILLE WRIGHT One of the 13 cool-looking bosses you have to beat. MULTIPLAYER The game is perfect for family play thanks to a clever co-op mode. Each player gains…

Time to make like a 1990s yuppie, and grab a Moto roller. A new season means a new officially licensed game, and the latest entry isn’t holding back in any respect. Again offering a surprising level of customisation, we begin by creating our own rider from what is an admittedly limited selection of heads. Thus our petrolhead son Willy Wheels is born, and we’re off to the races. It’s worth lingering on the personalisation options, which outside of the rider him/herself are surprisingly deep. You can tinker with the appearance of your suit, gloves, and boots, and even your bike. Best of all perhaps, you can create your own stickers. Nothing untoward, please. Despite allowing for a lighthearted approach to your appearance, MotoGP 21 is very much a sim. A…

Bite-sized simulation gameplay, helping characters come to terms with their pasts, watercolour-style visuals, charmingly angular bears – if you’re interested in any of these things at all, Cozy Grove deserves your attention. It’s like the surprisingly non-disturbing love-child of Nintendo’s Animal Crossing with a smattering of Studio Ghibli. While helping the phantom residents of Cozy Grove with all manner of daily quests (you’re a Spirit Scout on a haunted island), you can fish, craft, decorate, and spend far too much money on clothes and accessories for your adorable avatar. The same beats that enraptured Nintendo’s cute series are here, complete with the somewhat sardonic dialogue style. Between the pleasant visuals, relaxing music, and the enjoyable life-sim gameplay, there’s a lot to it. But though it’s a lot to love, it’s…

“It’s a loving remaster which never loses sight of what was so appealing about the original.” Hack. Slash. Shoot. Dodge. Fail. Again. Repetition is part and parcel of videogames but outside of recent roguelike titles it’s often taken for granted as a mechanical necessity and seldom more closely examined. In 2010 Nier debuted with a daddy protagonist searching for a cure for his daughter’s terminal illness. But a different version was exclusive to Japan, featuring a teen protagonist fighting for the sake of his sister’s health. Beyond these minor differences both versions tell largely the same story, but it’s the latter version that forms the basis for this rerelease, bringing the young hero to the West for the first time. Developer Toylogic has taken hold of Nier’s reins and overhauled…

On the first page of her new journal, Izzy leaves a mission statement: “I want to be a writer!” While she’s yet to realise what a terrible mistake that is, she does know that just wanting to be something isn’t enough. A writer writes, and so Izzy creates a story about a young word magician chasing a terrible dragon. Your role is twofold: in journalling sequences you control a nimble girl who literally jumps between the sentences Izzy writes.1 Sometimes you pick words to complete sentences, or interact with the images that go with the journal entries – after deciding to get rid of a history essay about Vikings, for example, you can pick the Viking’s torch up off the page and burn the image of the test. In the…

Just as Kamala Khan is ecstatic and excited to meet her superhero idols, The Avengers, and team up with them in the single-player campaign, it genuinely brings a smile to our face that Crystal Dynamics seems to feel the same way about PS5. Enhancements abound, and you can tell the devs were genuinely stoked to work on the console. The improvement in loading times is phenomenal. They’ve been transformed from over a minute long in some cases to seconds you can count on one hand. This hasn’t done away with some long corridors and elevator rides, however – presumably a matter of now-redundant convenient geometry. HEROIC-LOOKING Visually you’re given two options: Highest Performance and Highest Quality. But, you should note, the difference between the two is much smaller than the…

Hat Kid has always had a head for getting herself into a whole lot of trouble. Two new DLC packs introduce options for a wardrobe refresh and expansive areas to explore, alongside plenty of new opportunities for headgear-related hijinks. The first pack, Seal The Deal, sees the pint-sized purple protagonist set sail aboard an all-new chapter called The Arctic Cruise. Captained by a surly walrus, the SS Literally Can’t Sink is host to a slew of familiar faces from Hat Kid’s adventures and has a number of new timepieces to plot a course for. This DLC also introduces the aptly named difficulty mode Death Wish as well as new outfits, camera filters, and everything you need for your own cruise-ship photoshoot. “A mafioso moggy strongarms Hat Kid into doing dirty…

