Despite a few flaws in the storytelling and the combat system—although both move at a favorably brisk pace—Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth is still handedly the game that Digimon fans have been waiting for. Its faithful translation of an extraordinary roster of Digimon into fully-realized models lays the groundwork for future Digimon titles in this console generation. With more refinement in character interaction and less of a need to roam around in search of story triggers, this Digimon series could re-establish itself as a premiere RPG. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth is the shot that Digimon video games have long deserved.
Although Blade & Soul is rough around the corners with its outdated quests and PvE envrionment, its strength in action-based combat and PvP shines through. Nailing a 20-hit combo on a poor fool has rarely been this satisfying outside of the fighting genre. The in-game store for microtransactions is mainly for cosmetic items and premium membership which keeps this free-to-play title away from the pay-to-win model, with Daily Dash prizes as bonuses for daily logins. While gold spammers had taken over the global chat, the new block spammer button has neutralized the situation. With NCSoft's attentive support of the title as the US release continues to catch up with the Asian release, the remaining story acts, classes, and dungeons will hopefully fill in the gaps by way of the developer's aggressive post-launch schedule. For now, Blade & Soul has a swift but cautious kick of a recommendation.
XCOM 2 more or less maintains the XCOM series as one of the best strategy titles today. The very nature of concealment and fast-and-loose guerrilla tactics lends itself to an almost obsessive amount of trial and error, but that doesn't mean you won't want to try over and over again until you pass unscathed. I've sunk hours into XCOM 2, and there's no doubt that you will too. With an unnerving sense of persistent tension and procedurally-generated maps that extend the value of every map, XCOM 2 survives the hype train with just a graze.
Amplitude is a solid remix of the original that should win over longtime fans as well as new players who want to explore a fresh version of a game that brought Harmonix into prominence. The track list could have been fuller in terms of quantity and genre variety, but the gameplay remains challenging, crisp, and energetic. Put on a pair of quality headphones, and Amplitude is worth every note.
For better and worse, Get Together revolves almost entirely on its group feature, a function that will ultimately make you wonder how you ever lived without it. It allows you to do far, far more with what The Sims 4 already has. That said, the expansion doesn't have much supporting content in terms of useful skills or additional professions; in fact, bringing in the dancer and DJ as professions would have boosted the value of the expansion without being outside of the box. Still, Get Together is an expansion worth tagging along.
Fallout 4 is a roaring response to criticism that the series has ignored its qualities as a shooter in favor of its deeper and stronger RPG roots. Nearly every design change in Fallout 4 poises the game as a more streamlined modern shooter with high production value across the truly open-world Commonwealth wasteland. The introduction of settlements, newly designed power armor, and deeper crafting evolve the Fallout franchise for the better. This occasionally comes at the cost of storytelling, however, with a plot based on stringently polarizing factions as well as diminished interaction with characters in general. But despite these missteps, Fallout 4 will only improve with time, assuredly with the assistance of the community and user-created mods, and soundly reclaims the franchise as a forward-thinking series in the industry today.
With the new limited reversal system and a much higher overall production value, WWE 2K16 is the competent fighter we always knew it could be. The fuller roster and a wealth of creation modes mark this year's installment as a notable comeback for the series. Only the submission system, the occasional glitch, and the some issues with the UI for creation modes hold WWE 2K16 back. Otherwise, WWE 2K16 crushes its predecessor with the impact of a Stone Cold Stunner.
That said, Sword Coast Legends works best as a co-operative multiplayer experience with a knowledgeable and patient dungeon master either in dungeon crawls, user-created modules, or the story campaign. Its overall graphics and presentation are rough around the corners, but it's an enjoyable experience if you can convince friends to join your party. But if you're a lifelong Dungeons & Dragons fan and expect Sword Coast Legends to be the classical D&D experience it claims to be, you'll need to look elsewhere. This is one skill check it does not pass.
Though Guitar Hero Live is rough around the corners and may not convince casual Guitar Hero players to return to their guitar-shredding ways, it sets a new standard in technology for peripherals, presentation, and online connectivity.
If you're looking for a classic Dragon Quest game with a twist, then this more than fits the bill, so long as you don't mind playing alone the whole through way through. As unexpected as it might be, Omega Force has proven that it can adapt popular franchises with surprising consistency.
Nearly every complaint with the base game has been handled with attention, though the new diplomacy overhaul comes with its own unfortunate issues. But that aside, Rising Tide is an essential purchase for Civilization fans who want to give Beyond Earth a well-earned second chance.
While the lack of online multiplayer and Practice Mode is disappointing given Rock Band 3's suite of features, reliving the experience of having friends playing alongside you (perhaps at a party you've arranged, ahem) in local co-operative play more than makes up for the difference. It may have five years since the last Rock Band, but the feeling is utterly nostalgic.
Cities: Skylines may have been a dark horse at first, but with After Dark it's now a formidable thoroughbred.
The happiness of Happy Home Designer is a sheen. Poke at the surface and the clients are all too delighted about whatever you design, wherever it's located, however you fill it, and no matter the effort you put into it. If you're content with looking at the game as a tool purely for self-expression or as way to reunite with Animal Crossing friends both new and old, then Happy Home Designer passes adequately. But if you're looking for any kind of challenge or doing anything other than designing spaces for everyone but yourself, you're better off popping in New Leaf instead, especially since both titles have the same asking price of $39.99. Ultimately, what's exciting about Happy Home Designer is waiting for the enhanced touch controls, yard building, and item catalog to be included in the next main entry of Animal Crossing. Otherwise, Happy Home Designer feels like a standalone expansion that's inexplicably missing the solid foundation that New Leaf should have provided.
Trespasser is one of the best DLCs in recent memory.
Though The Descent has the foundation of a strong side campaign, the characters aren't memorable enough and the story finishes too loosely to leave a lasting impression.
[A]s much as Night Golf and reduced loading times are fantastic additions to the standard PGA Tour offering, I would rather have more courses, golfers, and character customization with clean next-gen graphics. Content and execution outweigh novelty modes and convenience.
Magic Duels: Online reforms the Duels of the Planewalker series with an approachable, free-to-play edition that serves as a fertile platform for all future MTG games. It has issues with an awkward difficulty curve, a Deck Wizard that can't be fully edited, and a limited number of cards, but the freemium microtransaction model is non-intrusive and, with effort, you can collect all of the cards without paying a dime. The bitter aftertaste of Magic 2015 has been safely washed away.
There's usually one episode in a Game of Thrones season where the numerous setups that the earlier episodes have built finally culminate into a payoff. For Telltale's adaptation, this is that episode.
Crypt of the Necrodancer joins Hand of Fate as one of the best indie titles this year whose innovation speaks load and clear, giving credence to the better side of Steam Early Access and to well-tuned, well-crafted design.