Equal parts teen slasher, action adventure, and psychological horror, Until Dawn throws a lot at the board and nails only some of it. But its biggest win is choice--permanent, unpredictable, and meaningful.
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture spins a good yarn, but it does nearly all the spinning, leaving little for the player. Its impact falls flat after trudging slowly across a world with little of substance for players to find, explore, or interpret.
Caught somewhere between a reverence for its forebears and an unwillingness to forgo MMO traditions, The Elder Scrolls Online is a hybrid game that's exciting and off-putting in equal measure.
A masterclass in open-world game design, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt packs every pixel of its gorgeous world with compelling fiction and believable, satisfying role-playing.
Like Resistance: Fall of Man, The Order: 1886 comes early in a console lifecycle to set new visual benchmarks and give us creative, compelling fiction. As a game, it's significantly less ambitious.
The first-person camera mode does more than change the flow and feeling of play. In Grand Theft Auto V on PS4, every movement and action carries more excitement and meaning. Alongside visual upgrades and content additions, this version of Rockstar's masterpiece is can't-miss gaming.
LittleBigPlanet 3 boasts more creative capabilities than its predecessors and tutorial levels for teaching the basics to patient newcomers. Adventure mode fails to innovate in the same way, relegating the most interesting additions--playable heroes OddSock, Toggle, and Swoop--to a small handful of levels.
DRIVECLUB blends the complexity of realistic simulation with inviting mechanics and gives just enough leeway to evoke heart-pumping power and intensity in every kind of racing fan. A graphical darling with fresh multiplayer ideas to match, DRIVECLUB is irresistible and pushes the genre forward.
The Golf Club nails its simulation of the greatest game with an emphasis on shot variability that defies precise, predictable results. But just about everything else leaves much to be desired.
Hohokum's worth greatly depends on one's ability to revel in simple, charming discoveries. There's no lasting impact, meaningful message, or even resolution to its shallow core mechanics, but a playful aesthetic and relaxing music make being in its spaces enjoyable for a time.
Whether you want more of Resogun's arcade satisfaction or something experimental, Heroes has it. But if you're not excited for both, the DLC is a harder sell.
Killzone Shadow Fall's Intercept expansion uses fresh ideas to raise the dramatic intensity on both ends of the win-lose spectrum, but the novelty wears thin, leaving predictable co-op fun that struggles to make a lasting impression.
Watch Dogs on PS4 executes fresh gameplay ideas with aplomb, marking one of the first games of this new generation of consoles to innovate within its genre. It's a slower, smarter sandbox shooter with an astounding degree of content, but despite resonant themes of technological overbearance, its poorly handled story likely won't grip you.
There's tense, creative stealth action to be had in Thief's fun-but-flawed triumph over technical flubs, wasted narrative potential, and cringeworthy dialogue.
Engaging cooperative puzzles and local co-op are reasons to consider an otherwise indistinct game that's over way too quickly.
Knack desperately wants to be the 3D platformers of old, but dull combat and a half-hearted story leave it difficult to recommend.
In its attempt to iterate on Killzone trademarks, Shadow Fall comes up short of greatness, but has enough tight action and expanded lore to please series enthusiasts.