Ditching the series' ensemble cast in favour of a more personal family drama is one of the best decisions Koei Tecmo has made, and the key feature that elevates Spirit of Sanada to more than just a new entry in the Warriors franchise. The roster is still massive and everyone is playable during free mode, but the story locks down characters by the mission, personalizing the Sanada family over the course of roughly fifty years of Sengoku period history. Multi-stage battles emphasize just how war-torn the Sengoku era was, while offering a breath a fresh air to the traditional series stage format. The combat is as refined as ever and the focus on Masayuki and Yukimura makes for an incredibly intimate story. Spirit of Sanada is, plain and simple, one of best precedents Koei Tecmo has set.
Oozing charm, Slime-san manages to capture that retro platformer feel while simultaneously adding its own touches to the genre. The high speed, low risk design allows for Super Meat Boy levels of difficulty, where death is frequent, but seldom frustrating, and the countdown for when the worm's stomach acid will begin to rise adds a level of tension few platformers ever have. With an incredible soundtrack, stellar art design, and plenty of unlockables to wade through, Slime-san is easily one of the strongest platformers to come out this generation.
While the concept of a LEGO based sandbox is irresistibly charming and promising, LEGO Worlds unfortunately misses all the right marks. From a presentation lens, the LEGO premise is used well, but it never feels in tune with the level design, and the multiplayer, one of the biggest draws, is underutilized and underdeveloped. For a younger audience, the single-player might serve as a decent time killer, as the overall presentation is colourful and inviting, and the initial hour of figuring out what and how to build is exciting, but fans of either LEGO or the sandbox genre will be left wanting so much more than what LEGO Worlds can offer.
Far too often developers pay "homage" by lifting elements from far better games and stripping them down to their shallowest parts. Unfortunately, Shock Tactics is no different than those vain attempts at cashing in on a much better franchise. Point Blank Games steals as much as they can from XCOM, but they neglect to snatch any of the charm and level design that made the series so popular. The enemy AI is horrendous, maps under designed, and missions range from easy to annoying, but never challenging. In a world where XCOM exists, there is little reason to give Shock Tactics the time of day.
In Vitra is an ugly, unfortunate mess of an RPG that never quite manages to form an identity of its own. The already pitifully short and poorly written plot ends far too soon without really resolving anything, with a shameless sequel hook that fails to close out the narrative in any meaningful way. Gameplay is traditional, but boring, without any visual flares or twists to mask the fact it was haphazardly put together in RPG Maker. In Vitra is an unpolished, overpriced attempt at an RPG that desperately needed a redraft and another year, minimum, of work done on it before it could even be considered launch ready.
While it's certainly a disappointment Bioshock Infinite got ignored in the remastering department, 2K and Blind Squirrel Games more than make up for it with a collection that includes every single second of single-player content in Bioshock history. 1 and 2 have been excellently remastered, and the inclusion of director commentaries in the first Bioshock shed some welcome insight on an already fascinating franchise. The series didn't need any updating, but it is unquestionably a nice thing that Bioshock: The Collection improves on some already great first-person shooters.
Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey's story isn't going to impress and combat will rarely, if ever, offer any semblance of a real challenge but Gust has tucked so much care into the overworld and crafting that the plot and action feels inconsequential most of the time, and the tense free narrative is a nice concept that can easily be realised fully in the next instalment. Firis is far from a perfect JRPG or high point for the franchise, but it's an admirable effort that shows that Gust still has a few tricks up its sleeves eighteen entries and twenty years in the game.
While it may be the black sheep of the franchise, Ys Origin is also one of the best entries the series has seen, and one of the best action RPGs period. All three playable characters having their own fleshed out and unique play style makes for an incredibly fresh, blood pumping experience that puts other action oriented games to shame. With an excellently written story, a beautiful soundtrack, and a challenging but always fair difficulty, Ys Origin is everything right with the series whilst maintaining an identity entirely of its own.
For such a story-heavy RPG, Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force gives little incentive to invest in its rather unoriginal plot. It would be one thing if the story acted as an homage to the RPG narrative of yore, but it simply follows the tired "good god/bad god" routine without bringing anything new to the table. Battles themselves are too easy to take advantage of a potentially good battle system, and poor, underdesigned dungeons rip away any possible depth the gameplay could have had. Newcomers to the genre might be able find something to appreciate about Advent Dark Force despite its flaws, but diehard fans are hard-pressed to find much exciting about a port of an already unimpressive 2013 JRPG.
While Nights of Azure shines from a production aspect, its shallow gameplay only holds back what could have been an otherwise compelling RPG. Casual fans of the genre might be able to forgive the almost tedious combat and Servan system, but hardcore action RPG enthusiasts are hard-pressed to find much to enjoy in terms of actual game and level design. Arnice'slimited moveset simply doesn't mesh well with the genre, forcing her to spam the same combos over and over again, with occasional Servan interruption. The cast and world are admirable and well done, but the actual playable portion is lacking the same level of quality and care the rest of the game got.
