Table of contents for December 2022 in PLAY

The Mishimas are at it again. Once more son dukes it out against father, and once more Tekken 8 makes a bold re-entrance into the fray seven years after its predecessor’s arcade debut. The 3D fighter is aiming for PlayStation 5, and though we can see it coming, there’s no word yet on exactly when it will strike - that’s one way to keep us on our toes! With a first look at a snippet of story mode boasting 60 frames per second, Tekken 8 does not disappoint in this regard. As part of the spectacular announcement, chief producer Katsuhiro Harada begins, “The Tekken series has always been known for the dramatic pre-rendered movies from its story mode. […] However, for our first announcement, we chose to focus on the…

As a series, Resident Evil has never had a great history with DLC and expansions. Even the better ones, such as Resident Evil VII’s Misery-like Bedroom, end up feeling like slight additions rather than must-play steps forward. The approach Capcom’s taken with Resident Evil Village, to wait before developing and releasing DLC, seems to have paid off – judging by our early hands-on with Shadows Of Rose’s opening. Set years after the main game, it has Ethan’s daughter Rose returning to the village in a plight to rid herself of her mysterious powers. Taking place primarily in Castle Dimitrescu, you’d be forgiven for thinking this a retread. But it’s how Shadows Of Rose reimagines those settings and plays in the series’ legacy that makes it stand out. THIRD BIRTHDAY Notably,…

i FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 2023 / PUB NEWFANGLED GAMES DEV NEWFANGLED GAMES / PLAYERS 1 Fun fact: it’s impossible to fold a piece of paper more than eight times. But, it turns out, you can fold many pieces of paper many times to take a fantastical journey. In this game, controlling Paige, you leave home for the first time to attend university, all while trying to understand what happened to your sibling who did the same, never to be heard from again. Paper Trail turns the art of origami not only into puzzles but a way to tell its story. In our hands-on, this means we have to pull on the corners of the world to progress, from folding our village in the wake of a flood to…

i FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 27 OCT / PUB SQUARE ENIX / DEV TRI-ACE / PLAYERS 1 Scenario writer Satoshi Wagahara has always been a fan of the Star Ocean series. In fact, Star Ocean is so key to his journey as a writer that he says, “My experience in running an SO3 fanfiction site was the reason for the birth of the novelist Satoshi Wagahara.” The gap between fan and official collaborator was (in part) bridged by a tweet. An avid player of mobile free-to-play Star Ocean: Anamnesis, Wagahara recalls, “When one of my favourite characters was released, I [tweeted], ‘I want to write a Star Ocean novel!’” Drawing the attention of Anamnesis’ producer, Wagahara was asked to write the official novelisation. His “understanding of and passion for…

i FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 2023 / PUB UBISOFT / DEV UBISOFT BORDEAUX / PLAYERS 1 Nothing is true, everything is permitted.” While the future of Assassin’s Creed thankfully doesn’t adhere to the first part of the iconic motto (unless we’ve been the victim of a horrible disinformation campaign), the second part is certainly correct. With a deluge of information proving the series is bigger than ever, everything is permitted. Not only will 2023’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage play with everything by mixing together elements from all previous entries, from the first Assassin’s Creed right the way through to AC Valhalla, but its further-off successors, Codename Red and Codename Hexe, seek to push things further still. Celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, it’s a great time to be a fan.…

Developer Spiders has been making games with obvious inspirations for a while. From Greedfall’s aping of Bioware RPGs to Bound By Flame’s Witcher-esque dark fantasy, the results have been decidedly wanting but nonetheless always hinted at some imagination that could lead to better things. It pleases us to say that this time the studio’s landed on something compelling. Steelrising’s lacking in some areas, though nothing not overcome by its novel premise. ‘The French Revolution but with robots’ sounds like nonsense (and to a certain degree it is), yet Spiders commits so thoroughly to the premise it’s hard not to fall in love. Heaps of historical research pays off with well-informed depictions of historical figures to complement a world of jittering, clockwork machines that stomp through a well-recreated Paris like they…

