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PLAY|January 2020WelcomeThe release of PlayStation 5 is getting closer – we’re only ten months away! But between now and the next console generation are some of the best games you’ll ever play, so don’t pack away your PS4 just yet. Starting on p28 we preview over 72 of the hottest games coming in 2020, including new info, impressions, and interviews for The Last Of Us Part II, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Cyberpunk 2077. We’re celebrating with four covers by artist David Nakayama – which one did you get?As we usher in a new year, and a new decade, it’s also time to take stock. On p6 you can discover our Games Of The Decade, and on p70 you can find OPM readers’ Game Of The Year. Did your favourite make…1 min
PLAY|January 202002 Guerrilla co-founder is Mr WorldwideCompany shuffles aren’t always a bad thing. Some of the recent changes at Sony only hammer home the company’s fundamental dedication to games. These moves include Guerrilla Games’ Hermen Hulst being promoted to head of Worldwide Studios (Sony’s amazing suite of talented first-party developers), and former head and Sony veteran Shuhei Yoshida moving to spearhead a “new initiative” to work more closely with independent developers.“I AM BEYOND EXCITED TO LEAD SUCH A TALENTED TEAM.”A press release issued by Sony makes clear the long history Guerrilla Games has shared with PlayStation. The development studio had a very friendly relationship with PlayStation even before it was purchased by Sony in 2005. “I have worked closely with PlayStation and the entire Worldwide Studios family since 2001,” says Hulst. “I have the utmost respect…2 min
PLAY|January 202005 25 years later… we get a sequelThe latest entry in the legendary side-scrolling fighter series Streets Of Rage is resolutely retro in spirit and application. And that’s deliberate. “The common mistake is […] trying to add too many of today’s trends. You don’t need to implement RPG mechanics, you don’t want to over-modernise the game,” says designer Jordi Asensio.Though it’s been 25 years since Streets Of Rage 3 launched, this made-for-PS4 sequel feels like it’s been buried since 1994. The hand-drawn, hand-animated visuals sell the look, but it’s the combination of retro music and gameplay designed as it would have been in the 16-bit era that combines to make this a blast from the past fans will adore.Promising new characters and special combo moves but guaranteeing to feel old, Streets Of Rage 4 is out 2020.Watch…1 min
PLAY|January 2020info patches update your brainRAIN DEADA Death Stranding fan created a custom Instagram filter that allows you to create some moody shots that feel straight out of the game. It adds a rain effect, inky smudges that drip from your eyes, and an Odradek scanner at your shoulder. Check it out yourself at bit.ly/opm-dsgram.LOOK, DON’T TOUCHJapanese glasses brand Megane Ichiba is celebrating 15 years of Monster Hunter with seven pairs of glasses designed in the style of key franchise monsters. Rathalos, Fatalis, Nargacuga, Tigrex, Zinogre, Brachydios, and Velkhana are all represented and come with a case and cloth. Yours for ¥16,500 (£120).FIVE IN HANDPatents aren’t always concrete, but this new image from the Japanese patent office might suggest what PS5’s DualShock might look like. More rounded, it looks like it will fit snugly in…1 min
PLAY|January 202009 A Days Gone sequel is teasedAfter picking up trophies for Best Narrative and PlayStation Game Of The Year for Days Gone at November’s Golden Joystick Awards, the team behind the open world survival-horror adventure got very excited. When asked what’s next the game’s studio director, Chris Reese, told us enthusiatically: “I would love to see more and see how it unfolds, absolutely, yeah…”“I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE AND SEE HOW IT UNFOLDS.”Though Days Gone received mixed reviews (we loved it and scored it 9/10 in OPM#162, mind) the game found a passionate audience and sales have been good. A summer of free DLC, including a Crazy-Taxi-style minigame in which Deacon St John must ferry survivors to safety past Freakers, proved a novel approach for Sony.“It is certainly a passion of ours, and that’s what…1 min
PLAY|January 2020“DEATH STRANDING PROVES WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS IF THEY DON’T FALL INTO PRESCRIBED BOXES.”Whether you liked, loved, hated, or were indifferent to Death Stranding is irrelevant, really. Me? I thought it was a game surprisingly accurate at replicating a significant-if-mundane part of my childhood, one spent delivering errands for a disabled mum around a South Yorkshire pit village. At times my mind shifted to the memory of my beloved six-gear mountain bike, ultimately torn away from me by a horrible scrote as I foolishly left it outside the fish and chip shop. I’m over it. Really I am.Almost two months from release, it’s preposterous to be talking about Death Stranding’s legacy. Nobody would have asked Stanley Kubrick what 2001: A Space Odyssey meant for the cinematic medium a month after release. Fifty years on, Paul McCartney still fields questions about the inner workings…3 min
PLAY|January 2020Coffee1 DEAD RISING REMASTEREDThere’s nothing like a caffeinated beverage to stave off the zombie apocalypse. Weirdly, Dead Rising’s coffee creamer is marked ‘chocolate milk’ if you look closely… which we guess explains the Cadbury’s colour. Still, one glug and this drink will cure Frank West’s coffin-dodging blues.2 WOLFENSTEIN: THE NEW ORDERFolk will always need a caffeine fix… even when they’re evil, fictional Nazis. Nasty Frau Engel delights in making Blaz squirm in a scene that starts with BJ delivering coffee to her and her son, then ends with a demented card game where your every decision is judged. At least the java looks hot.3 INFAMOUS: SECOND SONSearching for the best mocha in Seattle? Look no further. InFamous: Second Son’s Latte Owl has caffeine-seekers covered no matter the time of day.…2 min
PLAY|January 2020THE LAST OF US PART II“STACK UNLOCKS TO CREATE NEW AND UNIQUE VARIANTS ON ELLIE’S SKILL SET.”Format PS4 ETA 29 May Pub Sony Dev Naughty DogThis sequel is going to be big. So big it needed one more short delay to polish the details, but we’ll give Naughty Dog the time; it’s in the developer’s DNA. Where the original game was a fairly narrow adventure that rarely strayed away from Joel and Ellie’s story, The Last Of Us Part II looks to have broader narrative strokes. The world is larger, and alive.The surviving humans have begun to rebuild society. Camps have become towns, and there’s a semblance of normality in Ellie’s life – previous gameplay teases have shown us the warmth of this new world as she dances with her girlfriend, Dina.Outside those walls it’s…3 min
PLAY|January 2020CYBERPUNK 2077Format PS4 ETA 16 Apr Pub CD Projekt Dev CD Projekt RedBeautiful symmetry: the game based on Mike Pondsmith’s tabletop RPG Cyberpunk 2020 is going to be releasing in that very same real-life year, though with the setting shifted forward a positively futuristic 57 years (picking up some threads from the original setting). Given the dev’s The Witcher 3 credentials, we fully expect CD Projekt Red’s take on the neon-’80s gritty projection of the future to be massive and sweeping, packed to the brim with story quests and different ways to spec your character.Taking place within the densely inhabited walls of Night City (and its outskirts), you play as V, a mercenary who you can customise however you want. Not only does that cover things like their body and hairstyle,…3 min
PLAY|January 2020VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE – BLOODLINES 2Format PS4 ETA 2020 Pub Paradox Interactive Dev Hardsuit LabsWe want you to feel like a vampire in everything that you’re doing,” says Hardsuit Labs’ narrative lead, Brian Mitsoda. He admits, “[The first Bloodlines felt] kind of more like an FPS where you occasionally drink blood for fuel.” This time, he says, “The violence of the vampire is more reflected in how you approach combat.”The veteran developer continues, “[That’s] not just represented in your disciplines but [also] your speed in combat [and] your ability to scale buildings this time and using heights for getting the drop on an enemy or a target that you want to feed on.”FAIR-WEATHER FANGSPacifism isn’t an option for your fledgling vampire. “Dale is what happens if you’re a vampire that doesn’t want to really do…4 min
PLAY|January 2020NIOH 2Format PS4 ETA 13 Mar Pub Koei Tecmo Dev Team Ninja2017’s Nioh was a pleasant surprise, offering Dark-Souls-inspired combat in Sengoku-period Japan, infused with magic and fantasy. Nioh 2 feels like everything a followup could and should be (set before the first game, it’s a prequel of sorts).“WE SUMMON A HAMMER, BRINGING IT DOWN ON OUR UNSUSPECTING FOE.”Our hands-on sees our new, customisable half-demon protagonist making his way through a village, dispatching impish creatures with relative ease – although just as in FromSoftware’s soulsborne games, any enemy you encounter will prove startlingly dangerous if you don’t keep your distance.SWORDS AND SORCERYYou can see Team Ninja’s Ninja Gaiden DNA here – cherry blossoms fall delicately from trees, while stone walls give way to bamboo structures, and it all looks exceptional in…5 min
