Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2023 i PLAY

Has this long-running mech series passed you by? While the first game was released in ’97 on PS1, it’s been left in the garage for most of the life of Dark Souls, the series FromSoftware has become best known for. Now taking cues from the Souls games, Armored Core is no longer something you can afford to miss. Not only do the opening shots of Armored Core VI Fires Of Rubicon’s reveal mirror those of Dark Souls, showing a world ablaze and turned to ashes, but publisher Bandai Namco has explicitly stated it’ll be “introducing groundbreaking gameplay found in the developer’s recent action games.” Taking cues from Dark Souls, Armored Core isn’t something you can afford to miss. MECH SOULS FromSoftware studio head and director of Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro,…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 24 FEB / PUB KOEI TECMO DEV GUST / PLAYERS 1 Just how many of these has Gust made now? This is the 24th Atelier. But don’t let your eyes glaze over, this is far from a series spinning its witchy wheels. Rather, it’s constantly delivering fresh and heady brews. Atelier Ryza 3, closing out the Secret trilogy, is wrapping up hero Reisalin Stout’s journey to become a great alchemist with a bang rather than a whimper. The core exploration, crafting, and battling loop has reached a totally new scale. Even the fact this trilogy is centred on one character and her group of close-knit friends is unusual for the series. Traditionally, the games (divided into themed groups of interconnected games) have swapped protagonists around.…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 2023 / PUB TEAM17 / DEV BLACK SALT GAMES / PLAYERS 1 As the result of either a bender or bad luck, you wash up on an island in the remote archipelago of The Marrows. The events of the night before are foggy but here you are, with a wrecked boat and no immediate means of earning your keep. You’re barely compos mentis as it’s happening, but the Mayor of Greater Marrow sidles up and makes a deal you can’t rightly refuse. He offers you a boat, along with no small amount of debt, and requests that you work it off by selling your catch in town. You can’t quite put your finger on it but something about the whole thing feels far too convenient.…

FORMAT PS5 / ETA TBC / PUB BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT DEV BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT / PLAYERS 1-2 Things are about to warm up in the Tekken universe. For once, we’re not just talking about the demonic powers wielded by those of the Mishima bloodline (who are always at one another’s throats), but the Heat system that rewards aggressive gameplay. Encouraging players to get out of neutral and start clashing, it’s a blow-by-blow mechanic that matches the greater stage destruction we saw during the game’s rather pretty PS5 reveal a few months back. Not only is it fitting for the war-torn state of affairs in the narrative, it’s also a great way to ensure compelling bouts for those who’d rather watch from the sidelines, and to make use of the power…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 ETA 21 FEB / PUB SEGA DEV RYU GA GOTOKU STUDIO PLAYERS 1 Of the three currently-announced Like A Dragon games – the new, global name for the Yakuza series – set for release in 2023 and 2024 (including a continuation of Ichiban Kasuga’s story in Like A Dragon 8 and the return of Kazuma Kiryu in Like A Dragon Gaiden), Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s remake of the Japan-only Ishin! is not only set to beat both these games to store shelves in early 2023, but stands as a testament to the remarkable transformation in fortunes for the series in recent years. After Yakuza 4’s poor Western sales on PS3, Sega opted to forgo localising the series, meaning we missed out on both Yakuza 5 for many…

Criterion’s back for another crack at an open-world Need For Speed, and this time it’s current-gen only. That’s a pity for all those people who still can’t get hold of a PS5, but it does mean the game is beautifully optimised for the latest hardware, chucking out around 60 render-quality frames of 4K gorgeousness every second. But hang on, who’s scrawled graffiti all over them? The unexpected scribbles are part of the bold new art style, with photorealistic textures for the city and cars, plus cel-shaded characters (and pedestrians… and no, you can’t hit them), all topped off with some fun hand-drawn flourishes like customisable plumes of tyre smoke, tags hanging above your car when you crash or take down a cop, and even cute little cartoon wings when you…

We meet Sable on what’s probably the most important day of her life to date. She is about to begin her Gliding, a journey that sees her leave her clan’s home for the first time and ride a glider out into the sandy dunes of the desert. Sable has to get to know the other clans and help where she can, so that in the end she can pick a new home for herself. Many open world games give us a vast world to discover, including maps dotted with objectives and villagers crying for our help. Sable gives you the world, but no urgent purpose, managing to instil a rare feeling of freedom. You can steer your glider towards an intriguing rock formation on the horizon and simply enjoy the…

After years of fans clamouring for it, Like A Dragon: Ishin! is heading to the West as a from-the-ground-up remake (flip back to p42 for the full story), but it’s not the first time the Yakuza characters have starred in a Japanese period drama. Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! was the first in the series’ many spin-offs, but right now it’s only available as an import. The game’s set in the early 1600s at the start of Japan’s Edo period, and you play as series regular Kazuma Kiryu – or rather someone who looks like him, and goes by the more archaic name of Kiryu Kazumanosuke. That’s just his alias; he’s actually Musashi Miyamoto, a legendary swordsman best known for his skill with double-bladed swords. Although Miyamoto’s a real historical figure,…