After 30 years, six console generations, and a trillion microtransaction debates, we’re finally here: EA’s final ever FIFA game. Not that those familiar pay-to-win complaints are going anywhere. It’s still nigh-on impossible to lock down your chances of packing Son, Messi, or Mbappe in Ultimate Team. Thankfully, however, the biggest mode in sports gaming does get some shock refreshment. Like an ageing Semisonic CD, EA’s squad-building mode remains all about chemistry – but without the punitive effects of deploying players on zero. Now every card’s performance is true to its stats. More importantly, you don’t need to line players up next to club-mates or countrymen for bonuses. Instead, they can be spread throughout your XI – so Liverpool trio Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Roberto Firmino contribute max ‘chem’ together,…

Trapped in a cabin and forced to play cards for your life, you haven’t accidentally gone on a date with a Yu-Gi-Oh! fan, 1 but somehow become trapped within a videogame adaption of a long-forgotten trading card venture. Unable to select ‘New Game’ on boot, there’s something a little wrong with the one you must ‘Continue’. Your opponent sits across from you, eyes piercing the darkness. The rules are quite simple. Weak cards must be sacrificed to play stronger ones. Some have a single special effect (like flying, double attack, and the like). Winning involves inflicting enough direct damage to cause a scale to hit the table. Things quickly get stranger as he roleplays you through a sequence of challenges wearing masks. Special tools can give you…

What do you get when a dog in a suit and a naked, zany, and violent bunny walk into a crime scene? Sam and Max, Freelance Police, of course. It sounds like the setup to a joke, and that’s because it is, with the many bizarre crimes and conspiracies the pair have to untangle frequently putting comedy first, with absurd puzzle solutions that lean into the often obtuse nature of adventure game classics. This early, episodic release from a young Telltale Games first released in 2007, but Skunkape’s remastering is the first time it has appeared on PlayStation. This is a faithful approach that nonetheless has been given a fabulous visual overhaul, with Sam, Max, and their colourful supporting cast (from paranoid shop clerk Bosco to the recurring antics of…

During its occasional bursts of brilliance, this serious skate sim manages to perfectly replicate the thrilling highs and painful lows of learning how to skateboard. Spared the risk of any broken bones, tricky controls make pulling off the perfect ollie a satisfying exercise in both practice and patience. Given the strength of its mechanics, it’s a shame that it ends up feeling more like a tech demo than a finished game. As it’s centred on sandbox experimentation, maps are one of the key areas where Session truly delivers. Featuring dozens of the most iconic skating spots from across New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, each of these large, open environments is lovingly recreated and densely packed with an array of rails to grind and kerbs to kickflip. Recognisable landmarks…

The land of Diofield is at war. Well, not exactly. Unlike in tactical strategy games such as Valkyria Chonicles or Final Fantasy Tactics, war in The Diofield Chronicle seems a much less immediate prospect. Instead, the protagonists, a mercenary group called the Blue Foxes, begin their career as bodyguards for a duke and are saddled with pretty much any job besides. While the Blue Foxes stamp out mercenary settlements and escort dignitaries, two warring nations are eyeing Diofield’s precious resources, which can be weaponised, and begin marching on the land as a result. The game takes great pains to explain why a band of mercenaries would eventually come to lead a war effort – there are plenty of political schemes, court machinations, and regional disputes in Diofield, but every problem…

There’s a code blue on the ward. Medical professionals bustle about, until a diagnosis of sepsis forces everyone into lock-step. This is serious. Quietly watching the drama unfold from the doorway, we’re wondering what we could’ve done differently but, as we’re curtly requested to move aside, we see how powerless we truly are. Playing as 14-year-old Casey Beaumaris, you’re tasked with keeping the patients company through the last days of summer while your mum, who’s head nurse on this hospital-airship, is rushed off her feet elsewhere. But Casey is an aspiring journalist on the hunt for a story for her school newspaper, and this floating geriatric ward could be the perfect place to find a scoop. You can eavesdrop just outside patients’ rooms or step inside and become part of…

