Tabla de contenidos para February 2017 en Gamesmaster

“THE FIVE FANS STOP THE LAPTOP FROM DRIPPING THROUGH YOUR DESK LIKE A SIZZLING XENOMORPH” This year’s Consumer Electronics Show, the long-running tech conference that showcases some of the best gadgets from around the world, brought some modern wonders to Las Vegas. It saw self-driving cars, a voice mask to stifle mobile chatter, a portable air purifier, a hairbrush that listens to you, shoes that vacuum your carpet, a bus fitted with its own helicopter, and plenty more. The show didn’t only cater to wannabe Bond villains, however – there was plenty of high-end, ridiculous, and exciting upcoming tech aimed squarely at gaming fans, and no, none of it will hoover up all the crisp crumbs around your chair, you filthy animal. Nor did any of it come fitted with…

Your three main disciplines in Mass Effect: Andromeda are Combat, Biotic, and Tech, and each contains devastating techniques. By using skill points to purchase them you move yourself into one of seven distinct profiles. The Sentinel profile, for instance, blends Biotic and Tech powers. You can also level-up techniques to increase, say, recharge speed, duration, or effectiveness against synthetics. Alas, there is no power of love. OVERLOAD Electrostatic discharge that excels against shields. OFFENSIVE TECH Passively boosts tech powers by 15%. FLAMETHROWER A short-range jet of flame dealing sustained damage.…

1 BILLION BCE Apex race the Leviathans inadvertently create Reapers, which go on to harvest all life in the galaxy every few millennia. Oops. 68000 BCE Doomed species the Protheans enter space, discover mass-effect tech, and build the Citadel space station as part of their galaxy-wide civilisation. 48000 BCE Huge sentient machines the Reapers wipe out the Protheans before vanishing into deep space. 1900 BCE The Krogans enter the nuclear age and nearly destroy their home planet of Tuchanka. They revert into primal warring clans. 580 BCE The all-female Asari discover the Citadel; 60 years later, the amphibian Salarians make contact. 500 BCE Salarians and Asari form the Citadel Council and together make contact with the Volus, Batarian, Elcor, Hanar, and Quarian species. 1 CE A Citadel expedition inadvertently encounters…

“THE IDEA OF A SPRAWLING RPG WITH PLATINUM’S DEEP COMBAT IS HUGELY EXCITING” Format PS4, PC Publisher Square Enix Developer Platinum Games ETA March The original Nier was a cult hit, despite its wildly mixed reviews. Automata is a sequel set in the same post-apocalyptic world, but as it’s a completely standalone story prior knowledge of the series isn’t required. And replacing former developer Cavia, who sadly disbanded in 2010, is the mighty Platinum Games, developer of some of the finest ever action games. There’s always the sense that Platinum secretly has two separate teams – the guys who make modern classics like Metal Gear Rising and Bayonetta, and the ones responsible for the likes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Legend of Korra. We get the feeling that…

“CHLOE HAS NEW MELEE ANIMATION THAT GIVES HER A FRESH COMBAT STYLE. SUBTLE CHANGES MAKE IT MORE THAN JUST A RE-SKIN” Format PS4 Publisher Sony Developer Naughty Dog ETA Summer Chloe Frazer is finally getting her time in the limelight. The feisty treasure hunter is teaming up with Nadine Ross for a sojourn to India to hunt down a mysterious macguffin known as The Tusk Of Ganesha. Just don’t call this DLC – Naughty Dog’s follow-up to A Thief’s End is so much more. It also looks likely it’ll be a very different kind of adventure. Gone is the brotherly bonding and summery scenery of Madagascar, replaced by an uneasy alliance and clandestine night-time skulking. Creative director Shaun Escayg sets the scene: “One of our main antagonists is an insurgency…

