With almost twenty new releases on Xbox One alone, we can safely say it’s a busy week for new releases. Amongst these are two big hitters – EA’s UFC 4, which cranks up the realism this year to allow for a greater variety of outcomes, and Ubisoft’s free-to-play shooter Hyper Scape.
Hyper Scape is Ubisoft’s first stab at battle royale, believe it or not. Set within the virtual city of Neo Arcadia, it’s a 100-player urban affair with battles taking place in cluttered city streets, rooftops and plazas.
There are two ways to win – either be the last one standing or by capturing the crown – and new ‘hacks’ can be acquired during play, including the ability to turn into a giant ball. Twitch integration lets viewers choose a variety of world-altering effects, meanwhile.
It’s a pretty good week for indie oddities too, including the psychedelic twin-stick shooter Zero Strain, the surreal bug-based adventure Metamorphosis, four-player physics party game Brunch Club, and an Xbox release of the curiously well-received Cooking Simulator.
Sticking with the food theme, Bite the Bullet – due on Switch and Xbox One – is a roguelike RPG shooter where every enemy is edible.
We’ve spent some time with Escape from Tethys – a pixel art Metroidvania set within an off-world research facility teeming with alien life. While it doesn’t do much to push the genre forward, it’s competently put together and there’s a good sense of progression.
Hellraid is back from the dead too. Well, kinda – Techland’s cancelled gothic slasher is about to be reborn as Dying Light DLC, reusing some assets and accessible from a “mysterious†arcade cabinet.
Mad Games Tycoon also gets a retail release on both Switch and PS4. We really enjoyed this game development sim. It lets you set up a studio, hire staff, and create a portfolio of releases across a wide range of genres. Seeing your hot new release reviewed by the press is a really neat touch – it takes a decent amount of experimentation to gain critical praise. Expect to pay around £20-£25 for this one.
New release showcase
UFC 4
Hyper Scape
Cooking Simulator
Banner of the Maid
Faeria
Brunch Club
Darkestville Castle
Metamorphosis
Zero Strain
Bite the Bullet
New multiformat releases
- EA Sports UFC 4
- Dying Light: Hellraid
- Brunch Club
- Hyper Scape
- Prehistoric Dude
- Darkestville Castle
- MetamorphosisÂ
- The Alto Collection
New on PSN
- Banner of the Maid
New on Xbox One store
- Bite the Bullet
- Escape from Tethys
- The Ambassador: Fractured Timelines
- Boomerang Fu
- Linn: Path of Orchards
- Car Mechanic Simulator Classic
- Zero Strain
- Faeria
- Through the Darkest of Times   Â
- Cooking Simulator
- The Explorer of Night
- Linn: Path of Orchards
- Of Tanks and Demons III
New Switch retail releases
- Mad Games Tycoon
- Beholder: Complete Edition Collector’s Edition
- Mountain Rescue
Next week: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time, Battletoads, Peaky Blinders: Mastermind, Beyond Enemy Lines 2, Pathfinder: Kingmaker – Definitive Edition, Mortal Shell, Gleamlight, Stones of the Revenant, Norman’s Great Illusion, PGA TOUR 2K21 Digital Deluxe, and Dungeon Scavenger.