Games Inbox: Second PlayStation Showcase this month

The Wednesday letters page thinks PS Plus and Game Pass are the best bargains gaming has ever seen, as one reader recommends Shipbreaker.

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Second try
I agree it’s very hard to see the PlayStation Showcase as anything other than a major mistake on Sony’s part but what do people think is the logical next step for them? Having a second showcase after Xbox is the obvious choice but isn’t that going to come across as kind of desperate and knee-jerky?

I think the reality we have to remind ourselves of is that 95% of people have no idea about any of this controversy and probably thought the showcase was perfectly fine and all they were looking forward to was Spider-Man 2.

The problem with trying to guess what will happen is that none of this seems to make much sense. We know Sony has lots of new games waiting to be announced but why don’t they? What are they waiting for? And if it’s the Activision Blizzard acquisition, what are they going to do if it drags on for years?

I’d love to think that a second showcase is going to drop at the end of this month, but I really can’t see it. it would make Sony look too foolish and I still can’t believe they’d announce more than a couple of big new games. This is a very peculiar situation and I’m very interested to see how Xbox’s event will go at the weekend.
Winston

Just okay
With Fable basically confirmed for the Xbox Games Showcase I’m really not sure what to expect or even what to hope for. I know it has its fans but I’ve never thought of Fable 2 – the only one I’ve played but apparently the best one – as being particularly great. It was an okay action adventure but with boring combat and not much in the way of puzzles that I remember.

We’re inevitable going to see Microsoft treating it as an equivalent of Zelda, in terms of quality and popularity, and that’s crazy. I can see why they’d do that – admitting that it was just okay is not going to get anyone interested in the reboot, no matter how different it is.

I hope they pull of something interesting, as the trailer at least implies it’s keeping the same sense of humour but it’s not as if people play Zelda for the plot. There needs to be something underneath it all.
Danson

Everyday job
I am currently addicted to Shipbreaker, an Xbox Series X/S game on Game Pass. You basically have to carve different spaceships up with lasers whilst jetpacking around in a spacesuit. You have to keep an eye on your jetpack fuel and air. It’s full of black humour and kind of feels like you’re doing an everyday job except you work in space.

It’s very different to other games in a Portal kind of way. Went to bed at 2am this morning because I just had to finish breaking the current ship I am working on.
Johnny Alpha SD
Also currently playing: the dark 2013 Tomb Raider reboot and the super speedy Star Wars Episode I: Racer

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The best of times
It’s understandable that many gamers decry the cost of gaming currently, with new titles at £70, microtransactions, and other dubious practices at one end of the spectrum. But I have to say that at the other end of the spectrum, specifically PS Plus Extra for me, I’ve never had better value in all my 35 years of gaming. I just got Extra in the sale for nine months, for under £15!

I’ve got at least 12 games I actively want to play and even if I only get through half those games in that time, it’ll have been an absolute bargain. I mean, playing Demon Souls, Returnal, and Horizon Forbidden West is worth that price alone. It’s easy to despair sometimes at modern gaming but there are some definite upsides.
Ryan O’D

Worth a Tumble
I’m not really a Kirby fan and had no idea that motion controlled Game Boy games existed but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with my fairly brief initial play on Kirby Tilt ‘N’ Tumble, I can see myself spending more time than I should playing it.

I only had a go at it because I was annoyed with myself for having to resort to looking at the internet to find out how to get to the floor 1 gong in the fire temple on Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom, bah!
John Atkinson

GC: Kirby Tilt ‘N Tumble was always great. For some reason it was never released in Europe until now though.

To do list
I have no idea how far into Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom I am – I’ve got three sages and I’m just coming up to the Water Temple for, I assume, my fourth. Logically I think I must be well over halfway but the game just feels endless. I’ve barely been in the sky or in the depths and everywhere I do go I instantly get distracted by a dozen other things I want to do.

It’s got to the point where I actually keep a little notebook by the couch, so I can note down my priorities and what I want to do. The game’s okay the way it keeps track of things and reminds you what you’ve got to do, this isn’t a criticism so much as me being super impressed at how big the game is and how it can manage to find something interesting to squeeze into literally every corner.

It’s an incredible achievement that deserves to be in the running for best game ever and, like I said, I haven’t even beaten it yet. If other games were as massive and detailed as this I’d be all for reusing maps more like this. Somehow I don’t think they’d turn out quite as well, and would be just an excuse to cut corners. No, to be this good takes Nintendo.
Joffrey

One foot in the grave
RE: Little Devil Inside. I know it was shown by Sony as a PlayStation 5 game, before the console was released. It looked really interesting but since then I’ve seen nothing.

I’m hoping it isn’t going to be another Wild, I know that was supposedly related to Michel Ancel retiring, except I saw trailers for it in 2014 six years before he retired. Does GC know anything about it?
Mitchell

GC: Technically neither has been cancelled but, also, neither has had any kind of update in years.

Bubble puzzle
Diablo has always struck me as an odd franchise. It’s obviously massively popular yet not only can I not see the appeal but I don’t know anyone else that does. In fact, most people I know that would probably consider themselves quite keen gamers, have never even heard of it.

My understanding is that it’s always been much more of a PC franchise but even so that doesn’t seem enough to explain its enormous sales. I’m not complaining I’m just curious that such apparently huge franchises don’t seem to have much impact on the wider gaming world. They just seem to pass through it like a ghost.

I guess there’s plenty of indie games that are ripping off the basic Diablo gameplay but I don’t think anyone would consider any them as being especially big. The Lego games almost seem closer, in terms of the multiplayer and the idea you’re just sort of sleepwalking through the game, but enjoying it at the same time.

To everyone that’s been looking forward to the game though I’m glad it’s here and you can finally enjoy it. I just find it odd how we can all be living in a bubble even when you think you’re pretty clued in and aware of most things in gaming.
Prendo

Inbox also-rans
Am I the only one to find the character designs in Final Fantasy 9 really creepy and unappealing? Why don’t they remake the much more popular Final Fantasy 6?
Gossom

Yes, it’s finally time for Power Stone 3! I will laugh if Capcom’s showcase ends up being the best of the bunch. They’re really on a roll lately.
Stallion82

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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

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MORE : Games Inbox: The legacy and failures of PlayStation Showcase, Diablo 4 vs. Street Fighter 6, and Advance Wars

MORE : Games Inbox: Predicting the next Legend Of Zelda game, June Nintendo Direct, and The Last Of Us Part 1 cheap

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