Summer in Mara (Xbox One)

Cross-pollinate a farming simulator with a fetch quest game, expose it to sunshine, and you get Summer in Mara. You play as Koa, a young girl adopted by Yaya – a grandmotherly figure who found Koa lost at sea. After hopping into Yaya’s boat and skimming off across the seas to visit other islands, Koa …

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UK chart sees first new release of 2021

This week’s UK chart is incredibly Switch centric. Animal Crossing: New Horizons claims a consecutive no.1 while ten Switch games sit within the top 20 alone. The top 40’s sole new release was a big seller on Switch too – Five Night at Freddy’s: Core Collection (also available on PS4 and Xbox One) entered at …

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Explore a mysterious ancient world via hoverboard in AnShi, an indie three years in the making

After a three-year development period, solo developer Andre Ledermüller is about to release their interplanetary adventure AnShi on Steam and Switch. It’s an abstract explorative affair intended to last around 3 hours, taking inspiration from fellow indie classics ABZU and Journey. Playing as a crash-landed alien being, it entails discovering what happened to this once …

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Black and white 1950’s sci-fi shooter Squadron 51 announced

Scrolling shooters are a dime a dozen on the digital services these days. Assemble Entertainment’s Squadron 51 seemingly has what it takes to stand out from crowd, however, inspired by 1950s sci-fi classics such as War of the Worlds, Godzilla, and Dr. Strangelove. Presented in glorious black-and-white o-vision, it sees a rebel group of pilots – known as …

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Double Dragon Neon, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, WRITHE, Rhythm Fighter and Wrestling Empire hit the Switch eShop

Scrolling brawler fans are spoilt this week with two big hitters arriving on the eShop. Ubisoft’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition has been greatly requested by fans since being delisted in 2014. It’s a genuinely decent movie tie-in, sporting excellent animation. This also marks its first appearance on a Nintendo …

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John Wick: Hex (Switch)

Funnily enough, the John Wick films seem to be both perfect and impractical video game material. Set in a heightened fantasy version of the real world, they involve an assassin coming out of retirement to gun down goons while rival assassins argue out arcane rules and traditions. A couple of generations ago, a publisher would …

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Lockdown sends Switch game sales soaring

GI.biz reports over 260k games were sold in the first week of January, up by a third from this time last year. This is down to a combination of the UK lockdown, an influx of new Switch owners, and people spending Christmas money. It’s the Switch that leads the way with Animal Crossing: New Horizons …

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Car Mechanic Simulator Classic

My other half has taught me a lot about cars over the years. I can’t tell you how many we’ve owned in this time – I lost count after the third Mark 4 Golf, the second Audi A3, the two Ford…somethings and the countless others. As he is an appreciator of older cars, things tend …

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Blooper Team showcases The Medium with a new 14-minute clip

Ahead of its 28th Jan release date, horror specialists Blooper Team (Blair Witch, Observer: System Redux, Layers of Fear) have released a 14-minute video for The Medium. The Xbox console exclusive promises to be their most ambitious and biggest project yet, arriving as a full-price release. Titular medium Marianne can explore two locations at once – …

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Wildfire

Logic and stealth. Two genres I generally avoid because I am neither a logical nor stealthy being. However, I am easily wooed by stunning 4K pixel art and the promise of fiery fun, prompting me to step outside my comfort zone for this ‘ye olde folke’ stealth platformer. Your village is under attack and your …

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