Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2023 i PLAY

Bioware has had plenty to tease across its RPG titles lately, and while we usually try to keep a cool head about such things, Mass Effect is one series that we can’t help being invested in. Meaning that for fans like us, there’s more to the recent, mysterious 25-second teaser trailer than is initially apparent. It’s a single shot panning across a slow-moving scene of a mysterious structure, with garbled noises in the background. While that might not sound like much, in fact it reveals plenty about the new Mass Effect game (which fans are calling either Mass Effect 4 or Mass Effect 5 – it’ll depend on how Mass Effect: Andromeda’s existence will affect this later-in-the-timeline entry). RELAY RACE The structure, marked ‘MR-7’, appears to be a new version…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 28 APR PUB DEEP SILVER DEV DAMBUSTER STUDIOS PLAYERS 1 Announced all the way back at E3 2014 with nothing more than a cinematic teaser before becoming stuck in development hell as it was shuffled from one studio to the next, no-one really expected Dead Island 2 to resurface. But it was rerevealed at Gamescom, and we’ve had a chance to get hands-on with its gripping combat and spoken to the developers at Dambuster Studios (who took over the troubled project about four years ago). We now know it’s shaping up to be a gory one-way trip to a hellish paradise. While Deep Silver’s in-house developer effectively started development from scratch, from the characters to the core tech, one crucial thing has remained from the…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 14 FEB PUB 110 INDUSTRIES DEV SOLEIL PLAYERS 1 Channelling the PS2 era, this hybrid slasher/shooter has you playing Hong Kong cop Hannah Stone on a campaign to uncover a corporate conspiracy by slicing and dicing through hundreds of armed goons. But given the studio’s pedigree (it includes ex-Team Ninja devs) don’t expect an easy time. Wanted takes a leaf from Yakuza’s book by including a lot of everything else. You can bond with your squad over karaoke and play arcade minigames, while the story’s told through anime and live-action cutscenes, the latter starring and directed by MGS V’s Stefanie Joosten.…

FORMAT TBC ETA TBC PUB RED BARRELS DEV RED BARRELS PLAYERS 1-4 This multiplayer prequel to the massively successful survival horror series sees a team of up to four players fighting for survival as part of a twisted Cold War medical experiment. Set in a test facility owned by Murkoff, the evil corporation behind Outlast’s dilapidated asylum, stealth is key as you race to complete objectives against an onslaught of mutated foes. The odds are not in your favour and, much like in its predecessors, if you attempt to confront your adversaries you’ll meet a swift demise. Instead, it’s up to your team to remain unseen by carefully co-ordinating the use of items to distract your foes and scurrying between environmental hiding spots. SOLE SURVIVOR Each level has its own…

FORMAT PS5 ETA 27 JAN PUB EA DEV EA MOTIVE PLAYERS 1 When I’m playing it at night, I can’t play it with headphones. It’s just too fucking scary,” admits David Robillard, Dead Space’s technical director. We’re talking about the many updates in the remake, and how the power of PS5 is allowing the devs to boost just about everything. “Just the amount of realism and, again, atmosphere. Not just visually, right? In the way we handle sound, ambience, effects, having systems that will try to spook you,” says Robillard. “These things, you know, could have been done [on PS4], but not to the level we’re doing them today. And they really add a lot to this sort of genre and make the whole kind of experience come together even…

FORMAT PSVR2, PS5 ETA 2023 PUB RESOLUTION GAMES DEV RESOLUTION GAMES PLAYERS 1-4 What if you didn’t have to co-ordinate physically meeting in a friend’s living room and gathering around a table in order to get that social hit of gaming together in person? Demeo sets out to make a game that plays with that scale so you can get right up to close to the action happening on the in-game board, and see your friends around it, represented by masks. While PSVR2 isn’t required, it’s where the most fun is had with this, as you feel the difference in weight between slapping down cards and fiddling with figures. It’s up to you how you play. Who’s bringing snacks?…

