Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2022 i PLAY

“PS5 had an impressive lineup of games at launch, including Astro’s Playroom.” Time flies! We’re already 12 months into a new-gen story. PS5 made its worldwide debut on 19 November 2020 and had an impressive lineup of games at launch, including the Demon’s Souls remake, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and charming freebie Astro’s Playroom. PS Plus subscribers could also redeem family-friendly body horror Bugsnax until the new year. 2021 got off to a particularly strong start with Hitman 3 in January. Capping off the World Of Assassination trilogy, this entry introduced a whole new murderous dimension thanks to VR support. On the subject of PSVR, in February we were given the first few details of its single-wire successor, while in March we got a good look at its sleek, orb-shaped…

“THANK YOU FOR YOUR INCREDIBLE WORK, YOUR PASSION, AND FOR MAKING ME FEEL SO WELCOME! I WILL MISS YOU TERRIBLY!” NEIL DRUCKMANN THANKS THE CREW OF THE LAST OF US TV SHOW – IT’S A WRAP. “THERE WAS NO INTERNET OR SMARTPHONES. THE WEIGHT OF A NEW YEAR’S CARD, A ONCE-A-YEAR LETTER, WAS VERY SPECIAL.” HIDEO KOJIMA ABOUT HIS TIME AS A POSTMAN DURING HIS STUDENT YEARS. “I AM SO EXCITED AND PROUD TO HAVE BEEN EVEN A SMALL FRACTION OF WHAT MAKES LADY D LARGER THAN LIFE.” MAGGIE ROBERTSON ON VOICING LADY DIMITRESCU AFTER WINNING BEST PERFORMANCE AT THE GOLDEN JOYSTICK AWARDS.…

NATE EXPECTATIONS Aren’t you being a bit hard on Tom Holland? Okay, maybe he’s younger than Nate is in the Uncharted games, but he’s going to get older. If this series goes on as long as Indiana Jones, he’ll be in his mid 60s and still playing Nate. And then you’re gonna say he’s too old! Sarah McKillick If we’re still making this magazine from the old people’s home in 40 years, and Tom Holland is indeed still playing Nathan Drake, you have our permission to come back and say ‘Old enough for you?’ (For the love of Sully’s ’stache, though, please don’t let him do an Uncharted Crystal Skull.) “I EXPECTED SOMETHING AS SMOOTH AS ’80S YACHT ROCK. IT’S AS BUGGY AS THE BUGGLES.” DAYLIGHT ROBBERY Have you seen…

VOTE NOW! Tell us the five games you can’t wait to play at play@futurenet.com 01 Horizon Forbidden West The fact we’re not supposed to go there just makes us want to head west all the more… FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 18 Feb 02 God Of War Ragnarök Oh BOY! We can hardly wait for this one. FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 03 Elden Ring We’ve played some – see p44 – and you’re right to want this. And we’ll have more on it next issue. FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 25 Feb 05 Dying Light 2: Stay Human Aiden wall-runs onto the bottom of the Most Wanted list, pursued by a crowd of hungry infected. FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 4 Feb 04 Sifu In a weird…

FORMAT PS4 ETA SEP 2022 PUB HASHBANE LIMITED DEV HASHBANE LIMITED PLAYERS 1 This shooter pitches itself as a spiritual successor to the beloved action/survival horror series Dino Crisis. As protagonist April Summers, you’re deep in hostile territory and staring down the barrel at definitely not-fossilised prehistoric creatures. An archaeologist’s trowel or brush isn’t going to cut it here. Switching freely between third- and first-person perspectives, you explore lush forests, green plains, and dark caves – all of which are affected by the changeable weather. Why April has ventured here and what she hopes to find have yet to be revealed, but everything we’ve seen so far from the project looks moodily atmospheric.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB NACON DEV DAEDALIC ENTERTAINMENT PLAYERS 1 Sometimes your own worst enemy is yourself. This story-driven action adventure takes that thought to the paranoid extreme as the titular Hobbit, twisted by the One Ring’s influence, finds himself deep in dangerous territory. Through a blend of stealth and parkour action, you follow Gollum through Mordor, Mirkwood, and the mines of Moria. Picking a way forward is not always simple as making decisions can take the form of a heated choice-driven monologue, with various aspects of Gollum’s psyche vying for control.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 22 FEB PUB BUNGIE DEV BUNGIE PLAYERS MULTI Following Bungie’s split from Activision, the developer’s been able to construct Destiny’s ongoing story to reflect how it want its live-service game to be. The Witch Queen feels like the most important expansion since Forsaken in that respect. All the elements you’d expect will feature in the coming year, from seasons to returning raids, but the story and campaign are the biggest draws. Centring on Oryx’s sister (the titular witch queen), Guardians will explore Savathûn’s Throne World within the Ascendant Realm, uncovering the truth of how they stole the Light.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB IGGYMOB, PRIME MATTER, KICK MEDIA DEV IGGYMOB PLAYERS 1 A new, bloodier Gungrave is making its way to PlayStation, and it looks like being the goriest one yet. Gunslinging antihero Grave is back, with his emo haircut, leather trousers, and arsenal of hefty guns. This time you face a multitude of equally kitted-out foes. Cue the blood spraying and limb lobbing. Gungrave director Yasuhiro Nightow is joined by Ghostwire: Tokyo game director Ikumi Nakamura, who is bringing her “own unique style” to the game, with one boss being inspired by the masks worn in the ancient Chinese art of bian lian. We’re excited to see how that will turn out.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA OCT 2022 PUB BANDAI NAMCO DEV SUPERMASSIVE GAMES PLAYERS 1-5 The fourth, and final, episode in The Dark Pictures Anthology follows a group of documentary filmmakers who’ve been invited to tour a replica of HH Holmes’ Murder Castle. (Holmes was a real-life 19th-century serial killer who built a house designed to trap and kill visitors.) They discover that they will be the house’s newest victims when they become trapped in a new murder game. This looks like being much bloodier than the entries before it, with the trailer showcasing some very gruesome imagery.…

