 The second of the recent Nintendo Directs brought a smattering of technical details, a few game reveals, and plenty of distinctly Nintendo bits and pieces to get us interested in the new Nintendo Switch 2. As well as that we got a release date and price: 5 June and £399.99 – unless world trade changes things before then, of course. So, what did you make of it? Are you more or less excited now? Does the price make you think twice? Natter about it in the Discord.
GameCube titles and improved Switch games | Liam Andrews  One of the biggest highlights for me from the Direct was GameCube games being added to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass. The GameCube was probably my favourite console so I’m very happy to see it finally being added to NSO, and the initial library of games looks good. The inclusion of The Wind Waker as a launch title pretty much confirms we’re never getting a port of the Wii U HD remaster, but it’s such a fantastic game I will more than happily play the original version again. My other highlight was upgraded versions of old Switch games. As someone who still hasn’t gotten around to playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, I’m quite glad I ended up waiting as I now get to experience it with updated visuals and improved performance. Releasing the upgraded games as more expensive Switch 2 versions was a bit disappointing, but the being able to access them through the NSO Expansion Pass softens the blow somewhat. Donkey Kong Bananza was another title that looked great, I liked the mix of 2D and 3D platforming and the destructible environment seems like it’s going to be a lot of fun to play with. I am also extremely happy to see the new Pro Controller will finally have a headphone jack! Mario Kart World | Chris Brand The big reveal of the true function of The Mystery Button™ was rather anti-climactic after I'd hyped myself up imagining the endless possibilities.
As someone who hasn't owned a Nintendo console in months (hundreds and hundreds of months), I wasn't aware that game chat was a big enough request to warrant its own dedicated button. Maybe Nintendo folks are just more friendly than everyone else? Putting aside my gripes about the Button of Disappointment, Mario Kart World looks like the game everyone wanted without realising it. It's quite a departure from the standard kart racing fare, with discrete tracks connected by an open world and a whopping 24 players able to compete at once. It sounds genuinely chaotic, which is where Mario Kart really shines. I think things may have fallen apart for a lot of people when the cost of everything was revealed. A higher price for the console itself is not too surprising (and, from what we've seen, it's justified too) but the pricing of first-party games is higher than expected and Nintendo does an Astrobot – a glorified tech demo showing off the Switch 2 itself – having a price tag at all just smacks of corporate greed. Has the world's richest plumber run into financial problems? Sonic the Hedgehog doesn't even have his own console anymore but that dude can still afford to fund three films. The flip side of this is Nintendo's new GameShare feature, which allows you to share select titles with friends who don't own said titles. It may be the case that the price point for games is higher to mitigate their losses for implementing this feature, in which case it's understandable, but will still leave a bitter taste in the mouths of fans.  We're back with a bang to bring you our thoughts on all the games announcements of the past couple of weeks, from Summer Game Fest, the Xbox Showcase, Nintendo Direct and back again. While we don't have tons of gaming blockbusters hitting consoles in 2024 compared to last year, it's clear there's plenty to look out for in the next couple of years. Side note: Thank you for bearing with us in our absence. Once you've perused our choices, let us know what you're excited for in our Discord, or in the comments.
State of Decay 3 and Fable | Chris Brand  Much like James, most of what caught my eye came from the Xbox Showcase. Possibly because that's the only console I own, possibly because a lot of those titles will be available through Game Pass at no extra cost and I love free stuff. Though I struggle with horror-themed games, I can just about handle State of Decay 2 without succumbing to The Fear. Of course, it is much easier with someone to watch my back and taxi my character to our objective whilst I reluctantly make a coffee at 11:00pm as my eyes keep closing and cocaine is expensive. It's a huge improvement over its predecessor and even though State of Decay 3 probably won't be as big of a leap, it seems reasonable to expect that some new ideas will have made their way into the threequel. There seems to be more of an emphasis on remembering the lost, which is sure to be a big part of my playthrough as all of my favourite characters eventually die. Usually due to me refusing to outfit them with the best gear, in case I lose that too. Good weapons are hard to come by but people are everywhere. If you'd put a bet on me mentioning Fable, then congratulations, you've won fat stacks of cash. And your bookie is weird, who takes bets on stuff like that? Send me his number. The latest trailer follows the series' long-running tradition of not taking itself too seriously but things started to heat up near the end as we were, almost, introduced to this game's big bad. Maybe we'll get to see a good chunk of gameplay in next year's showcase, as the 2025 release window potentially means we've got 18 more months of me banging on about Fable. Gears of War E-Day and Metroid Prime 4 | Liam Andrews  I missed most of the actual events of the past few weeks, but catching up on all the announcements is my preferred way to approach these shows as I can pick and choose which games to focus on.
