While this week’s line-up of new titles is lacking a standout big hitter, plenty of new games are vying for your cash.
Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood, in particular, stands a very good chance of breaking the UK top ten next week, and that’s despite a lack of reviews – being online focused, critics are taking their time before penning a final verdict. Kotaku and Destructoid both have work-in-progress reviews though if you’re eager to read up on early impressions.
Other retail releases include Dead by Daylight and Get Even on PS4 and Xbox One, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls on PS4, and 3DS JRPGs RPG Maker Fes and Ever Oasis.
Slasher horror Dead by Daylight hit PCs in 2016, offering 4v1 asymmetrical multiplayer similar to Evolve and the much more recent Friday the 13th: The Game. It’s launching on consoles for around the £25 mark, and while the absence of reviews is a tad concerning, it’s looking like a safe enough purchase. The PC original managed to gain a respectable Metacritic of 72%.
Get Even meanwhile is a first-person thriller published by Bandai-Namco, likened to SEGA’s now defunct Commended series. Scores haven’t been too impressive so far, including 6/10 from Wired and 4/10 from Push Square. “The plot may well grab your attention, but the act of actually playing Get Even is nothing but a chore†said Push Square.
The first review for RPG Maker Fes isn’t too encouraging either – a middling 5/10 from Nintendo World Report. “You’ll certainly be limited by the tools (or lack thereof) available here, and the lack of a meaningful tutorial may hinder all but the most patient of designers†they warned.
The embargo for Nintendo’s Ever Oasis hasn’t lifted yet, but it’s safe to assume that it’s a far more sensible purchase. The developers had a helping hand in most of the 3DS’s Zelda games, so expect a very Zelda-esque look and feel. We’ll cover it further in our weekly Nintendo eShop round-up.
On PSN Housemarque’s Nex Machina is causing a stir, gaining Eurogamer’s coveted ‘Essential’ badge. This shooter had Eugene Jarvis acting as a creative consultant, and this should be all we need to say.
The PS4 also receives PSVR experiences Fantastic Contraption and Ctrl, along with a belated release of the Wii U’s Island Flight Simulator, intriguing action RPG Lili: Child of Geos, Blasting Agent: Ultimate Edition (also on PS Vita), and the cheapy cheap (£1.99) platformer I Want To Be Human.
Then on both PS4 and Xbox One there’s Chess Ultra, and the free-to-play Dungeon Defenders II. User reviews for Dungeon Defenders II are far from positive, with reports of glitches, bugs and unstable servers, so you may want to dampen your enthusiasm before downloading.
Next week: Elite Dangerous (PS4), Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (PS4), Micro Machines World Series (PS4/XO), The Golf Club 2 (PS4/XO), Valkyria Revolution (PS4/XO), Demons Age (PS4/XO/PC), AereA (PS4/XO/PC), Goliath (XO), and Velocity 2X: Critical Mass Edition (PS4/PS Vita).