Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2021 i PLAY

Comments made by Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida during a recent livestream for FFXIV (on which he’s director and producer) reveal work on the latest numbered entry is going well. It seems to be that rather than teasing players over a drawn-out period, the development team have been focussed on getting everything well underway ahead of time. Specifically, some aspects of the story are already almost finished, and this time the English-language version has come first. Or, to be more exact, the British English version, bucking the trend for entries to favour American for vocal performances. But it makes sense when you consider XVI shares a lot of staff with XIV, which has featured a lot of actors from our side of the pond. Ever a fantasy trope, we…

Our tiny mouse companion, Quill, hasn’t given up on us. In fact, the more stumped we find ourselves, the more emphatic her gestures become. We know the solution to this puzzle is staring us in the face but Quill’s guidance, communicated primarily through American Sign Language, makes it all click together. Developer Polyarc’s first PSVR title endeared us with its pint-sized protagonist back in 2018 and, in news that’ll please many, Quill is set to return in Moss: Book II. “One of the first things we did for an interaction actually was just petting her.” “We were really just blown away by just how much people emotionally connected with Quill […] The amount of emails and letters and things that were sent,” principal engineer and design director Josh Stiksma tells…

While the competition shifts to playing a different game (turn back to p11 to see PES’ overhaul), FIFA 22 is bringing plenty new to the pitch. It helps that this iteration has been developed with PS5 in mind. HyperMotion is the star player here, exclusive to new-gen consoles – it’s not even coming to PC. You can read all about it on p13 of the PS5: The Ultimate Power-User Guide supplement with this issue, but to cut a long story short, it uses PS5’s tech and load speeds to generate masses of new animations of the fly. The new goodies aren’t all exclusive to our favourite white tombstone, though; there’s lots for PS4 players as well. The goalkeeper system has been overhauled for more realistic shot responses, which includes individual…

“COMBAT TAKES PLACE ON WHAT LOOK LIKE GIANT GAME BOARDS.” FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 10 SEP / PUB ELECTRONIC ARTS DEV ZOINK / PLAYERS 1 Living in the Kingdom of Random, sisters Even and Odd’s fates are dictated by the role of a die. A six separates them, the evil queen whisking Odd away. Even charges after her stolen sibling, but her luck only begins to look up in this Burton-esque fairytale when she meets Dicey. Nominative determinism might’ve clued you in: Dicey is an anthropomorphised die, and this little guy is at the heart of the combat system, which takes place on what look like giant game boards. As Even pelts enemies with her trusty slingshot, she knocks off energy cubes for Dicey to munch on. Once Dicey…

02 months CHENSO CLUB Bash aliens with your choice of heavy metal instrument in this cute 2D side-scroller. FORMAT PS4 / ETA AUTUMN 2021 / PUB AURORA PUNKS 04 months LOST RUINS Amnesia is the least of your problems in this survival action game. Pixel art brings the world to life. FORMAT PS4 / ETA WINTER 2021 / PUB DANGEN ENTERTAINMENT 06 months VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE – SWANSONG Fanged shenanigans in the World Of Darkness. FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA FEB 2022 / PUB NACON…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 30 SEP PUB MAZE THEORY / DEV MAZE THEORY, JUST ADD WATER PLAYERS 1 Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor takes the lead here, even meeting David Tennant’s Tenth (both voiced by the actors). A follow-up to PSVR game The Edge Of Time, the action is an evolution of what you had there, except this time it’s playable outside the virtual reality realm. Playing in first person, you tussle with some classic Whovian foes, including Cybermen, Daleks, and Weeping Angels, as you take on a new threat pulling the strings. The viewpoint adds to the immersion as you creep through darkness filled with monsters, solve puzzles, pilot the TARDIS, and simply marvel at how the box really is bigger on the inside.…

FORMAT PS4 / ETA 14 OCT PUB DEAR VILLAGERS, MAPLE WHISPERING / DEV MIDGAR STUDIO PLAYERS 1-2 Wearing its Final Fantasy inspirations on its sleeve, this French-developed RPG has been in early access for some time, and finally nears the finish line for full release. It centres on siblings Daryon and Selene, a soldier and priestess respectively, who seek to rid their word of the Corrosion. The large world you quest across is rather pretty, and can be explored on a large cat-like mount, a little like FFXV. Battles, however, are turn-based. It’s an impressive accomplishment for the small team, if a little rough around the edges – the heart it has is endearing. Chrono Trigger and Xenoblade Chronicles composer Yasunori Mitsuda even did the soundtrack to lend it that…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 22 OCT PUB ELECTRONIC ARTS DEV DICE, RIPPLE EFFECT STUDIOS PLAYERS 1-128 New and exciting: those are the keywords for Battlefield 2042. From 128-player support on PS5 to advanced weather effects that affect the way you fight, there are some big introductions in the latest game in the long-running series. But one of the freshest and most alluring is something it borrows from the past: Battlefield Portal. Standing alongside the standard All-Out Warfare and soon-to-be-detailed Hazard Zone, this third pillar celebrates Battlefield’s nearly 20-year-strong legacy by bringing together classic maps, modes, vehicles, weapons, and gadgets. At launch, you’ll be able to blend Battlefield 1942, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and Battlefield 3 with Battlefield 2042. More than extra material, each element can be played with, allowing…

