The month's best games, from Mario to a record number of rats

It's been an absolutely massive month for video games, including a new Mario game, DC superheroes, and a rat-filled epic.

9News.com.au has been playing some of the biggest recent releases.

A Plague Tale: Requiem

Amica and Hugo's story continues in A Plague Tale: Requiem, with upgraded abilities, stunning graphics, and a record number of filthy rats.

In the sequel to Asobo Studio's A Plague Tale: Innocence, Requiem sees Amica de Rune continue her quest to save her brother, as they journey to a mysterious island.

If you're new to the series and hate rats and rodents, this game is not for you.

Speaking to the power of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, A Plague Tale: Requiem can support up to 300,000 rats on screen at any one time.

It's nightmarish brilliance.

This game features remarkable story, followed by brutal combat and stealth game mechanics.

There are plenty of familiar tools at Amica's disposal, with some very exciting new tricks to trial.

Requiem features one of the most unrestricted photo modes in any game, allowing the player to take the camera across the map and get a close-up of every detail.

At every possible moment, I found myself stopping to snap a picture of the scenery or hordes of rodents in front of me.

Performance-wise, it wasn't a perfect playthrough. I experienced an occasional frame rate drop and ran into one particular bug that required me to restart the entire chapter to fix it.

The game has been patched since I played through it, hopefully removing any of those annoying bugs.

All was easily forgiven as I quickly found myself engrossed in the story again.

A Plague Tale as a series is a masterpiece in video game storytelling. This game, much like the first one, will stay with me for many years to come.

A Plague Tale: Requiem is out now on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC and Nintendo Switch (via cloud service).

Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope

I'm not usually one for turn-based strategy games but I can certainly get around the colourful concoction of Mario with the cute and quirky Rabbids.

Sparks of Hope is the sequel to 2017's Kingdom Battle, one of the first big third-party titles to accompany the Nintendo Switch that my colleague, Mark Santomartino loved.

I never played the original and I was never overly big on the Rabbids but even I have a newfound love for the series.

Battles have changed dramatically, with much greater freedom of movement and elemental "sparks" that can turn the tide in your favour.

Most can be won or lost when deciding the make-up of your team - with healing characters like Peach and Rabbid Peach a must for battles that ask to "survive" waves of enemies and multiple turns.

Yoshi and his Rabbid counterpart have been replaced by Bowser and Rabbid Rosalina, who both bring something new to the table, as does an all new character named Edge.

Edge plays a major part in the story, which begins with little to no explanation of who these crazy critters are and why they're hanging out with Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and friends — you just have to accept it.

Exploring the world is not dissimilar to the modern Mario game; there are puzzles about and coins to collect — but you can't jump about.

The music is an absolute standout, with a huge lineup of incredible composers at the helm.

Gareth Coker (Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Hall Infinite) Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts) and Grant Kirkhope (Goldeneye 007, Banjo Kazooie) have given their all for this game.

Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is pure joy, effortlessly offering a laugh and a smile.

It's out now on Nintendo Switch.

Gotham Knights

In Gotham Knights, players aren't in control of Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman. Following the death of the Dark Knight, the B-team is in charge.

Robin, Batgirl, Red Hood, and Nightwing all feature in this new action-adventure game by WB Games Montreal.

After an incredible cinematic opening, the game sets up how the underdogs are now in charge of protecting Gotham.

While I'm yet to beat the game, I've been having a good time grappling around the city, taking on Gotham's finest thugs and chucking wheelies around town on the Batcycle.

It's very difficult not to compare its combat system to the Batman Arkham series, and it doesn't quite stack up.

There are plenty of new abilities to master, but in this case, it's quantity over quality.

Red Hood is a big dude, yet his punches (and bullets) don't quite land as tough as Batman's.

Co-op is where the game shines brightest, combat is so much better when you have a friend to bounce off.

The game is only available on current-gen consoles and PC, with that said, players have higher expectations.

Is Gotham Knights the best release on the list? Not quite, but it's still plenty of fun.

Gotham Knights is out now on Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5 and PC.

Those three titles are the main events, but there are a few other games worth mentioning.

New Tales from the Borderlands: A story-driven adventure set in the Borderlands universe. it's out now on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.
Overwatch 2: After a rocky launch, Overwatch is back! The free-to-play online shooter is packed full of new characters, maps and weapons.
Scorn: A first-person horror adventure game exclusive to Xbox Series X|S and PC.

Also still to come is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II on October 28.

But it doesn't just end in October, November is headlined by one of the most anticipated games in recent years, God of War: Ragnorak, as well as Sonic Frontiers.

9News.com.au was supplied review copies of A Plague Tale: Requiem, Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, and Gotham Knights.

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October 24, 2022 at 09:05PM
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