Out this week: Double Dragon IV, Poochy and Yoshi’s Woolly World, Hitman: The Complete First Season, more

Double Dragon IV made a surprise appearance on PS4 this Monday, and so far fans are conflicted. Some claim it to be pleasingly authentic thanks to its 8-bit visuals, calling it the NES sequel we never received back in the day. Others see it as a lazy sprite rip, akin to a fan game – a step backwards from the likes of DD Neon and DD Advance.

The £9.49 asking price gives some leeway, while also giving insight to what kind of budget Arc System Works Co had to work with. Reviews are starting to surface now, including 6/10s from both Destructoid and Game Informer. “If you’re looking for a true-to-form Double Dragon title, this is it. However, with decades passing since the original and nothing to propel it forward outside of the ancient IP, you may have difficulty finding the fun” said Game Informer.

DD4

I think we can all agree that it’s far removed from that terrible XBLA DD2 remake – the series has certainly seen worse days.

Reviews of Poochy and Yoshi’s Woolly World are starting to tumble out now, too. Nintendo Life called it “an elite 2D 3DS platformer” before giving it a 9/10, while Game Informer opted for an 8.5 and reported that “it doesn’t feel like a downgrade”.

Poochy

We’re still waiting on Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4: Road to Boruto reviews meawnhile, and we certainly aren’t expecting the likes of Eurogamer to cover Forestry 2017 – The Simulation on PS4 anytime soon.

We can at least vouch for Hitman: The Complete First Season being pretty great. Square-Enix’s decision to give Hitman the episodic treatment seemed wayward at first, but Io managed to keep quality content coming in a timely fashion. Expect to pay around £35 for this retail release, complete with steel book.

Slain, a Castlevania-alike that hit PSN a few weeks back, also gets a retail release this Friday.

Speaking of PSN, it’s another busy week for PS4. We can expect the FTP Bust-A-Move clone Adventure Pop, Arcade Archives Armed F, Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers and Ninja Theory’s colourful PSVR dual-wielding blaster Dexed. Then on PS Vita there’s Geki Yaba Runner, an auto-runner (unsurprisingly) that links back to 2 Fast 4 Gnomz on 3DS. You remember 2 Fast 4 Gnomz, right?

Over on Xbox One there’s Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1 and Vol 2, mystery adventure Subject 13, lavish looking platformer Candleman, 16-bit style shooter AQUA KITTY UDX: Xbox One Ultra Edition and the 2D RPG/Roguelike Pixel Heroes: Byte & Magic.

Defunct Games wasn’t too impressed with Pixel Heroes, stating that it doesn’t control too well with a controller. “Pixel Heroes: Byte & Magic is the rare beast that is often too simple for its own good and complex in all the wrong ways” they claimed.

CandelMan

Both PS4 and Xbox One also receive Kill The Bad Guy and Knee Deep. The former is an abstract shooter that requires planning, with the idea being to make every kill look like an accident. The latter meanwhile is a story driven crime thriller involving a mysterious suicide. VideoGamer thought it was pretty good, handing out a solid 7/10 while comparing the story to Twin Peaks.

Next week: Nioh (PS4), How to Survive 2 (PS4), Fallout Shelter (XO/PC), Rainbow Six Siege: Year 2 Gold Edition (PS4/XO), 8DAYS (XO), Crypt of the NecroDancer (XO) and Uncanny Valley (XO).

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