Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i PLAY

We know that games are loved the world over, though some regions’ developers get more attention than others. Helping to correct the imbalance, Sony’s India Hero Project began last May, inviting pitches from devs across the country. Five projects have been selected for Sony’s new talent incubation programme. First to catch our eye is coming-of-age tale Fishbowl, made by two-person team imissmyfriends.studio. Protagonist Alo has secured a video editing job in the city but, working from home having just lost her grandmother, is often alone with her grief. The game sees you arranging video clips via a rhythm game, sorting through your grandmother’s belongings á la Unpacking, and roving through a strange dream dimension at night… MADE FOR THIS Also boasting killer style is Requital: Gates Of Blood from Holy…

i FORMAT PS5 / ETA 2024 / PUB FELLOW TRAVELLER / DEV COPYCHASER GAMES / PLAYERS 1 Before you’ve even set foot inside the prestigious Times & Galaxy newsroom, you’re whisked away to the location of your very first assignment. There’s no time to waste in Copychaser Games’ upbeat sci-fi game. You’re cast as the solar system’s very first robo reporter, and given you’re also currently just the (unpaid) rookie intern, you’ve got a lot to prove. Detective game fans will feel right at home playing this, as working a story as a reporter isn’t dissimilar to working a case as a gumshoe in other games. When you arrive at the site of your next scoop, you need to interview witnesses, survey the scene, and search for clues. While not…

“A DUO OF TALENTED PROXIES, ABLE TO HACK NEW ERIDU’S INFRASTRUCTURE.” i FORMAT PS5 / ETA 2024 / PUB HOYOVERSE DEV HOYOVERSE / PLAYERS 1 (WITH SOCIAL FEATURES) Another gacha live service game from HoYoverse. But put Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail out of your mind for a moment. This frenetic character action is less a sign of lack of originality and more a return to an origin point. With super-slick combat that can cross blades with Devil May Cry and a tabletop-like mission structure, this might be a winner. While gacha does feature, it feels more sidelined in ZZZ. As we’re playing through several hours of the story’s opening, every main mission defaults to the option to play with preset teams of hack-and-slash Agents at an appropriate level…

This takes XCOM’s brilliant formula of turn-based tactics and sets it during WW2 in Nazi-occupied France. Some game ideas are so good that the only worry is that the developer will screw them up. Luckily, Absolutely Games has triumphed. This is a terrific tactics game wherein you sneak around killing Nazis, run around loudly killing Nazis, and spend hours stroking your chin as you ponder the optimum way to kill as many Nazis as possible. The stealth is tense and challenging, but the shootouts where you’re flanked on all sides are just as satisfying to overcome. Trying to keep your squad alive gets pleasingly complex without overwhelming you, thanks to a clear UI. Its main innovation is troop morale, because along with the more traditional health bar every unit also…

Konoehara Academy is haunted and it’s up to the returning protagonist from the first Death Mark to sort it out, because another guy from first game gave the headmaster a glowing reference for him, along the lines of ‘Yeah, he can sort that ghost for you.’ A job’s a job. And if you don’t, people will die – not a good look for the school. Death Mark II is perfectly playable if you’re unfamiliar with the first game or spinoff Spirit Hunter: NG, although the chance to meet recurring characters may increase the appeal for returning ghost hunters. The other Mark Bearers from the first instalment fill out most of the supporting cast, but beyond that it’s a new case with new ghosties. Even though we’re now three entries deep…

Could this be the most rebooted series in gaming? We’ve had New Nightmare on PS2, a mess of a reboot on PS3, and the legendarily awful Alone In The Dark: Illumination that was thankfully confined solely to PC. Now we have this, the fourth attempt to resurrect one of the originators of survival horror. If only there were a series with themes about the dangers of resurrecting forces which should stay buried that could warn publishers to stay away, eh? Playing as either Emily Hartwood (played by Jodie Comer) or Edward Carnby (David Harbour), you’re searching for Emily’s uncle Jeremy at Derceto Manor, where he’s apparently been suffering from terrifying hallucinations. Might we diagnose he enjoy a little less Resident Evil before bed? Because this plays like a tribute to…

