Despite having a lot of flaws, Far Cry 4 is a lot of fun. Ubisoft has set up a massive sandbox full of stuff to do, and though getting between things can be a bit of a hassle and not all of the activities are great, the core of the game – its gunplay – is exceptional.
Persona Q should be a hardcore Persona fan's dream game, and if you only come to the series for its character writing then it kind of is.
In its music, writing, art and acting ,Valkyria Chronicles is brimming with the emotional potency to bring a man to tears. It would make an excellent movie if that were all it had going for it, but the story is told in a way that could only work in a video game, and built on a rock-solid framework of deep and challenging tactical gameplay.
On the whole the team at Red Thread Games has done an incredible job updating The Longest Journey for the modern era. With graphical fidelity to match any AAA game and a strong aesthetic sense informing its visual direction, Dreamfall Chapters is one of the few games this year that I'd call beautiful. But underneath those modern trappings lies the same foundation of smart, profound storytelling that made the series so great in the first place. Unfortunately, this first episode ends a little prematurely, and it feels like we've yet to reach the real meat of the experience.
It must be an interesting challenge for developers of a series so focused on history to tackle questions of humanity's future. Obviously both subjects tap into many of the same sources, but where most Civilization games explore who we are, Beyond Earth systemizes who we could be.
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers is a good point and click adventure game, and its 20th Anniversary Edition is a very bad port. Technical issues abound, the high-definition graphics look far worse than their DOS forebears, and nearly every change that's been made is for the worse.
Though not the most pulse-pounding adventure on the market, A Golden Wake offers an authentic glimpse into one of the defining events of the 20th century. We see it all through the temporarily starry eyes of a man whose struggles were all too common in that time.
Styx: Master of Shadows is as pure a stealth game as they come. It forces you to be thoughtful and to observe, and rewards your patience with a satisfying tension that few games can match.
With systems layered upon systems and a strong focus on narrative, Endless Legend is a deep, compelling strategy game that feels distinct from its contemporaries. Amplitude studios are quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the 4X market.
Lethal League is built on some neat ideas, and its simple mechanics and funky aesthetics make it quite appealing and accessible, but it isn't capable of holding players' interest for long. With few characters and no modes to speak of, there's not enough here to satisfy fighting game aficionados.
Though it’s engrossing in its own right, and it provides a hearty serving of gameplay, Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney feels full of wasted potential.
As a single-player campaign for Hearthstone, Curse of Naxxramas provides quite a bit of bang for your buck. Admittedly, you have to spend a lot of buck up front – $25.
A tale full of intrigue and mystery, Cloud Chamber is built on interesting ideas in terms of both its mechanics and narrative. Due to the nature of the game, the community could fall apart once it's solved, although the chance that it might end is exciting too — it means we'll have closure on a great story, which is all too rare in MMOs.
Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is one of the finest JRPGs in the history of the genre, and that still holds true for its Steam debut. Even as it revels in nostalgia for its forebears, it forges ahead on its own path.
When it works, Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty is a beautiful, quirky, and devious puzzle platformer that deserves a spot alongside the likes of LIMBO, Another World and the original Abe's Oddysee in the gaming canon. Unfortunately, it doesn't work nearly often enough.
Unrest is a choice-driven RPG with little combat to speak of that touches on relevant social issues. It's not unlike Always Sometimes Monsters, though it ironically takes cues from western-style RPGs where that game took them from eastern ones.
Cry Wolf serves as a satisfying conclusion to The Wolf Among Us, delivering on all the promise that previous episodes held. Telltale's original characters and plot fit perfectly into Bill Willingham's brilliant world, and every Fables fan will be satisfied with this expansion of the series' lore.
Next to games like Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle, Unlimited World Red is a real disappointment.
When Blizzard announced they were making a digital CCG, we all expected it to look and sound beautiful, and there was little doubt that it would be well-balanced, but I don't think anyone anticipated this level of sophistication and subtle brilliance. Its turn-based nature and straightforward mechanics make this one of the most immediately accessible competitive games ever devised, but at the same time its depth is positively cavernous.
I don't regret playing Always Sometimes Monsters. It gave me a bit of perspective on what it's like to live without some of my privileges, and also gave me cause to think about who I am, what I value, and where my life has gone so far.