For all the complaints that I have about this year’s installment of MLB The Show, it’s still easily the most comprehensive and gratifying sports title on the market.
One of the staples of an awesome game is the fact that it leaves you jonesing for more. Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark accomplishes this with a style and grace of a bygone era of game design. Here's to hoping there is more content on the way, because I can't wait for my next dose of tactical action.
There’s no need to consult Yoda, Fallen Order absolutely deserves to appear in your immediate future.
While it may not redefine the Metroidvania style of games by any stretch of the imagination, F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch is a stellar example of the genre done right. Featuring mildly interesting characters, a world teeming with life, and a well-designed map that is very player-friendly, it genuinely feels like it does damn near everything right. As long as you don't mind an occasional table flip encounter here and there, this is a hare-raising adventure for the ages.
Though it's a small package, Unto the End manages to deliver both an amazing visual experience and surprisingly deep combat systems. You won't want to miss the sort of adventure that will keep you coming back for more punishment, death after death.
Melding the city-building and exploration genre together shouldn't work this well. Airborne Kingdom does a fantastic job of continuously throwing new challenges at the player, while simultaneously devouring countless hours in the process. For a mere $24.99, this is a title that will absolutely give you plenty of bang for your buck.
While it's easy to call a game, "too hard," Godstrike goes above and beyond to savage you. Unless you're willing to put in the time and pain, this will not be an enjoyable experience. However, if you can ride the crest of the difficulty curve, this bullet hell bonanza will keep you coming back for even more brutality.
While Star Wars Pinball VR has all of the fan service necessary to please any diehard fan, it runs up against a handful of minor technical and polish issues that prevent it from living up to its full potential. That said, it still outclasses every other pinball experience on the platform, so feel free to indulge your inner Jedi.
I was genuinely shocked to see how comprehensive the simulation experience was in Farm Manager 2021. The level of thought and detail that's went into all of the interweaving mechanics, is readily apparently and genuinely impressive. Anyone looking for a new sim to sink their teeth into should look no further.
This delightful sprint is both beautiful to watch and engrossing to play. Aerial_Knight's Never Yield is a fantastic hour and a half long sprint, that features an outstanding score and plenty of narrative surprises interwoven throughout. Now, if only we had a flow-chart to follow the actual storyline...
If you have the patience, Roguebook is an interesting adventure, worth exploring. Players will be treated to a multifaceted strategy title, that keeps you guessing constantly. Why not have them deal you a hand?
Despite its rather brief runtime, Mini Motorways shows what made the game so successful on mobile platforms. Featuring a gameplay loop that's hard to resist, the only thing holding it back is a lack of true variety. Luckily, when the gratification loop is this intoxicating and the price is so minimal, the limited replay value can be easily forgiven.
Making fantastic use of the VR medium, I Expect You To Die 2 picks up where the original left off, in the most literal sense possible. Sure, it may not be treading any new ground and is somewhat on the brief side, but even when viewing it as an expansion to the original, it still offers a stellar experience for all comers. Rest assured, that mission isn't firing any blanks.
Though far from perfect, Ghost Recon Wildlands is one of the most effective franchise reboots in recent memory. It manages to build upon the key squad-based mechanics that set the series apart, while not feeling the need to pander to the established fan base. The result is a fantastically realized open world that legitimately feels like it could be a real geographic location.
There's plenty to like in Pharaonic, including fantastic visuals, interesting (albeit repetitive) character design and moment-to-moment gameplay that is hard to beat. The development team has somehow managed to make a Souls-style game accessible, with one less dimension. Ambitious achievements like this are fairly rare, especially for such a young studio. And to imagine that this was done on such a small scale is genuinely remarkable. I would highly recommend giving this experience a look if you're looking for the next chance to be reminded how you suck at games. Git gud, man. Git gud.
There are so many things to like about Ittle Dew 2. Everything from the quippy, hilarious banter to the unique yet traditional presentation, helps drive home the developer’s respect for the titles that inspired it, while also showing the desire to take a slightly different path than its predecessors. It is impossible to not fall victim to Ittle’s charms throughout the course of the slightly abbreviated campaign. This is an adventure that is absolutely worthy of your time. All it will take is a single dungeon before it has wormed its way into your heart.
When it comes to love letters to an era of gaming long since passed, you would be hard pressed to find something more heartfelt than The Sexy Brutale. It offers up a modern take on an extremely dated design, all made palatable with the help of time-travel. While this affectionate note may have a few typos, mainly in the form of puzzles with obtuse leaps in logic, it’s hardly enough to detract from the deep-seeded sincerity sprinkled throughout the experience. This is one sexy experience, indeed.
When it comes to pleasant surprises, Serial Cleaner ranks among my favorite indie releases of 2017. The simple to grasp mechanics yet surprisingly deep execution managed to take a genre that I traditionally loathe, and somehow deliver an immensely gratifying experience. Don't get me wrong, this will most likely not be winning any end-of-year awards, but it's a mess that's worth tidying up after. Who knew that obstruction of justice could be so much fun?
Though it may not be what you imagine when you think of console RTS titles, Comet Crash 2: The Kronkoid Wars is a well-designed game that offers a constantly evolving structure. While it's not something that will set the world on fire as far as hype is concerned, it's an entertaining space adventure featuring a stout campaign and interesting mechanics. Spending a little time in its orbit would be a fantastic way to burn a few lunar cycles.
Is Sairento VR a masterpiece of technical innovation? Far from it. But despite its obvious visual and mechanical shortcomings, the game knows what it does well and takes every opportunity double-down on delivering this experience. You will find very few games on the PSVR that can provide a combat experience this frenetic, kinetic, and goddamn amusing. If you're looking to take a slice out of crime and indulge your inner ninja, this one's a cut above the rest.