All-consuming FC 24 mode Ultimate Team is better than most give it credit for – but even so, it’s cursed the sports genre for an eternity. WWE 2K24 is the best wrestling game in over a decade. It contains fan-service elements that go above and beyond what you’d expect from an annual title. It’s fun, authentic, and replayable. And it all gets hamstrung by its own FUT-style fantasy mode. Familiar players will be well aware of MyFaction, where you build a four-strong roster to barrel through matches for rewards and upgrades. Like in FUT, you can expedite your progress using paid-for currency. Unlike in FUT, your enjoyment of the entire game is affected by this one mode. At launch, all five ‘News’ start-up screens push you directly there. You’re repeatedly…

Despite the fact that the original came out over a decade ago, there’s still nothing else like this on the market. Even so, at first glance it may seem that you’re looking at an entirely unnecessary remake; the upgraded PS4 version is still available on PSN, and it’s as enjoyable as ever. The main reason to grab the remake is, oddly, one that the developer seems reluctant to have included. Set in a land of myth and mystery, the story – told entirely visually, owing to the use of a fantasy language – is one of a pair of brothers embarking on a quest for a cure for their sick father. It’s by turns clever, funny, and sad, but the activity is, as it should be, the real star of…

Ahoy there, me hearties! Aye, the ship’s finally left port, and while she’s seaworthy, there are weevils in the biscuits. Make no mistake, there’s plenty of fun to be plundered. Sailing the seven seas (well, one big one, anyway) offers plenty of opportunities to be enjoyably naughty. Still, we can’t escape the feeling that there should be something, well… more. You can take your customisable pirate onto dry land, but there’s not much to do once you’re there apart from take on missions and trade. There are no land-based fights; no meaningful interactions with NPCs; nothing particularly interesting, to be honest, to be done on foot. All the action takes place on your ship. “That little ship weaker than you has something you need, and some silver? Get them!” You…

01 Red Dead Redemption 2 You won’t find another open world quite like this, the streets of Los Santos paling in comparison to this gorgeous, realistic western sprawl. Arthur Morgan’s wild west adventure is epic, emotional, and has enough teasing mysteries on every horizon for no two cowboys’ journeys to feel the same. With train robberies, tootin’ headshots, and racists to kill, there’s never a dull moment in Rockstar’s greatest. 02 Grand Theft Auto V Laughing in the face of other cross-gen ports, GTA V on PS4 is more than a mere HD remaster. Upped to a glorious 1080p, it weaves together everything that made the PS3 original great, with new music, more dynamic weather, and a game-changing FPS mode. 03 God Of War A departure in some ways but…

Having put a stop to a dragon-phasing Mafia honcho and his pals in her previous outing, Lara was ready for action, as November 1998 saw Core Design go for the hat trick with Tomb Raider III: Adventures Of Lara Croft. Originally planned for a longer dev cycle targeting the rumoured PS2, the demand was too high, leading to this iterative followup. While globetrotting has always been integral to Lara’s exploits, the third game in the series saw her luggage on the baggage carousel in a notable number of impressive locales (although it’s unclear as to why as you literally slide right into India without explanation). That immediate descent proves that the environments hold a lot more than the typical occupational hazards of spike pits and boulders – this is a…

i FORMAT PS4 / PUB MADDY MAKES GAMES / DEV MADDY MAKES GAMES / RELEASED 2018 Mr Oshiro simply wants to keep his hotel running, which surely isn’t too much to ask. Well, except that the place is run down, messy, and deserted, and Oshiro is a ghost. Despite doing all he can to make Celeste’s protagonist Madeline feel at home when she dings his reception bell, then, he’s set for crushing disappointment. Most of Celeste’s resort level is set within the hotel, with Madeline navigating through each screen around a nasty sludge that coats walls and grows underfoot. As with every part of Celeste, the precise arrangement of platforms, switches, springboards, and walls is a work of evil genius, forcing you to jump, grab, and dash with accuracy and…

