Figuratively and literally, Starfield is the next evolution for a Bethesda game; taking that framework and that sandbox before applying it 1000 times over.
The nostalgia felt when playing Sonic Mania means that SEGA have done a fantastic job. It looks the part, sounds the part and most importantly plays the part. It’s more challenging than I remember, but this is quite possibly due to there being a lot of new elements to the levels to learn, and my muscle memory from the old games counts for nothing here. There is plenty of replayability here though, so maybe one day those memories will return.
For Honor is a game that I am not even close to finishing with. Its campaign is big enough to not feel tacked on, but the draw of the multiplayer action keeps dragging me away from finishing it. I can feel my skills improving after every round because it’s a new way to play against other players and that deserves highlighting in a highly saturated section of the market.
Momonga was a true joy to play and a real hidden gem in the ID@Xbox program. For a game that can be completed within an hour, it has so much variation and puts some 30-hour open world games to shame. Couple this with the cliff-hanger ending and the game will keep you guessing at what's next. But it has a lot of replayability too, especially for those chasing top scores and achievements. Sure, the game is flawed with bugged leaderboards and average physics, but it's one of those games where the positives far outweigh the negatives, with the major positive being fun. And this game provides an immense amount of just that.
The ending really was disappointing, but it’s so superbly done in every other department that it really doesn’t matter. People will be talking about their experiences with Henry and Delilah rather than what happened afterwards. Find yourself a free afternoon, no distractions or spoilers, and experience Firewatch.
It may take a while to get going at first for new players, but get over that first hour of pretty much just cutscenes and the game completely opens up into one of the finest examples of storytelling in gaming. This, along with the sheer abundance of side activities and people asking for a punch, makes Yakuza 0 an exquisite game, and a perfect benchmark for newcomers to dive straight into.
Make no mistake, Monster Hunter World is one of the best games on the Xbox One and, with the promise of free updates, will remain one of the most played games of 2018.
Yooka-Laylee has done what everyone, developers and players, had hoped it to do and brought the 3D platformer kicking and screaming into gaming mainstream again, spearheading the revival.