Nioh is a surprise delight. In a world of clones, it's great to find a Dark Souls homage that manages to be its own game and stands on its own merits. It's fast-paced, fun, brutal and full of enough mechanics and gameplay features that you could play it for months. You don't need to be a Souls fan to enjoy Nioh'sexcellent gameplay. The story is a little thin, and the environments aren't always great, but if you're looking for fast-paced samurai action or seeking a challenge, Nioh is the game for you.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a solid and very enjoyable reinvention of the series. It returns the franchise to its roots and does a great job of updating and improving the archaic PS1 gameplay mechanics without losing the Resident Evil feel. Both the strengths and weaknesses of the franchise are present. The high-tension atmosphere, spooky monsters and cheesy cornball villains combine to create something that is undeniably Resident Evil. Fans of the series should love that it's spooky, silly, and requires you to solve puzzles in order to find a shotgun so you can fight biological horror. Isn't that what Resident Evil is all about?
Tales of Berseria is a solid JRPG that doesn't excel in any one area but manages to hit all the marks well enough to be enjoyable. It's not ambitious and focuses on providing a pleasant experience. It suffers from being too easy and spending too much time clearing up its predecessor's flaws, but it's balanced by fast-paced combat and an entertaining cast. It's not going to change your world, but Tales fans should find a lot to like, and for casual players, it's a good introduction to the franchise.
Yakuza 0 is easily one of the highlights of the PlayStation 4's lineup. An engaging story mixed with zany humor and over-the-top brawler gameplay, the title hits all the marks. It has its flaws, including a potential overreliance on non-brawling minigames, but they're not enough to drag down the game. Fans of the franchise should be delighted, and newcomers should find this title as a great place to dive in. The plot, characters and setting are instantly accessible, and the gameplay holds up extremely well.
Fate/Extella: The Umbra Star is a perfectly ordinary Dynasty Warriors clone that's been slightly elevated by its license. The gameplay is fun but strictly average, and there's not much that makes it stand out beyond the plot and characters. If you're a fan of the Fate franchise, you'll probably get your money's worth in the story and characters. If you're looking for a brawler, this doesn't have much to offer. The lengthy story sequences filled with metaphysics might make it even less enjoyable than a standard game.
All in all, Dragon Ball Fusions is a cute, if unexceptional, Dragon Ball RPG that's made almost exclusively for the fans. Nothing about it breaks the mold, but it has a reasonably engaging combat system and a ton of collectible characters to keep you busy. It's dragged down by a weak story and an excessive amount of grinding to unlock characters. Fusions won't do much for casual fans, but die-hards will have a good time seeing all of the absurd fusions that the show could never do.
The Little Acre is a charming and very playable adventure game. It's easily to smile from start to finish at the colorful graphics, solid voice acting, and sense of style. It's not a very long or very difficult game, but that's a minor blemish on the whole experience. This title will fit the bill for parents who are looking for a low-cost game to play with very young children. It won't blow your mind or redefine the genre, but the game will leave you smiling. With so many adventure games these days trending toward violence, it's nice to have something that is full of cheer and goodwill.
All in all, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is a solid and polished, if not overly risky, addition to the franchise. In some ways, it feels like a soft reboot that goes back to the franchise's core mechanics and refines them. That makes it a strong introduction to the series for newcomers and a great game for existing fans . The only really flaws include some unnecessary padding and backtracking and its short length, neither of which is enough to be more than a minor blemish. If you're a fan of old-school platformers, Half-Genie Hero is a game for you.
Honestly, all you need to know to determine whether the PS4 version of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is for you, is that it's still Marvel vs Capcom 3. The strengths and flaws are well documented, and nothing has really changed from the HD re-release.
At the end of the day, Rad Rodgers: World One is a cute first taste of a throwback platformer. The game is not particularly long or deep, but it's an enjoyable romp. It's fun to play and has solid level design and enjoyable mechanics, but the nostalgic throwback theme is wasted on generic foes and settings. Fans of old-school platformers will find a lot to like here, including a number of jokes clearly designed for them, but newcomers might find it too generic.
The Last Guardian was 10 years in the making, and it feels like it, for all the good and bad that implies. It's a masterpiece in terms of creating a living, breathing AI partner who is a wild and dangerous beast. The atmosphere, the environments and the puzzles are a delight. It's impossible to get around the fact that the game is built with frustration as a feature, and your enjoyment of it will depend on whether you're enough of a cat person to mind spending 10 minutes solving a three-second puzzle. It's a remarkable game that is all the more remarkable for almost living up to 10 years of hype. If you have the patience, The Last Guardian is a must-play for PS4 owners.