FORMAT PS5 ETA 2022 PUB BANDAI NAMCO DEV LIMBIC ENTERTAINMENT PLAYERS 1 This rollercoaster management game is quite literally off the rails. The health and safety rulebook has been thrown out the window as you’re encouraged to build ‘impossible’ rollercoasters. Fancy replacing rollercoaster tracks with cannons? You can do that. What about a giant octopus that throws coaster karts from one tentacle to another? No problem. With “advanced coaster-creation tools” you can attempt to defy gravity in the game’s sandbox mode or see your theme park rise to glory in story mode. Park Beyond should set a bizarre new direction for the genre.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 23 AUG PUB DEEP SILVER, THQ DEV DEEP SILVER VOLITION PLAYERS 1 Volition is back and rebooting its wacky action-adventure series (the last entry was 2013’s Saints Row 4). Here, you’re recruiting a new rag-tag gang in Santo Ileso, a location inspired by the dry, dry deserts of the American southwest. You’ll need to create your criminal empire from scratch, taking control of the city district by district from other gangs. We’ve seen lots of fast cars, big guns, and chaotic explosions (sometimes for insurance fraud reasons). It might be more down-to-earth than its predecessors, but we’ve plenty of hijinks and run-and-gun combat to look forward to.…

FORMAT PS5 ETA 2022 PUB MODUS GAMES DEV REPLY GAME STUDIOS PLAYERS 1 Briar and Lute are close siblings. Literally. The latter allowed herself to be sacrificed so their souls could be bound together in one body, making them a Chimera. This hybrid status bestows special powers upon both, the only way to fight back against the Wraiths who are invading from across the Veil. Fighting through a ravaged town on behalf of the Order the sisters serve, you need to use the ghostly Lute’s supernatural abilities to make enemies vulnerable, then employ Briar’s superhuman strength to mow them down.…

FORMAT PS5 ETA MAR 2022 PUB ROCKSTAR GAMES DEV ROCKSTAR GAMES PLAYERS 1 (GTA V), 1-30 (GTA ONLINE) We’re getting PS5 versions of both GTA V and GTA Online next year, in the shape of two standalone products (a great way to save on storage space). The latter multiplayer sensation will be free for all PS5 owners for the first three months. Enhancements, including better visuals and tweaks to things like car handling, will apply to both. For the main story, being able to switch quickly between the three protagonists is a nice touch. It might be less revolutionary than the jump from PS3 to PS4, but will shine nevertheless.…

“MAX MODE BUFFS YOUR ATTACK FOR THE PRICE OF TWO POWER GAUGES.” FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 17 FEB PUB SNK DEV SNK PLAYERS 1-2 (OFFLINE), 2-8 (ONLINE) After 14 games, it seems these fighters still haven’t been able to choose a king, so… here we go again! As KOF XV once more brings together characters from SNK’s history, those of us past a certain age will recognise faces from games such as Fatal Fury, Art Of Fighting, and even Ikari Warriors. A few new fighters have been dropped in, too. One of these, Dolores, is a medium, although that doesn’t explain why she’s so determined to turn living people into dead people. Drumming up more business, perhaps? Whatever her story is, it involves teaming up with the other new character,…

FORMAT TBC ETA 2022 PUB HEADUP DEV BLEAKMILL PLAYERS 1 As the Berlin Wall comes down, you find yourself crossing a different kind of barrier to a parallel world. You end up in a Berlin you don’t quite recognise, and it’s tied to your missing colleague and a deserted science complex where something terrible seems to have happened. There’s a satisfying heft to the weaponry as you take on legions of strange machines. With some haunting sights this is a tightly paced FPS that only takes a few hours to get through, but will stay with you far longer. Nothing’s like a classic-feeling shooter to spend a day or two with, and this will be worth your time.…

FORMAT PS4 ETA 2022 PUB UBISOFT DEV UBISOFT PUNE PLAYERS 1 Once a modern revival of a classic series itself, Sands Of Time is now old enough to get the remake treatment. The way it mixed together 3D platforming with an in-universe rewind mechanic was a stroke of genius. Now delayed twice (it was originally due at the start of 2021), there’s some concern about how it’s shaping up. But if Ubisoft takes the time to get things right, this could start a revival of the sort of single-player platformers the company has moved steadily away from in recent years.…

“WORLDS COLLIDE WHEN RAYMOND MEETS LAETICIA.” FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB SQUARE ENIX DEV TRI-ACE PLAYERS 1 Raymond, captain of the space trading ship Ydas, is shot out of the sky. He crash-lands on a strange planet whose fighty fauna puts him on the back foot until warrior princess Laeticia comes to his aid. Little does either protagonist know that their meeting will have consequences that reach far beyond this particular planet. Six years on from its last ill-fated voyage onto PlayStation, action-RPG series Star Ocean sails anew. Earlier series entries were notable for their real-time combat systems and three-dimensional encounter design. The Divine Force makes the experience even more dynamic, allowing you to move fluidly between exploration and combat. After you’ve found your feet, you’re introduced to an…

FORMAT TBC ETA TBC PUB SQUARE ENIX DEV SQUARE ENIX PLAYERS 1 As part of the series’ 35th birthday celebrations, this ’80s classic is getting a modern makeover. The visual overhaul ditches the classic bird’s-eye view for a more pop-up-book, 2.5D perspective. The style feels right out of Project Octopath, placing flat pixel sprites in a 3D world. It’s the third game to follow the hero Erdrick, and here he travels across the land before facing off against the archfiend Baramos. Sort of the Final Fantasy VI of Dragon Quest, it originally laid the tracks many JRPGs would follow.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA JUN 2022 PUB MWM INTERACTIVE DEV NIGHT SCHOOL STUDIO PLAYERS 1 Better hide under the covers for this entry – Lost Signals looks like being a truly chilling sequel. The story follows closely on from the first game’s. There’s another spooky island haunted by mysterious radio frequencies making the residents’ electronic equipment go haywire. You play as Riley, an environmental researcher returning to her hometown to investigate the phenomenon, and as you delve into the origin of the signals, you also start to reveal the island’s supernatural secret. With plenty of spooky shenanigans, this one will leave you with a major case of goosebumps.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB TEAM REPTILE DEV TEAM REPTILE PLAYERS 1 A spiritual successor to Sega’s beloved Jet Set Radio is finally on the way, but Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is more than just a call-back to that earlier favourite. This has got to be the most stylish game on our 2022 list, letting you grind rails, spray a city with graffiti, and pull off tricks to funky music – all while wearing the baggiest of trousers. You can string your tricks and graffiti-spraying into point-scoring combos, and the more rad moves you pull off, the higher your score.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 4 FEB PUB TECHLAND DEV TECHLAND PUBLISHING PLAYERS 1-4 Techland announced Dying Light 2 almost three years ago, during E3 2018, and a lot has happened since then. Originally meant to be finished in 2020, the game has been through two big delays and the departure of writer/designer Chris Avellone last year following multiple sexual harassment allegations. Techland’s parkour zombie survival game is now set for February 2022, and from our hands-on preview we know it’s shaping up to be more than just your usual gory zombie survival hack-and-slash. You play as Aiden Caldwell, a wanderer whose search for his missing sister brings him to Villedor, a city where the last crumbs of humanity are battling to survive against zombies called the infected. Without the help…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA FEB 2022 PUB NACON DEV BIG BAD WOLF PLAYERS 1 The bloodsuckers are back in everyone’s favourite gothic vampire RPG. Swansong sees you playing as three vampires, all from different clans. Each has their own opinion on the Masquerade, a law that says the existence of vampires must be hidden from humans, and their stories all interweave, everything kicking off with a deadly shootout in Boston. Swansong is one of three Vampire: The Masquerade projects in production. The RPG sits alongside Shark Mob’s battle royale Bloodhunt and Paradox’s Bloodlines 2, both of which have been delayed.…