My highlight of all the events goes to Gears of War E-Day, but it could easily have been Metroid Prime 4, which looked amazing and was something I wasn’t expecting to see released anytime soon. I’m a big fan of the original Metroid Prime (and the remaster) and I’m hoping we’ll get a rerelease of the two sequels at some point before the latest entry comes out as I’d like to get up to speed with any important story events before diving in. I’ve played every Gears of War game, bar Tactics, which I should really get around to at some point, and enjoyed all of them so I’m really looking forward to a new mainline game. I especially like the concept of going back to the start of events, as it’s something that’s only really been explored in spin-off books (which I’ve also read) as far as I can remember. I know it wasn’t gameplay, but the CGI trailer looked very good and did its job of getting me hyped for the game and I can’t wait to see more. What are you excited for from the Nintendo Partner Direct and Elden Ring DLC trailer? | Team Talk24/2/2024  Wednesday saw the biggest contrast in gaming announcements this year so far with the Nintendo Partner Direct and the release of the hotly anticipated Elden Ring DLC – Shadow of the Erdtree. The Partners Nintendo brought to its show included SEGA, EA and Disney, as well as a slew of smaller-scale projects, while there’s nothing small scale about what Bandai Namco and FromSoftware had to share with us in the first expansion to Elden Ring. What are you looking forward to amongst these announcements? Let us know in our Discord.
Chris Brand  As someone without any experience of the base game, the Elden Ring DLC just makes the prospect of picking it up even more daunting. The big, scary, world has been made bigger and scarier and it's still bereft of shotguns. Though I've heard it's more accessible than the typical FromSoftware titles, I'm aware that I have too little patience to spend the time required to reach an appropriate skill level. What surprised me most from Nintendo Direct was the inclusion of Xbox first-party titles, Grounded and Pentiment (both games, along with two more, are releasing on PlayStation, too). With cross-platform play assumed to be a given in multiplayer games nowadays, console exclusives just mean a smaller player-base, so it makes sense for Microsoft to get their games into the hands of as many folks as possible. Pentiment, however, is single player, and the cynic in me suspects that this is Microsoft's way of showing various governmental agencies that they have no intention of creating a gaming monopoly by acquiring every third-party developer they can get their hands on. As they appear to be doing. It feels wrong that my personal highlight from Nintendo's stream was the least Nintendo part, but this could be a turning point for gaming. I'm sure we all have a lot of questions already. Which other Xbox exclusives will be ported to rival systems? Will Nintendo and Sony follow suit? When can I play Mario Kart and God of War? It's probably wise to assume that some exclusives will stay that way. I don't expect to ever see Joel from The Last of Us squaring up against Gears of War's Marcus Fenix in Super Smash Bros. but I do expect, nay demand, to play Mario Kart on my Xbox now, if not sooner. Liam Andrews  I’ll be honest, I was not aware of any impending DLC reveal for Elden Ring until this week’s topic was announced, although having since watched the trailer I can say that it does look very impressive, if a little gloomy.