PLAY|January 2020DYING LIGHT 2Format PS4 ETA Summer 2020 Pub Techland Publishing Dev TechlandThis zombie post-apocalypse doesn’t just use a span of 15 years to set itself apart from its predecessor. In this sequel, you take on the defined calf muscles of new, infected protagonist Aiden Caldwell as he parkours across a city waiting to be shaped by your choices.You’ll be clambering, wall-running and grapple-hooking your way through the city using almost twice as many parkour manoeuvres as you could in the last game. You can even use the infected to break a steep fall.The zombies themselves tend to prefer the night and the darkest corners of the city. They’re not as easily avoided this time round, and if you spend too long surrounded by them in dark areas the situation can become perilous…2 min
PLAY|January 2020DIABLO IVFormat PS4 ETA 2020 Pub Blizzard Dev BlizzardThe granddaddy of loot’em-ups is returning, and it’s learned a few tricks from the kids. On the surface Diablo IV looks like Diablo III with a new grimdark makeover, but this sequel is embracing MMO elements to bring it into line with the likes of Destiny and The Division.The game will be always-online and the world will be populated by other players keen to team up with you – though some will be ready to steal your loot in a new PvP addition to the series.“THE WORLD WILL BE POPULATED BY OTHER PLAYERS TO TEAM UP WITH.”There’s some balancing to be done to maintain Diablo’s sense of isolation, that feeling of exploring a dangerous fantasy world alone with only your massive hammer, beard,…2 min
PLAY|January 2020WATCH DOGS LEGIONFormat PS4 ETA 2020 Pub Ubisoft Toronto Dev UbisoftPerhaps it’s fitting that Ubisoft’s Brexit simulator has been delayed. But while we’re still none the wiser as to what our actual future holds, Legion’s dystopian vision of London is more certain. In this timeline, Brexit was done and dusted by March 2019. An advanced surveillance state has arisen in its wake, powered by series big bad the Blume corporation and its tech, ctOS. The Metropolitan police have cleared off but private security company Albion has taken their place, leaving citizens with an especially raw deal. However, hacker collective DedSec is here too – and it’s your task to expand it.“THE BRITISH CAPITAL IS FULL OF PEOPLE, EACH ONE A POSSIBLE RECRUIT.”The British capital is full of people, each one a possible…3 min
PLAY|January 2020MARVEL’S AVENGERSFormat PS4 ETA 15 May Pub Square Enix Dev Crystal DynamicsYou can’t often say that one of next year’s biggest releases might also be the biggest of the following year. But that’s the kind of juggernaut Crystal Dynamics is building. The studio’s focussed on building not just a single great Avengers adventure, but a platform on which many adventures will take place. All these ongoing updates, which we’ve been told could be even be supported for years, will be free, adding even more heroes and stories to the game. (So far only premium costumes have been touted as extra content that you have to purchase.)The story, as it’s been revealed so far, centres on six superheroes: the core Avengers team most of us are familiar with (Iron Man, Captain America,…3 min
PLAY|January 2020TEAM PICKSIAN DEANEDITORMARVEL’S AVENGERSFor someone who’s been a lifelong comic nut I need to play Marvel’s Avengers. Through Ms. Marvel’s eyes we’ll remeet Iron Man, Cap, Hulk, Black Widow, and Thor as she gets the team back together. A Destiny-inspired action RPG set across multiple locations, sprinkled with cameos from Marvel’s comics, free DLC, and a multi-year story arc? Oh go on then, sign me up.MILFORD COPPOCKMANAGING ART EDITORTHE LAST OF US PART IIAn obvious choice it may be, but I really can’t wait to see what Naughty Dog has come up with this time. Admittedly the trailers so far do look increasingly bleak for Ellie, Joel, and co, but I can’t help but think it will, er… all work out for the best in the end! Come on Naughty Dog,…2 min
PLAY|January 2020ODDWORLD: SOULSTORMFormat PS4 ETA 2020 Pub TBC Dev Oddworld InhabitantsDescribed as a ‘retake’ of Abe’s Exoddus, with Soulstorm Oddworld Inhabitants hopes to get the quintology back on track. It follows 2014’s New ‘N’ Tasty, itself a reimagining of PlayStation 1 platformer Abe’s Oddysee, and is intended to be a true continuation of Abe’s journey as he becomes the leader of a revolution.Of course, one Mudokon does not a revolution make. You once again recruit a horde of followers to traipse after you, though this time around they’re useful for more than determining which ending you get. These ones can fight back. In our time with a demo, we saw our amassed Mudokons hurling an array of flammable craftables at armed Sligs that would have annihilated Abe had he gone it alone.But…3 min
PLAY|January 2020OPM SCORESGOLD AWARDAwarded to a game that’s brilliantly executed on every level, combining significant innovation, near-flawless gameplay, great graphics and lasting appeal.EDITOR’S AWARDNot at the very highest echelon, but this is a game that deserves recognition and special praise based on its ambition, innovation or other notable achievement.10 INCREDIBLEThe kind of phenomenal experience rarely seen in a console generation.9 OUTSTANDINGUnreservedly brilliant – this should be in every collection.8 VERY GOODA truly excellent game, marred by just a few minor issues.7 GOODA great concept unfulfilled or the familiar done well, but still well worth playing.6 DECENTFun in parts, flawed in others, but more right than wrong.5 AVERAGEWhat you expect and little more, this is for devotees only.4 BELOW AVERAGEAny bright ideas are drowning in a sea of bugs or mediocrity.3 POORA seriously…1 min
PLAY|January 2020SHENMUE IIIPromises are important. Back in 1999, after his father was murdered in front of him in his family dojo, Ryo Hazuki swore to avenge his parent. In 2015, it was a vow unfulfilled, the epic saga having stalled after the 2001 follow-up, but creator Yu Suzuki made a promise of his own in exchange for Kickstarter backers. The third game would be finished as originally intended. Now it’s released, we can confirm it’s a promise Suzuki has kept, and kept well.So a fair warning: this game is not really intended for those who aren’t already on board with Shenmue as a series. It’s been developed in line with the original design sensibilities. Just as the story continues straight on all these years later from the very last scene in Shenmue…4 min
PLAY|January 2020AFTERPARTYThere are lots of similarities between Earth and Hell in Afterparty, which might say more about our own existence than the fire-and-brimstone one inhabited by demons and tormented souls. Yes, those who find themselves in the bad place have to deal with eternal torment, but only as part of the 9-to-5 to give their torturers a break. Outside the workplace, humans and demons share drinks, and party long into Hell’s night.Recent college graduates Lola and Milo unfortunately find themselves graduating life too, entering into Hell together due to their untimely deaths being linked. Narrowly missing sentencing as they turn up late, they’re granted one free night in Hell, and end up pursuing a loophole they hear about – outdrink Satan in a drinking game, and he’ll let you go back…1 min
PLAY|January 2020NEED FOR SPEED: HEATThe Need For Speed series has always been at its most ebullient when the streetlights are on and the sirens are flashing, and Heat embraces this front and centre. But modernity insists focussing on the thrill of the chase alone in 2019 would be too narrow. So Heat gives you a choice between gameplay styles – and the result is literally night and day.If you want to go and cause trouble with the cops and then try to lose them and bank your newly-earned street rep, just select ‘Night’ before setting out. After dark, they’re hot on the heels of miscreants. If you’d prefer to go exploring and do all the usual Burnout Paradise-style billboard smashes, stunt jumps, speed traps, and collectible hunting, you can go out during the day…4 min
PLAY|January 2020VALFARISEery time I find and collect a new weapon my on-screen hero enters a state of gun-happy euphoria. The screen explodes, shakes, and pulsates violently, and in the middle of the psychedelic lightshow a tiny figure bangs his head to the chugging riffs engulfing my speakers. Hair flailing, music raging, new gun in hand, this is a shooter that’s happy to wallow in its absurdity. And I want to play so much more…It’s Flash Gordon riding a hoverbike against a wall of lasers as Queen’s power chords crash out of the screen; it’s Spinal Tap’s hilariously tiny Stonehenge; two friends headbanging to Bohemian Rhapsody; a gooey Galaxy Of Terrors demanding to be blasted. Valfaris is the feeling of all of these things wrapped in a tailored take on classic 16-bit…2 min