FORMAT PS4 ETA 2022 PUB TBC DEV VISIBLE GAMES PLAYERS 1 We’ve yet to see the last of FMV. In writer-producer Jed Shepherd’s first videogame project, the cast of Zoom-seance-gone-wrong frightfest Host return. This time they take on the role of presenters on flagging cable channel FrighTV’s show, Ghosts, and you play as their producer. Only playable after 10PM in your local time zone, you’re in for late-night scares as the team investigate sightings of The Long Lady. Designed by Trevor Henderson of Siren Head fame and brought to life by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, this central creature looks set to make quite the entrance.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB WARNER BROS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT DEV WB GAMES MONTRÉAL PLAYERS 1-2 Beware The Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime,” goes the city’s creepy nursery rhyme. There are many reasons to be excited about Gotham Knights (a host of classic Batman villains; bat-family co-op; an open world you can zip around), but just knowing it centres on The Court Of Owls is enough for any Batman fan. In the comics, the Court threw Batman’s understanding of the city into chaos. Here, they have exactly the same effect on the bat-family left behind by the recently deceased Batman. The streets seem darker as Robin and co have to deal with powerful villains without him at…

INFO FORMAT PS5, PS4 PRICE £47.99 (full game), or free PS5 upgrade plus £15.99 anniversary pack ETA Out now PUB Bethesda DEV Bethesda PLAYERS 1 LENGTH 35 hrs (main quest) 100+ hrs (everything else) ACCESSIBILITY Subtitles Yes, this decade-old RPG is being released again. If you’re already a fan, you might appreciate having a little more to do in your next playthrough. For the rest of us, however, when the free performance improvements are set aside, the incorporation of numerous community mods from the Creation Club isn’t enough to stop this latest release from being Skyrim’s least exciting iteration yet. Since it first hit shelves in 2011, Skyrim has been no stranger to ports and editions. The Anniversary Edition, released to mark a decade since launch, signals its arrival on…

WHAT YOU DO IN: COD: VANGUARD 5% Having a giggle (or a cringe) at a particularly dodgy line of dialogue. 11% Changing weapons, scavenging ammo, or editing your loadout. 8% Realising you haven’t seen anything on fire for five minutes. 9% Seeing something on fire and saying “Ooh, that’s very pretty”. 17% Saying naughty words when somebody else manages to shoot you first. 50% Shooting people. Or blowing them up. Or stabbing them. Or… FRIENDS & ENEMIES ARTHUR KINGSLEY The British leader of your talented gang. Key to your success. POLINA PETROVA Sarcastic, gruff and deadly, the Russian sniper isn’t without a sense of humour. LEO STEINER This Nazi officer oversees the invasion of Stalingrad. Makes an enemy of Polina. MULTIPL AYER The usual shopping list of…

INFO  FORMAT PS5 (reviewed), PS4 PRICE £6.49 ETA Out now PUB Adamgryu DEV Adamgryu PLAYERS 1 Looking to snuggle up with a game during these chilly months? A Short Hike will warm your heart. You play as a bird named Claire, visiting your aunt, who lives on an autumnal island called Hawk Peak, which is home to friendly folk and peaceful vibes. Your goal is to reach the top of the island’s mountain. The reason? There’s mobile phone reception available at the very top. But there’s no need to rush; A Short Hike encourages you to take the scenic route with plenty of charming activities and distractions. This laid-back adventure inspires curiosity. As you explore there are plenty of other hikers to chat to, some asking for favours and others…

We usually dare not utter its name, but since Super Smash Bros Ultimate’s final update in October this year, we knew a challenger for its throne would appear before long. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl entered the crossover fighter ring that same month, but it was far from a serious contender (we gave it 4/10). Now a new free-to-play challenger has appeared: MultiVersus. Developed by Player First Games and featuring Warner Brothers characters, this platform fighter has it all. Harley Quinn versus Arya Stark! Jake and Finn versus Bugs Bunny! Batman versus Shaggy! The gang isn’t quite all here but there are plenty of characters to choose from for 2v2 matches, 1v1 fisticuffs, and four-player free-for-alls. While there are lots of fun attacks, such as Shaggy’s sandwich projectile, many character moves are…

When you play through the prologue of cyberpunk RPG Keylocker, there’s no musical accompaniment. It feels strange. As you begin to explore the silence grows downright eerie, becoming heavy and oppressive. There’s not a single sound, but the message couldn’t be louder: a world without music feels wrong. It’s a bold choice as an introduction to the game’s otherwise vibrant world and an artistic risk that paid off – quite literally. A free demo featuring the prologue formed part of the game’s Kickstarter campaign, one that ended up smashing its goal of $35,000. For Nana Moon, Keylocker’s game director, Kickstarter was the way to go for funding. Keylocker is vividly wild in both its visuals and game systems, features that were scaring conventional finance providers away. “Keylocker makes investors run…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 18 FEB PUB SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT DEV GUERRILLA GAMES PLAYERS 1 The land is being ravaged by a red blight that kills all natural life it infects, while potent storms and the rise of a combative tribe make ‘safe passage’ little more than a pleasant daydream. On top of all of that, there are the machines, of course. As Aloy laid to rest an apocalyptic swarm of military death machines in the last game, rogue robots are perhaps the least of her worries this time around. Venturing beyond the canyons of the Daunt that lie at the edge of the Carja Sundom, Aloy explores a world of trouble in this sequel. The titular new area is the domain of the Tenakth, a group the Carja regards…