Ahead of the lunar-themed expansion Endwalker, patch 5.5 for Square Enix’s massively popular MMO has just dropped. Titled Death Unto Dawn, it’s intended to be a bridge between the end of the third expansion, Shadowbringers, and what comes next for Eorzea. Alongside this main story content, the patch also introduces the third chapter of Yorha: Dark Apocalypse, the Nier raid series. “A bridge between the end of Shadowbringers and what comes next for Eorzea.” Obviously, as stuffed as this patch is, that’s not all the FF news. The MMO, originating on PS3 hardware, has taken another giant leap forward as the PS5 version has now gone into open beta. Lengthy loading screens that plagued teleportation-happy players have been all but vanquished at long last, and that’s just for starters. This…

This classic just keeps on giving. It may be seven years old but there’s still so much more to be had from it. With a more satisfying narrative arc compared to its sequel, it always feels good to revisit Ellie and Joel’s first adventure from time to time. On PS5, it’s a must. “60fps makes all the difference when scurrying around Pittsburgh.” Taking the PS4 Pro version as its base, The Last Of Us Remastered offers improved shadows that add depth to the game’s world, and runs at 1080p and 2160p, at 60fps and 30fps respectively. Of course the PS4 Pro edition managed this too, but on PS5 those framerates are locked and steady. It makes all the difference, particularly when scurrying around in the ruins of Pittsburgh or playing…

Back in 2003, it was impossible to appraise Manhunt on its merits. Depending on who you asked, it was either a plastic bag thrust over the head of society so that Rockstar could choke the decency out of it or a focal point for the defence of free speech in a maturing medium. Who could tell whether it was fun or not? Released at the peak of the Housers’ notoriety, and held responsible, by some commentators, for actual murders and causing US lawmakers to question the videogame industry’s ability to regulate itself, Manhunt was more cultural lightning rod than game. “This is Splinter Cell for sadists, but without the gadgets – an omission that makes Manhunt more demanding than its peers.” Now the conservative establishment has moved on, we…

Whether it’s a retro rarity or simply had a limited printing, each of these games is already mega-expensive in physical form. If you want to nab them, buying them digitally while the stores exist and backing them up could be the best option you’ll have to play these legitimately. And these are just the tip of the iceberg. MEGA MAN LEGENDS FORMAT PS1 / PHYSICAL PRICE APPROX. £100-£170 DIGITAL PRICE $5.99-$9.99 Sure, the legendary third game never materialised, but both games together with spin-off The Misadventures Of Tron Bonne (the priciest of the bunch) make this a fantastic trilogy. Low-poly, cel-shaded visuals mean that even now the games look fantastic. And they’re dirt cheap to download on the US PlayStation Store. SUIKODEN II FORMAT PS1 PHYSICAL PRICE APPROX. £200 DIGITAL…

Arc System Works has managed to switch smoothly from being known for developing gorgeous pixel art fighters to being renowned for creating beautiful 3D fighters, and it’s all thanks to an awareness of the team’s strengths. “While we couldn’t compete with major game companies when it came to realistic 3D, we felt we stood a chance when it came to anime-style graphics,” says art director Hidehiko Sakamura, on making that change with the game before Strive, Guilty Gear Xrd Sign. “We placed the most importance on how closely we could make the game resemble hand-drawn 2D animation.” The approach has bled into the studio’s other fighters, Dragon Ball FighterZ and Granblue Fantasy Versus. “We felt we’d developed somewhat of a distinct style,” says Sakamura. “[With Strive] we then wanted to…

What was once seen as a safe mainstay of the year’s PlayStation release schedule was thrown into turmoil by WWE 2K20. After the late-in-the-day swapping of regular series developer Yukes! for new team Visual Concepts, the game was plagued by meme-worthy bugs. The series took a year off in 2020, and now the latter team is teasing its comeback. Can WWE 2K22 deliver? The debut trailer certainly looks the part. The nearphotoreal character models and next-gen lighting hint at the most realistic wrestling game to date. If Visual Concepts can bring an ounce of the attention to detail, visual flair, and DualSense support it delivered in NBA 2K21 then WWE 2K22 could be a surprisingly good package this winter. So far we’ve only seen Rey Mysterio and Cesaro in action.…

