With every release, the same issues that Ubisoft has been rolling over year over year seem to have compounded themselves to a point where the entire package winds up suffering. Sure, this isn't the broken mess that Assassin's Creed Unity was, but in some ways it's more of a blemish than its predecessor. After all, this is a functional game that simply isn't all that fun to play, which is far more damning than any technical glitch could ever be.
When you take it for what it is, Stories: The Path of Destinies is a cute, charming isometric action-RPG with a central idea that feels fresh and unique.
Despite its problems, it's not hard to envision a world in which a few changes along the way could have turned ReCore into a cult hit.
While Mad Max avoids being the disaster that the development hell storylines surrounding it suggest that it could have been, it's an absolute testament to mediocrity. Its characters and the world itself provide a great deal of intrigue, and they will keep some players interested, but there are too many flaws to consider it a solid video game.
Remaking a game that is inherently flawed has to be an incredible challenge and tinyBuild did the best it possibly could. While its physics are largely suspect, its pacing ranges from great to dreadful and its boss battles are universally poor, the new version of No Time to Explain could potentially warrant a playthrough from someone looking for something inherently stupid (with this last word being used in the most endearing way possible).
Payday 2: Crimewave Edition isn't broken to the point of being unplayable, but it has just enough issues to make it annoying. While the dynamic, exciting gameplay that Payday fans have come to expect is certainly here, this port would have wound up better with a bit more polish and testing.
Though its stealth-based sniping gameplay can provide some exciting moments, Sniper Elite III is a decidedly mixed bag. Its abysmal narrative, outdated mission design, boring protagonist and weak non-campaign modes overshadow everything that it does well.
Road Not Taken is a decidedly "okay" experience, as its strategic gameplay is fundamentally flawed from the very beginning. Matching puzzles and roguelike mechanics make for an annoying combination, as the core gameplay isn't exciting enough to bring players back for more.
What could have been the definitive entry in the Assassin's Creed series is actually the definitive example as to why releasing an unfinished product is always a bad call. Assassin's Creed Unity has all the makings of an expansive, ambitious title that fully takes advantage of current generation technology, but it's marred with countless imperfections.
The PlayStation 4 version of Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones is a great example of how not to port a game to a new system.
Valley plays host to movement mechanics that feel awesome to use and a story that eventually becomes worthwhile.
Song of the Deep could have been downright outstanding, but there’s enough flaws here to bump it back down into the realm of simply good.
Human: Fall Flat is weird and it embraces its oddity enough to make it worth a full playthrough.
While the majority of this review was spent poking holes in Automatron, there’s one thing that should be made clear: it’s a reason to dive back into Fallout 4 for a few hours.
Despite the sheer amount of complaints that you can throw at No Man’s Sky, it’s still a breathtaking experience that teases the possibilities of the medium’s future.
Though this review has thrown a great deal of criticism at Fortified, it's actually a surprisingly fun, well-polished genre mash-up that gives off a wonderful initial impression.
If you've wanted to play another Amplitude game for the past generation, then this is going to scratch your itch and then some.
Mother Russia Bleeds succeeds in being a self-aware play on the edginess in video games.
While the mechanics are not as tight as they could be, and there still is a bit of rust hanging around from Early Access, this that shows us that giving an in-development title your hard-earned cash isn't always a bad call. Perhaps with future content updates and tweaking, Free Lives can elevate Broforce from the good game it is to the great game it can be.
It's great to see developers take criticism to heart and use those lessons to create a better experience the second time around.