PLAY GAME OF THE YEAR 2023

Welcome

Welcome, dear reader, to a brand new year.

THIS MONTH’S TERRIFIC TEAM

Luke Kemp CONTRIBUTOR Deployed into Pandora, Luke’s become

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A GTA for the social media age

Is Grand Theft Auto VI hinting at a new way to get caught commiting #crimes?

Ixnay from the TK

Oscar unpacks the latest goss

From ages past

Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe, Crazy Taxi, and more – Sega teases classic revivals

Lies Of PLC

With upcoming DLC and a sequel tease, this puppet is hankering for an encore

DEV ACCESS

Proper chuffed

The flight fantastic

THE BIG SHOT

“CALL OF DUTY’S DESCENT INTO LIVE SERVICE NOW SEEMS INEVITABLE.”

All those changes players hate? They’re not bugs, they’re features

“SPIDER-MAN 2’S BOSS FIGHTS GO IN A DISAPPOINTING DIRECTION.”

In a game celebrated for traversal, don’t give dull bosses more health

IN THE MOOD FOR…

Sisters

Tekken 8

Airing out the family business

Hauntii

One ghost’s journey to escape eternity

Bits & Bops

Beat bashing, toe-tapping, rhythm action

ON THE HORIZON

The next six months, mapped out

Luto

With an unsettling atmosphere, this horror has a Luto potential

Granblue Fantasy: Relink

Dreaming of blue skies ahead

Jurassic Park: Survival

FORMAT PS5 / ETA TBC / PUB SABER INTERACTIVE DEV SABER INTERACTIVE / PLAYERS 1

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

FORMAT PS5 / ETA TBC PUB DON’T NOD / DEV DON’T NOD PLAYERS 1

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero

FORMAT PS5 / ETA TBC PUB BANDAI NAMCO DEV SPIKE CHUNSOFT / PLAYERS 1–2

The Casting Of Frank Stone

FORMAT PS5 / ETA 2024 PUB BEHAVIOUR INTERACTIVE DEV SUPERMASSIVE GAMES PLAYERS 1

Visions Of Mana

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 2024 PUB SQUARE ENIX DEV SQUARE ENIX / PLAYERS 1

Umurangi Generation VR

FORMAT PSVR2 / ETA 18 APR PUB PLAYISM / DEV ORIGAME DIGITAL PLAYERS 1

Skull And Bones

FORMAT PS5 / ETA 16 FEB / PUB UBISOFT DEV UBISOFT SINGAPORE / PLAYERS MULTI

The Rise Of The Golden Idol

FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 2024 PUB PLAYSTACK / DEV COLOR GRAY GAMES / PLAYERS 1

SQUAD GOALS

FORMAT PS5 ETA 2 FEB (EARLY ACCESS FROM 30 JAN) PUB WARNER BROS GAMES DEV ROCKSTEADY STUDIOS PLAYERS 1-4

All rise for Apollo!

FORMAT PS4 ETA 24 JAN PUB CAPCOM DEV CAPCOM PLAYERS 1

Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora

Yet a Na’vi Ubisoft game obsessed with levelling and crafting

Arizona Sunshine 2

The zombie apocalypse isn’t so bad when you have a Buddy

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising

All aboard for a second voyage

Final Fantasy XVI: Echoes Of The Fallen

Omega has the final word

Teardown

Our performance brings the house down every night

Warhammer Age Of Sigmar: Realms Of Ruin

Not all Gloam and doom

Chants Of Sennaar

Keeping your language streak

THREE TO PLAY

PSN games you might have missed

The Finals

From updates to favourites – the games we just can’t quit

Resident Evil 4 VR Mode

Screaming all the way home

God Of War Ragnarök: Valhalla

Kratos reclasses to rogue

PS5 Hall of fame

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE NEW GEN’S GREATEST GAMES

PS4 Hall of fame

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE LAST GEN’S GREATEST GAMES

PSVR2 Hall of fame

THE VIRTUAL REALITY HITS YOU HAVE TO PLAY

PSVR Hall of fame

GREAT EXPERIENCES TO THIS DAY

DON’T DELETE

Save icons for these January moments spin in the PLAY hive mind. Do you remember this?

Digimon World

25 years on, this creature raiser is like little else

Vaan

FFXII’s little scamp may be naïve and annoying, but he shows the most growth argues Daniella Lucas

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

It’s not silent but it’s very, very deadly

PaRappa The Rapper 2

Hip hop to it, try not to screw it

A BRIEF HISTORY OF Gran Turismo

Looking back on 25 years of ‘The Real Racing Simulator’

Flash of recognition

Shinji Mikami’s Resident Evil throwback in The Evil Within remains one of the coolest nods in gaming