Q Dawntrail looks really neat. Should I buy a story skip and get stuck in to that one straight away? A We’re not your dad, and you can do what you want – but no, probably not. Final Fantasy XIV’s main draw is its story. Skipping that to get to the new stuff’ll leave you confused, even though Dawntrail’s meant to be the start of a new ten-year narrative arc. A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers, and Endwalker all form a huge part of the game’s worldbuilding. Furthermore, there’ll be plenty of old faces in Dawntrail. We only suggest buying the skip if you don’t care about the story at all – or if you’ve got mates you’d like to raid with and don’t mind spoilers-by-osmosis, in which case you can make…

Check out a museum Having your own house in-game is a thing most players aspire to, but some take it to the next level. Not content with merely showing off their decorating skills, they build all types of venues for people to visit, including restaurants, clubs, gardens, and even museums. The locales make great places to roleplay, but they’re worth visiting just to marvel at the astonishing creativity and dedication of fellow players. One of our favourite places is the Eorzean Aquarium, with several locations on various servers around the world. Our local is the one on Spriggan, which boasts a coffee shop, photo spot and even a gift shop in the main building, and 21 different exhibits in the private chambers. Each room has a different theme, such as…

“Novels, comics, a podcast; this transmedia project is just getting started.” Three years ago, the world got its first glimpse into the Fold. A teaser trailer shows a young girl fleeing from bullies, and just when we think she’s cornered, she awakens to a strange power drawn from a peculiar liminal space. Time slows and the bullies’ intended taunts play out as silvery blue ghosts. As the girl steps back into the present, she steps out of the path of her tormentors’ strikes and up in their estimations. This was our first introduction to the multimedia universe of Unknown 9. Already consisting of the Genesis trilogy of novels, the Torment comic book series, and even a scripted podcast called Out Of Sight, this transmedia project is just getting started. Emerging…

X-STATIC I’m really excited to see Xbox games coming to PlayStation – it’s not like PC hasn’t had PlayStation games, so it’s good to see Microsoft making stuff available to us for a change. It’s a bit gutting that there are only four, though. I’d really like to be able to play something like Halo with my brother. Do you think we’ll see more coming in future? Jordan Maples We’d be very surprised if we didn’t – big companies seem to be increasingly leaning on live service and online games to make their money, and in those cases limiting their playerbase to users of just one console makes no sense. That said, PlayStation really excels at character action games and RPGs, and we’d love to see things like Indiana Jones…

i FORMAT PS5 / ETA TBC / PUB MAXIMUM ENTERTAINMENT DEV POLYCHROMA GAMES / PLAYERS 1 “TYPICAL TEENAGE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS ARE ALL BACKGROUNDED BY TRAGEDY.” After everything, piano practice persists. Mark Borja winces at every musical mistake he makes, and his email inbox offers little in the way of feel pleasant distraction. For starters, he didn’t make the cut for the Virtuoso 23 programme. For seconds, his father still isn’t sure when he’s next coming home from his faraway job, or even if he’ll be back for Christmas. For thirds, his spam filter is still letting phishing emails through. These typical teenage trials and tribulations are all backgrounded by recent tragedy. A series of natural disasters – sometimes called The Ruling, sometimes The Judgment – recently tore through the…

i FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 24 APR / PUB BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT / DEV ILCA / PLAYERS 1 There’s a bittersweet feeling to playing Sand Land following the news of the untimely passing of its creator, legendary manga artist Akira Toriyama. Yet it also feels apt that one of the Dragon Ball creator’s lesser-known works gets to have its time in the sun in this action RPG adaptation that you could summarise as ‘Mad Max in a world with mischievous demons and plenty of tanks’. The demon in question is the Fiend Prince, Beelzebub – pink, pint-sized, hair worn up just like a Super Saiyan – who claims to be evil despite never having killed anyone (think harmless prankster more than mass murderer). Nonetheless, demons are feared by humans,…

Here’s a historic moment: the first review of an Xbox game for a PlayStation magazine. And we don’t want to get too meta, but how fitting that we’re writing about a game that is itself about documenting a little piece of history. Taking place within the pages of a 16th-century book, Pentiment is a timely reminder that the printed word carries weight and meaning. Not that we expect these ones to be remembered in 500-odd years’ time. Here, there’s a real sense of gravity to your words and deeds – and yes, you might well feel ashamed of them. As travelling artist Andreas Maler, you’re working at a monastery in the Alpine town of Tassing when a visiting nobleman is murdered. When the finger of blame falls upon your ageing mentor (who’s…