FORMAT PS5 ETA WINTER 2023 PUB SQUARE ENIX DEV SQUARE ENIX PLAYERS 1 One of the most beloved JRPGs of all time is enjoying a three-part remake treatment, with Rebirth being the second instalment. 2020’s smash-hit reimagining departed from the original’s story beats, and Rebirth looks set to contain the same blend of respect with rewriting. We know for sure that the ill-fated excursion to Nibelheim so core to Cloud and Sephiroth’s antagonistic relationship is explored here. It’s anyone’s guess how Rebirth will remix this pivotal sequence – or what part Zack Fair will play in this flipped script. If you haven’t already, do yourself the favour of playing through Remake’s Intermission DLC chapter for a heads up on just how much the trilogy will pull from the expanded Compilation…

FORMAT PS4 ETA TBC PUB ELECTRONIC ARTS DEV BIOWARE PLAYERS 1 As the last Dragon Age’s tenth anniversary approaches, there’s been some big news for everyone anticipating this fourth RPG outing: it’s reached its ‘Alpha milestone’. That means within Bioware’s hallowed halls a version of the game is playable from start to finish. Which is, certainly, where a whole new portion of development begins. But it means it’s definitely coming together and is well on its way. Dreadwolf is using new tech to push the fantasy like never before, including a visit to the magic-fuelled city Minrathous for the first time. We’re pawing for this.…

Six years and one whole console generation have passed since the last entry in the Star Ocean series, so The Divine Force has quite a gap to fill. This time, the expected science-fiction theme is sharing space with elements of fantasy and magitek as dual protagonists Ray and Laeticia bring the ‘underdeveloped’ planet of Aster IV and life beyond the stars together in an eclectic team-up. Each of them has a separate mission, but they’re heading the same way. Gorgeous character designs, lush, detailed settings, and an excellent soundtrack from Motoi Sakuraba make this a feast for the senses, but there is a slight element of style over substance. The story is slow-paced and lacks drive. While there is the possibility that occasionally missing scenes depending on whether you’re following…

Generally speaking, you’re either a Monkey Island fan or you’ve never played a Monkey Island game (or possibly you’ve only played Escape From…). We mention this because, despite an in-game scrapbook designed to get newcomers up to date with past events, it does give the feeling of being only really meant for existing fans – although playing the first game before this one should cover you for the majority of nods and winks. The ‘Return To’ prefix in the title has clearly been chosen to acknowledge the 13 years that have passed since the last entry in the series, Tales From Monkey Island, was released. It is clear, too, that the new game is being used to communicate the developers’ feelings about this return, and what that means for audience…

Listen, we stan actor Tobin Bell as much as the next horror aficionado, and we’re certainly no prudes about gore, but we never could quite get on with Saw. However, set the murder castle within the confines of an interactive medium and suddenly we’re cooking with gas! Though you may want to stash your smokes for this one… The unfortunates so doomed in this Dark Picture are the staff of flagging production company Lonnit Entertainment. Desperate for a win, the opportunity to shoot in a recreation of 19th-century serial killer HH Holmes’ hotel from hell is too good an opportunity to pass up. Unfortunately, the crew members barely have time to unpack their bags before the walls begin to close in. The finale of the first season of Supermassive’s horror…

Amid all the grotesque cartoon dismemberment a little note pops up on screen to explain that, if needed, the game’s spiders can be turned off. See, this new Western brawler-shooter hybrid may be a throwback to PlayStation’s past, when games were simply about delivering instant gratification, but it has at least this one thoughtful moment. A welcome mug of pure pleasure amid the current plethora of dry live-service shooters, Evil West is a refreshing blast from the past that keeps everything lean and fun. There’s no time for navel-gazing or exploring deep daddy issues when there’s the cheap thrill of pummelling a fanged cowboy into gooey pieces. This is a linear action game that revels in doing simple things well. Evil West never tries to slap you around the chops…

There have been many times while playing The Breakers when I’ve bristled against the structure of this asymmetrical battle royale-like with its gacha-loot and battle pass tiers aplenty. But it still has a certain charm. Your underpowered team of seven need to work together to foil the villain. It’s just such a perfectly off-kilter premise for a Dragon Ball game. What if, instead of playing as superpowered fighters, you were the innocent civilians in peril, running away from the city-wide destruction? Throw in a time-loop plot and you have an excuse for a ‘greatest hits’ series of villains to blast their way through mashups of somewhat recognisable locations (at the very least, the maps ooze manga creator Akira Toriyama’s distinctive design sensibilities). In practice, though, you often wait several minutes…