Format PS4 Developer Housemarque Publisher Housemarque ETA Autumn Welcome, fans of beautiful, projectile-based madness. You will know the name Housemarque already. It’s the studio behind Super Stardust HD and Resogun. Is your interest piqued? Then get excited – the studio’s next offering, Nex Machina, follows their classic template: ‘oh wow, it’s so pretty… and now I’m dead’. This is more of a twin-stick, top-down shooter than the previous games, with the player moving between and clearing out different arenas. That’s likely to reflect the influence of legendary Smash TV designer Eugene Jarvis, who’s collaborating with Housemarque here. The voxel-based destruction of Resogun is present, meaning enemies and structures explode into oh so pleasing cascades of blocks. But what’s most interesting is the decision to keep the almost mathematical shapes of…

There are a couple of analogies that come to mind while browsing the various app stores. Panning for gold is one of them. Buying a scratchcard is another. Those two activities have one thing in common – chance – and one crucial difference: effort. Thankfully, you don’t have to rely on luck with the games below. We’ve put in the time needed to find gold in the endless stream, so you don’t have to cross your fingers while your next game is downloading. Some you might have heard of, but we guarantee there’s something new here for everyone. KINGDOM RUSH Format iOS, Android, PC Developer Ironhide Game Studio Publisher Armor Games Tower defence... please don’t run away! This isn’t another shambolic cash-grab clone ready to bore you to tears before…

“NO TIME LIMITS, NO POINTS, JUST STACKS OF STUFF TO PLAY WITH” Format PC, Mobile Dev Adriaan de Jongh ETA Feb Web http://bit.ly/gmhiddenfolks Was your childhood spent poring over pages of complex, colourful cartoons, desperately hunting for a bespectacled man in a bobble hat and striped jumper? Join the analogue club. Now imagine taking Where’s Wally and scanning it into our pixel-obsessed world. Make old Wally at least 180% more hipster (he’s already got the bobble) and you’ll get something a lot like the ultra-minimalist Hidden Folks. Don’t worry, you won’t have to find Woof too. A dog with glasses and a stripy jumper that goes all the way to the end of his tail? That’s just silly. The perfect antidote to any stressful shooter or horror game, Hidden Folks…

Format PS4 Publisher Gung Ho Online Entertainment Developer Grasshopper Manufacture ETA Out now Players 1 Here’s a challenge. Let’s see if we can go through this entire review of developer Suda51’s latest twisted offering without using any of the usual, clichéd adjectives: wacky, zany, kooky, screwy, goofy, or loony. Wish us luck. This brazenly bizarre, extra bloody affair is a wacky, zany, kooky, screwy, goofy, and just downright loony free-to-play roguelike. Oh… oh dear. Let It Die is an uber violent, strangely sexualised hack-and-slash that owes much to Dark Souls. You strafe around a series of increasingly odd enemies, pummel them with weighty attacks, then loot their corpses for weapons and currency. The difference here is that you harvest Death Coins rather than goopy spiritual energy. This is also the…

“IT’S A BEAUTIFULLY REALISEDWORLD, FULL OF GEEKY IN-JOKES, BUT FEW INSPIRED MOMENTS” Format PS4 (reviewed), XO, Wii U, PC, PS Vita Publisher Way Forward Developer Way Forward ETA Out now Players 1 There’s a fair chance you’ve never sampled the delights of Shantae. If so, this is a great time to set that right. She’s a sassy, half-genie girl who can transform into animal forms by bellydancing, has a zombie friend called Rottytops, and an arch-nemesis in the form of a pirate called Risky Boots. Yes, the series is very, very silly. It’s also very good, which is why this game’s move away from handheld pixel art into full-HD console territory is worthy of your attention. In short, the transition is a success. The super-detailed animation is sublime and full…

“MULTIPLE TRACKS ARE LAYERED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER, LIKE A CAKE ICED WITH BURNT RUBBER” Format PS4, PC Publisher Choice Provisions Developer Different Cloth ETA Out now Players 1-4 When you buy an arcade racing game you have certain expectations. It’ll be very easy to get into, probably quite addictive, have some solid tunes to race along to and, most importantly, it will be riotous fun. Unfortunately Drive Drive Drive can’t offer any of those things, as it’s too busy trying to be different – by having you control several cars across several tracks at once. That’s a shame, as there’s some potential hidden in amongst the awful micro-management and deliberately shoddy AI. Or maybe that’s just the graphics dazzling us. Drive Drive Drive’s multi-drive schtick puts you in…

“DECIDING WHETHER TO REPORT ON THEM TO SAVE YOUR OWN SKIN IS AN UNCOMFORTABLE EXPERIENCE” Sell the items you steal to the dodgy (but wealthy) neighbourhood trader. Once they become illegal, their value skyrockets. Cha-ching! Get old-school and peek through the keyhole to check whether a flat is empty, but be careful – if someone finds you, they’ll be miffed. Spy on your neighbours using cameras sneakily snuck into smoke alarms, and take note of their activities for the authorities. If you want to take it easy, choose the ‘trainee’ level, which lessens the number of missions you get, so you can focus on snitching on your neighbours. Format PC Publisher Alawar Entertainment Developer Warm Lamp Games ETA Out now Players 1 Yellow rubber ducks are now illegal. Don’t ask…

Format PS4 (reviewed), PC Publisher Schell Games Developer Schell Games ETA Out now Players 1 The title will surely tip you off to the many 007 homages in I Expect You To Die. Even if not, it won’t be long before you feel the influence of Ian Fleming’s iconic creation. This is as much an ode to camp Roger Moore-era Bond as it is an excellent videogame. Whether you’re steering a flying car out of a gas-filled aeroplane or escaping a rapidly sinking submarine, it perfectly captures the buzz of the secret agent fantasy. On your first attempt at each level – all of which are intricate, interactive environments with a simple objective – you’re more bumbling fool than suave super-spy, taken out by lasers, bombs, and cabinets of grenades.…

“WHILE IT MAY PUT YOU ONE STEP CLOSER TO YOUR GOAL, KILLING A COLOSSUS NEVER FEELS JOYOUS” Developer Team Ico Publisher Sony Released 2006 Format PS2 Get it PSN Store (for PS3), PS Now Some time after formulating the laws of motion and universal gravitation that laid the groundwork for modern physics, the famously humble Sir Isaac Newton memorably stated: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” The mathematical genius failed to mention whether he subsequently plunged a sword into said giant’s glowing weak spot, but it seems safe to assume that old Newt could wreck a colossus when the occasion called for it. The origins Considering the towering status of Shadow Of The Colossus within the modern history of videogames, its creator…

THE MOST DEDICATED TEAM IN THE BUSINESS The GamesMaster crew: three heroes, saving the universe one videogame review at a time. No need to thank us – it’s all just part of the job. Well, you can thank us a bit. If you like. Ben Griffin Our staff writer had to be rescued this month by emergency services, after trapping himself inside his own fridge. “I just wanted to cryogenically freeze myself until Mass Effect Andromeda comes out,” he was heard blubbing at a local fireman. What sci-fi tech would you love to have? A clone of myself to hang out with Rob Crossland Not content with his two monitor work set-up, this month Rob has been drooling over the prototype three-screen Razer laptop (see p12). Our arguments about its…

Has to be Uncharted for me – such action-packed games, with great storylines and characters. Neil Roper, Facebook Prince Of Persia, during the P S2 era. Captured my attention like never before. The Sands Of Time was my Mario 64 moment . Sealy Boo, @SealyBoo Silent Hill. Nothing beats it for atmosphere, story, monster design, or soundtrack. Glen Britton, Facebook Every game has a story, only one is a legend… The Legend Of Zelda. Vaggelis Karpetis, @greek_hylian Dragon Age. When I played I literally lived in its world and didn’t want to come back. Florens20, @florens20 Here’s the face I made during the entire Mass Effect trilogy. It conveys the glee of chats with Garrus, the shock of Mordin’s genophage revelation, and the delight at boring Kaidan’s death. Ben Griffin,…

