Xbox - The Official Magazine - UK (2019-10)

roundup

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF CIVILISATION: WRITING,

FARMING, INDUSTRY AND MECH SUITS ROBIN VALENTINE

BLACKSAD: UNDER THE SKIN

PUBLISHER MICROIDS

DEVELOPER PENDULO STUDIOS DUE 5 NOVEMBER

This noir detective story is no less

hardboiled for being set in a world of

anthropomorphic cats and dogs. Blacksad’s

feline senses allow you to make Holmes-

like observations, zooming in on characters

to discover new clues about them. A delay

from September to November means you’ll

have to wait a little longer before getting

stuck into its cases, however.

UNDERMINE

PUBLISHER THORIUM

DEVELOPER THORIUM DUE 2020

A top-down roguelike with a whiff of The

Binding Of Isaac about it, this underground

adventure casts you as a portly miner and

challenges you to gather as much precious

gold ore as you can down in the depths.

Monsters abound, and you’ve only your

trusty pickaxe to battle with – but every

time you die you get to buy permanent

upgrades to your gear for next time.

LOST WORDS:

BEYOND THE PAGE

PUBLISHER MODUS GAMES

DEVELOPER SKETCHBOOK GAMES, FOURTH STATE

DUE DECEMBER

This narrative-driven platformer sees you

playing through a story as a young girl

writes it in her journal. What starts off

fantastical takes a turn when a real world

tragedy begins to creep into the fictional

realm. Watercolour illustrations give it

visual flair, and Rhianna Pratchett (Tomb

Raider, Mirror’s Edge) is on writing duties.

STRANDED SAILS – EXPLORERS

OF THE CURSED ISLANDS

PUBLISHER ROKAPUBLISH

DEVELOPER LEMONBOMB ENTERTAINMENT

DUE OCTOBER

When the pirate ship you call home wrecks

on a deserted island, it’s up to you to

make the best of it. That means farming,

foraging, looking after your fellow survivors,

battling the island’s native creatures and,

ultimately, building a new ship to take

you all home. Think Stardew Valley with a

nautical twist.

PSYCHONAUTS 2

PUBLISHER XBOX GAME STUDIOS

DEVELOPER DOUBLE FINE PRODUCTIONS

DUE 2020

You’ll sadly have to wait longer than

expected for Double Fine’s mind-bending

sequel – it’s been delayed again, this time

to an unspecified date in 2020. It follows

a busy year for the studio that saw its

acquisition by Microsoft and thus a change

in publisher for the game from Starbreeze to

Xbox Game Studios.

THE RIFTBREAKER

PUBLISHER EXOR STUDIOS

DEVELOPER EXOR STUDIOS DUE 2020

Armed with a state-of-the-art mech suit,

you’re sent off to an alien world to exploit

its resources. You’ll need to build up an

increasingly complex automated base of

mines, refineries, power plants and more

• and defend it from the understandably
  hostile natives. Colonialist parallels do
  make it feel like you’re the bad guy, but if it
  helps the locals are horrible bug monsters.

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