“A new cast of teens cordoned off on their own plane of reality.” INFO Format PS4 Price £49.99 ETA Out now PUB Square Enix Dev HAND Players 1 Length 40+ hrs Accessibility Togglable subtitles, no sizing option; voiceover language can only be changed from the title screen; togglable controller vibration Fourteen years after a handheld classic was released, a true sequel finally hits the town. However, for PlayStation fans joining in the Reaper’s game for the first time, the onboarding process is less than smooth. Wait, let us rewind a bit. The first The World Ends With You (or TWEWY) is a JRPG that brings an urban fantasy twist to being a teenager tearing around town at the weekend. Sequel Neo picks up some years later with a new cast…

INFO  FORMAT PS4 PRICE £11.99 ETA Out now PUB Digerati Distribution DEV Joe Richardson PLAYERS 1 They say a picture tells a thousand words. But what would happen if you took some of those pictures and used them to create a Pythonesque point-and-click adventure game? Odds are you’d never be able to shut it up. It’s lucky for The Procession To Calvary, then, that the satirical jokes and pompous humour come thick and fast, forming the basis for a relentless descent into absurdity likely to make even Tim Schafer blush. If you have an appreciation for fine art and dry wit – an odd combination, for sure – this story of English tyrants, cagey prophets, and satanic birds will tickle your fancy. Presented entirely in the visual style of renaissance-era…

INFO FORMAT PS5 (via PS4 Boost) PRICE Free update (PS4 edition, £44.99) ETA Out now PUB Rebellion DEV Rebellion PLAYERS 1-12 LENGTH 18 hrs ACCESSIBILITY Tweakable audio; subtitles; adjustable scope and sim sensitivity; auto reload; various camera fine-tuning options Halt! Kartoffelkopf! Ich bin ein Beckenbauer. What nonsense. This German gibberish makes almost as much sense as Rebellion’s approach to updating its latest sharpshooter. A PS5 upgrade without a dedicated PS5 version to download? Just what is that all about? In recent months we’ve been spoilt by PS4 game updates for PS5. Many developers embraced all the new-gen features, revamping old experiences. Not in this case. This isn’t a deep reworking of the game for PS5. There’s no dedicated DualSense support or 4K textures; there’s no new content and the audio…

“While as observant as ever, this version of Sholmes is like an excitable golden retriever.” INFO FORMAT PS4 PRICE £32.99 ETA Out now PUB Capcom DEV Capcom PLAYERS 1 LENGTH 70 hrs ACCESSIBILITY Story mode (plays itself); subtitles; customisable auto text speed; screen flash toggle Typical. You spend years waiting for an attorney and then two come along at once. For us, anyway, as Chronicles collects together two games that were originally only released in Japan. Set long before the events of the main Ace Attorney series, you play as an ancestor of Phoenix Wright, Ryunosuke Naruhodo, who takes a trip to London to learn about British law. Naruhodo is a law student to the extreme, being thrust into handling his own defence at home in Japan in the first…

INFO FORMAT PS5 (reviewed), PS4 PRICE £15.99 ETA Out now PUB Gearbox Publishing DEV Norsfell PLAYERS 1-10 LENGTH 15+ hrs ACCESSIBILITY Multiple languages; customisable HUD; aim assist There’s no ideal place to find yourself alone, stranded, and naked as the day you were born. But surely anywhere is better than Ragnarök? Sadly, that’s precisely where your Viking warrior finds themself at the start of each run in this Norse-themed action RPG with strong survival elements. Sent from Valhalla to defend the surface world, Midgard, from some of Norse mythology’s greatest monsters, only by exploring, building, and levelling up will you accomplish this lofty goal. Survival games in this vein are designed to keep you on the back foot, with vital resources placed as far away as possible to encourage you…

INFO  FORMAT PS4 PRICE £15.99 ETA Out now PUB EastAsiaSoft DEV Rainbite PLAYERS 1-2 Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play as a witch with a gun? Besides Bayonetta, we mean. Well, now’s your chance. In Trigger Witch, the latest from Kiwi developer Rainbite (which brought us Reverie), you play from the perspective of a witch named Colette, who embarks on some colourful adventures involving witchcraft and gunplay with a supporting cast of characters, including her mother Hilda and her friends Shelly and Remi, in order to restore peace to her realm. The game has a very interesting retro feel, reminiscent of the 16-bit, top-down, 2D action from the ’90s,1 and gives off serious Undertale vibes. The action takes place across a familiar-feeling array of environments:…

WHAT YOU DO IN: CRIS TALES 42% Entering a new location and going ‘Oof, that’s really pretty’. 15% Meeting a character in a position of power and wondering how they’re evil. 3% Planting a Yucandra at the wrong time for using magic. 17% Running out of crystal points when you’re about to break a crystal. 13% Looking at the past and future versions of every character. 10% Mouthing along to Matias’ “Crisbell, what do you want to do?” at every save point. HOW TO… UPGRADE YOUR WEAPONS As this is a JRPG, you know you’re going to be doing a lot of fighting – we’ve already mentioned the turn-based battles. Each character’s weapon can be upgraded, but Cris Tales hardly mentions this – if you want a better…

INFO FORMAT PS5 (reviewed), PS4 PRICE £54.99 ETA Out now PUB EA DEV Codemasters OFFLINE REVIEW #4, 9/10 PLAYERS 1-2 CROSSPLAY No This year’s online mode brings clearer areas for different types of F1 racer. Social Play allows you to choose beginner lobbies with fewer laps and no contact, or longer, more realistic races that are still unranked. On the Ranked side, you can take part in a five-lap race with contact and damage, or a longer 25% distance. The usual super-fast setup fiends and crash-happy idiots are present, but laggy players are ghosted. Race-ending damage is welcome, giving you that ‘Mansell at Monaco’ feeling as you rattle along the barrier out of first place. Dang. Watch out for the eSports area unlocking this winter.…

