PS5 GAMES PREVIEW
sitting below an active volcano,
and gigantic icy spires reaching
into the sky. Enoch’s
environments demand to be
seen, and destroyed.
Lurking in these areas are
more devolved and evolved
humans, and also Enoch’s
wildlife. We’ve seen and fought
the smaller armoured wolf-like
creatures, but there are
elementally charged six-storey
beasts prowling the wilds of
this alien world too.
RAPID-FIRE ROLEPLAY
The RPG side of Outriders
complements its shooting
neatly. Takeon missions and
you’re rewarded with gear, guns,
and upgrades. As we discover
in our hands-on it pays to
complete side-quests, as the
weapons and XP we earn ensure
we’re well-armed when an
electrically-charged mini-boss
requires taking down.
Side-quests are tied to the
mobile caravan you’re part of, as
the game’s explorative structure
sees you trundling around the
world signing stragglers up to
your cause. Each waif or stray
will offer new quests and
challenges, but while dialogue
trees enable you to dig deeper
into a character’s backstory
your choices won’t affect the
outcome of the game.
Outriders is RPG-light
and gunplay-heavy, and our
hands-on reveals its blend
of traditional third-person
shooting and powered attacks
delivers a solid experience. The
only real question mark hanging
over it lays with its PS4 and
PS5 skews. This could be one of
the first games to demonstrate
how both console generations
can exist alongside each other.
Square Enix is heavily
marketing Outriders as a PS5
release, and we suspect all the
next-gen upgrades will be
applied – ray tracing, SSD
loading, 3D Audio – so will you
hold off buying it for PS4 or
double-dip on PS5? hile Rainbow Six Siege is into its
fifth year and going so strong
we expect it’ll be bringing
cross-gen multiplayer to PS5, this co-op
spin-off will offer something different
set in the same universe.
It’s based on the multiplayer shooter’s
Outbreak event from 2018 (in which a
Russian space capsule crashes to Earth
releasing an alien parasite), but the full
game is aiming higher than the source
material. With a story campaign for up to
three players, Quarantine will task you
with fighting an alien menace that’s
turning the population into zombie-like
creatures. The first-person team shooterwill see you take on the role of one of 21
Operators from Siege.
Leaked details suggest San Francisco
and New York as locations. Given the
franchise it’s is spun from, tactical play
will be paramount, with custom loadouts,
weapon mods, and classes (Assault,
Recon, and Support) enabling your squad
to best the parasitic zombies. Missions
called Sabotage, Escort, Disruption, and
Hunt show the game isn’t abandoning its
online multiplayer roots.
Quarantine is coming to PS5 as well as
PS4, suggesting we’ll get a spruced-up
visual feast for our next-gen console, but
won’t leave our current-gen pals behind.RAINBOW SIX QUARANTINE
Invading PS5 at launch?
PubUbisoft Dev Ubisoft Montreal ETA Octomething of a surprise hit for
Ubisoft, Siege has remained an
immensely popular, fresh-feeling
team shooter since its launch in 2015.
It’s had plenty of updates in that time,
which have included brand-new features,
maps, and characters, and the publisher
is remaining committed to keeping that
going by bringing the game to next gen.
Siege puts a big emphasis on
team-based co-op, with two squads
of operators going head-to-head in
asymmetrical multiplayer. Each small
map has been meticulously designed toprovide interesting areas for
engagement, as an attacking and a
defending team compete in various
missions such as bomb defusal or
hostage rescue. The attacking team must
breach and clear, while the defenders get
time to set traps to repel the attackers.
The idea is as simple as they come but
executed to perfection by Ubisoft. There’s
a certain purity to it that ekes out the
best from players, giving each team the
tools they need to create encounters that
could prove to be some of your fondest
memories playing on PS5.RAINBOW SIX SIEGE
Continue the fight on next gen
PubUbisoft Dev Ubisoft Montreal ETA TBCS
Will we have had
enough of quarantine
by the launch?A refreshed Siege on
next-gen hardware?
We’d bet on it.The prospect of this with ray-traced
lighting makes our mouths water.
UNCHARTED 5
Nolan North has said he
wants to return to the
role of Nathan Drake and
fans certainly want a new
game, but Sony has been
quiet about the future of
this franchise. That said,
rumours of a new San
Diego studio set up to
make a sequel or a
spin-off are still circling.
RATCHET & CLANK
A new entry in the
comedic sci-fi shooter
series could be locked
and loaded on PS5. While
we’d love developer
Insomniac to get straight
into that Marvel’s
Spider-Man sequel, a
return to the studio’s
roots in a colourful
ray-traced Ratchet &
Clank adventure would
hit the spot.
CALL OF DUTY:
BACK OPS 5
We know there’s a new
Call Of Duty coming at the
end of this year, and that
some internal strife
means Treyarch could
be back earlier than
expected with a new
Black Ops entry. We
expect Activision’s annual
shooter to shine on PS5,
but also release on PS4.
KNACK 3
Yeah, go on then, we’re in
for more Knack. Imagine
all his little blocky parts
dancing to ray-traced
reflections and physically
based lighting. As the old
saying goes, ‘it’ll be third
time lucky’.BEYOND GOOD
& EVIL 2
This ambitious adventure
takes Ubisoft’s open
world template and
makes it an open
universe. Travel
seamlessly from a bar in
a city on a planet and into
orbit, then to a new
planet, and down onto its
surface. Includes talking
space ape pirates for
extra weirdness.
FINAL FANTASY VII
REMAKE (PART 2)
Given it took almost
the entirety of PS4’s
lifespan to make Part 1
of FFVII Remake, can we
expect the next chapter
to be released only on
PS5? Probably not.
Square Enix has said
production is easier now
the core of the game is
up and running. But we
wouldn’t put it past this
dev to get ambitious for
its next entry, which
could take time.053