After the huge letdown that was Absolution, iO Interactive have emphatically delivered by returning to their most successful formula – giving players the choice to kill however they want to. Cinematic gameplay and complex plots work well for some games, but Hitman certainly didn’t need it and the overall experience was diluted by it. The Complete First Season of Hitman successfully reboots the series by going back to its roots, but also by making it at once both more accessible than ever to newcomers and also a deeper and more challenging experience for seasoned fans – a thoroughly difficult balance to strike. The fact that the missions are constantly evolving and growing with added content and variations only expands its appeal further and provides hour upon hour of murderous play. This silent assassin has returned with a bang.
Yakuza 0 still won’t be to the taste of everyone, what with its pretty misogynistic view of life and very Japanese sensibilities. It doesn’t provide the perfect fighting experience, the best open world adventuring or the strongest writing we’ve ever seen in video games, but it does a great job of combining all of these elements in a really fun and entertaining way. Although the main story is very po-faced and violent, the side quests and diversions keep the atmosphere from getting too heavy. You always have a different choice as to what you turn to next, depending on your current mood, and the options don’t often disappoint. Yakuza 0 should be the game that finally allows the series to breakout with Western gamers, but I sadly won’t be holding my breath.
Subject 13 is certainly not a highly-polished release and its lack of length and abrupt end gives the impression that either this was at one time intended to be a longer experience, or it feels like the first episode of a series. A point and click game certainly doesn’t need to break new ground or be visually stunning, but Subject 13 is disappointing in most respects – even the most basic puzzling mechanics. Kickstarter has brought us some fascinating re-imaginings of classic genre titles, or new, original graphic adventures to play, but Paul Cuisset has regrettably failed to deliver a new classic to add to his resume.
As an open world sandpit to explore and sink your time into, Watch Dogs 2 provides a lot of content and opportunities to have fun. How much fun you can have depends on your capacity for exploration. Things start to fall apart once you are forced to take part in the very structured main missions and the glaring mechanical issues come to the fore. A refurbishment and a lick of paint can work wonders – but if the foundations aren’t solid, then the results won’t be fantastic. Watch Dogs 2 is a massive improvement over its predecessor, but if a stealth game isn’t fun to play in a stealthy way, then you know something isn’t quite right.
Mirror's Edge Catalyst still feels like a lot of fun to play through, as the parkour system remains a really successful mechanic for navigating the game world. Dice have made a lot of changes that both hurt and harm the series, but at least you couldn't say that this is a lazy re-working of an eight-year old game.
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter feels like a let-down. Crimes & Punishments was far from perfect, but it felt like clear progress – this latest effort feels like treading water at best.
Lumo takes all of your rose-tinted memories of the isometric adventure genre and manages to faithfully re-create them – whilst making the much-needed changes that make going back to those old games so painful. True, some gamers won’t appreciate the soft touch, but Noyce caters for them too if they want more of a challenge.
Lumo takes all of your rose-tinted memories of the isometric adventure genre and manages to faithfully re-create them – whilst making the much-needed changes that make going back to those old games so painful. True, some gamers won’t appreciate the soft touch, but Noyce caters for them too if they want more of a challenge.
This War of Mine is strangely compelling, pulling you back day after day despite the unrelenting misery of the situations you find yourself in. Inspired by the real events of the Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War in the nineteen-nineties, you know right off the bat that this is going to be a somewhat harrowing experience.
The gaming landscape has certainly changed since Dishonored was released in 2012, but the advent of the current generation of home consoles has done nothing to diminish its strengths. Dishonored remains an enthralling mix of first-person stealth action, supernatural special powers and a timeless painterly aesthetic. Thrust into the centre of a diabolical plot, out for revenge, Dishonored gives players the freedom to play the game their way – whether that be good or bad, lethal or non-lethal – and to see the game world shaped by your actions.
Lost Dimension certainly doesn’t make a great first impression. On the surface, the visuals aren’t up to scratch, the plot is fairly hackneyed and the turn-based RPG battles aren’t exactly revolutionary. However, there is one particularly unique gameplay mechanic that somehow manages to keep pushing you forward, eager to progress.
A wealth of content to keep you busy, but you need a good group of like-minded, hardened criminals in order to make the most of it.
The Quark combo system is a clever and intuitive gameplay mechanic, which is sadly let down by basic design issues.
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is a great entry point into a series that has now even spawned a Telltale Games episodic spin-off. The games included now look and play better than they ever have, and even a few performance do little to detract from that
Axiom Verge may not be much more than an homage to Metroid, but it's a very good homage.
Tormentum: Dark Sorrow is thoroughly successful in its attempts to build a disconcerting world to play through. Its tendency towards being somewhat on the easy side doesn't detract from the experience – by having puzzles that can be figured out through logic or trial and error, OhNoo allow even the most unskilled point and click players to progress through their twisted tale.
You won't play anything quite like Republique anytime soon, and its deep storyline is worth taking the time to dig into.
A sequel that definitely builds upon the promise shown in its predecessor. A great combination of fantasy adventure and comedy.
Although perhaps more could have been done, Double Fine have implemented a set of changes that make a truly classic title more palatable to the modern gamer.
The best version yet of an all-time classic. It's just a shame that more new content could not have been included.