It’s sad to say, but the story of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is dismissible, luckily in favor of the facilitating gameplay that does manage to captivate for hours on end, with less need for drab exposition to boot.
Super Kiwi 64 is cohesive, down to a tee. Every blip of this game is molded to nod towards old platforming games, visually and practically. It may be tiny, but the experience is short and sweet, rarely hitting any snag at all. Even without any previous nostalgia, this small tribute manages to showcase solid game design, for an overall enjoyable time while it lasts. Anyone with pocket change and an hour to kill should consider completing Super Kiwi 64.
GoD Factory: Wingmen is an absolute pleasure of a space shooter, in the shell of an arena game. Its easy to master controls and understandable customization designs are as complex as they are simple, all at once.
Some technical kinks aside, Lords of the Fallen is a tough RPG with quite the bite. It has limited visual potential, but it masks it well and in return, it provides a varied open world full of fiends, each requiring their own approach.
Always Sometimes Monsters is as real as it gets, which is impressive for a traditional pixel RPG presentation. Many situational scenes can both be larger than life and still reflect it perfectly, all in an overall goal that can be befuddled by personal interests or sudden needs.
It’s hard to wrap around all the elements Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag possesses. Despite a nonsensical story and flawed multiplayer, the sheer vastness of its connected content drowns out any discrepancy.
Gorgeous in presentation, precise in technical design and packed with a diverse selection in cars and tracks; Grid Autosport has it all. Its realism racing with just enough flavor in unique disciplines to let both fans and onlookers salivate.
Czech developer Amanita Design has succeeded in creating a breakthrough in point-and-click adventures; one which doesn’t look like it will be surpassed for quite some time.
With an authentically illustrated ambience of harsh winters and closely followed characters, its story seen through tough conversations becomes that much more captivating. Offering simple yet fully symbiotic combat options as an active counterpart to text, this game leaves little to be desired, except the will to survive.
Platform adventure The Last Tinker: City of Colors has a story interesting to know and even more stimulating to witness. With a rich world so crisp in detail and with charming tunes, it’s an inviting universe that has variable gameplay elements to renew this sense of wonder at every turn.
For all the hard work it puts in, Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments deserves an audience, a big one, worthy of its time. Not only is its production a true spectacle, towering over many others, but its sophisticated gameplay elements are many, varied and rewarding to boot.
It’s as if building just one tight game wasn’t enough, Slime-san goes above and beyond in its cute platform game and gives its audience a completely new world on top of that.
Unique empire choices, deep and intuitive management, tactical and effortless combat, diversifying RPG content; there is enough here to last ages and it all runs wonderfully.
Reflex gameplay, risk and reward moments, strategic choices, loot options; it may not look like the five or six colors of its universe have a lot to offer, but Heavy Bullets actually has it all.