In Edge issue 359, on sale now, we talk to Alx Preston and Chelsea Hash of Heart Machine to find out how they’re constructing the mesmerising world of Solar Ash, an action-platformer headed to PC, PS4 and PS5. The game represents a dimensional shift from the studio’s debut, Hyper Light Drifter, casting you as the nimble Rei, who traverses these vivid environments with effortless grace and speed. There's a hint of Shadow Of The Colossus, meanwhile, in the enormous Remnants – Brobdingnagian beasts you'll need all Rei's guile and agility to take down. With insight into how the game was built alongside exclusive imagery showcasing Solar Ash’s unique world design, our 12-page cover story dives deep into one of 2021’s most captivating prospects.
As for the here and now, our Play section opens with reviews of Resident Evil Village and Returnal, with one game sticking its landing more convincingly than the other. Elsewhere, there’s a distinctly nostalgic feel to the review roster, with New Pokémon Snap, Oddworld: Soulstorm, Famicom Detective Club and R-Type Final 2. We also run the rule over Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, Tasomachi: Behind The Twilight, MaskMaker, World Of Demons and Ashwalkers.
Top-down time-loop thriller Twelve Minutes heads up our Hype section, as we go hands-on with the latest from Annapurna Interactive. It’s got cinema in its bones and Hollywood talent on its cast list: Daisy Ridley and James McAvoy play the married couple whose quiet night in is about to be ruined by Willem Dafoe’s vicious intruder. We marvel at the stop-motion stylings of hand-crafted adventure Harold Halibut and cosy up inside the voxel haven of Moonglow Bay, before buckling up for The Driver Syndicate, an uncompromising tribute to Reflections’ Driver 2. Road 96, Gord, Toodee & Topdee and The Fermi Paradox round out a preview section packed with games exploring unconventional looks, themes and ideas.
In features, we talk to David Crane, the Activision co-founder whose CV includes the likes of Pitfall!, Ghostbusters and Little Computer People, about his sparkling career – and discover why he’s returning to the system where he started nearly 40 years ago. We also interrogate the role of politics in games, talking to the developers who refuse to shy away from making a statement, and check in with Blasphemous creator The Game Kitchen to discover the Spanish studio’s origin story. Route 59 explains how cinematic visual novel Necrobarista came to be, while in Time Extend we return to 2018’s Celeste to consider what its mountainous challenge says about protagonist Madeline and the players willing to scale its perilous peaks.
Edge 359 is in UK shops now, and can also be ordered for delivery via Magazines Direct. To buy the issue digitally, head to Apple’s App Store or PocketMags.