Perhaps you think you’ve got the measure of most survival games – find wood, make an axe, hit stuff, make a better axe. If so, Subnautica will be a lovely marine surprise. A game about not dying on a beautiful ocean planet that feels like a tropical scuba-diving holiday in a tank full of alien piranha – water more could you want? 0 MINUTES In keeping with the Hurley Access tradition, my Subnautica experience starts with a disaster. At least this time I can, hand on heart, say I didn’t do it. I mean, my character might have been mashing all the buttons on this exploding spaceship, but that was a coincidence. The key thing to know is that I wasn’t in control at that point, and as I begin…

THE KETT The main antagonists look stern and dangerous in their organic, bony shells, but a flicker of life behind the eyes gives them a twinge of sympathy. Might one join your crew, like former enemy Geth, Legion? FIEND You’re unlikely to be sharing dialogue with Fiends. They’re more interested in shoving you in their mouths than chewing the fat (although they will be literally chewing your fat). Beware of their very unsociable insta-kill grabs.. SPACE WORM Who is this mechanical space worm? Is it friendly? What if we walk up and say hi? Sure, it’s thrashing wildly and throwing a lot of rocks about, but maybe that’s just how space worms greet each other. Ouch.…

Format PS4, PC Developer Kojima Productions Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment ETA Winter 2018 The trailers for this thus-far inscrutable proposition feature Mexican film director Guillermo del Toro cradling a baby in a jar, Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen oozing black goo from his eyes, and a naked Norman Reedus washed up on a beach surrounded by dead whales. If that leaves you none the wiser, join the club. Mind you, you’d expect nothing less from the enigmatic Hideo Kojima, he of Metal Gear fame. Not only that but it seems the man himself isn’t quite sure what Death Stranding is going to be: “Strand stands for strings and connections,” he said enigmatically following the big reveal at last year’s E3, but he later added that the title just meant “a lot…

Format PS4 Publisher Bandai Namco Developer Level-5 ETA Winter Striking anime visuals, a fight against a giant, an angry horned monkey, and a boy king with fox ears. Yep, this is a Ni No Kuni game. Fans that have called for a follow-up to 2011’s excellent Wrath Of The White Witch will soon get what they want: a sequel that promises to keep the grand story focus of the first while building in new gameplay. You play as Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, the rightful king of Ding Dong Dell (delightful names abound), who is overthrown by a military coup. Your task is to build a new kingdom with the help of Roland, a visitor from another world. And it’s that building idea that has really got fans excited – the developers…

“PLAYERS CAN CARE ABOUT FARMS, COMMUNITIES, AND MONSTER BUDS, RATHER THAN MECHANICS” Format PC Developer Rebecca Cordingley ETA Winter Web http://bit.ly/gmooblets Well ok, we admit it. The last time we had anything nearly this endearing in IndieMaster we almost exploded with joy, andthis has a cute ‘oo’ in the title. Sorry Slime Rancher, we want mushrooms with faces now. But don’t worry, this is about far more than just adding googly eyes to all of our favourite vegetables. Ooblets is the ultimate blend of every farming sim you’ve ever lost hours to, plus a dollop of inspiration from Pokémon, making it the adorable equivalent of gaming heroin. Who knew your downfall would be this darn sweet? “Ooblets is all about being immersed in a chilled-out, friendly, and slightly irreverent world…

“THE STATION WAGON TURNED MOVING FORTRESS IS THEIR ONLY DEFENCE AGAINST THE WALKERS” Format PS4, XO (reviewed), PC, Mobile Publisher Telltale Games Developer Telltale Games ETA Out now Players 1 Kids, they say, change your world. That rule applies in Telltale’s bleak universe, too. As disgraced baseball star Javier García, the rapidly spreading viral outbreak forces you to shift priorities fast and shoulder new burdens just as quickly, making you responsible for two young lives. With our setting transferred to Virginia and the introduction of a cast of original characters, A New Frontier is a fresh start, a jumping-on point for those who’ve yet to experience Telltale’s carousel of emotional pain. The only constant in this ever-surprising world is Clementine. The hardy teenage heroine, who we first met as a…