I’m not into souls type games but I know Elden Ring is supposed to be a great game in its own right. Perhaps I’ll pick it up one day, although like Chris I find the idea of jumping into an even bigger game a little intimidating. The Xbox game reveals in the Nintendo partner showcase didn’t come as a surprise, however, as most people had guessed two of the games making the jump would be Grounded and Pentiment. I’ve yet to play the latter but thought Grounded was excellent. I’m not sure how good it will look on Switch, but it’s still cool to see it arriving on other platforms and giving other players a chance to experience it. Away from the Xbox ports, the biggest reveal from the showcase was the original Battlefront games being rereleased on consoles with full online multiplayer support. While I thoroughly enjoyed the modern Battlefront iterations, I know the original titles are held in high regard so I’m looking forward to trying them out for the first time.  After Xbox fired the starting gun for the year at their Dev_Direct, now it's PlayStation’s turn to blow us away with the fun and games they have in store this year. They may have saved the creamy filling for next week for some, as they invited SquareEnix to show off Final Fantasy VII Rebirth at an exclusive event tomorrow. In the meantime there was a mixed bag of titles to get salivating about. What tickled your fancy? Let us know over on our Discord.
Legendary Tales & Metro Awakening | Liam Andrews  Even though I don’t own a VR headset yet, the VR games were my highlight. I really liked the look of Legendary Tales, especially the combat, which looked like loads of fun. Being able to grab weapons out of the air or use broken off bits of an enemy to block or do damage on the fly is a very cool idea. I enjoy playing Baldur’s Gate 3 in multiplayer, so I’m not put off by the idea of this being an RPG to be experienced with others, however I doubt I’ll be able to convince a few of the regular adventurers I accompany to invest in a headset purely for this game, even though it looks like it would be a lot of fun with friends. Still, I would happily dive into the game solo, if only just to try what looks like a very engaging combat system (it doesn’t get more interactive than throwing a skeleton through a table, then picking it up and giving it a good pummelling!). Metro Awakening VR also looked interesting. I liked Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light, and this looks like it’ll be just as atmospheric as those titles, more so in VR. I am a coward when it comes to horror, however, so I’m not sure how well I would handle the jump scares or gloomy locations, they were sometimes scary enough on a regular TV screen. Legendary Tales | Chris Brand  This was a meatier outing than Xbox's, rather light, presentation a couple of weeks prior. There were a few titles on show which would have piqued my interest on any other day, Judas is looking like it could really be something special and the Silent Hill series is still as spooky as ever. I could have been writing about a handful of titles, if not for one which stood out far above the others.
At first, I assumed Legendary Tales would be nothing more than filler, to pad out the smaller selection of VR titles, but it turned out to be one of the greatest trailers I've ever seen. When games brag about destructible objects the results are usually disappointing, like Battlefield's structures which topple in the exact same way each time, or whatever the hell we got in Crackdown 3's bare-bones multiplayer mode. Legendary Tales not only lives up to its promise, it goes a step further by giving us the thing we all wanted without even realising (the aforementioned skeleton pummelling). The name suggests there's a robust narrative to be experienced and after doing some cursory research I discovered there's quite a lot more on offer than powerbombing skeletons, with skill trees, crafting, legendary items and a quest-driven story, playable solo or with friends. That being said, it all comes back to the combat. I can think of few things more satisfying than defeating a horde of enemies with whatever debris is lying around from the last battle. It's a certain kind of freedom that is missing from most games and something I've been discouraged from doing in real life. As I don't own any VR-capable devices, I've now got to convince one of my friends to take the plunge, which should be an easy task once I show them a video of someone punching a skeleton until it's dead (deader?).  The first big reveals of the year are on us with Xbox’s Developer Direct 2024. Microsoft’s approach to the format puts the devs themselves centre-stage, and can bring some nice, presumably unscripted, moments of humanity, such as this year when Marc Meyer at Oxide games was interrupted by someone walking across the background trying to get a drink. This time we heard from Xbox studios Obsidian Entertainment, Ninja Theory, Oxide Games and Machine Games –, and there was even a surprise guest spot for Square Enix. So, here are our highlights from the show. What was yours? Let us know in our Discord.