FORMAT PS4 ETA 2022 PUB TOGE PRODUCTIONS DEV TOGE PRODUCTIONS PLAYERS 1 Set in a late-night coffee shop, this game is all about crafting just the right brew for your unusual clientele. Taking place in a fantastical, alternate version of Seattle, your regulars consist of orcs, elves, and yes, even the odd human customer from time to time. Given their unusual species, their problems aren’t always run-of-the-mill but they all have one thing in common: they could all do with a cuppa and a chat. Presented in the same anime-inspired pixel art style as its predecessor, this sequel aims to offer another heaped helping of cosy coffee-shop vibes.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA JUN PUB NACON DEV ACE TEAM PLAYERS 1 In the world of Zenozoik (which was also the setting for Zeno Clash 1 and 2), a new challenger appears. Protagonist Pseudo is a hermit skilled in the art of throwing down. He is joined by The Boy, a small, wide-eyed creature who is considerably less combat-ready. In the name of protecting The Boy, Pseudo lets his fists fly in over-the-shoulder third-person and first-person combat while he explores a unique punk-fantasy world.…

FORMAT PS5 ETA 2022 PUB WARNER BROS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT DEV ROCKSTEADY PLAYERS 1-4 We’ve yet to see any in-game footage from this supervillain romp, but we always have faith in Rocksteady – after all, it’s responsible for the Batman: Arkham series. Those games’ almost rhythmic brawling became a template for many imitators. As a pseudo-sequel to the Arkham games seven years or so in the making, Suicide Squad has a lot to live up to, especially as it seems to be taking quite a different approach from the beloved Bat-series. Set within the Arkhamverse, Suicide Squad is far from a reskin of past successes. Featuring four playable characters (Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang), it smushes together genres, taking place in an open-world Metropolis, and supporting up to…

FORMAT PS4 ETA 25 MAR PUB 2K GAMES DEV GEARBOX SOFTWARE PLAYERS 1 Set in the Borderlands universe, this takes the Tiny Tina’s Assault On Dragon Keep DLC and blows it up into its own full game. In this expanded adventure, players at the table can cause chaos as two new classes and venture into Butt Stallion’s Castle for the first time. It’s an adventure in two parts, with drama unfolding both between the players around the table and within the fiction of the campaign they’re playing. Tiny Tina presides over the tabletop campaign as Bunker Master and the story will shift gears dramatically depending on her whims. You join these TTRPG shenanigans as the Fatemaker – your very own custom protagonist. Beyond in-depth options that hone the look of…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB WARNER BROS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT DEV AVALANCHE SOFTWARE PLAYERS 1 Wand, broom, and cat at the ready – Hogwarts Legacy should finally be out next year (assuming it’s not delayed again). The wizarding RPG takes place long before The Boy Who Lived stepped through the school’s doors, enabling you to create your own student, go to classes, brew potions, and unlock secrets about magic. There’ll be familiar locations to visit, including the Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade. Avalanche says it’s following the lore set out in the books but the open-world’s story is written by the studio, not JK Rowling.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA JAN 2022 PUB UBISOFT DEV UBISOFT MONTREAL PLAYERS 1-3 The next threat facing the Rainbow Six squad is of extraterrestrial origin. An alien parasite has taken over parts of the US and you (alone or as part of a group of three) need to battle the infestation and gather intel. Completing dangerous excursions is one thing, but if you lose an Operator on a mission they’ll be MIA until they’re rescued. Challenges are procedurally generated and split into three zones which increase in difficulty as you progress. Ubisoft is taking a risk by switching up the style of its shooter series, but from the look of this tense co-op reimagining, it’s been worth it.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA SPRING 2022 PUB ANNAPURNA INTERACTIVE DEV BLUETWELVE STUDIO PLAYERS 1 As a yet unnamed ginger kitty, you fall into an underground city. There’s something scrabbling in the dark and other, friendlier signs of life are few and far between. Your only means of survival is to do as cats do. We’ll get to whatever is scuttling around in the dark soon, but first let’s talk about this place’s other inhabitants: robots. There’s no mistaking their mechanical nature but they exhibit uncannily human behaviour, from gardening to giving you a good scratch behind the ear. It’s not easy living down here in the dark, which raises the question of why so many robots have found their way below – just what happened on the surface? That question…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB AWACEB DEV AWACEB PLAYERS 1 If wandering around a tropical island populated by laidback residents and colourful wildlife sounds like an ideal getaway, prepare to escape with adventure game Tchia. You play as a young girl exploring New Caledonia, a small archipelago in the southwest Pacific ocean near Australia. You’re able to climb, jump, swim, and sail around the island, and you have a special gift that lets you take control of animals so you can traverse the skies as a seagull flying on the gentle winds or a mischievous mutt running through the streets. Tchia looks like being truly charming – let’s get away.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA FEB 2022 PUB BOSS TEAM GAMES DEV SABER INTERACTIVE PLAYERS MULTI This isn’t the first multiplayer take on horror movie survival we’ve seen – we’ve already had Friday The 13th, Dead By Daylight, and Predator: Hunting Grounds. But what makes this one worth paying attention to is the combination of source material devotion and sheer gameplay chops. With returning actors plus maps and weapons from the films, it’s a treat for fans, and combat that smoothly juggles both melee and ranged should create a groovy experience whether you’re trying to save the world or doom it as a demon.…

FORMAT PS5 ETA 2022 PUB FOCUS HOME INTERACTIVE DEV ASOBO STUDIO PLAYERS 1 Hunted by the Inquisition, Amicia and her little brother Hugo narrowly managed to escape rat-infested France at the end of the first game. Now they’re older, and the plague seems to have followed them to (what appears to be) Sicily. You can bet the people hunting Hugo, who has a strange affinity with the rats, won’t be far behind. Expect a mass of rodents on screen at once to push PS5 (it’s new-gen only), and presumably greater exploration of Hugo’s powers and more violent stealth activity. Foes will definitely be munched by vermin.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB SEGA DEV TWO POINT STUDIOS PLAYERS 1 Before you can dole out meds as a doctor, you’ve got to get through class. Though you might have trouble earning a doctorate in this followup to Two Point Hospital (itself a spiritual successor to Theme Hospital). The classes on offer include Knight School and Gastronomy (where you make gigantic pizzas). Getting started over summer break, it’s up to you to build the campus of your dreams and meet the needs of faculty and students alike. The latter require more attention than hospital patients, as ideally they’ll be sticking out their whole education in the quirky establishment you build.…

