8 things to watch out for this week

By GamesRadar Staff
published

1. Swipe left to rule your kingdom in Reigns: Her Majesty, a sassier reimagining of Tinder

When Reigns arrived on mobile devices in 2016, it managed to make you rule a kingdom like you would look for a date on Tinder. Swipe left to kill all the peasants, swipe right to feed them your best food reserves. Balancing wealth, religion and other qualities of life with a choice of just two options turned out to be harder than anyone thought, but with regularly hilarious results. Well, now it’s the queen’s turn with Reigns: Her Majesty, which just launched on iOS and Android - oh, and Steam too. It retains the same gameplay format as its predecessor, but as the name suggests, you’re the queen now. And turns out managing your royal decrees and your subjects’ unpredictable requests is even better when you’re literally the Queen of Sass. The replies are more hilarious and unwieldy than ever before, with some of our recent misfortunes including our jewel-studded carriage falling in the river. This is ultimate girl power and the sort of brilliant time-waster that more than justifies its $2.99/£2.99 price tag. Sam Loveridge

What: Reigns: Her Majesty
Where: iOS, Android and Steam
When: Now

2. Will PlayStation Experience (PSX) prove the antidote to Sony’s lacklustre E3 showing? 

I have total faith in Sony's ability to wow me this year with their PlayStation Presents showcase at the PlayStation Experience (PSX). There are so many things we didn't get to see at Sony's E3 conference in June 2017, which felt like an impressive, if slightly curious, holding-pattern. We saw extended demos of games we already knew about, but few megaton announcements. PSX *might* be the reason Sony were keeping their powder dry. We know we'll probably get to see some more The Last Of Us 2, a bit of Death Stranding (even if it's just a tweaked version of what Hideo Kojima showed at The Game Awards), some The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but there so much else I'm hoping for. I'm genuinely intrigued by Days Gone – the biker/zombie game – and I think the timing is perfect for a teaser for a Horizon: Zero Dawn sequel, and maybe even a whiff of what's next for Uncharted. Rachel Weber

What: The PlayStation Experience
Where: Anaheim, California but you can watch online
When: The PlayStation Presents show starts at 8:00pm Pacific Time Friday night

3. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds arrives on Xbox One but can it match the game's success on PC?

There's no doubt that PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has been *the* game of 2017 on PC, with up to three times the number of concurrent players on Steam as huge games like Counter-Strike and League of Legends. This week it arrives on Xbox One where Microsoft are clearly hoping it's bringing some of those huge numbers with it (for as long as it can extend its timed exclusivity). But its not going to have the same 'from out of nowhere success' on console that it's had before. It's a very well known quantity now and other games have already camped on its battle royal grounds. Fortnite, for example, is free to play and has already made the genre its own on Xbox One and PS4. There's GTA Online as well, and even Minecraft has its own take. The new desert map and update will freshen everything up for its Xbox One debut, but it's up to the players to decide if Battleground's domination continues. Leon Hurley

4. Overwatch's Winter Wonderland event is probably on the horizon with merry skins... and a better snowball fight 

Last year, the hap-happiest season of all was also, unfortunately, the first Overwatch seasonal event to be kind of a letdown. The main culprit was everybody's favorite climate scientist turned hero, Mei. Her new Legendary Skin just added a Santa hat to her usual outfit (and an admittedly cute snowman visual to her Ice Block ability). The real heartbreak, though, was that the new Mei's Snowball Offensive arcade mode was an un-fun dud. But that was Winter Wonderland 2016. Blizzard's had a year to rethink its holiday event approach and I'm expecting a much hollier, and perhaps even jollier, showing for 2017. Connor Sheridan

What: Overwatch Winter Wonderland 2017
Where: PC, PS4, and Xbox One
When: It's not official yet, but last year's event began on December 13, so get ready.