Behind an oversized pineapple, I’m losing it. My pursuer is the reigning champion but breezes past none the wiser. I can no longer hold it back and my hideous cackles rip through voice chat. Patch 6.2 introduces the Island Sanctuary, an idyllic locale for every post-Endwalker player to call their own. Beyond chill farming vibes, it’s also the perfect pitch for fun in the sun. I’m still a way from shooting for the moon but having finished A Realm Reborn, a quick chat with Baldin in Lower La Noscea lets me visit my Free Company chums without having to claim one myself (all in good time though – it will be mine). Surprisingly, this sweeping, private zone is the perfect place for some unofficial gamification – turning off the minimap…

Continuing Dead By Daylight’s fairly regular schedule of new horrors, Project W sets a precedent of sorts: it’s the first time the game’s returned to a previously explored theme, dishing up a second helping of Resi goodness. No offence to last year’s Nemesis, but Wesker brings a badass style to DBD that feels definitive. Extra Legendary skins transform Leon and Jill into Carlos and Sheva, and DBD-original killer Legion gets a Hunk skin for good measure. What’s more, that awful RPD map has been split into two slightly less awful maps. All that means it’s now possible to have two matches in which all four Survivors, the Killer, and the map are from Resident Evil. This is practically a spin-off now. That’s no bad thing either, because while Behaviour Interactive’s…

All nine realms will be present, with returning ones feeling distinct from previous appearances. Frosty Fimbulwinter portends the arrival of the apocalyptic Ragnarök, and most of us have been eagerly awaiting more ice-cool info about Kratos and Atreus’ final tussle with the Norse pantheon (God Of War Ragnarök will end the duology). Now, with the 9 November release date beginning to thaw, we have a much clearer idea of what you’ll be doing throughout the game, how it’s evolved from its predecessor, and how it’s going large. While the 2018 soft reboot isn’t something you’d call small, it has a more personal and intimate focus that means moments of truly momentous scale are fewer and further between than they are in, say, God Of War III (that opening remains a…

i FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 2 DEC / PUB KRAFTON DEV STRIKING DISTANCE STUDIOS / PLAYERS 1 PREVIEW “A NASTY JUMP SCARE POTENTIALLY LYING IN WAIT AROUND ANY CORNER.“ Pilot Jacob Lee is wrongfully imprisoned and sent to the inhumane Black Iron Prison on Callisto, the dead moon of Jupiter. That’s bad enough, but it happens as a mysterious virus transforms both prison guards and prisoners into monstrous Biophages. It must be a Monday – how is a guy supposed to survive, let alone escape? The Callisto Protocol arrives just as classic third-person survival horrors are making their return thanks to recent remakes of the Resident Evil series, while the new version of definitive science-fiction horror Dead Space is set to follow in the new year. The latter leaves…

i FORMAT PS5 / ETA 3 NOV / PUB PRIME MATTER / DEV BRASS TOKEN / PLAYERS 1 When invited to a spiritual weekend retreat on a remote island to enact a ritual that’ll supposedly improve your mental health, you ought to suspect something is going to go wrong. And, of course, it does, as our hippie group inadvertently opens the Gloom, a psychedelic dimension of terror that feeds off negative energy. As Jess (but not PLAY’s Jess), it’s up to us to find the other members of the group, starting with Sonny, who was last seen running off towards the mines. Dressed in simple white clothing that’s bound to get dirty as the story progresses, we’re hardly combat-ready like a STARS member. Nonetheless, we’re able to craft weapons such…

i FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 22 NOV / PUB PRIME MATTER DEV IGGYMOB / PLAYERS 1 Never mind the VR spin-off of this old-school action series, this third-person action game is a proper revival/sequel that continues like the PS2 era never ended, trimmed of the bloat and grind of modern games for pure unadulterated ultraviolence. Trying the carnage for ourselves, it might play like a less refined Devil May Cry, but when you’ve got unlimited ammo and bullets that deal proper damage, while combos easily soar into the hundreds, it’s hard to complain. Especially when after 50+ you can hit w and go full John Woo, blasting everything for 360 degrees around you. It’s like watching fireworks with explosions of blood joining the gunpowder. COFFIN UP Antihero Grave is…

i FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 3 DEC / PUB SQUARE ENIX / DEV SQUARE ENIX / PLAYERS 1 Given the ending of Final Fantasy VII Remake and what that could mean for sequel Rebirth, it feels more timely than ever to rediscover the story of SOLDIER 2nd Class Zack Fair in Crisis Core, especially for newcomers, who will find it very difficult to get hold of the original PSP title. And Square Enix has certainly spared no expense in making this remaster measure up to modern standards. FF7R is already one of the most beautiful games to grace PS4, and the PS5 version looks even better. So you’ll be reassured to know, as we sit down to have a go on Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion for the…

