Outlast 2 puts together all of its nightmares with amazing clarity and execution. It takes the best parts of the original and adds more variety through natural hiding spots, fantastic interludes, razor-sharp jump scares, intense chases, and more horrific foes. Not many horror games get everything to work this well together.
Amanita Design has moved away from their usual adventure style to build one awesome puzzle-platformer. Thanks to a near perfect learning curve, painted detours, and a stunning visual and musical package, Creaks is a must for fans of the studio and puzzle aficionados alike.
There is a vast rainbow of greatness within Life is Strange: True Colors. Its awesome characters, emotional connections, effective humor, intricate animations, fun moments, and outstanding music are why it is one of the best narrative adventure games in years.
Thanks to an enjoyable combat loop and wonderfully dark environments, Diablo IV is a great blend of the previous two games in the series that brings a slew of basic MMO features while preserving the core tenets of the franchise.
DiRT 4 is a better rally game than DiRT Rally because it has improved career progression, better multiplayer, randomized rally routes, and some casual-friendly options. The procedurally generated rally stages are a game changer and help to provide lasting value.
With a great supernatural pirate theme and excellent character synergy, Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is another outstanding stealth strategy game from Mimimi, though revisiting the mostly unchanged islands throws a small cloud over the otherwise vibrant treasure hunt.
Pacific Drive is a fantastic survival game with an addictive gameplay loop that involves forging deep connections to junctions, progressing deeper into an ever-changing Zone, upgrading a quirky vehicle, and navigating through challenges that appear on the road ahead.
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 offers an interesting campaign in a unique format, cleverly promoting switching between four diverse characters.
Single player is little more than a flashy tutorial. Multiplayer receives several improvements and holds impressive value. Without the numerous technical faults, Battlefield 4 would be a great entry in the franchise.
Grim Dawn is a satisfying, complex and clever hack-and-slash adventure that provides great value.
Prey's dynamic gameplay adapts beautifully to players as they explore an interesting space station crawling with bizarre alien life forms. Its involving action proves entertaining when combined with a solid base of resource management. Despite a few presentation problems and minor issues, Prey is one mind-altering trip that should be played by fans of the genre.
Darkwood does so much with its simple top-down perspective that it matches some of the best horror games released this year. It is easy to appreciate the finer details when you methodically explore a captivating wooded area, gather resources, and fend off deadly creatures before the terrifying night arrives.
Unforeseen Incidents presents a delightfully captivating conspiracy with wonderful characters and perfect pacing. Its puzzles succeed because they are rational and connected with the story. The icing on the cake is the pleasant and striking visual style.
Control offers some of the best combat from Remedy, balancing supernatural abilities with a handy service weapon. Its non-linear twisted levels, populated with varied Hiss enemies, make for an appealing supernatural world. With a better protagonist and some fine-tuning, it could have been truly extraordinary.
Fantastic trips through colorful minds and a robust narrative help to make Psychonauts 2 an enjoyable adventure and a faithful sequel.
Ordained by a clear narrative, resolute characters, intriguing hauntings and an eventually favorable combat model, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a morally infused spirit smasher set in a large world that needed a little exorcism.
With two great new multiplayer modes, solid maps and interesting gadgets, Battlefield Hardline carefully folds a police theme into the franchise. The result is a chaotic and rewarding experience.
While the campaign is lacklustre and Zombies is over-designed, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 succeeds thanks to the multiplayer's perfect mix of structured maps, diverse specialists and liberating movement.
Sniper Elite 4 breathes new life into the franchise with better stealth mechanics, improved mission setups, smarter AI, and great open levels.
Observer features remarkable trips through fictional minds that unsettle and terrify without relying on excessive jump scares. The nightmares contrast wonderfully with an atmospheric and detailed cyberpunk world that is always fascinating to explore.