 Format Mobile Publisher Nintendo Developer Nintendo ETA Out now Players 1 “TOAD RALLY IS MOREISH – JUST YOU TRY TO RESIST A REMATCH AFTER CLOSE DEFEAT” This is the big one – Nintendo’s first proper foray into mobile gaming. Sure, we’ve had Miitomo, but that wasn’t really a game. Pokémon Go was a collaboration between The Pokémon Company and Niantic. Super Mario Run, on the other hand, was important enough to headline at an Apple keynote event last year. It’s gaming’s biggest star on the largest possible stage. The format makes perfect sense: an auto-runner in which the plumber trots forward unprompted and you control his jump alone. The result is surprising. In practice, Super Mario Run is quite different from what it appears to be on paper. Not that…

“AT ITS BEST, A GRUELLING, HEART-POUNDING SHOOTER. AT ITS WORST, REPETITIVE AND GLITCHY” Format PS4, XO, PC (reviewed) Publisher Focus Home Interactive Developer Streum On Studio, Cyanide ETA Out now Players 1-4 Fans of Warhammer 40,000 have had to wait more than three years since they were left salivating by a teaser trailer that showed Space Marines with crotch skulls, massive guns, and decal-laden power armour sending nasty aliens flying. It was the Space Hulk board game brought to life, but while the game looksgreat , technical problems and the lack of a coherent progression system sadly mean the long wait was all for nought. Red lights behind iron grates on the wall flicker and fade, fire pours from gas pipes burst by bullets, and the sound…

Format PS4 (reviewed), PC Pub Team 17 Dev Three Fields ETA Out now Players 1 You know the tutorials you sometimes get in FPS games, where you fire at cardboard cut-outs to learn the controls before setting out to kill real baddies? Lethal VR does that too, but it never makes it out of the tutorial, leaving you popping rounds into flat target-men for the duration. It’s exactly as unexciting as that sounds. Despite attempts to liven things up with varied scenarios and a selection of weapons, nothing manages to blast through the overwhelming sense of monotony. Whether you’re throwing knives at wooden targets or trying to avoid shooting cardboard civilians, the sterile training-centre aesthetic and painfully simplistic gameplay stifle any moments of fun. Taken even as a basic shooting…

Awesome Boss! Dark Souls II Format PC, PS3, 360 Developer From Software Released 2014 The Executioner’s Chariot is a fearsome carriage propelled by a terrifying two-headed horse that’s more than capable of crushing you in a flurry of wheels and hooves. To succeed here, you’ll have to destroy the chariot then cut down the sinister stallion, too. This encounter was made memorable by the horrifying tension between our love for all horses and the demands of the game. Classic Moment! World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King Format PC Developer Blizzard Released 2008 The Lich King is one of the most fearsome of Azeroth’s foes, and the final battle against the creature that was once Arthas Menethil is a brutal fight for survival. Beat him on Heroic difficulty, though,…

“THERE ARE CERTAINLY TEAM ICO INFLUENCES – SILENT PROTAGONISTS AND PUZZLY ALIEN WORLDS” This upcoming third-person adventure game, from Deadlight developer Tequila Works, was originally revealed as a PlayStation 4 exclusive back at Gamescom 2014. The studio has been quiet since, but just when people were beginning to believe Rime had been cancelled, the developer has released a brand new trailer, reigniting interest in the Wind Waker-esque, pastel-coloured paradise. What’s more, the Sony deal is now dead and the game has gone multiplatform, slated for release on Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in May this year. New footage doesn’t shed much more light on what the game is about, but it does reinforce the fact that the art and atmosphere are enticing, and make you want…

