Rime is definitely not a game for everyone, but it does teach a lesson that everyone should be able to appreciate if given the chance. The literal act of playing the game is rife with minor frustrations and short bouts of boredom, but as a sum of its parts it's a memorable journey I won't soon forget.
Mental illness is a seldom discussed and often misunderstood topic. While Hellblade is far from a direct and immediate exploration of psychosis and how it affects people, it uses a powerful narrative mixed with symbolic gameplay elements to weave a tale of horrific trauma and unsettling experiences. Hellblade is easily one of 2017's very best games, and the best game I've played all year that isn't Zelda.
Agents of Mayhem has enough gameplay diversity and fun characters to keep you occupied for a few hours, but it won't take long for the repetitive missions, horrendously heavy-handed comedic overtones, and tired gameplay loop to wear on your patience.
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is an unexpected delight. Fans of tactical strategy games should absolutely pick this one up as soon as possible and enjoy dozens of hours of intense battles and detailed progression.
Stop whatever it is you're doing right now, and go play this game. Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a definitive game-of-the-year contender, and one of the best RPGs to be released this entire decade.
Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a fine example of how to iterate and improve upon a tried-and-true game genre wth its take on a modernized turn-based RPG. It's far from perfect, but the combat system alone is engaging enough to warrant a recommendation for any fan of old-school JRPG-style adventures.
Monster Hunter: World is the type of game that will take over your life. The world is massively detailed with tons of things to do and it will undoubtedly end up yielding some of the very best gaming moments of the year -- guaranteed.
Shadow of the Colossus is a veritable masterpiece from top to bottom and will surely be remembered as one of the greatest games ever made. The PS4 version is that, but with 4K HDR and a glorious photo mode. What else is there to say?
After the resounding success of Dynasty Warriors 8, Dynasty Warriors 9 feels like a major step back. What's lost in the move towards an individually-centered story spread across a massive open world far outweighs the minor benefits that are gained. While the excellent button-mashing gameplay stays intact with great tweaks and additions, it wasn't enough. The lack of multiplayer, missing alternate game modes, and emptiness of ancient China left me far from satisfied.
If you can look past the annoying bugs and obtuse mechanics, Kingdom Come: Deliverance's strong sense of believable, historical realism will undoubtedly cast a spell on anyone that gives the game a chance. This is a must-play for fans of lifestyle simulators and medieval RPGs.
Whether you really wanted it this way or not, Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is about as pure of a remaster as you're ever going to find. The visuals and sound are all upgraded for a modern era without changing the heart of the game. However, with the vastly superior Age of Empires II HD already in existence with five years of community built up around it, there is little reason to recommend this game unless you're just dying to play extremely early era civilizations.
Owlboy tells a story of failure, redemption, and heroism with an excellent art style to prop up an addictive and creative platformer that continually throws new game mechanics at you to keep things fresh. It's hard to put down once you get started.
Unfortunately lacks the originality it so desperately needs to really stand out from the pack. Even though the art style is striking and bold, combined with an inventive cultural focus, the gameplay and overall design weigh it down to be little more than a passable action adventure title.
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is a narratively-driven adventure game in which you travel across Depression era USA collecting stories amid a beautiful backdrop of hand-drawn story vignettes. However, the experience is heavily bogged down by a clunky overworld and purely disruptive gamification of an otherwise pleasant collection of stories.
H1Z1 checks all of the boxes needed to be a competent battle royale game, but in its main mode it lacks a distinctive sense of character. Without the realistic depth and modular weaponry of PUBG or the wacky base-building antics of Fortnite, its streamlined design rushes toward straightforward, fast-paced action instead and ends up being dull as often as it is exciting. The more interesting thing about H1Z1 is its innovative Auto Royale mode, which translates battle royale mechanics to vehicular combat in a way we haven't seen done better elsewhere.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is an excellent evolution of the formula set out by its predecessor and offers up some of the most intense, gory, and fast-paced co-op action you can find in any genre.
Ni No Kuni II could have been genre-defining, but really, really good is just going to have to do instead. The way that the beautiful visuals meld together with Joe Hisaishi's breathtaking score is nothing short of remarkable and it all combines together for something that feels genuinely earnest and charming. While far from perfect, Ni No Kuni II is an easy recommendation for fans of JRPGs both old and new.
Extinction is a derivative and uninspired game not worth the $60 price tag.
Agony proves that, like beauty, horror can be only skin deep. With gratuitous amounts of violence and masochistic overtones, this blood-soaked adventure is not for the faint of heart. But while its bold and detailed environments depict Hell in the most nightmarish ways possible, even the fantastically obscene sights and creepy sounds become mundane and dull by the end of its series of repetitious mazes, unimaginative item hunts, and weak stealth gameplay.
Onrush is one of the most original driving games I've played in years, giving it a unique flavor. By forgetting about simply going faster than everyone else and mixing traditional racing mechanics with modes and subtle nuances typically found in other genres, Onrush managed to change the way I think about racing games. Its unorthodox online car-brawls and varied objectives go out of their way to feel different, and even when the maps become repetitive after a short while, its appeal remains for the simple fact that there's no other arcade driving game quite like this.