Table of contents for Issue 267 in Hyper

Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite

It seemed unlikely that another Marvel vs. Capcom game would ever happen. With Disney having bought up the fabled comics publisher, numerous cans of worms had been opened that looked like they would prevent another grand-scale crossover between the two entertainment companies from ever happening again. But against all odds, Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite exists. But if you’re expecting another minor upgrade to the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 formula, you’re in for quite a surprise: Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite is once again shaking up the foundations of tag-team fighting action. Perhaps as a response to criticism of Street Fighter V’s initial lack of single-player content – and a response to the elaborate story mode of the Injustice games – Capcom took great pains to highlight MvCI’s story mode at E3,…

Sea of Thieves

DEVELOPER Rare PUBLISHER Microsoft PLATFORM PC, Xbox One RELEASE DATE 2018 Rare made quite an impression when they announced Sea of Thieves, mostly because of how willing they were to show raw, unscripted footage of gamers enjoying it. Now, after nearly a year of radio silence, they’re back and ready once more to show us why we’ll all want to live the life of a scurvy riddled sea-dog. I was lucky enough to have three other people to play with during my time with the game, and we soon found out that we had to work together to do just about anything. Including getting our ship moving. One of us raised the anchor, another to adjust the sails, a third person got ready to steer, and I headed below deck…

Super Mario Odyssey

DEVELOPER Nintendo EPD PUBLISHER Nintendo PLATFORM Nintendo Switch RELEASE DATE October 27, 2017 Ever since I put down the Joy-Cons and walked away from Super Mario Odyssey, I’ve been thinking about all the things I could have done differently. This is a game bursting with secrets and begging for players to try out their off the wall ideas to see if they work. You can thank Cappy for that feeling. That's the sentient hat worn by Mario that lets him possess different people, enemies, and objects in the world. For example, at one point in an area called the Desert Kingdom, I needed to clear a large gap between two stone towers so I threw Cappy onto a passing Bullet Bill, took over its body, and flew my way to…

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

DEVELOPER Inti Creates PUBLISHER 505 Games PLATFORM PS4, PC, XBone, Vita, Switch RELEASE DATE TBA Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has some serious expectations to live up to. Not just because it’s the brainchild of Koji Igarashi (known to his fans as “IGA”), the brain behind many of Konami’s later Castlevania titles, but because it was one of the most high-profile gaming Kickstarters of recent memory. With other big gaming Kickstarters like Mighty No. 9 and Yooka-Laylee leaving fans cold, there’s understandably a bit of trepidation about how Bloodstained will turn out. Well, good news: it’s coming along, it plays great, and it feels like an IGA Castlevania game through and through. Young Miriam is an average girl living in 18th century England. Well, normal except for the alchemist’s curse…

Monster Hunter World

DEVELOPER Capcom MONSTERS WILL OFTEN TARGET EACH OTHER AND ASSIST IN BATTLE IF THEY ACKNOWLEDGE YOU AS AN ALLY PUBLISHER Capcom PLATFORM PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One RELEASE DATE 2018 Monster Hunter World is a console return for the series, introducing seamless open world environments and a more accessible experience for newcomers. “Monster Hunter has never shown the health bars on the monsters,” director Yuya Tokuda told Glixel. “That’s something you have to understand yourself, by watching the monster’s behaviour or reading a guide.” The UI won’t show a creature’s health but will detail how much damage you deal, making the experience slightly easier to understand. Bowguns are designed like a heavy machine gun in a traditional third-person shooter and you can run by simply clicking the joystick instead of…

The Swords of Ditto

DEVELOPER onebitbeyond “REVIVING AN ALLY IS ANIMATED BY ONE PLAYER RUSHING OVER TOWARDS THE OTHER AND HUGGING THEM TIGHTLY” PUBLISHER Devolver Digital PLATFORM PC, PlayStation 4 RELEASE DATE March 2018 The Swords of Ditto is a micro action RPG inspired by the visual fun aesthetic of Saturday morning cartoons and the puzzle-solving dungeons of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. It’s described by game designer Sam Robinson as a condensed version of a Zelda experience, lasting around three to four hours long. The game is designed with a procedurally generated overworld map, so dungeons, gadgets, even NPCs can be located in randomised spots each run. “Every time you play [or die], the world’s randomised, your character is randomised and you [begin your journey again] stuck on the…

