As someone who has been playing fighters for nearly three decades, I can get on board with Fighting EX Layer's lack of pageantry. What I can't accept quite as earnestly is its issue with roster playstyle diversity. The foundation is there, it just needs to be built up further.
Chasm was worth the wait regardless of its shortcomings. It's gorgeous, it sounds wondrous, and even though I'm not quite at the point where I can call it a "classic," it honors the genre. I hope the follow-up doesn't take nearly as long.
I can't stress enough how bombastically arcadey Marvel Powers United VR is. If you're looking for an epic sprawling all-star experience this isn't it, but I hope this fun brawl-focused base eventually leads to that and continues to improve over time with the promised upcoming support. This is the kind of game that needs to be tweaked and sent off to every single VR headset imaginable to grow its audience (so that you can find games in six months), but for now it lives in the Oculus ecosystem.
Keep in mind that this mode spans both compilations, so even with the several lackluster choices in the second X Collection you're still getting X Challenge. While it's clear that Capcom tried to think of every possible way to help sell the second pack when the first compilation sells itself, it's a valid addition nonetheless. Just don't get too excited for all the pageantry -- the rumored story is basically nonexistent.
Keep in mind that this mode spans both compilations, so even with the several lackluster choices in the second X Collection you're still getting X Challenge. While it's clear that Capcom tried to think of every possible way to help sell the second pack when the first compilation sells itself, it's a valid addition nonetheless. Just don't get too excited for all the pageantry -- the rumored story is basically nonexistent.
Octopath Traveler is a small triumph in that it mostly delivers on its promise to give us eight stories worth seeing through. None of them push the envelope in any way, and several drag, but that's not a huge issue when you have so many to choose from. Even if you skip one or several tales altogether you're still going to get a handful of RPG goodness.
Bomb Chicken kind of came out of nowhere, and I completely lost track of time after my first session with it. It's good clean arcade fun with a cute mascot -- a perfect fit on Switch.
For five bucks as a digital upgrade all of these Sonic Mania Plus additions are a no-brainer. Sure, encore and maybe the multiplayer updates would have been added as free DLC in some circles, but the new characters and the package as a whole props up one of the best platformers of 2017 for a more than reasonable price.
Wolfenstein II makes some acceptable compromises to run on Switch
Lumines didn't need to reinvent the wheel for its remaster as it already had its base down pat. If you already own it you likely don't need to revisit it on a modern machine as the re-release doesn't really add anything you haven't seen before, but this is a great way to discover the magic for the first time.
Season passes for Call of Duty games are unpredictable. Sometimes they'll dole out maps you can't find in any other shooter and add a nice zombie cherry on top (Treyarch is the king of that sweetness). On many other occasions they'll simple augment the existing experience, and your mileage may vary depending on how strong the core is. That's how United Front feels.
As cool as the "agent" and underground concept is, a lot of the aesthetic shift feels like a re-skin of sorts.
If you're into insane over-the-top anime storytelling, Sushi Striker is going to be right up your alley. It's up mine, but it almost works better in a straight TV show format than it does as a deep puzzler with RPG elements.
Yet, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle pretty much speaks to everyone, even if a few of its core mechanics aren't as refined as several of Arc's other works. It has a wide array of cast members from several universes, a pointed 2v2 focus, and a sufficient amount of stuff to do if you aren't the online competitive type. I sincerely hope this sets the stage for more experimental "all-star" types of fighters from Arc, as they have a seemingly limitless well of ideas to draw from.
Onrush could use some refinement when it comes to its modes but its core is strong, and the foundation is set for a great arcade racer. I'm anxious to see how it evolves and if people will really pick up on the class-based system enough to explore it past the first few weeks of launch, but for now I'm happy boosting off of a cliff and doing sweet flips on a motorcycle to earn points.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon keeps the lifeblood of the Castlevania series pumping with a condensed, and appropriately retro homage. It might not blaze the trail on anything new like a few other recent Inti Creates projects have, but it does exactly what it needs to do, and helps bolster the new legacy of Bloodstained proper before it's even out.
Detroit: Become Human, like most Quantic Dream games, is filled with muddled symbolism and a spark of hope amidst its most interesting universe yet. It doesn't have anything particular new to say, but it delivers in terms of drama, to the point where I started a second playthrough shortly after my first seven hour-ish run. It's flawed, but coherent, which is an upgrade.
Dark Souls Remastered speaks for itself just in terms of the raw mysteries it offers beyond its new coat of paint. The feeling of zoning into Firelink Shrine is just as special the 100th time as it is the first, and the open-ended nature of the world is just as fresh. Sometimes needlessly so, From Software has packed so much into Dark Souls that I'm finding new items or experimenting with strategies I've never seen before -- a testament to the longevity of this particular entry, and a more than justified remaster.
Despite creating two other Runners, Choice Provisions has shown that they're not out of ideas quite yet. Bring on Runner4.
Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition is pushing it, given that there's already been a portable "definitive" release with previous DLC and then some, but if you skipped out on the 3DS release entirely (because it ran poorly on non-"New" models) or haven't played Hyrule in any form yet, it's going to be a much more enticing prospect.