Contents Contents

WELCOME

This week, I’ve mostly been playing The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – developer Grezzo’s adorably dinky Switch reworking of the 1993 Game Boy hit. Although it might seem like a lightweight adventure after the 44 behemoth that was Breath of the Wild, Link’s Awakening is, it turns out, a solid candidate for a modern remake. The game itself has a hint of wistful nostalgia throughout its story: the setting, a sunny, remote island named Koholint, is full of mysteries and dangers, but it’s also peaceful and idyllic. Its handful of towns are populated by eccentric yet basically benign characters, and animals potter happily in lush green fields. That Link looks like a toy in the remake underlines a theme that’s hinted at but never spoken outright: the game depicts childhood as an Eden- like moment in time – a state of innocence that ends as our curiosity forces us to explore and discover more about the 50 60 wider world. Characters in Contents 6 the game warn us not to keep pushing back against the game’s secrets, but as in the real world, we don’t really have a choice but Attract mode Interface Toolbox Rated to press on to the end. As Sean Martin writes on page 18, inevitable endings are often the most effective ones, and Link’s 06. The Outer Worlds 18. Roads not taken 28. CityCraft 56. Control Awakening epitomises this. Obsidian give us the lowdown “You hear that, Mr. Anderson? Weaving secrets into video game Remedy’s latest outing is like Its sketch of a playful, innocent on their planet-hopping RPG That is the sound of inevitability…” city streets Max Payne meets The X-Files world that we must inevitably leave in order to move on is, I’d argue, one of the most affecting 10. Across The Grooves 22. Guts ’N Goals 32. Game audio: part 2 60. Telling Lies in the entire Zelda series. Dropping the needle on a laid- Meet the maker of an anarchic Positional sound: what it is and Combing through footage has Enjoy the new issue, readers. back visual novel from France arcade football game how to use it in your games never been so thrilling

Ryan Lambie 12.  III 44. FUZE4 36. Virtual reality 62. Gears 5 Editor Hands-on with ’s sailor How it’s bringing BASIC to the Tips to ensure your first VR game Time to cower behind some hunting sim Nintendo Switch is a great one waist-high walls yet again

16. Incoming 50. Special FX 40. Source Code 64. Rebel Galaxy Outlaw Best friends, empires, and a The British studio behind some Recreate Donkey Kong’s deadly The perfect modern Wing 18 nice helping of rabbit stew ZX Spectrum classics rolling barrels Commander reimagining?

04 / wfmag.cc wfmag.cc \ 05