Like the best of bakers, in creating Final Fantasy VII Square Enix is obsessed with layers. Where the first game in this remake trilogy took us through the tiered industrial city of Midgar, where the top-dwellers grow rich from bleeding the planet dry while those below live beneath a plated sky, this massive sequel takes us on a journey that cuts through many more strata. There’s Kalm, a sleepy, pretty citadel town that’s built on the ashes of its precursor, a casualty of the Midgar-ruling megacorp Shinra’s history of war. There’s Under Junon, a town of refugees, literally covered by Shinra’s weapon-of-mass-destruction-toting Junon fortress. There’s sunny vacation spot Costa Del Sol where, behind the Hawaiian-like shakas and wheelie scooters, the corrupt mayor grows fat on letting Shinra have the run…

Four of a kinds get a heck of a lot easier to pull off when you’ve loaded your deck with eight aces. Straight flushes become less luck-driven when you’ve converted as many cards as possible into duplicate hearts. Even the humble two pair can outplay other hands if you rewrite the scorecard and heap multipliers on top. There are hundreds of ways to cheat the rules of poker in roguelike Balatro, but only the canniest of runs will see you snatching victory from the jaws of the biggest blinds. You’ve got to work your way through eight antes made up of three blinds, each one giving you a progressively higher score to reach by building poker hands from your cards. With a limit to the number you can lay down…

From arranging books on a shelf in a pleasing fashion to lining up Tupperware, this puzzler is all about delivering the simple pleasure of making order out of chaos. However, working the life-changing magic of tidying up is rarely simple. As you sort letters, envelopes, and Post-its into pleasing piles, your attempts to organise are often thwarted by the curious paws of a furry friend. There’s a soothingly mellow colour palette, and every tidying task is manageably to the point – ah, the dream! But living a life is a messy business, and there’s an attempt here through low-stakes puzzle design to reach towards a zen sense of ‘it is what it is.’ If one puzzle is causing more frustration than it’s worth, you can even select ‘Let it be’…

Games that make you jump for joy, fall head over heels, or feel like you’re on top of the world are rare, and it’s even rarer that we get to write lines like these and mean every word – literally and metaphorically. Stilt has a retro feel, despite running on the latest tech. This VR platformer feels like the lost sequel to PS1’s Jumping Flash, a similarly kooky concept that saw you bound across floating platforms, your huge robo-rabbit feet occasionally intruding into the bottom of the screen. But Stilt takes the idea and runs, well… jumps, with it. Your arms become legs with springs, and a forceful downward push and flick of the wrist bounces you skywards. The simple controls become surprisingly complex when physics take hold – the…

The racing genre has felt like it’s lost its way over the past decade, and it’s taken a retro-styled indie racer to show the rest of the pack how it’s done. It turns out you don’t need an official licence, photorealistic graphics, or even online multiplayer to make a great racing game. Everything that’s made Formula One great since 1980 has been crammed into short, six-lap races in New Star GP, and the result is wonderful. Don’t let its cheerily colourful looks fool you; this is one of the deepest and most well-rounded racing games ever made. Its very many systems are interwoven in a fashion not dissimilar to Codemasters’ official F1 games, in that every single element works in complete harmony with the others to immerse you in its…

After living through the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re all due a holiday, and Mediterranea Inferno’s trio of protagonists agree. Claudio, Andrea, and Mida decide to reconnect in the blazing heat of southern Italy after years of forced isolation, but this idyllic time of sun hats and swimming pools turns sinister as a creeping, arcane force begins to reveal the boys’ darkest thoughts, obsessions, and fears. Bit of a dampener, honestly. Mediterranea Inferno is a disturbing visual novel by solo dev Lorenzo Redaelli. You’d think watching a group of entitled Milan club kids slowly descend into psychosis wouldn’t garner much empathy, but this trinity of characters is magnetic. Their flaws and traumas, wants and needs, are laid out so bare it’s almost impossible not to find something twisted inside yourself reflected back…

