Despite my issues with it, I'm having way more fun with Battleborn than I thought I would. It took a while, but I've managed to find a couple of characters whose playstyle I really like, and that's enough to keep me going for a while longer. And I've had enough exciting matches that I see its potential.
But I keep thinking back to that jump I made, to all the times I saw the lights down on Earth. I think back to that feeling of weightlessness, and how it's finally given me the space game I wasn't getting anywhere else. For all it's lacking as a traditional "game," that alone makes Adr1ft's short excursion into the unknown one worth taking.
Dark Souls III would be a fitting end to a videogame series, and we don't get many of those. I enjoyed almost all of my time with it, but I'm not sure if I'd want another game like this to come by for a long time. As a comprehensive second draft of the best moments from the series, it left me with fond memories of everything I love
Playing by the rules can still be fun, and despite my misgivings I'm interested in seeing more Hitman in the coming months. Its lavish environments allow for enough outcomes and stories that I can't dismiss its decision to trade real freedom for bespoke scenarios out of hand. And most importantly, the illusion it offers of getting in and out without being seen and on your own terms lingers just long enough to be worthwhile. I'm just disappointed it was an illusion in the first place.
Divorced from the need to spotlight its commentary or be clever, Superhot's shootouts make its case better than its narrative layers ever could. Its methodical take on shooter combat forces you to linger on the consequences of your actions without saying a word. And that's all it needed to be. But when it tries to connect the dots for you, it feels overbearing and self-congratulatory, diluting the potency of its novelty.
But that idea has so much potential, and when it's implemented eloquently I'm uplifted by it. When it gives you tasks that complement your powers, Gravity Rush transcends its mediocrity through the sheer power of flight. But then it tumbles back down into complacency, leaving me to wistfully pine for the skies again.
Controller incongruities aside, Amplitude works as both a look at what rhythm games used to be and as testbed for some interesting new ideas (even if they don't all work). It doesn't offer a new instrument you can pretend to play or change how we think about music games, but it doesn't have to do any of that. It's content to give you a solid, lasting sense of satisfaction from pushing buttons in the right order and hearing some good music.
The constant pull to repeat a set of activities to see numbers go up permeates every game like Devilian. Even now, I'm thinking about running a few more dungeons and seeing if I can't get some Heroic gear out of it. But almost any game with loot will make you want more of it, so hitting that part of the brain's reward center isn't enough to make for a good game.
Blizzard promises that this isn't the end of StarCraft, and there are already plans for more balance updates and story campaigns. And I'll probably end up playing more of it, just to see how those plans play out. I still think I like the series' characters and world enough to check in with them from time to time. I might even go back and play through the whole series in the future. But at this point, StarCraft will have to find a newer, weirder place to be in if it really wants me back.
Whatever qualms I might have with his prose or approach to self-promotion, I can't disagree.
Warhammer: End Times — Vermintide gets so many things right, and its designers have made enough smart decisions about how to deviate from the Left 4 Dead, that it makes the difficulty knee-capping and technical mishaps all the more disappointing. It's absolutely worth a look if you're looking for something to do with friends and love slay hordes of monsters. Just don't be surprised if you find yourself quitting earlier than you might want to.
Playing Albino Lullaby, you'll begin to feel like so many of the people you may have tried to convert into understanding the surrealist media the game so desperately wants to evoke; you'll raise an eyebrow, and think "that's it?"
After seeing what Freestyle Games has done, Rock Band's enormous library, and the promise of making it available across releases feels like a crutch by comparison, tying that franchise to its established model. I'll still hop back to Rock Band to play drums, but right now, Guitar Hero Live is where you'll find me clanking away, waiting for the next time I get to perform Ida Maria's "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked."
Hearts of Stone is a collection of some of the best quests The Witcher 3 has to offer. Its story is cohesive; its characters are worth meeting; and the thematic diversity is worth seeing. If you've already beaten the original experience, these quests are worth checking out. If you haven't, make these quests a top priority. They feature some of the best writing in fantasy games, period, and make the expansion more than a worthy addition to one of the best releases of the year.
It's still a good proposition, but without something new to get people talking again, Rock Band 4 argues as strongly for the series' depreciation as it does its relevance.
Unfolded is playful, and despite its limited scope, its fumbles, and its twee preciousness, I can't help but smile while playing it. And we don't get enough games that play around with what the hardware they're on can do. Those simple interactions might be mere gimmicks. But if you have children who can revel in the magic of seeing the results of their creativity on-screen without having to delve into an editor for hours, or aren't afraid to get a bit precious yourself, Tearaway Unfolded is a story worth playing.
Soma isn't much of a horror game, but that's not a big loss. It uses horror trappings as a jumping off point to find more intelligent and interesting trails to follow. Its follow-through, save for a few instances where I felt it succumb to the bindings of its genre, is impressive. When it talks about something, it goes for it, and the results are rarely pretty or happy but almost always intriguing.
The original Gears of War holds up better than you might think for a game that inspired years of me-too shooters. It may not be worth $40 for everyone now, but if you haven't touched the series before and want a good starting point before Gears of War 4 hits next year, this is the best place to start.
Perhaps it's an approach you can only take when you've iterated on the same game for about ten years. When you've built so many levels you're confident many people won't actually see all of them. When you stop caring about achieving something, and just want to do anything. And the best part of N++ is that it thinks that's just fine. You can do all the furious, adrenaline-pumping jumps, complete every level perfectly and top the leaderboards. But you can suck, and that's okay too.
Skullgirls: 2nd Encore is a good buy for anyone looking to get into fighting games, but it's far from a perfect one. After picking up a lot of good knowledge from the tutorials, you may want to move to a less intricate and combo-centric game with a less intimidating online crowd. If you haven't tried Skullgirls yet, this is this best place to start, but if you've already played it, there's not much reason to switch to this version for now.