THREE TO PLAY
PSN games you might have missed
Every month, loads of games come to the PS Store. You’d be hard-pressed to play them all. We take a look at some that didn’t quite make the cut this month to give our impressions. This issue we tackle a whole lot of cards, then fly away into the clouds.
There’s something appealing about the freedom of flying through the sky in any game, and that’s something Wing Of Darkness has in spades. Stepping into a mech as one of two anime ladies (voiced by popular voice actors), you take part in aerial combat that’s like an arcade Ace Combat. But compared to that legendary series it falls a little short in terms of variety, not to mention it can’t hold a candle to that other series’ surprisingly strong story. There’s not much else like this around, but it might not be where you want to start.
Griftlands, on the other hand, plants your feet firmly in the gritty sci-fi world of Havaria. This is a roguelike where your decisions really matter, and you need to make smart use of both your combat and negotiation decks to stay on top. Sometimes you might find playing the land’s harsh factions against one another works just as well as going in guns blazing, and your repeated attempts through different runs will inform how you play the next time. You’ll come up against different challenges each time, but learn which risks to take. It’s all tied together with some great writing and a nice visual style that makes it feel like a world worth exploring, even if it takes a few tries to get the hang of being a grifter.
From a deck of gritty cards to something a bit cuter and… squelchier… It’s Rise Of The Slime. You need to help a cute little slime overcome bigger, tougher monsters by using a deck of cards (cards are in – cards are always in). Taking down each enemy requires different strategies that you’ll learn over time, but you’ll also need to master the likes of gameplay mutators that can vastly alter your success in different runs. Facing foes like mushroom people and demons, your slime can pull off some surprisingly powerful moves as you mix and match your magic cards, building a cute lil’ monster that can become an elemental beast. It doesn’t come together quite as well as something like Griftlands, but the chill vibes help to set it apart as something a little bit more relaxing for roguelike diehards in need of some respite.