FORMAT PS5 ETA 2022 PUB PARADOX INTERACTIVE DEV PARADOX DEVELOPMENT STUDIOS PLAYERS MULTI This grand strategy isn’t just about expanding the influence of an empire, but making sure your own royal house stays on top. Politicking is the name of the game as you secure your bloodline through generations of rule, your main character shifting over time as you plot against friends and allies alike, all while they connive and conspire just out of sight. You haven’t lived until you’ve, erm, died at the hands of your own ambitious younger brother, undoing hours of perfect planning, as they make their own bid for the throne, leaving you stuck to play as them for the rest of your rule.…

FORMAT PS4 ETA 25 FEB PUB KOEI TECMO DEV GUST PLAYERS 1 Gust returns to a completed Atelier subseries with a surprise new entry. Originally the lead in the first game in the Mysterious series (in which she learned about alchemy from a magical girl/book named Plachta), Sophie was a mentor of sorts to later characters. Here we see what happened when she left her hometown: she stumbles into the dream world of Erde Wiege and is separated from her bookish friend. To find Plachta, Sophie will need to find her way around this liminal world.…

“THE GIDEON COFFIN GRANTS YOU A NUMBER OF ABILITIES, INCLUDING THE ABILITY TO QUADRUPLE WIELD.” FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB SQUARE ENIX DEV PLATINUMGAMES PLAYERS 1-4 Only a particular sort of person chooses to climb the tower. In this action RPG you can take it on solo, or group up with up to three others who also share your gift for combat – namely the strange device embedded in your back. The Gideon Coffin looks not unlike a personal furnace smouldering with magical energy. It plays a central role in the hack-and-slash combat, augmenting your abilities to the point of literally giving you a helping hand. Spectral tendrils called the Gideon Gut emerge from the device on your back, granting you a number of abilities, including the ability to…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB NACON DEV SPIDERS PLAYERS 1 “King Louis XVI’s automata army is terrorising the citizens of Paris” – we’re sure that’s not how the French Revolution was taught in school, but it is how Spiders has reimagined the period. Playing as one of Marie Antoinette’s automaton bodyguards, you’re tasked with stopping Louis XVI’s army of killing machines, built for the sole purpose of quelling the revolution. Combat is a hack-and-slash affair and your character’s background as a dancer makes means they’re superbly agile. Steelrising is an impressive-looking action-RPG but only time will tell if it’s one for the history books.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB BROMIO DEV BROMIO PLAYERS 1 Grid-based strategy RFM (‘Residual Frequency Modulation’) is a bit of a weird one. It’s simultaneously both a real-time action game and turn-based strategy thanks to its time-freezing system. The fusion shouldn’t work, but it manages to pull it off in a story that puts you in the role of a tech mercenary dipping and diving through different dimensions to find their lost lover. With plenty of roguelike battlefields to fight through, RFM should be an intriguing retro-futuristic adventure that also looks slick as hell.…

“IT’S A PSEUDO-REMAKE OF THE VERY FIRST FINAL FANTASY AND IS HEAVILY INSPIRED BY THE ORIGINAL’S STORY AND SETTING.” FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB SQUARE ENIX DEV TEAM NINJA PLAYERS 1-4 Despite its hilariously edgy trailer going viral for at least some of the wrong reasons, Square Enix’s Final Fantasy spin-off Stranger Of Paradise became an unexpected highlight of E3 2021. Team Ninja’s brand new-take on the series is about three dudes named Jack, Ash, and Jed, who are on the hunt for Chaos, hoping to fulfill the prophecy of being the Warriors Of Light. It’s a pseudo-prequel/remake of the very first Final Fantasy game and is heavily inspired by the original’s story and setting. Stringing together different hack ’n’ slash combos and mastering jobs appears to be the…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB NEOSTREAM INTERACTIVE DEV NEOSTREAM INTERACTIVE PLAYERS 1 “UNFORTUNATE THOUGH THOROUGHLY ENGROSSING EVENTS HAPPEN ON THE ROAD.” From the start this has been a project all about the road less travelled and the unexpected detours along the way. With a little digging, it’s easy to find an old Kickstarter page for the title with an estimated release window of mid-2016. Suffice to say, life is what happens when you’re trying to develop a videogame. As development finally  nears its own journey’s end, here’s what we know so far. You play as Billy, a skilled young survival expert employed by an eccentric university professor. Your employer always has plenty of odd jobs for you – odd being the operative word. You see, the professor has a…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB SKA STUDIOS DEV SKA STUDIOS PLAYERS 1 (WITH MULTIPLAYER ASPECTS) In this followup to 2016’s Salt And Sanctuary, Altarstone Kingdom has all but fallen to the corruption of the Mages. The land’s only hope is the cursed warriors known as the Marked Inquisitors. These doomed defenders of the realm can cast runic arts on their weapons to conjure special attacks like shockwaves. You’ll need all the help you can get against the Mages, and summoning allows a soulslike take on multiplayer. You can invite other players to fight alongside you but it puts a target on your back for other combatants who may slip in alongside your comrades.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 25 FEB PUB NIS AMERICA DEV FURYU PLAYERS 1 From developers who worked on Shin Megami Tensei comes another JRPG laden with teen angst. When Shin Mikado Academy is enveloped in a strange mist that causes the trapped students to lose themselves, it’s up to you to investigate. Exploring mist-filled areas causes a ‘madness’ meter to rise. Using your phone, you can dial into the Otherworld to battle demons. Tame them, and they can come to your aid in battle. Exactly which ones are available is tied to your Ego, a value that pulls you between the seven deadly sins. Master yourself to defeat the Pactbearers and save the school.…