01 Nayo seems to be the pair’s main handler at Avalanche. The young woman is voiced by TV and screen actress Ashley Boettcher. 02 Zhijie is a quick-witted, playful fellow who distracts Shinra’s guards by making a joke about Yuffie’s moogle disguise. He’s voiced by Griffin Puatu. 03 Polk is one of the youngest members of Avalanche. He’s voiced by Daniel Amerman, best known for his appearance in Arrested Development.…

02 months CRIS TALES Weaponise time itself in this inventive RPG; throw your enemies into the future to age them. FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 20 JUL / PUB MODUS GAMES 04 months LIFE IS STRANGE: TRUE COLORS It’s not a Cyndi Lauper crossover but a new choice-led adventure. FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 10 SEP / PUB SQUARE ENIX 06 months BACK 4 BLOOD Horde it up in this co-op FPS that sees you battling parasite-driven monsters. FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 12 OCT / PUB WARNER BROS INTERACTIVE ENT…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 1 JUN PUB FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE / DEV STREUMON STUDIO / PLAYERS TBC There’s nothing more satisfying in gaming than taking apart a room full of dangerous enemies with surgical precision – aside from doing it with your pet growler in tow. If man’s best friend is a robotic pup capable of upgrades and possessing a bark as dangerous as its bite, then all the better. This latest venture into the licensing department of Warhammer 40,000 is looking like a lot of crazy fun. Set on the planet of Necromunda (a crime-ridden and filthy world notable for its termite-mound-like ‘hive cities’ and weapons factories) Necromunda: Hired Gun is a shooter with one eye on Doom’s incessantly violent pace. Picking up contracts, it’s a mercenary’s life…

FORMAT PSVR / ETA LATE 2021 / PUB FAST TRAVEL GAMES / DEV FAST TRAVEL GAMES / PLAYERS 1 You could compare the beginning of this VR horror with the opening of Hollywood classic Sunset Boulevard as the first thing you see is a dead body, who turns out to be your character, photographer Ed Miller. The comparison becomes even more apt when it turns out he also met his untimely demise within a decadent Hollywood mansion, at the hands of something more sinister than Norma Desmond. The setup is close to that of the 1994 World Of Darkness tabletop game it’s based on (it’s part of the same family as Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse). In Wraith, the recently dead become ghosts with unfinished business wandering an…

FORMAT PS4 / ETA 25 MAY PUB SEGA / DEV ATLUS / PLAYERS 1 What do you call a darker, edgier Persona? Nocturne, apparently (originally Lucifer’s Call in Europe). In 2003, the demon-summoning JRPG series came to PS2 for the first time. Modern Persona games owe it a big debt, especially when it comes to the dynamic battle systems and 3D exploration of its Japanese setting, which has been devastated by a religious calamity. HD Remaster polishes the visuals, and is based on the enhanced 2008 Japanese release. There are more difficulty modes, the translation has been tweaked, and it’s packed with voice acting, but this is a production faithful to the feel of the PS2 original.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA TBC / PUB WIRED PRODUCTIONS DEV NOSEBLEED INTERACTIVE// PLAYERS 1-4 Asked to look after the family launderette, you do the only sensible thing and turn the business into your very own Flynn’s Arcade. Part management sim, part sweaty love letter to the coin-ops of old, Arcade Paradise enables you to collect and display 35 games inspired by classics from the ’70s to the ’90s. All the games are playable and come with their own backstories. But don’t get hooked – if your arcade fails you’ll lose the lot.…

