Battle Chasers: Nightwars' combat and activity-dense world scratch the JRPG itch, even if the storytelling and character development leave a fair bit to be desired. Its attractive dungeons and outdoor regions are fun to get lost in, and there are just enough hidden treasures to claim to make exploration rewarding in a more than visual capacity. I'd be very pleased to see more turn-based indie RPGs along the same lines as Nightwar in the future - and the ending heavily suggests this won't be the last we see of this universe in RPG form.
I feel like a broken record saying this is the best Total War game so far, since I've felt that way about each major release since Attila. But it really is true: Creative Assembly's designers are honing their campaign and faction design consistently from game to game, and that progression is clearly on display in Total War Warhammer 2.
When I'm having a good time in ARK, I'm having a really good time. The problem is that those moments are usually one part to every nine parts menial grinding and crafting - especially at the later tech tiers. Having to repeat so much work after failing an attempt at a boss feels far too punishing, and some really dumb dinosaurs can take a lot of the challenge and sense of danger out of the many primal locations. Even with all of those quirks, however, I'm still hungry to play more after the 60 hours I've spent so far. There aren't a lot of survival games that have legitimately held my attention that long.
While it's the weakest episode so far, More Than A Feeling still has some moments of payoff for leadership successes (and failures) earlier in the series. Integrating Nebula and Mantis into the team more firmly also enhances the dynamic ensemble without making the Milano feel crowded without reason. None of this could salvage the poor pacing, but the combination of new plot revelations, the consistently entertaining characters, and the overall attitude of this series has me looking forward to seeing it out.
StarCraft remains a titan of the genre for a reason. Though its interface lacks some contemporary conveniences, Blizzard has still, to this day, failed to outdo itself in terms of the elegant balance between three highly asymmetrical factions that was achieved in Brood War. Whether you want to revisit the glory days or see a piece of gaming history for the first time, StarCraft Remastered is a trip well worth taking.
From the art to the music to the story to the tactical gameplay, and even to how they're all woven together so artfully, Pyre is an adventure that excels in every area of its design other than limiting its multiplayer to local only. It's an epic journey that made me feel thrilled, devastated, and awed, and its tense moments had me tugging my collar both in and out of its fast-paced mystical sports arenas. With an emotionally charged ending that saw so much I'd striven for come to fruition, but was still tinged with tragedy and melancholy even when I did almost everything right, I won't be able to get Pyre out of my head for a long time. This is Supergiant's best work to date, and that's saying something.
When the bones hit the dirt, I'd rank the Necromancer highly in terms of sheer fun factor and uniqueness when compared to Diablo 3's other classes. I do feel like $15 might be a bit much to simply unlock a new class, especially when so much of the new stuff in this patch (like some new areas for adventure mode) is being released for free. If it's within your budget, though, I don't think you'll be disappointed with the new playstyles and crazy strategies Rise of the Necromancer brings to Sanctuary.
Despite the frustrations its upgrade system often caused me, I had a good time navigating Nex Machina's array of twin-stick shooter challenges. The appealing art, energetic soundtrack, and pixel-perfect gamepad controls made me own every failure and look forward to whatever might come next. Arena mode seems to be where most of the lifespan on this one will come from, and I look forward to seeing people who are better than me at it pull off some crazy runs to climb the rankings. Nex Machina is not for the faint of heart, but a recipe to delight those looking for an attractive, arcadey challenge to overcome.
Under Pressure transitions us off of the high-tempo radio hit that was the season opener and into a more relaxed slow jam punctuated with some meaty action riffs. The slower drip of meaningful events meant I didn't come off of it with the same level of feelgood euphoria I had after finishing Tangled Up in Blue, but Telltale is still doing an excellent job adapting this eccentric hero team to its tried-and-true format - particularly when the focus is on developing the characters and the relationships between them.
Interesting classes, engaging melee gameplay, and an exciting arena mode have the wind taken out of their sails by deserted servers.
A cool license and a clever time-twisting idea both go to waste in Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days. With more mission variety, character development, and technical polish I could see this being an unexpectedly fun top-down shooter. As it is, its lack of ambition in scenario design makes too little use of its unique mechanic which, in itself, doesn't always work the way you'd expect it to. Bloody Days also fails to really capture the feel of the movie on which it's based, presenting iconic characters as cheap knock offs that spout their signature lines at odd moments like pull-string toys. While the shooting can be fun and challenging, this one's definitely not worth losing an ear over.
Guardians of the Galaxy is definitely starting off on the right foot, with a great script, great actors, and a universe packed with personality (and backed by catchy tunes) to explore. If it can continue to deliver the quality of dialogue and panel-perfect action over the course of the rest of the season, it may find itself seated in the upper echelons of Telltale's catalog. I just hope that now the series has introduced itself, the series gives its environments and characters just a bit more time to breathe in between speeding the plot along.
Paradox’s biggest expansion yet brings Stellaris closer to its original promise with a stellar rework of internal politics and new endgame goals.
LEGO Worlds is commendable for its environmental diversity and the power of its creative tools to build anything you can dream of or manipulate every castle, hillside, and forest in sight. Unfortunately, fiddly menus, a pretty terrible combat system, and at times clunky and unfriendly construction controls weigh down on the wonder of finding and creating. Despite all this, I still find myself drawn back into it to discover what more the designers have hidden in the world-generation code, as coming across a massive ruined castle or an active volcano for the first time is always a treat - and an inspiration for what I want to build next.
Space Hulk: Deathwing is that paradoxical game that's hard to dislike, but also hard to love. The glorious moments of fervent xeno-purging are too fleeting, and often left me standing in dark corridors, surrounded by my slain foes, looking for any kind of context or sense of lasting accomplishment. There is somewhere in it the embryo of the ultimate Space Marine game, but despite a lot of potential for simple, squad-based fun in multiplayer, it never moves beyond being a stripped-down and poorly running prototype for the kind of game I wish it had been. "So close, yet so far" will be the slogan etched into this terminator's hulking shoulder pads.
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun’s uncommon attentiveness to characters and story elevate what is already a really entertaining and mentally stimulating quest across 17th-Century Japan. The near-constant annoyance of the camera definitely hindered my feeling of being a zen ninja assassin. Overall though, developer Mimimi has put together one of the most punishing and clever top-down stealth games I’ve ever skulked through.
I enjoyed just about every minute I spent playing Steep. Grandiose, attractive environments serving as the backdrop to varied, intense challenges are enough on their own to make this wintry playground somewhere I was always delighted to go back to and spend more time in - a feeling I still have even after finishing the bulk of the content.
While it may not be an amazing capitalism simulator, Planet Coaster is a fantastic theme park-building sandbox that rarely ever took an idea I had and told me, "No, you can't do that."
Escalation succeeds at making Ashes of the Singularity a bigger, better, sleeker RTS that allows you to play its great new content alongside just about everything from the base game (including the lacklustre original campaign missions).
Sight, sound, and systems harmonize to make Civilization 6 the liveliest, most engrossing, most rewarding, most challenging 4X in any corner of the earth.