QUICK, MARCH
The new month can’t get here fast enough with titles like these on the way
THE merry month of March is here, bringing the promise of spring.
It also means lighter nights, warmer days and a smattering of new games that should be on your radar.
Two classics – Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4 – get a makeover, while wrestling fans can dive back in the ring with WWE2K23. An old favourite also gets a new look, as Bayonetta fans are invited to explore her origin story.
Here’s our pick of March’s offerings.
Metroid Prime Remastered (PEGI 12) Switch
Release: March 3
More than 20 years after it was first released on Nintendo’s GameCube, Metroid Prime is back.
Considered the crowning glory of the woefully underrated console, the 2002 hit was the first in the Metroid series to use 3D graphics and to be played from the firstperson perspective.
Now remastered in high definition for the Switch, Samus is looking better than ever.
The remaster doesn’t just include new visuals, the control schemes have been updated to offer various settings. This means you can enjoy the new dual-stick option, or ramp up the nostalgia with single-stick, to emulate GameCube settings.
It’s impossible to understate just how groundbreaking Metroid Prime was when it was released, and it still holds up as a fresh, vibrant and utterly compelling game today.
Bayonetta Origins:
Cereza and the Lost Demon (PEGI 12) Switch
Release: March 17
Another cult gaming series gets a fresh addition this month.
For the uninitiated, Bayonetta is a gun slinging, acrobatic witch who slays her enemies in over-the-top combat. Her hair, which transforms into an animal, is her secret weapon.
But this latest game – the fourth in the series – takes things back to the beginning, to a young girl called Cereza and her journey to becoming Bayonetta. Cereza and her demon-possessed stuffed toy, Cheshire, take a fateful trip into the forbidden Avalon Forest to look for the power to save her mother.
You can play as Cereza or Cheshire, and gameplay offers a mix of platforming, puzzle solving and light combat.
This is not the Bayonetta you know, but the game sounds intriguing enough to give it a go.
WWE 2K23
(PEGI 16) PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, PC Release: March 17 For a series that looked dead in the water a few years ago, like the biggest stars of WWE the game has come out swinging.
Last year’s 2K22 was the first from developer 2K Games, and marked the start of a journey back to form.
This year’s entry to the series remains a hybrid of arcade and simulation style gameplay, and boasts a roster of huge WWE names – including the return of Cody Rhodes.
It’s the first game in the series to get WarGames, which allows for 3v3 and 4v4 multiplayer mayhem inside two side-by-side rings, surrounded by a double-steel cage.
John Cena fans will be able to play through the key moments and toughest opponents of his 20-year WWE career – and even take on the role of each of his rivals – some of WWE’s greatest villains of all time.
Those who pre order the deluxe version of the game will have access from March 14.
(PEGI 18) PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, PC
Release: March 24
Another jewel of the GameCube era, this 2005 classic has been remade for the new generation consoles.
The sixth major instalment in the Resident Evil series, nearly 20 years on it is still considered the franchise’s best. It’s been rebuilt from the ground up, and with a ‘reimagined storyline’ that developers promise keeps the essence of what made the original so special.
The remake retains the over-theshoulder, third-person shooter gameplay it helped to popularise, while pulling in quality of life improvements from 2019’s remake of Resident Evil 2, and 2020’s remake of Resident Evil 3.
Fans need not worry that it’s changing too much though – both the merchant who sells, buys and helps you upgrade your skills, and the ‘attache case’ inventory holder will be returning.
Graphically, from the trailers this looks stunning – one to play in the dark for the ultimate horror experience.
The Last of Us Part I (PEGI 18) PC
Release: March 28
The Last of Us on Sky Atlantic has become compulsory viewing in Chateau Mullin, as Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey brilliantly bring Joel and Ellie to life.
If you’ve not yet experienced the game, then now is the time to discover what all the fuss is about.
Nearly 10 years on since it first arrived on the PS3, The Last of Us has been remastered first for the PS5, and now for the PC.
This is a masterpiece of storytelling, its haunting score married with achingly beautiful graphics, and refreshing gameplay to create an incredible experience.
Set in a ravaged civilization, where infected and hardened survivors run rampant, weary smuggler Joel is hired to get 14-year-old Ellie out of a military quarantine zone.
However, what starts as a small job soon transforms into a brutal cross-country journey that you will struggle to forget.