PLAY|January 2020SID MEIER’S CIVILIZATION VIDo you ever look at politicians on the news and think, ‘I could do better’? Then you’re a little weird and need a virtual power trip. We’re in the realm of empire building, of taking a group of tiny humans huddled by a campfire to the heady heights of becoming a global superpower.A legend on PC, turn-based strategy sim Civilisation VI finally, ahem, turns to the PS4 to spread its reach. It’s a game where megalomania is a good thing, but in this edition staying on top is harder than ever.It ticks all the boxes you could want from a tactical world-builder: there are both single-player and multiplayer modes. The music is just the right side of grating.1 The core loop has you gathering resources to upgrade your civilisation’s skills,…2 min
PLAY|January 2020WHAT WE’RE PLAYING NOWFINAL FANTASY XIVJess Kinghorn’s latest Eorzean postcardYou can pry this nerd from Final Fantasy XIV’s cold, dead hands: I’ve resubscribed and my newbie sprout has bloomed into a returner flower, taking in the bioluminescent plant life of Raincatcher Gully. As I trot between quests and gentle giant Goobbues on my recently acquired Ahriman mount it’s hard to resist the area’s Ghibli-esque charms. But in between obligatory Gpose photo shoots and snagging a rare vintage from Wineport, I can’t shake the sense of dread emanating from the shard of Dalamud just yonder...FORTNITE CHAPTER 2Can Oscar Taylor-Kent turn the page on his Fortnite career?New Fortnite, new me. Jumping out of the battle bus and into this overhaul of the battle royale behemoth feels like a fresh start. Until, getting confused because the…1 min
PLAY|January 2020GridThere’s a lot to be said for a simple, accessible online racer and Grid is delightfully easy to get into. Quick Race gives you a three-stage mini championship, and private matches go up to five. Collisions are solid and pleasantly survivable, and the racing is close and enjoyable, though it all seems to play out on the same few circuits. Computer cars fill empty grid slots, but oddly the AI can suffer from lag, so someone is clearly hosting everything. Rep earned carries over to your offline level, but otherwise there’s no consequence to victory or failure besides your own pride. The lobby’s waiting area sees you driving around the original’s Demolition Derby track (albeit without the jump), sadly highlighting what could have been.VERDICTGrid online is instantly playable and fiercely…1 min
PLAY|January 2020How to… Make it rain in Dreams“RAIN CAN ADD ATMOSPHERE – PEACEFUL OR MELANCHOLY – TO YOUR SCENE IF IT’S DONE RIGHT.”Welcome to another instalment in our Dreams tutorial series. In this episode we’re talking about weather effects, specifically rain. Rain can add a lot of atmosphere to your scene – peaceful, refreshing, or melancholy – if it’s done right. It’s a game of balance, though, and the effect can get distracting and weaken the overall impact of your scene if it’s overdone.The technique we’ll use in the tutorial can easily be tweaked and modified, and once you master it, other effects (such as sparks, smoke, and fire) should be less daunting to explore on your own. They’re all based on the same principle of manipulating brush strokes, fleck types, fleck spacing, fleck effects and so…1 min
PLAY|January 2020ALSO ON PSNATELIER RYZA – LENT’S STORY: TRUE STRENGTHSee the story from a new perspective playing as Lent, the party’s fighter, instead of Ryza. There’s no voice acting, mind.MONKEY KING: HERO IS BACK – UPROAR IN HEAVENBefore the game, Monkey had his awesome powers sealed by the gods. In this DLC, you get to play through those events.SAMURAI SHODOWN – KAZAMA KAZUKIBring the heat with this fighter who can use ninjutsu to control flames. Using fire as well as his sword, he’s quite the explosive opponent.JURASSIC WORLD EVOLUTION – RAPTOR SQUAD SKINSWith this DLC you can develop velociraptor skins based on the movie’s raptor squad. No Chris Pratt lookalikes.TRAILS OF COLD STEEL III – JUNA’S ‘LLOYD BANNINGS’ COSTUMEResurrect Trails From Zero’s SSD Inspector with this free outfit for the party’s resident Crossbell…1 min
PLAY|January 2020THE MONTH IN… EVENTSAfter we’d claimed all the STARS badges we could carry we thought we were done with monster hunting. But then out of the ice came a PS4-exclusive crossover with Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds.One of the first-ever crossover events for Monster Hunter: World was with Horizon Zero Dawn, and it was great to see the two coming together again. It was a match made in heaven. After all, what better game to meld with MHW’s snowy Iceborne than HZD’s Frozen Wilds DLC? The Into The Frozen Wilds event quest started in November, but you can find it on the quest board till 10 Jan 2020. Get on it. ‘Tis the giving season, after all, and what’s better than Aloy herself leaving you a Stormslinger Prototype under the tree?Meanwhile, we…1 min
PLAY|January 2020Rick And Morty S4Despite possessing a notoriously terrible fanbase (if you want to despair for humanity, google “Rick And Morty Szechuan sauce”), Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon’s misanthropic adults-only ’toon is as wildly entertaining and inventive as ever, some two-and-a-half years after the show was last on the air.New to Rick And Morty? Imagine if Back To The Future’s Marty and Doc Brown went on time-travelling adventures with plots as immature as they are ingenious. Rick is a narcissistic asshole with a god complex, Morty is his put-upon grandson. Once, Rick got turned into an OP pickle. That covers it.Season four starts strongly with the Edge-Of-Tomorrow-spoofing “Edge Of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat”, a textbook slice of Rick And Morty madness as Rick dies over and over again, with horribly escalating consequences. The second…1 min
PLAY|January 2020OPM TIME MACHINE 5 YEARS AGO1 min
PLAY|January 2020Alternative picksPICK #1DONUT COUNTYJess Kinghorn’s (w)hole world of mischiefAll raccoon doughnut delivery boy BK wants is a quadcopter, and he’s not above hoovering up the entire dang county to earn enough points in his app to get it. Sporting obvious influence from Katamari Damacy, this cute physics puzzler has more on its mind than its hole hoovering action would lead you to suspect. This, its to-the-point play time, and generally chill vibe makes it a snack you’ll want to treat yourself to.PICK #2PUYO PUYO TETRISBlock-head Oscar Taylor-Kent feels bubblyCombining two puzzle games into one experience initially raised some red-puyo flags. But somehow it works. Both the core Puyo and Tetris games are represented, but care has been taken with the mixed styles of play – Swap is a mad dash, switching…1 min
PLAY|January 2020There’s snow hopeFORMAT PS3 / PUB SONY / DEV INSOMNIAC GAMES / RELEASED 2011 / SCORE 8/10The long and winding road has led you to New York. You’ve fought demons – internal and real, human and alien – and discovered maybe, perhaps, humanity isn’t worth saving after all. But you want your wife and child to survive, and for them you plough on into New York’s snowy canyons.Tonally Resistance 3 has more in common with The Last Of Us than it does the previous me-too shooters, and it’s here in the final moments, as you reach New York, that the game throws a late gut-punch your way. The Chimera horde at the terraforming plant is too great for one lone wolf, and without the genius of Dr Fyodor Malikov, who died earlier…2 min
PLAY|January 2020THIS MONTH’S NEW YEAR’S DISHONOURABLESOscar Taylor-KentGAMES EDITORAfter finishing Shenmue III, the 20-years-in-the-making sequel (p84), Oscar realised to be this good really does take Ages.GAME OF THE MONTHShenmue IIIGAME OF THE YEARAI: The Somnium FilesJess KinghornSTAFF WRITERJess loves dressing up as a fancy vampire-witch. She also loves Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. Gaming life imitates LARP.GAME OF THE MONTHLast LabyrinthGAME OF THE YEARSongbird SymphonyMiriam McDonaldOPERATIONS EDITORMim’s been party-cularly busy this month arranging the OPM seasonal parties. She’s been taking things back to boozeics.GAME OF THE MONTHAfterpartyGAME OF THE YEARDragon Quest Builders 2Milford CoppockMANAGING ART EDITORNow Death Stranding is out Milf’s looking for 2020’s strand game to puzzle over. It’s a tough ask, as there’s knot a lot of them.GAME OF THE MONTHStar Wars Jedi: Fallen OrderGAME OF THE YEARControl…1 min
PLAY|January 202003 New contract for Agent 47If our favourite numbered assassin kept a small notebook of his favourite kills, there’s little doubt that it’d mostly be full of his escapades from his last two games. 2016’s Hitman and 2018’s Hitman 2 were phenomenal back-to-basics approaches to the series, filled with sandbox levels bursting with creative possibilities to commit bloody (and silent) murder. And now, IO Interactive has confirmed a brand-new Hitman game is in the works.“WE’RE MOVING MORE AND MORE OF THE HITMAN 2 TEAM TO JOIN THE NEXT HITMAN.”While Hitman 2 wasn’t constructed as an episodic game like its predecessor, IO Interactive has continued to add extra levels and content post-release. But “after 13 months of full-time support and content for Hitman 2,” the company says in an update on its website, “we’re now at…2 min
