God of War wasn’t able to strip Far Cry 5 of its title as the fastest-selling new release of 2018, but it did have the strongest launch in the franchise so far, taking no.1 in the process.

The previous fastest-selling entry in the series was God of War III, incidentally; one of just two past God of War titles that went straight to number one. The other was God of War II.

SEGA’s Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is also now a record holder in terms of week one sales, beating Yakuza: Kiwami, albeit by only 300 units (according to GamesIndustry.biz).

Yakuza 6 had to settle for #3, with Far Cry 5 – last week’s chart-topper – dropping to #2.

FIFA 18 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe moved down two places, taking #4 and #5 respectively.

Super Mario Odyssey rose to #6. The ever-popular Fallout 4 held onto #7, PUBG – which was free to play over the weekend – fell to #8, and Zelda: Breath of the Wild re-entered the top ten at #9. Then at #10 it’s the evergreen GTA V.

Both Sea of Thieves and GT Sport departed the top ten, meanwhile.

The physical release of Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap was the only other new arrival, making #11 in the Switch chart. The PS4 version didn’t get a look-in, sadly.

American gamers have a choice between digital or physical for Wild Guns Reloaded (£26.99). Sadly, Switch owners in Europe are forced to go digital…or import a copy. We imagine most will bite the bullet and opt for digital. PS4 owners in Europe were also forced to cough up almost £30 or import. Mercifully, it has retained its value.

It also helps that this retro revamp is genuinely good. Two reviews of the Switch version are currently live – an 8/10 from Cubed (“It’s a lean and compact shoot ’em up that’s consistently challenging and rewarding”) and a 7.5 from Nintendo World Report.

“Wild Guns Reloaded is a great revival of a lowkey Super Nintendo game in a genre that you don’t see much anymore,” said NWR.

Manticore – Galaxy on Fire (£17.99) is another prolific Switch release. This vehicular sci-fi shooter promises a storyline lasting around 8 hours. It’s a mobile conversion, but one that’s had extra work put into it, featuring a new HUD and HD Rumble. The first review comes courtesy of IGN Spain, who dished out 7.2.

Then we have Neo ATLAS 1469, an almost full price (£37.99!) map charting simulator of sorts. We dare say that’s a hard sell. The same goes for the officially licensed Skee-Ball (£17.99!) which offers numerous gameplay modes and the chance to win virtual prizes. We can’t see this one riding the eShop chart high either.

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The eponymous Bertram Fiddle made his debut on PC a few years ago. Making sense to start at the beginning, the first part of this on-going episodic adventure has now found its way onto the Switch eShop.

A point ‘n clicker with a decidedly British sense of humour, TAOBFEOADB (as we’ll be calling it from now on) sees likeable underdog Bertram Fiddle trying to solve the mystery of Geoff the Murderer.

If you’ve read the Beano or seen anything by Cosgrove Hall, you’ll know what to expect here. That is, puns. Puns, spoofs, and a winningly old-fashioned British sense of humour, albeit with a slightly darker twist. TAOBFEOADB is after the hearts of those who watched Count Duckula as children, and it does a great job of capturing that mood.

More than a few moments gave me a good chuckle, the great voice acting going a good way to selling the jokes.

If you’ve ever played a point ‘n click adventure, you’ll also know what to expect. Visiting numerous locations, picking up objects, and using them in obtuse ways to further your progress. TAOBFEOADB makes this process quite painless. The inventory management is very intuitive, and you can see all the hotspots at each location by a push of a button.

Our only grumble is that you can’t use the analogue stick for movement. Instead, the analogue stick acts as a mouse pointer (or can also use the touchscreen). We get that this port didn’t have the biggest of budgets, but it would have been a helpful optional feature.

Due to being a short adventure, as episodic affairs tend to be, some frustrations associated with the genre are minimised. You don’t have items in your inventory for yonks, wondering when you’re ever going to use them. You generally encounter an item only a few screens before it’s useful.

It’s uncommon to traipse back and forth looking for missed items, too. We completed the game in two sessions, with only one puzzle prompting us to turn off the Switch and have a little think.

