Right now not every map is accessible, as the plan is to have several content drops throughout the holiday season until it's feature complete. While that's not ideal, especially since you're forced into buying Infinite Warfare on top, there's still more than enough here to keep you busy until that time comes. A lot of love and care went into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, and I hope other developers (including some of Activision's own studios, I'm looking at you Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Prototype) take note.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare does just enough to stay above the curve and somewhat make up for the appropriately soulless Ghosts. The zombies team did an incredible job with Spaceland, and the multiplayer still ticks all of the right boxes with an ample locomotion system that has since been surpassed by Titanfall. But if you were expecting anything totally new, including the non-inventive space campaign, look elsewhere. Or, look directly to the inside of your slipcase and enter the code for Modern Warfare Remastered.
If you didn't dig it way back when, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Special Edition won't do much to change your mind. It's still impressively open, but once you actually reach your objective marker, it morphs into a shallow experience with shaky writing. Mod support will naturally help grease the wheels a bit, but make sure you stick to Xbox One if you're going the console route and stay on the beaten side path.
Hitman has been an uneven project (Marrakesh and Colorado were a cut below), but even at its worst it's still an above average stealth romp. It's been a long and laborious seven and a half month process with several delays to boot, but it's all here now, and worth picking up. Not to mention, Square Enix has done a noble job of actually updating the thing beyond DLC, fixing up several large glitches that plagued the first few episodes.
If BlazBlue: Central Fiction is the end (and I don't think it will be), it's a fitting one. It packs in pretty much everything past games have offered, and then brings in several great new characters and one of the biggest stories in fighting game history.
But the narrative picks up the slack, and despite a slow start, it builds into a nice crescendo and naturally, a cliffhanger. Batman: A Telltale Games Series: New World Order keeps up the status quo, with slightly enhanced screentime for Bats. That's not a bad thing though, so if you've been enjoying yourself so far or fancy yourself a Batman person, three out of five good episodes so far is a safe bet.
King's Quest: The Good Knight is a satisfying narrative conclusion to Graham's saga and is a unique approach to storytelling that we don't see often. It's not a return to the first chapter's exploratory focus, which many of you have been pining for since last July, but if you enjoy the narrative stylings of the previous two tales, you'll be sure to crack a smile (or shed a tear) in turn.
I didn't see myself playing through (and enjoying) Battlefield 1's campaign even just weeks prior to this assessment, but here we are. It somehow manages to be a good amalgam of the staple formula DICE has relied on for years, with a bit of anime (flashes of Metal Gear Solid V and flowing shonen capes) sprinkled in for good measure. I'm really not looking forward to spending $50 on the DLC to get more maps, but for now, I'll be coasting along in Operations for the next few months.
Even with a few uninspired stages, Skylanders Imaginators manages to nail the childlike whimsy of the beat-'em-up genre so many of us grew up with. It's still a blast with friends, and even more-so now that you can share your creations and tweak them together. The series has shown signs of slowing down in recent years here and there, but it's not done yet.
You don't really need Ashes of Ariandel unless you've squeezed every ounce out of Dark Souls III already or thrive on PVP. I think the concept of splitting up their resources took away from the sum of both parts, but there's still plenty of challenges and surprises to warrant another bloody good time. Or a future Game of the Year version bookended romp.
Although it's easy to fault Flight for having so little to do, I actually admire that Ubisoft had a little restraint here. It could have easily made this a shameless plodding tie-in to its next open-world project, and have the player fly from watchtower to watchtower, picking up tons of powerups and collectibles along the way. Instead it kept things simple, and has a nice little proof of concept that is past the "tech demo" stage.
VR needs more than Damaged Core. It's a good thing to add on top of the pile for people who are already fully invested, but as what essentially amounts to a novelty XBLA game, the asking price is a tad high.
If you're thinking about picking up DoDonPachi Resurrection, you're staring down the barrel of one of the best shoot-'em-ups of our time. Don't hesitate, just grab this one first, then get Mushihimesama, followed by Deathsmiles.
I was completely taken aback by how well RIGS comes together. Although it has some issues to work out with future patches (mostly related to a content drought), as a symbol for the tech it's one of the best virtual reality joints out there, and not just for the PlayStation VR. Hell, it might be the most justified virtual reality game I've ever played.
Here They Lie is a successful use of the PlayStation VR, but outside of the novelty of transporting yourself into the veil of a unique hellish landscape created by beautifully tortured souls, the actual delivery and writing fall flat. I don't mind the heavy emphasis on morality, but there's only some exploration of basic philosophical concepts that range from mildly thought-provoking to "I bet these are Jaden Smith quotes."
I don't know how this series keeps holding on, but I'm glad it does. Initially debuting as a Sega exclusive, it jumped ship to Microsoft, and now, Sony. I don't really care who gets it next, I just want more Rez.
I got swept up in Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary Edition World Tour, and although I had initially planned on just checking out the new chapter, I ended up beating the entire game over again. There's a reason that these classic games like Shadow Warrior and Rise of the Triad still hold up, and it's mostly due to strong level design that very few developers are striving for. If you like a side of getting lost in mazes with your shooter main course, Duke is ready and waiting.
As long as that's not solely what you're looking for though, you can breathe easy knowing that Builders is more Dragon Quest than Minecraft. There's a clear campaign and a sense of progression that doesn't let up for hours on end. This is no clone.
If Harmonix Music VR sounds like your jam, it probably is. Plopping on the helmet after eating your favorite comfort food can make for a really relaxing afternoon, but the other modes aren't even worth the time of day.
If I had just seen Until Dawn: Rush of Blood sitting on a retail shelf, I would have skipped it. It sounds like a cash-in of the highest caliber, but the folks over at Supermassive managed to balance their IP and show restraint in a way that very few developers are capable of.