INFO FORMAT PS5 (reviewed), PS4 PRICE £24.99 ETA Out now PUB Riot Forge DEV Airship Syndicate PLAYERS 1 LENGTH 20 hrs ACCESSIBILITY Subtitles; colourblind mode League Of Legends might be a MOBA juggernaut on PC, but the series has had only a couple of mobile spin-offs and forgone consoles entirely – until now. Ruined King brings the world of League Of Legends to PlayStation for the first time in the shape of a rich and rewarding strategy game that does a good job of cutting through a decade of narrative for the benefit of new players. It takes places in two parts of LOL’s world. The first, Bilgewater, is a chaotic pirate haven built from the wreckage of battered ships, its precarious architecture forming a labyrinthine overworld filled with secrets…

INFO FORMAT PS5 (reviewed), PS4 PRICE £36.99 ETA Out now PUB Frogwares DEV Frogwares PLAYERS 1 LENGTH 7 hrs (main story) ACCESSIBILITY Customisable investigation and combat difficulty; aim assist; compass toggle; subtitles Just how Sherlock Holmes came to be the consulting detective we know and love has never really been the point of the stories. But it’s the tack this origin tale takes, trading the streets of Victorian London for a childhood home on the Mediterranean island of Cordona, and John Watson for an imaginary childhood friend – a cheeky chap also named Jon. It’s an eyebrow-raising setup, but it works better than you might expect. The real mystery, then, is why Chapter One fails to come together. Frogwares has made plenty of Sherlock Holmes games over the years, and…

WHAT YOU DO IN: GTA: THE TRILOGY – DE 30% Cruising San Andreas looking for Insta-grade snapshots. 8% Fiddling with the radio and wondering why they dropped The Gap Band. 6% Wincing at faces. There are some real visual missteps here. 12% Wondering how anyone ever played these without mission restarts. 9% Spending far too much time in Vice City trying to recreate Duran Duran’s Rio video. 35% Racing to and from objectives playing Pac-Man with the cities’ cops. HOW TO… STAY THE COURSE GTA: San Andreas flexes its RPG muscles as you hit the gym to build stamina and the Cluckin’ Bell to get put some weight on. (Get hungry without body fat and you’ll burn muscle.) The more driving, riding, running, and shooting, you do, the…

Controller and book Subscribe to PLAY – The Magazine and get a PS4 controller and Gaming Icons book together worth £47.98, plus your mag delivered every month. Print only If you just want a print edition then you’ll pay from £15 per quarter. 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 from £16.25 per quarter, for iOS, Google, Kindle, and Android devices. See p102.…

PS5 was voted Best Gaming Hardware in this year’s Golden Joystick Awards, beating Nvidia RTX 3080, Nintendo Switch OLED, WD Black SN850 SSD, and Xbox Series X and S. It was great timing too, so close to the console’s one-year anniversary – aww. PS5 has been celebrated for many of its features since it launched. The innovative DualSense controller was particularly well-received, though of course we all loved its high-end GPU with ray tracing support and custom SSD storage. It’s an impressive console (yes, we’re a bit biased) and with games like God Of War Ragnarök and Horizon Forbidden West releasing next year we’ll be able to put it through its paces, even if buying one is still a hassle. As for the rest of the awards, Resident Evil Village…

Dwarves. Mining. Space. FPS. The four words that make gamers the most hyped have finally come together on PlayStation, as Deep Rock Galactic makes the leap from PC, along with its first meaty “season” (with a completely free battle pass to match). With colourful visuals and some smart voxel design, this co-op game makes great use of procedural generation to ensure you and your dwarven brethren (who come in four flavours of class: driller, scout, gunner, and engineer) constantly have to face new challenges. Your goal is to mine loot from the rock of Hoxxes IV, and to get out before you become overwhelmed by the likes of aliens and robots. But it’s far from mindless blasting. With fully destructible environments thanks to the voxel design, and gadgets like platform…

“THERE ARE THREE MODES – SPOILS OF WAR SEES YOU AND YOUR DRAGON GUARDING YOUR OWN HOARD OF GOLD.” FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB PLAYWING LTD DEV PLAYWING LTD PLAYERS MULTI Fellow reptile-lover, listen up: what if your scale-baby was giant, had wings, and could be ridden into battle? In a roundabout way, that’s the hook of this latest free-to-play multiplayer title. Taking on other players in aerial combat, you can leave a lasting impression with a variety of class-based abilities as well as cosmetic customisation options. There are three different starting classes: the protective Windguard will throw teammates’ attackers off the scent, the Phantom can stealthily take out the opposition, and the Marauder is more direct about levelling the playing field. At launch, there are three modes on…

“FREY FINDS HERSELF WEATRING A MAGICAL, TALKING BRACELET NAMED CUFF.” The game formerly known as Project Athia has settled into its new name, and it won’t be too long now before it’s shouting about itself loudly and proudly. We’ve already come a long way since that 2020 teaser trailer, which didn’t reveal much beyond a lovely-looking world, a dragon, and a huge dog made of grumpiness and fire. Now we know more than enough to make us excited for its release. The protagonist is a young woman by the name of Frey Holland, living a miserable life in New York City with her cat, Homer (whose naming we suspect has more to do with the epic ancient Greek poem The Odyssey than The Simpsons). Frey’s about to turn 21 and…

FORMAT PS5 ETA 2022 PUB UBISOFT DEV MASSIVE ENTERTAINMENT, UBISOFT DÜSSELDORF, UBISOFT SHANGHAI PLAYERS 1 The Na’vi’s home, Pandora, is under threat from the RDA once again in this open-world action adventure. Adopting the towering feline-adjacent frame of one of the blue aliens, you travel to a part of their homeworld that has never been seen on screen before. There you’ll find unique flora and fauna populating a variety of believably alien biomes thanks to the power of the Snowdrop engine. Improvements to this engine mean that you can explore lush jungles on the ground and soak in grand vistas from the sky.…

FORMAT PS5 ETA Q2 2022 PUB BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT DEV CD PROJEKT RED PLAYERS 1 Yes, we’re returning to Geralt’s climactic adventure. It is, after all, one of the greatest RPGs of all time. And it’s going to be worth replaying, as the adventure and all its DLC are being enhanced for this free upgrade, and will include the likes of ray tracing and quicker load speeds (the shot above is from the regular version, but put some glitter on the page to get the idea). Some extra content has been teased. It will include some goodies inspired by the Netflix series, which sounds like it’ll be things like new armour to pick up. Just don’t expect Henry Cavill to show his face.…

