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The Coalition is clearly making substantial strides to evolve Gears into a bigger and better shooter, but the fifth installment is only half a step in the right direction.
Aside from the lackluster co-op and slow start, Astral Chain is one of those rare games where it's difficult to say anything bad about it.
Monster Hunter World is a fantastic entry into the series and stands as a pinnacle of accomplishments for Capcom. Iceborne does everything within its power to improve upon that and does it fantastically.
One could easily make the argument that Control could very well be Remedy's magnum opus.
Like Seraph before it, part of the enjoyment with Children of Morta lies not just in cleverly rampaging through wave after wave of foe, but also in the relief of surviving the ordeal through a measured balance of skill and strategy.
Blair Witch makes a valiant effort to revive the franchise, and while it won't generate the hype of the 1999 film, it's a worthwhile horror title despite some flaws discussed above.
With Catherine: Full Body, it feels like Atlus was trying to find an acceptable midpoint between remake and remaster.
Grandia HD Collection has a few issues but in spite of these is a still a worthwhile addition to any JRPG fan's collection.
MXGP 2019 is a welcome addition for fans of the franchise that can looks past the legacy issues and have an excellent feel for the games.
Despite how negative I may have seemed there, I do genuinely want The Dark Pictures Anthology to continue and succeed (the game even seems to tease the next entry in it, seemingly already in the works), as I loved Until Dawn and would love to see more similar experiences from Supermassive. But despite having the same solid mechanics as its big brother, Man of Medan starts the anthology off on a thoroughly "meh" note, thanks its unimpressive, poorly-constructed story.
Her Story is a tough act to follow, and unfortunately, Telling Lies does not hit the same emotional highs that Barlow's previous game did. Opting to use the same barebones video player both does not make sense for this storyline and introduces an annoyance that players are forced to deal with. The story is still intriguing, but not to a binge-worthy degree. Telling Lies is worth playing for Her Story fans, but can't quite hit those same high notes despite its best efforts.
Crystar pairs an original and compelling story with fairly average gameplay.
Yet despite its complicated objectives, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey challenges players to think outside the box by using contemporary, evolved knowledge to survive in a prehistoric world.
For those who are fans of this kind of colorful, semi-abstract, exaggerated style of visuals, Knights and Bikes lives up to the promise of reflecting both the silly as much the sincere side of two friends off on an adventure.
Collecting the cards from any TCG series is fantastic and rewarding, but realistically not everyone can afford to participate in such a hobby.
Life Is Strange 2 took full advantage of the conclusion for Episode 3: Wastelands with a story that fully fleshes out Sean's character and his relationship with Daniel. Just as the first three episodes showed the sacrifices that Sean made to protect his younger brother, Dontnod pulled no punches in Episode 4: Faith by pushing him to the limits both mentally and physically.
ERICA stands as an intriguing example of connecting players with a game through touch controls. It succeeds primarily as a technical feat and less so as a deeply-engrossing video game. If the storyline were given more time to grow then maybe it would have blossomed into something special. As is, it's akin to a murder mystery popcorn flick. There's fun to be had solving the mystery, but not quite enough to create a memorable experience.
Oninaki is a nostalgic throwback to old-school action RPGs such as Secret of Mana and Brave Fencer Musashi that doesn't quite stick the landing.
In one sense, Gunfire Games have seemingly achieved the impossible in providing us with a shooter-focused RPG whose gameplay loop is validated by its plentiful, challenging encounters.
Three Houses offers one of the best stories in the Fire Emblem series since its revival on 3DS. The characters are all brilliantly written and none ever feel like their conversations fall flat.