Accel World vs. Sword Art Online is a competent action role-playing game offering a simple yet solid combat system, good story and characters and plenty of content. Due to the very bland exploration and a couple of other issues, namely technical and controls issues on PlayStation Vita, the game can only be recommended to fans of both franchises.
Dungeon Defenders II offers the same unique blend of action RPG and tower defense games of its predecessor while adding some new features that deepen the experience. The tower defense elements are still more important than the action RPG ones, but there's still plenty to keep fans of both genres engaged. Things, however, can get grindy if you want to unlock everything without spending money, so don't expect the experience to feel fresh if you plan on doing so.
Nex Machina manages to tribute arcade games of the past such as Robotron and Smash TV without relying on nostalgia alone, offering a deep experience that doesn't require sub-systems to please players with a strong competitive attitude. As the experience is mostly geared towards getting the highest possible score, however, some players might find the game too short, as the main Arcade mode takes very little time to complete. As such, Nex Machina is not a game for everybody. All those who enjoy the genre, however, should definitely give it a spin.
The Town of Light tackles some very controversial themes in such a direct way that it's impossible not to be emotionally invested in Renée's story. Vastly enhanced by the faithful recreation of the Volterra asylum, The Town of Light manages to be an incredibly engaging experience thanks to the narrative flow, which drags players into this Hell on Earth and doesn't even let them go after the game's incredibly bittersweet ending. Actual gameplay may be lacking, but don't let this put you off you if you like psychological horror games and have the stomach to witness straight on the horrors inmates had to go through.
The Long Journey Home is a roguelike that tries to do things differently but it still fails to become accessible enough to a wider audience. While there are some interesting mechanics and features, the bad controls for both ship and lander and the lack of precise information will put more than a few players off.
After such a long and troubled development, many feared that RiME would be a failure, but Tequila Works proved that there can be light at the end of the tunnel. With peculiar storytelling, varied puzzles, well-crafted platforming elements and gorgeous presentation, RiME can rival with the unique beauty of Team ICO's games.
Regalia: Of Men And Monarchs does quite well what it sets out to do, tributing classic JRPGs by mixing a variety of features and mechanics. While not overly original, the game developed by Pixelated Milk manages to be quite entertaining thanks to the charming characters, lighthearted tone, and challenging battles. If you loved JRPGs back in the 90s, early 2000s, you will find plenty to like in Regalia: Of Men And Monarchs.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd is a more than worthy continuation of the Trails in the Sky saga, tying up some loose ends from the previous game while setting up events for the following entries in the series. The dungeon crawler game flow of the 3rd may put off some, and the presentation may look outdated, but do not let this discourage you, as the game is one of the best Japanese role-playing games released this year in the West.
It took 13 years for Kate Walker to come back, but it might have been better for Syberia fans if she never did. Syberia 3 is a disappointing adventure game that retained nothing of the best features of the previous entries in the series, introducing so many changes that simply don't work as intended or are marred by poor design choices, making it a worthy purchase only for the most die-hard Kate Walker fans.
Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom is an action role-playing game that does a lot of things well, such as the deep battle system, exploration, and setting. At the same time, none of these are truly original, preventing it from being truly great. Still, those who love action RPGs from the 90s will find plenty to like in the game since Shiness is quite fun for the whole duration of the adventure, despite its predictable story, lackluster writing and somewhat wonky battle controls.
Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book is a solid, yet not perfect, beginning of the new saga, sporting enjoyable characters, that sadly don't get the development they deserved, outside Sophie and Plachta, and interesting mechanics, such as the new alchemy system. Some of the new mechanics, such as the removal of the time limit, do create some pacing issues, but the development of the main characters' relationship is so good that it's easy to look past this issue. Just don't expect to play the best Atelier game ever released.
Mass Effect Andromeda could have been one of the best RPGs ever, but sadly the game never realizes its full potential. While the gameplay experience and RPG mechanics are mostly well done, with the best combat system of the entire series, the predictable story, uninteresting characters, and generally mediocre writing make the Pathfinder's quest to find a new home for humanity not as memorable as it could have been.
Toukiden 2 improves pretty much on every feature of its predecessors, with an interesting approach to open world gameplay, a good number of customization possibilities, an engaging story featuring a charming cast of characters, and plenty of intense action. Sadly, combat tends to become a bit stale after a while in single player, as good equipment and skills allow players to just mash their way through the hordes of Oni infesting the land. Toukiden 2 is, without a doubt, a quality title and the best entry in the series, but with other recent games delivering better open world design and combat it may be difficult for some to be enthralled by the Omega Force developed game.
Torment: Tides of Numenera is a role-playing game like very few others, giving players total freedom in how to approach any given situation, even allowing them to complete the game by avoiding most fights through this deep choices system. With excellent writing, lively and creative world, engaging story and characters, and solid mechanics, the role-playing game developed by inXile is a game that those who love immersing themselves completely in fictional worlds have to play at all costs. Giving justice to the Planescape: Torment's legacy was a very difficult task, but the team proved that they were more than up to the task, creating a game that builds upon this legacy with the utmost respect, despite some small issues which don't impact the game too much.
Nights of Azure is a game of wasted potential. The game's dark tone and setting is ultimately ruined by the excessive presence of comic relief, which takes a lot of the tension out of the terrible choice Arnice has to take to save the world. With an experience that gets stale way too quickly, Nights of Azure true saving grace are the game's two main characters and the development of their relationship, which takes some interesting turns. A shame, as the game could have been so much more.
Dynasty Warriors Godseekers manages to capture the spirit of the series with its tactical experience, but sadly fails to stand out from the competition and the classic games of the past due to the lack of any real innovation. Despite this, there's still plenty of fun to be had for fans of the Dynasty Warriors series and tactical RPG, as the experience is quite solid. Just don't expect to remember Zhao Yun's journey six months from now.
Influenced by adventure-platform games of the past, Rise & Shine manages to enrich a classic gameplay formula with a tight mix of different genres, interesting combat depth, and varied puzzles. Shooting controls can be a bit uncomfortable on a gamepad, but this is the only gripe in a game that's objectively very well put together. Highly recommended to fans of Another World and Flashback as well as to those looking for a quirky and fun experience that doesn't overstay its welcome.
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is fun. The platform game developed by WayForward is a true blast to play, thanks to a beautiful presentation, great writing and an excellent, varied gameplay experience that never feels stale, with plenty of optional content that makes everything even better. Topping some of the previous entries in the series was very hard, but WayForward managed to achieve it with Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, releasing one of the best platform games of the year, if not the very best.
Xanadu Next is a literal blast from the past, a 2005 action role-playing that manages to be incredibly engaging still today thanks to several spot-on features, such as the excellent mix between RPG and puzzle games elements, action combat system and the evocative soundtrack. Some design choices definitely feel outdated, and so do the visuals, but these small flaws impact the experience only marginally. Highly recommended to all fans of old-school action role-playing game.
Rad Rodgers: World One is a nicely crafted platform game that blends together features taken from the best platform games from the past, ranging from Super Mario Bros. to Donkey Kong Country. With its humorous writing, nice level design, smooth gameplay and multiple references to classic games, Rad Rodgers: World One is a title that fans of the genre will surely enjoy, despite its lack of true innovation, short length and some performance issues on less powerful system configurations.