Steins;Gate 0 could be better. It could be shorter and do more to explain the complicated parts of its story. However, it's the follow up to one of the best visual novels out there. It contains the same awesome characters (and minimizes the impact of the annoying ones) and puts them through serious trauma until they come out the other end. It’s a tougher read than Steins;Gate, but you should persevere until you reach the other side. The reward is worth it and I cannot wait to see where this story goes next.
Fast RMX isn’t quite the new Wipeout or F-Zero game that I so desperately want, however it is a damn good futuristic racing game and a bargain at $20. Its budget status shows up in a few places, such as the subdued music, barebones online, or lack of a notable difference between the difficulty modes. However, Fast RMX is exhilarating at top speed and rewards track mastery while minimizing annoying RNG elements. The three race tournaments make it perfect for short play sessions and it will help tide me over until a new Wipeout of F-Zero.
Remasters often make me reconsider my fondness for old games. That’s not true of the N. Sane Trilogy. Crash 1 is an okay game, Crash 2 is a good game, and Crash 3 is an excellent game. That’s as true today as it was twenty years ago.
The Lost Legacy is another very good game in a franchise almost unrivaled in its consistently high quality. It’s just a shame we’ve seen it all before.
Great Sonic games are a novelty these days. Fortunately, the novelty doesn’t wear off in a hurry. Sonic Mania is fast, fun, and full of surprises, from the first level until the last.
The Evil Within 2 is a better game than its predecessor; however, it’s also a less interesting one. The first game was fascinating and yet hard to recommend due to problems with pacing, sloppy storytelling, and plenty of bugs and glitches. The sequel corrects most of those problems and, to use a term I hate, is a far more polished experience as a result. I just wish Tango Gameworks hadn’t abandoned everything special about the original in the process.
Origins is a game full of flaws. With the exception of the environmental design, nearly everything could have done with an extra year of development time and a little more care and attention. And yet, Origins is more than the sum of its mediocre parts. I enjoyed most of the 40 hours I spent with Origins and I still have the urge to go back and tick off more boxes.
Hellblade doesn’t have huge flaws, but it fails to excel in too many areas to be an essential purchase. I’d still highly recommend Hellblade for the simple fact that it made me think and feel things that no other game has. There are plenty of games out there with more scintillating combat or intellectually taxing puzzles, but not many that can put you in the head of a Pict warrior suffering from psychosis. That alone makes it worth a purchase.
West of Loathing is a wonderfully charming adventure where the stick figures that populate the towns have more character than most of the life-like models in big-budget productions. You’ll spend more time reading than fighting, but when it’s this funny you won’t mind too much.
The Frozen Wilds isn’t a must play expansion, but it’s a damn good one. It challenges skills you thought you’d already mastered and there’s more Aloy. That’s enough to get a recommendation from me.
Subsurface Circular is a visual novel about talking to strangers on a train. Basically, a British person’s worst nightmare. It ends up being a relaxing and thought-provoking experience where you talk to androids and solve a mystery without ever moving from your seat. At ninety minutes long, Subsurface Circular doesn’t overstay its welcome and if anything I wanted the experience to last a little longer.
SteamWorld Dig 2 is a beautiful and charming game with a satisfying mixture of exploration, puzzles, and mildly challenging platforming. The more treasure you collect, the more abilities you unlock, which in turn, lets you collect even more treasure. It's a simple yet addictive loop that pushed me forward until I beat the final boss. Unfortunately, the lack of a compelling endgame meant I didn't have much motivation to continue past the ten-hour mark.
Gears For Breakfast isn’t a slave to nostalgia. It knows what made early 3D platformers special in the late nineties and it knows what makes them hard to go back to in 2017. It's updated the genre but kept the nostalgia flowing in the process. A Hat in Time could do with being a touch longer, but I enjoyed the entirety of my fifteen-hour playthrough. Not bad for a $30 package.
Okami is a relaxing game. The lack of challenge isn’t ideal but it lets you focus on what is beautiful about the world and the characters while enjoying the high-fantasy Japanese story. I loved drawing images to fight and change the world around me and was constantly learning new techniques. Okami could have done with some editing to trim the length and a steeper difficulty curve to keep you interested throughout. However, even with its issues, Okami is an absolute joy to play and a steal for $20.
The Red Strings Club might not be **the** cyberpunk game you’re waiting for, but it’s well-worth your time. Like any good cyberpunk story, it poses tough questions about our potential future and the extent to which we adapt our own bodies and minds at the cost of corporate control. Like any really good cyberpunk story, you shouldn’t expect to get all the answers.
God of War is a technical achievement and a damn good game. It occasionally prioritizes visual flare and storytelling over compelling gameplay, but that just means it’s a different type of game from its predecessors. Whether it’s better or worse will depend on what you’re after. I enjoyed the story, the writing, and the characters. While I was disappointed with the combat at times, it still had incredible moments that made me feel like an actual god of war for the first time since this series began.
There's a big difference between being inspired by something and flat out copying it. Curse of the Moon copies Dracula's Curse and does a good job of it. So much so, that if you're a fan of Dracula's Curse, you might not even need to play Curse of the Moon. Compare that to Shovel Knight, which combined the best parts of series like Mega Man, Mario, and Ducktails, to be an excellent game in its own right which I recommend to everyone. Personally, I prefer the Shovel Knight approach to retro-inspired games, although Curse of the Moon is a great way to revisit a classic without requiring so much skill and patience to see it through to completion.
Yoku’s Island Express is a beautiful combination of pinball and metroidvania. It doesn’t require you to be particularly skilled at either and lacks the challenge often associated with both of those genres. However, I thoroughly enjoyed bouncing Yoku and his dungball around Mokumana Island and the collectibles are rewarding enough to have me working towards 100% completion.
Hitman 2 is my favorite $60 title of 2018. I had an absolutely fantastic time and will certainly dip back in every time there’s a new elusive target available. If you haven’t already played Hitman then I highly encourage you to pick up the two-game package because the two combined are easily worth five stars.
Captain Spirit ends on a rather obvious cliffhanger, however there’s more than enough here to have me eagerly anticipating Life is Strange 2. I’m convinced the death of Chris’ mom isn’t quite as clear-cut as it first appears and I’m looking forward to helping Chris uncover the truth. It’s always tricky to score a free game, but I enjoyed the 90 minutes I spent with Captain Spirit and recommend you give it a go.