Bloody hell, lads. That Elden Ring is good, isn't it? You've no idea how hard it was to not just write about it again this week. It's going to be even harder to find something else to write about next week as it continues to get its hooks into me. What I'm saying is that you should expect some more Elden Ring in these newsletters in the coming weeks because it is - so far - going beyond my already high expectations I had. I have written a review of Gran Turismo 7 this week, so I've spent a fair bit of time with it, so on the release day of Polyphony Digital's masterful new instalment, I've decided to get some additional thoughts written down here.

Vibes Only.

As much as I absolutely love high intensity arcade style games, I cannot state how much I love the Gran Turismo café in Gran Turismo 7. It's the core of the game, a place that you constantly visit to progress through the 'campaign' and unlock new modes, tracks and cars. You visit the café, receive a menu that requires you to win or buy three cars linked by a particular identifier, like the brand or type of drive. You then head out, hit the track or the showroom floor and report back when you've completed the request to unlock a few things and receive your next menu. Rinse, repeat until done.

When you return, you get a little explanation about the cars and can even pick a car from your garage and get a little unique fact about them. It sounds silly, but it really adds to the Gran Turismo THING - the thing being Gran Turismo is a love letter to all things CAR. Sure, there's racing in it and that's what most of your interaction will be but Gran Turismo has never truly been about the racing, it is Kazunori Yamauchi's passion for motorsport and automobiles that is the main thrust and the Gran Turismo café feels like a natural progression of that.

I love it when someone can talk informatively and enthusiastically about something they're into and find it quite infectious, whatever the subject may be. I don't really give a shit about cars. I can't drive a car in real life. However, when I return to the Gran Turismo café and come away with a little bit of knowledge, presented to me in a relaxing, charming way, I found myself suddenly caring a little bit more about the otherwise unassuming Honda or whatever that I had just acquired. It makes you feel more attached. More of a fan, I guess?

It's a little oasis away from the noise of the racetrack that reminds you that this is a game - a series - that is headed up by someone who truly loves the subject matter and who wants to share this with you. Not through a series of intimidating menus or lengthy technical explanations but by sitting you down with a virtual coffee for a casual chat. Very low-key, very light and breezy and, as I've said a few times, a really chilled out and relaxed way of presenting these facts. Just a nice time all round!

It is easy to be dismissive of this if you're just looking for a balls-out racing game but that has never been Gran Turismo's vibe and failing to be aware of this shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what this series has always been about - the cars themselves. There's plenty of great racing games out there but it is stuff like this that makes Gran Turismo special and is why it has been regarded as a genre leader for 25 years.

Bring The Noise.

The only thing I really can't stand about Gran Turismo 7 is the in-game soundtrack. Like, I get why it is like this - licensing rights headaches that are a perpetual thorn in the side of the medium and the reason why some games are pulled from digital storefronts and some classic games will never be seen again in any official capacity - but for a game that is so upfront about celebrating the 25th anniversary of the series it is a bit of a shame that the genuinely legendary soundtracks of the past games didn't really get any kind of acknowledgement.

I know, this is absolutely an old man post but that's essentially the kind of content you're going to get on here. I am here complaining that there's no Manic Street Preachers, Feeder and Ash in a game in 2022. Don't get me wrong I love a good bespoke OST but a good curated soundtrack? Absolutely the business. The sort of stuff that can legitimately introduce you to songs, bands and even entire genres that shape the music you love for the rest of your life. I still feel bad for Americans who got some pump remix of Are You Gonna Go My Way instead of that raw demo version of Just A Day by Feeder over their Gran Turismo 3 intro.

Have you ever played the Steam version of Crazy Taxi? Stripped of The Offspring and Bad Religion shouldn't make it a bad game - it's still a brilliant, unique arcade game from Sega when they were in their absolute pomp - but somehow it IS worse without them. Can you imagine if EA hadn't ponied up the cash to Axl Rose to make sure the first thing you hear in Burnout Paradise is Paradise City? Again, wouldn't make it a bad game (and all you deviants would still bang on about Avril Lavigne's Boyfriend anyway) but it would've stripped that intro of so much character.