ASSASSIN’S CREED: CODENAME RED A shinobi open world RPG in Japan Ubisoft has been well aware of the fan community’s desire for a Japan-set Assassin’s Creed for some time. That was acknowledged by Marc-Alexis Côté, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed executive producer, calling it “one of their most awaited settings ever”. Led by Ubisoft Quebec, the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey studio, it’s “the next premium flagship title, and the future of our open world RPG games”. The feudal Japan setting teases plenty of possibilities, with you explicitly playing as a “shinobi” hero. So far, we’ve only seen them clad in black, wielding a hidden blade and a short sword (possibly a wakizashi), before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. But perhaps the series shouldn’t have waited so long to cave to fan demands,…

Has MyTeam had the overhaul it needs to deflect pay-to-win accusations? Of course not – don’t be daft. Nonetheless, the additions and changes to the latest NBA represent a huge leap forward compared to last year’s game. For the first time in a while, there’s good reason to upgrade beyond updated teams and simming real NBA matchups on the days they happen. This is looking pretty swish. One change that affects things across the (back) board is the updated stamina system. If you have ever been frustrated by players who spam fancy dribble moves before zooming past you, rejoice! Not only is such behaviour now punished with faster stamina reduction, but the introduction of adrenaline bars prevents a single member of the team from constantly attempting standing sprints or steals.…

Long has mankind dreamt of voyaging to the stars; exploring the unknown infinity of space, discovering new lifeforms, and… serving them drinks? Well, that’s what you’ll be doing here, anyway. Apparently there’s a planet named ‘Arth’ and, one admin error later, you find yourself working at an alien bar whether you like it or not. Strap on your headset, grab a pair of Move controllers, and Tom Cruise this thing. In practical terms, bear in mind that as you’ll need to reach all around you in a virtual bar, you’ll need a decent amount of space to wave your arms around – and you’ll almost certainly have to play standing up. If that’s not a problem, get ready for a science-fiction bartending experience that doesn’t, to be honest, differ much…

This sequel to the game on the left-hand page was originally released on PS3, though that port left plenty to be desired. Here, it benefits from all the same improvements as the first game’s remaster, plus a few more quality-of-life improvements, such as the ability to skip minigames and the like. Those minigames are unfortunately more prevalent here. The recurring element of, say, doing simplistic driving challenges for the COPS (sentient-yet-outmoded electronic devices who return from the first game) lacks the charm of solving Bosco and Sybil’s new problems each episode. GLOBE PAWING In fact, there’s some noticeable course correction with the aforementioned supporting cast. They’re both here with their gimmicks (and the latter’s office is plonked down closer to everything else in a robot attack at the very beginning),…

You don’t have to like metal music to get a kick out of Metal: Hellsinger. You do, however, have to like blood and guts and battering anything that moves. You also need to be able to keep time with the frantic heartbeat of the metal soundtrack, ensuring each boom of the gun hits in time with the beat. It’s not easy. But it’s a bloody good time… literally. Ever played Doom and thought to yourself: ‘Cor, this would be even better if it got a Guitar Hero mash-up’? Nope, nor us, but thankfully someone did, otherwise the glorious Metal: Hellsinger would never have come to be. The bespoke soundtrack features guest vocals from a range of metal icons, including System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian, Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz, and…

They say you never truly know someone until you see them put together flatpack furniture, but the same is doubly true when you see how they take it apart. And double that again if it’s in space. Hardspace: Shipbreaker has you floating around in zero G, using a laser to cut apart space freighters and a wobbly grapple to dunk them in the appropriate bins according to their material type. Taken on its own, the core gameplay loop of Hardspace is fantastically meditative and expressive in equal measure. A big bar at the top of the screen reveals how much salvage is available from the ship you’re working on, with a yellow bar ticking up to reward you for certain milestones and a red bar that lowers your maximum as…

