Sure, it’s on the unfairly punishing side, and both the controls and the weapons could have done with more work, but this is a worthy rewind to the time of the Dreamcast. Pick up Rainbow Cotton on the Xbox and save yourself that £300.
Should you happen to have an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, the entire EA Play catalogue is now available to download and play on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
Among all the releases and things to celebrate today, there’s one that we shouldn’t miss: the seminal puzzler Tetris Effect has made its way to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and it’s free to play for anyone with Game Pass. Tetris Effect: Connected is out now on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S via Game Pass.
Sweet Mary, mother of Jesus, where do you start with Slide Stars on Xbox, PS4 and Switch? It’s not the first concept that we’d have greenlit, that’s for sure.
As someone who put Slay the Spire right at the top of their ‘Generational Game-changers’ this month, imagine the pure joy of finding Fights in Tight Spaces. This looks like it takes the randomised deckbuilding of that classic game, bolts on the looks of SUPERHOT, and then gets you to duke it out in no-holds-barred fisticuffs, as if you’re in a John Wick movie (but without a proper budget). It looks THAT interesting, and we can’t wait to bloody our noses with it. Fights in Tight Spaces is out now on Xbox One and Series X|S via Xbox Game Preview
Take a look at the trailer for Bright Memory and tell us how a single developer could possibly produce it. Even if it turns out to be a short tech demo (and the £6.69 price tag implies it’s somewhere in that area), it’s a hell of an achievement, and Zeng Xiancheng deserves all the plaudits he gets. Bright Memory is out now on Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam.
DJ Hero and DJ Hero 2 will hold a special place in the heart. Whether it was fumbling with the controls, repeatedly hammering the Flava Flav “Yeah boiiiii” sample, or trying to find a home for the plastic peripherals, I will always defend the series. Harmonix clearly have it in their hearts too, as FUSER captures that magic and tries something new with it. Fuser is out now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, Switch and PC via Steam.
Oh, hello: Evergate is a bit of a looker. Saved for the launch of the Xbox Series X, presumably to show off these looks further, Evergate is a crisp, beautifully animated and dreamy platformer that looks a bit like Rayman Legends, if Rayman Legends were developed by Jonathon Blow rather than Ubisoft.
Now, XIII is the kind of game that deserves a remaster. Routinely ignored on launch, it deserves a second appraisal with a few more eyeballs on it. It was pretty damn good, for a start, albeit with some obvious nips and tucks that a remaster could provide; then there’s the slick art style, one of the first to adopt cel-shading, which stands the test of time. All of the above makes a strong case for a remaster, and we’re eager to get our hands on it for review. XIII is out now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4 and PC via Steam.
When Gears Tactics was announced at E3 2018, it was coupled with Gears POP!, the Funko crossover that probably shouldn’t have been. The combined result was that many people came away underwhelmed, particularly as they were expecting something more mainline. But after some ecstatic reviews for the Windows version (including a 5/5 from TheXboxHub), it’s fair to say that we’re on board the hype (Cole)train. Gears Tactics is out now on Xbox One, fully optimised for Series X|S and via Game Pass. It’s also been out for a while on PC via Games for Windows.
You could have put ‘Silent Hill’ at the front of the title and we would have called Visage a return to form. Ultimately, this is an exercise in stretching PT to a full house, which is almost entirely successful, with masterful scares and near constant tension.
Of the LucasArts adventures that have come to Xbox One, Full Throttle is not the first that we’d recommend. It’s too lightweight in its gameplay to be a favourite, and it takes a few ambitious punts, particularly into arcade territory, that don’t pay off. But that’s not to say that Full Throttle is running on empty: it’s better at being a movie than a game, and that movie is exhilarating, noisy and more than a little kick-ass.
Our very own Criterion Studios know how to make a racing game. From the Burnout series to Need for Speed's finest titles in Most Wanted to Hot Pursuit, you can near-guarantee that you’ll feel the sheer power of the cars you’re driving, and barely keep a handle on them as you drift through some fantastic open worlds. Their first outing in the Need for Speed series was Hot Pursuit, way back in 2010, and the remaster-heavy 2020 feels like a fantastic time to wheel it back out and give it a reappraisal with Need For Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered. Need For Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered is out today on Xbox One, PS4 and PC via Steam.
The connection between people is a common theme across many myths and cultures. Sometimes these are spiritual connections, other times they’re manifested. Red Rope: Don’t Fall Behind is a passion project from Francesca Zacchia that focuses on one in particular: the Chinese legend of the Red Thread of Fate. And rather than specify what this red thread represents, a lot of the interpretation is left to you. Red Rope: Don’t Fall Behind is launching today on Xbox One and joins a previous drop on PC.
As someone who’s forgotten what day it is, several times since the pandemic started, I can appreciate Memoranda. It’s a point-and-click game about people slowly forgetting things, helpless as their sanity, their loved ones, or their keys get lost in their long-term memory banks. And it’s out now on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Are you the masochistic type who loved their time with Super Meat Boy and N+? If so, well, we have a little treat for you: Dead Dungeon is a dungeon where you’re going to die, and die repeatedly. Get your platforming thumbs out and sharpen your reflexes: you’re going to need them as Dead Dungeon is out now on Xbox One, joining previous releases on Switch and PC via Steam.
