078
REVIEW
INFO FORMATPUB 2K DEV PS4 VISUAL CONCEPTSETA OUT NOWNBA 2K20
For whom the Stringer Bell tolls
T
he NBA doesn’t hand out medals for
effort. If it did you’d have to award
one to whichever Visual Concepts
developer suggested what its latest b-baller
needed was... Idris Elba.^1 In a series which
has grown stagnant, Elba’s inclusion as your
MyCareer character’s coach elevates this
above humdrum 2K18 and 2K19 efforts.
When matches become a grind, you’re
carried through by the desire to see the
next twist in the pair’s love-hate relationship- a neat use of a bona fide megastar.
While DCI Luther running a college team is
unconventional, Visual Concepts otherwise
sticks to its staple diet of realistic, authentic,
challenging hoop-shooting.^2 This is a sim
that expects you to grasp the basics fast.
Even on lower difficulties, failure to mark
your man when defending is a fast-track
to defeat, and long-term success requires
the mastery of teams’ playbooks. The toning
down of sprint speed adds to the sense that
thought trumps physicality – and makes for
a more rewarding experience after some
muscle-memory adjustment time.
Popular modes like MyTeam (2K’s answer
to Ultimate Team) and MyGM return, but
aside from Elba it’s the addition of women’s
teams that injects real freshness. Without
wishing to slip into stereotypes, WNBA
matches feel more spacious and less frantic
than the men’s game, and get a unique
commentary team led by Blake Suniga. The
most fun I’ve had thus far is playing a season
as ladies’ team Phoenix Mercury, with all the
real kits, logos, likenesses, and even retired
numbers. Demonstrating that,
thankfully, Visual Concepts’
tireless scouting for new stuff
hasn’t affected its immaculate
eye for detail. Ben Wilson
FOOTNOTES 1 Elba is the MyCareer star, but appearances from
Lebron James and Scottie Pippen raise smiles too. 2 Presentation
is yet again best-in-class, with the finest player faces in the genre.INFO FORMATPUB SPIKE CHUNSOFT PS4 ETA OUT NOW DEV SPIKE CHUNSOFTAI: THE SOMNIUM
FILES
The AIs have it
W
hat do you do when a witness won’t
talk, and you need to track down
a serial killer who’s taking their
victims’ left eyes as trophies? The answer
for ABIS (Advanced Brain Investigation
Squad) agent Date Kaname is simple: psync
with them. Using a special machine the unit
can hop into someone’s dreams, but only for
six minutes at a time.
Date is aided in his dream delving by Aiba
(short for AI-ball), his AI partner who lives
inside his false eye. As his avatar when
investigating dreams, time only moves
when she does, and different actions incur
different time costs. Each ‘Somnium’ you hop
into is essentially a self-contained adventure
game that uses dream logic, which you need
to puzzle together in the right order.
How you complete peoples’ Somnia
can alter events in the story, creating a
flowchart you can access and skip around in
the menu at any time. You’ll spend more time
picking dialogue options and examining crime
scenes than you will dream-hopping. But
there’s quite a lot of interaction – it’s closer
to the likes of Ace Attorney than Steins;Gate.
Kotaro Uchikoshi is the writer/director,^1
so as you’d expect the story is key. Full
of twists, every detail of the world is
masterfully woven into the mysteries hidden
within. There are multiple endings, but this is
the sort of game where each route is lavish
in detail, each one key to experiencing the
true ending. Superbly voice acted,^2 and with
great-looking animation and environments,
AI: The Somnium Files is a
decadent production giving
you one of the best videogame
detective mysteries this
generation. Oscar Taylor-KentFOOTNOTES 1 Best known for the Zero Escape series – grim and
quirky visual novel death games. 2 Greg Chun (Judgment’s Yagami)
plays yet another detective, albeit a much leerier one, in Date.INFO FORMATPUB TEAM 17 PS4 ETA DEVOUT NOW THE GAME KITCHENBLASPHEMOUS
Sinning and winning
M
ore Spanish-Catholic-inspired than
Gothic, Blasphemous is a gruesome
pixel hack-and-slash that riffs on all
things holy and, well, unholy too. You play
as The Penitent One, the only survivor of
the massacre of the Silent Sorrow at the
hands of a curse named The Miracle that
has befallen the land of Cvstodia. Things get
bloody as you tackle evil single-handedly,
mowing down strange creatures – including
some large, nightmarish bosses. The world
is wonderfully rendered, and sparks the
imagination thanks to a mixture of terrifically
smooth animation and drop-dead gorgeous
pixel art. (It’s lored up to the brim too.)
In Castlevania fashion exploration is
non-linear,^1 and opens up from very early
on, making the process of eking out your
own path rewarding and tantalising. There’s
plenty to find, from prayers (special meter-
depleting attacks) to prayer beads that give
you buffs.^2 You can upgrade your sword,
the Mea Culpa, but you don’t rely on levelling
up any stats like stamina. Your dodge has
a cooldown, but there’s no real meter
management to speak of, nor gatekeeping by
way of higher-level enemies. You make your
own challenges.
By the time you’ve hacked through your
first set of three bosses, the difficulty
kicks up a notch, but for the most part
the challenge feels fair. There are minor
irritations – some bosses have annoying
stun-locks, enemies sometimes don’t load
in properly, and platforming can be iffy at
times. But trying again comes with minimal
punishment. Like the twisted
religion testing The Penitent
One’s faith, the game’s willing to
forgive – if you’re willing to try
again. Oscar Taylor-KentFOOTNOTES 1 The map is massive – and could have used more
shortcuts and fast travel points. 2 Most upgrades are optional and
feel really special when you stumble across them on your own.