CRANK-IT-UP CONSOLE COULD BE A VIDEO STAR
HOW new is this new year, anyway? When it comes to gaming, it’s tempting to answer: not very. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, which both came out in November, still feel pretty boxfresh — but there is little sign yet of truly next-generation experiences to occupy them ... and you.
Instead, 2021 currently offers a lot of sequels and remakes. I say this more by way of observation than complaint, not least because some of those sequels and remakes are likely to be great.
Take HITMAN 3 (£54.99), which is released for all major platforms on January 20. Confusingly, this is the eighth game in the series, but the third since the series turned into something different four years ago: a set of brilliant, freewheeling assassination puzzles, leavened by a deliciously dark sense of humour. Do you use the sniper rifle from distance? Or do you dress up your stony-faced agent as a flamingo to go in close? Soon after, it’s worth getting excited about a pair of old games all over again. The first is actually three games in one: the MASS EFFECT trilogy — a grand space opera that has you building a crew to save the galaxy — is getting a ‘ Legendary Edition’ (£54.99, expected in spring) remastered for modern systems. And one of the finest Mario games ever made, SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD, has been salvaged from 2013 and reworked for the Nintendo Switch (£49.99, February 12). Farther ahead, into the territory where release dates are subject to change, are this year’s big system-sellers.
The PS5 has HORIZON FORBIDDEN WEST, a follow-up to one of the standout titles of the previous generation: 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn, set in a beautifully rendered future-Earth of primitive tribes and robo- dinosaurs. While the Xbox has HALO INFINITE, another (already delayed) entry in the popular sci-fi shooter series Halo.
Both games, which should be released by autumn, will be good tests for the new consoles: how much can they handle?
It’s not all familiar stuff, though. DEATH-LOOP, due out on PC and PlayStation in May (£59.99), is by Arkane, one of the best studios in the business, and looks as stylish (and murderous) as the rest of their work.
But the most promising thing of 2021 might actually be a yellow piece of plastic with a hand crank.
This is the PLAYDATE (pictured), a Gameboy- style handheld with Apple- style panache that is due out in spring and will download a different micro-game, by a different creator, each week. Now that really does sound like a happy new year.