Pity the PlayStation exclusive that’s about zombies but doesn’t have ‘The Last Of Us’ in its title. Yes, Days Gone was a huge hit, but is forever stuck in the shadow of its cousin. Shame. We’d love an HBO show with Pedro Pascal as the motorbike. Bend Studio’s game has lots of fans. “One of the best,” says reader Malcolm Betruger. “This is how you do a proper Zombie game.” A view Malcolm holds so passionately he’s capitalised ‘Zombie’. And he’s far from alone. “Absolutely brilliant,” raves Nick Reed, also. “Will always be one of my faves. Only people that didn’t appreciate it was Sony.” Days Gone cast you as Deacon St John, a tedious dullard. Luckily that charisma-free berk wasn’t the true star. That would be the motorbike you…

Now this is an interesting one, for several reasons. Even aside from the connection to the PS3 Resistance games, taken in isolation, Retribution is remarkable for its stunningly cheesy writing and acting. We’re talking immense Garth Marenghi vibes, to the point where we’re genuinely unsure whether it’s intentionally bad or not. We could talk (and talk, and talk) about the writing and performances all day, but there’s more to dig into. For one thing, Retribution’s PSP origins mean that it differs from the PS3 trilogy in some ways. It’s viewed in third-rather than first-person, and the lack of twin sticks on Sony’s doomed handheld1 means enemies are more forgiving. Most show no interest in getting close to you, and those that do amble forwards at a casual pace. RESISTANCING QUEEN…

I New besties Beginning a new adventure calls for new pals to show us the way, and the Warrior Of Light has already started making firm friends with some of the new cast. Wuk Lamat is a bold and gregarious Hrothgar who favours fighting with a giant axe and is petitioning you for aid in a competition for the throne. We’ll also get the chance to know the stoic gleaner Erenville better after he became a surprise favourite during Endwalker. Our scholarly friend Krile, who’s been relegated to the sidelines since Heavensward, will also be joining us on the front lines for the first time, now showing off her Pictomancer skills. However one potential companion is a bit of a mystery – an unknown Miqo’te scholar who has secretly been studying…

Even though it’s in the genre’s name, for plenty of MMORPG players roleplaying exists as a kind of subculture within their games, a curiosity to gawk at from afar and occasionally poke fun at (sometimes deservedly – as you’ll know if you’ve seen the ill-advised, unofficial NSFW nightclub billboards that went up in real-life Texas and California). But for many (myself included), roleplaying is a large part of what we love about gaming, and about writing – whether that’s rolling the dice at a tabletop session or losing ourselves in videogame RPG worlds like those of Final Fantasy. So why not combine them? The FFXIV Discord server I’m a member of runs regular events as an adventurer’s guild, playing out missions rather like someone might host a session of text-based…

Finally, it’s time to go and high-five that withered arm hanging out at Mohgwyn Palace and follow the eternally youthful Miquella into the Land Of Shadow. More than two years after Elden Ring’s erd-shattering debut, DLC will spin this fable further afield from 21 June. There are a few reasons why this chapter has been such a long time coming. For one, it introduces a totally separate location that’s almost as expansive as Limgrave in the base game. The DLC tugs upon story threads attached to several major players too, with the Land Of Shadow fabled as the place Marika first set foot. Why Miquella has followed in her footsteps, and why this location has existed apart from the Lands Between until now are just two threads in the unspooling…

