Falling at the first hurdle

We already know roughly what to expect, but when that village set-piece kicks in during the first chapter of Resident Evil 4, it’s hard not to wonder what a newcomer might make of it. This is a baptism of (literal) fire, one that sets a tone for everything that follows over the next 15 to 20 hours – as well as firmly establishing the level and type of challenge you’ll face during that time. This, it says, is the bar you’re going to have to clear, and it seems dauntingly high – at least until you realise that flight, not fight, is perhaps a more viable tactic if you’re to make it to the bell marking the end of round one.

With the vast majority of contemporary games preferring to ease players in, it’s rare to see a game take the opposite approach: to effectively erect a wall and force you to climb it. Although, as regular readers will surely have anticipated by now, it’s a little more common among this issue’s Play selection. The first fight of Monster Hunter/Fortnite mash-up Wild Hearts is a scripted defeat, forcing you to confront a creature you’re clearly not equipped to fight – yet – with the tacit promise that you’ll get to enact vengeance later. Perhaps even with a bladed umbrella, if you’re feeling fancy.

Elsewhere, action adventure Scars Above pitches your scientist protagonist into an alien world that feels all the more hostile when first contact is with lifeforms that like to surface suddenly and take a swipe at you before you’ve even had time to react. And while Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Koei Tecmo’s Three Kingdoms-themed Soulslike – or should we say Niohlike? – may be one of the most approachable of its kind, that’s only the case once you’ve successfully negotiated the brutal barrier that is Zhang Liang. He’s not the only Dynasty Warriors favourite to make an appearance – as seasoned musou players will attest, you might want to think twice (or at least level up a bit) before pursuing Lu Bu.