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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rebirth is an incredible experience that can't be missed. Descend into the basement, lock the trapdoor behind you, and don't look back.