With its unique premise and setting, Atlas Fallen could have been one of the best action games of the year, but its mediocre combat system, dull open-world areas, and lack of interesting characters drag the experience down. The full package ends up being just a decent game for those willing to look past its most critical shortcomings.
While its basics are solid, and its story surprisingly interesting, Exoprimal leaves something to be desired. With a limited amount of PvP and PvE missions, and average maps, the excellent visual and combat design of the Exosuits and the occasional surprise raid mission are not enough to keep the whole experience engaging after a dozen or so hours. Taking down hordes of dinosaurs can be fun, but the game definitely needed something more to be a must-have, especially at its price tag.
Sherlock Holmes The Awakened is a competent remake featuring all the best features the series is known for, such as an engaging mystery and solid investigative gameplay. While the game is lacking in terms of innovation, doing away with the open-world setting seen in Chapter One, Frogwares developed Sherlock Holmes The Awakened it in less than a year and in the middle of a war, so no one should be disappointed that the game doesn't feel much different from past entries in the franchise.
Rune Factory 5's combination of features from simulation games and action role-playing games works as well as it did in previous entries in the series, but the lack of innovation, underwhelming exploration mechanics and a certain disconnect between the urgency of the main quest and living a calm farm life do damage the experience a little. The endearing cast and improved action combat, however, make for an enjoyable experience, so those who venture into Rigbarth without expecting to find a revolutionary title will find plenty to like in the game.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins - Trials of the Dragon King is a DLC aimed at those who have played the base game beyond its ending, providing new customization options, a new difficulty setting, new difficulty modifiers and more. Beyond this, the expansion doesn't provide a lot of new story and gameplay content, making it a worthy purchase only for those who have found Chaos mode too tame, and are ready to get challenged again by the base game's foes and a few new ones.
The Capcom Fighting Collection is a nostalgic trip through fighting game history enriched with new features like online multiplayer and an extensive Museum Mode that breathe new life into these all-time classics. The lack of cross-platform play and the extremely limited single-player modes, however, do damage the experience, making the collection a game a worthy purchase only for those who live and breathe fighting games.
The Back 4 Blood - Tunnels of Terror expansion introduces some new quality content such as the Ridden Hives, new Cleaners, and new cards that enhance the base game's experience without revolutionizing it in any way. As such, only those who have enjoyed and continue to enjoy the base game will truly appreciate the additions included in this expansion, as the new content, while well-crafted, doesn't really change how Back 4 Blood is played.
With its new tightly designed stages, and new parkour and combat mechanics, Ghostrunner Project_Hel is a more than worthy purchase for fans of the base game. The new mechanics, however, do not change the experience in any significant way, so those who did not like Ghostrunner will not change their opinion with the expansion. It is good for the most part, but it still is more of the same.
Biomutant is a competent open-world role-playing game featuring a charming atmosphere and some solid RPG mechanics. Sadly, it fails to stand out due to its by-the-books open-world formula and the sluggish combat system. While the game does work for the most part and there are some interesting ideas here and there, there isn't a lot that Biomutant does better than most open-world games out there, resulting in an experience that is somewhat forgettable.
Bleeding Edge is an interesting combination of features taken from Overwatch, MOBAs and character action games, featuring a solid character roster, a good map selection and two plays modes that feel varied enough. The limited amount of content and the lack of a ranked mode, however, make it difficult to recommend the game as a stand-alone purchase as of now. As an Xbox Game Pass game, however, Bleeding Edge works much better, as players can wait for new content to drop without having to spend money just to get the game.
Mutant Year Zero: Seed of Evil is a good expansion, introducing a new compelling mystery, a powerful new character and some brand new locations. Sadly, it includes very little gameplay changes, and the new weapons, upgrades and ability ranks do not force players to change their tactical approach over the original game. Still, the additional content is definitely enjoyable, making Seed of Evil an essential purchase to all those who love Mutant Year Zero.The links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Wccftech.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings is a serviceable entry in the long-running JRPG series by Gust, offering an experience that's surely entertaining, but not as good as Atelier Firis. Additionally, the lack of any real innovation in both story and gameplay departments translates into a very predictable game.
Tiny Metal is a love letter to turn-based strategy games of the past, offering a similar experience which doesn't overstay its welcome. Sadly, the game by Area 35 doesn't even try to move away from its main influence, the Advance Wars series, resulting in a game that doesn't feel particularly daring or innovative. Still, there's plenty of fun to be had, especially in Skirmish Mode, where all of the game's subsystems and mechanics get the chance to shine.
Titan Quest Ragnarök offers more of what makes the main game so engaging - a new Mastery opening up new customization possibilities, new gear, new enemies, new areas to explore and new challenges. With the new content being meant for high level characters, and the lack of any real new gameplay mechanics, it's clear how the expansion is geared toward the most die-hard fans of Titan Quest. Those who aren't particularly fond of action role-playing games from over 10 years ago will definitely not change their opinion with Titan Quest Ragnarök, making it an essential purchase only for those who love the game created by Iron Lore.
The .hack//G.U. Last Recode remaster is a more than worthy way to experience the original PlayStation 2 releases, offering several enhancements which improve the experience considerably and a real closure with the new Reconnection volume. The enhancements, however, do little to improve the stiffness of the experience, the repetitive dungeon design, and the slow story pace, making .hack//G.U. Last Recode a must buy only for fans of the series. Newcomers, however, may still find something to like in the games, as the story, albeit slowly paced, is quite interesting, and the world well fleshed out.
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.
The Walking Dead Michonne Episode 2 Give No Shelter definitely feels like an improvement over the first episode at first glance, thanks to a much faster and action packed experience. Unfortunately, little development for new character and villains prevent it from actually being better than the previous episode. Both episodes have some very good features and a few flaws, so only Episode 3 will allow us to pass a final judgement on the whole series.
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.
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.
As the first episode of a new series, In Too Deep is a very strong start. The gameplay formula isn't any different from past The Walking Dead games, sure, but Michonne is a great character and the story has the potential to be very good. Unfortunately, the first episode has no real story payoff, due to how the whole series is structured, so it will be Episode 2 and 3 that will make The Walking Dead Michonne great, or just another adventure game based on a popular franchise.