PLAY|January 2020number game we do the maths1900 Grams: FFVII Remake’s Cloud and Hardy Daytona 1st Edition pre-order models.40 Characters in Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. That’s a lot of fists.14,169,600 Seconds from reading this UK edition of OPM to playing The Last Of Us Part II.1983 The year Shenmue III’s Yu Suzuki joined Sega and released his first game.07 Games in the Crash + Spyro Triple Play Bundle – you really, really need this.115,000,000 Copies of GTA V have been sold since launch in 2013. It’s sold 5m since May.400 Dollars for the Destroy All Humans! Crypto-137 Edition – with a backpack.$99.99 To buy the four-disc, 40-track Tetris Effect vinyl by Limited Run Games.…1 min
PLAY|January 202007 Will Ryu be our valentine?Something very special for you and your player two is releasing this upcoming Valentine’s day: Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. Collecting together everything from the original release, the Arcade Edition, and a boatload of DLC, this is a fighter with an heavyweight amount of content.“200 COSTUMES AND 34 STAGES AS WELL AS A ROSTER OF 40 FIGHTERS ARE ALL PRESENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR.”But it won’t quite contain everything released for SFV. The notable exclusions are the brand collaboration and Fighting Chance costumes, and the Capcom Pro Tour DLC. We don’t imagine their omission will be a deal breaker for many people, given that 200 costumes and 34 stages as well as a roster of 40 fighters are all present and accounted for. This edition also heralds the return of Gill,…2 min
PLAY|January 2020instant opinion strong vs wrongWE’RE GOLDENTeam OPM attended the Golden Joystick Awards and between drinks and nibbles rubbed shoulders with gaming legend Yu Suzuki and the Days Gone team. What a night!BROTHERLY LOVERebellion has bought the portfolio of ‘90s game developer The Bitmap Brothers. We can’t wait for Speedball to make a brutal comeback on PlayStation in 2020.SHEN-MOREShenmue III is finally out after a 20-year wait, so when’s Shenmue IV coming? Time to petition for a sequel; Yu Suzuki has said he’ll “never give up” wanting to finish the epic five-part story.SONIC MANIAThe latest Sonic The Hedgehog movie trailer shows a far more game-like version of the Blue Blur. But was it all a marketing ploy to get us excited for the film?BIO-WORN OUTA new Mass Effect game is in development at BioWare, but…1 min
PLAY|January 2020“I’M ON THE FENCE WITH AN AI ASSISTANT – COULD THIS REALLY BE PS5’S GAME-CHANGER?”Rumours of an Alexa style AI my-little-helper heading to PlayStation 5 have me questioning how far I want technology and games to intersect. Do you really want your PS5’s DualShock listening in to your conversations as you play? Or suggesting you order some tins of Monster Energy because you’ve been playing Death Stranding for far too long without hydrating on sugar and caffeine. Me? I’m hesitantly in favour of the tech.The patent filed by Sony for an AI assistant that may or may not be heading to PlayStation 5 will aim “to provide psychological and informational support to the player”. Does this mean I’ll get a call from the Samaritans after an extended afternoon of playing PES and shouting “I can’t take it any more!” at the controller? Whether it’s…2 min
PLAY|January 2020FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKEFormat PS4 ETA 3 Mar Pub Square Enix Dev Square EnixNext year marks 23 years since Final Fantasy VII released on PS1, changing what JRPGs could be. It told a mature story through the mechanics we’d come to love in previous games in the genre, with a cinematic flair that could only be accomplished on the newest hardware. It was a literal game changer. In 2020, Final Fantasy VII Remake will accomplish the same by reimagining the story for a new generation, bringing the Midgar portion of the original to life once more.While it was impressive before, on PS4 the tiered city of Midgar is grittier and more believable than ever, its sprawling alleys teasing new stories and secrets we haven’t seen previously. It’s technologically advanced, and powered by Mako,…6 min
PLAY|January 2020ALSO HITTING PS4BOUNDARYFormat PS4 ETA March Pub Huya Dev Surgical ScalpelsWe emerge through the space station’s solar panels like a submarine breaching the ocean’s surface, and as the glass glitters in the sun’s rays our rival is taken by surprise. Two shots is all it takes. There’s no up or down in zero-G shooter Boundary, and it ensures we’re learning new tactics with every round. It’s more than Call Of Duty in space; the weapons and upgrades are tailored to orbital combat and offer novel ways to play – such as ’floating’ medikits to teammates. Boundary will be one of 2020’s hits.DISINTEGRATIONFormat PS4 ETA TBC Pub Private Division Dev V1 InteractiveThis game is nothing like you expect as it’s a) not a The-Cure-based adventure and b) not strictly a first-person shooter. What…1 min
PLAY|January 2020ALSO HITTING PS4HUMANITYFormat PS4, PS VR ETA 2020 Pub Tha Ltd Dev EnhanceTetris Effect, Enhance’s last game, was a deeply human experience. This quality carries over in Humanity, a game all about following the crowd – one of hundreds and hundreds of people. Lo-fi renditions of people walk around, following each other to create dense, ant-like traffic, over narrow bridges in the sky, changing direction at large floating arrows, and clashing against others dressed in black going the wrong way. Expect this beautiful puzzler to be meditative.PROJECT SAKURA WARSFormat PS4 ETA Q2 2020 Pub Sega Dev SegaWhat if 1940s Japan had had robot mechs piloted by women? As alt-history goes, it’s a unique premise, and one that’s finally returning – the last Sakura Wars game came out 15 years ago on PS2.…1 min
PLAY|January 2020GHOST OF TSUSHIMA“THE COMBAT IS SO GROUNDED IT’S DOWNRIGHT MUDDY.”Format PS4 ETA 2020 Pub Sony Dev Sucker Punch ProductionsThink of Sucker Punch Productions and you’ll immediately think of games such as the colourful and cartoony Sly Cooper Trilogy, or its edgier, flashy superhero saga InFamous. Ghost of Tsushima, by comparison, is reined in, but no less dripping with the creativity we’ve all come to expect from this first-party studio.Set during the 1274 Mongol invasion of Tsushima, an island between mainland Japan and Korea, the game builds on the experience Sucker Punch already has in creating open worlds that sparkle with opportunity. Playing as the island’s last remaining samurai, Jin Sakai, where you go and what you do is in your hands. The map doesn’t have waypoints, but unfolds based on where you…2 min
PLAY|January 2020DOOM ETERNALFormat PS4 ETA 20 Mar Pub Bethesda Softworks Dev Id SoftwareLast time we played this hellish shooter it was still slated for a 2019 release and felt perfectly polished. 2016’s Doom returned the series to its roots, fully embracing the push-forward run-and-gun style of fighting that people loved about the original game, eschewing the slower pace of the cover shooters that were plentiful at the time.Eternal is just as rapid, with the frenzied demon slaying turned up hot enough to melt Hell. Bigger demons lie in wait (and angels, we’ve been teased); new death-dealing delights change how we play (a meathook on the shotgun grapples us to enemies); and the Doom Slayer’s journey is more dramatic than ever (at one point we fire ourselves out of a cannon to progress).“THE…2 min
PLAY|January 2020YAKUZA: LIKE A DRAGONFormat PS4 ETA 2020 Pub Sega Dev Ryu Ga Gotoku StudioThought you’d seen the end of the Yakuza series after Kazuma Kiryu’s final outing? Your man Ichiban Kasuga is taking the mantle of protagonist from Uncle Kaz and venturing away from Tokyo’s Kamurocho in favour of pastures new: Yokohama’s own fictionalised red light district, Isezaki Ijincho.Swapping street-fighting fisticuffs for RPG-style bustups, the seventh Yakuza game is a departure from previous Yakuzas in more ways than one. Ichiban, much like our Mim, loves Dragon Quest, giving more than a bit of fantasy RPG flair to fights. Not only is he able to change costume and weapon depending on his ‘job’ (the Hero carries a baseball bat, whereas the Host has a bottle of bubbly for his weapon of choice), he surrounds…2 min
PLAY|January 2020IRON MAN VRFormat PS VR ETA 28 Feb Pub Sony Dev CamouflajThe wonderful thing about pairing Iron Man with PS VR is how the two complement one another; it’s the ideal match of licence and technology. As we chat with the game’s director, Ryan Payton, he’s clear that perfecting the sense of flight came first.“The initial prototype came together extremely quickly thanks to the incredible work of Camouflaj engineer Troy Johnsen, and I think even he was blown away by how fun the game was after only a few days of work,” reveals Payton. “Even in its early ‘grey box’ form, it was really fun to fly around using physics thrusters from the palms of your hands.”Having played the game we can say it is one of the best uses of virtual…3 min
PLAY|January 2020OVERWATCH 2Format PS4 ETA TBC Pub Blizzard Dev BlizzardHas Blizzard revealed a sequel or an expensive expansion? That’s the question. If you’re a current Overwatch player then you may see this as overpriced DLC, but if you’ve never met Tracer, D.Va, Widowmaker, and the gang before then Overwatch 2 is the sequel aimed at getting you hooked into Blizzard’s blend of team-based shooting.Regardless of your take, there’s definitely content here that fans new and old will love. All-new to the game are Hero and Story Missions. These PvE modes offer a unique spin on Overwatch’s fast-paced gunplay.The draw of co-op Hero Missions is the opportunity to grind through various locations in the Overwatch universe, fighting for randomised goals against established characters, and levelling up your favourite hero in a way similar…5 min
