A weak story and frustrating pacing combine into a disappointing entry in a venerated series.
The Rogue Prince of Persia shows a hefty amount of promise, but it may be worth waiting until that promise develops into something more bingeable.
Little Kitty, Big City does not reach for the stars, but it is a fun little romp for anyone looking for a relaxed adventure.
A strong battle system and exciting moments make Stellar Blade more than just an imitator.
Almost nothing in Rise of the Rōnin is outright bad, but it is Exhibit A in any argument about why action games are not dozens of hours long or why open-world designs do not fit every mold. For all the inspirations the game wears on its sleeve, it never rises above them, and thus feels like a title in search of an identity and desperate for a specific kind of player. It’s sometimes a good time, just not for a long time.
The saving grace of these extended gameplay encounters is that the combat is reasonably engaging, and interactions between characters will likely delight existing Granblue Fantasy fans. Relink is unlikely to be any newcomer’s favorite game. Still, the basic gameplay is fun and keeps you moving along the treadmill, especially if you have a gathering of like-minded source material fans to help you slay its biggest figurative and literal dragons.
Carrion is a fun reverse-horror adventure, though it doesn't push the concept to the heights of its potential.
Hollow Knight has some frustrations, but the urge to see what's in the next room is a constantly compelling imperative moving you forward
There are no drastic changes, just smudges at its corners, and the failure of any apparent dramatic variations feels disappointing in its own right. Capcom could very well have tried something different and experimental, and I think that attempt would have had more virtue than simply a good, portable version of an existing game. Ultra Street Fighter II is indeed fun to play, but I can't help but feel sad to see a legend retire by aiming for the middle.
I think, however, that I ended up liking it in spite of itself, and could feel the pushback more and more aggressively the longer I played it. It is an enjoyable game, and I have no qualms about calling it one of the best fighting games of this gen, but it does not solve the problems that keep the genre from being for everyone and, in some cases, accelerates those issues. Perhaps that is too heavy a burden for any game to carry, but I still find myself wishing For Honor were capable of it.
It is difficult for me to recommend Monster Hunter Generations without any qualifications. What should have been a slam dunk for new players still falls into so many of the pitfalls that have plagued previous games. There is a lot of frustration to be had for both the experienced player who gets bored by the unnecessary slope upward and the novice who finds the slope too overwhelming without a mentor.
I have as much trouble evaluating Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition as I do categorizing it. I feel like the game should be so much more than it is, but what they did choose to add goes above and beyond what I expected. The new characters are such strong, fully-developed additions that I find it hard to be upset that the levels are still the same or that the textures haven't aged well.