Despite its flaws I can recommend Hearthstone: One Night in Karazhan, and every other solo adventure to date for that matter. Even if Blizzard hasn't innovated as much as it has in the past with Medivh and friends, it's still one of the best card games on the market, and the miniature stories that each one entails manage to simultaneously capture the spirit of Warcraft in a patented lighthearted way.
When the zombies mode returns, it'll be in Infinity Ward's capable hands with the Spaceland storyline in Infinite Warfare, and I just might get my wish. But for now, the book on Black Ops III has been closed. Although it had one bumpy DLC chapter, things are pretty encouraging overall. If you want to grab the season pass or the inevitable Game of the Year Edition, you can do it without shame.
The Final Station ends up being a linear game in the end, but this short train is worth riding at least once.
Keep in mind that even though you're not battling "one million troops" at once, Attack on Titan still sticks to tried-and-true Omega Force sensibilities. It has light RPG elements, but it's still a hack-and-slash, and those of you who aren't down with Warriors games will probably get bored after several hours.
One of the most marquee franchises in 4X history returns, with modern advancements and all 10 races from the original.
A space explorer and his alien dog wade through a mysterious planet with a dark secret.
The fact that Phantom Brave holds up over 12 years later on PC is a testament to NIS' conventions sticking and working.
King of Fighters XIV falls somewhere between XII and XIII. It's not exactly bare-bones and the roster is mighty, but the gaudy presentation and by-the-book story is distracting, and takes away a lot of the uniqueness of the series.
There really isn't a whole lot more to say about Worms W.M.D. If you've skipped over the last few Worms games but pine for the nostalgic feeling of ripping apart cute little critters across a gigantic map with precision bank shots, you'll be able to relive those memories here. Especially so if you love Armageddon, which this one is trying hard to emulate.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided doesn't succeed in making me care about the plight of humans and augs, but it still pulled me into its compelling cloak-and-dagger world where people in capes can turn invisible and shoot balls of lightning out of their arm. Oh, and your aug doctor looks just like Prince, so it's in the running for GOTY.
I was holding out hope for Metroid Prime: Federation Force, but at this point, there are so many other dungeon crawlers that are worth your time. Just like Hunters on the original DS, the main questline of Federation will probably fade out of the limelight over time and become a whisper in hardcore Metroid crowds -- though I can see Blast Ball having longer legs.
It's tough to describe how amazing Inversus feels on paper, but once you pick it up for the first time you'll understand. The economy of bullets, sneaky homegrown tactics, a slight concession for solo players, and a robust multiplayer component with an array of maps? It's a no-brainer.
If I paid money for Hitman with just two packs to go (USA and Japan), I wouldn't feel slighted even if Bangkok and Marrakesh are weaker than the others. Diced up or whole, this can of blood-soaked tomatoes serves up so many experiences that aren't offered just about anywhere else outside of the original entries.
For all my complaints, Bound is an interesting beast. The way it incorporates its animation style has been rarely, if ever done so well. It's well worth experiencing in some fashion, just maybe not at full price.
No Man's Sky isn't quite what I thought it would be. It's a fun sandbox game that's full of wonder, until it isn't. Unlike other similar titles, the magic fades over time, because 18 billion planets (sorry, 18 quintillion) don't matter if it feels like there's only truly 20 unique ones. I wouldn't recommend No Man's Sky if you don't like getting lost -- but for those of you who do, wander away.
Kill Strain has a lot of cool ideas, but many of them don't translate when mired by the sluggish pacing of each round. I think it definitely needs some further optimization, but the uneven fun factor between the Merc and Mutant camps may take longer to iron out.
Burnout meets mini golf, forcing the player to deal with all sorts of crazy destructive situations like china shops.
I don't even know if I'd necessarily recommend ABZÛ even if I did enjoy it.
Batman: A Telltale Games Series: Realm of Shadows is a nice setup. It's not as strong as some of Telltale's other work, but it manages to honor the legacy of the series and throw in a few curveballs to keep things interesting (thank God there's no Joker yet).
I'm still not particularly impressed with Covert Ops' storytelling ability, but Mission Pack 2 contains concise objectives, maintains a strong sense of pacing throughout, and sports an impressive voice cast. At this point I feel like I can recommend the bundle to those of you who powered through StarCraft II's campaign and were left wanting more.