Ultimate Tekken Bowl comes to Tekken 7 with a suite of new costumes that do not work inside of Ultimate Tekken Bowl. This transparent dissonance ironically harmonizes with Tekken 7's initial release. In the absence of content—Tekken Bowl, while dependable, has hardly changed in seventeen years—just stuff the box with costumes and get it out the door. Whether it's part of Tekken 7's $25 season pass or a standalone $14 product, Ultimate Tekken Bowl feels cheap and empty.
Sega Genesis Classics delivers modern convenience options and passable emulation across its fifty-three titles. No Genesis collection can be definitive without support from third-parties, but "new" additions like Gunstar Heroes and Alien Soldier help curtain the perpetual void in Sega's compilations. At $30, Sega Genesis Classics is an easy and accessible way to appreciate a selection of the Genesis' best work.
Nidhogg 2 is the madhouse on top of Nidhogg's foundation. Formidable swords and a low-fi aesthetic are swapped for a gleeful array of sharp objects and a ridiculous style that embraces the 90's grossest toys. Nidhogg's singular focus isn't lost or diluted, it's amplified with a jubilant response to skill and spontaneity.
Sine Mora's doctrine of sincerity, authority, and respect aligns neatly with shoot 'em up's interest in unconscious obliteration and strategic composure. EX brings welcomed extensions to Sine Mora, but a clean transfer to modern hardware is a prudent enough motive to justify a re-release. The oldest genre in gaming always has something new to learn.
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles has an earnest heart and an anxious mind. Brilliant landscapes and gorgeous vistas create a waking daydream while economic riddles and perfunctory direction recall the drag of reality. Yonder's strides, despite an admirable form, don't seem to take it anywhere.
An abandoned space station, impetuous corporate interests, a curious A.I. — Tacoma's facade floats between charming futurism and abrasive, old-fashioned avarice. This may seem like inhospitable space to explore the depths of benevolence, but the power of identity and humanity are alive and well supported inside of Tacoma's twirling science fiction architecture.
Superhot VR is a license to perform inside of a bullet ballet without any of the implicit horror of gun violence. Its hook—time only moves when you do—makes room for strategy and action in equal measure, and its stationary operation neatly accommodates and conceals the limitations of virtual reality. All that's left is to imagine is the caliber of Superhot VR's performance outside of Sony's finicky hardware.
Mind Control Delete reforms Superhot's signature slow motion power fantasy into the shape of a procedurally generated roguelike. It retains the shiny spartan aesthetic, the bellicose narrative, and the most satisfying first-person shooter gimmick of the last decade, but the twists and tweaks behind its operation don't alter its basic complexion. Superhot felt euphoric when it was new. Mind Control Delete can only reheat that sensation of extravagance.
An exemplary roguelike incentives and broadens its intrinsic repetition. An ideal narrative adventure paces its characters and their conflicts across a finite timeline. Hades is a vantage point engineered to view a singular setting of both perspectives. Whichever side you ultimately settle on, Hades is a capable ascent from the dregs of genre stagnation.
Astral Chain is the latest and most accomplished model of PlatinumGames' ability to combine stylish action with player agency and accessibility. Exhausted storytelling and haphazard platforming also continue to underline their limitations. If Nier: Automata sought balance between power and ambience, Astral Chain finds power in power. It's a pure, grandiose spectacle.
The Zodiac Age eases Final Fantasy XII's progressive engine into a modern chassis. Some of Final Fantasy XII's problems were addressed some never will be, and that's OK. It's a one-of-a-kind model with tasteful upgrades and efficient tuning, and it leaves little doubt that The Zodiac Age is the best Final Fantasy XII has ever performed.
Pyre understands the primal thrill behind executing a dangerous slam dunk and the dueling probabilities of luck and dexterity necessary to make it happen. With Pyre, Supergiant Games' passion for systems-driven trials of skill and fondness for vibrant, wistful fantasy converge in the Mutant League NBA Jam daydream role-playing game I never knew I always wanted.
Perception's attractive thesis—a blind woman should be capable of investigating the menacing house from her nightmares—creates space for an original protagonist inside of an extraordinary circumstance. A premise isn't a promise, however, as Perception quickly abandons novelty in favor of rote objectives, aimless antagonism, and a narrative set adrift in a sea of platitudes.
Tekken 7 is institutional progress and austere form cloaked in spectacle and absent of risk. Its periphery can't keep pace with 2017 and its core feels like it's running the same race Tekken already won almost a decade ago. This doesn't stop Tekken 7 from being the best 3D fighter on current platforms, but it's easy to stand atop a podium unchallenged by legitimate competitors.
Polybius' tempestuous pace and kaleidoscopic assault indulge its urban legend while its principled operation betrays its sinister infamy. It's a spiraling supersonic tunnel shooter that only seems like it's bulldozing cognitive ability, and parsing its putative chaos tips its scale from pandemonium to precision. By allowing fury to give way to Zen, Polybius lives up to its legend.
Skyrim VR leverages reputation and novelty against repetition and cynicism. Retrofitting a six-year-old game inside of imperfect hardware would be imprudent if it weren't one of the most expansive, popular, and beloved products in its medium. Skyrim VR happens to fit this extremely unique set of qualifications.
Mr. Shifty begins in the same place it ends; by punching a man through a window. Defenestration is appealing, especially when it's preceded by short form teleportation, but the first instance is more gratifying than the last. Mr. Shifty deals in scale, quantity, and strategy in the wrong order, assuring its sharp edge dulls after an auspicious opening.
Persona 5 will be beautiful forever. Meticulous thought and consideration has been applied to Shin Megami Tensei's durable model of dungeon crawling and Persona's paragon of social simulation, creating a brilliant pulse visible through (almost) every aspect of its performance. Keeping this pace across a formidable length is Persona 5's most impressive trick, ensuring it will steal your heart without wasting your time.
Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight is an emphatic return to beloved characters and themes from Persona 5. While its energy is relentless and its rhythm mechanics are capable, it's hard to deny Dancing in Starlight is a product picked, borrowed, and assembled from existing Persona games. It's a performance that moves but a show that doesn't go anywhere.
Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth is a profuse amalgamation of Persona's psychology and Etrian Odyssey's methodology. Just like—maybe a little too like—Shadow of the Labyrinth, it covers a lot ground without exploring a new direction. Emblematic of its eight-year-old hardware, New Cinema Labyrinth is battle-tested, secure, and incapable of surprise.