Call of Duty WWII

DEVELOPER Sledgehammer Games “THE MULTIPLAYER MODE WAR IS REMINISCENT OF A MODE FROM WORLD AT WAR, EXCEPT IT NOW FEELS LIKE THE STAR OF THE SHOW” PUBLISHER Activision PLATFORM Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC RELEASE DATE November 3, 2017 It’s no secret that Call of Duty lost some of its shine after the Infinite Warfare and Modern Warfare Remastered debacle. But after spending time with Call of Duty: WWII, it feels taking the series back to its ‘boots on the ground’ roots was just what the series needed. My time with WWII was spent in the multiplayer mode War, which is somewhat reminiscent of a mode by the same name from World at War, except it now feels like the star of the show and not just an also-ran idea.…

A Plague Tale: Innocence

DEVELOPER Asobo PUBLISHER Focus Home Interactive PLATFORM PS4, PC, XBone RELEASE DATE TBA Before we go another further, I must ask: Are you afraid of rats? Does the idea of hundreds of rodents spilling onto the streets, climbing walls, scurrying all over a human body leave you with a cold sweat and a petrifying fear? I ask because after playing A Plague Tale: Innocence, you’ll likely develop a horrible, crippling phobia of rats. In this dark action/adventure game, a young sister and brother in 14th century France, fighting against both the onslaught of the Black Death and the hunters of the Inquisition with little more than makeshift weaponry and their wits. The demo we were shown by developer Asobo was a very small chunk of the game, but it nonetheless…

Final Fantasy Dissidia NT

“CLOUD CHARGES INTO BATTLE SWINGING HIS BELOVED GREATSWORD, KEFKA DANCES AROUND CASTING BLACK MAGIC” DEVELOPER Team Ninja PUBLISHER Square Enix PLATFORM PlayStation 4 RELEASE DATE 2018 Final Fantasy Dissidia NT (New Tale) hosts a nostalgic roster of fighters with deep multi-layered action gameplay. The game features 3v3 PvP battles in 3D semi-destructible environments, pitting some of the series’ most iconic characters against one another. In battle, you have two types of attacks: HP and bravery. HP attacks damage your target’s health but are based on your bravery points, while bravery attacks drain their power - and triggers a staggered “break” status whereby they cannot inflict HP attacks and take extra bravery damage. You can also cast magic, buff and debuff and summon iconic Final Fantasy beings, so there’s a lot…

Need for Speed: Payback

DEVELOPER Ghost Games PUBLISHER EA PLATFORM PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 RELEASE DATE November 10, 2017 Need for Speed: Payback is the unofficial Fast and Furious video game we’ve always wanted. Ghost Games boast a full 24 hour day and night cycle, dynamic lighting and a first for the series: off-road racing. “We have a wider variety of gameplay, including the addition of action missions,” creative director William Ho told IGN. “It’s a nice counterpoint to street racing, so much so that off-road is a key part of the single-player campaign.” The key difference between Payback and earlier Need for speed games is “a shift in focus from racing to action driving.” “I looked to the last Need for Speed as a sharply focused experience,” said Ho. “It just…

Sonic Mania

DEVELOPER Sega PUBLISHER Sega PLATFORM Xbone, PS4, Switch, PC RELEASE DATE August 16, 2017 Sonic is a franchise with a long and storied history, filled with ups, downs, and loop-de-loops – both figurative and literal. While the “modern” 3D Sonics have seen a drastic upswing in quality since the low points of Sonic 2006 and Sonic Unleashed, there’s still been a very vocal part of the Sonic fanbase that insists that the games have never been good in 3D, and that the classic 2D Sonic games on Megadrive will forever be the best Sonics. Well, I hate to break it to them, but once Sonic Mania hits the scene, those old Megadrive titles may no longer be considered the gold standard of classic Sonic gameplay. Sonic Mania is a collaboration…