Take everything you know about Fate/Stay Night, throw it out the window, and start again for Fate/Extra. Okay, the basic setup is the same – magi are summoning figures from history and legend to fight for them in a Holy Grail War – but there are discrepancies. For one thing, there are more than seven Masters (this is a school-set 128-person elimination tournament of sorts), you can choose between three servants at the start of the game rather than getting assigned one for narrative reasons, and there’s a whole lot of dungeon-crawling to do instead of just reading. Not to mention it’s all overseen by a supercomputer! So, guess we’re not in Fuyuki any more. On the plus side, the organised nature of the Grail War in Extra means that…

This crime drama epic debuted a decade ago in Japan. As every long-time fan of the series will remember, it took three years for a worldwide release to follow, and even then many places never saw physical editions. Despite this, it found its audience. Reader Isaac Davison recalls, “I got it on PSN and it was great fun to play on PS3.” Now known as Like A Dragon, the series’ fifth entry’s delayed and digital-only English-language release feels like a world away. Speaking of which, ‘fondness despite distance’ sums up Yakuza 5 nicely. The core story sees gangster with a heart of gold Kazuma Kiryu trying to be a good dad from afar. With adoptive daughter Haruka’s career as an idol picking up, Kiryu confines himself to a life in…

Getting you closer to PlayStation’s most exciting stories, people, and culture Switchback is aiming for something more than ‘more of the same at a higher resolution’. The secret is out. People around the world will start pulling on Sony’s new headset on 22 February, but they’ll need to pay an eyebrow-raising £529.99 (or £569.99 for the package with a Horizon Call Of The Mountain code) in order to do so. That price demands examination, but first let’s take a look at some of the games they’ll be playing on the new hardware. Original PSVR players may be familiar with Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood, a literal rollercoaster of a shooter with plenty of scares. A spiritual successor (pun not intended, but welcome) has been announced in the form of The…

The age of the developer is over,” Wreckreation’s executive producer Alex Ward proclaims – a bold choice of words when revealing Three Fields Entertainment’s new game. But that’s not to say he’s putting himself and the rest of the studio out of work, any more than ‘the death of the author’ has stopped people writing books. Given the studio’s history – it was set up by former Criterion employees, and its previous games have taken inspiration from Burnout (Danger Zone was essentially Crash mode as a standalone game; Dangerous Driving was very much a spiritual successor to Burnout) you’d expect it would eventually produce an equivalent of Burnout Paradise. Is this it? There’s certainly a large open world island you can drive around, but that barely scratches the surface of…

London Studio has long been at the forefront of PlayStation’s most ambitious projects, bringing us The Getaway, various EyeToy games, and PSVR’s Blood & Truth. While its new untitled co-op project isn’t for a new peripheral, it still packs a British twist and is just as ambitious. Set in a modern, fantasy version of London, it has teams of players joining each other for spellslinging co-op combat. Player characters rock fantasy looks combined with modern clothing, and team up to battle hordes of creatures, from goblins to full-on dragons. The magic appears to have an almost digital aesthetic. The action takes place against a backdrop of historical London architecture, but with the modern, such as electric street lights and blocks of flats, intact. The game is powered by the new…