Given how game-changing the original Phantasy Star Online was – it was the first online console RPG (on Sega’s Dreamcast) – it’s a shame that its successor feels dated compared to its competitors today. Of course, your MMORPG is going to feel outdated if you only decide to sell it to the rest of the world nearly a decade after you released it in Japan. That release date really only applies to the base version of PSO2 however; New Genesis is a newer adventure originally released in 2020 and set in the open world planet of Halpha, which you can easily explore by dashing and gliding through rather than journeying through instanced dungeons via a spaceship hub. While we’ve had to wait a couple of years from its initial release…

UNDER £20 Battlefield 2042 £18, approx. (PS5, Amazon) The best bang for your buck The latest entry in the Battlefield series, 2042, has just received its second season of free-live service content, including more maps, weapons, and modes. The lack of a conventional single-player campaign may be a dealbreaker for some hardcore Battlefield fans, but with its chaotic 128-player matches and standalone Portal mode filled with beloved maps from across the entire series, there’s still plenty here to sink your teeth into. This is a packed triple-A shooter, and now you can get it for a bargain-bin price. UNDER £15 The Crew 2 £12, approx. (PS4, Amazon) The cheapest American road trip This sprawling MMO racer offers over 6,200 miles of road winding around a vast map modelled on the…

No, not Final Fantasy X-2, it’s Final Fantasy XII. Talk about a game ahead of its time. Ironically, many of the aspects for which it was criticised when it was released in 2006 were considered its strengths by the time The Zodiac Age finally rolled around. It was definitely a departure from form, but Final Fantasy XII is, and always has been, strengthened by its more unusual elements, many of which have never surfaced again. There still aren’t any other games that let you pretty much straight-up code your party members for your convenience, for example. Yet the divisive Gambit system gives you almost complete control over the instructions and priorities of your team with a list of ‘If’ conditions you would normally expect in an Excel spreadsheet. The AI’s…

At the turn of the century, turn-based tactical warfare games featuring anthropomorphic characters were a fundamental part of PlayStation’s lineup. The Worms series had found a firm footing with its first three titles: Worms, Worms 2, and Worms Armageddon. But long before Team17 ventured into the challenging 3D realm with its flagship series, British developer Infogrames Sheffield House (previously Gremlin Games) was getting its trotters stuck into creating a brand-new IP based on similar themes, this time with pigs taking centre stage. However, as lead programmer Jacob Habgood tells us, making Hogs Of War a 3D version of a Worms-style game wasn’t originally the plan. “Command & Conquer was the inspiration for Hogs originally, not Worms, as people often assume,” Habgood tells us. “The Worms link really came from the…

i FORMAT PS4, PS3, PS2 / PUB SQUARE ENIX / DEV SQUARE ENIX / RELEASED 2006 The end of the summer is rough, especially if you’re 15 and not supposed to exist. Combining parallels to the opening of the first Kingdom Hearts with a decent thriller on fast-forward, the prologue throws you behind an unknown character in a (mostly) unknown world, and homes in on what’s important: going to the beach, finishing your homework, and figuring out why Roxas’ life is coming undone. From the weird, wriggly enemies to the grainy flashbacks to Sora’s story so far, Kingdom Hearts II’s opening follows a similar pattern to its predecessor: domestic life spilling into a clash of forces beyond the protagonist’s control and comprehension. But after following his journey for two games…

Far from feeling like world-weary gangsters, every time we get the call to play a new Yakuza (or Like A Dragon, as it’s now called globally) we can’t help but grin. There are three titles in the pipeline, announced during developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s own RGG Summit 2022. Yet the series’ future is unfolding in unexpected ways. Ironically, the game arriving first is the one furthest away in Yakuza’s chronology. Like A Dragon: Ishin! goes on sale on 21 February. It’s a remake of the PS3/4 spin-off originally released in Japan, and this PS5 and PS4 release will be the first time it’s playable in English. Set in Japan in 1866, at the end of the Edo Period, it follows samurai Sakomoto Ryoma as he ends up joining Kyoto’s…

