Shut up and play the hits

Last month, we used this page to pay tribute to the developers who, late in the console generation and with installed bases reaching their likely peak, were throwing off the shackles of risk aversion and trying out new things. This issue, things are rather different; instead, we find developers showing – or learning – the benefits of sticking to what you know best.

Admittedly, some are cautionary tales. Take Gears 5 (p92), in which The Coalition seeks to broaden the scope of a series that has always been at its best in tight spaces. Unfortunately, it still is, the inclusion of pseudo-open-world zones diluting a once-potent formula. There’s none of that in Borderlands 3 (p100). Gearbox clearly has no desire to even disturb the mould, let alone break it. The result is a game that delivers precisely what its name implies, and very little else. Staying your lane need not mean a lack of ambition, however. In Grindstone

(p102), we see Capy Games return to the sort of finely crafted single-screen puzzle game on which it first made its name. Capy spent several years stuck in the murky expanse of its previous release, Below, and it’s clear it’s enjoying being back on familiar ground.

Grindstone is just one of several highlights in Apple Arcade, the launch of which has played a significant role in this being the largest Play section we’ve assembled in many a year. If you find familiarity a turn-off, rest assured there’s plenty of novelty too. Sayonara Wild Hearts (p96) is an emotive, wonderfully soundtracked grab-bag of game mechanics from across the ages. Shinsekai (p112) is an underwater Metroidvania, and Hexagroove (p106) a rhythm-action nightclub sim. And Untitled Goose Game

(p104) is – well, we’re still trying to figure that out, but suffice it to say it is playing things anything but safe.