THREE TO PLAY
PSN games you might have missed
Every month, loads of games come to the PS Store, and 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 get acquainted with cute critters, from kitty cats to mythical beasts.
This action adventure RPG is like catnip for me! Kitaria
Fables has it all: magic, dungeoneering, and, most importantly, gardening! Venturing to Paw village it’s up to you (or you and a co-op friend) to protect its denizens from the increasingly aggressive wildlife. In class-free, real-time combat you can mix and match your offensive approach, even going on to befriend some of the cute animals who are creating trouble at the edge of town. When you’re not tackling rogue animals, there are villagers to help out, weapons and other loot to craft, and crops to tend in this purr-fect advent-nya. Though I may be slightly biased in favour of this one, I make no apologies for those paw-ful puns.
From cute and cuddly to sharp and deadly, it’s time to take a hard left. In PSVR title
Arashi: Castles Of Sin, you play as stealthy assassin Kenshiro. Along with your spymaster cousin Ayane and lupine animal companion Haru, you’re tasked with reclaiming castles captured by an infamous band of bandits, the Six Oni Of Iga. Under cover of darkness you can pick off bandits from afar while Haru goes in for the kill, or you can get up close and personal with a slew of melee weapons yourself. With plenty of indirect options, such as smoke bombs or even the environment itself, at your disposal, this is a sneaky mission with few dull moments.
Moving from castles to the forest, there are more quirky animal companions to befriend in puzzle RPG adventure Baldo: The
Guardian Owls. A cryptic prophecy heralds the return of the ‘No-Heart’ creature, a being previously sealed away by the titular owls and whose reappearance is apparently predestined. It’s up to you to unravel what has been foretold and see if you can’t rewrite the ending of the prophecy by solving puzzles and exploring dungeons. Wearing its inspirations on its sleeve, the hand-drawn stylings of this whimsical world go on a charm offensive with a quirky cast brought to life by endearing character animation and appealing art direction inspired by classic anime.