PLAY|January 2020ALSO HITTING PS4PREDATOR: HUNTING GROUNDSFormat PS4 ETA 2020 Pub Sony Dev IllfonicEver been watching the iconic ’80s movie and found yourself thinking: “if I were the Predator, I could do better”? Well, now you can put your laser where your vertical mandibles are. This fun asymmetric multiplayer sees a fireteam of four soldiers fighting NPC mercs in a jungle, while a fifth player tries to add their skulls to their trophy collection. Predator powers abound, from thermal vision to plasmacasters, but the soldiers aren’t pushovers, making every match exciting.TRIALS OF MANAFormat PS4 ETA 24 Apr Pub Square Enix Dev Square EnixFor years it looked as though the 16-bit sequel to Secret Of Mana would never be released in English, but now we’re getting it all decked out as a full remake. A…1 min
PLAY|January 2020ZOMBIE ARMY 4: DEAD WARFormat PS4 ETA 4 Feb Pub Rebellion Dev Rebellion DevelopmentsAs weird and crazy as its premise is – post-war Europe is threatened by a Nazi army of the dead led by a zombie Adolf Hitler – playing Zombie Army 4: Dead War it’s clear everyone involved is taking this at face value. It’s got the tone of the excellent Overlord mixed with peak House-Of-The-Dead-era Sega. There are hordes of zombies to shoot, and a whole lot of quipping and blood and bangs between you, your friends, and the game’s end.“SWAP BETWEEN YOUR RIFLE AND CLOSE-QUARTERS WEAPONS.”Playing Zombie Army 4 brings back memories of the dev’s previous co-op shooter, Strange Brigade. “There are links,” teases Tim Jones, head of creative at Rebellion Developments. “Some of which, if you’re very observant, you…3 min
PLAY|January 2020STAR WARS JEDI: FALLEN ORDER“AN INCREDIBLE SETUP THAT EXPLODES OUT OF NAUGHTY DOG’S BIG BOOK OF CINEMATIC GAMING.”This game has the best turbo lift pitch in years: it’s Uncharted meets Sekiro, doused in Star Wars spectacle. The team behind it includes God Of War III director Stig Asmussen and Knights Of The Old Republic II writer Chris Avellone, and for much of the game’s 25 hours it almost comes together. Almost.Beginning with a bang, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has an incredible setup that explodes out of Naughty Dog’s big book of cinematic gaming. There’re quips and excitable noises as gingerquiffed protagonist Cal Kestis scurries, leaps, and scrambles across the broken ships that make up junkyard planet Bracca’s distinct environment. We’re clambering across the remnants of the Clone Wars as Star Destroyers circle overhead…5 min
PLAY|January 2020THE OPM BREAKDOWNWHAT YOU DO IN… NEED FOR SPEED: HEATSTAT PACK127 Licensed cars in the game, including Ferraris and Lamborghinis (but no Toyota).16 Simultaneous online players, which is double the number in Need For Speed Payback.435 Collectibles to find, and speed traps, long jumps, and drift zones to beat.18 Districts on the Miami-inspired map, from Rockville to Cape Castille to Mendoza Keys.HOW TO… GET HOME SAFELYGas Stations fix your car instantly three times every night, and 10,000 credits buys you a Repair Kit from the Auxiliary Mods section early on – just tap e for a health boost. Another 20K buys you damage and defence perks. Now… run!LOVING/ HATINGLOOKING SLICKThe customisation options are superb. Brilliant decal editing, aftermarket spoilers, and even clothes for your avatar.WRONG ARM OF THE LAWGetting busted by the…1 min
PLAY|January 2020SPARKLITEWe all enjoy the feeling of moving forward in games (honestly, who likes grinding or doing busywork?), and this action-RPG gives you a satisfying sense of progression, despite its simple retro appearance. You play as a mechanic named Ada who must stop the Baron from destroying the land of Geodia. The basic combat1 is introduced by way of a brief tutorial, after which you’re whisked to the safety of the Refuge, which acts as the main hub. Here you meet the locals, who task you with collecting the game’s currency, the titular mineral Sparklite, which you can then use to access new weapons and gadgets, or upgrades for your health and damage.Heading out into the procedurally generated world, you encounter enemies and quirky mini-dungeons.2 You occasionally find chests that contain…1 min
PLAY|January 2020TERMINATOR: RESISTANCEListen, and understand. The Terminator franchise is out there. It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. Even James Cameron doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are beaten into submission and accept they’ll keep making more of this stuff…With Terminator: Resistance the developer only has the rights to make a game based on The Terminator and T2. As Teyon’s opted to tell a prequel set in post-apocalyptic 2028 Los Angeles, just prior to Kyle Reese jumping back in time, that means we at least get to shoot it out in the films’ iconic future war. Playing as resistance soldier Jacob Rivers we’re trying to find John Connor’s unit and warn him of the new Arnold-model T-800s.Terminator: Resistance flirts…2 min
PLAY|January 2020COD: Modern WarfareWhen it works it really works. When the smoke’s swirling and the sparks are flying, and you’ve racked up three hip-fire kills in a row on new 6v6 map Shoot House, this is the best slice of multiplayer shooting on PS4. It really is that good. A callback to COD’s past.It took a free map to get us here, but Shoot House’s classic three-lane design offers the kind of fast-paced gunplay that made the original Modern Warfare a hit in 2007. It’s telling that Infinity Ward left this map out of the day-one release, as it clearly wanted the new, slower take on its core multiplayer modes to take root before wrapping you in this warm, nostalgic bullet hell.It’s jarring to jump from tactical, steady-paced maps such as Piccadilly and…3 min
PLAY|January 2020Predicting good thingsNine months have passed since Dreams released in early access and creators are now beginning to be more ambitious with their projects. Sebastian Schmitt has dug into his love of ’90s top-down RPGs to create Mimeo Prophecy, which is The Goonies meets ’90s RPG Secret Of Evermore.“I wanted to create that old-school feeling but give it a modern touch and tell my own story of a failed experiment,” says Schmitt, who spent four months making the first chapter. “Turbo, the dog, was a very late addition and was planned for a later time when I would update Chapter One. But luckily he made it in. My girlfriend, who created him, insisted on it.”“I WANTED TO CREATE THAT OLD-SCHOOL FEELING BUT GIVE IT A MODERN TOUCH.”We’re glad she did, as being…2 min
PLAY|January 2020Make it rain!01 ONE LINE IS ALL IT TAKESGo to Modes>=Paint Mode. Select Tools>=Rule Flecks. Set the fleck type to circle. Enable Guides>=Grid snap and draw a vertical line like this from top to bottom (the direction our rain will fall). It can be difficult to get it completely vertical, and it doesn’t matter if it’s slightly angled. This is really all the manual work you need to do. The rest of the rain effect is done through tweaking this line.02 FROM ONE TO MANYOpen the Paint properties (scope out of Paint mode and select your object). Choose Tweak Selected, then the Duplicates tab. If you need the rain to always appear around the player, you can make positional duplicates around the camera. (I chose the Inside sphere option.) Raise the number…4 min
PLAY|January 2020DLCSOULCALIBUR VI – HILDEThis Princess General heralds the beginning of the fighter’s second season pass (£26.99), and is also available separately. With sword and spear in hand, her regal arts are fierce. She also brings customisation options and her own story.SID MEIER’S CIVILIZATION VI – EXPANSION BUNDLE PASSTwo expansions for the strategy game – Rise And Fall and Gathering Storm – in one bumper bundle. The former adds the dark ages and golden ages, the latter brings in a host of new environmental and weather effects.BLAZBLUE CROSS TAG BATTLE VER 2.0Update your game with nine new characters from various franchises, including stories for them and additional colours for all. Akatsuki Blitzkampf and Senran Kagura characters join the fray, alongside more RWBY, Persona 4, Blazblue, and Under Night fighters.…1 min
PLAY|January 2020It Chapter TwoThough a satisfying coulrophobic coming-of-age horror in its own right, 2017’s It was never meant to stand alone. Taking its cues from Stephen King’s 1986 novel, Chapter Two tells its terrifying tale across two distinct time periods, with the now grown-up Losers Club returning to Derry 27 years after their first run-in with Pennywise to put an end to the shapeshifting clown’s reign of terror.As in the first film, Pennywise isn’t a simple bogeyman – It preys on the Losers’ insecurities, which have only become more complex and painful as they’ve grown older and their lives more complicated. This leads to some unremittingly raw scenes, tapping into such things as homophobia, abuse, and childhood trauma.But as a modern Hollywood horror, Chapter Two still has to be a ghost train, which…1 min