Chris Brand  I think someone should mention Visions of Mana and Ara: History Untold. With that out of the way, the Xbox Developer Direct was bookended by Avowed, which manages to look better and better with each new reveal, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which seems very different to the games it inspired, namely Tomb Raider and Uncharted. But it was Senua's Saga: Hellblade II that really caught my attention. Ninja Theory created a truly unique experience that could be genuinely unnerving and I almost feel guilty for not seeing the original through to the end. I loved the storytelling, the visuals, the pacing, the top-class audio design and the world itself. Despite pushing through as far as I could, there were too many monsters and not enough shotguns for me to go all the way. Even now I'm unsure of how events played out, as I've convinced myself I'm going to finish it. One day. The combat is said to be very different in the sequel, though we didn't get to see any, outside of a brief cutscene. I'm not interested in a Dark Souls level of difficulty, but something a little more complex and engaging would certainly be welcome. I've purposely avoided many story details and the developers appear to be following suit, instead talking mainly about the production of Hellblade II and how they are committed to providing an in-depth representation of Senua's psychosis. They did a pretty good job the first time around, I couldn't ever be sure if all of the sights and sounds were "real" or not. Or which voices, if any, I should be listening to. It's a relief that the voices in my own head all sound like me and can be safely ignored. James Parry  Given that I only just talked about how much I’m looking forward to Avowed, you’d think I’d be the perfect audience for the first segment of Xbox’s presentation, going behind the scenes at Obsidian to see how the game is shaping up. From the limited amount of actual gameplay we saw, it’s definitely ticking the right boxes, but, more importantly, the passion and excitement the devs talk about the game is what really gets me curious about exploring this world. While acknowledging this is yet another game I will play and never finish. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, may avoid that fate however, given it is reportedly only about 8 hours long and is a very focused, linear narrative. The cerebral aspect, which delves into the psychological trauma of the character from the first game, also adds a surprising amount of depth to the character, even as someone who hasn’t jumped into the series before. While the Civilisation series has been a mainstay of my gaming past, I can’t say there’s too much new or innovative going on in Ara: History Untold for me, but perhaps I am judging a book too much by its cover. Or perhaps, given its historical focus, that should be judging a…manuscript by its cover? Finally, there’s no surprise that a licence as well-known as Indiana Jones would get another gaming outing at some point, and if any team can make the whip-cracking adventurer work in first person, it’s Machine Games. In the end, a strong showing for Xbox, indicating a handful of good-looking titles coming to Game Pass this year, but are any of them real blockbuster smashes which expect to bring in new players by the thousand? For those of us already subscribed, I suppose it doesn’t matter. More good games out in the world can’t be a bad thing, right?  As we approach the end of the year, it’s time to start taking stock of what has been a phenomenal year for gaming. While our own picks for Game of the Year will come next month, the Golden Joystick Awards have returned to dish out all sorts of accolades to the hardworking souls who bring these experiences to life for us. What stuck out in the award winners list for you? Did it make you think about playing something you wouldn’t have considered otherwise? Let us know in our Discord.
Chris Brand  Out of all of this year's winners and nominees, I've only played a small handful. As such, I wasn't too invested in many of the categories but it was good to see a large variety of games on show, even if a lot of them were Baldur's Gate 3. There was some strong competition for the Still Playing Award with No Man's Sky coming out on top. It's had a lot of content pumped into it since its initial release and still stands out as being fairly unique. Of course, there are other games that revolve around space exploration but few that offer the same sense of discovery in such a huge universe. One of those exceptions is Starfield, winner of the Xbox Game of the Year award. Despite the numerous bugs I encountered during my (considerable) play time, it quickly became one of my favourite games. Each playthrough lead to new findings and a greater appreciation for the world. Though I think Craig Sechler should have been in with a shout for Best Supporting Performer for his work as the Adoring Fan. Most Wanted Game teased some of the titles we can look forward to in the future, like Fable and some non-Fable games which aren't Fable. The last proper Fable released all the way back in 2010 and after 12 years of not-so-patiently waiting, it feels closer than it ever has. By the time it sees the light of day, the hype which I'm trying to create will have likely faded away and I can stop banging on about it. James Parry  I’ve already mentioned my keenness to play Baldur’s Gate 3, and the record-breaking seven wins is a fairly clear sign it’s more than just hype and I should definitely get in it before the end of the year.
