Something for the Weekend – 05/02/22

We’re getting right into the thick of it, with an absolutely stacked release schedule through February and March. Dying Light 2 is this week’s big release of the week, but then we’ve got Horizon Forbidden West, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, Elden Ring, GRID Legends, Gran Turismo 7 and so much more just around the corner.

But let’s keep our heads in the here and now shall we? It’s time to round-up all the gaming news from the past week, and we’ve had some huge news stories!

In the News This Week

There’s a few big news stories from this week. Bungie buyouts, GTA 6 confirmation, and (of course) ludicrous failed NFT launches all make the round-up.

• Sony buys Halo & Destiny creators Bungie for $3.6bn
• Rockstar confirms that Grand Theft Auto 6 is in development
• GTA V and GTA Online PS5 and Xbox Series X|S release date set for 15th March
• Suicide Squad reportedly delayed to 2023
• PlayStation plans to launch 10 live service games in the next 4 years – where are they all coming from?
• Team17 cancels its NFT nonsense after backlash from employees, partners and gamers
• Halo Infinite BTB matchmaking fix is now live
• Gran Turismo 7 Music Rally mode revealed, but what is it?
• Ghostwire: Tokyo release date set for 25th March
• Bloodborne PS1 is as great as it sounds, play it now

Games in Review and Featured Articles

There’s one big game release for the week, and that’s Dying Light 2. How has this long-awaited, long-in-development parkour zombie smasher held up under the spotlight?

• OlliOlli World – PS5, XSX|S, PS4, XBO, NSW, PC – 8/10
• Avicii Invector Encore Edition VR – Quest 2 – 8/10
• Dying Light 2 – PS5, XSX|S, PS4, XBO, PC – 7/10
• Century: Age of Ashes – PC – 5/10
• DXRacer AIR Mesh Gaming Chair – 7/10

Stepping away from the reviews, I got to deliver two previews of some upcoming PlayStation exclusives. Ghostwire: Tokyo is shaping up to be a really interesting ghost-filled action adventure, while there’s a huge amount of content coming to the sublime looking Gran Turismo 7, and some fun new oddities like Music Rally and the single player Café.

With Horizon Forbidden West just around the corner, Jim went back to Horizon Zero Dawn to try and figure out just why that game never really did it for him. Ade talked to Ubisoft about what goes into creating new heroes for the history battler For Honor.

Finally, What We Played featured Dying Light 2, Pokémon Legends: Arceus and OlliOlli World.

Trailer Park

Catch up on the Gran Turismo 7 State of Play stream

Ghostwire: Tokyo showcase video reveals plenty of supernatural gameplay

Company of Heroes 3 Campaign Missions revealed in new video

Halo TV Series trailer reveals the Silver timeline – release date set for 24th March

New Horizon Forbidden West trailer showcases gameplay variety and challenges

Your Achievements

And finally for this round-up, we come to… you!

• With the PS5 upgrade in hand for a tenner, TSBonyman dove back into the Uncharted series. He also published some speech synthesis on Dreams using allophones.
• hornet1990 has felt like his time in Mass Effect: Andromeda this week has been 50% backtracking and needless unskippable cutscenes.
• MrYd is another Uncharted upgrader, matching that with the entertainingly frustrating SnowRunner, a bunch of PS Now games, and the surprising cross-platform VR MMO Zenith: The Last City.
• MOVE grabbed the Iki Islands expansion for Ghost of Tsushima on offer, and has enjoyed getting to grips with the combat again.
• There was just time to platinum Erica for willbuchanan, who’s been spending most of his free time painting his makeshift home office to turn it into an actual office.
• And finally Dom dropped into the WWP comments to say he’s been playing Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Lost Ark and has been reviewing Retro Bowl, which is “quite possibly the greatest American Football game of the last decade.”

That’s it for this week’s gaming round-up. Have a fun weekend, wrap up warm, and we’ll catch you again next week.