Funny and fresh from beginning to end, Paradigm is a traditional point-and-click adventure game full of heart and decapitated heads in jars. The Eastern European setting, great voice acting, and confident comedy shine throughout its roughly six hours. Relatively simple puzzles aside, Paradigm offers a fresh and memorable entry in a genre that I'm happy to see alive and well in 2017.
Hardspace Shipbreaker is a sci-fi-inspired sim that puts you in the role of someone that spends their time working in low orbit pulling apart and salvaging old spaceships. And with all great sims, the premise is only a part of the appeal with the end result delivering pure low-orbit job immersion.
If it were titled The Banner Saga: Chapter 1, then there'd be no argument worth mentioning in relation to its length or aspirational goals, and at this stage I can only assume that there is a new Banner Saga game, or Chapter 2, in the works. If there isn't then the choice of buying and playing this great game would become as futile as the ones made within the game itself -- namely, a lot of people will get hurt.
And with this new structure Ardennes Assault represents the best single-player experience seen in a Company of Heroes title to date.
With a brilliant musical score, some truly breathtaking deep sea vistas, and a profound ecological message ABZU; is a journey you won't soon forget.
But even so, it's still an often-thrilling experience, and a great entry in both the Halo franchise as a reminder that there's always room in the market for a good RTS game.
And when the day comes that we can witness all the wonderful detail and beauty of Polyphony Digital's creation, via watching a replay of a crash-free online race set at night along the rain-soaked roads of Tokyo, this could become something truly special.
The War of Factions stuff sounds great, but feels lacking in its overall presentation. But there are memorable flashes of brilliance when playing the multiplayer modes, and you come up against another player. And through sheer skill and understanding of the combat, you're able to gain the upper hand in a heated and intense exchange of metal. And then, put the exclamation point on the outcome with a suitably violent execution.
Even in a world where a magical Edict by an evil Overlord can engulf an entire region with earthquakes and deadly sandstorms.
It sees Blizzard go back to where the series began, bringing its seasoned bag of tricks to a new Terran campaign.
Which in the end gets a lot of things right, in addition to feeling like a traditional open-world Elder Scrolls RPG expansion. In that sense, The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind is a definite success, it faithfully recreates and updates the iconic location for both modern audiences and modern gaming hardware. Seriously, simply walking around and taking in all the sights is worth the price of admission alone.
And just like the action-RPG direction of the second outing, Dawn of War III once again has made us eagerly anticipate what's next for the series.
Splatoon 2 joins an already stellar first-party line-up for a console that is still only a few months old.
While I'm in the former camp, I also realise I'm likely outnumbered by those in the latter.
For fans of old school shooters and the rouge-lite setup of games like Rogue Legacy then it's well worth equipping Grandpa's Blunderbuss and venturing into a pyramid filled with adorable but dangerous snakes and flying skulls.
Because after playing through it, going to a real park or a real beach filled with real people has never sounded better.
Outcast: Second Contact is well worth a look for both fans and newcomers alike.
With several quality of life and mechanic upgrades from SpellForce 3, Soul Harvest is an enjoyable experience that scratches both the RPG and RTS itch. A blend that still feels unique to this series, and one that continues to impress all these years later.
No, a great thing.
There's definite substance below the shiny neon ‘80s surface.