Guardian's Reviews
Splatoon is a breath of fresh air – or more accurately "splodge of fresh ink" – for those who like to shoot stuff, but have grown tired of the endless bloody churn of gritty, realistic shooters. It is the coolest game on the market.
Put together, it is hugely successful, not only offering an accessible strategy adventure with charismatic heroes and a fistful of innovations but one that in doing so refreshes the somewhat tired turn-based genre.
The next instalments of both those franchises will of course show up one day, hoping to overtake this admirable curent-gen racing engine. But they had better hurry, because Project Cars has got one heck of a head start, and you get the feeling this developer isn't going to waste it.
Crypt of the Necrodancer may not be for everyone, but if the idea of a steamy love-in between two seemingly incompatible genres turns you on, you're gonna love it.
This vast fantasy adventure combines sophisticated storytelling with an expansive and richly conceived world
Mortal Kombat X is many things. It is mechanically refined and stylistically muddled; it has a sometimes unpleasantly violent, sometimes charmingly hammy commitment to the traditional fighting game template. It has thrust the series forwards and succeeds in delivering nuance while offering a welcoming genre gateway for inexperienced players.
Stunning landscapes with dizzying visual detail, and a tool that lets you record and edit in-game footage and upload it to YouTube, puts this open-world game lightyears ahead of its competitors
This simple-looking title in which players make shapes with boxes is the equal of Hal Laboratory's more celebrated games
Not for everyone, but for fans of deep RPGs, Monster Hunter 4 is an excellent adventure.
It's a great end to a challenging and scenically beautiful journey.
A brilliant example of the RPG genre let down by indistinct graphics
Its elegance, precision, humour, and challenge make Bloodborne irresistible. Ultimately, the horror is secondary; wonder is the true transfusion on offer here.
Civilisation creator's latest focuses on building starships and conquering the galaxy, and is perfectly tuned for lapsed gamers who loved his earlier work
Hotline Miami 2 is a messy, aimless sequel and a step back from the original. Many of its levels feel like crafted set-pieces rather than playgrounds for violent expression, and your scope for creativity is stifled as a result. When you're deep in the moment, chaining kills as that remarkable soundtrack vibrates through your headphones, it feels fantastic. But it struggles to hold onto that feeling as firmly as the first game, diluting the purity of its compelling core loop with an endless parade of under-developed ideas.
With the ability to play as a monster against a human team, Evolve offers something unique – and surely one of gaming's best-ever tribute acts. When you're fleeing from the hunters and get trapped in their containment field, swatting desperately while looking for an out, you think back to those Power Pills and how far we've come.
A revamped version of this 2000 classic coincides pleasingly with the new Nintendo 3DS
Indeed, one of the best things about Sunless Sea, apart from its beautifully crafted elder-horror stories, fantastically drawn artwork and generally creepy atmosphere, is the feeling that the decisions you make within the game are shaping the narrative, and that by playing, you are writing yourself into that story.
What you do get, though, is a zombie scenario which is entirely plausible and believable and that, in itself, takes Dying Light to a higher plane, reaching toward the role-playing depth of State of Decay and the sheer nastiness of DayZ. Factor in the giant sandbox of a huge city, and the end result is a scarily immersive experience.
[W]ithout doubt, Elite: Dangerous is a purchase that will provide inestimable value, delivering many hours of gameplay opportunities and experiences. Furthermore, this is a developing universe, with many planned updates and new features due over the coming months. It seems likely that the depth and scale of the experience is only going in one direction: to the stars.
Ubisoft's ambitious open-world racer offers you a whole continent to explore, but struggles to make it really live