Team Ninja has an absolutely stacked calendar. After next year’s Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, a masocore action RPG that mixes Three Kingdoms-era Chinese history with mythology, the developer’s next project witnesses the end of Japan’s Tokugawa era. Set in 1863, Rise Of The Ronin presents an open world caught between a past of isolationist foreign policy and an uncertain future. Referred to as the Bakumatsu period, this is a time of great upheaval; civil war between the Tokugawa shogunate and anti-shogunate factions rages on, backdropped by mounting Western influence and a proliferation of deadly diseases. As the titular masterless swordsman, you cut through the middle of this tension with cold steel and gunpowder. While there are some liberties taken with the history (such as the retractable wing glider in the…

i FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 12 JAN / PUB BANDAI NAMCO / DEV ILCA / PLAYERS 1 As the most successful manga and anime of all time, with its fair share of game adaptations including brawlers and VR titles, it’s almost a surprise that a proper One Piece RPG is only now being made. But it’s a pleasant one. Better still, unlike, say, Dragon Ball Z Kakarot, One Piece Odyssey has an original story, written by franchise creator Eiichiro Oda. The Straw Hat Pirates find themselves shipwrecked and separated on the island of Waford, with Monkey D Luffy trying to reunite with the rest of the crew and figure out the island’s dangerous mysteries. In this self-contained location, what we play of Odyssey feels like a very traditional JRPG,…

i FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2023 / PUB SPIKE CHUNSOFT / DEV MAGES / PLAYERS 1 Crafting a good story can take time. In this case, six years. That’s how long fans have been waiting for the latest title in Mages’ well-loved Science Adventure visual novel series (which includes Steins;Gate), initially announced back in 2016 and finally released in Japan earlier this summer. After spending some time with the game’s Japanese release, we can categorically tell you that it was worth the wait. This slickly presented package shows what is possible when teams are given the time needed to refine a series. Indeed, everything feels deliberate in how the futuristic 2037 AR-infused Tokyo setting is introduced and played with, right down to the metatextual relationship between the player and this…

FORMAT PS5, PS4ETA 8 NOVPUB SEGADEV SONIC TEAMPLAYERS 1 S onic fans have been used to ups and downs with each new iteration of their beloved blue hedgehog, and while Sonic Frontiers promises to take him in a genuinely new direction, there’s a palpable sense of nervous anticipation ahead of the game’s worldwide launch on 8 November, just a few weeks after this magazine hits shelves. Standing steadfast and confident of where Sonic is headed, however, is Takashi Iizuka, who’s been heading the series and Sonic Team since 2008, and who we’re sitting down with to natter about all things speedy and blue. Of course, he’s been working with our favourite hedgehog for longer than that – in fact, he’s shown greater staying power than the hedgehog’s co-creators Yuji Naka…

Back in the ’60s, the Soviets used a plastic mannequin dressed in a cosmonaut suit to test their unmanned space missions. Ivan Ivanovich, as the dummy was dubbed, ended up being so life-like that it was necessary to place a sign that read “maket” (Russian for “mock-up”) beneath the visor of his helmet so no-one would mistake him for the real deal when he was found after his missions. Having completed a couple of spaceflights, Ivan was retired, but it looks as though his exploits are not over just yet, because The Chinese Room has put him right in the centre of his own intergalactic space adventure. Released on Apple Arcade in 2020, this side-scrolling puzzle platformer has now made its way to consoles, bringing Ivan’s shenanigans to PlayStation. In…

Have you played the Trails Of Cold Steel series and been itching to find out more about the city-state of Crossbell or get the inside info on the legendary members of the Special Support Section (SSS) and their origins? Well, here’s your chance. This is the localisation of the second arc in the epic Trails saga, for which we’ve been waiting over a decade (it was released in 2010 for PSP in Japan). That said, although Falcom’s series is probably the most interconnected universe after the MCU, Trails From Zero is a good entry point for newcomers, given its more small-scale nature, which befits both its location and the handheld systems it originally released on. While our heroes are first seen in the midst of a climatic battle, we quickly…

