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It boggles the mind that a good Godzilla game hasn't been produced yet; it's a franchise about a giant lizard destroying things for Pete's sake. Until a studio like Platinum is given the reigns, however, perhaps it's time for the King of Monsters to hang up his size 1000 video game shoes for good.
God of War III has aged surprisingly gracefully. Although it's over five years old, somebody inexperienced with the series could easily mistake Remastered for an original PS4 game.
Coffin Dodgers is a heavily flawed game that winds up being ever-so-slightly greater than the sum of its parts.
We couldn't have asked for anything better than Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward. It comes packed with a staggering amount of content that will leave players overwhelmed in both quantity and quality. It contains a storyline that's highly entertaining and rivals most RPGs in length, three new jobs that are more than welcome additions and flying mounts that help revolutionize traversal in Eorzea.
Shantae: Risky's Revenge: Director's Cut could have used some help with its map system, but literally everything else is spot-on. Much like Shovel Knight and Mighty No.
It takes games like Her Story to allow us to step back, realize what innovation and uniqueness actually look like and actually define what special is. This isn't the type of game that will push your reflexes to the brink, but let's be fair, not every game has to do that.
Galactic Civilizations III is better than Beyond Earth (especially at release), but in this ever improving genre you have to come up with your best shot at launch and, if you want to sell DLC, build on top of that in engaging ways. This genre is one of high replayability and hundred hour games so your product has to challenge last year's fully DLCed 4x games in a substantive way to merit the kind of investment in time, intellectual energy and money that these games require.
Neon Struct isn't a perfect game, and technically its main gameplay focus of stealth is fairly simplistic. Enemies aren't that smart, darkness is overpowered and once you've learned its rhythms it's very easy to remain undiscovered, or at least not get caught if you're seen.
Batman: Arkham Knight is a dense and enthralling action-adventure game with a winding, if predictable, story that does make you feel like the Batman both inside and outside the Batmobile. There are too many Batmobile gameplay segments, however, making this predominantly similar in theme to that Batmobile-focused Batman arcade game.
Not only is Episode 3 of Tales from the Borderlands a fantastic entry into a fantastic series, but it sets the stage for a thrilling final two episodes. Everything seems to come together perfectly, from the introduction of the most endearing character to grace the Borderlands universe, even more so than the hysterical Claptrap (who is totally going to show up in some capacity, let's be real), to the fact that the storytelling sequences might just reveal something insane.
Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition is a good game wrapped in a great remastered package. Capcom could have just slapped together something with a higher resolution and called it an HD remaster like many are doing, but they elected to actually build upon their seven year old game by adding meaningful content.
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.
Kholat quite likely captures what it would be like to be lost in the snowy mountains, but games are meant to be enjoyed, not merely 'survived.' With such an interesting story and a great narrator, Kholat truly dropped the ball in what could have been a great narrative, instead delivering nonsense dialogue and an incomprehensible plot.
With tons of references and entertaining gameplay, Portal Portal is a great new table. It's a little thin on content and will require the purchase of either Zen Pinball 2 or Pinball FX2 to play it, however, so it's an investment that those coming only for the Portal aspect might need to rationalize.
Adventures of Pip is a delightful little platformer full of charm, challenge and impeccable level design. While still a little rough around the edges, its mechanics are unquestionably solid, and it's clearly been crafted with the love and talent of a team determined to realize their vision.
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.
Massive Chalice is the best turn-based strategy title of 2015 so far, and its unique simulation aspects make it especially intriguing. This isn't going to be thought of as a title that can contend with XCOM on the back of its combat alone, but managing each hero's genetic traits adds another level of depth to an already deep genre.
Splatoon is all about staying fresh, and despite its lack of content somehow manages to remain just as appealing after twenty hours as it was in its first. Its core gameplay is so unwaveringly solid that it's bound to only become better as more maps, weapons and modes are released in the months after launch, but even now Splatoon might just be Wii U's long-awaited killer app.
Telltale's Game of Thrones series, now over halfway through its first season, has been a huge disappointment so far, but it's been improving steadily, and Episode Four – Sons of Winter proves there's real potential in the concept, even if Telltale might not have been the right candidate for the job. There are the occasional flashes of brilliance here that make you wish the series as a whole could match the same level of quality, but they're appreciated anyway.
Much like its predecessor, Magicka 2 is a flawed game whose faults generally contribute to its charm. There's something wonderfully engaging about a game that knows exactly what it is, doesn't try to be anything more, and succeeds on nearly all fronts.