WHAT YOU DO IN: OUTRIDERS ALSO ON PLAYSTATION 4 Aside from some launch-day server issues (this is already popular!) Outriders runs like a dream on PS5. On PS4 it’s not so hot; plagued by asset and texture pop-in as well as enemies teleporting out of shot and framerate drops, last-gen Outriders struggles. MULTIPL AYER The entire game and Expeditions can be played solo or with one or two friends. Be warned, playing online sends the AI wild as it’s pulled in all directions by different combinations of empowered classes, but the game’s more fun for it. If you’re struggling, lower the Tier. THE DUALSENSE DIFFERENCE Outriders gives your DualSense a workout. Each gun feels different in your hands, with the Grim Marrow, a light machine gun that…

Modernising Abe’s quest to save his enslaved fellow Mudokons is quite the undertaking. The ’90s PS1 cult classics are very of their time. Rather than a simple remake, Soulstorm attempts to reimagine Abe’s Exoddus as it should have been. Sadly, it feels old-fashioned in all the wrong ways. But surely revisiting Abe’s adventures should feel a little old-fashioned, right? You’re not wrong, but in the process of bringing the 2D puzzle platformer up to date, it seems to have got lost somewhere around the 2010s, taking on the flaws of an entirely different era. The original games weren’t for everyone. ‘Cinematic platformers’ in the vein of the original Prince Of Persia or Another World, every movement was well-defined, tight, and predictable, every screen where Abe dodged meat saws and deadly…

With pickaxe in hand and gold to find, UnderMine has you delving underground to search for riches, rescue people, and fight off an awful lot of monsters at the behest of an Archmage who isn’t at all squeamish about the fact that you’re a peasant. To him, that just makes you expendable. While you may enter the mine feeling a strong sense of empathy for your working-class brothers and sisters, you’ll probably end up feeling the same way towards your characters eventually. Because you get with a new one every time you die, and you die an awful lot.1 UnderMine has no qualms about being punishing, because it’s also more than happy to let you become more powerful. As you beat enemies down with your pickaxe and explore new rooms,…

The Doom Slayer’s back to turn demons into warm lumpy yoghurt one last time, and you can tell that he’s still not smiling underneath that helmet. No wonder: after coming face-to-face with the Dark Lord at the end of the last chapter, he’s denied a fight and is forced to chase The Naughty One to Immora, the capital city of Hell. Yes, Hell has a capital city, raising some interesting questions about civic infrastructure. Those questions aren’t answered, sadly, but Id has worked hard to give Eternal’s story a suitably intense and epic ending. Each cutscene could’ve come from an enjoyably pulpy sci-fi horror, and there are multiple new enemies. As if the towering Baron weren’t troublesome enough, for example, there’s now a variant with regenerating armour. You have to…

WHAT YOU DO IN: NIER REPLICANT FRIENDS & ENEMIES KAINÉ A foul-mouthed swordswoman with some of the best lines in the game. Queen. EMIL A young boy with a terrible curse. Joining your party makes him feel more human. DEVOLA & POPOLA Twins who oversee the village and probably know far more than they’re letting on. STATPACK 03 Party members aside from Nier, including a talking book who’s handy in a scrap, a sweary swordswoman, and a boy with a killer look. 20 Hours : how long it will take to see your first ending. This being a Yoko Taro game, though, the ending is not the end. And nor is the second ending. 03 Playthroughs at the very least are required if you want to see…

Cute’ and ‘stealth’ might not go naturally together, but this combines the two with such pizzazz it feels natural. Following a young boy on a quest to find his mother, El Hijo presents an easy-to-follow narrative that’s not afraid to touch on some heavy themes despite its endearing and colourful visual style.1 The mechanics are wonderfully simple, with changes introduced at a good pace. Switching from distracting enemies with wind-up toys to shooting locks on shutters with your trusty slingshot so you can climb up to rooftops will have you feeling like a tiny, adorable stealth master in no time. You can even pull off a Metal-Gear-Solid-like cardboard box manoeuvre by hiding beneath a comically oversized sombrero.2 The game’s pervasive youthfulness really adds to the fun. Despite its simplicity, El…