PLAY|January 2020NOW AND INCOMINGARROW SEASON 8FORMAT SKY ONE PRICE VARIES DEPENDING ON SUPPLIEREight years and one small-screen universe later, Oliver Queen is hanging up his bow after the current run of Arrow episodes wraps up. The multi-series Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover (which concludes mid-January) will form the crux of the season.SUPERGIRL SEASON 5FORMAT SKY ONE PRICE VARIES DEPENDING ON SUPPLIERSuperman’s big-screen future is in question, but Kara Danvers, aka Supergirl, is keeping the Krypton torch burning. Leviathan is this season’s big bad, while season 5 will deal with the fallout of Lex Luthor revealing Kara’s identity to his sister.THE FLASH SEASON 6FORMAT SKY ONE PRICE VARIES DEPENDING ON SUPPLIERArguably the best of the Arrow-verse shows, The Flash has achieved what the movies have thus far failed to do – it’s given us…1 min
PLAY|January 2020WHO?Despite being a pop-culture phenomenon, the superhero trend has largely passed Rebecca Stow by. You could describe her as your friendly neighbourhood Marvel sceptic.Superheroes don’t really do it for me. And that’s a shame because everywhere you look these days there’s a shiny new Avengers movie or yet another gritty Batman reimagining that everyone’s talking about. I have tried to watch the odd Marvel movie; I’ve even read a comic book or two. Sadly, the near-invincible central characters have never left an impression on me.But delving into a superhero videogame for the first time, my initial impression is that Marvel’s Spider-Man is by no means a bad game. I start by getting to grips with the basic mechanics, loving the feel of swinging from the rooftops, enjoying the fluidity of…2 min
PLAY|January 2020THE VIRTUAL REALITY HITS YOU HAVE TO PLAY PS VR HALL OF FAME1 TETRIS EFFECTTetris, yeah? It might be a great game, but it’s easy to understand why you’d brush this off as just more Tetris at a glance. Yet Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s trippy, transcendent take on the block-based puzzler is nothing short of a masterpiece. Sure, you can play it without PS VR, but in the virtual space it really becomes next level, transforming one of the tightest puzzle games ever made into an emotional ride.2 THE PERSISTENCEThis first-person horror roguelike offers perfectly sized chunks of survival bursts. It’s everything you’d expect from a full PS4 release, but in PS VR it’s filled with clever ideas, unique weapons, genuine jump scares, and fab looks – plus great couchplay.3 REZ INFINITETetsuya Mizuguchi’s vision becomes reality in PS VR. This psychedelic rhythm rail shooter…5 min
PLAY|January 202001 Revealed! The OPM Games Of The Decade“THEY SPAN TWO CONSOLE GENERATIONS AND TWO HANDHELDS, AS WELL AS THE RELEASE OF PS VR.”Spanning two home console generations and two handhelds, as well as the release of PS VR, whittling down ten years of PlayStation games into the best 15 is a thankless task. But we did it.15. LIFE IS STRANGEWhile The Walking Dead and Gone Home did it first, it was Life Is Strange’s socially aware writing, subverted character archetypes, and heartfelt childhood drama that took the template to new heights. We miss Max and Chloe.14. FINAL FANTASY XIV: ONLINEA game that spans the entire decade, Final Fantasy’s online world went from pariah to MMORPG phenomenon. Constantly evolving, designed with PS4 in mind, and crammed with memorable moments, few games have managed to stay relevant for as…6 min
PLAY|January 202004 2019? More like 20-bye-teen!Little did we know in January that 2019 would be the beginning of PS4’s twilight years. Just think, a year from now we’ll be giving you all the goss on the next generation of gaming. But that doesn’t mean PS4 is already fading from our thoughts – you could say 2019 was, rather than the console going out with a whimper, a low roar. Just look at all these high points. (And turn to p28 to see why it’ll keep growling for some time to come.)JanuaryGERONIMO!Bungie not only severs ties with publisher Activision, it also manages to hold on to the rights to the Destiny series. Now that’s a magic trick we’re sure a few other space wizards would be eager to learn.TOP COPThe RE engine wows us when Capcom’s…6 min
PLAY|January 202006 Erica, Jack, and othersHaving recently secured funding from an investor, and with a follow-up to Erica under way, the mood is good at Flavourworks. Jack Attridge, co-founder and creative director, shows us around the company’s cosy studio in the heart of London, strewn with props from Erica (one of the perks of making a live-action game), and discusses how they’re thinking about a bigger space to grow.“WE COULD DO THINGS THAT TRIPLE-A GAMES COULDN’T DO EFFECTIVELY.”Although the PS4-exclusive thriller hasn’t been out long, the team is already preparing to strike while the iron is hot. “With the next game, not only do we want to push it more into feeling like a game you can marinate in, but also build on completely new mechanics and support a very different genre from Erica. Erica…4 min
PLAY|January 202010 What have been the team’s highlights of 2019?The original Modern Warfare on PS3 was my obsession. I’d play into the early hours every night and twitch through the next day’s work. So it was incredibly rewarding to catch up with that game’s original team in Los Angeles as I visited Infinity Ward to play the prequel. What I found most endearing is how passionate devs like animation director Mark Grigsby were for their game. Our meeting got a emotional as Grigsby discussed coming back to Call Of Duty (he’d left IW after Modern Warfare 2). The mask had slipped, and through Grigsby I could see how emotionally invested all devs are in their games.“VISITING INFINITY WARD EXPOSED THE EMOTIONAL SIDE TO GAME DEVELOPMENT.”Visiting Remedy Entertainment in Finland was an early highlight. Back in February, members of the…3 min
PLAY|January 2020“OPEN WORLDS? SHUT IT DOWN! I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF TRIPLE-A CHECKLISTS.”Usually, I like to get my Christmas shopping done long before Halloween is a too-distant memory, but in early November I found myself asking my best friend which game I should get her. The last half a decade of gift giving has seen me hand over a robust list of titles, but this year the candidates were met with indifference from both of us.I had thought The Outer Worlds would be a shoe-in for Christmas 2019, having grown up watching my BFF tear through Fallout 3, Red Dead Redemption, and the Ezio trilogy. But that’s just the problem: we’ve both been there and done that.TAKE ME HOMEIt’s no secret that Triple-A open worlds often leave me despairing. In The Outer Worlds I enjoyed recruiting a crew of miscreants, helping them…2 min
PLAY|January 2020OTHER RPG GAMES HITTING PS4PERSONA 5 SCRAMBLE: THE PHANTOM STRIKERSPainting the town redFormat PS4 ETA 20 Feb 2020 (Japan) Pub Atlus Dev P-Studio, Omega Force“IT LOOKS INCREDIBLY FLUID EVEN WITH DOZENS OF ENEMIES PILING IN TO ATTACK JOKER.”Omega Force’s take on Persona 5 is far from a simple Warriors reskin. The dev is known for its “one vs a thousand” Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors hack-and-slash series, and so was the logical choice to develop the Persona series’ first action RPG.Six months on from their heart-taking adventures, the Phantom Thieves are taking a well-earned holiday when they have to tackle a menace threatening the whole country. This means taking part in large-scale battles in the Metaverse, with combat seamlessly incorporating the turn-based style of the main game in real time. A Gematsu livestream showed…2 min
PLAY|January 2020JOURNEY TO THE SAVAGE PLANETFormat PS4 ETA 28 Jan Pub Typhoon Studios Dev Typhoon StudiosWork can be a slog, but at least it doesn’t usually involve trying to survive on an alien planet. That’s the task you’ve got in Journey To The Savage Planet, after you’re unceremoniously booted onto AR-Y 26 by your employer Kindred Aerospace, which is the proud holder of the title of ‘fourth best interstellar exploration company’.“EVERY PLACE YOU VISIT HAS BEEN CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED.”“Exploration is my personal favourite thing in a videogame,” says creative director Alex Hutchinson. “The feeling of a door opening on a new place and you as a player being able to go anywhere is so exciting. It never gets old.”AR-Y 26 is a dense environment filled with places to discover, wildlife to catalogue, and dangers to avoid,…1 min
PLAY|January 2020THE INSIDE VIEWNAME CARA ELLISON SENIOR NARRATIVE DESIGNER“One of the best things about the [emotional] resonance system is that you can tell the context of the usage of the building […] by looking at the emotional resonance of the people inside. So if you go to like an abandoned, derelict building, and there's a bunch of people in there who have a delirium resonance, you can tell it might be a place where there's drug deals going down [and that might mean you] have a bunch of people who are maybe not completely aware of their surroundings. [So] […] you might be able to do a bunch of shady shit [and] get away with it.”…1 min
