Alternative picks

We dive into PS4’s library for gold. This month: walking simulators

FIREWATCH

Ben Tyrer’s tear ducts get a workout with this emotionally devastating drama Call me soppy, but I could barely handle the first 15 minutes of Campo Santo’s superb debut. Presenting Henry as a typical man in a text adventure makes you like him despite his flaws, but it suddenly takes a harrowing turn. What happens here shapes the rest of this sombre drama, giving you a personal connection to Henry that pulls you through to the fantastic finale.

GONE HOME

Editor Matthew Pellett thinks this trip back to the ‘90s is the perfect genre entry point They say that home is where the heart is. Well, this trek through an empty house certainly knows the location of my chest pump. Picking through eerily quiet rooms and corridors after a year abroad, trying to piece together what’s happened to your family, is both unsettling and lifeaffirming. And if, like me, you grew up in the ‘90s, it’s an unforgettable trip down memory lane.

DEAR ESTHER: LANDMARK EDITION

Jen Simpkins tells the other plodding pretenders to take a hike Would-be walkers, make way for the sauntering sim that popularised the genre. The Chinese Room’s rain-lashed Hebridean island is a haunting place. From the lighthouse to the beacon on high, it’s a heart-rending wander. Letter scraps reveal the tale of love and loss – but the atmosphere and score alone are worth a thousand words. Each.

IF YOU GREW UP IN THE ’90S, IT’S AN UNFORGETTABLE TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE.

Shipwrecks and luminescent cave systems were “ooh”ed and “ahh”ed over on PC originally. They’re even more radiant on PS4.