There are far fewer new releases than what we’ve seen in recent weeks, but it’s no cause for concern – every new major title due out this week has received almost universal acclaim.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey sees the franchise ‘on the up and up’ once again, quite possibly being the finest entry in the series to date. A rich, inviting and colossal open-world that pilfers a few ideas from The Witcher 3 is what’s on offer here – we haven’t seen praise this universal since Assassin’s Creed II.

Thanks to skilful implantation of Joy-Con and touch-screen controls, Super Mario Party gives Nintendo’s once proud franchise the shakeup it desperately needed too. This is one party you don’t want to miss. Sony’s Astro Bot Rescue Mission also allegedly feels rather Nintendo-like, being a serious contender as the best PSVR game so far.

Then we have SEGA’s Fist of The North Star: Lost Paradise, which as you may have guessed, is the greatest thing to happen to the celebrated anime series in quite some time. Fans of the Yakuza games should take a look, as it apparently shares more than a few similarities.

Mega Man 11 continues the theme of this week’s round-up. Yes, the blue bomber is back with a bang – it’s a worthy addition to the series that has been worth the wait. Not all critics were entirely smitten, but the mixture of 7s and 8s it has received is nothing to sniff at.

All this good stuff and WWE 2K19, too. Expect reviews to surface before the week is out.

New release showcase:

Astro Bot Rescue Mission

Reviews:
9/10 – Push Square: “Stunning presentation elevated by insanely good animation ensure that you always feel present in the release’s virtual world, while tight controls and genuinely clever level design will keep you engaged. This is the kind of game that will leave you beaming long after you’ve taken the headset off – and we can’t give it higher praise than that”

9/10 – The Metro: “The most visually impressive and entertaining game on PlayStation VR, with an incredible sense of scale and boundless imagination”

7.5 – Destructoid: “It’s polished and responsive, it just plays it safe with its subdued level design, with the occasional VR “wow” factor” sprinkled in”

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Reviews:
5/5 – GamesRadar: “No-one’s made an open-world RPG with this much depth and brilliance since The Witcher 3. This really is the ultimate Creed”

9.2 – IGN: “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s open-world adventure through ancient Greece is a gorgeous thrill, and the best the series has ever been”

8/10 – VideoGamer: “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey sees the franchise at its strongest and most ambitious yet. With a compelling story, solid RPG mechanics, and heaps of content to soak up, you’ll be spending months immersed in its sprawling Greek sandbox”

Mega Man 11

Reviews:
9.0 – EGM: “A misstep in the sound design keeps it from perfection, but it’s only a small blemish on an otherwise fantastic entry in the series”

8.5 – Destructoid: “Despite its reserved approach, it undeniably slots in very nicely with the classic series while bringing our old friend into a new era. The big finish could have been a little more mega, but it succeeds in pulling off the gargantuan task of getting people to care about Mega Man again”

7.5 – IGN: “It’s not revolutionary, but Mega Man 11 feels almost like a classic Mega Man game, and is a good foundation for the next 10 games”

Fist of The North Star: Lost Paradise

Reviews:
8/10 – GameSpot: “RGG Studios has done a splendid job at evoking the justice-fueled power fantasy Kenshiro represents, succeeding in revealing more about the historic and beloved character in amusing and unexpected ways”

7.5 – PlayStation Lifestyle: “It’s somewhat awkward at first, as it struggles to introduce the characters and world in a compelling way, but once it leans on its strengths, it’s easy to lose plenty of time with the various side activities and snappy combat”

7.0 – GameInformer: “Even without knowledge of the source material, Lost Paradise showcases an interesting world and story full of twists and turns, but it’s held back by a lethargic pace and repetitious combat”

Super Mario Party

Reviews:
9.0 – EGM: “From two-console minigames to the Joy-Con motion controls, the new Switch features elevate the entire experience, making Super Mario Party the best in the series so far”

8.5 – God is a Geek: “This is a Mario Party that more than deserves that ‘Super’ prefix that’s been coming for so long, and that’s rather amazing”

8/10 – Nintendo Life: “This isn’t a cash-grab with Mario’s face on the front; this is a well-constructed and beautifully realised Mario Party game which takes the series right back to its roots, but without being a straightforward rehash”

New digital multi-format releases:

WWE 2K19
The Surge: The Good, the Bad, and the Augmented

New on PSN:

Racket Fury: Table Tennis
Freaky Awesome
MLB Home Run Derby VR
Pilot Sports
Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story
Party Crashers
The Midnight Sanctuary
Smash Hit Plunder

New on Xbox One store:

Forza Horizon 4
Gnomes Garden
Armored Freedom

New Nintendo retail releases:

Flipping Death

Next week: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, The World Ends With You- Final Remix, Disgaea 1 Complete, Mark of the Ninja Remastered, Devious Dungeon, Chronus Arc, Spencer, Gem Smashers, Bridge Constructor Compilation, Evasion, My Memory of Us, Space Hulk: Tactics, and Goosebumps: The Game.