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…

As in the film, fire is the best defence against the Thing. Over the course of the game you get access to various incendiary weapons, from blowtorches and flame grenades to powerful and deadly flamethrowers. The Computer Artworks team used autopsy photos for reference when creating the various monstrosities the player encounters. You often encounter NPCs who join Blake’s team – providing they trust him enough, that is. Friendly NPCs are divided into three classes: soldiers, who are good to have by your side in a firefight; medics, who can heal Blake and other squad members; and Engineers, who can repair mission-critical fuse boxes (which control save point access, among other things). Working out who to trust is a large part of the experience of The Thing. Not everyone you…

His eyes were changed from brown to green – the rarest colour – to look cooler. Even in Japan, his name is written phonetically in katakana, not kanji. Dead Or Alive’s ninja was almost a new character named Kamui instead of Ryu. CHOOSING LIFE Dead Or Alive’s own ninja With numerous fighting styles represented in Koei Tecmo’s 1996 fighter Dead Or Alive, the studio wanted a ninja. Who better than its own retro star, Ryu? Rival ninja Kasumi was also introduced, alongside Ayane in the game’s rerelease, expanding the story and universe of the ninja clans. Subsequently the two have also featured in Ninja Gaiden, and are even playable. RYU’S EVOLUTION FROM PIXEL PLATFORMER TO MODERN ACTION HERO WAS SPURRED BY HIS DOA REAPPEARANCE SENTAI SHINOBI A history of violence…

Perhaps you’re tired of the old adage but for this spirit-busting title, it’s true: the power is in your hands. While you’re zapping the ghoulies that have taken over Tokyo, the DualSense adds extra punch to the experience. Otherworldly voices emanate from the controller, representing your character’s sixth sense and giving you information imperceptible to most other humans. In combat, while your on-screen hands furiously weave elemental attacks from thin air, the resistance from the adaptive triggers gives each one a distinct feeling in your own hands. Resistance on the triggers also sells the sensation of prying out a spirit’s core during exorcisms. Haptic feedback matches your growing powers and communicates your progress.…

We all love a crossover fighter, but it’s rare for a single company to have access to a varied enough pool of characters to make it work. Most run into some problems assembling their roster (we’re thinking of you, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale). For Nickelodeon, though, this almost shameless riff on Nintendo’s Smash Bros series just makes sense. This is a brawler in which the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Leonardo can dodge Invader Zim’s fire, whack Hey Arnold’s Helga off the stage, and then be ambushed by The Wild Thornberrys’ own Nigel Thornberry (as popularised by Tim Curry). You’ve also got the Rugrats, Danny Phantom, SpongeBob, Ren & Stimpy, The Loud House, and Real Monsters represented. Kids will love it, but this nostalgia net is cast wide, ensnaring those with…

FINAL FANTASY X – 20TH ANNIVERSARY VINYL SQUARE ENIX £44.99 STORE.EU.SQUARE-ENIX-GAMES.COM Releasing in October, preorders for this special release are sure to go fast. Featuring a selection of tracks from the game across two records, the 19 songs include all the favourites, from the haunting notes of Zanarkand to the heavy-hitting Otherworld, and, of course, the emotional Suteki Da Ne. It’s a great way to celebrate 20 years of Final Fantasy X. ENCYCLOPAEDIA EORZEA – THE WORLD OF FINAL FANTASY XIV VOLS I & II SQUARE ENIX £34.99-£39.99 SQUARE-ENIX-GAMES.COM With Endwalker on the way, Final Fantasy XIV continues to balloon in popularity. Finally, these two lore compendiums are getting long-requested reprints. In full colour, and on nice, thick paper, they have been lovingly curated by the…

DIE HARD COPIES? With the number of live service games nowadays, and the likes of PES going digital-only, do you think the day of the standalone game is finally over? I’m on the fence about whether the end of hard copies is a good thing; I like owning my games but I also like having them up-to-date, and you can’t put DLC on a disc! Mac Everett We talk more about PES over on p11 – it’s certainly an interesting move on the publisher’s part. With the likes of Death Stranding and Ghost Of Tsushima getting director’s cuts, and all sorts of special editions of other games being released, perhaps we’re going to see a new trend emerging: games that’ve really proved their worth in digital form getting a hard…

“THERE WILL BE OVER 100 CARS TO HOP INTO, AND OVER 130 ROUTES.” FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 2022 / PUB ELECTRONIC ARTS / DEV CODEMASTERS / PLAYERS MULTI Perhaps you’re already a Grid fan. This will be the fifth entry in the series, after all. Although the latest game aims to retain everything fans love, the people at Codemasters aren’t resting on their bumpers; there’s enough being packed in here to flag down newbies and old racing hands alike. Now safely nestled in EA’s money nest, Codemasters has the luxury of a huge parent company’s backing (the publisher paid a supervillain’s ransom – something in the region of $1.2 billion – for the racing specialist). This can only be a good thing for the development of its latest game,…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA SUMMER 2022 / PUB NACON / DEV CREA-TURE STUDIOS / PLAYERS 1-4 Cars are cool, but they’re not the only way to have fun on four wheels. Crea-ture Studios knows this, and it also knows there’s a lot of scope for variety within skateboarding games. Session, then, has little in common with the arcade outrageousness of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater; the aim here is to produce the definitive skateboarding sim. There are no superhuman jumps, giant floating letters to collect, or destructible scenery to burst through unscathed. It’s tempting to make comparisons to Skate, but that’s not quite accurate either. Yes, there’s no score counter, and the maps are grounded areas based on real-life locations where you’re encouraged to make your own fun. However, Session…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA SUMMER PUB BREAKING WALLS, GAME SEER VENTURES / DEV BREAKING WALLS PLAYERS 1 Playing as a sugar glider, a little possum thing, you need to use your natural abilities to soar through the air and save your family in a near-future narrative adventure. You’ll be able to dodge and flip to avoid hazards, and fight on the ground. Using i you can grip prey in your tiny teeth, or dodge circles around predators to tire them out. You can also get help from other animals, like a praying mantis who can clamber up trees using its claws, by playing as them. A photo mode has been announced so you can pose the ultimate endangered critter shots. And it will all look great in PS5’s Documentary…