5. The Jurassic World 2 trailer has an actual extinction event and Jeff Goldblum makes a welcome return

The first Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom trailer is here and if you haven’t watched it yet… what are you doing? Go, go, go! In the lead up to its release, we’ve had plenty of short teasers and, err, trailers for trailers to whet our appetite, but now it’s here, there’s only one sensible thing to do... Rewatch it again and again to find every hidden Easter egg, secret, and clue about Jurassic World 2. Before you head off though, here's a quick lowdown. First off, we're going back to Isla Nublar, the island from the Spielberg classic and the functioning (for a while) theme park from Jurassic World. Secondly, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are heading back to - wait for it - save the dinosaurs from an extinction event. Even the return of Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcolm warning that 'life finds a way' doesn't seem to stop them from heading back to an active volcano where the attractions eat the tourists. Yes, it's big, yes, it's stupid but the minute you hear the new version of that Williams score, you'll be well and truly in. Oh, and if you were wondering? We have a T-Rex. Lauren O’Callaghan

What: Dissect the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom trailer
Where: Movie theatres on June 22nd, 2018
When: Now

6. Can the mid-season finale for The Walking Dead actually redeem this painfully slow season?

If you’ve been watching this season of the Walking Dead in the same way that I have, you’ll be dreading the arrival of every episode. Despite a promising start with Rick’s crew taking a definitive stand against the Saviours, not much else has actually happened over the course of the past seven episodes apart from a few near-miss moments, Rick in his undies, the death of a CGI tiger and Negan appearing for all of one episode. There’s now a big question mark over whether the mid-season finale will be able to provide enough tension and drama to make up for the slack. The fact that AMC has managed to stretch such little plot out over this many episodes makes me vaguely hopeful that the one big plot point they do have will be revealed next week. If there isn’t something seriously good in the pipeline, I fear The Walking Dead viewing figures are going to resemble Glenn’s head at the start of season 7... Sam Loveridge

What: The Walking Dead season 8
Where: AMC/Fox/Now TV
When: 9pm Sunday in the US/9pm Monday in the UK

7. Will Star Wars: The Last Jedi fall foul of social media and the era of drip-fed marketing campaigns?

Yeah, we know. Star Wars: The Last Jedi can’t possibly be out in a matter of days. This is a double-edged post, as much warning as celebration. Because, with the Last Jedi world premier happening on December 9 (and the European one on December 12), that means that by the middle of next week, a fair few people will have seen Star Wars: Episode 8. You’ve probably worked hard to remain spoiler-free over these last few months, but, being the middle part of the trilogy – and thus, inherently the point when big plot points will kick in and shocking things are almost guaranteed to happen – The Last Jedi is likely more dangerous territory than most films this year. So what we’re saying is: get excited, be hyped, celebrate this week, but from Saturday onwards, be very, very bloody careful who you talk to and what you read. Reviews will be hitting at the same time, so shit (as they say) is going to get real. David Houghton 

What: Star Wars: The Last Jedi premier screenings
Where: LA and London
When: December 9 and December 12 

8. Destiny 2’s Curse of Osiris DLC added much needed new stuff, but at a cost 

Chances are you’ve rinsed most of Destiny 2’s vanilla content and are itching for some new stuff. Step up then for the Curse of Osiris DLC which adds a new planet, Mercury, along with new missions, story, and loot. The plot revolves around Osiris, a controversial exiled Guardian and a mission to avert a future where the Vex control pretty much all of reality. While the story expands on critical lore (namely meeting Osiris himself) actual content’s a little… meh, consisting mainly of shooty walks through admittedly stunning Vex engineered landscapes. It also raises the level cap to 330, giving guardians a new target to aim for but that’s where the catch drops in. A few high level things have had their level increased to match the DLC rise. But that means they are now impossible to do without the DLC. It’s high level stuff like Heroic Strikes and Prestige level Raids, so some are understandably upset that an expansion has restricted previously available content. Leon Hurley

What: Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris DLC
Where: PS4, Xbox One and PC
When: Now

GamesRadar Staff

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