FORMAT PS5 ETA TBC PUB KONAMI DEV BLOOBER TEAM PLAYERS 1 James Sunderland is hunting for his absent wife, and as Silent Hill is a special place for them both, he’s headed there. Like any other off-season holiday resort what he finds is empty, ominous, and full of horror. But something tugs at our memory. Haven’t we been here before, grappled with something evil inside? Indeed we have, as this is a full remake of the PS2 classic in Unreal Engine 5 courtesy of Bloober Team. We’ve been wary of the studio’s games in the past (Observer was pretty cool, though), but it’s working closely with Konami to deliver a faithful recreation of the original. Even art director Masahiro Ito and composer Akira Yamaoka are on board to keep things…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 21 FEB PUB SEGA DEV RYU GA GOTOKU STUDIO PLAYERS 1 Set in 1860s Japan during the final days of the samurai, Ishin follows Sakamoto Ryoma on the search for his father’s killer in Kyoto. Discovering the culprit is probably a member of the elite, police-like Shinsengumi samurai group, he joins them in order to sniff out the killer in their ranks, in the process throwing himself into the middle of a political struggle that’ll shape the country’s future. But wait, doesn’t Ryoma look an awful lot like Yakuza’s Kazuma Kiryu? You’re not seeing things. His face is not the only familiar one, and no, the implication isn’t that later Yakuza/Like A Dragon characters are all descendants of the Shinsengumi. It’s what Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2023 PUB PRIME MATTER DEV ARROWIZ PLAYERS 1 Given how often cyberpunk borrows Asian aesthetics, it’s refreshing to see an interpretation of the genre from an Asian developer. But while Mato is a futuristic city, it also has something of 1930s Shanghai about it, with all the glamour of that period plus a noir vibe to match (developer Arrowiz just happens to be based in Shanghai). It’s just as well that your protagonist is Doe, a private detective whose coat would make Sherlock Holmes proud, though the mysteries he’s investigating are more on the supernatural side, leading him to other dimensions filled with demons. This brings us to the game’s Watson, a mysterious swordsman and exorcist called Gram, who’s very elementary when it comes to taking…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2023 PUB TEAM CHERRY DEV TEAM CHERRY PLAYERS 1 As enjoyable and spectacular as The Adventures Of Angry Bald Dad is, not every game needs to be a behemoth in terms of budget, development team size, and marketing in order to wow us. The Knight’s adventure on PS4 – a ruthless yet rewarding 2D metroidvania with a deep, layered atmosphere – proved this. The new game, which marks the series’ debut on PS5, has a lot to live up to. The player character this time around is Hornet, who was a recurring boss in the original Hollow Knight. Kidnapped and dropped into the all-new kingdom of Pharloom – which is “haunted by Silk and Song” – she has to fight her way to the highest point…

FORMAT PS5 ETA 24 JAN PUB SQUARE ENIX DEV LUMINOUS PRODUCTIONS PLAYERS 1 Frey Holland is desperate to get out of the city – but not like this. After picking up a strange new accessory and getting sucked into a portal, she soon winds up staring down a dragon. She’s not in New York any more, she’s in the magical land of Athia (though if Athia had brochures, this definitely wouldn’t be in it). What would instead be among those pages are shots of the bustling city centre of Cipal that conveniently downplay the rubble, artfully angled shots of the world beyond that which exclude all the monsters, and a brief history of the once-benevolent rulers known as the Tantas that conveniently excises their eventual treachery. Protagonist Frey is a…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2023 PUB RAVENSCOURT DEV PARABOLE PLAYERS 1 Fresh off his last case, Detective Carl Faubert travels to the remains of a remote mining village in rural Canada to investigate a deadly mist enveloping the region. Transported by dog sled, you’re free to venture across the open plains in search of clues and abandoned cabins you can ransack for vital supplies. Things won’t be easy, however, and with the threat of frequent snowstorms, crushing landslides, and ravenous local wildlife to contend with, every moment is a struggle to survive in this decidedly hostile environment. So much for a relaxing winter retreat.…

FORMAT PSVR2 ETA 22 FEB PUB SONY DEV FIRESPRITE, GUERRILLA GAMES PLAYERS 1 Stepping into the world of Horizon will be one of the first big experiences available on PSVR2 launch day. You’ll even be able to get it bundled with the hardware. An all-new adventure distinct from Aloy’s journey, you’ll get to meet her, but you won’t be playing as her. Instead, the player character here is someone named Ryas, a former Shadow Carja Warrior – which, rather conveniently, makes him an athletic and well-trained VR protagonist. Ryas will run, swim, climb, jump, and swing through the beautiful yet dangerous world. He’ll need to defend himself too, of course, given all the huge metal dinosaurs wandering around. His bow will be central to this, and you’ll feel the…

