Star Wars Jedi: Survivor lights up PLAY’s cover
Plus: PSVR2 launch guide, Amnesia: The Bunker, Sherlock Holmes meets Lovecraft, The Last Of Us HBO, and more inside!
PLAY #24 is out now! Cover game Star Wars Jedi: Survivor looks set to make a current-gen splash on PS5 as soon as March! Add on PSVR2’s imminent launch, and we’re gearing up for PlayStation to really start blowing up 2023 even this early on.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
While Survivor hails from a franchise we love, we’re not being blinded by the light(saber) of brand loyalty. We sat down with director Stig Asmussen to catch up on events since talking Fallen Order in 2019, and he filled us in on the huge improvements being made to make use of PS5, from new lightsaber styles to team-ups, and what sounds like a thrilling story.
PSVR2 launch guide
PS5 games are evolving at a steady rate, but PSVR2 is coming along to take the revolution from your big screen at home to the smaller (though high-resolution) screens on your face. Out on 22 Feb, it’s almost here, and we’ve got a definitive launch guide for you combining hands-on impressions with both games and the hardware with developer insight to really dig into why it’s so exciting.
Technically, what’s become possible is jaw-dropping, but when you get down to it PSVR2 enables devs to really have fun and come up with some super-creative gameplay.
Amnesia: The Bunker
We kick off the Insider section with a look at some creative twists on old classics. We have Amnesia: The Bunker’s Fredrik Olsson on crafting a truly terrifying “unscripted” horror sequel, and Thirsty Suitors’ Chandana Ekanayake tells us about game’s fusion of JRPG mechanics with the immigrant cultural experience. Plus, Gran Turismo’s movie revs up, PlayStation’s new PS5 controller embraces accessibility, “Has PlayStation’s modern pricing become for the few and not the many?”, and more.
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
That creative streak continues into the previews section proper. Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened matches up the great detective with Lovecraftian cosmic horror, and is proving to be one of the freshest approaches to a remake we’ve seen to date. We also take a look at Process Of Elimination (sort of a Danganronpa meets Disgaea), go on our own horror journey in World Of Horror, and touch down on Scars Above for a final preview verdict.
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One Piece Odyssey stretches Reviews
Despite being early in the year, boy do we have some corkers in store for you. Monster Hunter Rises proves a formidable successor to World, One Piece Odyssey adds an anime twist to turn-based RPGs, and we once again re-litigate the debate not only between Persona 3’s best versions, but how the new remasters make Persona 3 and Persona 4 stack up against each other. Plus The Last Of Us HBO, Season, Neon White, The Outbound Ghost, and more.
RetroStation
Taking charge in RetroStation is a big retrospective on Suikoden 2 – a PS1 classic all-timer, and a masterwork of the genre. We also dive into not one but two retro platformers as we celebrate Gex 3D’s anniversary and investigate why Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear To The Rescue was the most-played PS1 game on PS Plus last year.
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Games Editor Oscar Taylor-Kent brings his Official PlayStation Magazine and PLAY knowledge to continue to revel in all things capital 'G' games. A noted PS Vita apologist, he's always got his fingers on many buttons, having also written for Edge, PC Gamer, SFX, Official Xbox Magazine, Kotaku, Waypoint, GamesMaster, PCGamesN, and Xbox, to name a few.
When not knee deep in character action games, he loves to get lost in an epic story across RPGs and visual novels. Recent favourites? Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree, 1000xResist, and Metaphor: ReFantazio! Rarely focused entirely on the new, the call to return to retro is constant, whether that's a quick evening speed through Sonic 3 & Knuckles or yet another Jakathon through Naughty Dog's PS2 masterpieces.