The benefit of awards like this is that it can bring games to your attention that you’d dismissed because they had an odd name, didn’t look like your cup of tea, or maybe you just hadn’t heard about them at all. This year the names that stick out are both Sea of Stars and Alan Wake II. Both games have been receiving praise all over my feeds for weeks and, interestingly, both couldn’t be more tonally contrasting to each other. Elsewhere the fact that the PlayStation Game of the Year went to Resident Evil 4 is a surprise, given that it’s a remake and we had some very strong contenders in the category, including Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. With so many releases, it’s hard to justify revisiting ongoing titles, though, like Liam, I’m tempted to give Cyperpunk 2077 another chance after being distracted and not diving into its world first time around. Elsewhere in the very long Most Wanted category, the title that stood out for me is Star Wars: Outlaws, even though we don’t know too much about what it’s all about just yet.  We've been out of the loop for a few weeks, but in our absence we were handed another nail in the coffin of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, as the show was cancelled once again this year. The show was an online-only shindig last year and was caught up in the wave of event cancellations due to COVID the year before, but there has been big promises of springing back bigger and better than ever this year as recently as a few months ago. In case this does end up being the end for E3, we thought it was time to shout out some of our favourite moments from years gone by and celebrate everything the show represented in the gaming landscape.
Xbox always leant into the drama of its announcements with a booming voiceover accompaniment of "World Premiere", and no year was more of a premiere than 2018, where Microsoft rallied after a few years of criticism from the Xbox One's launch, to bring 15 world premieres and 50 games in its showcase overall. Finally, and many exciting moments through the years, my personal highlight has to be all of you banding together in our online chatroom to talk about the shows as they happened for several years. The build up would involve awkward time difference calculations and pngs of various stage times, but you would all show up every time to really get into the spirit, like a sort of Eurovision Song Contest experience which saw each publisher trying to out-perform the other. Truthfully, that is what I will miss the most, and while Gamescom and The Game Awards both offer glimmers of similar moments, the way news is shared by gaming companies now seems like it's changed forever. Pour one out. Star Wars Battlefront II | Liam Andrews I never used to pay much attention to E3 when I was younger, as I got all my information from gaming magazines in the early 2000s rather than watching events. I’m sure there was plenty of E3 coverage in them at the time, but I was only interested in the games themselves and wasn’t particularly fussed about where or how they were revealed. It wasn’t until I joined PTC that I started consistently watching E3 presentations. While my preferred method is still to catch up on all the reveals after an E3 type event so I can focus on the stuff that interests me, I can definitely see the appeal of watching such things live, especially with a few friends. Probably my most memorable picks from the E3 live events was the Star Wars Battlefront 2 reveal during EA Play (any show that opens with Star Wars’ Imperial March is off to a winner). I loved the 2015 Battlefront reboot, but the expensive season pass and lack of variety brought the experience down somewhat. The 2017 reveal promised to fix all that, showing off multiple locations, weapons, vehicles, and characters from all Star Wars eras and also introduced the game’s new class system. Although the BF2 would go on to be panned at launch thanks to its loot box heavy progression system (which was thankfully fixed later on) the reveal itself was very impressive. The Artful Escape | Chris Brand My favourite E3 memory is from many moons ago. As the showcase takes place (or used to) around my birthday, I've always had cause to celebrate and my preferred method of celebrating back then was to get unbelievably hammered.
It all started off so well; I was watching E3, I was drinking, I was taking notes and I didn't have a care in the world. Until, that is, I awoke the next morning and attempted to make sense of the notes I'd jotted down whilst heavily birthday'd. Though the notes were littered with creative language and very short, I'd been descriptive enough for sober me to understand everything. Everything, apart from "Guitar Bastards." Not wanting to watch the events again in their entirety, I forgot all about Guitar Bastards and moved on with my life. Years passed, before a little indie game called The Artful Escape hit Gamepass. From the screenshots, I immediately recognised it as Guitar Bastards but with a different, far less appealing, name. I downloaded it, to serve as a digital monument, reminding me that patience is often rewarded. And because it has guitars and I'm a nerd. The Artful Escape is a colourful and charming adventure (and a fairly easy 100% completion) that I could have easily missed, just a quick trailer, nestled in amongst a handful of other long-forgotten titles, competing with the likes of Extreme Snow Bullshit (A.K.A Steep) and Moose-Pricks (I think that turned out to be The Deer God).  The gaming show of the year is back. Thousands have flocked to Cologne in Germany and millions more around the world have been waiting with baited breath for an unbelievable reveal (Half-Life 3 at last?), we pass judgement on the announcements and pick a few of our favourites to give the official PTC seal of approval. With no E3 to get in the way, Gamescom is soaking up a year’s-worth of anticipation from the gaming community, which comes with a lot of unrealistic expectations... What was your personal highlight? Was there something that disappointed you? Sound off in the comments or jump into our Discord for a chin-wag on the subject.