There’s a body hanging outside your hostel window, and somehow that’s the least of your worries. You’ve trashed your room, and woken up with a killer hangover, none of your clothes, no memory of who you were and you’re missing your gun and badge because… ah, right, you’re a cop. Meeting with detective Kim Kitsuragi from a rival precinct (nobody can decide whose jurisdiction the crumbling Martinaise district falls within), it’s up to both of you to learn about the corpse. Who is he? Who killed him? And why? Tensions are flaring as the dockworkers’ union is on strike and the big business the dockers work for is eager for it to end, while the general lawlessness of the left-to-rot city of Revachol means trouble lurks around every corner. It’s…

Winter. It’s always winter. In this alternate history adventure game, the year is 1980 on an Earth that saw no victor in World War II. Szymon, a young boy left alone with no option but to venture out into a nuclear winter, explores an abandoned Nazi bunker. What follows is an exploration-focussed experience that pulls few punches in following threads from history to a speculative fiction conclusion. As you venture into the pitch-black bunker with nothing but your trusty lighter for company and illumination, there is an undeniable sense of tension. However, once you get the power back on, it’s clear that whatever monsters lurked down here once are now long gone, and all you’re left with are reams of their missives to read through. A desire to excavate the…

01 Tetris Effect Tetris, yeah? It might be a great game, but it’s easy to understand why you’d brush this version 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. 02 Hitman 3 Every mission in the World Of Assassination trilogy can be played in PS VR via the latest entry in the series. That’s a lot of murderous action. It all plays brilliantly too, with the act of puzzling through hits as Agent 47 perfectly suited to virtual reality. One of PS VR’s…

With PS3 delivering realistic graphics, Sucker Punch dropped its Thievius Raccoonus in favour of a grittier series: Infamous. You were cast as the electrokinetic Cole MacGrath and had to choose whether to use your powers for good or evil. (Binary moral choice systems were in vogue at the time.) We asked PSM readers to share their thoughts… “Infamous 2 was a bundle alongside the PlayStation 3 when I first played it,” shares reader Preston Shannon. “Although the console was nearing the end of its lifespan, I hold this game near and dear to me because it really got me back into gaming. Its choices that you could make and phenomenal gameplay really made it a must-play at the time.” SUPER SERIES Many miss Cole’s era of superpowered playgrounds. “Second Son…

GAME BLACK / FORMAT PS2 / RELEASED 24 FEB 2006 PUB EA GAMES / DEV CRITERION GAMES / WHERE TO BUY EBAY, AMAZON Black was perhaps an odd project for developer Criterion Games to take on. Previously known for crafting racing games, the studio had seen success with its Burnout franchise. Then came Black. This Hollywood-military shooter was a kind of experiment which would take advantage of the PlayStation 2 hardware and add a burst of energy to the genre. Black was a commercial success and well-received by critics (despite its short campaign), yet it rarely features in conversation nowadays. But 15 years on from release, the game still holds up. Why? Primarily because everything it does, it does really well. From the shooting mechanics to the sound design, it…

Sub-Zero died prior to 1993’s MKII. His younger brother took over the name. Noob Saibot is a resurrected Sub-Zero. 2004’s Mortal Kombat: Deception included Chess Kombat and Puzzle Kombat, bringing violence to other genres. Liu Kang and Kung Lao starred in action-adventure spinoff Shaolin Monks, which sold over a million copies. 2011’s reboot sold six million units. Now that’s a comback! The series began with a team of just four devs. Pong is hidden in the second game, Galaga in the third. 1995/96’s theatrical Mortal Kombat show ran for five months. Steven Spielberg is a fan and was meant to cameo in the 1995 movie. Although there have been two live-action movies already, this year’s reboot – out now – is the first to feature fatalities. Incredibly gory fatalities. The…

Free Nacon controller Subscribe to PLAY – The Magazine and get a free Nacon controller of your choice (black or transparent blue) worth £34.99. Print only If you just want a print edition then you’ll only pay £30 for six months. Each issue is delivered direct to your door in environmentally-friendly packaging. Print & Digital Get the best of both worlds, with a print and digital bundle for £32.50, for iOS, Google, Kindle, and Android devices. Turn to p102 for details.…