FORMAT PS5 ETA 16 FEB PUB ELECTRONIC ARTS DEV KOEI TECMO PLAYERS 1-3 You know the old adage: ‘It’s dangerous to go alone – take this.’ However in this world of giant, mythological monsters, you’ll need a lot more than a keen blade to get through. Sending you into the fray against flora-infused fauna, this one wears its Monster Hunter and Toukiden influences on its armour-clad sleeve. The usual monster-hunting suspects are all here: getting a little help from your friends in online multiplayer; kitting out your hunter in a killer fit; and giant piggies that’ll send you running all the way home. The twist this time is found in the tech at your disposal. Developed by Dynasty Warriors studio Omega Force, sticking beasts with the pointy end is always…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 21 FEB PUB FOCUS ENTERTAINMENT DEV MUNDFISH PLAYERS 1 The promise of a utopian society where people and robots live in harmony has gone horribly wrong. Who’d have expected that, eh? But it’s hard to roll your eyes too much at the well-trodden ground when the meaty combat looks so satisfying and the retro-futuristic monster designs so deliciously creepy. From weird insect-like mutants to automata whose synthetic skin opens up when they scream to classic tubey walkers, there’s a lot to make you yelp. Fighting with an experimental power glove, you’ll have inventive ways to blast your way through them, too.…

FORMAT PS5 ETA 24 MAR PUB CAPCOM DEV CAPCOM PLAYERS 1 Pitchfork in hand, the villager steps out from the dense forest, calling to the others that he’s spotted us. Raising our handgun, we shoot him once, using the moment when he reels backward to close the gap and spin-kick him to the ground. Without missing a beat, we unsheath our knife to slice him before he can rise again. Just like how Leon Kennedy’s a dab hand at making the undead dead again, so too are we as horror players. But it doesn’t stop there. Leon’s competence in the face of danger feels empowering (the tank controls of yore have been ditched for this remake). Yet things ramp up quickly, and even that competence, just like our own, begins…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2023 PUB NEOWIZ DEV ROUND8 STUDIO PLAYERS 1 There’s always been a dark side to the story of Pinocchio, but transforming the famous puppet into a lean, mean, fighting machine is a bold choice for Korean developer Round8 Studio to make for its debut game, not to mention one that immediately gives off Bloodborne vibes. The Belle Epoque-inspired city of Krat has the same gothic atmosphere and labyrinthian design as Yharnam, its denizens just as hostile in the form of murderous mechanoids patrolling the streets and rooftops. For soulslike veterans, long wind-up animations may make these foes more readable but they can still easily punish careless or cocky players expecting to just race past them. Fortunately, your Pinocchio is equipped to deal with them: besides being…

Traumatised by her sister’s death, Jess accepts an invitation to a ritual-packed spiritual retreat from her estranged pal, Kim. Repairing their friendship is quickly put on hold, as within just over half an hour, the wheels have well and truly come off on Glory Island. Kim’s scarpered, breaking the ritual circle mid-chant, leaving the immediate world open to the Gloom – a series of other-worldly realms that sap Jess’ positive energy. As you navigate, you need to keep an eye on Jess’ mind, body, and spirit. If your mind meter depletes fully, it will induce a panic attack that can be fatal. Foraging for ingredients and remedies keep your meters healthy, yet sources are scarce. Weapons’ effectiveness can vary according to which side of the Gloom you’re on; fortunately with…

Rare is it that a single clumsy mistake can spoil an otherwise pretty wonderful experience. Such is, sadly, the case with Syberia: The World Before, the fourth instalment in the decade-spanning adventure game series taking place in an alternate world driven by clockwork automata. A game of truly tremendous craft, imagination, wonderful scene setting and atmosphere, a lovely story to follow… undone by one major but needless misstep. The game picks up a year after the events of Syberia 3. There’s a ‘previously’ video you can watch from the main menu but it offers only the vaguest notion of the plot up to this point so you may want to find a more robust recap. That said, the game stands on its own well despite the legacy behind it. Series…

