It may lack the mechanical variety and elegant sophistication of say, What Remains Of Edith Finch, but despite that, Before The Storm still manages to be one of the finest gaming experiences in undoubtedly one of the medium’s best years.
If your main gripes with the last game were its lack of mission variety and poor story, Destiny 2 might just be the sequel that turns you into one of the engram-obsessed horde.
Before playing it, I had Nier pegged as a fun hack-and-slash game. What I didn't bargain for was an existential RPG that would soon have me questioning almost everything I saw. Featuring a gripping plot that tackles surprisingly hefty themes, its brilliant writing not only makes you think twice about your role in the game's world but occasionally even about your place in our world too. It's certainly not without its flaws, but regardless of your typical gaming preferences, you owe it to yourself to check this wonderfully weird experience out.
Eagle Flight isn't perfect then. It has some frustrating design elements, the online community is a bit of a ghost town and at times-it can very literally be a painful experience. Yet in spite of that, it's one that I can't stop returning to. The feeling of flying is so well implemented and the amount of content is so generous, that this is the VR experience you'll want to proudly show your friends. Eagle Flight is quite simply, one of the most joyous experiences you can have in gaming and an utterly essential PSVR title.
After a generation that brought us seven years of countless linear and identikit shooters, Watch Dogs is the open world adrenaline shot that fatigued gamers needed. While the story could have been better and Ubisoft have made a few questionable design choices, it's rare to see a big budget game that offers players freedom in almost every aspect of its design – and, more importantly, one that is this much fun while doing so.
If you’re tired of empty-feeling open worlds and soulless grinds, do yourself a favor and pick up one of the most inventive and enjoyable video games in recent memory.
Thanks to both its shocking cruelty and its awe-inspiring potential, this stunningly well-realised recreation of the Wild West is the first game world that truly mirrors our own. Rockstar’s latest playground is a place that’s equal parts brutal and beautiful, and somehow, like in our own reality, the weight of your decisions in this game world have just as much potential to delight you as they do to terrify.
Who knew Forza Horizon could get even better? Yet Playground Games has done it again. It's extremely hard to criticise Forza Horizon 3. Not only is it absolutely stunning, it's done a fantastic job of putting you at the centre of the racing in every way possible.
Where many western games yearn to be seen as the height of sophistication, craving the critical kudos of an HBO drama, Bayonetta 3 stands defiant in its absurdity. Like its predecessors, this is destined to go down as a cult classic – a dizzying dance of demon-dicing delight. Its crude, whiplash-inducing narrative means it certainly won’t be for everyone, but the best things in life rarely are.