FORMAT PS4 ETA 2022 PUB NEXON KOREA CORPORATION DEV NEXON AMERICA INC PLAYERS 1-8 This cutesy but chaotic racer looks like it’s going to pack some punch. Nexon’s free-to-play kart racing game appears to be very much in the vein of Mario Kart and Crash Team Racing, as you and your fellow speedsters try to outpace each other, employing a wacky collection of items to get ahead. In this universe dropping giant banana skins, freezing rivals in ice blocks, and getting your opponents abducted by aliens are all totally valid racing techniques. With online cross-platform play, this looks like being another fun racer that will have you hurling your controller at your friends.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB GUNGHO ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT DEV SUPERTRICK GAMES PLAYERS TBC Forget the metaverse, what about the deathverse? Set hundreds of years after the first game, this battle royale sees you compete in a deathmatchstyle TV show, in a virtual world known as the Deathverse. The reality show is a smash hit and you need to beat your opponents in PvPvE combat to become a star on its bloodstained stage. Players have ‘Wilson units’ that transform into different deadly weapons such as knives, hammers, saw blades, and katanas. With its flamboyant characters and zany humour, this is a battle royale that doesn’t take itself too seriously…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB WARNER BROS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT DEV TRAVELLER'S TALES PLAYERS 1-2 After a difficult development and multiple missed release windows, the Force is finally kicking in for Lego’s latest Star Wars anthology. It looks to be the most ambitious Lego game by far, taking all nine of the mainline Star Wars films and rolling them into one. Follow the Skywalker name as Anakin, Luke, Rey, and other familiar faces as you play through scenes from the films. With the Lego games’ humour plus the thrills of the Star Wars movies, we’ll have a fun, epic adventure.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB TEAM OFK DEV TEAM OFK PLAYERS 1 Musical adventure OFK follows the story of Itsumi Saito, a musician who has moved to Los Angeles after breaking up with her girlfriend. To get over her heartbreak, Itsumi follows her dream of creating music. Together with four friends, all hoping to achieve their musical ambitions, she forms an indie-pop band named OFK. Concept album meets slice-of-life drama as OFK’s five episodes are a melodic mixture of story and musical tracks. Itsumi is trying to find the right rhythm for her new life as she balances band practice, friendships, seedy producers, dating, and a full-time job, all while trying to make it big. GIG WORK Alongside the highs and lows of breaking into the industry, each episode…

“EVERY CORNER OF THE OPEN WORLD FEELS LIKE IT HAS A PURPOSE.” FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 25 FEB PUB BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT DEV FROMSOFTWARE PLAYERS 1-4 Stumbling out of our own grave, we find brief respite at a glowing Site Of Grace. Nearby, a man in a mask rebuffs us in a posh English accent for being “maidenless”, wryly suggesting we “feel free to go off and die in a ditch somewhere”. On a nearby hill a huge knight in armour patrols on a horse. As we approach it, a large health bar fills the screen. It is the Tree Sentinel. Enormous lance in hand, he knocks over small trees as he swipes at us, sending us flying into (of course) a ditch. You died. This is, after all, a…

FORMAT PS4 ETA 2022 PUB DEVOLVER DIGITAL DEV FLYING WILD HOG PLAYERS 1 Have you ever accidentally unleashed an ancient dragon on the world? Lo Wang does just that. A nagging sense of responsibility then forces him to try to put that thing back where it came from. The blazing-fast mashup of gun- and swordplay evolves once again as you plough your way violently through all manner of yokai in the search for a magical artefact to seal the dragon. Double jumping, wall running, air dashing, and (new to SW3) grapple hooking around, it’s one slick thrill ride that’ll give Doom a run for its money.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB ELECTRONIC ARTS DEV CODEMASTERS PLAYERS MULTI Codies is bringing Grid back in a big way, combining one of its most ambitious takes on a story mode yet with the variety we’ve come to expect from the racing series. The “epic” story is styled like a documentary, mixing real-world FMV with in-game cutscenes, and is all about larger-than-life personalities and competition drama. As for the nitty-gritty, it promises the series’ largest number of cars (all customisable), to be driven across 130 worldwide routes. Plus you get the ability to create and share your own types of events.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB GOLDFIRE STUDIOS DEV GOLDFIRE STUDIOS PLAYERS 1 What’s a pilot with only half a plane? A ’lot. But as Kai you have more than enough reason to be concerned. Your co-pilot is missing, and you’ve no idea what caused the unexpected event that sliced through your ride. With only a floating therapy robot for company, you must explore an icy wasteland to figure out what happened and hopefully get you and your friend clear of whatever oddness is going on in the mountains. Promising glorious vistas and a cryptic storyline, this narrative-focussed adventure already has us stroking our survival beards, ready for a mystery worth uncovering.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB GHOST PATTERN DEV GHOST PATTERN PLAYERS 1 It’s the summer of ’78, and Casey Beaumaris doesn’t want to waste it. Usually preferring to sit alone with a book, she accepts her mother’s offer to join her at her workplace over a long weekend, hoping it’ll inspire her to write a story for the school paper. Oh, did we mention the job is at a giant hospital in the sky? From staff to residents, everyone’s got a story you can learn. Time passes for everyone, and who you follow around (and whose stories you prioritise) is up to you, as is whether you merely eavesdrop or join in conversations. You might even help people or solve mysteries on the way.…

FORMAT PS5 ETA TBC PUB SQUARE ENIX DEV SQUARE ENIX PLAYERS 1 A PS5 console exclusive (so expect pretty visuals aplenty), the next numbered entry in the JRPG series features a war between kingdoms and blight ravaging the royal line. Protagonist Clive’s world revolves around the power presented by the Eikons – this game’s version of Summons – and Dominants, humans tied to their power. Clive’s younger brother, Joshua, is Phoenix Dominant and shares some of the Eikon’s power with his sibling. These recognisable trappings aside, turn-based fights are being dropped in favour of more character-action adjacent combat.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2 MAR PUB SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT DEV POLYPHONY DIGITAL PLAYERS 1 Sony’s long-running racing sim is back and once again making us seriously consider dropping the cash on a gaming wheel and pedals. Gran Turismo is known for being one of the most realistic driving sims around, and whether you’re new to the tarmac or a seasoned player this new entry in the series has something for everyone. GT7 has a newly designed campaign mode that will take you through a full racing career, from first getting your licence to burning serious rubber in competitive driving. Unlike other car sims, races in Gran Turismo have a clear ruleset inspired by real-life racing, giving online matches a major competitive edge. ROAD HOG If you’re a completionist, there…

