For a second week in a row, the Xbox loses an exclusive – and this time it’s one fans were led to believe wouldn’t go multi. Bethesda’s Starfield was once poised as the game that would send Xbox Series sales through the stratosphere and remain synonymous with the system for years to come. A fine plan, but one that didn’t come to fruition.
While it gave the Xbox a sales boost during the month it launched, the buzz surrounding this sci-fi planet hopping RPG soon fizzled out. It definitely isn’t a bad game – we awarded it an 8/10 – but it clearly uses Fallout 4 as its foundation, leading to some carryover. The problem here being that Fallout 4 launched in 2015 and had an engine already showing its age. In the end, it was just another Bethesda-style RPG and not the giant leap for the genre many were expecting.
The PS5 version launches Tuesday for £44.99, with a Premium Edition available for £60.99 that includes the Shattered Space and Terran Armada DLCs, along with 1,000 credits and skins. This PS5 release also has a few console specific features, such as haptic feedback. It’ll be interesting to see how it fares with critics a second time around.
It’s a slightly quieter week than usual elsewhere, presumably due to the long Easter break. We can however expect Annapurna’s hyperactive turn-based RPG musical People of Note, Daedalic’s paranormal adventure The Occultist, and eastasiasoft’s first-person horror Incantation – based on the movie of the same name.
Cosy management sim Tiny Bookshop is about to trundle onto PS5 and Xbox Series, too, having made an impact on Switch some six months ago. It’s also one of two Switch games due out at retail this week.
Then there’s Chainstaff – a warped fusion of Metal Slug and Earthworm Jim – sci-fi fantasy FPS Viscerafest, the “very opened ended” Metroidvania Skautfold: Moonless Knight, Kemco’s classic dungeon crawling RPG Tears Revolude, visual novel Arcadia Fallen II, a PSV2 version of the Quake-style shooter WRATH: Aeon of Ruin, and a re-release of the GBA’s shoot’em up/RPG hybrid Sigma Star Saga.
New release trailers
Starfield
The Occultist
WRATH: Aeon of Ruin VR
People of Note
Incantation
Skautfold: Moonless Knight
ChainStaff
Tiny Bookshop
Solid Void – Topsy Turvy World
Arcadia Fallen II
Tears Revolude
Viscerafest
Sigma Star Saga DX
Ninjora Echoes
New multiformat releases
- The Occultist
- People of Note
- Incantation
- Skautfold: Moonless Knight
- ChainStaff
- Tiny Bookshop
- Solid Void – Topsy Turvy World
- Tears Revolude
- Jaden & Jasmine II: Lost Memories
- TAMASHIKA
- Arcadia Fallen II
- Viscerafest
- Ninjora Echoes
New on PSN
- Starfield
- Sigma Star Saga DX
- WRATH: Aeon of Ruin VR – Brutal Edition
- Crime Simulator
- Rogue Doodle
- Darts VR 2: BullsEye
- Jaleco Sports: Bases Loaded II: Second Season
- Jaleco Sports: Goal! Two
New on Xbox Store
- Skating Rink Story
- Pro Wrestler Story
- Beyond Words
- Bytebond: Deluxe Edition
- Hacked: The Streamer
- Dragon Snack: From Ice to Ember (Xbox Series)
- Airplane Flight Simulator : EVO
- Little Helper Cafe: Sugar Cubes (Xbox Series)
- One Card One Shot – Mafia
- Nocturne Routes
- To the Basement: Before
New Switch retail releases
eShop round-up coming Thursday
- Tiny Bookshop
- The Rogue Prince of Persia
Next week: Pragmata, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, Ereban: Shadow Legacy, Hades II, Nullstar: Solus, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire, Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss, Cleaning Up, Anthology of the Killer, City Transport Simulator 2026, Dosa Divas, Gecko Gods, Find My Frogs, Under Par Golf Architect, The Empty Desk, Gunboat God, REPLACED, ZPF, and Ground Zero.