New games to help you love lockdown
APRIL has passed in a blink, and we have landed in lockdown in May. So, with the nicer weather trying to tempt us out into the great outdoors, it’s nice to know that the new month also brings new games.
John Wick fans can get their fix with the release of a PlayStation port for last year’s Hex game.
There’s a new take on Minecraft, and Bioshock The Collection finally arrives for Switch owners.
JOHN WICK HEX (PEGI 16) PS4
Release: Out now
HEX was an unexpected addition to the John Wick stable when it first appeared on the PC last year. The movies are known for their visceral and carefully choreographed fight sequences, and this game aims to replicate that.
Hex allows players to map out their plan of attack, then run it through to see how it plays out.
Wick stars Ian McShane and Lance Reddick reprise their roles, but sadly Keanu Reeves must have been too busy to voice the lead.
With a beautiful, comic book animation style, this methodical strategy game is relentless, the action barely taking a pause between scenes.
THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE: GREYMOOR (PEGI 18) PC
Release: May 26
THE Greymoor update has been pushed back due to Covid related production issues.
PC gamers will be able to download the game from May 16, while Xbox and PlayStation owners will have to wait till June 6.
There are more gamers playing Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) since 2015, so many in fact that Zenimax is having to add more servers to support Greymoor’s launch.
Greymoor is the fourth expansion to ESO, and is billed as being bigger than any that have gone before.
Set 1,000 years before Skyrim, players get to explore a new zone – Western Skyrim. There’s a new system called Antiquities, which will see you travelling around the world digging up various relics that you can use for trade.
BIOSHOCK THE COLLECTION (PEGI 18) Switch
Release: May 29
RAPTURE holds a very special place in my heart, so I was tentative about what a remaster would do to this series.
The Collection features Bioshock, Bioshock 2 and Bioshock: Infinite, and in truth the games have never looked more beautiful.
It is the original Bioshock that looks most resplendent – vibrant lighting, deeper colours and richer textures.
As well as the three core games, you also get DLC packs Minerva’s Den, Burial at Sea, and Columbia’s Finest pack.
The Bioshock 2 version has had the multiplayer option stripped out, but you do get all the challenge modes.
There’s also a Museum of
Orphaned Concepts, a feature from an earlier collection in which players can see an in-game gallery of abandoned development concepts.
MINECRAFT DUNGEONS (PEGI 7) Xbox one, PS4, Switch
Release: May 26
LOVE Minecraft but can’t be bothered being creative all the time?
Minecraft Dungeons could be the answer. This all-new actionadventure game is inspired by classic dungeon crawlers, and in that vein you’ll discover a wealth of new weapons and items to help you defeat a ruthless swarm of new and nasty mobs.
There are no classes, instead your choice of melee weapon, bow and armour dictate how you’ll play.
You can play the game alone, or share the fun by teaming up with up to four other players to battle through the action-packed, treasure-stuffed levels, in a bid to save the villagers and take down the the baddies, the Illager, and their leader Archie.
MANEATER (PEGI 18) XBox One, PS4, PC
Release: May 22
JUST when you thought it was safe to get back in the water... Take control of a shark as it munches and crunches its way through tasty morsels it encounters in various bodies of water.
You play as an adult bull shark, and later as an orphaned pup, where even a smaller predator can pose a real threat.
But nothing beats the guilty pleasure of rising to the surface and terrorising a human population as they enjoy a paddle at the beach.