We wanted to see more of the family in a way that would be hard to do in the videogame. Getting you closer to PlayStation’s most exciting stories, people, and culture The first 20 minutes of the TV show The Last Of Us are an exercise in dread. Rather than starting with the outbreak, the first episode begins by following Sarah throughout the day before all hell breaks loose. Thanks in part to the strength of actress Nico Parker’s performance, we spend these 20 minutes willing it to go any other way – after all, we all know how Sarah’s story ends. There’s a passion for the original work on display that’s no surprise when you consider the series is helmed by the game’s creative director Neil Druckmann. He’s joined…

Any astralnaut hankering to return to the Oldest House for another round of new weird spelunking will rejoice at some truly mind-blowing news. Control 2, the sequel to Remedy Entertainment’s telekinetically infused third-person shooter from 2019, has been announced. What’s more, Remedy isn’t developing it alone. Previously codenamed ‘Heron,’ details of Jesse Faden’s next weird and wonderful foray are scant aside from the fact it’s coming to PS5. We do know that Remedy has signed an agreement with 505 Games to co-develop and co-publish the followup. With an initial development budget of 50 million euros, it is currently in the early concept phase and will be built using Remedy’s in-house Northlight engine. Mikael Kasurinen, game director of the Control series, took the opportunity to thank players for making the first…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA APRIL 2023 / PUB FAILBETTER GAMES / DEV FAILBETTER GAMES / PLAYERS 1 There’s a certain freedom in this city – after all, who you were before the fall matters little now. You were there when it happened. You remember the shaking, the rumbling, and then the darkness as the city dropped beneath the earth. You’re not sure how but you survived, though London itself is much changed. Streets you once knew have become new paths, prowled now by devils in the flesh. To the devils’ credit, they are ever so charming and well dressed, always ready to offer a toasty handshake. “PERHAPS YOU TOO WILL FIND LOVE… OR A PLATONIC BOND.” Perhaps you have no appetite for the past, so let us instead turn…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 17 FEB / PUB NIS AMERICA / DEV NIPPON ICHI SOFTWARE / PLAYERS 1 Go to Galleria Manor, they said. Look underground for untold treasures, they said. Well, we’ve been knocking down walls and jumping over precipices but all we’ve found are very bitey monsters. Of all the creatures we could bring to a dungeon crawl, why did we only bring the cats? But before taking a long, hard look at our choices, let’s back up a bit. Labyrinth Of Galleria: The Moon Society offers many, many, many floors of dungeon-crawling action all wrapped up in an ambitious story. It takes place in the same world as 2017’s Labyrinth Of Refrain: Coven Of Dusk but, as producer and scenario writer Tatsuya Izumi is keen to…

FORMAT PS5 ETA 19 APR / PUB SONY DEV GUERRILLA GAMES / PLAYERS 1 The adventures of Aloy will continue sooner than you think – though only on PS5. This fiery DLC won’t be available to anyone with the PS4 release of the game, instead exclusively guiding current-gen players towards a previously unseen region that lies south of the fractured Tenakth clan’s territory. A volcanic archipelago, you and I would recognise it as a particularly post-, post- apocalyptic Los Angeles. Keep your eyes peeled and you may even uncover what remains of Griffith Observatory! But watch your step: the floor is literally lava. After the events of the base game, Aloy journeys to this sprawling space to understand a new threat, making allies and having adventures along the way. You…

People say horror and comedy are alike. Suspense and scares are much like the setup and punchline of a good joke. So what does it say about a game that, even in its failure to scare, it also fails to be funny? The Callisto Protocol is too stilted and impatient to be frightening, while dull pacing and story keep it from being ‘so bad it’s good’ schlock. You play as Jacob Lee, a man with all the charm of a public toilet, who is transporting a totally-normal-not-at-all-suspicious cargo to Black Iron prison on Callisto, one of the moons of Jupiter. After a run-in with the much more interesting alleged terrorist Dani Nakamura, Jacob winds up falsely imprisoned – but don’t worry about that as, soon after (literally immediately) there’s an…

You never want to get hung up on something a game isn’t, but it’s hard not to compare Sky to Journey, the developer’s prior PS3 and PS4 exclusive. Very similar to its predecessor, Sky was released in 2019 for mobile, and has only now been ported to PlayStation. The result answers the question ‘What if Journey had worse controls, a clunky UI, and occasionally goaded you into microtransactions?’ Which isn’t to say Sky doesn’t have its moments. While the glidey gameplay obviously cribs from Journey’s own, there’s a bit more to it here and soaring through clouds can be breathtaking (though sometimes fiddly to control thanks to having to switch flight modes with u). The multiplayer too is a bit more involved, more focused on allowing you to encounter a…