Gotham Knights | Liam Andrews As expected, a lot of what was on show last night didn’t involve much actual gameplay, but there were still a few trailers and reveals that stood out. I most enjoyed the Gotham Knights villains trailer, which was, at least, created with in-game footage, if not full gameplay. This was already on my radar, and the more I see the more I am convinced it’ll be good. I like the shift away from Batman, and baddies look like a good mix of supernatural and supervillain. I’m particularly excited to tussle with the Court of Owls and their Talon assassins, as they are a faction I have previously read about in comics but haven’t seen crop up in a game yet, as far as I’m aware. Elsewhere, The Lords of the Fallen trailer looked very cool, and reminded me I probably need to try the first game again. Under the Waves seemed interesting, and I’m hoping it’ll be a narrative driven affair rather than a crafting/resource management sim. Hardspace: Shipbreaker also caught my attention. It’s already been well received on PC and its launch on Xbox Game Pass means I’ll definitely be giving it a try. It was also nice to see some more High on Life gameplay, and while I wasn’t totally sold on the humour, it does look like enjoyable, silly fun. Monkey Island | Chris Brand The authentic pirate Guybrush Threepwood was a hero of mine growing up (and let's not forget he also moonlighted as a Jedi, Guybrush Threepkiller, in The Force Unleashed 2). Though Return to Monkey Island is only slated for release on PC and Switch (boo!) I'm hoping for an Xbox version at some point in the future, maybe even a compendium of all games to date. I can't be the only one champing at the bit for a Guybrush Threepwood collection.
The writing is crucial in any point-and-click title and Monkey Island always nailed the humour, not only with the wacky characters and interactions but also the, often ridiculous, puzzles and the unforgettable insult sword fighting. I'm a huge fan of the series and feel that sweet nostalgia whenever there's a new entry. Monkey Island has survived for decades without the need for endless sequels and that's possibly why I'm so interested. Something about absence and hearts and fondue, I don't know. Everywhere also caught my eye, in a way that's uncomfortably reminiscent of Fable. On the surface, it seems to promise a lot but we've all been burned before. I'm dubious of any game touted as a "GTA killer" because, so far, that particular franchise has no legitimate rival (sorry, Saints Row). Still, I'll be paying close attention whilst trying to avoid being splattered by the hype train. Much of what was on show seemed like little more than teasers but each and every trailer was a welcome break from Geoff Keighley's stupid face, which we've already been subjected to far too many times this year.  While the crowds might not have descended on Cologne in Germany for the biggest gaming event of the year, Gamescom still brought together the biggest trailers and game reveals it could muster, virtually, starting with the 2-hour Opening Night Live stream. We’ve pondered the selection and picked out a few of our favourite moments. Be sure to let us know what you’re looking forward to in our comments section.