PENROSE WIRELESS PLANAR MAGNETIC HEADSET AUDEZE £299.99 AUDEZE.CO.UK If you’re looking for high-end headphones and price is not a problem then slip Audeze’s latest headphones over your ears. Boasting twice the power of its rivals courtesy of unique magnet tech, and a broadcast-quality microphone that cancels out up to 20dB of background noise, the Penrose headset is a robust but pricy piece of kit. RAZER THRESHER 7.1 RAZER £149.99 RAZER.COM Coming equipped with Dolby 7.1 surround sound to make your PS5’s 3D audio sing, the Razer Thresher is a solid all-rounder. The lightweight leatherette ear cushions are a major plus for those of us dedicated to 120-hour JRPGs. Offering lag-free wireless use up to 40 feet and noise-dampening tech, the Thresher’s a decent option for anyone…

1 Antony Founier Game: Death Stranding “When I think of black and white, I mainly focus on the idea of contrast, rather than on the shades of grey we can have. To me it’s all about the silhouette, the strong, almost aggressive dark shapes,” says Antony Founier, who tells us he loves this Death Stranding shot because it evokes the themes of the game. We agree… so many footprints. 2 Stephen Salvona Game: No Man’s Sky “I’m a big space geek and wanted to capture something that wouldn’t look out of place in a science magazine,” says Stephen Salvona. His shots capture the essence of monochrome. “When you don’t have colour to distract you, it gives you more freedom to focus on lines, shapes, and composition,” he says.…

FORMAT PS5 / ETA 2021 / PUB TBC DEV BLUE BOX GAME STUDIOS / PLAYERS 1 The list of places we wouldn’t want to wake up in is long and storied. Highlights include ‘out by the dumpsters at the back of local venue Moles’, ‘far off any forest trail and being sniffed by some strange creature’, and ‘in an ice bath missing a kidney’. Compared to all of that, you might think protagonist Jason Longfield doesn’t have it so bad when he comes to in the midst of a forest lightly dusted with snow. But there’s something rotten growing in those woods, something Jason cannot reason with or outrun. Hasan Kahraman, founder of Netherlands-based developer Blue Box Game Studios, tells us, “[For the title], we first wanted to go with…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA WINTER / PUB PRIVATE DIVISION / DEV ROLL7 / PLAYERS TBC Between the excellent remake Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, the recently released Skate City, and upcoming indie oddity Skatebird, it’d be easy to say that skateboarding is having a renaissance right now. Though really, skateboarding never went away for some of us on PlayStation. Developer Roll7 has been passionate about boarding for a number of years, as evidenced by its OlliOlli series, which debuted on PS Vita in 2014. This third instalment kickflips into a candy-coloured skatepark called Radland that looks like it’s been designed by a four-wheeling Pendleton Ward. “RADLAND IS FULL OF RAILS TO GRIND AND RAMPS TO KICKFLIP FROM.” JET GRIND RADIO Whether this is the first time you’ve…

FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2021 PUB CURVE DIGITAL / DEV MUSE GAMES / PLAYERS 1 Those caught in Embr’s fiery deathtraps have reason to be afraid – because you’re on the job. This is a quirky physics-based firefighting game that plays like Overcooked meets Uber meets Tinder. Controlling like an FPS, you pick a class before jumping into short, snappy missions. These give you different tools like ladders, little trampolines (good for hurling those in danger onto), sprinklers to help douse rooms, and axes for crashing through doors. The fire grows as you progress, claiming victims and even causing electricity and water to mix dangerously. Often figuring out who to rescue first is key to victory, and easier with chums. And if you find some money? Well, you need to…

FORMAT PS4 / ETA TBC PUB WIRED PRODUCTIONS DEV LUMINAWESOME GAMES PLAYERS 1 If you’re having Bugsnax withdrawals and need a fix of cute, weird critters, Lumote should be bouncing to the top of your must-play list. The squishy bioluminescent creature of the title is a platform hero who can bound about with the best of them but its real superpower is the ability to take control of its enemies, the Motes, and use their powers. The neon watery world is one large interconnected map that plays like a single coherent puzzle split into 50 smaller brainteasers. Your goal is to extinguish the evil Mastermote’s red light and turn the world a cooling Lumote blue. Already a hit on PC (it has its own crochet pattern), Lumote could be your…

