The Dwarves is a role-playing game that fails to reach its full potential. Its interesting battle concepts are marred by a mediocre execution, very limited RPG mechanics, and just too many technical issues on PlayStation 4. Despite this, the game still managed to be somewhat enjoyable thanks to the gripping yet not too original story, and charming characters. Due to gameplay and technical shortcomings, however, only die hard high fantasy fans may find some enjoyment in The Dwarves. Everyone else would do better in looking elsewhere.
Tyranny perfectly encapsulates what makes a role-playing game great. With superb writing, an engaging story and setting, solid mechanics and huge replay value, the new game from Obsidian Entertainment is a must play for all true RPG lovers. Tyranny isn't just about the triumph of evil: it is the triumph of role-playing games.
With an engaging story mixing together thriller and comedy elements with occult themes and plenty of dark humor, as well as some interesting characters, Yesterday Origins is a point and click adventure game that fans of the genre will surely appreciate. With the gameplay formula not straying too far from familiar ground, however, the game developed by Pendulo Studios will hardly appeal to those who don't enjoy this classic genre.
World of Final Fantasy rightly represents the series' 30 years of history, with a classic JRPG gameplay experience modernized by an excellent presentation, very good writing and several well-crafted gameplay mechanics. As the simple dungeon layouts and low difficulty level suggest, the game is mostly aimed towards a younger, less experienced audience, but veterans of the Final Fantasy series shouldn't be put off by this, as the well-implemented fan service more than makes up for it. Highly recommended to all JRPG enthusiasts.
Dragon Quest Builders is an excellent role playing game which masterfully blends crafting and JRPG mechanics to offer a very addictive experience. The humorous and witty writing, the scope of the game's world, the charming presentation, the quest variety and the balanced difficulty level are just some of the things that the game gets right. Whether you are a long-time fan of the series or a newcomer, the unique charm of Dragon Quest Builders will grab you and will only let go once the game's four chapters have been completed.
Lince Works managed to create an impressive stealth game with Aragami, offering a quality level that can make it compete with better known releases and established franchises. With an engaging story, charming setting and some unique stealth gameplay mechanics, as well as varied scenarios and huge replay value, Aragami is a game that fans of stealth games definitely don't want to miss, especially at such a low price.
Obduction manages to capture what made Myst and Riven such great adventure games with an amazing atmosphere, mysterious story and challenging puzzles that engage players from the very beginning. With no hand holding whatsoever, Obduction can be a frustrating experience at times, but the desire to learn more about the game's world and events propels things forward. Unfortunately, several bugs and glitches currently found in the game damage the experience a bit, but if you can cope with them, Obduction can be a very rewarding adventure title.
With Metroid fans only getting Federation Force this year, it was up to other studios to give fans their fix, and Armature Studio & Comcept did deliver with ReCore. With a well written (albeit not exactly original) story and a nicely crafted gameplay experience featuring plenty of content, ReCore is the game to get for those looking for an involving action adventure title. Sadly, the experience is a bit lessened by the generally low challenge level, which makes Corebots mechanics almost superfluous, slightly repetitive combat, disappointing boss battles and a variety of technical issues. ReCore is not Super Metroid at all, that's for sure, but it's definitely a very good starting point for a franchise that might even become big with the right tweaks.
Attack On Titan is definitely the most interesting Omega Force developed hack and slash game, thanks to the unique movement system and combat mechanics which require more than simple button mashing. Sadly, this doesn't prevent the game from becoming repetitive due to uninspired maps and lack of mission variety. The game offers plenty of fun anyway, just don't expect a masterpiece that can still feel fresh after 20 or more hours.
10 Second Ninja X is an addictive high speed platform game sporting some puzzle game elements which enrich the experience considerably. With its fast paced experience, smooth controls, good amount of content and replay value, 10 Second Ninja X is a game that no fan of platform games should pass on. The easy to learn, harder to master type of experience also makes it perfect for those who never considered playing a similar game. Highly recommended to all those looking for a fun and not excessively involving experience.