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PS4-exclusives God of War and Yakuza 6 have more in common than both centring upon parental responsibilities. Sony and SEGA were so confident in review scores being positively glowing that their review embargos lifted long before launch.

That faith was well placed – God of War has gained a slew of 10/10s, along with numerous 9s. It’s bound to be remembered as one of the most successful reboots of all-time, providing a meatier and more meaningful experience. It pushes the system like no game before it, too – if this isn’t the PS4 running on all cylinders, it’s mighty close.

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life was met by a steady string of 8s and 9s. It’s the third Yakuza game in just over a year, and so there are some signs of franchise fatigue on display. Like God of War, the presence of a child puts a novel spin on the story, leading to scenes with richer depth and emotion.

It’s the usual assortment of serious storyline quests, and insanely daft sub-sub quests – a combination that works spectacularly well. As for diversions, you’ll find both Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown and Puyo Puyo on hand. If you’re thinking that the presence of VF5 alone is enough to justify the entry fee, then we like where your head is at.

What do Xbox One owners have to entertain themselves with this week? Casey Powell Lacrosse 18, and an assortment of new BC titles – Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Breakdown, Conker: Live & Reloaded, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Hunter: The Reckoning, Jade Empire, Panzer Dragoon Orta and SSX 3. Prices start at £8.99, rising to £11.99. Alternatively, they’ll run from original discs.

The end of April sees another batch of titles, including numerous Star Wars games, Destroy All Humans, Mercenaries, and Full Spectrum Warrior.

New release showcase:

God of War – PS4

Reviews:
5/5 – The Telegraph: “One of the most gorgeous, spectacular and impactful blockbusters of the generation”

10/10 – Polygon: “There’s still plenty of gore, but now the guts have meatiness. Some die-hard fans may fear this isn’t really God of War. I suppose they’re right. It’s even better”

10/10 – IGN: “The obvious care that went into crafting its world, characters, and gameplay delivers by far the most stirring and memorable game in the series”

9.75 – GameInformer: “An enthralling experience from beginning to end, with a mixture of great narrative moments and engaging encounters”

9.5 – EGM: “The end game doesn’t expand on the game’s strengths quite to the extent that it could, but such an omission is only notable due to the uncompromising quality of everything leading up to it. God of War does exactly what it sets out to do, and if it isn’t perfect, it’s damn near close”

9/10 – VideoGamer: “God of War achieves a very impressive balance between the epic and the mundane, between the ultra violent and the domestic. It’s undoubtedly the coolest and most interesting God of War to date”

9/10 – The Metro: “A top-to-bottom revamp of the whole God Of War franchise that matches thrilling, if slightly shallow, combat and exploration with some impressively trenchant storytelling”

8/10 – TheSixthAxis: “A lot of what goes into God of War feels as though it was cherry-picked from the modern gaming zeitgeist. The semi-open world structure, loot system, and a much deeper narrative focus work well, but are all trends being pushed by most other big games”

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life – PS4

Reviews:
9.25 – GameInformer: “Yakuza 6 delivers both quality and quantity, so saying goodbye to Kiryu doesn’t feel rushed”

9.0 – God is a Geek: “Yakuza 6 is a fitting end to a great saga, with fantastic combat and lots to do outside the main story”

4.5/5 – GamesRadar: “A touching finale for Kazuma Kiryu, Yakuza 6 manages to surprise and delight in equal measure”

8/10 – Digital Chumps: “While it surrenders the sweeping ambition that defined Yakuza 0 and Yakuza 5, it feels sharper, more focused, and more honest about its intentions”

7/10 – Destructoid: “Given more development time, this could have been the definitive entry in the series, but what we’re left with is good enough. Hopefully Kiwami 2 can make some necessary improvements, because the groundwork set by the Dragon Engine is just awesome”

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With nothing to challenge it, Far Cry 5 remains the UK’s no.1 for the third week running. Sounds like sales far exceed FIFA 18 at #2, as Ukie describes its chart position as “comfortable”.

Backing this up, the ever-insightful GamesIndusty.biz states that “selling around 3,500 copies would have got any game into the Top Ten this week.”

This also sheds light on how Extinction – last week’s only notable retail release – has performed, as the critically mauled action game failed to make the top 40. Our guess? A few hundred copies, tops.

