What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 525 | Push Square

You're either utterly obsessed with Funko Pops or you can't stand the sight of them, and there's no in-between. As such, newly announced PS5, PS4 game Funko Fusion is already facing an uphill battle with some console owners. Using what appears to be a similar structure and approach to the LEGO games, this is a title playable alone or in four-player online co-op, and it's out on 13th September 2024. Check it out in the above reveal trailer.

Square Enix appears to have cancelled or at least rescoped the size of multiple unannounced games as a result of an internal review into its development process, with a «content disposal» loss totalling 22.1 billion yen, or $141 million. As a result of the investigation, the publisher shall «revise the Group’s approach to the development of high-definition (HD) games with the intention of being more selective and focused in the allocation of development resources».

D3 has confirmed it'll be bringing Earth Defense Force 6 to Western shores on PS5, PS4 from 24th July 2024, just shy of two years after its original Japanese release. A tongue-in-cheek news bulletin trailer has been posted online to mark the update and pre-orders are live on the PS Store now. The release date means EDF fans are in for quite the summer since Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 is also slated to arrive on PS5, PS4 on 26th September 2024.

Survios, the team behind PSVR games CREED: Rise to Glory, Sprint Vector, and The Walking Dead Onslaught, has today revealed it's working on a new PSVR2 game set in the Alien universe called Alien: Rogue Incursion. It is described as an «intense single-player, action horror game», set to release for Sony's VR headset later this year alongside Meta Quest 3 and Steam VR versions.

Sony and Shift Up have put out a new Stellar Blade trailer to mark the PS5 exclusive's launch, with the release date set for tomorrow, 26th April 2024. Like a lot of launch trailers, the two-minute slice of footage features a lot of cutscenes and stretches of gameplay we haven't seen before, so you might want to skip it given the full launch is so close. Still, you can catch it above.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has been updated to support a new graphical mode running at 40 frames-per-second while boasting higher resolutions. Available to download now on PS5 as part of patch 3.2, the mode can be used on 4K TVs that support up to 120Hz. Prior to this, Avatar PS5 only had Quality and Performance Modes, but this new option looks to feature the best of both worlds after the 2.4GB download.

Update: It appears the PS Store jumped the gun somewhat, as it's now been confirmed Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will join EA Play on Thursday, 25th April 2024. Active members will be able to download and play the full game then.

Everybody's Golf developer Clap Hanz will continue to broaden its horizons now it no longer has any formal partnership with Sony, as its next golf game will enter the virtual reality space, but it's only launching on Meta Quest headsets. The game, named Ultimate Swing Golf, releases next month on 16th May 2024 only on Meta Quest 2, 3, and the Pro variant.

Rockstar Games has announced it's joining EA in raising the price of its GTA+ subscription service, from £4.99 / $5.99 per month to £6.99 / $7.99. Representing a 40 per cent increase in the UK, new users will immediately be charged the new price while existing members will begin paying extra from 11th June 2024. Since GTA+ only offers users monthly memberships, there's no way to save a bit of money with a 12-month commitment to the service.

Building on an article published overnight, The Verge has another post that largely reiterates past reporting from Insider Gaming covering what Sony has planned for its PS5 Pro and the upgrades it will bring to current games. Reported first at the start of April but now confirmed through more sources, Sony is reportedly allowing developers to tag their titles as «PS5 Pro Enhanced» after applying one of a few different upgrades.

If the new Alone in the Dark PS5 reboot has given you a classic survival horror itch, then Sony's subscription service PS Plus Premium is looking to scratch it. Available from Tuesday, 16th April 2024, the old PS1 terror Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare will be available to members on the top tier, complete with all the bells and whistles that come with the re-releases Sony accepts on the service. It's joined by MediEvil and Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire on the same day.

Today is the day for April 2024's PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium game refreshes to come into effect, with 14 PS5, PS4 and Classic titles landing across the two tiers. The games are available now in the UK and Europe, and availability in the USA will be rolled out later on in the day. Day one title Dave the Diver headlines today's update, but there's actually even more to come. Tales of Kenzera: ZAU joins the service on 23rd April 2024 and then Animal Well is coming on 9th May 2024. Starting today, you can play the following: