PLAY November 2021

welcome

As we’re only six issues into PLAY, we know a thing or two about fresh starts. This issue seems to be all about them, from original games to reboots to existing ones and new approaches to long-running series. It matches the newness of PlayStation 5 itself, still in its first year. This is a great time to look to the future. Saints Row, with its clean title and back-to-basics approach (p54) is the centrepiece of this issue. We dive into why now was the time to bring it back as we speak with Volition about the undertaking, and dissect the gameplay we’ve been shown behind closed doors. It might nix superpowers and the supernatural, but it’s the same zany crime series we grew to love as we played Saints Row 2…

this month’s saints

Jeremy Peel CONTRIBUTOR Shredding his review every time he finished and making him start it again and again, we drove Jeremy loopy this month. GAME OF THE MONTH Deathloop BEST CRIMES Mafia: Definitive Edition Jess Kinghorn GAMES EDITOR Her true colours turn out to be a sort of red as she sobs her way through the emotional game. GAME OF THE MONTH Life Is Strange: True Colors BEST CRIMES Yakuza Kiwami Miriam McDonald OPERATIONS EDITOR Who needs DokeV’s dokebi when you have cats? Though Mim’s don’t seem keen on donning boxing gloves after all. GAME OF THE MONTH Deathloop BEST CRIMES LA Noire Milford Coppock MANAGING ART EDITOR Milf’s started claiming he’s a saint. There’s no halo or choir in sight, instead he’s booked a one way ticket to Santo Ileso. GAME OF THE MONTH Deathloop BEST CRIMES Hitman…

a new kind of superhero rises

“It’s great to see the game exploring some of Marvel’s darker themes.” “The Midnight Suns need one more person. They need you - the legendary Hunter.” Comic fans are huge nerds. Us included. When those comics are adapted, be it into movies, TV shows, or games, we crave that same level of passion. Firaxis is the team best known for revitalising XCOM, and you have to admire its Thunderballs for, upon being handed the keys to the Marvel Castle, deciding to make a game all about the semi-obscure ’90s superhero team Midnight Sons (here revised as the less male-angsty Midnight Suns). Our own Mim remembers the comics well (and still has many). The books were dark and edgy in theme, yet bright in colour in the classic Marvel style. In the comics…

grand paintjob

As we await yet another version of GTA V (a game originally released in 2013 on PS3), this time on PS5, it’s hard to remember how prolific the golden age of the series was on PS2. Not only did GTA III hijack the open-world genre in general, but follow-ups Vice City and San Andreas took that to an even higher level, all within three years. It’s a trilogy worth remembering, and, as is strongly rumoured, worth remastering. There’s a host of reasons games can’t be released at that rate any more. For starters, Rockstar is known for its games being cutting-edge. As games have become more detailed, production costs have risen and timelines lengthened. And cranking out three games built on the same foundation is no longer the done thing, especially…

taylor-made news

We love a good PS5 upgrade at PLAY Towers. An excuse to revisit old favourites made even better? Sign us up. And we’re expecting The Witcher 3: Complete Edition to be a major one (especially as it’s a free upgrade). Nail this version of the incredible RPG, and we’ll be tossing coins to witchers left, right, and centre, even willing to forgive Cyberpunk 2077’s launch debacle. Speaking of tossing [Er… – Mim], the Complete Edition will include brand-new DLC “inspired by” the Henry Cavill-led Netflix Witcher series. We don’t expect this to go as far as the PC mod that transplanted Cavill into the game itself, but we’re eager to see what it actually entails. Most likely, it’ll be a few items you’ll be able to pick up that look like…

an unreal journey

“Under a beating sun, bolts of lightning mix with the sun’s rays to create a scene sizzling with atmosphere.” Already a looker when it was revealed last year, Black Myth: Wukong’s latest gameplay showcase revealed an engine upgrade. Now running on Unreal Engine 5, the Journey-To-The-West-inspired soulslike looks amazing. Chinese developer Game Science really shows off what Epic’s engine can do in a game. In the showcase, Monkey makes his way towards a shrine through a mountain blizzard, fighting larger, angrier monkeys. As they scuffle, the snow deforms around the fighters, particles flying all over the place. There’s a paciness to the combat that calls Sekiro to mind, but it’s got a heft that’s all Dark Souls. Slickly trading blows with his simian attackers, Monkey is able to leave after-images as he…