 The Skywalker Saga is looking Crait. Sam Gamescom 2020 didn’t do much for me. I’m excited about several of the featured games, but most didn’t present anything new or of substance during the digital event. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart left me impressed following its initial reveal, though the footage that capped off Opening Night Live largely retread the same ground. It was a similar situation with Mafia: Definitive Edition, which received a short trailer when just a couple of days prior lengthy previews were all over YouTube. Dragon Age 4 is another I’m looking forward to that didn’t show particularly well. We’ve known it’s on the way for years, but still we only get looks at concept art and character models; well, that and what could be empty promises from BioWare. Indies fared better, as they did during last month’s State of Play, with Little Nightmares 2 and 12 Minutes putting in strong showings. Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead also proved surprisingly compelling, mostly for its sheer outlandishness. Finally, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond left a sour taste due to questionable marketing. The classic series’ return looks impressive, which is why I got all excited to see Oculus Quest as a supported platform. Take a moment to check the smallprint, however, and it becomes clear that there isn’t actually a dedicated Quest version. Instead, you’ll need a compatible PC and an Oculus Link cable… which kinda defeats the purpose of owning an all-in-one VR headset, no?  You'll still need a beefy PC to enjoy Respawn's Above and Beyond. Liam DIRT 5 is a game that continues to pique my interest, even though I’m not that much of a racing fan (though I did enjoy Codemasters’ GRID reboot). I’m not exactly big on map editors, either, but DIRT 5’s playground mode shown off during the stream looks surprisingly robust, and the teaser for a vampire mode, which I assume is a vehicular take on infection, has me intrigued. Elsewhere, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War continues to sound promising, although as a fan of the original Black Ops, it’s still a bit weird hearing Mason, Hudson and Woods without their original voice actors. I especially like the idea of the campaign’s optional objectives and nonlinear elements, and I look forward to experiencing them as my hastily made protagonist - character creators be damned! Star Wars Squadrons was the highlight of the show, however, and I am thoroughly looking forward to its release next month. Everything I’ve seen of the game so far has me convinced it could very well be the modern-day Rogue Squadron I’ve been waiting for, and even though I’m going to be picking it up on Xbox One, if I end up getting a PS5 I’ll be seriously tempted to double dip just for VR support.  Probably the closest we'll get to a new Rogue Squadron. What were your highlights from Gamescom? Let us know below or in the forums. Best of EGX 2019 | Event Round-Up24/10/2019  After trying out a host of excellent indie games at EGX Rezzed earlier this year, our appetite was well and truly whetted for more incredible titles at what is the biggest UK gaming event of the year, EGX.
The showcase had us following V in both Netrunner (i.e. stealthy stealthy) and Solo (i.e. all-out action) figurations through Night City, a broken utopia which never reached the potential of its vision. All this we previously knew, so what's different? To call the game a mixture of Deus Ex and Fallout is an oversimplification, but as V moves around the world NPCs will interact with you naturally and you'll have multiple routes to taking on a problem. The gameplay is slick, the presentation even more so, and the use of Keanu Reeves as your digital imaginary friend isn't overplayed. It'll be interesting to see if he ends up being more than just a sci-fi Jimminy Cricket as the narrative unfolds, though. The intrigue of the story, even in this brief slice, was arresting and interesting, plus even the hacking mini-games and other such tropes felt naturally integrated. It really feels like this game is showing us exactly what it will turn out to be, rather than overpromising a "living breathing world" and not delivering. We'll find out for sure when it launches on 16 April 2020. Best Singleplayer - Luigi's Mansion 3 With the previous game released on 3DS in 2013, it's been a while since Luigi has had a spooky adventure (if you don't count the scary levels from Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle - which you should). Now Mario's younger, taller brother is back to do his best Ghostbusters impression - just in time for Halloween. The poltergust (his hoover-like busting equipment) returns along with a new wrinkle in the form of the puzzle-solving champion Gooigi, a goopy green clone of the plucky plumber who can handle spikes and slip through grates. The presentation has the usual Nintendo sheen, and the visuals look particularly crisp, if a little tiny on a Switch Lite. It's a wholesome premise which has an artstyle that keeps things entertaining rather than scary, even for youngsters. Sadly, there was no sign of Waluigi, so we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed for the full game. Best Multiplayer - Cake Bash  A game we've seen before at EGX Rezzed, the