Tony Hawk games have a reputation for absolute bangers on their soundtracks but for me, the original game remains king. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of great stuff on most of them but as someone who was into their skateboarding at the time, seeing bands like Papa Roach creep onto the soundtracks felt like a totally commercial move. The original game had stuff like The Dead Kennedys, Primus and Suicidal Tendencies on the soundtrack - far from commercial bands - and it felt like it was curated by the skaters themselves, a little insight into the music the pros listened to. As a kid, that felt cool as fuck.

Another favourite is Hotline Miami, not only because of the quality of the soundtrack but because of how the repetitive, aggressive electronic music actually helped create the near trance-like state you needed to get yourself into in order to really play that game at the highest level and also, thematically, helped put you into the, well, jacket of the character, giving you that singular focus of killing everything you could find in the levels.

One last one, so I don't bang on about these forever, is a bit of an underrated one in my opinion. The soundtrack to RUINER hits similar notes to Hotline Miami when you're in the action sequences, as it requires a similarly intense focus to get through them. However, when you head back to the hub, a brilliantly realised cyberpunk city block, the theme that plays there is a song by legendary Japanese composer Susumu Hirasawa (who wrote Guts' Theme, so you Anime nerds will know him well) called Island Door (Paranesian Circle) and it perfectly captures this futuristic down time between brutal missions in a dense city block but with that Japanese futurism vibe, all neon kanji signs and Tokyo street style. An inspired choice and one that elevates the setting and aesthetic of the game to something I found to be quite special.

Recommended: Shadow Warrior 3.

This one has gotten a bit of a weird reception. There's a particularly stinky review of it over on PC Gamer that reads like the writer had it in for the game before they'd even booted the thing up and the vibe around it is that it isn't much cop but the reality is that, like the other games in the Shadow Warrior reboot series, it's a solid, fun shooter that is more concerned with you having a good time rather that reinventing the wheel or anything like that. The target audience for this sort of game, however, is saying a lot of positive things about it, so if you are a fan of hardcore FPS shooters that have a focus on inventive weaponry and movement, I think you'll have a great time with this one.

Let's talk about the main complaint I've seen. The hero of the piece, Lo Wang, talks a lot. It's annoying! Guess what though - it is supposed to be! He's a shithead who fires out one-liners and dick and fart jokes throughout the eight or so hours it'll take you to blast through it. Nathan Drake and Aloy from Horizon talk all the fucking time too during their games and they're not even supposed to be annoying, despite making me feel like pushing a fork into my ear. Your tolerance is going to be completely based on whether you enjoy a trashy 90s action movie but if, like me, you're not above some puerile humour, it certainly isn't something that should put you off.

So, with that out of the way, you can focus on the fact that most of the weapons feel satisfying to use. The movement is responsive and consistent and allows you to feel like a superhero as you dart around the arenas. The game flow is simple and largely lifted from Doom Eternal - platforming bit, arena battle, platforming bit, arena battle and so on. Most resources are replenished through killing enemies, keeping you on the front foot and if you perform a finishing move, you rip a part of the enemy off to use as a weapon, with each enemy having their own unique one for you to utilise, so you can formulate your own strategies whilst flying by the seat of your pants, based on what enemy weapons you like to use.

It is basically a knock-off Doom Eternal, structure-wise and even lifting mechanics wholesale from id's beast of a shooter but those fundamentals - satisfying weapons and movement with an emphasis on forward momentum and fun - should be enough to tell you that despite being released at the same time as Elden Ring, Cyberpunk's next-gen patch and Gran Turismo 7, there's a game here that is still well worth a look, perhaps even bumped up to a must-play if you're a big shooter fan. I've enjoyed my time with it a lot.

OTHER STUFF WORTH LOOKING AT THIS WEEK IN ONE SENTENCE.

MÖRK BORG - A D&D book that can be played single player, set in a brutal black metal inspired hell world with incredible punk/metal artwork.

Ghostrunner - Free on PSPlus this month, a melee-based FPS that plays like Titanfall-meets-Hotline Miami and was a real favourite of mine from the past few years.

Elden Ring - This one might be a masterpiece, lads.