Doctor Who: Worlds in Time to close

Take the mechanics of Breath of the Wild and splice it together with the heart of Wind Waker, and you’ve got something close to Windbound.

At the time, with its cartoon cel-shading and Kevin Costner’s Waterworld version of Hyrule, people sneered at The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Sandwiched between the darker Majora’s Mask on the N64 and Twilight Princess on the Wii, Wind Waker was critically acclaimed, but not terribly well-received by fans.

It’s funny how often fan opinions age badly, isn’t it? Wind Waker is now widely regarded as one of the highlights of the series. It also spawned two direct sequels – The Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks – which is a rarity for the series, and its meandering open-world clearly formed part of the blueprint for 2017’s Breath of the Wild.

Announced today by developer 5 Lives Studios – the team behind Satellite Reign – and publisher Deep Silver, indie adventure Windbound clearly carries the spirit of both Wind Waker and Breath of the Wild in its DNA. (With a touch of Rime’s puzzling and The Flame in the Flood’s survival thrown in for good measure.)

The accompanying press release reads:

“Created by Australian developer 5 Lives Studios, Windbound is a beautiful rogue-like 3rd-person survival adventure, fuelled by hunting, exploration and crafting. The player assumes the role of Kara who has been shipwrecked on an unknown land and must learn to adapt and survive, while solving the mysteries of a series of forgotten islands.

Windbound takes the survival genre in a new direction, focusing on nomadic hunting and exploration, together with custom boat building and an immersive tactile sailing experience. The game provides endless replayability options thanks to the procedural world, dynamic wildlife and modular boat crafting.”

Windbound will release for PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on August 28, 2020. That’s a smart move by 5 Lives Studios and Deep Silver – if you get the news of the Switch version out of the way early, it’ll stop people begging for it incessantly.

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Bad news from the Naughty Dogs: The Last of Us Part II is delayed, again. (And this time there’s no new release date pencilled in.)

The COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc with the video game industry. From event cancellations to production shortages to store closures game delays, it seems nothing is safe from the knock-on effects of the worst crisis the world has seen in years.

(And while you could argue that video games are trivial in the wake of the human cost of COVID-19 – and you’d be absolutely right – it’s worth remembering that they’re still important in their own small way. In addition to being an enormous employer, of a job that can mostly be done from home, they offer entertainment and escapism at a time where we’re all stuck in isolation.)

But this next piece of COVID-19 cancellation news really stings: The Last of Us Part II has been delayed. Again.

In a statement, developer Naughty Dog said:

“As you’ve likely just seen, the release of The Last of Us Part II has been delayed. We’re sure this news is just as disappointing to you as it is to us. We wanted to reach out to all of you in our community to give you a little more information.

The good news is, we’re nearly done with development of The Last of Us Part II. We are in the midst of fixing our final bugs.

However, even with us finishing the game, we were faced with the reality that due to logistics beyond our control, we couldn’t launch The Last of Us Part II to our satisfaction. We want to make sure everyone gets to play The Last of Us Part II around the same time, ensuring that we’re doing everything possible to preserve the best experience for everyone. This meant delaying the game until such a time where we can solve these logistic issues.

We were bummed about this decision but ultimately understood it’s what’s best and fair to all of our players. We’re hoping that this won’t be a long delay and we’ll update you as soon as we have new information to share.

We wish you all, your families, and your friends the best of health. Thank you for being amazing fans and your continued support.” – Naughty Dog

The key takeaway here is that The Last of Us Part II now doesn’t have a release date. That means it’s effectively delayed indefinitely, but the game is nearly complete, so when pandemic-related logistical issues subside it sounds like Naughty Dog and Sony will be able to get the game out fairly sharpish.

Maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world that a game about the terrifyingly violent breakdown of human society in the wake of a global pandemic won’t release smack in the middle of a terrifying global pandemic.

(But it’s still a damn shame.)

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Over 300 games, including The Witcher 3, Sonic Mania, and Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection, are discounted in the new Nintendo Switch eShop Spring sale.

Following on from this week’s new PlayStation Store sale and Xbox savings, Nintendo Switch owners can now enjoy some tempting game discounts. The big Nintendo eShop Spring sale includes over 300 games, with some recent big-hitters getting decent price cuts.

Top of the list is a 30% price cut for CD Projekt Red’s impressive port of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Ubisoft’s excellent Assassin’s Creed The Rebel Collection is also reduced by 30%, and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is chopped by 75%. Alien: Isolation, Gris, and Call of Juarez: Gunslinger are also games we liked.