FORMAT PS4 / ETA 30 SEP PUB DELIGHTWORKS DEV FRENCH-BREAD / PLAYERS 1-2 Stumble into the wrong room at a fighting game tournament and you’ll see dedicated players crowded around laptops jousting through rounds of the original Melty Blood. Developed by Under Night’s team, Type Lumina is a pixel fighter as pure as they come, carrying the classic-feeling torch. This is no rerelease, though, but a brand-new game, inspired in part by long-time collaborator Arc System Works. That means high-resolution visuals, a faster-paced tappy-tappy rapid-beat combo system, a stripped-back roster, and a story that’s a prequel. Based on the visual novel series from Type-Moon (the publisher of Fate/Stay Night), there’s plenty to dig into.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 5 OCT PUB SEGA / DEV RYU GA GOTOKU STUDIO / PLAYERS 1-4 Those monkeys are rolling back to what they do best, having left their 3D platform collectathons behind them. This is a throwback, though, so don’t expect heaps of new content. It features over 300 stages pulled from Super Monkey Ball’s first two outings and the expanded Deluxe version. It’s arcadey at heart, meaning replays are a blast as you tilt your balls into the goals. Heaps of minigames make for great multiplayer, whether it’s Monkey Bowling, Monkey Billiards, or Monkey Racing. Go ape, go bananas, go home you’re drunk.…

01 BATTLE OF THE BULGE BATTLEFIELD 1942 (2002) The famous historical battle has played host to many tense Conquest matches. There are plenty of places to dig in, leading to some excitingly up close-and-personal skirmishes. 02 EL ALAMEIN BATTLEFIELD 1942 (2002) Part of the Western Desert Campaign in Egypt, this is a big desert map, neatly divided by Kidney Ridge, making for multiple angles of approach. A great map for tanks and planes. 03ARICA HARBOR BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 (2010) Near the dry Atacama desert, and appropriately sandy. Vehicles can do well in this very long map, but the density of the buildings means infantry can get the upper hand if they manage to last long enough. 04 VALPARAISO BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 (2010) This relatively tight map set in…

After several years, the Tales series is making a comeback with Tales Of Arise. It’s already made waves with its exciting visual direction. But Arise should revitalise the series in more ways than this, while still staying true to the essence of what makes a Tales game. It’s a balancing act Bandai Namco is eager to attempt. “After the development of the last game was completed, there was a concern that if we continued with our past production process, we would not be working on the necessary evolution of the brand as a result,” Arise’s producer Yusuke Tomizawa says. In order to make a game that lives up to the appeal of its art style and offers a good experience on current hardware, Tales had to undergo changes. While the…

WHAT YOU DO IN: NEO: TWEWY 33% Dropping the beat and absolutely destroying some evil Noise. 3% Wishing you were as stylish as the cast now, let alone when you were a teen. 15% Being hungry for all that lovingly illustrated food. 15% Eavesdropping on the mental landscape of Shibuya. 27% Wishing Gatto Nero was a real brand for all your cat-motif clothing needs. 7% Wishing your party wore their latest fit and that outfits weren’t confined to the armour menu. FRIENDS & ENEMIES SHOKA A prickly Reaper who can’t seem to leave your team alone. What’s her angle? NAGI Cringe culture incarnate but no less lovable. A woman after our own heart. FRET Rindo’s bestest bro, happy-go-lucky to a fault. Nagi isn’t his biggest fan. STATPACK…

INFO  FORMAT PS4 PRICE £34.99 ETA Out now PUB Inin DEV Success PLAYERS 1 Coming to Cotton Reboot! for a challenge? Then you’ll want to stick with the original X68000 version, which is included. While this port doesn’t feature the rejigged sprites and effects, it’s a significantly tougher experience, perhaps because of the quirky 1993 hitboxes. Success has done a great job of remastering the shoot-’em-up and bringing it to PS4, but in remastering it feels like each shot fired at the enemy waves has become overpowered. We compared a particular level in different modes, and found far fewer lives were lost in the new Arrange mode. The original is a clean and simple affair, with a proper old-school arcade feel, whereas the screen is overly cluttered in the rebooted…

INFO  FORMAT PS4 PRICE £15.99 ETA Out now PUB United Label DEV Fallen Flag Studio PLAYERS 1 The latest title to reach for the mantle of all things soulslike asks “what if Dark Souls were a boss rush mode and also kind of cute?” We say kind of cute because the game’s hard as nails and you’re going to die a lot, but also the character you control wields such an outlandishly large sword that they look like a toddler with a zweihänder. “You simply go from one boss fight to another, and every one of them is going to crush you.” There’s no filler in Eldest Souls, you simply go from one boss fight to another, and every single one of them is going to crush you a few…

