With another weekend of social distancing and self-isolation, I’m sure many of you are leaning on your favourite games console or gaming PC to help you while away the hours between getting out of bed and getting back in.
Maybe you’re going to indulge in the Predator: Hunting Grounds and Resident Evil: Resistance demos? Or maybe you’ve got a Nintendo Switch and won’t actually be getting out of bed for anything but breakfast, lunch, dinner and loo breaks?
In the News This Week
Of course, it was coronavirus that delivered this week’s biggest headlines:
- Tea leaf snaffles the Xbox Series X graphics source code, holds it for ransom
- Epic Games Publishing signs the developers of Control, Inside & Shadow of the Colossus
- Star Wars Episode I Racer will let you go podracing again as it heads to PS4 and Switch
- Bioshock, Borderlands, XCOM and Burnout all heading to Nintendo Switch
- Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition arrives on Switch in May with new Future Connected epilogue
- Death Stranding Photo mode will be added to PS4 soon
Of course, there was some Coronavirus news:
- New Plague Inc. mode will let you save the world, not destroy it
- Sony will make PSN downloads even slower, to maintain internet stability during coronavirus pandemic
- Resident Evil 3 physical copies may be delayed due to coronavirus
- Fallout 76’s Wastelander update delayed due to COVID-19
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons seasonal DLC might be delayed by coronavirus pandemic
- Microsoft add free educational content to Minecraft as schools close due to coronavirus
And while we’re waiting for the PS+ and Games with Gold updates – well, PS+ has leaked – there’s still free games to be had:
- World War Z is free on the Epic Games Store, as cross-play update goes live
- Stadia Pro subscribers get another three free games in April, including the Serious Sam Collection
Games in Review
We had some interesting games in for review this week, but were any of them essential? Well, maybe if you think about our currently self-isolated lives, they could be.
- One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 – PS4, XBO, Switch, PC – 8/10
- Hidden Through Time – PS4, XBO, Switch, PC, iOS, Android – 8/10
- Moons of Madness – PS4, XBO, PC – 7/10
- Yoga Master – PS4, Switch – 7/10
- Neon City Raiders – PS4, XBO, Switch, PC – 6/10
- Down the Rabbit Hole – PSVR, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive – 5/10
And we had a review of a mini arcade cabinet:
- My Arcade Micro Player – 8/10
Featured Articles
Miguel returned to the latest iteration of a fantastic anime fighter, with Under Night In-Birth EXE:Late[cl-r] out for Nintendo Switch, and a solid if unremarkable update to the Late[st] release from a couple years ago.
He also played the Yakuza Remastered Collection, finding some great ports of these PS3 entries in the crime drama series. If you’re a fan, this is well worth picking to complete the series story on PS4.
Meanwhile, Nick previewed Gordian Quest, which features a tangled knot of deck-building and grid-based combat, that tickled his roguelite fancy in a similar fashion to Darkest Dungeon.
Finally, What We Played featured Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Bleeding Edge and Nioh 2.
Trailer Park
Nintendo release Good Job!, an action-puzzler nepotism simulator for Switch
Resident Evil 3 trailer focuses on Jill Valentine, confirmed playable in Resistance
Torchlight III’s Sharpshooter hero class revealed
Check out the trailer for Dread Nautical, the new horror-themed tactical RPG from Zen Studios
Your Achievements
Just MrYd popped in to say hi this week. He’s had a lot of fun with Wolfenstein 2, reckoned that Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the worst of the modern trilogy, and has been suckered into The Division 2’s looty grind.
That’s it for this week. Stay safe and healthy, wash your hands, and good luck picking up the essentials at the shops!