Life is Strange: Before the Storm

DEVELOPER Deck Nine Games PUBLISHER Square Enix PLATFORM Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC RELEASE DATE August 2017 Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a three-part prequel to the first season of Life is Strange, stripping the player of Max’s supernatural time-travelling powers for a more intimate relatable story. Set three years before the events of Life is Strange, you play as Chloe, Max’s blue-haired edgy best friend before she develops into the teen punk. “We want to explore [the setting of Life is Strange], Arcadia Bay through Chloe’s eyes,” said lead writer Zak Garris. “Chloe sees very differently from Max’s [and] the tone of the game will reflect some of those core differences. “With Max, you could take pictures of things, the perfect example,” he continued. “Fundamentally, it’s a…

Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth

DEVELOPER Atlus PUBLISHER Deep Silver PLATFORM 3DS RELEASE DATE Q4 2017 Though its release history in the PAL territories has been spotty, the Etrian Odyssey series of handheld RPGs has nonetheless won over fans across the globe. It’s not the sort of sweeping JRPG epic with angsty teenagers and threats of world-ending cataclysms: instead, the series focuses on a more old-fashioned experience: the thrill and wonder of exploring vast 3D dungeons step-by-step, the feel of creating your party from scratch and raising them to become fierce warriors, and the triumphant victory/heartbreaking defeat of conquering/getting annihilated by fearsome enemy encounters. With the announcement of Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth at E3, fans of this franchise will once again have the opportunity to discover the wonders of Yggdrasil. Legends say that…

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

DEVELOPER Ubisoft, South Park Digital Studios PUBLISHER Ubisoft PLATFORM PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 RELEASE DATE October 17, 2017 Back in the day I used to never miss an episode of South Park, but now there’s entire season I haven’t seen. I still have a lot of respect for it, but I drifted away from South Park and I’m not really sure why. Yet despite my indifference to the show, I'll happily admit to laughing out loud quite a bit while playing South Park: The Fractured But Whole. Make of that what you will. Fractured ditches the fantasy tropes of the previous game, The Stick of Truth, and instead pokes fun at a more modern theme - superheroes. There’s a civil war going on between Cartman’s team Coon and Friends,…

Star Wars Battlefront 2

In a galaxy not so far away, Star Wars Battlefront 2 is making great strides to respond to fans criticisms. EA President Andrew Wilson commented during EA’s E3 press conference that DICE are actively responding to both positive and negative feedback from the original Battlefront. “When we think about the feedback we focused on most, the first thing is that single player story,” said Producer Craig McLeod. “People said, ‘we love your multiplayer. It’s really great. We’re really happy with it but where’s the story?’” From here, DICE began developing a campaign co-developed by Motive Studios, the team currently working on former Uncharted writer Amy Henning’s and Visceral Games’ Star Wars IP. It follows Iden Versio, the leader of the Inferno Squadron, an elite Special Forces unit in the Galactic…

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Strange Brigade

“EACH MAP COMES RIDDLED WITH DEADLY TRAPS FOR YOU TO LURE ENEMIES INTO” Borrowing heavily from the 1930s adventure serials, Strange Brigade is a four-player cooperative shooter that is best described as Left 4 Dead meets The Mummy. And I mean the lighthearted Brendan Fraser version, not that Tom Cruise rubbish. The game puts you in control of a member of a secret team of adventurers who work for the British government, investigating paranormal activity around the world. Its tongue-in-cheek nature shines through in nearly every aspect, but is perhaps best showcased by the terribly English narrator who calls the action in real-time, though often with a twinge of hyperbole and some very distinct British-isms. “It’s challenging to capture something that will [work] not just in the United Kingdom, but…

