Last week Mortal Kombat 1 and Lies of P gained deluxe early access editions ahead of their standard versions. This week it’s the turn of PAYDAY 3 and EA Sports FC 24 – with the former’s gold and silver editions giving three days of advance playtime, and the latter’s £99.99 Ultimate Edition allowing football fans to tear up turf a seven days early.
While we’re still not sold on the idea of paying through the nose to get early access, the upshot of these premium editions is that reviews tend to go live earlier than usual. Mortal Kombat 1 currently boasts an 85% Metacritic on PS5 and 89% on Xbox Series, with the consensus being that it’s the best MK has ever been – polished, deep, gory, and with some great new additions. The Switch version meanwhile gained a ribbing on social media over the weekend, not only looking a little rough but a bit glitchy too. A patch should at least stamp some bugs out.
NEOWIZ ‘s Soulslike Lies of P – based on Pinocchio – is going down well too, with Metacritic scores in the mid-80s. When we tried the recent demo the dodge maneuver seemed slugging, and thankfully, that appears to have been fixed ahead of launch. Xbox gamers can expect it on Game Pass today – yes, a Monday launch.
On the subject of Game Pass, the wobbly physics multiplayer package Party Animals is also due, which – and to quote the product description – is the “BEST GAME FOR A SATURDAY NIGHT WITH FRIENDS.” We’ll have to take their word.
PAYDAY 3 doesn’t need much of an introduction, we feel – the concept of bank robberies is easy to grasp. It seems that strategy plays a bigger part this time around, making players think more carefully about how to tackle heists and whether to keep or kill hostages. Being a very good fit for Game Pass, it’s no surprise that MS snapped this one up for the service too.
Other releases include an HD re-release of the PSP’s The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails for PS4, PC, and Switch, Atari’s promising tactical RPG roguelite Days of Doom, Mindscape’s family friendly 3D platformer Paperman: Adventure Delivered, pixel art brawler Bud Spencer & Terence Hill – Slaps And Beans 2, Nickelodeon tie-in Avatar The Last Airbender: Quest for Balance, and a low cost re-release of the PC Engine’s Cyber Citizen Shockman 2: A New Menace.
The Switch gains a few notable retail releases too, including Pikmin 1 & 2 and the hardcore tactical RPG Gloomhaven – which is also due on PlayStation and Xbox formats.
New release trailers
Mortal Kombat 1
Lies of P
PAYDAY 3
EA SPORTS FC 24 Ultimate Edition
Gloomhaven
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Quest for Balance
Days of Doom
Paperman: Adventure Delivered
Bud Spencer & Terence Hill: Slaps and Beans 2
Party Animals
Shuyan Saga
Whateverland
New multiformat releases
- Lies of P
- Mortal Kombat 1
- PAYDAY 3
- EA SPORTS FC 24 Ultimate Edition
- Avatar The Last Airbender: Quest for Balance
- Days of Doom
- Paperman: Adventure Delivered
- Bud Spencer & Terence Hill – Slaps And Beans 2
- RAINBOW HIGH: RUNWAY RUSH
- Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission
- Shuyan Saga
- Gloomhaven Gold Edition
- Rayland
- Rayland 2
- Cyber Citizen Shockman 2: A New Menace
- Earthshine
- RIN: The Last Child
New on PSN
- The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails
- Hellsweeper VR
- Broken Edge
- RUINSMAGUS: COMPLETE
- Persha and the Magic Labyrinth: Arabian Nyaights
- You Suck at Parking
- Mechs V Kaijus
New on Xbox Store
- Party Animals
- HammerHelm
- Super Snake Block DX
- Whateverland
- Squad 51 vs. the Flying Saucers
New Switch retail releases
eShop round-up coming Thursday
- Pikmin 1 & 2
- Days of Doom
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Paperman: Adventure Delivered
- Gloomhaven
- RAINBOW HIGH: RUNWAY RUSH
Next week: EA Sports FC 24, Overpass 2, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, El Paso, Elsewhere, Ys X: Nordics, Mail Time, Wildmender, Everhood Eternity Edition, Ninja Kidz: Time Masters, Fate/Samurai Remnant, Cocoon, Indoor Kickball, Train Sim World 4, The Crackpet Show: Happy Tree Friends Edition, Paper Beast, Border Bots VR, Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai, Dolphin Spirit: Ocean Mission, NFL Pro Era II, Abomi Nation, Iron Wings, Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos, Paleo Pines, Terraformers, Truck Driver: The American Dream, Afterdream, CyberTD, Girls Frantic Clan, Pizza Possum, and PAW Patrol World.