A song of ice and fire

When talking Souls, be it Demon’s or Dark, it’s hard to avoid the subject of difficulty. To the casual observer, frequent deaths followed by a taunting ‘YOU DIED’ screen makes player persistence seem borderline masochistic. Add this to the tantrums thrown when a Souls game aims to be more “accessible”, and it’s easy to misconstrue intentions. But those more experienced with Dark Souls as a series know better. So, to get this out of the way: is Dark Souls III difficult? You bet it is. In the five or so hours spent with the title I was stabbed in the back, burnt to a crisp, frostbitten and even torn apart by tentacles. But it wasn’t the difficulty that kept me pushing through, nor the variety of ways in which I died (although it does keep things interesting). It was everything else around it.

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection

Drake comes up with solid gold in this gorgeous remaster

Remember the first time you saw Uncharted? That vibrant jungle you couldn’t wait to rush into, lush greenery that was an antidote to every bit of brown that had infested games, and the alchemy that made Nathan Drake’s clothes stay sodden when he got out of water? The Nathan Drake Collection will make you feel that awe all over again.

Homefront: The Revolution

Playing at a disadvantage in Dambuster’s occupied urban jungle

The Homefront series’ luck is notorious. Despite taking a swing at a half-taboo subject and sparking controversy with its marketing, 2011’s linear run-and-gun through a USA under hostile occupation met with generally mild reviews and mass indifference. In its wake, developer Kaos was shuttered by THQ; two years later, the publisher also went extinct. Crytek then acquired the rights and envisioned a new game to be developed by Crytek UK and co-published with Deep Silver – a clean break, but one that would retain the challenging subject matter. Crytek’s own financial crisis would see what is now The Revolution changing hands again, Deep Silver’s parent, Koch Media, taking ownership of both the IP and Crytek UK, rebranding the latter Dambuster Studio. After so much misfortune, a superstitious observer might easily conclude that the series was cursed.