WHAT YOU DO IN: TGAAC 64% Reading through the dialogue, feeling like it repeats facts a little too often. 6% Realising you were meant to examine evidence a little longer. 11% Meeting someone new and loving their animations. 5% Feeling smart as you correct the world’s greatest (allegedly) detective. 4% Gasping out loud when you realise a clue to explaining the case was right before your eyes. 10% Making sure you examine everything possible to spend more time with the characters. LOVING/ HATING PRIDE & PREJUDICE As a Japanese visitor, Naruhodo faces a lot of realistic and uncomfortable racism. It sucks, but it’s good that it’s addressed. GAME’S AFOOT Juries and multiple witnesses feel unfocussed. We’d rather have way more Sholmes time. His high points are quite spread…

INFO  FORMAT PS4 PRICE £24.99 ETA Out now PUB Robot Entertainment Inc DEV Robot Entertainment Inc PLAYERS 1 Those pesky orcs! Despite everything, they’re back for a third round of slaughter. No matter how many traps you strategically lay down or what direction you try and coax them in, a few stragglers are almost always bound to sneak into the rifts you’re assigned to protect. Luckily, young apprentices Egan and Kelsey are both equipped with a suite of tools and gear ideal for staving off the endless legions. Being successful in this endeavour is sometimes tough, yet never has doing so felt as creative or charming as it does in this fantasy threequel. Trap types start out simple at first, ranging from piercing ground spikes to arrow walls that are…

INFO FORMAT PS5 (reviewed), PS4 PRICE £19.99 ETA Out now PUB Annapurna Interactive DEV Variable State PLAYERS 1 LENGTH 6 hrs ACCESSIBILITY Subtitles; motion blur on/off Neighbours with questionable habits. A shady government organisation. Luminous green portals opening up and causing havoc all over London. No, this isn’t an extended episode of Doctor Who made playable, but a collection of semi-connected, character-driven stories with a fondness for the supernatural. The way John, Donna, and Meena’s tales intertwine with such weird goings-on is mostly riveting, sure, yet each story’s linearity and haphazard pace ultimately prevents Last Stop executing the adventure game-meets-anthology series concept in a truly satisfying way. Playing like a Telltale game (with more polish), what elevates Last Stop is its dedication to the craft of filmmaking. Camera cuts are…

INFO FORMAT PS5 (reviewed), PS4 PRICE £29.99 ETA Out now PUB Wired Productions DEV Tomas Sala PLAYERS 1 LENGTH 6-8 hrs ACCESSIBILITY Adaptive triggers on/off (PS5); vibration on/off; controller speaker on/off; UI scaling; choice of UI colours The mighty falcon. Long has man looked upon this majestic feathery predator, and dreamed of riding it through the air while shooting gigantic beetles out of the sky. Or is that just us? Either way, that’s just one thing that is possible here, in a flooded world where getting from place to place involves sailing boats (not what you do) or riding an enormous winged beast (exactly what you do). The game was first released on PC last year, and so PlayStation owners benefit from all the updates from day one. Those have…

INFO FORMAT PS5 PRICE £15.99 ETA Out now (early access) PUB Illfonic DEV Illfonic OFFLINE REVIEW N/A PLAYERS 1-4 CROSSPLAY No (coming 2022) So, a game within a game? It’s like Inception, if Inception bore no resemblance whatsoever to the movie that actually got made. In this, your uncle owns an arcade, and he’s developed a new game to fight off the corporation trying to close him down. You need to play that game, and play it well. That’s all you need to know. “Run through three colourful biomes gunning down robots and looting chests for weapons.” With up to three other people, you run through three colourful biomes, gunning down robots and looting chests for weapons and buffs. Yes, there are just three biomes – this is an early…

INFO FORMAT PS5 (reviewed), PS4 PRICE £34.99 ETA Out now PUB Wizards Of The Coast DEV Tuque Games OFFLINE REVIEW #4, 6/10 PLAYERS 1-4 CROSSPLAY PS5, PS4 Things were shonky when this game launched, but it was possible to squeeze some fun out of it. That remains the case, but, despite a handful of updates, the online portion of the experience is worse than it was before. Whether through a dropoff in players or worsening netcode, finding a game is harder. Battle through long waits and disconnections and you’ll find that people are still playing, but most of them engage in joyless runs straight to the boss in one of two stages, grinding character levels. It’s nice to support and be supported by others, but there are other adventures more…

TWO POINT HOSPITAL – SONIC PACK The gang’s all here to celebrate Sonic’s 30th anniversary – and for some reason they’ve chosen a career in healthcare. Mascot costumes of Amy, Knuckles, Tails, and the Blue Blur himself are here alongside plenty of themed decorations to liven up your hospital. STREET FIGHTER V – LUKE Slated to make his debut this November, the final character DLC won’t just close the book on this particular game, it’ll also hint at the future of Street Fighter. Kickboxer Luke has fists of fury and, Capcom hints, will play a larger role in whatever is next for the series. Let’s hope we don’t lose all our favourites, though. MORTAL SHELL – THE VIRTUOUS CYCLE The fan-favoured soulslike gets an all-new roguelike mode offering more than…

This one’s something of an anomaly – it’s remembered fondly by nearly a whole generation of PlayStation players, yet widely derided and mocked by others. Panned by critics at home in Japan and around the world at launch, the game still sold enough to achieve Platinum and Greatest Hits status in Europe and the US. Sneering RPG fanatics moaned that only hardcore Digimon fans would eke out enjoyment from Bandai Namco’s Pokémon rival. Jaded Nintendo and Sega devotees waved off its rudimentary 3D graphics and its tinny audio without a second thought. But a swathe of younger players glued themselves to the world, lost in the ludicrous story of a boy sucked into his Tamagotchi-like V-Pet device and tasked with rebuilding a city in a brave new world of amnesiac…

