Games Watch: the 5 best new games coming out in April 2019
Here are the console and PC games that have us talking this month
Even during the slowest months of the year, you’ll find the release list stocked with literally hundreds of games across consoles, PC, and mobile. It’s madness.
Given that, it can be easy to overlook some magnificent game releases amidst the stack, but worry not: we’re here to help. Our Games Watch column points out the five biggest and brightest games on the immediate horizon, and outlines why each seems like it’ll be well worth your time and money.
With that in mind, here’s your monthly compendium of the five most scintillating new releases coming before May rolls around. You can thank us later.
Nintendo Labo: VR Kit – 12 April
Nintendo has a hilariously bad history with sorta-virtual-reality with the very poor Virtual Boy back in the ’90s, but the new Nintendo Labo: VR Kit takes its inspiration from another source: Google Cardboard. Only now, it has a healthy dose of Nintendo’s creative spunk within.
The VR Kit lets you build a headset shell out of cardboard sheets and then slot in your Switch console, unlocking simple VR games that are friendly for younger players. But that’s not all: the kit also comes with cardboard attachments and peripherals in the form of a camera, zapper gun, or… an elephant’s trunk? Yeah. Like we said, it’s pure Nintendo.
Platform: Switch
Price: £47
Jupiter & Mars – 22 April
Jupiter & Mars is like a throwback to Sega’s Echo the Dolphin… only it takes place following an ecological disaster in which the Earth has been covered with water. What kind of idiotic creatures would let things get that bad? Oh, right: it’s humans. There’s a lesson here, isn’t there?
Here, you’ll explore the massive ocean as a dolphin with a fellow A.I. dolphin companion, not to mention the ability to use an echolocation skill to navigate through the dark, underwater terrain. You’ll solve puzzles, take in the sights, and hopefully give the former surface a chance to dry out. Better yet, you can experience this one with PlayStation VR if you please.
Platform: PlayStation 4
Price: TBA
Mortal Kombat 11 – 23 April
Mortal Kombaaaaaaaat! It’s that time again, friends: NetherRealm Studios is about to unleash the 11th (!) core Mortal Kombat game, and it looks to build upon the winning formula of Mortal Kombat X, complete with a mix of veteran kombatants, more recent additions, and a couple of fresh faces for good measure.
By and large, it just looks to be more MK action, with amped-up gore and some character customisation like the gear system from Injustice 2, but that sounds alright to us. And this premise of having older fighters face their younger selves is certainly compelling…
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Price: £50
Also Read › The 30 most anticipated games of 2019
Days Gone – 26 April
Long in the works, Days Gone has been positioned as Sony’s next big action hit, following in the footsteps of the likes of The Last of Us and Horizon: Zero Dawn. Whether it’ll actually live up to those brilliant games remains to be seen, however.
Here, you’ll play as the gruff Deacon St. John as you ride your motorcycle through the wilds and try to rescue your pal amidst the zombie uprising. It’s an impressive sight to see 100+ zombies go wild at once, although our recent hands-on testing showed some areas still in need of refinement. Hopefully Bend Studio worked out a few last kinks ahead of the launch.
Platforms: PlayStation 4
Price: £52
Also Read › Days Gone hands-on review
Super Meat Boy Forever – April
The original Super Meat Boy is already etched into our gaming hearts, but now Super Meat Boy Forever is here to solidify the little meat-man’s presence. And it’s packing some twists.
Super-tough 2D platforming gameplay still sits at the core of the quest here, but now Meat Boy runs on his own and the level design has been adapted as a result. Also, the level design dynamically adapts as you play, ensuring that you are always challenged. The lack of a precise April release date is a little unnerving at this point, but it’s indie gaming: it’ll probably work out!
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Price: TBA
Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
