Trials of the Blood Dragon is the equivalent of slathering a bicycle and an action figure in neon paint and then violently bashing them together until they resemble a singular, weaponized creature. Like a bike without brakes or a toy with too many moving parts, Trials of the Blood Dragon is prone to self-destruction, but its cocksure embrace of 80's action cinema and good-enough mechanics don't quite violate its contract.
When allowed composure, Mirror's Edge Catalyst becomes the colossal free running daydream that never seemed tenable. When pushed into conflict, either with its own systems or the demand of "content" in 2016, Mirror's Edge feels anxious and frenzied. Separating wondrous substance from obliged distractions isn't a distinction the game is capable of making, leaving gratification to the will of the player.
Dead Island Definitive Collection is a case of projection clashing against reality, almost a meta-level statement on Dead Island's inability to step up and perform on key. Unfortunately the only rendition that sticks is one of deteriorating enthusiasm. 2011 was charitable to Dead Island. 2016 almost holds it in contempt.
Distorted textures and hulking polygons may not feel as chic or romantic as pixel art, but Back in 1995's paean to the 32-bit era extends beyond aesthetic cognizance. It's a vehicle for the sentiment and devotion of its author, and approach may be limited to a shared fondness of that time and place.
While Valkyria Chronicles always had presence of a seminal classic, its latest remaster on PlayStation 4 sets it up for a wider embrace. This is the advantage of being favorably advanced or, at least, distant from genre contemporaries; no matter when or where Valkyria Chronicles is found, it can create personal definition on its own beautiful terms.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is a performance of power. Naughty Dog realizes their profound technical ability, showcases a relationship between gorgeous locales and engaging level design, and executes a progressive yet agile and animated narrative. The viability of Uncharted's action—safe but nimble platforming and brisk cover-based shooting parallel to limitless coincidences and explosions—can feel out of sync with 2016, but A Thief's End is easily the best it has ever been.
Exploring the destructive psychosis of a plaintive individual is a noble, if not precarious, responsibility. The Park, however, can't decide if its manic behavior is either a means of identifying with its troubled protagonist or a symptom of its own decent into chaos.
If a colorful, morbid, corporeal, dungeon-crawling Punch-Out!! isn't sweet enough to sell Severed, consider it a vision of a world where the PlayStation Vita remained a stronghold of original and endearing creation.
Dark Souls' tenacious pursuit of gaming idealism, even at three (or five) entries deep, remains a virtuous enterprise. It's also a show that, no matter how well executed, loses potency with each consecutive performance.
Star Fox Guard's class of tower defense is an exemplary validation of its platform's unique hardware. Like Super Mario Maker and Splatoon, it proves the Wii U's gamepad isn't a superfluous novelty, but a prudent force against an entrenched position.
Slain is what happens when naiveté and enthusiasm rampage through ability and execution. Unfortunately, it's the latter pair that measure proficiency, leaving Slain so hostile, broken, and boring that it's hard to muster a sympathetic response.
Releasing five episodes over two years creates problems that are impossible to solve, and trying to work a passable narrative inside a challenging and coherent game was a task too herculean for Republique's development team. An academic interest in Republique, where you can observe a game’s promise before watching it suffocate, may merit some appreciation — but in no way does it meet its intended goals.
While Ori and the Blind Forest's style and construction were unassailable, its subscription to its declared genre was prudent if not passive. Great art shouldn't be afraid to go outside of its lines. Definitive Edition, arriving nearly a year later, expands Ori's content but delivers a parallel message.
Superhot's novel premise is an emphatic transition to its promise; playing Superhot actually feels as awesome and energizing as it looks. Plenty of shooters (and plenty of games) have played with bullet time, stopping time, or some otherworldly manipulation of time, but none have married its passage to movement quite like Superhot. It not only adopts and plays with this idea; it pushes and refines it to its logical extremes by discarding anything that might get in the way.
Street Fighter V is loaded with meaningful changes and improvements to its namesake's divine infrastructure. As a game—a full-priced package sold under the assumption of a finished product—Street Fighter V is destitute and disappointing. Its value and service will expand and evolve over time, though one has to question the wisdom and motive of releasing Street Fighter V in its present condition.
Compared to recent Far Cry games, Primal is neither a relief nor a disappointment. It's really good at being violent open-world base-conquering simulator and it has a smattering of neat toys. Far Cry Primal is another One Of Those with a few wild tangents stretching and searching for new limitations. It's a predictable, albeit competently constructed, status quo machine humming along through another entry.
Firewatch distinguishes itself through integrity of its structure and preservation of its characters. Allowing control over Henry and Delilah's perilous connection provides a sense of ownership over the narrative and creates an important bond between action and place. Other story-focused games suffer from a damaging disconnect between agency and intention, almost as if they don't trust the player to act reasonably in accountable situations. Firewatch proves this dynamic not only to be valuable, but necessary to go forward.
Oxenfree is here to tell a story, and it doesn't lose sight of what contributes to making that story feel relatable and consequential. Alex and her friends are in a time when every move is called into examination from a jury of ruthless peers. Oxenfree responds not by accepting or escaping from resolution, but accurately relating the tension of a time when every answer is on one side of zero. Whether the context is supernatural or merely personal, Oxenfree makes it feel powerful.
The Deadly Tower of Monsters is the latest in ACE Team's Ghastly Menagerie of Interactive Curiosities. Inventive ideas with perspective and the concept of ascending a lavishly decorated outdoor tower put some distance between The Deadly Tower of Monsters and genre conventions, but, really, it's not why you're here. You came for an ambitious descent into Chilean pandemonium and this game holistically satisfies that urgency.
Time will tell if God's Acre is the portion of Republique you skip over before getting to its fifth episode. Before—and, hopefully, after—Republique has done much better.