LittleBigPlanet 3 is a well-intentioned pastiche of different activities that is simultaneously too restrictive and too open-ended to achieve greatness.
Persona Q is rich with characters and tactical pursuits, familiar but slightly tweaked to make for something new.
Yaiba succeeds admirably because it does what so few intentionally "so bad it's good" games do: It makes everything work.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a solid, if occasionally frustrating platformer.
Akiba's Trip can easily be mistaken for what it's satirizing, but beneath that façade is an intelligent game with a surprisingly noble purpose.
In emphasizing level progression, skill growth, and unlockable characters, Turtle Rock smothers Evolve's premise.
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes doesn’t invite you in. If you’re unfamiliar with the huge swatch of game history, Grasshopper’s catalog, or even games industry business gossip, this will come off as a less entertaining surrealist action game overshadowed by Suda51’s old work like Killer7 or even No More Heroes.
Darksiders III is as silly and awesome as classic heavy metal.
At no point in Vampyr did I have fun following trails of blood, mixing antiquated remedies out of opium, or bludgeoning some Crucifix wielding goon in a mask for the 50th time. But I was constantly compelled forward to find out what next grim choice it would give me, anxious to spend yet another night in one of its safehouses to see if my efforts to keep London's souls alive another day had worked.
Dynasty Warriors is still gracing consoles with enormous, repetitive, glorious video game brawls.
Yoshi's New Island isn't the creative masterclass in platforming the original was, but it is the best platformer Nintendo's released for the Nintendo 3DS to date.
Curtain Call is a rhythm game filled with artful nostalgia, but elements like the Quests elevate it beyond enjoyable pandering.
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate's accessibility and rapid early progression make it a deeply appealing Nintendo 3DS experience.
Mario Kart 8 is a sterling example of Nintendo at their best as craftsmen, a game whose attention to detail and joy is mostly unsullied by some unfortunate misunderstandings about how people communicate online.
Hyrule Warriors is a well-made, sometimes simultaneously dumb and brilliant good time.
After 30 years, Toad has a game that reflects him perfectly: just the right season and proudly of a different time.
Double Helix turns in the best playing Strider ever made, but its game lacks the vital visual panache of its predecessors.
Trials Fusion gracefully sidesteps the same-old treatment with new flavors and added complexity that build on RedLynx's well-established foundation.
Rogue Legacy hooks you immediately with speedy action, and keeps you hooked with deep character building and exploration.
Ultimate Evil Edition is an admirably cultivated realization of Diablo III's hidden ecosystem of rules, action, and randomly generated loots.