Beware any game that uses gore as one of its main selling points. That’s done here, for two reasons. One, it’s valid; there are plenty of limbs flying around (on one occasion, we notice we’ve shot a man with such force that we’ve knocked him off his own legs). Two, it has little else to offer, unless you count boredom and frustration (and a protagonist physically incapable of smiling). There’s a story – a story that begins in a place literally named “Scumland”, and littered with dodgily-translated lines that the actors always seem to regret not negotiating before recording – but we shan’t bother trying to explain or justify it. All you really need to know is that the auto-targeting means you just need to get an enemy in the…

Third-person Resident Evil fan? We have good news and bad news for you. On the upside, this DLC campaign is the first time in ages we’ve had a brand-new over-the-shoulder adventure, and it’s frightening in all the right ways. The bad? It’s a very breezy adventure that inevitably ends up losing its way towards the end with annoying boss battles. It’s set many years after the events of Village; you play as Ethan’s teenage daughter, Rose. Feeling like an outsider because of her strange mould powers, she ends up returning to a dream-inflected version of where it all happened on a quest for a cure in order to live a normal life. Doing so, however, means contending with things as far from normal as you can get. Arriving at Castle…

Having spent the best part of a year enduring Vanguard’s tired assortment of uninspired WW2 maps, underwhelming weapons, and frustrating balance issues, Call Of Duty’s return to modernity is a breath of fresh air. There are still some sore spots, like the confusing new perk and progression systems, but its fast-paced firefights nevertheless represent a new high bar for the series. The weapons all look and feel fantastic, with detailed models and satisfyingly meaty sounds. The superior gunplay you enjoy throughout the campaign survives the move to multiplayer. Not only do the weapons all look and feel fantastic, with detailed models and satisfyingly meaty sounds that lend each a sensational degree of realism, they’re now more deadly than ever. In contrast to the bizarre Frankenstein creations that dominated the last…

Can anything stop The Last Of Us from achieving total cross-media domination? Probably not, as the post-apocalyptic series is now targeting tabletops, meaning you’ll have to enjoy your tea slightly to the left of the cards, minifigures, dice, and tokens that make up The Last Of Us: Escape The Dark. The official boardgame has breezed past its Kickstarter goal by almost five times at time of writing. Tabletop gaming aficionados might already recognise the game’s subtitle. Escape The Dark is more than an alluring name, it’s the title of a complete gaming system from Norwich-based studio Themesborne. Needless to say, this The Last Of Us boardgame is built around the latest iteration of that system. Themesborne is a great studio to dive into Naughty Dog’s bleak world, as the ethos…

The 40th Anniversary Edition of the Golden Joystick Awards went off with a bang (and not only because we, dear reader, were part of the prestigious judging panel). Hosted by Laura Bailey and Troy Baker, it was a great evening of industry celebration and some trailers to boot. While plenty of winners stepped up to the podium, Elden Ring ruled the dragon roost. Picking up no fewer than four of the coveted awards, it won Best Visual Design, Best Multiplayer Game, Critics’ Choice, and the all-important Ultimate Game Of The Year. In addition, developer FromSoftware won Studio Of The Year. It’s great to see so many people rally behind a shared love of a game. While Elden Ring has certainly been popular enough that its victories aren’t unexpected, it’s worth…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2023 PUB 505 GAMES DEV THE BEARDED LADIES PLAYERS 1 Elvis and Diggs are unusual brothers. For one thing, the latter is a robot. This tactical RPG sees the pair journeying and scrapping through a North America that’s become a wasteland, having been taken over by the Miasma. Reminiscent of XCOM, the turn-based skirmishes rely on finding cover and the right angle to take down enemies – attacking head-on is less effective than flanking them and landing a critical hit from behind. Better still, you can start encounters undetected, optimising your positioning, with the battle beginning once you initiate an ambush.…