Mario And Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions

DEVELOPER Alphadream PUBLISHER Nintendo PLATFORM 3DS RELEASE DATE October 2017 It’s hard to remember a time when Mario didn’t appear in RPGs regularly, but back in 2003, the original Mario and Luigi for Gameboy Advance was a big deal. Joined by his taller, lankier (and some would argue infinitely cooler) younger brother, Mario went on a big adventure to the Beanbean Kingdom. There, a nefarious plot was hatched by the wicked witch Cackletta and her lovable henchman Fawful to conquer both the Beanbean and Mushroom Kingdoms, and the famous Brothers Mario had to put a stop to their ambitions. Ever since the series debuted on the GBA, the Mario and Luigi games have come to be recognised for having some amazing 2D art. While the original GBA Superstar Saga still…

Ni no Kuni 2

DEVELOPER Level-5 PUBLISHER Bandai Namco Entertainment PLATFORM PlayStation 4, PC RELEASE DATE November 10, 2017 Revenant Kingdom tells a story of coming of age, adventure and fantasy through the eyes of a young boy. Evan is the young cat prince of the once peaceful kingdom of cats and mice, Ding Dong Dell. After the death of his father and a coup overthrowing him as rightful heir, Evan is banished and sets out to unify the whole of Ni No Kuni. “In the first game, we witnessed the child leave his mother and grow,” director Akihiro Hino told Polygon. “In the second, there is a similar transition, a coming of age. Our protagonist starts as a young adult who has no leadership skills or experience in a position of a leader.…

Crackdown 3

DEVELOPER Sumo Digital “IF YOU HAVE THREE CO-OP BUDDIES AT LEVEL FIVE THEN YOU COULD TOTALLY GO STRAIGHT FOR THE KINGPIN” PUBLISHER Microsoft Studios PLATFORM PC, Xbox One RELEASE DATE 7th November Crackdown 3 is an explosive sandbox with few restrictions. The game boasts an open world with no invisible walls, extreme draw distance powered by the Xbox One X, and the true freedom to take on any mission at the start of the game. “It’s really a reimagining,” said design director Gareth Wilson. “It doesn’t follow directly from Crackdown 2.” You play as the last surviving agent sent on a mission to uncover a massive global attack on the seats of power, tracing the attacker’s signal back to an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean called New…

Extinction

DEVELOPER Iron Galaxy PUBLISHER Maximum Games PLATFORM PS4, PC, XBone RELEASE DATE TBA You might not be too familiar with developer Iron Galaxy, but if you play fighting games at all, chances are you’ve encountered something they’ve had a hand in. Besides porting the likes of Street Fighter III Third Strike and Darkstalkers Resurrection, they’ve also developed Divekick and have been instrumental in the continued development of Killer Instinct from season two onwards. But Iron Galaxy’s newest project, surprisingly, isn’t a fighting game – in fact, the best way to describe it might be Shadow of the Colossus meets Attack on Titan with a tiny bit of Monster Hunter thrown in for good measure. In the fantasy world of Extinction, mankind is facing a terrifying threat. As kingdoms went to…

Niddhogg 2

DEVELOPER Mark Essen “FREAKISH CARICATURES OF HUMANITY LIKE THE UNHOLY OFFSPRING OF HOMER SIMPSON AND THE RABBIDS” PUBLISHER Devolver Digital PLATFORM PC RELEASE DATE Summer 2017 We now live in a world where people take competitive gaming seriously. League of Legends, Street Fighter, Counterstrike GO, even Rocket League – these games have inspired international competitive scenes. But if there’s any justice on this planet, the glorious, gruesome competitive carnage of Nidhogg 2 would get the same level of recognition as all of these titles, inspiring an enthusiastic eSports community. But even if it doesn’t, it’s still going to be some of the most frenetic and fun one-on-one competitive gaming you’ll ever have the joy of experiencing. The original Nidhogg was an exercise in simplicity, both visually and gameplay-wise. Players took…

