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.
If all these caveats sound fine, I think you'll like Chambara. Like many focused dueling games before it, it does one thing, and it does it pretty well.
If you have time to dig into the indie fighting scene, Night In-Birth Exe:Late should suit your needs just fine.
I actually quite like the adherence to nostalgia, as Square is only giving fans with they want after years of complaints that projects like Final Fantasy XIII strayed too far. But by the same token of goodwill, it plays it a little too safe in regards to its at times predictable story, and doesn't really do anything new that moves the genre forward in any way. Still, if old school is what you want, you'll get it.
In its unrelenting toughness, Furi will really call to a specific type of gamer.
Can you play Necropolis by yourself? Only if you're really dedicated to the idea of running the same series of floors over and over with the intention of making progress. Without company, the initial dungeons begin to blend together a bit, and restarting isn't so much a pain from a pure skill-based roguelike standpoint, but a crisis of variety.
At this point, I'm starting to grow tired of the cast that's been there since World at War (I still want to see more of Goldblum and company from Black Ops III's packed-in map), but the voice actors still give it their all and sell it all these years later. Dempsey is one of Steve Blum's best bit roles to date. Still, if you aren't keen on zombies (and many of you aren't, after nearly 10 years of it), you can probably stay away from Descent.
Mystery Castle as some clever ideas and gets pretty good later on.