Incidentally, Gun*Gal 2 also failed to make the Switch top 20.

Going back to the top ten, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe rose to #3. GTA V also moved up a few positions, taking #4. PUBG held onto #5.

Sea of Thieves fell from #3 to #6, golden oldie Fallout 4 re-entered the top ten at #7, Super Mario Odyssey took #8, GT: Sport parked up at #9 – rising from #15 – while Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy remains at #10 for another week.

Call of Duty: WWII and Forza Motorsport 7 both depart the top ten, meanwhile.

Friday’s launch of God of War should help the UK’s currently flagging software sales. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life stands a good chance of breaking next week’s top five, too.

I’ve been in Japan these last few weeks, and is often customary for a self-respecting gamer, a copy of the latest Famitsu has found its way into my bumbag.

The only slight issue is that I can’t speak Japanese. So, get ready for me trying to guess what’s going on from context and some massive cultural insensitivity.

This week’s issue has God of War on the cover and comes with a God of War poster and a load of info. Info like this: you’ve got a little fella helping you out.

There’s also a whopping 10 pages dedicated to this generic looking 3DS RPG.

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Ladies and gents, it’s a record-breaking week for new Switch eShop releases – 26 games in total, incorporating the usual mix of belated conversions, fresh indies, and retro-releases. On a side note, five demos also debut this week – another new, if tedious, record.

The first reviews of Gal*Gun 2 (£44.99) aren’t exactly positive, being a mixture of 5s and 6s. Nintendo Life opted for 5/10 (“Gal*Gun 2 offers an on-rails shooter experience that gets very familiar and repetitive far too quickly, without ever really providing enough content to keep you hooked”), while Nintendo World Report issued a 6/10. “If you can get past the underage ogling thing, Gal*Gun 2 is a fun, if short, game,” was NWR’s verdict.

From Wales Interactive we have The Bunker (£9.99), a live-action psychological thriller. Or in fewer words: an FMV game. It’s far better than it has any right to be, offering something a little different.

Don’t Starve: Nintendo Switch Edition (£17.99) is another belated conversion well worth considering, including Don’t Starve + Reign of Giants + Shipwrecked. No reviews are live yet, but it’s hard to imagine anything going awry during the jump to Switch.

The Adventure Pals (£10.79) is a whole lot newer, hitting the likes of PS4 just a week ago. Reviews for this family-friendly platformer were full of praise, making it worth a look.

Hellish first person survival horror Infernium (£19.99) only hit PS4 at the beginning of April, too. Long loading times and a few technical issues held it back, resulting in scores mostly around the 5/10 mark.

As for new releases, we have Bombslinger (£10.79), a wild west set Bomberman alike. It looks like the publisher chose to send critics the Switch version to review, over the PS4/XO versions, which would suggest it suits the Switch best and was designed with it in mind. Nintendo Life ignited a 7/10: “Bombslinger is a decent game, but its brutal and unforgiving difficulty is sure to turn many potential buyers off,” they warned.

That’s joined by Deep Ones (£4.49), a ZX Spectrum influenced 2D platformer with a few shoot’em up stages. We didn’t think much of this ‘one’ – it’s sloppily programmed, leading to many frustrating moments.

Masters of Anima (£15.99) fares better, being one of this week’s highlights. It’s a Pikmin/Overlord alike that involves sending out troops to do your bidding. The combat is a tad brutal – if battles drag on, you’re ultimately screwed – but it still represents good value for money, and it’s rather polished.

Rogue Aces (£9.99) is another gaining good reviews. No review scores below 7.5 so far, in fact.
It’s a wraparound arcade-like 2D shooter, with procedurally generated landscapes…hence the ‘rogue’ part of the title. The Sixth Axis awarded it 8/10. “Infinite State Games have created something very special here,” they said.

As for arcade re-releases, we have the colourful 1994 puzzler ACA NEOGEO Gururin (£6.29), vertical shooter Dragon Blaze for Nintendo Switch (£6.99), and Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: Bad Dudes (£7.99). Are you a bad enough due to rescue the president? Actually, don’t answer that.