Rogue Trooper Redux

DEVELOPER TickTock Games “THE ORIGINAL WAS ONE OF THE FIRST GAMES TO INCLUDE A COVER MECHANIC AND UPGRADE SYSTEM” PUBLISHER Rebellion PLATFORM PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch RELEASE DATE 2017 Rogue Trooper Redux is a remaster of the cult-classic 2006 third-person shooter based on the British 2000 AD comic series. Fans of the comic will recognise a familiar story: you play as Rogue, one of the last genetically engineered super soldiers fighting in the war on Nu Earth. “All the genetically engineered units you’ll meet are from the comic,” said programmer Rich May. “Each of them has a biochip that records their experience in the battlefield and their knowledge. When they die, they live on inside biochips that you can apply to your equipment, with apply names [such…

God Of War

“YOU NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE SON BEING A BURDEN... HIS CORE ROLE IS BEING YOUR STRATEGIC SUPPORT IN COMBAT” DEVELOPER Santa Monica Studio PUBLISHER Sony Interactive Entertainment PLATFORM PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro RELEASE DATE Q1 2018 Coming off the bench for the first time since 2013, the latest God of War may lack a number or subtitle, but it’s definitely not a reboot - it’s an evolution. Building off its established lore, the latest entry in the ongoing saga of Kratos trades in Greek gods for a new take on Norse mythology, giving newcomers a clear entry point while not alienating existing fans. Cory Barlog is in the Creative Director’s chair this time, returning from a long hiatus after finishing up God of War II. Drawing inspiration…

Fire Emblem Warriors

DEVELOPER Omega Force, Team Ninja, Intelligent Systems PUBLISHER Nintendo, Koei Tecmo PLATFORM Nintendo Switch, New Nintendo 3DS RELEASE DATE Q3 2017 Ditching its hardcore strategy roots in favour of pure action, Fire Emblem is the latest video game franchise to get the Warriors treatment. I’m a big fan of the Fire Emblem games, with part of the appeal for me being how every decision matters. They’re games about consequences where allies can be lost forever in battle, so you better make sure you calculate all the risks. Fire Emblem Warriors does away with any notions of consequence in favour of mowing down hundreds of troops that never really pose much of a threat anyway. In short, it’s quite a shift for the Fire Emblem series. EVERYONE’S HERE There’s a good…

WolfensteinII: The New Colossus

DEVELOPER MachineGames PUBLISHER Bethesda PLATFORM PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 RELEASE DATE November 27, 2017 I think a lot of gamers were caught off-guard by how good Wolfenstein: The New Order was when it came out. Developer MachineGames knew exactly what the Wolfenstein series needed when the created The New Order, and proved they could do it again with the follow-up prequel The Old Blood. The big question now is can they do it for a third time in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus? In case you’re out of the loop, it’s the 1960s and the Second World War didn’t end the way it was supposed to. Nazis now rule America, so unless you’re a credit to the Aryan race, you should probably head underground and join the resistance. Fans…

Far Cry 5

“AMERICA. THE LAND OF THE FREE, HOME OF THE BRAVE. AND IT'S MORE THAN A LITTLE FUCKED UP RIGHT NOW.” DEVELOPER Ubisoft Montreal PUBLISHER Ubisoft PLATFORM PC, Xbox One, Xbox One X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro RELEASE DATE February 27, 2018 There I stood in the bright Montana sunshine, staring at the steeple of a white weatherboard church ahead of me, holding a Star-Spangled baseball bat in my hands. I walked forward towards the edge of the hill towards the church and watched as the town below came into view. In the street below men with guns were ranting loudly about salvation to a couple of terrified people who’d forced down onto their knees. It was clear that if I didn’t do something soon these people were dead. It…

Super Lucky’s Tale

DEVELOPER Playful Corp PUBLISHER Microsoft PLATFORM Xbox One, PC RELEASE DATE Nov 7, 2017 The cute mascot platformer is one of the most fondly remembered of genres for those who grew up during the '90s. Nowadays, however, they are exceptionally rare – while a new Mario or Sonic might come along every so often, what few attempts there have been to create new cute character-driven action games have mostly fizzled out. (Even Skylanders, which has been a tent pole for Activision in recent times, was absent from E3 this year.) This is why Super Lucky’s Tale felt so strange when Microsoft unveiled it at their E3 press conference amidst a wave of shooters, racing games, and mature-oriented adventure titles. Super Lucky’s Tale has managed to become a cornerstone of the…