Necropolis is an interesting dungeon crawler that sadly fails to live up to its full potential due to a severe lack of content and sense of progression. The game isn't exactly bad, as there are some interesting ideas, but it features so little incentive to play again that most will end up abandoning it after a few runs. Co-op is just not enough to salvage the whole experience. With such glaring issues, Necropolis is definitely not worth its full price tag for the moment being.
Song of the Deep is a very nice Metroidvania game featuring a huge map to explore, plenty of secrets to discover, and a huge array of different situations and puzzles which make the experience incredibly varied. Other highlights are its beautiful presentation, seamless storytelling style and excellent soundtrack/voice acting. Some irritating puzzles, made so by physics, mediocre boss battles and a few performance hiccups are just minor issues and, thankfully, they are not enough to make this beautiful song go out of tune. Highly recommended to Metroidvania fans and to all those who enjoy well crafted experiences.
7 Days to Die features a very interesting mix of role playing games and survival games mechanics, with customization possibilities and multiplayer features deepening the experience considerably. Sadly, everything is damaged by the horrible interface and menu system, a sub-par presentation, some serious technical issues and a general lack of focus. The "make as you go" type of experience offered by 7 Days to Die is definitely intriguing, but when you're fighting the menus more than the undead, something must have gone terribly wrong along the way.
Dead Island Definitive Collection is a competent collection which vastly improves the two Dead Island games included, adding a third game which can be fun in short bursts. Both Dead Island and Dead Island Riptide never looked better, with a slew of technical enhancements and solid performance which makes revisiting both titles quite enjoyable. Most the gameplay issues, however, haven't been addressed, so those who couldn't stand the original releases won't change their opinions with the remastered releases. Solid games, for sure, but not for everyone.
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter is a competent adventure game featuring a varied and well crafted gameplay experience, charming characters and engaging stories. The game still suffers from some issues, such as the the trial and error nature of the action sequences and the excessively long load times, which prevent it from being really great. With a few adjustments and improvements, the Sherlock Holmes formula could become the standard for adventure games of the future, as achieving such gameplay variety is no small feat. Highly recommended to fans of the series and adventure games' fans.
Shadwen is a competent and somewhat enjoyable stealth game, but not exactly memorable. While the core experience and some of its mechanics, such as the time manipulation mechanics, are quite well done, the game suffers from a general lack of polish, an average last-gen presentation and a rather limited amount of content. When Shadwen works, however, it works well, so Frozenbyte definitely has a good starting point for a potential sequel.
With its excellent side-scrolling platforming based experience, smooth battle system, intriguing narrative style, excellent graphics and high replay value, Shadow of the Beast is definitely a quality product. The lack of originality and somewhat unresponsive controls will be issues for some, but the well designed experience makes it easy to get past them.
The Walking Dead Michonne Episode 3: What We Deserve confirms all the issues that have emerged in the previous episodes. With very little character development for secondary characters and villains, uneven pacing, and short total play time, The Walking Dead Michonne fails to become a truly compelling experience. There are moments of brilliance, but they're overshadowed by the need to end the story as quickly as possible due to the shortened format. Entertaining, but hardly memorable.
With a frenetic gameplay experience, a vast array of customization features, engaging online multiplayer, a good amount of content and very solid performance, Alienation is one of the best shooter games released this year on all formats. The lack of offline co-op might be a detriment for those who don't like to play online, but this is the only flaw of a really solid package. Housemarque definitely capitalized on years of experience, releasing a shooter that's nothing short of impressive.
With its interesting fairy tale feel and engaging mix old and modern gameplay mechanics, Stories: The Path Of Destinies is a love letter to action role playing games of years past. The unique narrative style, the choices system and smooth battle system are quite engaging during the first playthroughs, but the limited amount of content eventually makes the game feel a little repetitive. Even with its issues, however, Stories: The Path Of Destinies is a game that's very well worth the time of action RPG fans.