FORMAT PS5 / ETA 11 JUN / PUB PLAYSTATION STUDIOS / DEV INSOMNIAC GAMES / PLAYERS 1 Since first blowing players away on PS2 with their buddy chemistry and the arsenal of a small army, Ratchet and Clank have become familiar faces over multiple adventures, which makes it a shame that we didn’t see much of them in the last generation. But, with Dr. Nefarious splitting dimensions apart (to get to one where he always wins), and new hero Rivet joining the gang, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart could be the duo’s biggest adventure yet. The heroes are back to save the universe, and warp us to the future in a brand-new adventure that’s built from the ground up to show exactly what PS5 is capable of. Insomniac Games is…

After our last preview, your impressions of the demo, and pretty much the entire internet being united in hate for Balan Wonderworld, you’re probably wondering why this review has an 7 on it. Well, it’s simple: the PS5 version with the Day 1 patch installed is a solid, family-friendly platformer with great production values, exemplary level design, and accessible controls. Yes, really. Just like the hero of Naka and Ohshima’s 1996 classic Nights Into Dreams, the eponymous showmaster Balan visits two children to help them confront their fears and insecurities. This time they do so by helping a cast of 12 other characters overcome their own demons, each with their own fantastical, themed world. These worlds are a little chunky and formulaic, and level geometry is relatively simple, but exploring…

WHAT YOU DO IN: SOULSTORM STATPACK 80 Percentage of Mudokons you need to rescue in a stage to get a good quarma rating – and you’ll want to, because it helps you out later. 17 Levels in total, although the final two only unlock if your quarma’s high enough. They’re pretty boring, but integral to concluding the story. 50 The amount of rock candy you can carry at once. Three hits will knock a Slig out for a limited time, and there’s always plenty to keep hurling. THE DUALSENSE DIFFERENCE TRIGGER Chanting to possess and control enemy Sligs has a little bit of pushback, making the action feel a little bit more satisfying. SPEAKER Abe’s in-game speech comes out of the controller. Hearing his musings next to you…

Don’t you hate it when instead of getting to chow down on your veggies they turn around to eat you instead? So goes the curse that’s struck the Crystal Islands, which also turned heroine Kaze’s pal Hugo into a cute little hovering creature. Time to mask up, collect crystals, and platform your way to uncursing the land. It’s a simple game, for the better. There’s a responsiveness to Kaze’s movement, with ground pounds, spin attacks, and rabbit-ear-twirling hovering for good measure. All of this takes place in worlds wonderfully rendered in pixels, taking you through the standard array of themed stages (forest, water, fire, all the classics). Attention has been paid to keeping platformer ‘flow’ alive, and it feels great to jump from foe to foe and stay moving. At…

Back in 2004, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, the third Doom was a stab at a slower, more story-heavy experience. Totally unlike today’s manic rollercoaster of intense, prolonged fights, enemy encounters were drip-fed (mostly) throughout a dark and creepy outpost on Mars, with screens to interact with and plenty of (shudder) audio logs to listen to. Now it’s back, with polished graphics and the promise of a goryous PSVR experience. Not only was Doom 3 not built for VR, it’s now old enough to get married (with its parents’ permission). Surprisingly perhaps, these two facts prove to be advantages. Without the spectres of motion sickness and a perceived low attention span to hold the original development back, what we have here is a full-fat adventure with a runtime that cruises…

The Root series is as much a brochure promoting Japan’s Shimane prefecture as it is a mystery anthology. 2016’s Root Letter explored the capital city of Matsue, and this entry wanders further afield as a production team scouts for potential film locations among shrines and silver mines. Almost a shame to spoil it with dead bodies, but so it goes. The use of real locations lends this a relaxed vibe. Half your brain ponders clues while the other scans Google Maps1 to see how well the developers have drawn each landmark. The resulting ‘summer holiday’ energy saps urgency from solving big, horrible murders, but it also marks Root Film out from the more hectic sleuthing of Danganronpa or Ace Attorney. That chill vibe extends to the detective work, too. You…