FORMAT PS4 ETA 2023 PUB SPIKE CHUNSOFT DEV MAGES, CHIYOMARU STUDIO PLAYERS 1 The most recent entry in the Science Adventure series (a string of interconnected science-fiction visual novels including the popular Steins;Gate), Anonymous;Code poses a near-future universe in which humanity has created an alternate Earth using a powerful supercomputer. You play as Pollon Takaoka, a young hacker able to save and reload his reality before making key decisions. Accompanied by Momo, a strange girl at the centre of a series of conspiracies, it’s down to you to explore a myriad possible decisions and uncover the origins of your strange abilities.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA EARLY 2023 PUB KEPLER INTERACTIVE DEV A44 GAMES PLAYERS 1 Fighting capricious gods with dynamite and a ruddy great big axe – this is the essential struggle at the heart of Flintlock’s gunpowder fantasy. As protagonist Nor Vanek, the fight is personal. When the gods first threw open the door to the afterlife, allowing never-ending waves of the undead to pour into the land of the living, Nor led the charge against them. And we do mean that literally. As a sapper, she was tasked with clearing a path through the detritus of war by either cleaving or blasting through. Her father was at her side; they were part of a platoon known as the Blackstream Sappers, forging ahead to hit the gods where they live…

FORMAT PS5 ETA 2023 PUB SONY DEV INSOMNIAC GAMES PLAYERS TBC What do you get when you cross two Spider-Men with Venom and pipe that through one of the first-party developers which has had the best PS5-exclusive showings so far? We’re not quite sure yet ourselves, but we’re confident it’ll be amazing. Of all PlayStation’s studios, Insomniac Games is perhaps the most comfortable working with the new hardware. Not only did Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales show how webby superheroics could evolve on new-gen (while also supporting PS4), Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart remains one of the system’s greatest showpieces. WEAVING A WEB While we’ve had adventures with both Spider-Men individually, we’ve yet to see them team up properly. And what better villain to make sure the two are stretched to…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2023 PUB UBISOFT DEV UBISOFT BORDEAUX PLAYERS 1 Sometimes going back to the fundamentals is the best way to move forward. That’s the approach Ubisoft’s taking for Assassin’s Creed Mirage; the next entry in the 15-year-old series sees the open world RPG approach ditched in favour of something more familiar to fans of the classics, while incorporating the best bits of all of its predecessors. While smaller in scale as a result, Mirage still has plenty of potential to excite. Its densely-built Baghdad is a sandbox playground to explore, and one with greater fidelity than the cities we’ve explored in the series to date. Despite the old-school approach being taken, Mirage has a direct link to the recent Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, as the central character is…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 2023 PUB CAPCOM DEV CAPCOM PLAYERS 10 What’s worse than being hunted by one hungry dinosaur? Being hunted by hundreds. And worse than that? Having to contend with a rival dino-slaying team once the job’s done. That’s the loop in Exoprimal, Capcom’s newest stab at ‘PvPvE’ (player versus player versus environment). Not only do you have to complete the dangerous dino challenges, you have to do it quickly to get a leg-up on your opponents. This is masterminded by Leviathan, a sassy AI who assists you but still pulls the strings over the chaos. Just as the various dinosaurs require different strategies to take down, you squad up utilising different Exosuits. You’ll want to balance assault, tank, and support roles, though there’s room to play around…

FORMAT PS5 ETA SUMMER 2023 PUB SQUARE ENIX DEV SQUARE ENIX CREATIVE BUSINESS UNIT III PLAYERS 1 You’ve got to admit, “The legacy of the crystals has shaped our history for long enough” is a banger of a line. But beyond going hard, it’s also a statement of intent – Square Enix is switching things up for the 16th mainline entry in its premier RPG series. Combat is seeing the biggest changes, turn-based battles and even a traditional party being ditched in favour of an all-new battle system that takes big swings with character action. Ryota Suzuki, known for his work with Dante and co, is the project’s combat director and so comparisons to Devil May Cry’s fast-paced bust-ups are totally warranted. However, rather than enabling you to stylishly switch…

FORMAT PS4 ETA TBC PUB MARVELOUS GAMES DEV MARVELOUS GAMES PLAYERS 1 Nini is new in town. Nini is new to Earth. Raised on a space station as humanity was pushed to the brink by the Kegai, he’s somehow thrown back to the small Japanese town of Ashihara in 1983. Using Demon Sight, Nini is able to see the Kegai lurking even in this time period – all while trying to enjoy an idyllic summer like he’s never had before. Gorgeous visuals feel like a throwback to anime films of the era, and an “emotion-driven” AI promises great depth to how the supporting cast react to your decisions. Part social sim, part RPG, what will you choose?…