PLAY|January 2020OTHER GREAT GAMES HITTING PS4OUTRIDERSFormat PS4 ETA Sep 2020 Pub Square Enix Dev People Can FlyLess boisterous than its predecessor Bulletstorm, Outriders will still be edgy enough that you might want to put gloves on before handling it. One thing’s clear: People Can Fly gets the pure, fun appeal of shooters. Stir that into a one-to-three-player co-op game and you’ve a recipe that has our mouths watering. We’re intrigued to find out what’s going on with the brooding lady with good eyeshadow and her two beardy pals next year.DEATHLOOPFormat PS4 ETA TBC Pub Bethesda Softworks Dev Arkane LyonJulianna and Colt have a lot in common. Both are skilled assassins with the ability to harness supernatural powers, and are focussed on achieving their own goals. If only they weren’t at each other’s throats… literally! Both…2 min
PLAY|January 2020WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE – EARTHBLOODFormat PS4 ETA TBC Pub Bigben Interactive Dev Cyanide StudioCyanide Studio is ready to mix it with the Triple-As for its new game, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood. Set in the World Of Darkness tabletop RPG universe (which also has two Vampire: The Masquerade games incoming), this is an action RPG that enables you to mix werewolf forms to blend stealth, melee combat, and a choice-driven narrative. We chat with game’s director Julien ‘Patch’ Desourteaux about influences, ambition, and wolf rage…OPM: Why does the source material demand an action-focussed game?Julien Desourteaux: Werewolves are mighty and brutal creatures that have always fascinated writers but rarely videogames makers. The World Of Darkness adds to the werewolf’s myth with a very mature and rich background while still keeping the essence of what makes…3 min
PLAY|January 2020CRIS TALESFormat PS4 ETA 2020 Pub Modus Games Dev Dreams UncorporatedWhat happens if you can weaponise time? That’s the pitch of indie RPG Cris Tales. This blend of classic Japanese-influenced roleplaying and the unique idea of seeing three time periods on screen at once (and using them in combat to age and de-age enemies and weapons) is one of next year’s most original games. We sit down with Dreams Uncorporated CEO Carlos Rocha Silva to discover more…OPM: Where did the idea come from?Carlos Rocha Silva: We’re used to making games with very unique mechanics (the previous game the team worked on was Haimrik: a medieval game about a character walking on top of words and making them come to life). This one was an attempt at making a game that was…3 min
PLAY|January 2020ALSO ON PS VRAFTER THE FALLFormat PS VR ETA TBC Pub Vertigo Games Dev Vertigo GamesThe developer behind Arizona Sunshine is embracing multiplayer for its next VR shooter. After The Fall offers post-apocalypse co-op scavenging, survival, and sharpshooting, set in an alternate 1980s when designer drugs have turned most people into zombies. “Where our previous foray into VR shooting, Arizona Sunshine, is a somewhat slower-paced survival experience, After The Fall is all about adrenaline-pumping action,” says game designer Nick Witsel.THE WALKING DEAD: ONSLAUGHTFormat PS VR ETA TBC Pub Survios Dev SurviosSurvios’ take on the famous TV show’s undead will get the blood pumping in VR. There are a number of characters from the show to play as, too. The game mixes scavenging with melee and ranged combat. But it’s the way we can…1 min
PLAY|January 2020REMOTHERED: BROKEN PORCELAINFormat PS4 ETA TBC Pub Modus Games Dev Chris Darrill Arts, Stormind GamesRemothered: Tormented Fathers was widely acclaimed as a return to survival horror’s realistic roots. We sit down with artist and director Chris Darrill to learn how the sequel will scare.OPM: Would you say anyone else is making horror games like you?CD: It’s unusual to think that in such a rich and fertile genre there are no real competitors, both because it may be the only one of these new generation games to be able to boast [our] gameplay structure in third-person, and because the themes touched in the game always have a credible scientific component, which never crosses the pure sci-fi or the paranormal horror genres. Many players have ironically called the game - probably because of the…2 min
PLAY|January 2020LEGO STAR WARS: THE SKYWALKER SAGAFormat PS4 ETA 2020 Pub Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment Dev TT GamesNine in one. Do we need to say any more? Oh, all right then. The Skywalker Saga takes all nine Star Wars films (including the forthcoming The Rise of Skywalker), replicates them using millions of brightly coloured virtual bricks and scatters them among the stars for you to play in any order.“FROM THE SWAMPS OF DAGOBAH TO STARKILLER BASE.”Each film is represented not by one expansive hub area filled with that textbook Lego humour, but a collection of planets to venture to (which you can revisit at any time afterwards). It’s all here, from the murky swamps of Dagobah and the harsh desert of Geonosis all the way to the snow-capped Starkiller Base.Each chapter in the saga offers five…5 min
PLAY|January 2020DESPERADOS IIIFormat PS4 ETA Early 2020 Pub THQ Nordic Dev Mimimi GamesPlaying like an isometric Hitman (if Agent 47 had gunslingers backing him up) Desperados III looks like it’ll scratch our stealth itch. Design director Moritz Wagner explains how we’ll win the west…OPM: How are the game’s controls being handled on PlayStation 4?Moritz Wagner: Gamepad controls are a top priority for us from the start of every project. Every ability and character is designed so it works well on a gamepad, even in early stages.The main difference to the control scheme compared to mouse and keyboard is that you directly control the characters. This makes the game feel different, but I think in a very positive way. It’s more immersive.Another very important aspect for our gamepad controls is Showdown mode: with…3 min
PLAY|January 2020GAME OF THE YEAR 20191 CONTROLWe set our telekinetic minds to taking charge of the weirdStep aside, Triple-A studios, and take your big-bucks franchises with you. The Director is here, and she’ll take anything you can throw at her and hurl it right back at you. Yes, Jesse Faden is number one at the Federal Bureau Of Control, and Control is top of your list…After stepping into the Oldest House alongside Jesse Faden, searching for her lost brother, we take a moment to look through the glass doors behind us. People walk past on a quiet city street. Then we climb the stairs and walk through twisty corridors with impossible turns, feeling lost as we plunge into the Federal Bureau Of Control’s completely bizarre base of operations.It’s fair to say when you begin, thrown…11 min
PLAY|January 2020THE OPM BREAKDOWNWHAT YOU DO IN… SWJ: FALLEN ORDERALSO ON PLAYSTATION 4 PROAs you’d expect from any soulsborne, Fallen Order has two modes of play on PS4 Pro: performance and standard. The former runs at 1080p with 60fps for accuracy but drops detail, the latter has upscaled 4K visuals at 30fps. We found performance mode stuttered.COMPEL-O-GRAPHLOVING/ HATINGLORE HUNTEREmbracing Star Wars’ fantasy aspects and a bit of Tomb Raider, you can’t help but love the cinematic spectacle of Fallen Order.PLATFORM PERILSBut moving and fighting in this world feels disappointingly loose and sloppy. Sadly, Fallen Order is less than the sum of its parts.TROPHY CABINETBRONZEKick one of those irritating phillaks that has kicked you using Cal’s unlockable dodge-kick move.SILVERCan you defeat each type of bounty hunter in the game? You’ll need to see the…1 min
PLAY|January 2020WWE 2K20Already an internet sensation for all the wrong reasons, Visual Concepts’ new grappler has to be experienced to be believed – except there’s no way anyone should pay £50 to do so. This is the first game in the Smackdown lineage built without Japanese studio Yuke’s’ involvement, and it shows. Glitches, like characters teleporting or duplicating,1 are commonplace. Hair physics are shocking for anyone with a style longer than shoulder-length. Championship belts morph through clothing. Creation features are largely unusable, should you wish to avoid eternal loading screens or random crashes. Gulp.Yet for all its issues, this isn’t a complete failure. The core wrestling is solid, with bouts paced to match what you see on Raw or Smackdown, and a handful of areas improving upon WWE 2K19 – such as…1 min
PLAY|January 2020LAST LABYRINTHPicture the scene. You awaken strapped and chained to a wheelchair, in a creepy mansion. You have no idea where you are, how you got there, or why. Your only hope of escape is a young girl who speaks a language you don’t understand. What’s the one thing that could make the situation worse? That’s right – homework. You’re not getting out of here without lots of lateral thinking.Your character’s predicament means that the game is played through head movement and liberal use of q. In your right hand is a strange remote with a single button. Pressing it activates the laser your mysterious captor has placed on your head; in this way, alongside nodding and shaking your head, you indicate to the girl what you want her to interact…3 min