Minit

“ YOU CAN DEFEND YOURSELF WITH A SWORD AND THE WATERING CAN DOES "SOMETHING ELSE” DEVELOPER Jan Willem Nijman, Dominik Johann, Jukio Kallio, Kitty Calis PUBLISHER Devolver Digital PLATFORM PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 RELEASE DATE 2017 Minit is an interesting dungeon crawling adventure with a basic premise: every 60 seconds, you die. You respawn where you begin your adventure, in a wooden house near the beach, and return to exploring. It’s an incredibly unique design choice by a four man team of former AAA developers. Their aim with Minit is to create a simple to play experience with light-hearted pleasant moments that don’t take themselves seriously. “Let’s go in a completely different direction to other games and make a game about being nice to people,” said programmer and…

Call Of Cthulhu

DEVELOPER Cyanide Studio PUBLISHER Focus Home Interactive PLATFORM PC, PS4, Xbox One RELEASE DATE Summer 2017 H.P. Lovecraft’s writing were incredibly influential on the horror genre; Books, film, and games all owe the man a tremendous debt for establishing many of the genre conventions we tend to take for granted. Given how well-regarded his work is, though, it’s somewhat puzzling how few games are based in the universe he helped establish. While Call of Cthulhu is based on the pen-and-paper RPG of the same name, it also marks one of the few times the Lovecraftian mythos has been embodied in game form. Going from the preview session we saw at E3, this will be a hard game to put down – and we don’t know if we’d escape with our…

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Should anyone have been that surprised Ubisoft would team up with Nintendo to make a Mario and Rabbids game? Perhaps it's only in hindsight that it makes a lot of sense. Ubisoft and Nintendo have had a good working relationship for years, but Nintendo letting someone else use Mario shows a lot of trust. Thankfully, Ubisoft has done a bang up job with Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. The simple story takes place in the Mushroom Kingdom after a mysterious portal opened up in the sky and flooded the land with Rabbids. Annoying, chaotic Rabbids. And to set things right Mario teams up with four slightly less insane Rabbids who have dressed up like Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, and even Mario himself. Leading the charge is Beep-0, a Roomba-looking robot who…

Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life

DEVELOPER Sega “EVEN A BADASS LIKE KIRYU CANNOT EVADE THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW FOREVER” PUBLISHER Sega PLATFORM PS4 RELEASE DATE Early 2018 Kiryu Kazuma just can’t seem to escape getting embroiled in the Japanese criminal underworld, no matter how hard he tries. When we last met Kiryu, he was attempting to leave the Yakuza behind and work as a cab driver in Fukuoka, only for his past to catch up with him once again. Alas, even a badass like Kiryu cannot evade the long arm of the law forever, and he was once again imprisoned for three years. But as Kiryu once again re-enters society, he’s immediately given a shock: his foster daughter, Haruka was involved in a serious car accident and is now comatose. Even more of…

Forza Motorsport 7

DEVELOPER Turn 10 “THEY AIM TO DELIVER FULL 4K HD LOCKED AT 60 FRAMES PER SECOND ON PC AND XBOX ONE X ” PUBLISHER Microsoft Studios PLATFORM PC, Xbox One RELEASE DATE October 3, 2017 Forza Motorsport 7 features a sleek visual style and authentic attention to detail. It was unveiled at Microsoft’s conference to showcase the power of the company’s new 4K Xbox One X model. “Forza Motorsport 7 was built from the ground up for PC and the Xbox One X,” creative director Dan Greenawalt told Motorworld Hype. “Those things kind of converge. The Xbox One X is like an incredibly high end gaming PC but is well optimised for console.” Designing for the PC and Xbox One X has allowed the team to introduce a 24 hour…

