General consensus has it that We Happy Few – available now on PC and Xbox One in early access form – has the potential to be something really quite special, but it needs a lot of work in order to achieve that greatness.
It also seems that it isn’t quite what people expected, either. The opening – as shown at E3 – suggests it’s a slow paced and involving drug-fuelled Bioshock-style adventure, when in fact it’s a randomly generated crafting/survival game with (optional) permadeath. Those who have picked up the preview version seem to be enjoying it so far, although be warned that enjoyment may only be temporary – Eurogamer’s interest levels quickly waned.
“We Happy Few has a ways to go, and offers up moments of fitful brilliance – certainly, it’s nice to see some skewering of England’s vaunted cultural heritage in the age of Brexit. But after a couple of days with the game, my high is already beginning to fade†they claimed.
Activision’s current-gen re-release of Marvel Ultimate Alliance and its sequel – announced just last weekend, and stealth launch yesterday – have set tongues wagging too, and all for the wrong reasons. Not only are these re-releases expensive (£29.99 each or £44.99 for the pair) and missing DLC, but PC gamers report of control and audio glitches too.
As HD remasters go, it appears they’ve had the same level of effort put into them as Activision’s own Prototype and Deadpool re-releases. That’s to say, not much at all.
Speaking of surprise releases, Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune leapt out of nowhere and onto PSN earlier this week. PS Plus members can pick up this latest entry in the cult JRPG series for £26.39 (£32.99 otherwise). Another JRPG launching this week is Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force on PS4, which is in fact the only retail release this week has to offer. Reviews have mostly been around the 7/10 mark so far. “The combat is probably the best of any Compile Heart game I’ve played,†said Destructoid while making comparisons to the Neptunia series.
Also on PS4 this week: Double Fine 70’s science fiction influenced adventure Headlander, hydrojet racer Riptide GP: Renegade, psychological thriller Asemblance, Arcade Archives FLAK ATTACK, and the match-three puzzler Tumblestone. We were planning to review the Xbox One version of Tumblestone, but the fact that all the arcade modes are locked behind a £3.99 paywall put an end to that. So much for it being “free†via Games with Gold.
The PS4, PS3 and PS Vita all receive Retro City Rampage DX too, while the PS Vita additionally gets the premium priced (£32.99) Bandai-Namco hack ‘n slasher A.W: PHOENIX FESTA, and the funky fresh bullet hell shooter Laser Disco Defenders. Yeah, we’re back in ‘70s territory for that one.
The currently review shy action RPG Dungeon Punks heads to both PS4 and Xbox One meanwhile, as does the ravishing pixel-art adventure Hyper Light Drifter. Reviews of HLD are bountiful as it launched on PC a few months ago. It’s a tough game but all the better for it and never unfair, gaining a few obligatory Dark Souls comparisons from the press.
“The promise of seeing more of the world and hearing more of the fantastic soundtrack are worthwhile rewards for your tenacity,†said GameInformer before handing out an impressive 9.5.
This leaves us with a few bits and pieces, including Fallout 4’s Vault-Tec Workshop, Minecraft Story Mode: Ep 7 – Access Denied, an EA Sports NHL 17 open beta for PS4 and a demo of the oddball platformer Masquerade: The Baubles of Doom, again for PS4. We gave the Xbox 360 version a spin a while ago and can’t say that we were particularly impressed. In fact, one of the few things noteworthy about it is that there’s an Xbox 360 version.
Next week: Livelock (Xbox One), Layers of Fear: Masterpiece Edition (Xbox One), Battleship (PS4/Xbox One), Risk: Urban Assault (PS4/Xbox One), Overcooked (PS4/Xbox One), Cannon Brawl (Xbox One), OlliOlli: Epic Combo Edition (PS4), Tricky Towers (PS4) and a standalone release of Dead Island Retro Revenge (PS4/Xbox One).