“AGUILAR AND HIS EQUALLY DEADLY COMPANION MARIA CERTAINLY PUT THE PAIN INTO SPAIN” Can silver-screen versions of games be successful? If anyone was going to convince us it would be acclaimed actor Michael Fassbender and Macbeth director Justin Kurzel. With this take on the Ubisoft series, the talented pair attempt to wheel a haycart under the suicidal trajectory of videogame movies – and while they’re not entirely successful, there’s plenty to like here. It was always going to be difficult to fit the Creeds’ lore, not to mention an intelligible story, into a two-hour running time. Let’s face it, Ubi hasn’t managed it in a 40-hour sitting and it’s had more than a few games to try, so Kurzel and co had a serious job on their hands from the…

“WE’RE STEERING BACK TO THE SMALL, CHARACTER-LED INTERACTIONS BEING ABSOLUTELY CENTRAL TO THE GAME” Talk about a big bang. When word spread that Mass Effect’s long-awaited fourth instalment was to be set in a new corner of the universe , within a different stretch of time, light years removed from the scores of characters we’ve come to know and love, it sounded as though Bioware was boldly going, well, a bit too far. But the more we learn about Mass Effect: Andromeda, the more certain we are it’s blasting off in the smartest possible direction. Much like its heroes, the Ryders. You play as either Scott or Sarah Ryder, picking their face, look, and backstory before embarking on the Andromeda Initiative. This expedition sees leading explorers and scientists from prominent…

“DID MASS EFFECT KICKSTART THIS SUDDEN, ACROSS-THE-BOARD RISE IN QUALITY, OR JUST COINCIDE WITH IT?” Following the release of Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic in 2003, Bioware had a choice: make a sequel to its sensational sci-fi RPG, or begin developing an entirely new story. It went with the second option. Why follow one space opera with another? The answer is simple: Bioware wanted freedom. The Alberta-based studio yearned for a universe of its own, away from George Lucas’s glare, and while its output since it was founded in 1995 may be divided by time, space, and genre, each title seeks to give players a taste of that same freedom. Just as choice-centric as the likes of Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Jade Empire had been, 2007’s Mass…

“THE ORIGNAL GAME HAD A PRETTY MUCH PERFECT ENDING, AND FANS ARE ALREADY SUBJECTING THIS FOLLOW-UP TO INTENSE SCRUTINY” Format PS4 Publisher Sony Developer Naughty Dog ETA Winter 2018 Ellie’s taking the time to learn how to play the guitar and, as the reveal for this sequel proves, she’s pretty good at it now. In fact, her gentle guitar strumming could almost be relaxing. Then we spy all the bodies that litter the house where she’s playing. As Joel strolls in to find her alive, but bleeding, he asks if she’s “really going to go through with this”. Daft question. From the look on Ellie’s face, it wouldn’t take much provocation for her to garrotte him with a guitar string. Taking place a few years after the end of the…

“THE MUSIC BUILDS AS THOUGH YOU’RE ABOUT TO OPEN A ZELDA CHEST, ONLY THE TREASURE HERE IS A NAZI’S EYE EXPLODING” Format PS4, XO, PC Publisher Rebellion Developer Rebellion ETA 14 February Italy, 1943. Nazi forces previously stationed in North Africa have fled into the Mediterranean because one goon kept killing them from extremely long distances. That goon is Karl Fairburne, and those distances have increased with stages grander than any in the series’ 12-year history. Our hands-on session begins on San Cellini, a secluded island in the south west where British ships keep disappearing. Surveillance has uncovered the development of radio-controlled missiles, which spells death for Churchill’s navy, so he’s sending you in as the tip of the spear. Your mission: dispatch Luftwaffe top brass General Tobias Schmidt, any…

