Marvel’s superheroes have taken the limelight for over a decade, yet video game tie-ins have been relatively few, LEGO games aside. SEGA had a go during Phase One – resulting in a fairly good Captain America game – but it seemed nobody was willing to pick up the gauntlet after.
This makes the news surrounding Square-Enix’s Marvel’s Avengers all the more disheartening. It’s the first major Marvel game in ages, which is something genuinely exciting, but it seems Square-Enix is set on cramming it with all-manner of IAPs. The latest news to break, just days before the game’s launch, is that each character has their own Battle Pass.
Remember when our biggest concern were the character likenesses?
We still hold out some hope – it has been in development for a while, which hopefully means Crystal Dynamics has been able to focus on content, including events for post-launch. Still, we thought the days of publishers carving up their games – so that £50 is just the bare minimum entry fee – were starting to vanish following the whole Star Wars Battlefront II debacle.
On a more positive note, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 looks to be a joyous remaster of two fondly remembered classics. We understand it only features part of the original soundtrack, perhaps due to licensing issues, but regardless what we’ve seen so far has looked pretty fly, as the cool kids say.
Elsewhere this week WRC 9 leaves the garage, colourful action platformer Ary and the Secret of Seasons is ready to descend onto all three formats, while Sometimes You are back with a new release – Mask of Mists is a first-person fantasy adventure with sword-swinging and puzzle-solving. NBA 2K21 is this week’s sporting update, meanwhile.
Deep Silver’s Iron Harvest should be with us too. This RTS, set in an alternate 1920s and featuring dieselpunk mechs, comes from the developer behind Battle Worlds Kronos and The Unwritten Tales series. Pre-release footage looks impressive, and the team has promised free single-player challenges and multiplayer maps.
Chances are a few other games may show up – neither Xbox Wire or the PS Blog has provided new release listings for this week, making us rely on less reliable sources.
New release showcase
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2
Marvel’s Avengers
WRC 9
NBA 2K21
Ary and the Secret of Seasons
Iron Harvest
Mask of Mists
New multiformat releases
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2
- Marvel’s Avengers
- WRC 9
- Ary and the Secret of Seasons
- NBA 2K21
- Iron Harvest
- Spellbreak
New on PSN
- Doraemon Story of Seasons
New on Xbox One Store
- The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters
- Lou’s Revenge
- Lair of the Clockwork God
- Touhou Luna Nights
- CD-RUN
- Mask of Mists
- Batu Ta Batu
- Tell Me Why: Chapter 2
New Switch retail releases
- Ministry Of Broadcast
- Road to Guangdong
- Ary and the Secret of Seasons
- Mx Vs ATV All Out
Next week: Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning, Invector Avicii (Switch), OkunoKA Madness, Necromunda: Underhive Wars, Party Hard 2, CarX Drift Racing Online, Minoria, The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon, Inertial Drift, Tin & Kuna, Hotshot Racing, Tamarin, The Sims 4: Star Wars – Journey to Batuu, and Wintermoor Tactics Club.