While some racing games feel shackled in time, the cream of the crop will remain forever playable. Burnout Paradise is one of those, translating thrill-ride, crash-a-minute racing to an open world with events literally on every corner. Not many racing games get remasters either, but Burnout Paradise is one of the few, having had a redo on PS4 back in 2018. “Great soundtrack,” says reader Isaac Davison (it boasts LCD Soundsystem, Adam And The Ants, Avril Lavigne, and, of course, Guns ‘N’ Roses, to name a few), “shame that they can’t continue to make another one on PS5.” It’s true that, despite players’ love, there hasn’t been a major entry in the series since Paradise, with the exception of smaller-in-scope spin-off Burnout Crash. WHEEL OF FORTUNE Criterion Games itself has…

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / PUB KOEI TECMO / DEV KOEI TECMO / RELEASED 2021 Bringing your work home with you holds a special kind of danger when you’re a paranormal investigator. The eighth chapter of Maiden Of Black Water (the fifth game in the Project Zero series) forgoes heading to Mount Himaki and instead brings the ghosts to your base of operations, Hisoka’s antiques shop/café hybrid. A new location calls for new strategies, so exploring is no longer your main focus. It becomes ‘Project Zero does Five Nights At Freddy’s’, with Ren taking to the surveillance cameras to spot when things become amiss throughout the building. Ghosts are breaking and entering (well, just entering), and yes, they can harm you even here. You must flit between the cameras in each…

Even if you haven’t heard of PlayStation’s China Hero Project, you’ll know the games it’s produced. It’s an incubator project to help fund new talent from China that’s brought us the likes of FIST: Forged In Shadow, Anno: Mutationem, and In Nightmare. More titles are to come, with phase three set to kick off in a big way, and PlayStation itself stepping in to publish the already-announced Lost Soul Aside and Convallaria. At the time of writing, the search is under way to find the games to spotlight for the new batch. Talking to Reuters, Sony’s head of China game production, Bao Bo, said that this phase was looking to exceed the scale of the previous ones (the project began in 2017), so we may be in for a deluge…

Just when we’d grown comfortable with seeing the baby-in-a-jar BBs, Death Stranding 2 was announced, pulling the rug out from under us. Added to the mix are a real baby (in a flashback), and what appears to be an… evil BB? This sequel to the often-odd post-apocalyptic deliver-’em-up looks to be leaning even further into Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima’s strangest tendencies and we couldn’t be happier. Even those who could take or leave Norman Reedus’ gruff Sam Porter Bridges from the first game may be more at ease here. Léa Seydoux’s Fragile appears to play a much larger role, seeming to share a connection with the new, almost cult-like antagonists clad in mysterious red suits. She even has a very Metal Gear-like hovership, inviting Sam to meet her crew.…

We’ve watched Blade knock a Hydra agent into Wolverine’s waiting claws, used Magik’s portals to cross into the USA from a pocket dimension, gone fishing with Captain America, and forced Doctor Strange to wear eyebrow-raisingly short and tight swimming trunks. We are, quite simply, having lots of fun here. While this is a game from strategy specialist Firaxis, Midnight Suns is much, much more X-Men than XCOM. It’s essentially a superhero life sim (and yes, that includes plenty of fighting, which we’ll get onto shortly). You play the part of Hunter, a mildly customisable character created especially for the game, who fits in surprisingly well with all the established Marvel heroes. You are the only child of Lilith, the game’s Big Bad, who is trying to summon the elder god…

Beneath this game’s rather lovely visual makeover lies an inescapable reality that’ll either disappoint or delight you depending on your persuasion: this remaster is still Crisis Core, and it still feels like a PSP game. The odd tweak has been made to the way things play, and on a purely mechanical level Reunion is easily the best way to experience this prequel, but there’s not much new here. If anything, Reunion sometimes runs afoul of an awkward clashing of ideals in a similar way to the remake of The Last Of Us Part I. You may be losing yourself in a swish-looking action scene, only to then see another where a character model plays a canned ‘surprise’ animation, pivots slowly left, and then runs away. Ironically, too, the original CGI…

You remember game demos, right? Trials, teasers, tasters? It’s easy to believe that most publishers don’t remember them, given how rare a free sample of a new game is nowadays. We’re not talking about time-limited betas, but something you can play at your own pace, and as many times as you like, whenever you like. This is a list of demos that were fun, important, weird, generous, or any combination of the four. Some are no longer available – or are at least, hard to find – but you might find one that’s easy to nab and tickles your gaming fancy. Sly sneaks into another game GAME SLY 2: BAND OF THIEVES / FORMAT PS2 / PUB SCE DEV INSOMNIAC GAMES / RELEASED 2004 01 Putting a demo for one…

Much of Kingdom Hearts is, in a word, messy; it’s a series that combines elements that on paper should not work together, and still somehow creates something that has to be seen to be believed. Case in point, the elevator pitch ‘Final Fantasy meets Disney’ still sounds wild, but Square Enix struck gold with it. At the centre of it all is Sora, a young boy armed with an oddly shaped weapon known as the keyblade. Under orders from King Mickey to push back the encroaching, cross-world darkness, Goofy and Donald are along for the ride. But at the beginning of this game you don’t immediately pick back up with Sora and company. Instead we’re introduced to the similarly spiky-haired Roxas and his friends as they celebrate the end of…