Project Cars 2

DEVELOPER Slightly Mad Studios PUBLISHER Bandai Namco PLATFORM PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 RELEASE DATE September 22, 2017 In the same way titles like Guilty Gear are designed to appeal to fighting game purists, so too is Project Cars 2 squarely aimed at hardcore digital petrol heads. Designed to replicate what driving actually feels like, not just how we think it should be, Slightly Mad Studios are back with another a challenging racing simulator that doesn't hold your hand. Featuring over 200 licensed cars, Project Cars 2 also has support for VR (Oculus on PC and PlayStation VR being “worked on”), 21:9 aspect ratio, 12K resolution, and triple monitor displays. Obviously most of those features are for PC gamers only - I mean consoles only just started doing the 4K…

Kingdom Come: Deliverance

DEVELOPER Warhorse Studios PUBLISHER Warhorse Studios, Deep Silver PLATFORM PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 RELEASE DATE February 13, 2018 Kingdom Come: Deliverance wants you to not just experience history, it wants you to feel it too. Set in medieval Bohemia (which is now the modern day Czech Republic), Deliverance tells the tale of Henry, son of a blacksmith, whose world is turned upside down when the King of Hungary burns down his village. Now on his own, Henry joins the resistance led by Lord Radzig Kobya, and pledges his life to freeing Bohemia. This may all sound a bit dramatic, but Warhorse is not just drawing inspiration from history, they’re trying to retell it as accurately as possible. The king, the resistance, the war for Bohemia - all of it…

Dragon Ball FighterZ

DEVELOPER Arc System Works PUBLISHER Bandai Namco PLATFORM PC, Xbox One, Xbox One X, PS4, PS4 Pro RELEASE DATE 2018 Ihaven’t watched the Dragon Ball anime series since Cheez TV was on Channel Ten, but even I was blown away by the reveal of Dragon Ball FighterZ. This game looks just like the cartoon - from the character designs, to the over-the-top effects, and even the locations. Everything about FighterZ is incredibly detailed, with the 3D character models being so expertly textured and lit that they appear almost hand drawn. My time with FighterZ was spent playing a three-versus-three format, using a combination of the announced characters - Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Cell, Frieza, and Majin Buu. Attempting to learn a fighting game’s mechanics in one play session is basically an…

Absolver

DEVELOPER Sloclap PUBLISHER Devolver Digital PLATFORM PC, PS4, Xbox One RELEASE DATE August 29, 2017 You play as a masked fighter in the post-cataclysmic world of Adal. Tasked with exploring the decayed environment in search of powerful enemies, you must prove yourself to the rulers of the land and join their elite group of martial artists called absolvers. Combat is fast-paced and inspired by realistic martial arts. You begin understanding the basics of one of three styles, and gradually learn new moves as you encounter fighters using them in battle. Stone pillars found in the world act as fast-travel hubs and bonfires, allowing you to spend resources to unlock new abilities and customise your fighting style from a deck of cards representing fighting moves. “You will be able to use…

Pokkén Tournament DX

DEVELOPER Bandai Namco Studios PUBLISHER Nintendo, The Pokémon Company PLATFORM PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 RELEASE DATE September 22, 2017 The reveal of the original Pokkén Tournament for Japanese arcades was sort of a surprise, but it also made total sense. Pokémon had been beating the crap out of each other ages now, so why not control them directly instead of yelling commands from the sidelines? Clearly the formula caught on, and around 18 months after its initial home console release, Pokkén Tournament is getting an upgrade in the form of Pokkén Tournament DX for the Nintendo Switch. In case you don’t know, Pokkén is a 3D arena fighting game with a roster made up entirely of Pokémon. Players can choose from 21 different fighters to battle, and can also…

Vampyr

“WITHOUT BLOOD TO POWER YOUR VAMPIRIC ABILITIES, YOU'LL BE LEFT SIGNIFICANTLY WEAKER IN THE LONG RUN” DEVELOPER Dontnod PUBLISHER Focus Home Interactive PLATFORM PS4, PC, XBone RELEASE DATE Q4 2017 Immortality actually kinda sucks. I mean, yes, it sucks in that you get to watch everyone you know and love wither away and die time and time again, but when it’s the result of vamprirism, it also sucks in the most literal sense: you must kill to survive. It’s even worse when you’re a doctor, a person sworn to protect lives: the need to consume the lifeforce of others goes against everything you live for. How can you balance your need to live against the precious lives of others, and how will you decide who lives and who dies? This…

