Hidden gems are out there in summer drought
AH, the Great British Summer, where you can’t leave home with a jacket and you venture out minus your umbrella at your peril.
And it’s not just terrible weather that July traditionally brings – it also heralds the year’s biggest gaming drought.
But being the trooper I am, I’ve rummaged through the depths of the internet to dig out some titles that hit the shelves this month.
SONG OF THE DEEP Platform: PS4, XBOX ONE, PC Release Date: July 12
FROM the studio which brought you Ratchet and Clank, Spyro the Dragon and Sunset Overdrive, comes this Metroidvania-style game.
Playing as Merryn, a young girl who builds a DIY submarine to go in search of her fisherman father, the game is geared less towards combat and instead puts emphasis on exploration and puzzle solving.
Playing as a 2D side-scroller, gorgeous graphics combine with a quirky narrative to create a game which promises to be a lot of fun.
Initially only available as a download, Insomniac Games has joined up with GameStop to release a physical copy of the game.
GHOSTBUSTERS Platform: PS4, XBOX ONE, PC Release Date: July 12
HOPING for a sequel to 2009’s Ghostbusters: The Videogame?
Exorcise that excitement right now.
This is tied in to the new movie which hits screens next week.
Set after the events in the movie, you play as a new recruit who joins the girls to take on the spooks and ghouls running roughshod over Manhattan.
There’s four-player co-op and a mobile game - Slime City which apparently links in with the console version.
I AM SETSUNA Platform: PS4, PC Release Date: July 19
THE first game to be released by Tokyo RPG Factory instantly evokes memories of 90s RPGs like the first Final Fantasy games.
And that’s because it uses an Active Time Battle system, which is based on those used by the early games.
Set on an island gripped by perpetual winter, the game follows a mercenary, a traveller, a veteran soldier and Setsuna. Setsuna, a maiden, has been chosen as a sacrifice to appease hostile demons, which are stirring.
Already released to positive reviews in Japan, it should do well with RPG fans here too.
WE HAPPY FEW Platform: XBOX ONE, PC Release date: July 26
THE game I’m most looking forward to this month is the dystopian masterpiece We Happy Few.
Dark, creepy and giving off strong Bioshock vibes, this game is set in a retro-futuristic 60s England.
The residents of Wellington Wells have been addicted to a drug called joy ever since they chose to forget the “Very Bad Thing” they did to repel the Nazis when they invaded England at the end of WWII.
Those who don’t live in cheerful denial are called Downers – and are forced to take Joy after being actively sought out by addicts.
Blend in, don’t draw attention to yourself and you might just survive the night ....