Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
The Good Life does many things, but they never felt like they coalesced together into an experience that could stick with me. I certainly enjoyed parts of it, and some of its stranger moments really do land as big, enjoyable peaks. But there’s a lot of valley in-between, and while I arrived in Rainy Woods eager for a pleasant countryside escape, I didn’t feel like making a return trip after the credits had rolled.
Paradise Killer drips with endearing style and charm, but can't quite make its finale match up to its opening hours. Discovering intrigue and mystery is compelling at the start, but the good gets lost in its collectible busywork. Paradise Killer is a good option for virtual detective fanatics in need of new mysteries, but it lacks the staying power of other modern mystery giants.
I enjoyed my time with GreedFall, but it's already failed to leave a lasting impression on me. Its best moments shine bright and show how much potential Spiders has to develop in this style of RPG, but it isn't cohesive enough to work in concert. GreedFall is certainly worth checking out if you're aching for the old days of BioWare, but it's a tough sell for most others.
Elsinore is simple and focused, aimed squarely at avid readers who want to manipulate Hamlet with their own hands. It succeeds at this, building a wonderfully meta-textual world that's fascinating to unravel and earns a good few gasps, laughs, and tearful moments, but the long waiting periods and frustration between different events overlapping can grate on after a while. Elsinore is time-looping <em>Hamlet</em>, and that premise is what will likely hook you or not.
Trillion: God of Destruction has wonderful characterization and compelling moments, but gets bogged down in a series of unintuitive design decisions and a lack of engaging main story content. Come for the concept, but don’t be surprised when it doesn’t hold for long.
God of War III Remastered delivers exactly what it says: a prettier version of the same game you played five years ago. Those looking for the same experience will find it, and those looking for something new or a fresh take on the series won't get much out of this remaster.
Beautiful graphics and scenery, but Ryse's combat fails to reach the level expected of modern brawlers. Worth a playthrough for action fans, but little lasting appeal outside showing off your rig's technical chops.
Mario Golf: Super Rush is still a fairly solid golf experience, but it will need some of that aforementioned post-launch support to match up with previous sports spinoffs for me. It satisfies a craving for some arcade-style golf multiplayer, and I can see myself having some fun playing an 18-hole trek with friends online a few more times. I’m just hoping for some more reasons to keep me coming back.
Ray Gigant sacrifices complexity for accessibility, and while the final experience is a little rote, the style and streamlining make the most compelling case for a non-fan of RPG dungeon crawling to finally get interested.
Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star succeeds at providing base-level fan-service, but in a way that doesn't feel as particularly compelling or essential as the original. If you want more pigeons in your life, it's pocket change for a few laughs – just don't expect more out of it.
If you enjoy grinding numbers, goofy anime antics, and over-the-top style, Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance will give you hundreds of hours of replayability. If you don't like the idea of spending hours and hours replaying levels and building up characters, then you might want to look somewhere else.
Rainbow Six: Siege is one of the better tactical FPS experiences of the year, even with a smaller content offering than most. Microtransactions and limited custom options can muddy it up, but if you enjoy the core gameplay loop, there's a lot to enjoy here for the multiplayer-minded player.
Star Wars Battlefront nails bringing home the original trilogy in a new and interesting way, but fails to substantiate the splendor in a meaningful way. A fun nostalgia trip that might barely tide you over until the new film, but not much longer.
Lords of the Fallen serves as a solid entry point to those toeing the waters of the Souls franchise, but simplified systems, a shallow story and forgettable bosses keep this game from dethroning the greats.
Solid and definitely have an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.
Solid and definitely have an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.
Samurai Shodown captures the spirit of the older games, veering towards a mix of older and newer series entries. In terms of single-player, but it's a a far cry from Mortal Kombat 11 or even what recent games like Dead or Alive 6 have offered. On the multiplayer side, it offers a solid core, but not much else. It's nice to see SamSho back in the spotlight, but we wish it had a little more to keep us playing beyond just fighting other players.
Read Only Memories manages to frame current issues in a neo-noir light, and excels in many ways at that. I'm still thinking about Turing's notion of the social contract, and how that relates to the way we interact with others.