Middle- earth: Shadow of War

DEVELOPER Monolith Productions PUBLISHER Warner Bros. Interactive PLATFORM PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 RELEASE DATE October 10, 2017 Though I wrote the cover story for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor for Hyper a few years ago, even I was surprised at how well that game turned out. I mean, I knew it was going to be good, but I don’t think a lot of people knew it was going to be that good. Middle-earth: Shadow of War continues the story of our dead-but-not-dead hero Talion, and the spirit of the elf lord Celebrimbor living inside him. After the two of the defeated Sauron’s physical form, Talion and Celebrimbor forged the Ring of Power in the hopes of using it to overthrow the Dark Lord once and for all. Now the time…

Sonic Forces

DEVELOPER Sonic Team PUBLISHER Sega PLATFORM PS4, PC, XBone, Switch RELEASE DATE Holiday 2017 Things have just become really weird in the Sonic Universe. Yes, even weirder than that one time when Sonic died and had to have a creepy, realistic human woman kiss him to save the world. See, somehow Eggman’s forces appear to have conquered the world, thanks to power bestowed to him through a mysterious being known as Infinite. What’s more, several villains from across Sonic history – Shadow, Metal Sonic, Chaos, and Zavok – have all come back and are working towards the world’s destruction. Things have gotten so out of hand that Sonic’s massive cast of characters have come together to form an organised resistance to Eggman’s armies, and are turning to three heroes for…

Indivisible

“CAREFUL USAGE OF MOVES AND STRATEGISING PAYS OFF” DEVELOPER Lab Zero PUBLISHER 505 Games PLATFORM PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch RELEASE DATE TBA Most indie games are a labour of love to some degree, but Indivisible from Lab Zero games is a title that its creators have very clearly poured their hearts into. After wowing the fighting game world with the stunningly hand-drawn visuals and polished fighting engine of Skullgirls, the team decided to make their next game a 2D action/RPG with a bit of inspiration from classics like Castlevania and Valkyrie Profile. The result is a game with very distinct visual and gameplay style that feels like a real breath of fresh air. Indivisible follows Ajna, a young girl and martial artist who has awakened to mysterious powers after…

Songbringer

DEVELOPER Wizard Fu Games PUBLISHER Wizard Fu Games PLATFORM PC, PS4, Xbox One RELEASE DATE Winter 2017 Songbringer is an indie Kickstarter success story that’s been some time in the making. Pitched as a procedurally generated Zelda-style game that challenges your ability to explore and adapt, it was modestly funded in 2015 and has been in a beta stage for a while. As the game wraps up its development and expands out to more platforms, it’s shaped up to looks like a fantastic time for anyone looking for a roguelike that’s easy to get into, challenging… and just a little bit weird. Roq, the game’s hero, is described as a “carefree dude” who’s on an epic quest to… well, he more or less stumbled onto this sweet-ass sword on a…

The Darwin Project

DEVELOPER Scavengers Studio PUBLISHER Scavengers Studio PLATFORM Xbox One X RELEASE DATE Q1 2018 The Darwin Project is a PvP survival game combining battle royales, investigation and Darwin’s survival of the fittest. Six players begin in separate locations in a hexagonal shaped map, and need to scavenge resources, craft equipment and hunt others to be the last person standing. Players need to manage their health, cold and hunger, too. Crafting and scavenging resources leaves a footprint in the snow, which adds an intricate risk reward mechanic that according to lead designer Keane Tan, makes combat more streamlined for casual play without sacrificing engaging strategy. “People don’t really stay in one spot, they’ll keep moving,” he said. “That’s part of the Manhunt. You leave behind a clue and you know that…