Turn and face the strange

A change, it’s often said, can do you good. Tempting though it may be to stay within our comfort zone, it undoubtedly benefits us to embrace new challenges. Accepting change is, after all, how we learn and grow; it makes us more adaptable; it allows us to re-evaluate what’s important to us; it provides us with new opportunities and experiences. In short, change makes our lives more interesting.

As this month’s Hype crop proves, the same applies to games. (If it didn’t, we’d all still be playing Spacewar! – and with all due respect to Steve Russell, no one wants that.) The curious canines of Wobbledogs cocoon themselves when it’s time for a change, emerging with anything from a different-coloured body to more legs: the result of each metamorphosis is determined by their food intake. As in Bugsnax, here you really are what you eat.

Then there’s mysterious card game Inscryption, which will test your poker face by regularly introducing strange new wrinkles: whispering cards, anyone? Objects sporadically appear on the table, forcing you to switch up your approach. And, since this is from the maker of Pony Island and The Hex, naturally there will be a variety of formal twists to keep you on your toes. Firstperson detective game Shadows Of Doubt, meanwhile, uses procedural trickery to create brand-new cases: the killer’s identity will be different every time, so you can’t rely on old leads.

On the subject of murder, it’s time for Agent 47 to take his leave. Trilogy-closer Hitman 3 sees the barcoded assassin hanging up his Silverballers, with his creator moving on to develop the next James Bond game, based on an entirely original storyline rather than a movie. There’ll be no rest for IO Interactive, then – but, well, they do say a change is as good as one of those.