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The Pikmin-alike Masters of Anima is one of this week’s highest scoring new releases, currently bettered only by the belated Xbox One version of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice on Metacritic.

Masters of Anima sees a young scholar summoning and commanding armies of stone guardians, used not just for combat but also puzzle solving. We found it to be a polished package with a meaty and challenging combat system. The £15.99 price tag represents good value for money, too – there’s at least 20 hours of play here. We’d go as far to say that some of the greedier publishers out there would have happily charged double.

Enter Maximum Games. We hoped Extinction would mark the start of a new chapter for the frugal publisher – the trailer looked impressive, it had a renowned studio behind it (Iron Galaxy, who took over the Killer Instinct reboot), and he core concept of taking down colossal giants was sound. They even felt it deserving of a £64.99 deluxe edition. The end result? A dull and formulaic experience, with one centrepiece gimmick recycled endlessly.

Most review scores clock in at 5/10. Not all critics were that generous though – a fair few 3/10s have been handed out, while Gaming Trend gave it a miserable 15%. “Someone, somewhere along the line, should have made the call to cancel this game,” they said.

As mentioned, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice arrives on Xbox One this week. The ‘AAA indie’ did the business on PS4, gaining positive reviews and shifting 500k copies in just three months. There’s no reason as to why the Xbox One version shouldn’t repeat this success – it makes good use of the Xbox One X’s extra grunt, and we haven’t seen a lot of big budget titles on the Xbox One store of late. You’ll find review scores below.

Indie platformer Deep Ones – influenced by the ZX Spectrum era – is another we’ve reviewed this week. It’s an extremely low budget platformer that’s rougher than sandpaper, with more than a few frustrating moments. Echoing our 4/10 review, The Xbox Tavern also gave it a kicking: “Deep Ones may be cheap, you’re practically paying to be pissed off.”

For those with a PSVR headset, survival shooter Time Carnage and Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-Ality may be of note. Virtual Rick-Ality hit PC (and other devices) last year, gaining favourable reviews despite being a tie-in. From the looks of things, the retail release isn’t due until the end of April.

New release showcase:

Masters of Anima – PS4/XO/PC/Switch

Reviews:
8/10 – Nintendo Insider: “[…] it’s hard not to marvel at the thrill of it all in the thick of battle, and how the many systems that are at play are masterfully woven together”

7.5 – PlayStation Lifestyle: “Masters of Anima is for those who love to multitask. Ordering various groups of guardians to attack multiple groups of enemies while also moving around, dodging attacks and performing combos can make for a very hectic game”

6/10 – Nintendo Life: “Masters Of Anima is no Pikmin, but if you’re looking for a fantasy land filled with tough enemy encounters and a game that’s relatively straightforward, then this one is for you”

Extinction – PS4/XO/PC

Reviews:
6/10 – Destructoid: “There are some flashes of brilliance every now and then but the over-reliance on the core energy meter idea keeps it imprisoned in the depths of repetitive arcade territory”

4.0 – God is a Geek: “The controls and camera barely work, and the plot is barely even there, told through excruciatingly lifeless reams of dialogue at the beginning and end of each stage; I just can’t recommend playing Extinction”

3/10 – The Metro: “Like most bad games the frustration with Extinction is that it’s not too hard to imagine the better game it could’ve been, especially given its obvious inspiration”

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice – XO

Reviews:
9.0 – Windows Central: “Aside from the linearity and slight performance issues, there isn’t much to fault in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. It’s a unique title which succeeds in its mission of giving gamers a glimpse into how people deal with psychosis and loss. It also delivers a realistic yet uplifting conclusion in the end”

8.5 – EGM: “Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is the action adventure genre stripped of its excess, until a smaller, more personal journey remains. While it may feel shallow and lacking for some, those wanting something other than the usual big-budget 70-hour fare will find Senua’s story to be unlike anything else in recent years”

8/10 – GameSpot: “Though combat is one of the core pillars in Hellblade, the game doesn’t concern itself with offering numerous weapons or complex skill-trees to work through. Aside from some new combat abilities unlocked at key story milestones, Senua’s arsenal of skills and weapons is kept light till the end”

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