PLAY April 2023 - n.25

It almost feels like we’ve travelled to the past this issue, as we get very excited about Resident Evil 4, review the incredible Dead Space, and take a peek at some brand new Elder Scrolls adventures, where things this time get a bit more Lovecraftian. But that’s no bad thing – these series have staying power. The ’00s this isn’t, meaning it’s new tech like PS5 that, in part, has us so excited. As we talk all things Resident Evil 4 (p46) with the remake’s producer, Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, it’s clear that, despite revisiting the iconic game, Capcom isn’t tied to the past. What we’ve seen is ambitious enough that it feels like survival horror is being reinvented yet again, just as the original game did in 2004. Similarly, The Elder Scrolls Online…

It’s a multimedia titan encompassing anime, manga, and an avalanche of merchandising. Getting you closer to PlayStation’s most exciting stories, people, and culture Boasting over 34 million players, mobile-format sky pirate JRPG Granblue Fantasy is elevated by by the music and artwork of Final Fantasy alumni Nobuo Uematsu and Hideo Minaba respectively, plus the talents of the team at Cygames. You might not be familiar with it as the mobile title is not officially available in English (though series spinoff fighter Granblue Fantasy: Versus did come to PS4 in 2020), but that situation looks like changing as the release of action RPG Granblue Fantasy: Relink approaches. Originally co-developed with PlatinumGames but now purely in the hands of Cygames Osaka, Relink, along with a new iteration of Versus, could be what turns the series…

There’s a simple pleasure to heft in the hands. Many a hasty Meal Deal choice has been informed by quick weigh-ups. And while PlayStation’s new, expensive controller isn’t a sandwich, it feels loaded in the same way as a good one. But the £209.99 price point may rightly make you balk. However, beyond the approximately 50g extra in bulk compared to the regular DualSense controller that comes with PS5, there is a nice premium feel to the package as a whole. While the shape remains the same (why change the DualSense’s already great design?), the grip feels better, and extra detailing like the black highlights gives the pad a premium quality. STICK IT TO YA The new features have a pleasing tactility as you adjust them. You can release the front casing with…

By the time you read this, there will be just one more episode of season one to go, but there’s no need to be sad – the Last Of Us TV show became so popular so quickly, a new season was officially announced before the third episode had even been broadcast. Just how popular is it? The series enjoys over 20 million viewers in the US alone. In terms of audience size, The Last Of Us is second only to House Of The Dragon on HBO (the American channel which developed those shows). It’s outperforming heavy hitters such as Euphoria and The White Lotus. These figures take into account both the original broadcasts and people catching up on the HBO Max streaming service. And there are, of course, millions more people…

After months of speculation and leaks, Ubisoft Ivory Tower has revealed The Crew Motorfest, the second sequel to multiplayer open-world racer The Crew. It turns up the feelgood dial yet again, taking place on the Hawaiian island of O’ahu and bolstered by crowds, coloured hoardings, and trackside lasers. There’s nothing ‘underground’ about this scene. The Polynesian island looks sumptuous in 4K, with dense, rich vegetation and sparkling water, all providing an idyllic backdrop for some of the world’s most desirable supercars as they slide across the off-road trails and sun-baked asphalt of Hawaii’s capital city Honolulu. There’s no news of a story mode yet, but it doesn’t feel like murder will play a part this time. Just a hunch. The trailer shows destructible trackside scenery and mud build-up on the cars, and…

Cosmonaut Studios isn’t playing it safe with its first game, choosing to develop something that’s not directly comparable to anything else on PlayStation. In it, as a time-travelling regulator of spacetime, you’ll bounce around the seven days preceding a fictional house fire in May 2015 to ensure that all six people within survive – as they were supposed to. “A house fire, and waking up in the middle of the night to a house filled with smoke, is a common fear,” says narrative designer David Bottomley. “It’s realistic and yet it was also something that we could spin as being a necessarily fixed event in time that could be prohibited from changing (because it would alter the timeline too much on a macro level) but would still allow us to alter…