Not all of the innovation in Steve's movelist translates to a fun time, but his uniqueness carries him far nonetheless.
Carrion nails the power fantasy of being a horror movie monster, but makes exploration a chore that pads the adventure.
There's not enough meat on Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath's bones to feel like a full expansion, but two of its three new characters are excellent and the brief campaign is fun while it lasts.
Poor RPG mechanics aside, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a great way to relive the DBZ's story, flaws and all.
Despite the shallow combat and weak story mode, there's fun to be had in My Hero One's Justice.
Attack on Titan 2 has a lot of great things going for it: Exciting aerial battles that are true to the anime and manga, several quality-of-life improvements over the original game, and both competitive and cooperative online game modes.
Under the better-than-ever graphics and great-as-ever core wrestling gameplay, WWE 2K18 is a largely disappointing iteration. It wastes too much of its ambition on the poorly written and dull MyCareer RPG mode, leaving its other promising modes to languish for another year. What few enhancements we get to the carry mechanics and eight-person matches are welcome, but not as much of a year-over-year refresh as would be needed to keep the excitement level as high as it's been in past years.
Matterfall succeeds in adapting Housemarque's trademark style of fast, action-packed, arcadey action to the 2D platformer genre, but it feels like a puzzle half solved. There's virtually no content here after you finish its exceptionally short campaign, outside of some harder difficulty modes and a global leaderboard to climb, and its level design isn't well-suited for replay value. It's a ton of fun while it lasts, but once it's over it's hard to not be left with a feeling of “Is that it?”
WWE 2K19 is a rebound in the right direction, but it is held back by many long-standing issues.
EA went back to the gym with UFC 3 to work on many of the weaknesses that had the previous two games struggling to find their footing. A fantastic new striking system and a much-improved career mode lead the charge, but UFC 3 is still hamstrung by a cumbersome ground game, weird collision issues, and the straight-up terrible Ultimate Team Mode. It's still not a knockout, but Round 3 is UFC's best yet.
It's impressive that Mortal Kombat 11 plays as well as it does on Switch, but it loses a lot when you're on the go and away from wi-fi.
Superhot is a shining example of how to build a game around a single clever game mechanic. Its story mode is short, but the unlockable Endless and Challenge modes provide plenty of worthwhile reasons to go back for more.
Quiplash XL, Fibbage 2 and Ear Wax are must haves and are worth the price of admission alone, assuming you don't have Party Pack 1 and the standalone Quiplash.
Transformers Devastation is a blast to play while it lasts, and expertly blends elements of Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising, but packages it in a way that makes it come off as completely unique.
While it is incomplete by design, with the missing content being dolled out for free over the course of the year, Street Fighter 5 is the most accessible the franchise has ever been and remains mechanically brilliant.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is a safe sequel that at times feels too familiar to its predecessor, but still provides one of the most exciting AAA adventures of 2015.
95 percent of what makes up Titan Souls is boss battles, and fortunately, that's the 95 percent of the game that Acid Nerve nails. Its story is nearly non-existent, and its on the short side, but the quality of the battles against the many Titans mostly make up for Titan Souls shortcomings.
So far, the Kameo system and smart changes to the fighting make MK1 feel fresh and exciting, the story mode is predictably great, even if Invasions seems like more of a grind than I'm willing to put myself through to unlock the best cosmetic items.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon’s stellar customization options feed into its excellent mecha combat, and the result is challenging combat puzzles that kept my attention all the way through its 15-hour campaign and beyond. It’s let down by a dull story, but lands direct hits where it counts.
Exoprimal's unique take on the hero shooter genre is a bold one – with its best modes and surprises hidden deep within its goofy sci-fi story – but a variety of fun exosuits, the simple appeal of tearing through thousands of dinos, and great multiplayer design make that grind an easy one to recommend sticking with.