Betrayer knows exactly what it’s doing. Adventurers are weak amidst a cast of angered ghosts and mysterious events. Penetrating sounds keep tensions high. Isolation is strengthened by frustrating, esoteric design.
At just a day’s worth of entertainment, SteamWorld Dig feels light. Yet, that time will be spent in glee, as its spaced out gameplay elements drive the action down into the digging depths, searching and uncovering more and more, to play in more varied ways.
Aside from issues, both big and small, in many of its designs, FIFA 14 does make up a lot by providing expertly produced gameplay in a range of content.
As an archival effort, Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is, indeed, a joyous effort. In fact, it's arguable that this is the best that Atari has put out in recent years. The historical timeline alone is a pristine and impressive feature, as only developer Digital Eclipse can make it. And while the game selection has plenty of pitfalls, pun intended, there is enough to go around, both for classics as well as rare items.
Don’t play Far Cry 3 expecting a great story or a traditional shooter experience. This game is meant to be seen as an enthralling adventure amongst the trees and jungles of some tropical paradise, waiting for one brave hero to save it from its woes.
Way of the Samurai 4 certainly is a unique take on the open world mechanism of ultimate freedom. There’s a lot to see and a lot to experience, but in a small yet versatile package that contains tons of little things.
Short but oh so sweet, Shelter 2 is an experience that is meant to be felt more than it is an endurance test. It has some technical kinks and could be a bit deeper, but the tradeoff in emotional value is more than satisfactory; it’s downright beautiful and not just visually.
With less spectacular combat or dryer dialogue, this squishy shooter wouldn’t have been the glorious escape it is now, lasting a dozen hours or more. Knock on wood. Wood is also a penis reference.
Bayonetta 3 is a story of love, years in the making. Both good and bad, this project has gotten stuck in time. That time dilation might be annoying for some clunky design choices, but it might also be the last time you'll be able to play something like this; and that in a package that has never been wrapped up any better. Maybe Bayonetta 3 is also a redemption story.
There are some troubles in Deadcore. They aren’t many and there are tons of breathtaking parts in this captivating puzzle platform game, but they do prevent it from reaching the heights it would otherwise so deserve.
While Hello Kitty and Friends Happiness Parade might not be expansive and, at times, a little tricky, its most impressive quality is that it radiates fun, like a Hello Kitty game should. This rhythm game is downright jubilant, even in its limited scope, which will make it easily playable and entraining for an extended audience. Particularly as its music is the driving force, the game has a simple, entrancing quality that can forgive a lot of its milder, frustrating parts.
Routine or not, Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop is a delight to go to and make a few dishes, opening up the appetite. The game may even serve the most adventurous among us to go forth and make some elaborate treats for themselves.
With its foul intentions clear, Dark Souls 2 is a behemoth either way. It’s the best worst game ever created. Designed to be flawed, unforgivable beyond redemption and yet it’s robust enough to withstand any criticism.
Baja: Edge of Control HD is one of a kind in the racing world, using momentum and control as its main focus. Events are a relentless fight from start to finish and that certainly keeps the driving title refreshing through its tons of tracks.
Rainbow Moon keeps it classic and in doing so, it will undoubtedly scare away a lot of people that can’t invest in such an elaborate effort for such known tropes.
Those that are blessed with the right means won’t need to fear any interjection. Those can enjoy this one-of-a-kind simulation thoroughly, but that’s not a privilege everyone shares. It is, still, the cutest, faulty little story about making a house a home.
As a story adventure, Murdered: Soul Suspect delivers the most through acting and visual context, rather than a series of clever mechanism tidbits. It does, however, seems like the game ran out of production time and missed some iterations to bulk up on content.
Blades of Time certainly is an innovating title, but marred in its own design flaws. There’s no one way about this title. Some players will love it for what it does, because it certainly tries really hard to be one of the most singular and versatile action titles in years.
In true Ubisoft fashion, Tom Clancy's The Division 2 has all the pleasing elements for an endless adventure, but it’s far from cashing in on it at launch. Maybe after reworking a ton of inexplicable design choices, it will get there in a year or so.
Vector Thrust has a good view on what the arcade flight simulator genre is, even if it’s just pretty much Ace Combat in another package. The game’s strong core, however, does surround itself with multiple obstacles that make its smooth gameplay tougher to swallow.