Indivisible

Indivisible

Style in spades and a pedigree to match

From the creators of Skull Girls
comes this Metroidvania action-RPG
– the tale of Ajna, who’s on a quest to
discover the truth behind her
mysterious powers. As you’d expect,
she’ll meet plenty of other heroes.
Like some sort of soul-stealing Kirby, she’s able to
absorb the ‘Incarnations’ she encounters, then manifest
them later to help in battle as part of a fighting
game-esque combat system, where each character is
assigned to a button for crazy combos.
What makes Indivisible stand out from the crowd is
those gorgeous hand-animated characters set against
lovely, painterly backdrops. It really is eye-catching, and
pleasingly different from its more retro-styled peers. The
developer has also brought aboard composer Hiroki
Kikuta, known for his work on Secret Of Mana. Curious?
There’s a playable prototype demo on Steam now!

Call of Cthulhu

Call of Cthulhu

The squids are all right

A new take on the Lovecraft mythos,
following 2005’s Dark Corners of the
Earth, this is again a first-person horror
adventure, but with added RPG
elements, based on the lauded tabletop RPG of
the same name. Developer Cyanide promises a
semi-open world, investigations, and stealth.
Psychological horror was Lovecraft’s stock-in-trade,
and we expect your sanity to play a large part in
the game. You’ll be playing as investigator Edward
Pierce, investigating the deaths of a family in a
creepy mansion, whose basement appears to be
packed with cultists. We also see him in a mental
asylum, which doesn’t bode too well on the
‘staying sane’ front and suggests you may have to
reconcile your experiences in some fashion.
Expect a helping of tentacled beasties too.

Jurassic World Evolution

Jurassic World Evolution

You didn’t ask for reality, you asked for more teeth!

Better known for its spacefaring Elite series, Frontier
Developments is following up the success of Planet
Coaster by giving you the chance to build your very
own Jurassic Park. Attempted once before with
Jurassic Park Genesis, this is a more robust take on the idea, and
in visuals, if nothing else, it impresses with an incredible amount
of detail. Of course, managing the resort is one thing but, as we
know from the films, managing a disaster is another. Expect
problems beyond simply making money, a quality sure to set
this apart from other business simulations.

Monster Hunter World

Monster Hunter World

The series’ return looks jura-tastic

The Monster Hunter series has always
revelled in weirdness – in allowing you
to dress up your character and craft
complex weaponry to take on dragons
and dinosaurs, with which you can craft
even more complex weaponry, and in
having anthropomorphic cats cook dinners for you and
help you hunt down these primeval beasts.
Until now, gamers outside Japan haven’t been that
receptive to the series, but times have changed since the
last Monster Hunter game hit home consoles seven years
ago. The indie market and success of the Dark Souls
series in the intervening years have shown that Western
gamers aren’t averse to a bit of quirkiness these days.
Monster Hunter World marks a big step forward for the
series, debuting a large semi-open map and global online
multiplayer that will make alluring bait for curious players
from around the world. It’s a daunting, wild world made up
of distinct, functioning ecosystems. And it’s replete with
surprises; monsters can be tricked into fighting each other
(a cunning way to save yourself the trouble of weakening
them), the ground can collapse beneath your feet to
reveal an uncharted underworld filled with new beasts,
and up to four players can now join forces to hunt
scaled-up versions of monsters together.
With its unpausable inventories and deep combat that
rewards you for taking the time to truly get to understand
every species you hunt, and expects you to master each
distinctive weapon you wield and environment you fight
in, Monster Hunter World could be described as ‘Dark
Souls by way of Pokémon’ – a proposition that any
discerning gamer should at least cast their gaze on.

Huntdown

Huntdown

Serve the public trust, protect the innocent

Take every ’80s sci-fi film worth mentioning, put them
together as a side-scrolling arcade shooter and you
have Huntdown. The cyberpunk is strong with Easy
Trigger’s first release, following a hitman as they take
out contracts on gang leaders. The ultra-colourful,
hand-drawn pixel graphics and high framerate mean
the game definitely looks the part, the gang violence and dystopian
backdrop demonstrating obvious influences from RoboCop to Blade
Runner to The Warriors. Suitably enough there’s a synth-inspired
soundtrack too, providing the cherry on top of this pink-mulleted cake.

Starlink: Battle for Atlas

Starlink: Battle for Atlas

Wing Commander: Skylanders Edition

To be fair to Ubisoft, Starlink is genius:
space combat and exploration crossed
with collectable models. (Who said
toys-to-life was dead, eh?) Playing as a
troop of fighter pilots, you battle to protect the
star-system Atlas from attack by the evil Forgotten
Legion. While the action that’s been shown so far
looks solid, the real-time interplay between the
models and the gameplay is what’s most
intriguing. Editing your customisable starships in
real-life alters them in-game, meaning you can
change guns or switch pilots mid-battle if you
need to change your approach quickly. It may be
a ploy to sell toys, but it’s a compelling one.

