PLAY September 2022 - n.17

The future of gaming is looking good, but it’s also looking a little familiar. That’s no bad thing, though, as feeling comfortable can be great, especially when things grow the right way. Cover game Street Fighter 6 (p48) fits that nicely. It respects the series’ legacy, while evolving in all the right ways to be a surefire victory. We’ve spent plenty of time in the ring, and chatting to Capcom’s developers. The game’s a smart mix of great core action and innovative features that make things approachable, from easier inputs to commentary from real fighting game commentators to give you a push in the right direction. While Sonic is also returning, making us feel like we’re in a rather old-school era, the Blue Blur’s latest, Sonic Frontiers (p58), feels like a much…

The aim is to bring the game more in line with the other RE Engine remakes. The sleeveless turtleneck is out, and a blazer is in. Resident Evil 4 Remake once again asks if you’re a bad enough dude to save the President’s daughter, saving her from becoming a fashion victim somewhere in southwestern Europe. While abductee Ashley Graham has been given a makeover, however, Leon S Kennedy’s keeping his classic outfit. The hottest look on your console when it’s released on 24 March is going to be a sheepskin leather bomber jacket paired with a haunted stare. All joking aside, for next year’s remake of the 2005 original the changes aren’t simply aesthetic. All the recognisable beats are there (the rural setting, the infected ‘Ganado’ enemies, the questionable motivations of Ada…

The absolute mad lads have done it – they’ve brought Genesis back from the shadow realm of celebrity likeness rights. Sporting the visage of Japanese singer Gackt, the character is back to party like it’s 2008 again. While the ending of 2020’s Final Fantasy VII Remake demonstrated how the series will go its own way on key aspects of the lore, it’s clear the red-leather-clad rogue SOLDIER and poetry fan refuses to remain a memory. Speaking of the Remake series, we now know the next game will be called Rebirth. In our first glimpse of what’s next, snatches of conversation suggest confusion on Cloud’s part, at least, about who’s dead and who’s alive. And to drive home the point that this isn’t the Final Fantasy VII story you remember, Aerith is…

Persona 5 Royal presented a definitive experience that made us feel like kings and queens on PS4 – and it’s going to repeat the feat on PS5 from 21 October. Oodles of content was added to what was already one of the most stylish 100-plus-hour JRPGs around, and Persona 5 Royal is about to get much smoother as it targets 60fps on the current-gen console. That’s far from the series’ last surprise on PlayStation. The headline act for long-time series fans is the overdue reappearance of both Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Portable, both slated for PS4 releases next year. BURN MY DREAD As of this October, Persona 5 will have been released on three different generations of PlayStation. It’s easy to forget that the original game was first announced way back…

After a decade-long quest, Dragon’s Dogma’s sworn swords are finally seeing satisfaction. On its tenth anniversary, it was announced that Capcom’s hack-and-slash RPG with a difference will receive that long-awaited sequel. The project is already in development with Hideaki Itsuno at the helm. Itsuno revealed the logo via a dramatic costume change during the anniversary stream. At the helm is Hideaki Itsuno, who you’ll recognise as the director of both Devil May Cry 4 and 5. After apologising for the wait, he said, “Everyone in the development team is hard at work creating a game that we hope you will enjoy. Please look forward to it!” No release window has been announced, suggesting it’s a few years off. FIGHTING FANTASY Beyond Itsuno’s involvement with the original 2012 game as well as its 2013 rerelease as Dark…

The Last Of Us Part II seemed to provide pretty definitive endings for both Joel and Ellie. How is Sony planning to allow us to join them on their bittersweet adventures once more? By going back to the first game and giving it a polish, of course! Er, again. But why? In order to answer this question, we need to look at exactly what the latest remake is. Releasing a game called The Last Of Us three times is amusingly ironic, especially when Sony does it in typically po-faced fashion. It’s worth noting, however, that the PS5 version isn’t a straightforward remaster like the PS4 release. It’s not a remake, either; not in the traditional sense, at least. It’s a ‘ship of Theseus’-style rebuild (of course we’d heard of that before…