PLAY #23 is out now! Thought it would take a while for the year to get busy? Think again. 2023 feels like one of the busiest starts to the gaming calendar we’ve ever had, and we’re bringing you an issue to match! We’ve got a historical ass kicking in store with cover game Like A Dragon: Ishin, cast and crew access to The Last Of Us’ new TV show, and yes – the prestigious PLAY Game Of The Year awards are back again. And we’ve got the reveal for you below…
PLAY's Game Of The Year 2022 Awards
We asked, and you voted! The best games of 2022 are charted in our special feature, and we dive into just why every one deserves a place on the list. But if you’re just here for the raw ranking itself, then who are we to deny you? After all, as an open vote, it really belongs to all of us. Without further ado…
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarök
- Cult Of The Lamb
- Stray
- Return To Monkey Island
- I Was A Teenage Exocolonist
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Inscryption
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
- Tinykin
If you want to know why and to read a little bit about what makes each game shine then, well, give the mag a cheeky read.
Speaking with The Last Of Us' cast and crew
The Last Of Us’ TV adaptation is shaping up to be perhaps the best game-to-screen project yet. And we don’t say that lightly. We’ve been invited to immerse ourselves in the show and meet the cast and crew making it happen. We had a lovely chat with Craign Mazin, Neil Druckmann, Pedro Pascal, and Bella Ramsey about putting the whole thing together, so give it a read!
Like A Dragon: Ishin! - Masayoshi Yokoyama on taking Yakuza back to the past
If you’re already a big Yakuza fan like us, then Like A Dragon: Ishin is something of a holy grail that needs little introduction (you might even have an import of the original release sitting on your shelf). This remake is the first time this historical take on the Yakuza series is being released internationally, and we have a natter with RGG Studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama about the process.
Previews get 'hella' RPG - Forspoken, Atelier, Labyrinth Of Galleria, and more!
Like A Dragon isn’t the only big RPG we sink our teeth into. We spent hours in the world of Forspoken fully exploring Frey’s parkour-like Flow powers (much more than in the demo, which was a little so-so to be honest). We share our first impressions inside!
We also speak with the developers behind Atelier Ryza 3 and Labyrinth Of Galleria: The Moon Society about why these great games deserve to be on your radar even if they might be a little niche (don’t say we never did anything for ya!).
Reviews (in which we can't stop playing Midnight Suns)
This month, due to the turn of the annum (that means ‘year’, I think…), we have less reviews but bigger ones. Always a nice thing to do. That means a huge 6-page review of Midnight Suns, followed by chunky verdicts on The Callisto Protocol, Need For Speed Unbound, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, and more.
Some of the games are good. Some of them are bad. Some of them are middling. But I’ll tell you what – they’re all good fun to read about.
RetroStation chews on the greatest PlayStation demos
Going old school is the perfect way to wind down an issue of PLAY, and this month RetroStation’s headliner is a retrospective on some of PlayStation’s greatest demos of all time. Yes, PT is in the list – but other iconic teasers also get plenty of time to shine, from the mag era all the way through to the more recent.
Plus, we revive Yakuza’s Kenzan spin-off, dust off Burnout Paradise, stick up for classic Assassin’s Creed, and more inside!
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