Tales from the Borderlands has been brilliant, easily Telltale's finest work since season one of The Walking Dead, and somewhat superior in several ways.
It takes a damn good game to stop me from pooping, and Downwell had me in its thrall as I desperately needed that crap. Desperately.
Pony Island is bloody genius.
You'll see talk online about how Superhot is "the most innovative first-person shooter I've played in years." It's a phrase people who've played the game keep using, and there's a memetic reason for that -one I won't spoil. I will, however, have to say that I'm on board with the sentiment of the phrase despite any potential ironic usage. Because it is simply true. Superhot is the most innovative shooter I've played in years.
Nevertheless, we are here simply to say what we already know – The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D is a lovely game
Hyrule Warriors Legends is every bit as good as the original, with more meat to chew through and a colorful cast of extra playable characters. While some of the original game's problems are still present, improvements made to the fluidity of battles and player freedom more than make up for it. In fact, I'd go as far as to say this is easily one of the best 3DS games ever released, at least if you have a New 3DS in your pocket.
Titanfall 2 is everything Titanfall should have been – storified, robust, and sufficiently multiplatform. The real series starts here, and I’m surprised at how nothing at all feels phoned in or tacked-on.
Horizon: Zero Dawn is just brilliant. I speak as a critic who has played more "open sandbox" games than any one human should and has grown so very weary of them. I should have gotten sick of this thing in an hour, but I've been glued to it for days and days and I don't want it to end.
Playing Yakuza 0 has been a revelation, one tinged with excitement at the prospect of what I’ve been missing and can now experience. As a first foray into Sega’s world of gangsters, BDSM, and fishing minigames, it’s been an utter joy to play.
By varying its approach and exploring new areas for the realm of interactive fiction, Giant Sparrow has crafted a game worthy of the praise so liberally lavished upon its peers.
Sonic Mania is a brilliantly staged celebration of the past that acts as a true sequel to the Genesis line of games.
Lil Gator Game is charm incarnate. Deftly, exceptionally charming. With its sincere, sweet little story and perfectly dorky humor, it provides a wonderfully enchanting adventure that kept me grinning and tittering all the way through. More importantly than anything else, Lil Gator Game made me happy. I’m damn happy this adorable goofiness exists, and while I’m sad I ran out of things to do, I’m delighted by everything I did.
Karmazoo is a wonderful cooperative puzzler that encourages wordless teamwork in a way that should lead to chaos but instead results in elegant simplicity - most of the time. With its cute sense of humor and even cuter character designs, there’s a huge amount of appeal in simply unlocking and trying new characters, of which there are many. A game about being polite to strangers is as twee as it sounds, and it’s a tweeness I’m absolutely here for.
Lone Survivor is easily among the best survival horror games that I’ve ever played, a feat that’s truly remarkable when one considers the 2D perspective and visual limitations. Demonstrating that a commitment to ambience and art direction trumps technical superiority, this guaranteed indie classic manages to provoke — and sometimes even frighten — as much as the genre’s most lauded entries. Its depressing premise, eccentric characters, and engrossing narrative bolster the solid survival gameplay to create a journey that’s sure to stick with players for a very long time.
It was something both nostalgic and fresh, instantly familiar but teeming with macabre surprises and twists, keeping veterans guessing while giving newcomers a terrific reason to dive into the Spencer Mansion for the very first time. Everything that made the original Resident Evil a success was kept in, while almost all of the dated elements were overhauled and improved. It's good enough that Capcom can actually get away with remastering it and only earn sideways glances from yours truly – and that's saying something.
Well, I already reviewed GTA V back in the day, I loved it back then, and I love it now. Its attempts at clever humor can be embarrassingly misjudged, its content is often alarming, and I think those who point out the game's problematic elements are perfectly within their right to do so, and they're very rarely wrong.
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is an accomplished update to a fantastic game, an experience as charming as it is sinister.
Just a shame they're taking so long to come out. Roll on Episode Four!
What truly sets This War of Mine apart is its dignity. It doesn't trade in its message for cheap cry-bait, and it doesn't batter you senseless with its despondency. Don't expect to be presented two dramatically contrasting, woefully transparent choices and then watch the game preen itself over how clever it's been. You'll be dropped into a blighted world and be left to figure out your own path, making fatal mistakes and incurring tragic losses before coming to the conclusion that precious few videogames have ever had the nerve to draw…
This is interactive art. This is how it's done.