“KRATOS HAS GIVEN HIMSELF MORE PROBLEMS BY ANGERING TWO OF THE MOST POWERFUL GODS IN NORSE LEGEND.” FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT DEV SANTA MONICA STUDIO PLAYERS 1 After news of its delay earlier this year, we finally got our first proper look at God Of War Ragnarök at the PlayStation Showcase last September and, looking at the bombastic trailer, if you thought the Greek gods had major drama, wait until you see the mythological mayhem the Norse gods have got themselves into. As the freezing winds of Fimbulwinter cut through Midgard, father-and-son team Kratos and Atreus find themselves on the brink of Ragnarök, an immense war that will shake the core of the Nine Realms. As the two take cover to survive on the frozen…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2022 PUB FRONTIER FOUNDRY DEV OKOMOTIVE PLAYERS 1 Okomotive is back with another lonely post-apocalyptic voyage. This time you’re tasked with piloting a ship across a waterlogged world, desperately scavenging mechanical parts to keep your hulking machine moving forward. In the studio’s previous game, Far: Lone Sails, you could only really explore the immediate area surrounding your vessel, but Changing Tides lets you traverse dry land, explore abandoned cities, and even dive into the depths of the ocean. The trailer shows the character discovering an underwater graveyard full of broken ships. Hopefully that won’t be your fate.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 8 FEB PUB SLOCLAP DEV SLOCLAP PLAYERS 1 Stylish brawler Sifu was another title that joined the wave of delays in 2021. It’s an incredibly slick fighting game inspired by kung fu – specifically the Pak Mei form. You’re able to kick, block, parry, strike, and throw your enemy in a flurry of fluid combos. There’s an emphasis on watching your opponent and reacting to them, rather than mashing buttons, making each confrontation resemble a beautifully choreographed fight scene. But Sifu’s most compelling feature is the way every time you ‘die’ your character ages, meaning you need to complete the game before you get too old and die for the final time – interesting indeed.…

FORMAT PS4 ETA 11 JAN PUB DEVOLVER DIGITAL DEV WOLFEYE STUDIOS PLAYERS 1 Twenty-person studio WolfEye is helmed by ex-Arkane devs, and a Dishonored flavour permeates this immersive sim. In a dark fantasy version of the American West seen from the top down, you follow the intersecting stories of five bounty hunters. “YOU CAN SHOOT AND LOB EXPLOSIVES TO TAKE OUT CREATURES AND CULTISTS, BUT THE LAND HIDES MANY SECRETS.” There’s plenty to get stuck into. Yes, you can shoot and lob explosives to take out creatures and cultists, but the land hides many secrets too. You can fast travel to any point on the map , but as you make your way there, random events will give you something to write home about. These, combined with the permanence of…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA EARLY 2022 PUB SOLD OUT DEV WHITE PAPER GAMES PLAYERS 1 Taking some inspiration from Rear Window, Conway is an “observational thriller” set in 1950s England. You start investigating when eight-year-old Charlotte May disappears – unofficially, that is. As Robert Conway, your detective days are behind you. Retired, and a wheelchair user, you promise your police officer daughter you won’t get involved. The problem is, you’ve told Charlotte’s father that you will. From your window you can observe the other residents. You can also leave your house to poke around for evidence, building a clear picture of what led to the child’s vanishing.…

WHAT YOU DO IN: BATTLEFIELD 2042 20% Getting killed by somebody you never saw, or saw only as a speck. 3% Seeing an enemy up close. Hey, you can see the character model details! 15% Getting shot or run over by a vehicle, and cursing loudly. 8% Reminiscing in maps from previous games, reflecting on the good old days. 12% Sitting in a vehicle, feeling about as safe as possible. 42% Sitting on or watching an objective, scanning the surroundings. MULTIPL AYER As PS5 supports twice as many players in a match as PS4 (for Conquest and Breakthrough, at least; just eight more in Hazard Zone), this also means that the biggest versions of the maps are current-gen exclusive. A side-effect of this is, sadly, there’s no cross-gen multiplayer.…

INFO FORMAT PS5 (reviewed), PS4 PRICE £59.99 (PS4), £69.99 (cross-gen) ETA Out now PUB Activision DEV Sledgehammer Games PLAYERS 1-2 (offline), 2-48 (online) LENGTH 5-6 hrs (campaign) ACCESSIBILITY Vibration on/off; adaptive triggers on/off; aim assist; colourblind modes; customisable subtitles and menu text During the first story mission we undertake, our team of heroes briefly discuss the fact that they need a plan. “I shoot Nazis. They die. That’s my plan,” says Polina Petrova. It’s remarkably similar to the plan that Sledgehammer Games seemed to have for the campaign as a whole: simple, utterly devoid of nuance, yet undeniably effective. And, naturally, a bit daft. Call Of Duty has once again returned to World War 2, possibly videogaming’s most-explored real-world conflict, but this time things are a bit different. There’s little…

WHAT YOU DO IN: SHERLOCK HOLMES C1 20% Running from fast travel point to location at breakneck speed. 12% Being unsure if you’ve found the right suspect, and struggling to care. 10% Trying to look just poor enough to get the right person to talk to you. 35% Loving the banter between Sherlock and Jon. They’re fun to be around. 18% Going out of your way to complete extra challenges for Jon ’cause you like him. 5% Struggling to find the final piece of evidence to pick up, even with Sherlock’s detective vision. HOW TO… ARREST NE’ER-DO-WELLS While you can kill wrongdoers (to Jon’s dismay), the goal is to aim in slow motion and find a glowing area on them or in the environment to stun them, then…

INFO  FORMAT PS4 PRICE £15.99 ETA Out now PUB Giiku Games DEV Arrowiz PLAYERS 1 Taking a refreshingly different angle on the paranormal, Hermitage: Strange Case Files draws on eldritch horrors and ancient alien creatures rather than the more usual ghosts and demons. It’s clearly written by people who care a great deal about the Cthulhu mythos, as they’ve managed to construct their tale so it’s compelling and unsettling even if you don’t care for notorious cosmic horror writer HP Lovecraft. While the protagonist is somewhat bound to his bookshop, trouble has a way of coming to him. An eclectic set of characters step through his door and burden him with their inevitably supernaturally-linked woes, relying on his abundant knowledge to put an end to them. You find clues and…