The Surge is great, and I say that with only a single qualifier - It's standing in a genre built by games that did more than great. Which isn't exactly fair to hold against this game, but if you've ended the age of fire, woke from the nightmare and torn through Japan, The Surge is going to scratch, if not satisfy that itch.
NBA Playgrounds is let down by several little things, but most chiefly by the singular mode on offer. If they launched with some more fun modes to embrace the irreverent tone the game clearly wants to go for, or add them later for some added value, then the game might have some staying power.
Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 remains just about the final word in the genre for balance, fighting systems and training modes. Literally the one major stumbling block for this entry in particular is how little it actually offers returning players. Anyone yet to try the Guilty Gear series who enjoys fighting games owes it to themselves to check out Xrd Rev 2.
Portal Knights is not completely unpalatable or unsavable, it just also isn't super elegant in the same way the heaviest hitters of the crafting genre marry together all of their systems. Revisions or sequels that totally rebalance this could create something special, but for now, Portal Knights is just kind of there.
Rising Storm 2: Vietnam may not be a game for everyone but I can see how deep an enthusiast could dig into the foxhole if they can survive the brutal bombardment that is the learning curve. Tie up your boots and give the game 20, 30, even 40 hours, and perhaps you'll graduate and have a very rewarding time.
Telltale's The Walking Dead: A New Frontier is going to be no more or less than what you expect, for both good and bad. It's great to see a new engine bring Telltale up to more modern graphical standards in ways that only improve the storytelling. You probably know by now if you're interested in what Telltale is selling, but A New Frontier is a great place to jump in.
There are a couple of nitpicks too many against Wipeout Omega Collection from being a flawless package, but the sheer hours of racing that you'll get from the game, how gorgeous it looks and how well the mechanics hold up earn it an easy and complete recommendation anyways.
Housemarque has another hit on their hands, and Nex Machina is probably their best, smoothest and more varied shooter yet. The mechanics masterfully layer on top of each other world on world to keep the crazy action fresh session after session and the entire game has a colourful 90's joy to it that sucks you in. Online co-op being the one nitpick that could come patched in later, I can only wholehearted recommend Nex Machina as the shooter you pick up this summer.
Get Even is the core of a fantastic, provocative game that has the potential to be the kind of experience that only games could do, but that core gets rather frustratingly lost within decisions that would better fit within a box standard shooter that impudently goes after Call of Duty's crown. This is a game and a team with potential, but with Get Even, you're only getting a glimmer of that.
Micro Machines: World Series has the presentation nailed and feels like playing with toy cars again. However, once the glitter of that presentation wears off you'll find a game that controls way too loosely to give any kind of satisfaction and more frequently provides frustration, and furthermore nothing to really incentivize you to push beyond that without anything to unlock. To paraphrase the Micro Machines Slogan, “If it doesn't control good, it's barely worth playing.”
Fallen Legion: Sins of an Empire shows more ambition than it probably had any financial right to show, and it pays off in some really surprising ways. If you want to try something unique in the RPG space, this is certainly reaching for something beyond its grasp but comes out great anyway.
Longshot is a promising start to story mode for Madden, and with polish could become even more special. In all, it's more Madden, but with a few flourishes that make it a decent time.
Resident Evil Revelations is a game out of time and it doesn't hold up to the standard of the hardware it's trying to compete on. Is it still classic style Resident Evil? Yeah, sure. But it's hard to say whether that's enough in 2017, and with the rest of its issues, it certainly lacks in many departments.
Lost in Blue meets Xenoblade is not a matchup I would have ever thought of, but it's a solid one with a great foundation of fun combat, great premise, amazing music and nice story. The few problems it has are pervasive and distracting, but never enough to really turn you off. While it doesn't have a volleyball character, I'd still recommend it to most any RPG fan.
Danganronpa is completely silly, deranged, weird, terrifying, awful, ironic, depressing, hopeful, wonderfully written, emotional and engrossing. It's an experience you absolutely need to try as blind as possible.
Neither the updated career mode, challenge mode can save this game from the fact it really can't offer much to someone wanting a little more involvement from their gameplay.
Total War: Warhammer II is a fantastic strategy game that shows a deep understanding and even control of the best elements of the genre, but the game demands that same level of dedication from you to get the most out of it. I can't recommend this game as a place to start, but I can wholeheartedly say to veterans and strategy faithful that you'll have a lot to dive in to.
ELEX has ambition it lacks focus and refinement to become something more than it is. Technical fumbles, bad writing and robotic animations all bring the game down from any possible greatness, and what's left can only be called mediocre.
As a fan of the action RPG genre, Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon should be everything you've been craving after devouring the other great titles this year, but that's probably the worst knock on the game as well, it does little to make itself stand out and call it a game you must play, or even should probably try eventually.
Football Manager 2018 is very good at what it does, the problem really is that what it does, is for a very specific subset of people, and to anyone outside of that it's a game that feels far too often like you're doing your taxes. It can't be called bad, but I lament the lack of newcomer friendly features.