MATTERFALL

Developer Housemarque Publisher SIE Format PS4 Release 15 August

We’ve seen some misleading cinematic trailers in our time, but Matterfall’s effort might take top prize. Featuring a masked sci-fi warrior shooting enemies to shards in a futuristic cityscape, the 2015 Paris Games Week teaser enthralled. Was this Housemarque branching out into the FPS? Well, no. Two years of radio silence later, and 2D action-platformer Matterfall suddenly appears at Sony’s E3 booth. We spot elements from the abstract reveal trailer: materialising and dematerialising platforms; thundering spider tanks spraying screen-filling bullets; showers of crimson voxels. Inevitably, it’s Housemarque-smooth. What’s more, with enemy-freezing dash abilities and blaster shots galore, there’s Metroid and Mega Man in its DNA. The controls confuse somewhat and the art design is dated, but after all that mixed messaging, we’re pleased to see Matterfall manifest in its true form, and an accomplished one at that.