This version of Resident Evil 2 does what every remake should do; it retains what made the original great while rethinking the aspects that didn’t age as well. The remake gives players a chance to explore an absolute classic that definitely hasn’t aged all that well, and it’s a great nostalgia trip for fans of the series.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a title that’s not afraid to take some risks, and the result is a very unique –if sometimes flawed – tactical action game. It’s a great title for casual fans of the genre, although more discerning tactics fans will probably enjoy it more for its stealth and its storyline.
Katamari Damacy Reroll is a great chance to explore one of gaming’s most revered cult hits. The gameplay might not be all that creative after a while, but it’s still a whacky, whimsical game of colors and shapes and rolling around that definitely merits a playthrough.
Just Cause 4 doesn’t make a lot of changes to the core gameplay of the series, but then again it doesn’t have to. It does make some welcome tweaks and additions, most notably to the grappling hook. The fourth installment in the series may not be as visually appealing as other titles in 2018, but it’s just as explosive and entertaining as ever.
Battlefield V delivers yet another epic, chaotic warfare experience while managing to bring the theatres of the Second World War to life. Its intense firefights and pitched battles will result in many a hurrah, but you’ll also have to brave some balance issues and a couple of bugs that haven’t been ironed out. At the end of the day though, there’s no better way to experience all-out war.
Darksiders III is a great hack-and-slash action title that feels a bit dated but still manages to offer a well-crafted experience. It’s not the best title in the series, but it gets serious points for its polish and its focus.
HITMAN 2 features big, open-ended levels that offer players a ton of freedom to choose how to eliminate unsuspecting victims. It manages to keep much of the soul of the series while updating the gameplay and offering a very polished experience.
Overkill’s The Walking Dead has some great, challenging gameplay that’s held back by lots of technical issues and poor design choices. It has the potential to be a great co-op action game, but at the moment it’s better at frustrating than it is at entertaining.
Party Hard 2 builds on the formula of its predecessor to offer a brutal, sadistic, and very creative mass murder simulator. It may not feel all that new, but it’s got enough tricks up its sleeve to justify another couple 3 AM murder sprees
Diablo III: Eternal Collection on Switch introduces gamers to perhaps the most refined version of the game, and it offers an immersive dungeon-crawling experience that you can play on the go. It runs very smoothly and looks great, but expect to sink a ton of time in if you want to get good.
Mazen enjoys anything with over-the-top violence, dark humor and a real challenge. He's still pretty big on single-player games and he's always looking for new titles he might've missed out on, so if you know about a crazy new title that's flying under the radar, look him up!
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 manages to take the series forward while still holding on to what made it great in the first place. There are lots of changes here, but they all feel like changes for the better. It’s still comfortable in its old spot, but it knows what the fans want and it delivers.
Timespinner wears its influences on its sleeve, but it wears them proudly and manages to pay tribute to the 2D RPG Castlevania games and other great metroidvanias. It crafts a unique and often engrossing new world, and by the end, I felt like I had really relived the classics, and not in a bad way.
Frozen Synapse 2 keeps the core gameplay fairly consistent and adds a new campaign mode which is a bit flawed but interesting nonetheless. The sequel also manages to refine the terrific tactical gameplay of the original Frozen Synapse to create a tighter squad combat game.
The Escapists: Complete Edition is unpolished in many regards, but under that rough lies a diamond that will shine brightly and hook you for hours. Its flaws end up working in its favour as you start feeling the desperation of a prisoner who’s just tired of being stuck, and eventually you need to use your wits and a little bit of hustle to get the job done.
With a new world to discover, Assassin's Creed Odyssey continues on the path set by Origins, giving more choice to the players, with a bigger focus on RPG and the comeback of naval warfare. A definitive evolution of the series, and shouldn't be missed.
Forza Horizon 4 is an excellent blend of arcade racing and racing sims, and it’s probably the best installment of the Horizon series thus far. It offers a breathtaking open world to drive through and some very accessible racing for mainstream fans, along with a bit of tinkering for people that like their racers a bit more technical.
Transference is an example of a first-person narrative driven game done right. From its tech singularity premise to its balance of story and gameplay, the game manages to craft an experience that's immersive and interactive without feeling like another walking simulator.
Dragon Quest XI is very much a classic J-RPG, and while a lot of the ideas here have been done before, they haven’t been done this well. It’s a great example of a game that doesn’t innovate, but definitely enhances the classic formula and improves on it
The Low Road is a light romp through corporate espionage that features a great cast and top-notch writing, as well as some very compelling moments. Its puzzles are a bit lackluster at times, but it’s still a great way to pretend you’re a 70’s spy.