Another week, another drop of new Kairosoft games onto Xbox. This time it's all about the anime of The Manga Works and the splashing fun of Pool Slide Story.
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.
Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are here, but now that you've spent all your hard earned cash on the consoles themselves, what exactly are you going to be playing on them? Well, thanks to the power of Backwards Compatibility, you'll no doubt be looking to fill your digital library with many, many, games - and that is where the Xbox Deals With Gold and Spotlight Sale for 10th-16th November 2020 comes in. Want the full list of discounted Xbox games available for the next week?
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.
Overcooked! from Team17 and Ghost Town Games has long been admired for delivering some of the best cooperative multiplayer action in town. Now though the full definitive edition is being served up on Xbox Series X|S - and PS5 if you wish - in the guise of Overcooked! All You Can Eat, remaking the classics from the ground up.
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.
Welcome to the new generation! And what better way to christen your new Xbox Series X or S than with a brand-new Yakuza title! Yakuza: Like a Dragon is now available on Xbox Series X, Series S, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
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.
Gone are the days when a sports video game was just about the on-pitch/court/field antics. Nope, now it's all about the side hustle as well, with multiple options available to players. With NBA 2K21 though, much of the draw of the entire experience is found in the stunning soundtrack that accompanies the game with 2K now dropping further details on enhancements; one of which includes unreleased tracks from 2 Chainz.
It all kicked off with Man of Medan, before being followed up with Little Hope. Now though Bandai Namco and Supermassive Games are looking to push forward ever more with their narrative driven The Dark Pictures Anthology - detailing and dating the next chapter, House of Ashes.
Counter-Strike is truly a classic. It paved the way for so many games that came after, and has a fanbase which has kept it active decades after release. Despite being simple compared to the games of today, it’s still hugely playable with nothing else which quite compares. It’s an icon which I can still happily recommend to this day.