Videogames have always been a huge part of Abubakar Salim’s life; Kingdom Hearts was, for him, an early example of games being a powerful storytelling medium just like books, film, or television. But back then, popping a disc into a PlayStation felt like magic – it didn’t seem possible that games could be a career. At least not until he got his acting break as Bayek, the lead character in Assassin’s Creed Origins. “I realised there is an actual world behind the game experience that you go through and people actually make games,” he says. “Talking to some of the developers and then learning about their journey into games really sparked my interest of looking into actually making a game for myself.” It was a few more years before the…

i FORMAT PS5 / ETA 26 APR / PUB SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT DEV SHIFT UP / PLAYERS 1 “THE KAIJU-SIZED BEASTIE THAT MATCHES THE SKYSCRAPERS FOR SCALE HAS US EXCITED.” Earth is in ruins and has been taken over by mysterious hostile forces. We’d probably be more depressed about this if it weren’t the setup for one of the most promising-looking PS5 games of the year. You’re Eve, a human who lives on the off-world colony where our useless species is currently cowering. So Eve has travelled to Earth to carve her way to reclaiming our planet. Eve’s journey home is perilous, but it’s got nothing on the path that Stellar Blade itself has travelled. Originally announced way back in something called ‘2019’ (ask your dad) as Project Eve for…

i FORMAT PS5 / ETA 23 MAY / PUB MERGE GAMES / DEV STILL RUNNING / PLAYERS 1 We’ve been waiting impatiently for a terrible soulslike to show up so we can break out all the lazy insults. Elden Wrong. Suck-iro. Bloody-awful-borne, and so on. So it’s actually something of a disappointment that Morbid, while never truly breaking the mould, is a promising soulslike with fresh ideas of its own. Bah! As you’d expect from a game called ‘Morbid’ this is violent stuff, demonstrating a gleeful flair for spraying blood everywhere. If you’ve played Dark Souls or any of its many, many imitators you’ll recognise the brutal combat, high difficulty, deliberate lack of map, focus on finding shortcuts, and boss fights with (*sighs for a thousand years*) ‘surprise’ second phases.…

Every good character action game has rhythmic gameplay at its heart. Input slashes for Dante’s big sword in Devil May Cry with specific timings, for instance, and he’ll perform different combos. But what if the effects went beyond solo performances and every aspect of the game became a pitch-perfect rock orchestra? That’s Hi-Fi Rush. Armed with an, erm, robot arm, and an electric guitar he can form at will from nearby scrap, Chai’s ready to take Vandelay Industries to task. Due to a screw-up with the experimental procedure that restored the use of his arm, he’s been labelled a ‘defect’, and is being hunted by the mega-corp’s robot security through the city-sized factory. The issue? Chai’s MP3 player was thrown into the machine, and inserted within his chest. As he’s…

Oh no. This isn’t Outlast 3. This is a long, drawn-out sigh of a game that squanders all the potential an Outlast prequel held. The number of people who wanted Outlast as a live service multiplayer game can probably be counted on one hand, and it’s whoever came up with the idea. Most developers seem hungry for a slice of the multiplayer pie right now, and it’s natural that sacrifices must be made for that, but lines should also be drawn. So while it’s no surprise there’s so little of Outlast’s usual on-rails story-based experience to be found here, it is still rather disappointing. Especially as even the ominous Murkoff facility doesn’t seem in keeping with the previous games’ stories. The more of The Outlast Trials you discover, the more…

Citizen of Super Earth, it’s time to heed the call to Galactic War. You’ll fight for freedom! And for democracy! And you’ll do it alongside three of your closest friends, battling in the dirt and the dust of the eastern regions of the universe, protecting outlying planets from an encroaching Terminid threat. Fighters who excel through basic training will be assigned duties throughout the western colonies, tearing down Automaton footholds. The prize you receive in exchange for broken bones and spilled blood? Medals Of Valor to spend on gear and weapons, and research intelligence to go towards the development of more powerful additions to your orbital arsenal. If none of that sounds appealing, perhaps just experiencing the best co-operative action in decades is reward enough. Sony has finally found its…

Throwbacks to platformers of old are plentiful. Evening Star, the developer of this one, was responsible for Sonic Mania. But while Penny’s Big Breakaway, the studio’s debut original 3D platformer, piles on the nostalgia, what’s unique is how fresh every leap and flick of the yo-yo feels. Derivative? Hardly; you haven’t seen tricks like these before. Street performer Penny hopes to ace the audition to become the kingdom’s new palace entertainer. But as she swings her way through the tutorial, a chance meeting with a cosmic string not only enhances her yo-yo, it means the toy bites off more than it can chew. After it munches on the king’s clothing, reducing him to his underoos in front of the masses, Penny is hunted by the kingdom’s penguin security forces. Plenty…