Legna Tactica's biggest flaw is that it simply cannot compare to the 3DS' already strong strategy library. The combat lacks the depth of Fire Emblem, the story doesn't hold a candle to Devil Survivor, and the price is much higher than either Mercenaries Saga title, despite being similarly generic. The actual campaign is tedious and the maps are reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics in the worst ways possible. There's no thought behind any mechanic, leading to a distinct lack of identity, where every possible positive quality can be attributed to a far better game. Legna Tactica may work on a technical level, but that's hardly a reason to justify a full playthrough, let alone a purchase.
Whether or not the next entry in the series decides to keep Berseria's gloomy atmosphere, it's clear enough that straying away from the series' story norms was the breath of fresh air the Tales of series was desperately in need of.
Alekhine's Gun proves that ambition can only get a game so far. There are good ideas from both a gameplay and narrative perspective, but Maximum Games' implementation of all those features stops at the inclusion. The stealth aspect is never fully developed or utilised, while the gunplay has had the bare minimum of effort put into it. The story jumps between World War II and the Cold War, a genuinely novel idea, but mediocre writing and spastic pacing disallow the plot from actually developing any of its themes or characters. With no polish or direction to speak of, Alekhine's Gun is little more than a broken third-person shooter that believes it's so much better than it is.
Ties That Bind Part II is a step up from the first episode in terms of writing quality, but the decision to actually split what is effectively the opening of the season into two feels thoughtless and, ultimately, pointless. There's nothing to be gained from dividing Ties That Bind in half, except for saving Telltale the effort of creating five complete chapters. It's a genuine shame, too, because when Part II is good, it's reminiscent of Telltale at its best. The episode isn't without other faults, as Telltale once again relies on pre-established characters that kill any sense of tension, but there's enough promise and potential to warrant A New Frontier not being written off quite yet.
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier - Episode 1: Ties That Bind Part 1 is more bizarre than anything. The soft reboot is disappointing, to say the least, but it isn't nearly as bad as it could have been, and Javi's fresh eyes give the episode some much needed excitement. The biggest thing Telltale needs to remedy going forward, though, is the balance between Javier and Clementine. They have a good dynamic overall, but they only seem to get in the way of each other's development instead of playing off one another and growing together. It's entirely possible Telltale is saving that for later episodes, but right now A New Frontier start off with a shaky opener that breaks down the illusory wall of choice more than ever and relies too much on the franchise's past good will to generate interest.
The Little Acre's biggest fault is that it could be a lot better. The majority of the puzzles are stimulating, and the story has some very nice theme weaving in the narrative that's seldom realised in video game stories, but the pacing between Aidan and Lily detracts from the overall experience. Lily's concept works on paper, but her actual performance and underwritten personality falls flat next to Aidan's fleshed out character. Pewter Games' first outing is a charming one with a lot of ambition, but some restraint would have certainly led to a more cohesive package.
There's so much effort put into the actual gameplay and level design that Arkane Studios' laziness with everything else makes the unrefined parts stand out all the more. It isn't enough to ruin the whole experience, but Dishonored 2 absolutely suffers from its horrible story, voice direction, sound mixing, general lagginess, and sloppy optimisation. A video game's first priority should be the gameplay, but its other facets shouldn't suffer as a result. The actual game design is incredibly creative and the replay value is through the roof, but everything else is lacking in just about every other regard. As it stands, Dishonored 2 is certainly playable and fun, but never lives up to all its potential.
Thanks to an excellently paced single-player campaign featuring little to no fluff, and a multiplayer that emphasises genuine strategy and smart play, Titanfall 2 manages to stand out as one of the better surprises of 2016. The campaign is a very enjoyable sci-fi character drama that is only elevated by its fun cast and equally fun story. A clear eye for level design keeps the single-player fresh, blending the FPS and platformer genres together to continually pump out memorable moments. Titanfall 2 fixes just about everything that went wrong with the original, featuring better map design that plays to the core mechanics, and greatly expands the once dull universe. There are still some issues with multiplayer mode variety, but Titanfall 2 is strong enough to overcome its shortcomings to be a great sequel, and an even greater game.
Avoider is very much trying to hearken back to the Atari era of videogames with its simplicity, and that's a fine goal to have, but it also suffers from the exact same problems of that era without adding any modern design philosophies into the fray. Tedium rules Avoider's world. Playing through the same scenario over and over again for a high score can only be fun so many times. The lack of real skill or growth also hinders the dodging simulator from being anything other than an unpolished homage. At an incredibly low price tag, it might seem worth it, but it would just be throwing away money at a product with a shelf life of half an hour - if that.
Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters: Daybreak Special Gigs is mixed parts good and bad. On one hand, it shows great concepts in its desire to blend visual novels with turn-based strategy RPGs, while also managing to sport genuinely good writing. On the other hand, it spreads itself too thin between both parts, feeling like two betas to two separate games.