Taking pictures in games can be just as much fun as playing them. Timing that perfect action shot in Uncharted 4 or stopping for a moment to drink in the view in Assassin’s Creed – such joy. The same rules apply as in real-world photography, only the views are far more interesting. Not only does it allow you to appreciate a developer’s craftsmanship, you can let loose with your artistry. Nothing beats a good picture – not even 1,000 words, which we’re told is its exact equal – so let our inspiring shots nudge you towards a career as a videogame photographer. It doesn’t pay well, mind.…

Format PS4, PC Dev Hollow Ponds ETA Spring Web http://bit.ly/gmlootrascals We’ve had a slew of brilliant roguelike announcements for this year. From ‘rolly roguelike’ TumbleSeed to the DNA-shuffling Beacon, there’s never been a better time to be a fan of all things procedurally generated. Luckily for you, Loot Rascals will add to your teetering ‘to play in 2017’ pile. After you crash on a colourful alien planet, the only escape is to battle hordes of strange enemies across the hexagonal-tiled land and pick up cards from their cartoon corpses. But that’s only half the story. Looting enemies will give you loot cards and chips, which will enable you to create your own personal build tailored to your playstyle. Which cards you keep and which ones you destroy are up to…

“THE OVERARCHING PLOT CONTAINS THE FRAMEWORK OF A BRILLIANT BATMAN STORY” Format PS4, XO, PC (reviewed), PS3, 360, Mobile Publisher Telltale Games Developer Telltale Games ETA Out now Players 1 We have to admit that we were starting to doubt, after almost 80 years of comics, films, television shows, games, and more, that there were any new takes left to find on the Caped Crusader. Fortunately, Telltale confidently proves us wrong over the course of this five-episode season, using a few subtle twists to create a remarkably fresh Batman story. The crux of this standalone tale is an accusation of gross corruption made against the Wayne family in the opening instalment. It makes Batman’s past murkier than ever before, allowing Telltale to mine original ideas out of elements as over-familiar…

“YOU – THE REAL-LIFE YOU – ARE PART OF THE GAME, AT TIMES MORE SO THAN ITS MAIN CHARACTER” Format PC Publisher Degica Developer Team Oneshot ETA Out now Players 1 Niko needs to get home, and only a god can help her. Helpfully, that’s you. She’s your messiah and needs your help to guide her, solve the puzzles she can’t, and ultimately decide her fate. She trusts you – but should she? This top-down RPG has a simple premise: help Niko bring light back into the world. To do that you need to take the sun (a bright yellow lightbulb) to the top of the tower that stands at its centre. Along the way you’ll have to solve puzzles and help out this universe’s various inhabitants; one minute you’re…

Format PS4 (reviewed), PC Pub Ubisoft Dev Red Storm Entertainment ETA Out now Players 5-8 When you think of virtual reality you most likely picture one person sitting on their own, rather than a big social experience with loads of players. Ubisoft thinks it also has potential as a multiplayer platform, though, and it’s decided to prove that with one of its first VR efforts. Werewolves Within is a multiplayer game that can only be played by between five and eight characters. There’s no single-player mode to be had here, loners. Set in a spooky medieval village, it’s a take on the classic party game Werewolf, in which some people are werewolves and it’s up to the group to guess who. By chatting with the other players (you’ll need to…

“I BLOW THROUGH PARTS FAST. IT’S EASY TO BLOW THROUGH MY BANK ACCOUNT, TOO” Would you kindly look at this Lego? Despite the fact that there’s no real-life Vigor that enables you to hold Circle to quick build, American tiny-brick master Imagine Rigney has constructed astonishing Bioshock recreations not only of Rapture, but also the floating city of Columbia. And here we were proud to have built last year’s Star Wars advent calendar in the office without accidentally swallowing any of the bits… Rigney has been building with Lego for 17 years. He created a Bioshock Collection piece to celebrate the return of the games in their remastered form for 2K, but he constructed his very first Rapture-related build when he was just a teenager. “I got hold of the…