Fans that absolutely must get more story from FFXV’s interesting, but poorly fleshed out, world will get their fix. Anyone that didn’t care for FFXV before, will find even less to care about here. Episode Prompto is not great, but at least the music is nice and there’s an appearance by a fan favorite character.
Nier: Automata is a perfect introduction to Yoko Taro and Platinum Games. Masterful story telling and silky smooth combat come together to highlight why video games are the superior form of entertainment media. Playing Nier: Automata until the true ending will reveal what it means to be a gamer, and a good human.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is an excellent game that every Nintendo Switch owner should consider purchasing. Mario Kart 8 was a 9/10 experience, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a vast improvement over the original. There’s really nowhere to go with the score but up.
The final boss fight of the DLC is one of the best in the series. We're talking Sir Alonne and Lady Maria levels of awesomeness. The quality is here, but Ashes of Ariandel's shorter nature would be completely offset by the new PvP options, if the arena weren't so laggy.
A few minor flaws hold back this updated version of Corpse Party, but it's still an intense horror experience that fans of the genre should check out. It even offers more content than previous versions, via extra chapters.
The missed opportunities of the of the single-player are the only criticism for a near perfect title that offers exceptional multiplayer, vivid visuals, and solid gameplay.
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 is a refined version of the first game, with a second campaign that focuses more on action than picking your shots. This makes it an excellent choices for fans of the first installment and newcomers alike.
Aragami is a solid, interesting game that suffers from some rough performance issues on PS4. Still, it you enjoy stealth and can overlook performance issues, this game is for you.
A few flaws keep Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice from perfection, particularly other characters, but it succeeds at being a simple game about going fast. Pick this one up and go for the time trials, it's a lot of fun.
No Man's Sky is a flawed game that everyone should try to experience once, just not at $60. There's a lot to see and not much to do.
There are a lot of areas in which I Am Setsuna could be improved, but it’s still a beautiful game that fully captures the spirit of SNES era JRPGs.
The Game Bakers have made something special with Furi, capturing the spirit of stylish action and bullet hell in one refreshing package, with minimal fuss.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is a classically made JRPG for the modern day. It's not perfect, and certainly not for everybody, but if you enjoy science fiction and JRPGs, then definitely check this game out.
Kirby Planet Robobot is what you get when the developers of the solid Kirby: Triple Deluxe watch a Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, play Platinum's games, and say “F%*k it, we can do that!” Solid Kirby gameplay, satisfying puzzles, quick genre shifts that help avoid monotony, tons of special homages, and a pair of endings that are going to make Platinum/Anime fans lose their sh*t. This is a game every 3DS owner should look into.
TMNT Mutants in Manhattan stayed faithful to the comics in terms of art style and funny dialogue, but it failed everywhere else. There's a lack of innovation, and the replay value of this short game is shot by the fact nobody will want to play it again. If you just have to have your turtles fix, and can't get the NES/SNES arcade games, wait for this to hit the bargain bin.
The bar has been set high for 2016: The wonderful meshing of twitch and RPG based combat, constantly growing list of abilities, ever changing enemy types, and all around charm sets Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam apart from other RPGs. Almost every aspect of Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam coalesces into a near perfect game. That's quite the feat considering how many different things are jammed into this little package. There's almost always something new to do after every notable encounter, which is important in a genre that is flooded with games that become exercises in rote repetition long before they end. Paper Jam is roughly 30 hours of portable gaming joy, and a great start to a year that should be loaded with JRPG styled goodness.
FAST Racing Neo is the love child of F-Zero and Ikaruga, that was in turn raised by Cruis'n USA. I can't think of an arcade racer in the last two decades that could touch this game. I controlled a sexy futuristic car as I raced at high speeds, avoided giant spider mechs and sandworms, and used boost to go supersonic and smash through a giant asteroid. Sounds awesome, I know, but that's only because it is.
Bloodborne: The Old Hunters is worth your time and money if you enjoyed the base game. For the most part, it's more of the same done better. The environments and some of the bosses are a cut above, enemy placement and interaction really stuck out, and wreaking havoc with the new weapons is almost too much fun. The Old Hunters is as far above vanilla Bloodborne, as Crown of the Sunken King was above vanilla Dark Souls 2. While there are some rough patches, the rest of this DLC scenario shines bright enough to hide those blemishes.
There's fun to be had with Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash if you're jonesing for a fix of Mario Tennis, but it's far from the best in the series, and it comes up short in terms of lasting appeal. While there's something to be said about doing one thing well, this game is as bare bones as it gets. If they had at least the same amount of content as the N64 title, this game could have been something great.
Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival is cute, but it's more of a sleep aid than a video game. It may be a good purchase for small children that want to sit around with their parents and use the game as a somewhat interactive storybook, with minigames so easy even the old fogies can play with them. Other than that? Maybe some really die-hard Animal Crossing fans could enjoy this.