Sam Spyrison
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is an unexpectedly ambitious remaster that puts a fresh coat of paint on the accessible and deep kart racer.
The concluding chapters of Clementine's journey remains as emotional and stressful as ever, but rarely feels purposeful enough to be a worthwhile finale for longtime fans.
Take Us Back is a well-constructed but ineffective conclusion to Telltale's The Walking Dead series.
As the final season of The Walking Dead is brought back to life by Skybound, the narrative plot continues to shamble aimlessly like the zombies that inhabit its world. A few emotional chats between Clementine and AJ and a finale-prepping conclusion makes the journey worth continuing, but Skybound will need to go above and beyond to provide Clementine the send off she deserves and make the fourth and final season one worth playing.
Suffer the Children is an unsatisfying conclusion to Clementine's journey, temporary or otherwise, as both she and Telltale Games have seen much higher highs over the years.
Forza Horizon 4 is an outstanding evolution of not only the Forza franchise, but the open world racing genre as a whole.
NBA 2K19 continues the series' legacy for offering the best basketball simulator on the market thanks to refined gameplay and a truly immersive presentation.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider's prioritization of exploration and stealth coupled with a more reflective plot ends Lara's origin story on a more human note, which is strengthened by the remarkable presentation.
Done Running is proof that Telltale still has plenty of ideas to innovate and reinvigorate the adventure genre, where even small changes including new camera perspectives and an improved presentation can go a long way, even if the story hasn't quite found its footing yet.
Much like Contrast before it, We Happy Few shows off plenty of potential with its original and engaging world from a team whose passion and heart clearly shines through.
Batman: The Enemy Within is an improvement on the first season in nearly every way, with enhanced combat sequences, a strong presentation and voice cast and an engrossing relationship between Batman and the Joker that produces some memorable and heart-wrenching moments that feel well-justified by the player's choices up to those moments.
Despite a slightly forgettable middle and a few characters being given a rushed ending, Same Stitch is a fantastic finale for Batman: The Enemy Within, as Bruce Wayne and John Doe's uneasy alliance comes to an explosive and constantly surprising conclusion.
Hazelight Studios deserves praise for the high ambitions of their first title, with A Way Out attempting to emulate a wide variety of genres, themes and gameplay mechanics.
Burnout Paradise Remastered still offers one of the best playgrounds to speed and smash through over a decade later, fueled by a smooth presentation, abundance of cars and an engaging soundtrack.
Nearly one year later, Night in the Woods remains one of the most quotable and passion-fueled indie titles in recent years.
"What Ails You" keeps the stakes high as Wayne continues to juggle numerous issues and relationships within the city of Gotham. While the short runtime can make this episode seem a bit more like filler, the usually stellar voice cast and key moments help keep the momentum up during the penultimate episode.
Fractured Mask offers some of the season's best scenes in yet another strong episode in Telltale's latest season. The consistency during the two hour tale leaves a little to be desired, but Batman: The Enemy Within continues to be among the best Telltale has to offer.
Telltale's premiere season for their take on the Guardians of the Galaxy proves to be an enjoyable one, as the stellar soundtrack and combat sequences prove to be the high points of the occasionally humorous adventure. A little fine tuning from the dialogue and engine could have gone a long way, but as it is, Telltale's adaptation of the dysfunctional space family is one worth checking out for fans of the movies or comics, or those looking for a lighthearted sci-fi adventure.
Don't Stop Believin' feels stretched out, but ultimately plays out as an enjoyable finale filled with humor and heart. If this does end up being the final appearance of Telltale's take on the Guardians of the Galaxy, it'll be reassuring to know that the season ended on a high note (in more ways than one), while still leaving an open door for the dysfunctional space family to return in the future.
Although Who Needs You provides some of the season's most emotionally charged scenes, the episode's inconsistency with its tone and story progression, and all-too-familiar gameplay and technical issues make for a lackluster penultimate chapter that only looks to harm the upcoming season finale. Telltale may need to find its own Eternity Forge to revive the series' attempt at wrapping up this dysfunctional space family's premiere story.