Yesterday Origins is a by-the-numbers adventure game that hits all of the marks with reliable accuracy. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, and the puzzles are standard and are occasionally veer difficult for the wrong reasons. The story is elevated by some distinct concepts and strong character writing. It's worth a try just to see how immortals deal with the problem of aging.
It's difficult to judge Final Fantasy XV. It bears all the scars of troubled development, and it has a list of nagging issues a mile long, but it's more than the sum of its parts. It's fun to play and has plenty of charming and likeable moments that balance out the frustrating time-wasting elements and weak plot. FF15 is a solid entry into the franchise and is as accessible to newcomers as it is to longtime fans. It might have some rough patches, but FF15 shows that it cares about the most important thing of all: fun.
Aragami is a satisfactory stealth game. It's not exceptional, but it has its high points. The shadow-dancing teleport mechanic is the centerpiece of the game, and it is at its best when you have large, open areas to sneak through. It's at its worst when cheap deaths or unenjoyable boss fights dominate the experience. It's a fun budget stealth game that will probably tickle the fancy of anyone who's looking for one. It might not break new ground, but sometimes, it's just fun to be a ninja, and Aragami deliveries that in spades.
Pokémon Sun and Moon is a safe and enjoyable entry in the franchise. It doesn't reinvent the wheel but focuses on polishing the rough edges and making the entire thing shine. It has enough new features to make it a fun adventure without feeling too familiar, and that's important. Some nagging flaws, like a poor frame rate and annoying Pokémon reinforcements, drag down the experience a little, but die-hard fans and curious newcomers alike should still have a great time. Pokémon Sun and Moon offers over 800 monsters to collect, so you'll be catching them all for a long time.
Overall, Watch Dogs 2 is a solid title that improves upon the original in gameplay and plot but still has some flaws. It's too easy at times, and the plot isn't structured well enough to have the desired impact, but that's easy to forgive when you're setting up a Rube Goldberg contraption to send a hacked car covered with sticky bombs into the middle of a group of gang members. It won't drastically change your mind if you disliked the first Watch Dogs, but if you found it flawed but fun, you'll probably enjoy the bulk of the sequel's improvements. The drop-in multiplayer and freedom of gameplay do a lot to keep the title feeling engaging, but it depends on a player's creativity in order to thrive.
Dishonored 2 is an excellent sequel to an excellent game. It retains everything that was good about the first game and effectively doubles it with more characters, more abilities, and more levels. It retains some of the same flaws, including incredible ease, graphical issues, and a weak main narrative, but it more than makes up for it in other areas. It's hard to not be delighted with Dishonored 2, as it shows a developer at the very top of its game. Fans of the original and newcomers alike should find a lot to like here, regardless of whether they want to be a silent assassin or a lethal predator.
All in all, Civilization VI is a solid, fun and enjoyable 4x game. Its basic mechanics are simple enough that players of almost any age can learn to play, but the gameplay is complex enough that multiplayer games can be brutal challenges that force players to the limits of their tactical ability. It has its share of flaws but nothing does more than slightly detract from the game. Whether you're playing for a few minutes before work or glancing up to realize that it's 4 AM, Civilization VI is exactly the kind of game that gets its hooks deep into you and never lets go.
Batman: Return to Arkham is a good, but not great, package. The games have both aged very well and are still plenty of fun to play, and the remaster allows newcomers to experience them. However, the inconsistent remastering job means that it's tough to be overly impressed. Return to Arkham is effectively a mediocre port of two excellent games. If you've never experience the Arkham games before, then this is a good starting point, but returning fans may be more disappointed than excited by some of the changes. There's still a lot to like in the collection, and the nagging flaws aren't enough to distract from the excellent games.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is a solid improvement over the original in most areas, but at the same time, it doesn't add much to the equation. Rather than adding a ton of new content, it focuses on fixing the flaws and annoyances of the original game. The result is a title that is at once mechanically superior to the original and less interesting. Fans of the original Xenoverse will find this to be a fun expansion, and newcomers would be better off starting with Xenoverse 2 rather than its predecessor. Some excessive loading times and a weak story drag down the experience, but it's still one of the best Dragon Ball games out there.