FORMAT PS4, PS VITA / PUB KOEI TECMO / DEV OMEGA FORCE / RELEASED 2017 The Eclipse is the culmination of the Berserk manga’s Golden Age arc, the point at which it shifts starkly from medieval war drama flashbacks to dark fantasy brutality. Anybody familiar with the manga has this unsavoury event marked in their calendar from the moment they start the game. Featuring one of the most frustrating boss fights in the game and a tricky collectible Behelit, as well as some of the most disturbing scenes drawn from the anime movies, Berserk And The Band Of The Hawk gives this cataclysmic moment the emphasis it deserves. The Nexus stage is stripped back yet ominous, with walls of shifting, horrified faces and the ground pooled with blood, under a…

The team at Ubisoft Toronto took inspiration from the real world for the fictional island of Yara. Look beyond its charismatic Presidente and over-the-top gunplay and you spot details lifted directly from reality. For starters, Latino musicians, alongside the team’s research on both traditional Afro-Caribbean and modern Latinx music, contributed to Yara’s musical identity. The audio design also uses recordings from development team field trips to Cuba. All of the recordings were made using ambisonic microphone techniques as it was always the intention to use these with 3D sound objects in-game. This immersive approach to sound works perfectly with PS5’s 3D audio capabilities. You’ll want to don your headphones to get the most out of this.…

“This cat can cut a path through by solving puzzles in a way only a kitty could.” Publisher Annapurna Interactive knows how to leave a strong impression. Its very first showcase opened with a montage of all its successes to date, including The Pathless and Sayonara Wild Hearts, before focussing on the future. Leading that charge was a feline many are already hoping to make fast furry friends with. The moments we’ve seen from the game’s opening hours are far from comforting. Falling into an apparently abandoned city, our cat protagonist limps through the opening act of this science-fantasy adventure. Survival takes top priority, and as the injured kitty hobbles through the ruins, there are signs of life – though not as you’d know it. Something unfriendly is lurking in…

“IN THE GAME, IT IS NOT WHAT WAS CUT, BUT WHAT WAS ADDITIONALLY PRODUCED [...] I DON’T LIKE TO CALL [IT] DIRECTOR’S CUT.” HIDEO KOJIMA DISAGREES WITH DEATH STRANDING’S TITLE. “GAMES ARE FOR EVERYONE. AT LEAST, THEY ARE IN THE WORLD I WANT TO LIVE IN.” CORY BARLOG WEIGHS IN ON DIFFICULTY MODES. WE AGREE – EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE THE CHANCE TO FINISH AND ENJOY THE NEXT GOD OF WAR, AND MORE. “WE ARE WORKING ON MID-TO-LONG TERM PLANS, INCLUDING NEW NUMBERED ENTRIES.” ATLUS’ KAZUHISA WADA ON PERSONA IN DENGEKI PLAYSTATION (TRANSLATED BY PERSONA CENTRAL).…

FORMAT PSVR / ETA Q1 2022 / PUB BIG SUGAR / DEV HAPPYGIANT / PLAYERS 1 Rejoice; the gun-toting dog and psychopathic rabbity thing are back! Or at least, they will be next year. The genre-hopping continues. PS3 owners got up close and personal with the duo – originally the stars of a point-and-click adventure on PC – in a series of walk-and-pokes. Next? A first-person comedy adventure in VR. If you’ve never played a Sam & Max game before… well, remedy that if you can! If not, don’t worry, the jokes will still hit and the world will still be bursting with charm. The premise for this adventure’s simple enough: the dysfunctional duo have decided that the Freelance Police could do with a third member. Enter… you! “THE TEAM…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 2022 / PUB GHOST PATTERN / DEV GHOST PATTERN / PLAYERS 1 Casey Beaumaris has always preferred books to people. She’s content to while away her summer holidays with a stack of good reads, but her mother has another idea. As the head nurse at a hospital on a flying ship, she invites her daughter aboard. An aspiring journalist, Casey jumps at the chance and secretly plans to write an article about her visit for her school newspaper. But Casey is about to learn that at the centre of any story worth telling are the people. “DOESN’T SHY AWAY FROM THE HEAVIER THEMES.” With the staff busy attending to their patients’ needs and preparing for the arrival of an important official, Casey is free to…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 2021 / PUB SUPERBROTHERS, PINE SCENTED / DEV SUPERBROTHERS, PINE SCENTED / PLAYERS 1 Craig D Adams describes his role within Superbrothers’ small team with a chuckle: “I’m a sort of creative director, and also 17 other jobs.” After dedicating his “whole 30s” to develop the project, Jett has finished production as of 28 June. Adams quips, “Of my 17 jobs, possibly five of them are now done – possibly.” Jett’s an exploration game, but the devs have gone some lengths to avoid mainstay mechanics of the genre, such as resource extraction and even combat. As protagonist Mei, you and your co-pilot Isao get acquainted with your new home among the stars by piloting the dextrous Jett aircraft. Skittering across shorelines and hopping between islands,…

FORMAT PS4 / ETA 24 SEP PUB OUTRIGHT GAMES DEV PHL COLLECTIVE / PLAYERS 1-4 For anyone who misses the era of film tie-in games, this one’s for you. Based on the animated movie version (which is due a sequel any month now), you and your friends and family can play as Wednesday, Pugsley, Morticia, and Gomez Addams as they 3D platform their way to saving their family home. From rolling large bombs to using Wednesday’s pet octopus Socrates to solve puzzles, there’s plenty of goofy humour that makes use of the licence. It might look a little bare-bones at a glance, but how many co-op platformers even exist these days, let alone allow you to play with four players all on one screen? That right there is some good…