Perhaps I’m dating myself here, but ’90s kids’ media loved nothing more than diving into tiny hidden worlds. From A Bug’s Life to The Borrowers, plenty of stories played on the appeal of the pint-sized fantastic squirrelled away in the mundane. It was only a matter of time before games jumped into this niche, and many of us still fondly remember Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear To The Rescue for how it reimagines Andy’s home as a funhouse-mirror obstacle course. It’s not hard to trace a line from there, through PlayStation classics like Katamari Damacy, to Tinykin. In this 3D platformer, protagonist Milo’s latest discovery is the big one: Earth! But after journeying to the distant planet, he finds that not only was the trip one-way but the third rock…

There is something incredibly satisfying about those videos on Twitter by SunhiLegend, whose viral GIFs of character action games make each one look like the most badass thing you’ve ever seen. It’s the way games in the genre aim to make us feel: like we’re weavers of sweet enemy death. Soulstice takes a fair stab at this, but doesn’t quite manage to land the hits. It’s not that Soulstice is bad, because it’s not; it’s just that it gets in its own way, and pays too much attention to its obvious inspiration, Devil May Cry. This permeates every aspect of the game, from character feel and fixed camera angles to the inputs needed for different combos, right down to the shade of red used for experience orbs, and even the…

After being pinched for a hit-and-run, tough guys Kunio and Riki are adamant they’re innocent. Following a night in the cells, pal Hiroshi informs the lads that a doppelgänger for Kunio is causing all kinds of havoc at their high school. Realising they’ve been framed, they break out of prison in an attempt to clear their names. Originally released in 1994 in Japan as Shin Nekketsu Koha: Kunio-tachi No Banka, River City Girls Zero has been fully translated and released in the West after 28 years - and it certainly doesn’t hold back in this 16-bit brawler. Aiding us on our quest are our fearless girlfriends Misako and Kyoko, another pair packing more than just a serious punch. Each player brings their own unique fighting styles, so mastering those combos…

Being a teen is tough at the best of times, but it’s even harder when you’re millions of miles from Earth. A complex work of speculative fiction and a heartfelt portrayal of teenage woes, this time-looping RPG adventure is an expertly woven journey worth exploring again and again. The stakes are cosmic, but space has never felt more personal. At the heart of this sprawling sci-fi narrative sits you, a child born on board one of the first colony ships to escape a decimated Earth. Eventually landing on the remote planet of Vertumna IV, your parents and the other colonists laid the foundations for a small settlement. Having emerged from the cramped ship just in time for your tenth birthday, it’s now up to you to occupy your remaining childhood…

Coming back to King’s Fall, a revamped return of the classic raid from the original Destiny, could be likened to the feeling of climbing back into your own bed after a month away. But let’s face it: it’s more accurately described as returning to your own bed after a month away during which time your mattress has been replaced with rusty nails and your duvet with a sea of broken glass. Much like Riven Of A Thousand Voices is the boss fight that burns brightest in our combat-weary minds, King’s Fall is the raid. Sure, Vault Of Glass was first, but this was, and maybe still is, the best. It’s extraordinarily difficult to run through the second iteration of The Taken King’s raid without comparing it to the first, so…

The dynamic duo’s first outing is a distinct experience. For a start, Ratchet is voiced by Mikey Kelley rather than series mainstay James Arnold Taylor, and there’s a cheekiness to the humour that feels a smidge sanded-down in more recent releases. But all the key elements are here, including platforming, shooting, and, of course, an utterly ridiculous arsenal – it’s not hard to see why the series became so enduring. “It was the first PS2 game I ever played through a demo disc that had Blackwater City and Metropolis,” @William45627914 remembers fondly. “Haven’t missed a R&C entry since.” Reader Martin Quinn says he also “fell in love” with the game through a demo, adding, “I didn’t buy the full game until years later but I was glad when I did.…

Beyond simply matching the number, colour, or symbol on the card on the top of the discard pile, in Uno you’re always plotting how to get ahead of the opposition players’ dwindling hands. Cards on the table, this one is all about emptying your own hand as quickly as possible while ensuring your tablemates take on greater and greater paper burdens as you slap penalties upon them. Players dish out blocks and pile on +4 cards in a gleeful bully circle. It’s fun in real life, and it’s fun here too. Forcing another player to pick up a whole sheaf of cards is always a moment to savour. Gluttons for punishment but no pals on hand to play will be pleased to hear that this is a dynamic the CPU…