Think classic Doom, only in a Star Wars setting so you’re shooting stormtroopers. Yep, big smile. Now make that old-school vision super-crisp and smooth. Sounds perfect, doesn’t it? This offering is even the predecessor to all-time classic Jedi Knight, so we’re talking about a major piece of history made shiny and new again. But what’s that lurking in the dark, salivating and belching like Jabba The Hut? It’s (whisper it) 1995. It’s a trap! Let’s get one thing clear: the remastering is excellent, with a smooth framerate, enhanced sprites, and the now-usual ability to go back to the old, low-res, software-rendered visuals. But the game itself is unchanged. PS1 had 2MB of RAM, so creating large, detailed 3D levels was impossible. Of course, developers were tempted to try anyway, copying…

Generally, we have mixed feelings about city builders. Godlike power to create and care for a virtual world of our own? Yes please! Budget management and running around to perform menial tasks for people you don’t know? Ew, no thanks, sounds too much like being an adult. Then there are all the complications that follow the genre around like a whining puppy. How remarkable, then, that this example is relentlessly joyful. As it’s a VR game, the ability to zoom in and out to extremes is more impactful than in a 2D experience, and the presentation here means that getting as close to things as possible is sure to raise a smile. Our favourite aspect may be the simple fact that sometimes a citizen will briefly stop what they’re doing…

No, we don’t know what the name means either, but we’re glad to see this sequel nonetheless. The first game held its own in the already overcrowded 2D fighting genre, and so we were excited to see what the developer would do with another entry. The answer, to be honest, is… not that much. Not as much as it should have, anyway. To begin with, there are only three new characters, though returning fighters have been given a new move or two. That won’t mean much to you if you missed the first game, which is more than probable as it largely flew under the radar, though it will disappoint existing players. What you need to know is that, as the anime stylings suggest, this is a fast-paced and highly…

01 Synapse Telekinesis and guns make a wonderful combo in VR. With one mapped to your left hand and the other to your right, you feel like a conductor of chaos as you blast your way through a rogue colonel’s mind to uncover secrets. Eye-tracking is wonderfully used to target your telekinesis, meaning you can slam enemies all over the place as you reload your arsenal. It’s got a roguelite structure, so you’ll keep coming back. 02 Horizon: Call Of The Mountain Manages to make level after level of climbing compelling with different environments to pull yourself up through, the Sense controllers allowing for neat player expression. Just make sure you take a break, or all that spider monkeying will make your arms throb. 03 Star Wars: Tales From The…

Among Us started life as a mobile game in 2018. The Syphon Filter (PS1, 1999) dev previously made Bubsy 3D. Manhunt (PS2, 2003) is still banned in multiple countries today. Chicken Run on PS1 (2000) was, unexpectedly, heavy on stealth. EASY CELL The other big stealth game While we wait for the remake to emerge from the shadows, it’s worth remembering how much Splinter Cell popularised. The use of light and shadow to dictate how visible the player is, and the ability to shoot out lights, were unusual at the time. You were also encouraged to grab enemies from behind for interrogation, silent takedowns, or as human shields; all features seen often since. SPLINTER CELL WAS XBOX-EXCLUSIVE IN 2002, BUT CAME TO PS2 IN 2003. XBOX EXCLUSIVES GOING MULTIFORMAT, EH?…

VERSION 2.0 A Realm Reborn The adventures of the Warrior Of Light all started here, on the back of a chocobo cart. The early stages of A Realm Reborn are all about getting your hands on any job you can, be that slaying ladybirds or carting around fertiliser. That very traditional, almost cosy, fantasy start helps introduce you to the foundations of the world you’ll eventually be saving. Soon you’re trusted to oust pirates, fight Primal gods, and put an end to the invading empire’s plans. Of course you discover there’s a darker threat orchestrating things behind the scenes, and so the seeds for the epic Zodiark vs Hydaelyn saga are sown. 1.0 before the fall You can’t talk about FFXIV as it is today without looking at the version that came…