Rebirth is an incredible experience that can't be missed. Descend into the basement, lock the trapdoor behind you, and don't look back.
That's where Iconoclasts lives too, outside the lines. Of its genre, its inspirations, and its expectations. It's a delightful surprise, the kind that doesn't come around often enough.
Mood and atmosphere can carry me a long way, and I adored every second I spent in Hyper Light Drifter's world. The combat and movement often left me slack-jawed and giddy, a perfect homage to the '90s RPGs that obviously inspired Heart Machine, while still feeling completely fresh and constantly surprising.
You should absolutely play Afterbirth. If you're already an Isaac diehard, or someone fresh to the genre, Afterbirth has hours upon hours of genuine joy in store for you. But you should know it will also have moments of soul-annihilating frustration. Maybe that's the price for flying so close to perfection.
Oxenfree is a walking simulator that is confident enough in its characters and dialogue to bet that you won't mind just hanging around with them. It believes in the sinister low-ebb horror of the island to worm its way into your mind without having to crutch on a jumpscare every few minutes. It knows that its atmosphere and style will be enough to make you want to wander through its forests and dilapidated military bases. It's a walking simulator you should play.
Don't sleep on Videoball. It might not be the future of eSports, but it is the future of several fun, sweary, elbows-in-each-others-ribs nights with your friends.
There are plenty of games out there that you can beat, speed-run, and master. There are very few you can talk to. Don’t sleep on the opportunity.
At the same time, if you're an enthusiast fighter and want a competitively viable game with a lot of depth to explore, Injustice 2 makes a strong case for itself. It's the full package in a market filled with fighters that have come out half-cooked. I plan on savoring it for months to come.
The message is a little muddled, with so many accusing fingers thrust in so many directions that I'm sure different people will come to radically different conclusions of what it all means. But it's a message worth hearing, and a world worth exploring, if you care about video games and the people that make them.
Too often RPGs and turn-based tactical battle games are the domain of knock off Middle-earths. Of poor fantasy pastiches stitched together with wizards sporting wispy gray beards, dwarves slurring cheap Scottish accents, and knights brandishing impractical shoulder pads. It is a joy and a treat to spend time with a world so different, so unique and intriguing. Even if it is a dying and depressing one.
Brass tacks, the Jackbox Party Pack 2 made me and my friends laugh our asses off, and that's what it's all about. I can't think of an easier or quicker way to reduce a room to a giggling mass of hysteria, just toss it at a group of people and go. Party Pack 2 is a ridiculous value that is sure to provide you and your friends with a lot of laughs and great memories, exactly what every party game should aspire to.
While I don’t love every change Respawn has made in Titanfall 2, at the end of the day the positives more than outweigh the negatives. It’s hard to sulk about the lack of A.I. grunts in most of the multiplayer matches when you’re unloading a red hot chest laser into a mech that is hovering 50 feet above ground pelting you with missiles. There isn’t a shooter on the market that can compare with Titanfall 2 when it comes to imagination, inventiveness, and flat out spectacle.
At the end of the day, you probably already know if this game is right for you. If you couldn't get enough of Super Meat Boy and have spent the past seven years fiending for more punishing platformers, than The End of Nigh is something you should immediately inject into your veins. If you are usually iffy on super-challenging platformers, but curious if this is the one that will turn you around, keep on walking.
Despite the grind, despite the perhaps undue commitment to brutality, and despite what I feel is a joke at the player's expense at the end, Darkest Dungeon still manages to be one of the most engaging and intriguing roguelikes I've ever played and I'll probably still be diving dungeons and trying new party compositions weeks from now. After all, it would be madness to stop at this point.
Quiplash is a drum-fed machine gun of jokes. It's quick, it's snappy, and I'm hard pressed to think of a better time one could buy for $10 without breaking a few laws.
Aliens vs. Pinball is great, both as a novelty and as a serious set of tables. Whether you're just a fan of Aliens stuff and like the idea of a fun way to kill a few minutes here and there, or the kind of fanatic that will obsess over a table, playing over and over again to complete all the objectives and set a massive score, you can't go wrong.
Drawful 2 is a phenomenal vehicle to waste away an entire evening with your friends doubled over in fits of laughter. It's hard to care about the lack of real innovation when tears are blurring your vision and you can't catch your breath from laughing so hard.
Fingered is a pinky-sized bit of fun. It's not hard to get everything you need from the game in a single night of sleuthing, but at the bargain price of $1.87, it feels worth it. A wonderfully weird, smart little game for less than the price of a cup of coffee: you could call it steal or five-fingered discount if that kind of wordplay tickled you.
Outlast 2 is harrowing. It is a horror game that will make you want to take a shower after you're done with it. It's a horror game that will make you want to hold your loved ones just a little tighter next time you embrace them. It's a horror game that will scare you in the moment with shock and gore, then haunt you in the middle of the night with its ideas. And isn't that what the best of horror strives for?
If you're new to the dungeon or it's been a long time since you ventured into its depths, do yourself a favor and get your sea legs ready before wading into the bloody pools of The Crimson Court. If you're an experienced delver looking for a new challenge, then by all means, step into the moonlight and find out what the night has in store for you.