Other recommendations include the wonderful Sonic Mania, Playtonic’s much-improved second game, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, and Larien’s engrossing RPG, Divinity: Original Sin 2. Add in a huge number of indie bargains, and there’s plenty to enjoy.

The sale runs in Europe until April 19, 2020. A batch of first-party Nintendo games will be added to the lineup on April 9 including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, and Kirby Star Allies.

In the meantime, here are some more sale highlights. Visit the Nintendo eShop in your country for the full list of discounts.

Nintendo eShop Spring Sale Highlights

• Assassin’s Creed 3: Remastered – 63% off
• Assassin’s Creed The Rebel Collection – 30% off
• Axiom Verge – 50% off
• Bastion – 80% off
• Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy – 49% off
• Diablo III: Eternal Collection – 48% off
• Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition – 40% off
• Divinity: Original Sin 2 – Definitive Edition – 30% off
• Gris – 50% off
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice – 50% off
• Iconoclasts – 30% off
• Just Dance 2020 – 60% off
• Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle – 75% off
• Metro 2033 Redux – 30% off
• Metro: Last Light Redux – 30% off
• Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove – 30% off
• Sonic Mania – 30% off
• Spyro Reignited Trilogy – 49% off
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Complete Edition – 30% off
• Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince – 50% off
• Torchlight II – 30 off
• Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair – 33% off

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For this week’s new Nintendo Switch games, read our eShop release roundup. And for more video games sales and savings, follow Thumbsticks on Facebook, Google News, Twitter, and Flipboard.

An all-time PS4 great and an overlooked rally racer are the free PlayStation Plus games for April 2020.

Another month, another duo of excellent free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers. The highlight is one of Naughty Dog’s finest, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.

Originally released for PS4 in 2016, Uncharted 4 received acclaim from all quarters, including Thumbsticks. In our review of the year, Tom described it as the “perfect a send-off for one of gaming’s great modern characters.” We expect many PlayStation fans have already played the game, but don’t miss this opportunity if you haven’t.

April’s second PS Plus freebie is DIRT Rally 2.0. The problem with many games from Codemasters is that they are reliably reliable. And so it proves here. DIRT Rally 2.0 is a full-featured simulation of a sport that oozes quality on every turn and in every gear change. There’s a learning curve, but with a little patience, a generous and absorbing racing simulation awaits.

This month’s free PS Plus games are available to download from April 7-May 4, 2020.

PlayStation Plus free games – April 2020

• DIRT Rally 2.0
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

March’s PlayStation Plus games – Shadow of the Colossus, and Sonic Forces – remain available to download until next week.

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Start the month with some big savings on PlayStation 4 video games in the new PlayStation Store Spring sale.

As one sale ends, another begins. A new PlayStation Store promotion starting today celebrates the spring season with a raft of discounts on some excellent PS4 games.

Players with the urge to escape planet Earth can leave their troubles behind with discounts on the well-liked Journey To The Savage Planet from Typhoon Studios. No Man’s Sky, The Outer Worlds, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order also offer budget adventures to galaxies far, far away.

Discounted PS4 exclusives include SIE Bend Studio’s ode to biking among the undead, Days Gone, and Santa Monica Studio’s glorious reinvention of God of War. Other highlights include Two Point Hospital, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, Yakuza 6, and Death Stranding.

The PlayStation Spring Sale ends on April 28 with a fresh influx of games arriving in two weeks. Here are some of our sale recommendations, and Anthem.

PlayStation Store Spring sale Highlights

• A Way Out
• Anthem
• AO Tennis 2
• Arizona Sunshine
• Assassin’s Creed Triple Pack: Black Flag, Unity, Syndicate
• Batman: Arkham Collection
• Bioshock: The Collection
• Borderlands 3
• Bully
• Code Vein
• Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
• Dark Souls III
• Days Gone
• Death Stranding
• Diablo III: Eternal Collection
• Doom (2016)
• Doom (1993)
• Dragon Ball FighterZ
• FIFA 20
• eFootball PES 2020
• Far Cry New Dawn
• Final Fantasy XIV
• God of War
• Job Simulator
• Journey To The Savage Planet
• Kingdom Hearts III
• L.A. Noire
• Mafia III
• Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
• Mortal Kombat XI
• Need For Speed Heat
• Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
• No Man’s Sky
• The Outer Worlds
• Project Cars 2
• Red Dead Redemption 2: Ultimate Edition
• Soulcalibur VI
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
• Tetris Effect
• Two Point Hospital
• Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life

Head over to the PS Store to see the full list of over 600 discounted games.

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For the latest video game sales, follow Thumbsticks on Facebook, Google News, Twitter, and Flipboard. If you’re looking for something new to play, read our review of Doom Eternal.