PLAY|January 2020BLACKSAD: UNDER THE SKINYou are John Blacksad, a six-foot-tall black cat with a nose for fighting crime. In this noir vision of New York (based on the Spanish hit comic), there are no humans but all of the animals have very adult problems and understanding them is vital to unravelling this old yarn.A belligerent rhino barrels into your private detective office, demanding that you don’t dish his particular bit of dirt. After nearly punching your lights out and then threatening you, he attempts to bribe you. Characters’ behaviour is, in a word, messy and the writing places believable motives behind their actions. Barry Johnson convinces as John Blacksad, getting the furry detective’s charm and world-weariness down pat, but the rest of the cast are oddly understated.Familiar noir beats are faithfully recreated, then, and…3 min
PLAY|January 2020VR PING PONG PROPerhaps playing table tennis in a garage wasn’t the sort of adventure you dreamed of when you first bought a PS VR headset, but such a game does make sense. It’s something a huge number of people already understand the rules of, swinging a PS Move controller in VR is more immersive than moving a stick with your thumb, and chances are you don’t have space for the table in your living room. The problem is, this game is up pong creek without a paddle.The presentation immediately rings alarm bells. There are no player avatars, meaning that you and your opponent are floating ping pong paddles. While you can make things more exciting by pretending it’s a poltergeist sport, this is indicative of deeper problems, and we’re not just talking…2 min
PLAY|January 2020LAST MONTH ON PS PLUSTalk about going out with a bang. 2019 ends having seen the release of some massive titles… and some right stinkers. PS Plus hasn’t been exempt from this variation in quality either, as December’s lineup proves.Between Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Respawn Entertainment has had a phenomenal year. It seems only fitting to end it by revisiting its underrated back catalogue courtesy of PS Plus. TITANFALL 2 not only possesses a solid (though short) single-player campaign, its much-lauded multiplayer is still fairly active. You’ve got giant robots to pilot and pummel the opposition with, plus a wealth of over-the-top battle tactics to deploy. And the movement mechanics are brilliant (we love a good wall run chain). That said, as this one is so frequently in sales, chances…1 min
PLAY|January 2020Death StrandingYou could play Death Stranding offline and alone, but your life would be as hollow as those of the isolationist Preppers. Online, as you walk from one destination to another you constantly come across other people’s structures – ladders, bridges, generators, even safe houses. Large structures like roads between cities require a huge amount of resources, so players you’re connected to will chip in to create them. A month from release, the game’s still active, with the best structures being maintained and the less good degrading, as we all refine our journeys. Along with other players in our game we’ve connected every Prepper station in the Eastern Region with one giant zipline system. Heartwarming.VERDICTFew predominantly single-player games give you this feeling of connection with other players, or create such a…1 min
PLAY|January 2020BEST OF THE DREAMVERSEGAME FACTORYCreator Keduko has put together a boardgame experience inside Dreams. You can play alone or against three friends across a series of minigames that test your skill and timing. We love the dice animation and the Bishi Bashi Special mix of ideas and game styles.WABBY AND DUCKY'S ADVENTURESThere’s no game yet, just a beautifully sculpted tease of what creator SDorin has in mind. We can’t wait to see how this cute river rapids adventure evolves. In the meantime pay a visit to SDorin’s In Dreams page for some inspiration.BLAZING LAVA (TECTONIC TURMOIL REMIX)“About a year ago from now, I created a piece of music intended for a volcano level. Recently, I thought that it’d sound awesome in Dreams, so I decided to remix,” says AlexGB231. Listen to this chugging…1 min
PLAY|January 2020Borderlands 3’s first expansion rolls the diceThe show must go on. Even though Borderlands 2’s fantastic antagonist Handsome Jack has passed on, it turns out his now-derelict casino space station has continued spinning ever onwards. Filled with the gaudy loot you’d expect from Handsome Jack, you can still gamble here… only now it’s with your life instead of chips.The Handsome Jackpot is a brand–new zone you can explore as long as you’ve reached the point in the story where you get a spaceship. It’s geared towards players at a humble level 13, but the challenges within will scale up so that everyone can enjoy it to its fullest, and get the best loot possible.The reason the casino is on your radar is because Moxxi has requested your help in carrying out a heist. Her sights are…1 min
PLAY|January 2020Biohazard comes to the new worldEffluvia is already a problem in Monster Hunter: World. Getting hit by it reduces your maximum health by half. So how deadly could it become if powered up by Resident Evil’s T-virus?The answer it turns out, is almost the opposite of what you’d expect. The recent crossover event between Monster Hunter: World and Resident Evil 2 added items and a quest to the former game, one in which getting hit with effluvia while fighting Blackveil Vaal Hazak zombified you. Which… restored your health?“ZOMBIFIED, OUR HEALTH REGENERATED WHILE WE SHUFFLED AROUND.”Zombified, our health regenerated while we shuffled around, unable to perform some actions until we downed a nearby green herb. It added a new sort of push-and-pull to a classic monster fight – much less annoying than basic effluvia.We could earn…1 min
PLAY|January 2020COMING SOONDOCTOR WHO: THE COLLECTION – SEASON 2623 DECNot the show’s finest hour, but the extended cuts and special features are decent.ANIMALS06 JANBased on the acclaimed novel, Alia Shawkat and Holliday Granger star as two hard-living BFFs who grow apart when one settles down with a man.BEING THERE06 JANClassic Peter Sellers comedy about a simple gardener who becomes an unlikely advisor to a businessman with close ties to the White House.SLEEPY HOLLOW06 JANTwentieth anniversary re-release for Tim Burton’s horror about a headless horseman on a murder spree in 18th-century New York.THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD06 JANLavish collector’s edition re-release for the Amicus horror anthology, featuring four stories by Robert Bloch.THE SHINY SHRIMPS13 JANFeelgood French comedy about a swimming champion who has to coach a gay water polo team after making homophobic…1 min
PLAY|January 2020Killzone: LiberationTaking a popular console game and pushing it in a bold new direction is always a risky endeavour. The original Killzone released for PS2 in 2004 as a fairly by-the-numbers first-person shooter. For Killzone: Liberation, which was being released on PSP, Guerilla wisely decided to tailor the action to the strengths of Sony’s first portable console.Picking up roughly two months after the end of the first Killzone, Liberation is a smaller, more personal episode in the gritty future war between the ISA and Helghast forces, and sees returning protagonist Jan Templar away from the battlefield on a mission to rescue captives. Instead of playing in first person as Templar with his eye firmly behind the gun, you view proceedings from a god’s-eye perspective that allows action to take place in…3 min
PLAY|January 2020THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO CURRENT-GEN’S GREATEST GAMES PS4 HALL OF FAME1 UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S ENDNathan Drake’s swan song is a daring evolution. It combines series-defining set-pieces, quietly devastating storytelling beats, and sprawling levels that make you feel like a real-life explorer. This franchise finale retains its signature charm, with the wisecracks flowing as fast as the bullets, while the new characters each justify their inclusion. With an astonishing attention to detail, it’s Naughty Dog’s best yet.2 RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2There are a lot of open world games, but none that make you feel like you’re a part of a world in quite the same way as Arthur Morgan’s wild west adventure. Tremendously physical, an epic story, and some of the most satisfying headshots you’ll ever find.3 GOD OF WARA departure in some ways but a resounding return in others,…6 min
PLAY|January 2020PS Now for something completely differentThis month’s new PS Now entrants are Persona 5, Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War, and Hollow Knight. The former two are time-limited, the latter is here to stay. It’s a fantastic lineup but raises an awkward question: can we finish Persona 5 before it leaves PS Now on 4 February?Jess has been playing PERSONA 5 for two years, and she still hasn’t finished the Phantom Thieves’ trials of terror inside the Metaverse Palaces.It’s a challenge you should take on, as Persona 5’s mix of socially aware writing, tactical turn-based combat, and energetic art direction lifts it above the norm. We gave it a perfect 10/10 back in OPM #134, and were as happy hanging out with our Phantom friends making coffee as we were battling the egos of the game’s villainous…2 min
