Spellweaver's very nature is the thing that will ultimately get in the way of people playing it because let's be honest, you either love collectible card games or you don't.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is hands down the best JRPG this year — and that’s saying a lot considering how many great ones have come out in the past twelve months.
Xenoblade Chronicles X is epic in scope. Most of the time, it's better for it; other times, it's clear that the developers didn't have a golden thread sewing together all of its various parts.
Stella Glow is a solid, old-school SRPG experience that will delight those who enjoy Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics, or any of the other turn-based strategy games of the Japanese flavor that have come along in the last few decades.
Wrestling fans have been waiting for a truly great game for their sport of choice for years, if not decades. All that waiting has mostly paid off as WWE 2K16 is a strong game that can stand well with the genre's heavy-hitters without looking too out of place. WWE 2K16 isn't without its flaws, but it's the most feature-rich wrestling game to come along in a while, with a right massive roster, a good deal of likable modes and well-fleshed out main attractions in the domains of 2K Showcase and MyCareer.
The combat and overall gameplay mechanics can prove a bit shallow at times, never offering the depth or tactical veracity of Pillars of Eternity, but as a hybrid of Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, Sword Coast Legends is a game that mostly excels in all that it tries to do. Post-release will be an interesting time, though, as the limited and sometimes restrictive options are opened up and iterated on by N-Space. Until that time comes, however, it's a good game with the capacity to be great.
This is a game that transcends its name and should be spoken of in the same breath as the genre's best. In years to come people will be comparing the new cRPGs to Hong Kong, because it's easily a benchmark for what developers in the RPG arena should be looking at when designing their games.
Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment is entirely average, which is frustrating because there are elements of greatness sprinkled throughout its somewhat mess of a product. For those who obsess over anything and everything Sword Art Online-related, there's plenty to like here.
Swords & Soldiers II has something to offer RTS veterans as well as those with zero experience with the genre. It's accessible without sacrificing depth, and varied without being needlessly intricate.
In its current state, Shadowrun Chronicles — Boston Lockdown is a perfectly adequate game. It has loads of potential, but needs more time in the oven to feel complete and worthy of your time.
Toukiden: Kiwami is a great entry in the PlayStation 4's catalog, specifically due to the lack of its genre's presence on the machine. It builds off of last year's Vita game in intelligent ways to make it the definitive Toukiden experience.
Bladestorm: Nightmare can appeal to both Warriors fans and those who don't even get into Tecmo Koei's flagship series. Its brilliance exists in those moments of storming enormous strongholds with an army of 100-strong at your back, ready to slice and dice through wave after wave of enemies.
It's a testament to sound design when the worst aspect of a video game is indeed its actual title. Even with it, though, Grey Goo is a stand-out RTS that has found an expert way of blending old with new to create something familiar but fresh.
Alphadia Genesis never strays too far off the beaten path. Keeping in mind that this is a budget eShop title, it's actually quite charming and worthy of its price tag for anyone who considers themselves a fan of old-school, 16-bit JRPGs. Play Pier Solar HD first if you're wanting to fully get that throwback feel, but once that's come and gone, Genesis fills the role quite well. Its biggest issue is how safe it plays everything, but anyone wanting a straightforward approach to the JRPG genre will leave more than likely impressed by Alphadia's endearing simplicity and nostalgic allure.
Neither great nor terrible, WWE 2K15 is truly divisive. It's a departure for the series, but this new direction should be unsurprising for anyone familiar with how 2K does sports.
Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault is a standalone title in the venerable franchise that is wholeheartedly worth exploring. It's hard to say if this is the definitive version of COH2, but it's the most polished and full-featured.
Sportsball is a local multiplayer-only title, and should be purchased with that firmly in mind. For those with three other friends around looking for something to tide them over until Smash Bros.
Pier Solar HD is a testament to sound game design. Moreover, it's a delightful throwback title that manages to integrate new-age conventions with those that defined a bygone era of gaming so close to many folks' hearts.
Natural Doctrine is an exhausting game. It's punishing, unfair at times and hell-bent on funneling players through a narrow corridor that leaves little-to-no room for tactical experimentation. That being said, it has its moments.
Company of Heroes 2: The Western Front Armies is a balanced multiplayer-exclusive outing based off an already excellent RTS game. The core gameplay remains as tight as ever, giving rise to a DLC that is worth its weight in salt.