Wargroove

Wargroove

Sun and steel

If you’ve been waiting with bated

breath since 2008 for a new

Advance Wars, this will make you

gasp. From the studio behind

Starbound, Risk of Rain, and Stardew Valley,

Wargroove is a 16-bit RTS game that merges

tried-and-tested mechanics with contemporary

polish. Including both multiplayer and singleplayer,

the systems are designed with

accessibility in mind, making getting started

easy and cutting yourself off hard, but the really

enticing part is the editor. The scenario creator

lets you create and share your own multifaceted

campaigns with multiple outcomes.

The grudges will know no bounds!

State of Decay 2

State of Decay 2 

Land of the dead

The first State Of Decay was a
good game that did itself no
favours. While players enjoyed
the freedom the open-world
survival horror title offered, the
glitch-prone gameplay made
investing time into it difficult. Despite this, Undead
Labs managed to shamble into making a sequel,
with full backing from Microsoft Studios to make its
brand of the living dead as potent as possible.
Along with a generally improved appearance, this
second outing boasts tighter action, more
advanced skill trees and settlement building, and a
more intuitive choice system for character
interaction. The emphasis this time around,
according to the team, is on developing the
relationship between advancing the story, searching
for essential supplies like ammo and medicine, and
taking care of your base. Balancing that lot will
become increasingly tricky, especially as the action
will be affected by how your gang back home are
doing day-to-day.
The lose-lose scenarios have increased, making
choosing who lives and who dies even more
unsettling. Certain skills, like Medic, are in short
supply, and making the wrong choice could mean
a world of pain later on. What’s worse, you can now
pick which member of your posse to play as,
meaning you can’t blame poor AI when your best
gunner gets torn to pieces. It’s all your fault now.

Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves

Nerves of steal

There have been a few games
casting us as pirates on the
high seas but certainly none
like this co-op, open-world,
treasure hunting adventure.
You’ll work with friends aboard
your ship, each taking on a crucial role such as
steering or navigation, taking to the seas in search of booty.
You’ll also have to contend with rival
ships and crews, resulting in chaotic naval battles.
Teamwork will be essential to any crew’s success.
What makes Sea Of Thieves stand out is the
simplicity of so many of its mechanics. Want to
share a location with your crew? Hold up the map
in-game and they can see what you do. It’s that
knack for intuitive design that makes it stand out,
and makes it accessible to players of differing
skill levels and interests (time to pressgang
your little brother). The vibrant visuals certainly
help too, keeping things feeling light and not at
all serious. This one has been long in the making but its
promise of an unfettered pirate adventure with
friends remains a tantalising prospect.

Yoku’s Island Express

Yoku’s Island Express

First class

Described as an open-world pinball
adventure, this charming little
platformer oozes nothing but good
vibes. You play as Yoku, a tiny courier
who delivers packages around a bright, tropical
island. You have to ensure parcels reach their
recipients using combination of classic platforming,
pinball, and physics (not the usual courier
technique of punting them over fences). You’ll be
interacting with a cast of characters over multiple
storylines, and can even unlock new skills by
collecting hidden fruit (the best kind). With lush
visuals and an easygoing atmosphere, this seems
like the perfect game to relax with.

Vampyr

Vampyr

One vampire we hope doesn’t suck

A dark action-RPG from the creators of
the beloved Life Is Strange, Vampyr
casts you as Jonathan Reid, a doctor
in London in 1918, during the outbreak
of the Spanish flu. Oh and he’s a vampire.
Choosing between upholding his Hippocratic oath
and indulging his vampiric bloodlust is the core of
the game’s dilemmas. The developer has said the
game will feature a world of distinct NPCs, and
should you decide to feed on one, the effects of
their death will ripple out into the world. Every life
matters. Quite a departure from Life is Strange, to
be sure, but a promising one nonetheless.

Metal Gear Survive

Metal Gear Survive

Kojima may be gone but the series lives on

Taking the universe of Metal Gear and dropping in
zombies and wave-based survival seems dreadfully
uninspired but it’s hard to deny that with MGSV’s slick
mechanics, there’s a lot of promise. Especially when
the game builds upon those possibilities to bring us four-player
co-op, crafting, and even some light base construction. Co-op, in
particular, has a lot of appeal, multiplying the options in any given
scenario. At the very least, you’ll find out whether your mates like
you enough to defend you from the undead hordes, or will use
you as a squishy distraction. MGSV was already incredibly featurerich,
so adding more to that certainly offers a lot in one package.
Survive could end up being a welcome surprise for the series in
Kojima’s absence.

Skull & Bones

Skull & Bones

A jolly roger good time

Ubisoft’s pirate-battler features all of
the ‘avast, matey!’ with none of the
‘captain, my foot’s stuck in the rigging’.
You’ll attack merchant vessels, plunder
their haul, and make off with it before the sea
police catch you. The flagship gametype is 5v5
competitive mode Loot Hunt, in which teams
compete to nab the most gold from AI ships.
Strategy comes from reading the wind and
plotting a course through the maelstrom. You can
predict movements and line up alongside rivals to
exchange cannon fire, or cut through the smoke
and ram hulls to splinters. For those who want to
sail alone, there’ll be a story-driven single-player
campaign too. We’ve got ten doubloons on a guy
with a black beard showing up.

