Some relief in these trying times
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It is fair to say that this time of year is infamously quiet in the world of video games. But three months after two brand new consoles were unleashed, it all feels a little bit flat right now.
Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of games out there to keep the masses entertained.
But there are a distinct lack of new releases on the horizon. And as a PS5 owner who has completed Spiderman Miles Morales, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Call of Duty Cold War campaign and is starting to get bored of the terrible online matchmaking system on FIFA
21, I’m starting to feel a bit shortchanged at the moment.
There could be some muchneeded relief on the way soon, though, in the shape of two new platform games of very different natures – Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fry, and Little Nightmares 2. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury on Nintendo Switch combines one old Mario game and one new Mario game. 3D World was first released on Wii U to critical acclaim. It is a linear game with traditional levels and in line with the brilliant standard Mario fayre.
Bowser’s Fury, though, is the first truly “open-world” Mario game. Gone is the level-by-level format of every other Mario entry, and instead we get a sandbox of platforming challenges.
Out this week, I suspect many lucky enough to own a PS5 or XBox Series X and a Switch will be switching back (see what I did there) to their trusty Nintendo machine until the gaming landscape becomes a little more interesting on the next gen consoles.
Also out this week on Switch, PS4 and XB1 (and to follow later this year on PS5 & XBSX) is a platformer with a distinctly darker theme, Little Nightmares 2.
The puzzle-platformer horror adventure game developed by Tarsier Studios and produced by Bandai Namco was first announced at Gamescom in 2019 and has been brought to life in spinetingling style with a trailer involving Derren Brown in the build-up.
LN2 features a new player character, Mono, with the protagonist from the previous game, Six, as a computer-controlled character.
It looks as creepy, scary, gross and graphically excellent as the first game. Set within the warped and twisted reality of the Little Nightmares world, the trailer sees Derren take you on a journey through your deepest fears and nightmares. He explores the depths of what you feel and dread as you try to escape the dark void you find yourself thrown into.
Discover your own nightmares and find the answers to your own important questions – is the nightmare a dream or is it a reality?
Well, at the moment this great gaming void is something of a nightmare. Especially given we are all stuck in our own nightmare reality that is lockdown.
But I’m feeling confident these two (three including Bowser’s Fury) games can help take the edge off for a month or so.
WHAT IS IT? Based on Guido Maria Brera’s bestseller, Devils is a ten-part international financial thriller.
Massimo Ruggeri (Alessandro Borghi) is the Head of Trading at one of the most important investment banks in the world, whose success has all but guaranteed his promotion to vice CEO. However, a scandal involving his wife puts a brake on Massimo’s ambitions, leading his American CEO and mentor, Dominic Morgan (Patrick Dempsey, Grey’sAnatomy), to withdraw his support. Massimo takes this rejection hard, and things go from bad to worse when his rival and apparent successor suddenly dies, and Massimo becomes the prime suspect. Sensing that Dominic is hiding something, Massimo sets about clearing his name and finding out the truth behind the vast political gameplan he has inadvertently been caught up in.
WHAT’S THE STORY?
“When I read the script I kept turning the page. I was so intrigued, wondering, ‘Where is this going to end up?’
“I loved the insight into the financial world, and Guido’s vision. It was fascinating to take this financial world which we’re used to seeing from the American perspective and look at it from a European perspective. That feels fresh. And sure enough, the feedback I’ve been getting is that financial people really like it.
“It has an authenticity.
The visual style is really cool, that was another thing that impressed me.
They’d been shooting for about a month when I arrived in Europe and they showed me a couple of scenes with Alessandro and I was like, ‘Wow, this has a great look’. It was really exciting to hit the ground running, knowing that.
“And to be honest, filming in Rome and in London was a big attraction for me.”
PATRICK DEMPSEY SAYS: