The Xbox One store saw a surprising amount of new releases go live in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Eight games in total, which we believe is a new record. Not that anybody is keeping track.
Those eight were The Turing Test, Armello, Hue, Mahjong, 140, Binaries, Resident Evil 4 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – GOTY Edition, which were then followed by the top-down undead strategy game I, Zombie on Wednesday. The intriguing The Final Station and pixel art adventure Claire: Extended Cut are also due before the week is out, bringing the Xbox One’s new release line-up for this week into double figures. This is something that doesn’t happen often – usually it’s the PS4 that sees the bulk of new releases.
PS4 owners shouldn’t feel envious – most of the above are now available on PSN, too. Specifically, Hue, Mahjong, 140, Binaries, Resident Evil 4, Claire: Extended Cut and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – GOTY Edition. The PS4 received digital board game Armello a long time ago, where it was met by a positive reception.
Retailing at around £35, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – GOTY Edition is an obvious no brainer. We’d wager that RE4 is a safe purchase too; the lack of reviews is a little worrying, but so far Capcom hasn’t done anything disastrous when it comes to HD conversions. Y’know, like removing fog and completely changing the voice acting cast.
Space-set puzzler The Turning Test gained Eurogamer’s recommendation. “A playful examination of the relationship between human and machine, and a focused, entertaining puzzler†was their verdict. The Metro meanwhile described it as “Portal without the jokes†before handing out a solid 7/10. “Thanks to the poor voiceovers, and the tiresome mechanic of audio logs, the narrative side of The Turing Test sometimes falls flat, but the puzzle-solving is still worth the price of admission on its own,†they said.
Curve Digital’s colour-based platformer Hue has been gained similar scores – 7/10s from both Push Square and God is a Geek. “It’s a slow starter, but give it a chance and Hue blossoms into a stunning, fun, yet challenging puzzle game with some quick platforming to break it up,†said the latter.
We’re planning on reviewing Binaries ourselves over the next few days, but rest assured it’s worth investigating – scores for this abstract physics-based platformer include 7/10s from This is Xbox and God is a Geek, who likened it to Super Meat Boy.
Both formats also receive Fallout 4’s Nuka-World DLC, which seems far more appealing than some of the other half-baked add-ons the acclaimed RPG has received prior. IGN felt the same way, resulting in a 7.9.
On PS4 exclusively there’s the WW1 shooter Verdun, which has a tempting PS Plus discount in place – £11.99 instead of £15.99. This FPS has flown under the radar, despite gaining a cult following on PC. The PS4 also gets the four-player RPG Moon Hunters, lavish looking sci-fi shooter Strike Vector EX, Arcade Archives Kid’s Horehore Daisakusen, co-op top-down shooter Livelock, screen-warping puzzler Four-Sided Fantasy and Star Hammer: the Vanguard Prophecy.
In addition to The Witcher 3: GOTY Edition, three others are due at retail – God Eater 2 Rage Burst, Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X and the 3DS’s Metroid Prime: Federation Force.
As mentioned in our weekly eShop round-up, Federation Force has gained mixed reviews. Everything from 8/10 to 4.5/10. Since then we’ve caught wind that the co-op shooter has flopped in Japan, a territory where the 3DS usually excels. That said, Japanese gamers have never taken to first-person shooting in the way that western gamers have. This only further highlights how bizarre the game’s direction is.
God Eater 2 reviews are starting to surface now and are so far encouraging, with an 8/10 from The Sixth Axis and 3.5/5 from Attack of the Fanboy under its belt. There are no reviews of the PS Vita version around at the moment, mind.
SEGA’s rhythm action game Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X ends the week on a high, gaining a slew of surprisingly high scores. Destructoid in particular was smitten, awarding it a lofty 9/10. “This is hands-down the best music and rhythm game of the current generation of home consoles, though it isn’t exactly a competitive genre these days,†they said, rather solemnly.
Next week: The Elder Scrolls Online Gold Edition (PS4, Xbox One), Just Sing (PS4, Xbox One), Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet (PS4), Oceanhorn – Monster of Uncharted Seas (Xbox One), King Oddball (Xbox One), Assault Suit Leynos (PS4) and retail releases of Space Hulk (PS4) and Lumo (PS4, PS Vita).