Games of the week including Sweet Transit, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and MultiVersus

Sweet Transit

Platform: PC

Genre: City Builder, Resource Management, Logistics

Price: TBC

Age rating: N/A

A relaxing, intelligent city builder

Lone Lithuanian developer Ernestas Norvaišas brings the train-led city builder Sweet Transit into early access. The game looks to marry the key concepts of Railway Empire and Factorio into a quaint and relaxing package. The player begins with a small village, the aim is to watch it flourish into a thriving metropolis. The needs of the populace must be met to grow and develop the village. The player must build efficient rail networks that support production chains that, in turn, grow in complexity as each objective is met. At first, players may find the railway signalling system complex, but the tutorials available offer strong assistance. The laidback blues and jazz soundtrack help create a pleasant city building experience, too.

Skip to the end: A well thought out train-led city builder, which fuses transport networks and production line efficiency into a chilled-out experience with a great deal of potential.

Score: 8/10

Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Platform: Nintendo Switch

Genre: Adventure

Price: £49.99

Age rating: PEGI 12

Fight your way through this epic adventure

In this huge role-playing game, players explore a detailed world and fight an array of well-designed creatures to solve a years-long conflict. The third instalment in the well-loved series boasts an intricate plot and a carefully constructed world that will provide dozens of hours of enjoyment. The enjoyably varied combat styles are at the heart of the game, with an auto-attack system that may seem jarring at first, but will eventually become second nature – even to new players. While the game is impressive visually, lengthy cut scenes and occasionally clunky dialogue mean Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is slow to fully capture players’ attention. However, once in full swing, the game is a feast.

Skip to the end: Slow to start but worth the wait.

Score: 7/10

MultiVersus

Platform: PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/X|S, PC

Genre: Fighting

Price: Free

Age rating: PEGI 12

Super Smash Bros meets Batman and Bugs Bunny

While Warner Bros is no stranger to the games market, the level of polish and detail the Beta version of multiplayer platform fighter MultiVersus brings may be a surprise to many. Featuring much-loved characters including Wonder Woman, Steven Universe, Tom and Jerry and Arya Stark, players battle it out with combos and cartoonish weapons galore. The fights are surprisingly challenging at times

in the well-animated game that is easy to pick up, but difficult to master. The best part of the ambitious game so far is co-operation between characters, with support roles and varying abilities usually reserved for larger fighting games. There is still room to grow, with some work needed on a stage or two, but it is a promising start for this early version.

Skip to the end: A genre challenger that’s quirky and full of potential.

Score: 7/10