FORMAT PS4 / ETA AUTUMN / PUB DEVOLVER DIGITAL DEV WOLFEYE STUDIOS / PLAYERS 1 Think ‘immersive sim’ and you might immediately go to first-person adventures like Deus Ex or Prey. But two Arkane vets are turning the genre isometric – and it works. In a Wild West filled with fantasy creatures, you go through five journeys as five characters, such as a religious devotee who’s a werewolf. The simulated sandbox world means your decisions have impact, and there are multiple ways to approach situations as you create a story that feels like your own journey.…

Tales of Arise is the 11th Tales game making its way abroad, out of a series spanning 26 years. This makes Tales almost as old as fellow JRPG classics Final Fantasy, Ys, and Dragon Quest. Its longevity alone proves there’s something special about Tales, so if you’re curious and want to have a closer look at the series ahead of Arise, here’s a short introduction. Tales Of Eternia (PS1, 2001, PSP, 2006) A last hurrah for 2D RPGs, Tales Of Eternia headed West as Tales Of Destiny 2, after the previous Tales game that didn’t see a European release. Similar to Tales Of Arise, the battle-heavy Eternia tells the story of a conflict between two planets, which are set to collide unless hero Reid and his friends intervene. Tales Of…

INFO FORMAT PS4 PRICE £54.99 ETA Out now PUB Koei Tecmo DEV Omega Force PLAYERS 1-2 LENGTH 24 hrs ACCESSIBILITY Subtitles; difficulty modes; adjustable camera; full button remapping; UI displays; adjustable background/voice/ sound effect levels The Samurai Warriors series, Dynasty Warriors’ little brother, turns over a new leaf with this fifth entry. This reimagining of the historical hack-and-slash boasts redesigned characters and a captivating new visual style. The toon shading and 2D anime-style effects complement the outlandish nature of the action, while a smattering of ukiyo-e visuals (think Hokusai’s Great Wave) and the way the soundtrack’s electronic elements have been stripped back to emphasise the flutes and plucked strings give the game a stylish traditional feel. This time there’s a particular focus on the Oda clan. While that narrow angle…

INFO  FORMAT PS4 PRICE £24.99 ETA Out now PUB Binary Haze Interactive DEV Live Wire, Adglobe PLAYERS 1 This side-scrolling action game nails the dark aesthetic we’ve grown to expect from this kind of 2D soulslike while offering a simplified and approachable combat system. Truth be told, it’s refreshing. While many 2D action games, such as Hollow Knight and Salt And Sanctuary, are absolutely worth trying, their difficulty often scares potential players away. Ender Lilies takes a similar action combat formula, but makes things more streamlined. One of its standout features is the way enemy moves are clearly telegraphed, allowing you to dodge easily out of the way.1 Before an enemy strikes, it flashes red, letting you know it’s time to dodge. You can sit back and study the enemy’s…

INFO FORMAT PS5 (reviewed), PS4 PRICE £19.99 ETA Out now PUB Supergiant Games DEV Supergiant Games PLAYERS 1 LENGTH 30-100 hrs ACCESSIBILITY God mode; subtitles; options to disable rumble/ screen shake; aim assist Rarely has an indie coming to PlayStation been so eagerly awaited. It’s no surprise: after winning many Game Of The Year 2020 awards, Hades is Supergiant Games’ biggest hit to date. And yes, it is that good. A roguelike for people who don’t like roguelikes, Hades makes the genre more accessible, and dying repeatedly part of the fun. Despite its name, Hades is only partly about the Greek ruler of the underworld. You play as his son Zagreus, who one day discovers that his mother has left Hell to live on the surface. Determined to meet her,…

INFO  FORMAT PSVR PRICE £24.99 ETA Out now PUB Trebuchet DEV Trebuchet PLAYERS 1 From small seeds big ideas sprout. Set against PSVR’s library of skilled snipers and OTT Hollywood shootouts, a game that revolves around planting seeds and watching trees grow manages to overshadow many of the headset’s more commonplace experiences. As ‘The Gardener’ you must heal your world and regrow its fauna and flora. To accomplish this you walk around the colourful biomes on stilts that enable you to vary your speed and rise into the treetops to pick fruit – the seeds to grow more trees. The simple premise belies some complexity, mostly in the control setup. You walk by wafting the Move controllers like imaginary ski poles, and rise by pulling upwards.1 You need to manually…

INFO FORMAT PS5 (reviewed), PS4 PRICE £34.99 ETA Out now PUB Modus Games DEV Dreams Uncorporated, SYCK PLAYERS 1 LENGTH 30-40 hrs ACCESSIBILITY None The words “turn-based battle” basically constituted a taboo for a few years, but they are back in big way, as new players discover JRPGs and genre veterans seek games that remind them of the classics from decades ago. Colombian developers Dreams Uncorporated and SYCK took things a step further and decided to make a JRPG flavoured with influences from their Colombian homeland. The story is quickly told – Crisbell, a young orphan, finds out she is a chosen time mage, able to use the power of time crystals. Together with Matias the frog (very dapper in his top hat and bow tie) and a group of…