Crackdown 3

Crackdown 3

Good work, agent

Seven years on from the last crime-punishing action
sandbox, you play a superpowered agent tasked
with cleaning up a new-look Pacific City – in
particular, you’re taking on those responsible for
unleashing elemental warfare on the futuristic metropolis. During
the single-player campaign you’ll deploy new weapons such as a
singularity gun and gatling missile launcher, and lure gang
captains from their hideouts by targeting their street soldiers, but
it’s in ten-agent multiplayer where the action really gets
interesting. Here, Microsoft’s cloud technology powers a
top-to-bottom destructible city. Yes, we’ll be able to take down
entire buildings – surely a target no-one can miss?

Kingdom Hearts III

Kingdom Hearts III  

Enough Goofing around

We’ve had the HD re-releases, the
remixes, the prologues, but by Mickey,
we will finally get Kingdom Hearts III in
2018! That much was confirmed the
last time Square Enix shared gameplay of the
action RPG, which had Sora, Goofy, and Donald
Duck turning up in the world of Toy Story
featuring Woody, Buzz, and the rest of Andy’s toy
collection. As you’d expect, it’s a feast for the eyes
now that games are at visual parity with Pixar
films. The long-awaited sequel will also include
worlds inspired by the films Tangled and Big Hero
6, as well as summon attacks based on Disney
theme park rides.

Code Vein

Code Vein

Just pump it into my veins!

Comparing games to Dark Souls
should really be a sin, but while From
Software remains silent over what it
plans to do next, Bandai Namco’s own
vampiric effort to fill the gap may just be the game
to satiate our appetite for deep, merciless combat.
The anime visuals drip with bold gothic style
reminiscent of Bloodborne, while your Revenant
demon slayer is also fully customisable. Although
there’s no word on online play, AI-controlled
companions will be on hand to lend us a hand,
and even revive us. After spending years preparing
to die, we can do with a leg up.

Lost sphear

                              Lost sphea                    

  Remember me?

Despite it not being an actual
sequel to I Am Setsuna, the latest
nostalgic production from Tokyo
RPG Factory does what a sequel
should: it improves on what’s gone before. Turnbased
battles now factor in character
placement and momentum; environments are
more varied; and mech suits do battle!
January might look packed for JRPG fans,
but Lost Sphear, where you use your memory
to rescue a world that’s being forgotten, is
shaping up to be one of Square Enix’s mid-tier,
memorable highlights.

Valkyria Chronicles 4

Valkyria Chronicles 4

Rise of the valkyries

Valkyria Chronicles was underrated
when it first launched on PS3 almost
a decade ago, depicting a fictional
version of Europe during WWII with
a sweeping story that was both
charming and compassionate about
its subject matter. A tragedy, then, that the PSP sequels
never released outside of Japan, while the latest spin-off,
Revolution, changed everything for the worse.
So it’s a welcome relief that for its forthcoming
instalment Sega has followed Activision’s cue and gone
back to WWII – if WWII was an anime. Not only does it
bring back the brilliant BLiTZ (Battle of Live Tactical
Zones) battle system, a fusion of turn-based strategy
and third-person shooter, but the story also takes place
in the same time frame as the original game, as we
follow Armored Ranger Battalion Squad E in their fight
against the Imperial army during the bleakest and most
bitter of winters.
This more grounded return to the series’ roots is
another reason why Sega will be bringing Valkyria
Chronicles 4 to the West. The game is apparently 90%
complete, with a PS4 release set for March in Japan, but
while we wait for localisation, a remaster for Xbox One
and Switch players to catch up on the series for the first
time would be a no-brainer.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Dragon Ball FighterZ  

Super Saiyan Brothers

This adaptation of the beloved anime is looking like
the most beautiful fighting game ever made. Arc
System Works pioneered the same cel-shaded
technique in Guilty Gear Xrd, turning Goku and the
gang into a playable cartoon rivalled only by Cuphead. The
possibilities of 3v3 tag-teaming and seven super gauges look
daunting, but an option for simplified auto-combos and in-depth
story mode made up of three different arcs shows there’s a
meaty package to serve DBZ fans, and not just the most
technically proficient in the fighting genre.

                                                                             

                                                                     

Shape of the World

Shape of the World

It’s shaping up nicely

This is a golden age for indie
games, and Hollow Tree Games’
debut has the potential to be one
of 2018’s very best. The art style
puts us in mind of Proteus, and the experience
itself is similarly relaxed and encouraging of
exploration. There are no enemies, and no time
limit. But there are flying whales. It sounds
great already, right?
The music and the procedural world itself
will react to the path you take, and there are
many mysterious creatures to see and play
with. Interestingly, despite the random elements
and lack of urgency, there is an ending to reach.