SAN FRANCISCO, May 31 — Little Friends: Dogs & Cats makes up for the lack of Nintendogs on Nintendo Switch, Cricket 19 arrives ahead of a stretch of international bat and ball across PlayStation, Xbox and Switch, PixARK brings a Minecraft makeover to a dinosaurs-and-humans survival sim on console and computer, Outer Worlds lifts off on Xbox, Mac and PC, and space kitty adventure Gato Roboto leaps onto Switch and PC.
Little Friends: Dogs & Cats
For Nintendo Switch from May 27
Wherefore art thou, Nintendogs + Cats? The fluffy pet sim is stuck on the Nintendo 3DS, Switch owners might lament. Hence the arrival of “Little Friends,” filling up that empty dog or cat-shaped space in the Switch’s library, having received decent enough reviews upon its Japanese release in December 2018.
PixARK
For PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Windows PC from May 31
Remember Ark: Survival Evolved, that at-times vicious survival sim taking place upon a dino-filled island? It was the latest, greatest thing, in a time before Overwatch, Pokémon Go, PUBG or Fortnite. This, then, is the chunkier, friendlier, Minecraft-homaging version, debuting on PS4 and Switch after a year in early access on PC and Xbox One.
Cricket 19
For PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One from May 28; PC version to follow
Though released on the eve of the ICC Cricket World Cup (May 30 — July 14), it’s actually the official game of the 2019 England-Australia Ashes Championships (August 1 — September 16), also including a club-to-international career mode, ODI and IT20 series matches, historical scenarios, and room for casual match-ups between mates.
Outer Wilds
For Xbox One, and Mac and PC (Epic Game Store) from May 30
Just as 2018’s charming Minit was played in one-minute increments, interplanetary explorer and IGF winner “Outer Wilds” consists of the last 20 minutes before a local sun explodes; luckily, the player is stuck in a time loop, giving them repeated opportunities to suss out the secrets of this strange galaxy before it goes boom. Not the same game as The Outer Worlds, a sci-fi action adventure due later in the year.
Gato Roboto
for Nintendo Switch and PC from May 30
Scamper, leap and blast your way through a retro-looking and labyrinthine space outpost, whether safe inside a chunky suit of mechanised armour or vulnerable but on the hunt for new and useful items through narrow corridors. — AFP-Relaxnews