confection-based brawler is only getting better with more time in the oven. In your quest to become the tastiest cake, there's now a new mode which sees you avoiding a hob placed in the centre of the map, and reportedly there's even more ideas to bring more unusual twists to this Smash Bros-‘em-up. The biggest sign that this title – brought to life by ex-Ubisoft devs High Tea Frog and published by Coatsink – has a bright future is the number of children and families who turned up to their booth at the show. (Of course, the deck chairs and cuddly toys probably helped.) We're expecting the final game at some point in 2020, so there may be more to see at next year's Rezzed. Best Indie - Adventure in Aellion  Have you ever been taking on a Hinox for the 18th time in Breath of the Wild and wished you had a little help? Adventure on Aellion (pronounced Ellion) aims to bring the accessibility and excitement of a solo Zelda adventure to a group of players. It's still early days, but already the visual style and solid gameplay shows the premise's potential. Developers The Game Production Company are keen to get feedback on the project in terms of how many players there should be and what features should be included. With an emphasis more on puzzles than combat (the latter of which they’re still expecting to explore), the experience will appeal to those who enjoy the brain-teasing seen in BotW’s Sheika shrines. Don't miss a few words from Director Luke O'Donoghue in our video round-up. The Longshot Award - Kung Fu Jesus  This is an interesting one. You're already intrigued by the name, right? What you are picturing can't quite prepare you for the reality of what this game is, however, and more importantly what it could be. Based partly on hallucinogenic experiences, Kung Fu Jesus is an alternate take on history where Jesus Christ (yes, that one) returns to Earth with no memory, is trained by a kung fu master and works for a drug dealer. The actual experience at the moment is limited. With creative choices around dialogue in particular, which reuses a handful of (possibly placeholder) foreign language lines, not giving us much to get into and the combat itself feeling quite basic. Hopefully this is just the first few steps towards a greater end product, as all development is to an extent, let's not forget, and the final game will break through the haze to connect with players while still retaining its quirky spirit. Most Anticipated - Pokémon Sword and Shield Pokémon is everywhere. Our phones, our films, even our shopping centres - nowhere is safe from the pocket monsters. It's even already on the Switch, since Let's Go! Pikachu and Let's Go! Eevee were released about a year ago, but many fans might tell you they "don't count". So, with just a few weeks to go, we got a chance to dive into the new Galar Pokémon region, loosely inspired by real-world Blighty, to fend off a few new 'mon. While it was only a brief glimpse, coupled with the extended information released from various Nintendo Directs, trailers and presentations, it gave us a good sense of how the game will play, and it's good news. The wheel isn't being re-invented here. The technical challenge of making the jump from 3DS to Switch was more than enough to keep Gamefreak busy, but there's a few new wrinkles to the formula which could be interesting, including Dynamaxing pokémon, a process which sees them grow to football pitch size and unleash devastating attacks. There was just time to challenge the water-type gym leader Nessa, and we were gifted a full squad of level 50 pokémon to give her a damn good thrashing. The animation was fluid and the performance sound, even as two dynamaxed monsters threw everything they had at one another. There's just a few more weeks to wait for the full experience, and our excitement is palpable. Honourable mentions  While blockbusters like the notably weird Death Stranding might have drawn the crowds, there are always more great games at EGX than we can do justice, so here's a few quick ones at the end, hopefully just before you tune out.
No Straight Roads, our top pick from Rezzed, returned with a fresh bit of polish and a few updated UI elements here and there. Indivisible proved to be a delightful hand-animated-style 2D platformer in the usual smattering of 8-bit would-be indie darlings and Boundary, though tricky to get to grips with at first, was very entertaining and a well-executed concept. Keep an eye out for Liam's upcoming interview for more on that one. In the more AAA camp we had Marvel's Avengers from Crystal Dynamics, with Nolan North and Troy Baker filling in for their better-known Hollywood counterparts. The gameplay was more satisfying than the initial trailer let on and we had a blast smashing up baddies with Mjolnir. Hopefully the final game, which will take a less linear approach to the prologue we played, will impress in the New Year. Finally, while there wasn't time to try it out, Ring Fit Adventure from Nintendo proved to be a hugely entertaining spectator sport, and one which was definitely popular with the kids who put it through its paces (or...loops?) at the show. What was your highlight? Did we miss a must-see game? Let us know in the comments and don't forget to watch our video on YouTube. |
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