After our first half-hour of play, this review was provisionally one line long and ended with a 3/10. But 17 hours later, it’s not a disaster. It’s best described as ‘modern Sonic going full modern Sonic’. Some people will undoubtedly say ‘Oh goodness, never go full modern Sonic’, but there it is. A festival of nonsense, absolutely, but surprisingly rich with dense, rewarding activity. So why the awful first impression? Well, at low speed Sonic lurches around like a tipsy rockstar unable to handle his drink, tripping and glitching on ground that’s the slightest bit uneven before diving headfirst into oblivion. Try to do anything against the direction of play or attempt to scale the environmental scenery with the jump button and both the camera and the controls freak out,…

You’ll probably finish Beasts Of Maravilla Island in a single sitting, but that’s not a bad thing. This short adventure takes you on a magical photographic journey, mixing ideas from Alba: A Wildlife Adventure and Pokémon Snap. You play as Marina, a young photographer who fulfils her grandfather’s dying wish to explore the mythical Maravilla Island, capturing the wonders hidden within. There’s a lovely premise here, let down by the execution. Taking your grandfather’s journal, your goal is to capture the island’s incredible wildlife and natural beauty on camera, maybe snapping a cheeky selfie here or there. His journal acts as your guide, detailing the characteristics of certain animals and providing tips on how to see them. Between crystalline bugs like the Topaz Rhino Beetle, monkey-bird hybrids, and unusual lifeforms…

Have you ever tried juggling live ammunition with an oar while being shot at by a giant crab that can fire laser beams at you? If the answer to that is ‘Yes’, and you’ve been looking for the chance to relive the experience in a slightly safer and more digital way, then this is exactly the game you’ve been waiting for. Ship Of Fools is a roguelike, so you’ll be dying a lot. On top of that it’s also unique in a way that means you can’t rely on anything you’ve played previously, so you’ll actually be dying a lot more. Then on top of that, balanced precariously like the last item on a recycling bin before it all comes tumbling down, it’s also really hard, so you’ll be dying…

Developers of mid-noughties fighters always felt the need to frame the action around a brief narrative. Here the fisticuffs are to find a new CEO of a world-saving but dubious corporation, which is a stretch, and generally an excuse for some anime cutscenes and casual sexism. Her clothes are torn off! Oh, how we laughed in 2005. (In fairness, everyone’s clothes get torn off. This beat-’em-up is gender-blind when it comes to teased pixel art nudity.) Once the fists start flying, this cult brawler is more complex than its elevator pitch and clothes-tearing gimmick suggest. Behind the nonsense is a deep fighter that borrows the best ideas from Capcom, SNK, and Arc System Works before sinking them into an immaculately animated package. Oh yes, everything is crammed in here, from…

Well, this is it. The WRC licence goes to Codemasters/EA next year, so fans of Kylotonn’s rally series will expect this to be the definitive entry in its series. In many ways, it delivers, with historic cars and events, an involved career, long stages, and bananas moments of speed. But sadly it still exhibits familiar misfires under that ever-glossier paint job. Rally cars are famous for drifting around corners, yet oversteering into a full spin is too common. While weighty, the car handling feels a little off at times. Rally cars are famous for drifting around corners, yet oversteering into a full spin is too common, like you can’t counter-steer into your deliberate slide hard enough. It also feels strange when trying to J-turn while moving backwards compared to other…

From updates to favourites – the games we just can’t quit Re:Verse is hard to grumble about. Bundled with any purchase of Resident Evil Village free of charge, this small multiplayer spinoff was originally slated for release with the base game back in 2021. After a delay, it was finally launched alongside Village’s Shadows Of Rose DLC and seems perfectly poised for a few hours of low-stakes multiplayer mayhem after finishing that intense survival horror campaign. First announced as a celebration of Resident Evil’s 25th anniversary, Re:Verse pits six fan-favourite protagonists in a frantic free-for-all online deathmatch. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to see Chris Redfield take on Ada Wong, this is your definitive answer. All of the available survivors come from across the Resident Evil…