INFO  FORMAT PS5 PRICE £17.02 ETA Out now PUB Subliminal DEV Subliminal PLAYERS 1 When a game’s cast consists entirely of low-poly animals so cute that even the villain is adorable, you could be forgiven for expecting a narrative with predictable and play-it-safe beats. While this is a family-friendly adventure, it touches on some surprisingly complex subjects (albeit all too briefly). They’re playing fur keeps here. “The humour’s happy to dance from the straightforward to the surreal and back again.” Button City is the name of the town’s under-threat arcade (which, in a clear case of nominative determinism, is owned and run by Mr Button), and it’s here that your character soon ends up. As it’s a social hub for the local yoof, you quickly scoop up a bunch of…

Following Wrath Of the Druids’ release earlier this year, Valhalla’s second expansion debuted on 12 August. In it protagonist Eivor travels to Francia after hearing of a new rising power. This sets them on a course that will conclude with a particular treat for Viking history buffs. As Eivor, you infiltrate the fortified city of Paris, sail its river Seine, scoop up secrets, and hopefully find something you can use to strengthen your clan’s political position. On top of the bloody, foregone conclusion suggested by its title, as well as new gear and abilities this DLC reintroduces Black Box Infiltration Missions. “Infiltrate the fortified city of Paris, sail the Seine, and scoop up secrets.” A fan-favourite inherited from 2014’s Assassin’s Creed Unity, these missions make assassinations more of an undertaking…

The fourth story expansion for the live-service superhero game debuted this August, and it’s been a long time coming. After the untimely passing of Chadwick Boseman last year, this new take on King T’Challa is portrayed here by Christopher Judge (who also voices Kratos). In Black Panther – War For Wakanda, T’Challa is reeling in the aftermath of a tragic betrayal. Unable even to turn to his own sister Shuri for assistance, T’Challa soon finds himself completely alone, staring down the advancing forces of the villainous Klaw. “T’Challa soon finds himself alone, staring down Klaw’s advancing forces.” While an all-T’Challa party would probably be interesting given the new hero’s acrobatic moveset, he won’t be fighting by himself for long. In teams of four, you bring the fight to Klaw. From…

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 PSVR, 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 PSVR 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 PSVR’s best. 03 The…

Now known for harrowing cinematic hits like The Last Of Us, Naughty Dog got its start creating “Sonic’s Ass Game”. You’ll know it as Crash Bandicoot – the devs gave the platformer its nickname because you spend most of your time staring at the hero’s behind. Back in ’96 PS1 was so new, there weren’t many 3D genre tropes. Naughty Dog sought to crack the three-dimensional platformer code. While some turn their noses up at Crash’s rigid levels and runner-like gameplay, for many it defined the genre for a new generation. Reader @Byronb_86 has a scandalous admission: “25 years since I fell in love with a bandicoot.” It’s almost hard to believe it’s been so long (“It is a scandal how old I am!” he admits). Yet, that’s exactly what…

FORMAT PS2 / RELEASED 2002 / PUB KONAMI DEV COMPUTER ARTWORKS / GET IT NOW EBAY, £5-10 The Thing needs little introduction. To this day, John Carpenter’s masterpiece of claustrophobic paranoia is still routinely held up as one of the greatest horror films of all time. It excels in every area, from its knife-edge tension to its innovative practical effects to composer Ennio Morricone’s haunting main theme. In 2002 a scrappy band of British developers returned to this Antarctic nightmare, bringing players a videogame adaptation and official sequel to the movie a full 20 years after MacReady and Childs were left freezing in the ruins of the research station. THEY’RE NOT SWEDISH The Thing is a squad-based third-person shooter developed by Computer Artworks, a London-based studio founded by William Latham.…

Back in 2015 it was easy to raise a cynical eyebrow at this FPS’ release. EA loves a marketing-savvy franchise, and what could be better than branding its narrative cop shooter as a Battlefield game? A risk-free release of a shooter that takes chances with its setup – war is replaced by the war on crime. Fresh from delivering the Dead Space trilogy, Visceral Games’ credibility for creating narrative action was sky-high. Battlefield Hardline was its swansong. The usual Battlefield tools are retconned into a police context – a scanner detects and logs evidence, and can be used to stake out criminals, tag alarms, and more. Stealth kills are now arrests; wave your badge and hardened goons lose their will to commit crime, drop their weapons, and welcome a good…

We’re approaching PlayStation 5’s first anniversary. It’s been a strange year for many reasons. Gaming-wise, it’s been tricky even to get your hands on the new hardware due to global issues with technology manufacturing. And if you remember the cross-generational leap from PS3 to PS4 being weird, that’s only been exacerbated here, owing in part to PS5’s backwards compatibility giving PS4 games a longer lease of life. True PS5 exclusives are few and far between, even counting titles currently in development. “IT’S IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY RIGHT IN YOUR HANDS.” Despite all that we love the strangely curved console that sits, monolithic, beside our television. While PS4 is still a great place to play, PS5 has usurped it for our gaming needs. When devs take proper advantage of the hardware cross-gen games…

“PS5 MATCHES WILL USHER IN A NEW ERA OF 128-PLAYER SHOOTOUTS.” Popular people are going to want to play the latest entry in the Battlefield series on PS5. It features crossplay but will silo players depending on what console generation they’re playing on. It all makes sense when you consider that matches on PS4 are capped at 64 players but PS5 matches will usher in a new era of chaotic 128-player shootouts. The processing power of the new-gen console can keep twice as many plates spinning as its predecessor, but if you’re short of a few human players online, bots can fill out the numbers. These AI-controlled enemies are intended to act like any other player but are unable to use Traits or Specialties, unlike human players, who gain a…