Have you ever wondered what a cross between an Ingmar Bergman film and LittleBigPlanet would look like? Probably not, but this solemn, often creepy, first-person adventure might be the answer. Remarkably, everything you see in the game has been hand-drawn, lending it an atmosphere unlike anything else you will have played. It makes things, quite intentionally, unsettling. “Everything you see has been hand-drawn […] It makes things, quite intentionally, unsettling.” You’ve arrived in the mountain village of Mundaun, where your grandad has died in a fire. It becomes clear that there are supernatural shenanigans afoot and, through tropes such as a deal with the devil and an odd young girl, it’s up to you to discover what’s going on – and (possibly) make things right. From the very beginning, when…

WHAT YOU DO IN: DISCO ELYSIUM: TFC LOVING/ HATING PAPER WORK Why don’t more text-heavy games have dialogue scrolling down the side of the screen? It’s easier to read, and lets the visuals shine. CLICK CLICK Some of the menus can be a little fiddly, and sometimes you need to hit q to interact a couple of times. Minor, but annoying. FRIENDS & ENEMIES ??? You’re such a mess you’ve forgotten your name. Finding one that fits is an objective. KIM KITSURAGI A good detective. Want to be shady behind his back? Wait for him to turn in for the night. TITUS HARDIE Leader of tough union group The Hardie Boys. Does he know something? HOW TO… PUT YOUR THINKING CAP ON Stumble upon seeds…

STREETS OF RAGE 4 – MR X. NIGHTMARE The comeback kid’s first paid DLC introduces a fighter, Estel Aguirre, alongside more moves and weapons for the existing roster of characters. Previously a boss in the base game, Aguirre is only the first of three new characters to be announced – more are to come. BORDERLANDS 3 – DIRECTOR’S CUT Compared to the more tweakalicious Designer’s Cut add-on you get less in this package, but more Borderlands is always welcome nonetheless. You get a raid, a planet-hopping podcast-themed quest, and Vault Cards – akin to a Battle-Pass-style experience. DEAD BY DAYLIGHT – ALL-KILL Prepare to get k-popped to death with this new pack. The Trickster is a k-pop star who is secretly a serial killer (and fond of throwing knives into…

01 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 firing 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. 02 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. 03 Grand Theft Auto V Laughing in the face of other…

Every track is a playground of curated destruction, each corner a blindside into a explosive trap or collapsing building. Where Burnout made shunting a rival into a siding a kaleidoscopic event, Split/ Second: Velocity takes the same approach to the entire world. This is pure arcade racing that failed to launch (it sold less than 90,000 copies within a fortnight of release)1 but has since attained cult status among those who like their racers fast, frantic, and fun, with a side of mayhem. Ther story’s simple enough: you’re competing in a reality TV show. Your goal is to finish first and at the same time to excite the baying TV audience which has tuned in to see mass destruction at speed. Powersliding, hitting jumps, and performing stunts all fills a…

MORTAL KOMBAT VS DC UNIVERSE WAS THE LAST ENTRY MIDWAY GAMES WORKED ON BEFORE GOING BANKRUPT. Not everyone’s a fan Mortal Kombat has seen its fair share of controversy. The first game’s blood and fatalities ensured it had a starring role in the 1993 US congressional hearings on violence in games, which led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB). Entries have been censored across the world; the latest game is banned outright in Japan, China, Indonesia, and Ukraine.…

FORMAT PS4 / PUB CAPCOM / DEV CAPCOM / RELEASED 2017 / SCORE 9/10 After fighting for your life against your long-absent wife and thinking it’s all over – twice – you’re given a scant moment to reflect. Did she really just lop my hand off? Yeah, buddy. With a chainsaw? Uh-huh. After I hit her in the neck with an axe? Yeah, you got it. As you stare at Mia Winters’ crumpled form, simultaneously wondering if she’s going to get back up again and if you can somehow take back the six or seven headshots that got you here, you’re in for a rude awakening. Before you can even catch your breath, someone grabs you from behind. Laying you out alongside Mia, this new assailant utters the iconic line:…