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Digimon World: Next Order is a throwback to Digimon World from the original PlayStation, complete with its town-building aspects and limited lifespans for your creatures. Its grindy nature and technical aspects for training can make it less accessible for newcomers and more casual players. If you like old-school Digimon gameplay, however, this is gaming comfort food that's a blast from the past.
I what appears to be a Renaissance for farming games, "Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns" adds another solid entry into a genre that appears to be seeing new life. Featuring plenty of charm, notable quality of life improvements and a lot of content to chew on, Trio of Towns feels like a "Bokujo Monogatari" game for sure. It might not quite reach the heights of new king Stardew Valley or fan favorite Rune Factory 4. For Harvest Moon fans, though, this will feel like a familiar friend.
WRC 6 won't take the crown from Dirt Rally but represents a step up from WRC 5. It also boasts some advantages over its more popular rival as far as its number of stages and more proper career mode. Although Dirt has the advantage as far as technical and visual prowess, WRC 6 still has a place in the rally space thanks to its accessibility to newcomers and more casual players.
With shooters and open-world titles getting a bit long in the tooth, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands manages to provide a fresh take on both genres by combining them into one cohesive package. The game can feel repetitive after long sessions and it might not satiate those who prefer the twitch mechanics of versus online shooters. For folks yearning for a cooperative campaign with friends in a large open-world playground, however, Wildlands serves up a fun experience.
"Nier: Automata" features a mishmash of gaming mechanics that surprisingly works. Whether it be "shmup" shooting, 3D action fighting or even open-world adventuring, everything in the game comes together fluidly like a three-cheese dip. The art style won't be for everyone and it can get fetchy at points. For fans of Japanese action and RPGs in their various forms, however, this is one treat worth imbibing in.
As its fittingly long name implies, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue should serve as the last appetizer before the long-awaited main course that is Kingdom Hearts 3. The best part is arguably Aqua's new chapter, a short but sweet entry that teases the promise of KH3. It's too bad that it couldn't be longer but for fans burned out from waiting, it just might rekindle their interest in the series, provided the price of entry isn't too high.
While Final Fantasy continues to make sweeping changes to its JRPG formula, Tales of Berseria keeps refining the classic template it’s known for, resulting in an enjoyable adventure for series fans. The lack of any revolutionary innovation might disappoint those looking for something different. Fans of classic JRPGs, however, will like the polished familiarity of this title.
With an intriguing premise and classic gaming style, Divide has the makings of a compelling, sci-fi mystery. Despite a strong story, neat concept and solid musical score, however, repetitive exploration and an assortment of bugs mar what should have been a promising overall experience. That's unfortunate as this has the ingredients of what could have been a great game.
"Poochy and Yoshi's Woolly World" takes all the charm and fuzzy feel of the Wii U version and squeezes it in portable form with some new additions. New features such as Poochy Mode and Poochy pups might not be enough to sway owners of the original game to take the plunge. If you're pining for Woolly World action on the go, however, this is one yarn-filled adventure that you would want to spin.
For Honor is a great new IP that takes the fun parts of competitive online shooters and sprinkles them into medieval-style combat. Add excellent visuals to the tight, polished gameplay and you have the makings of a potential esports contender. Unfortunately, microtransactions and free-to-play inspired unlocks take the sheen out an otherwise enjoyable experience. If you don't mind that, however, then For Honor is good fun.
Gravity Rush 2 serves as a modern throwback reminiscent of those times when Japanese games ruled the console roost. Like hard candy with a soft center, the game does a good job in balancing its more serious themes with whimsical moments. Its gravity mechanics, meanwhile, make for compelling action despite some of its niggles. If you’re looking for a unique open world game with a Japanese flavor, Gravity Rush 2 will attract you.
Resident Evil 7 marks a return to form for the series after the much maligned Resident Evil 6. If you disliked the action of the last few main titles and prefer a more intimate, suspenseful experience, then make sure to eat up on this gory heaping of horror, just like Marguerite Baker tells you to do.
From the red-light district of Kamurocho to the streets of Sotenbori, Yakuza 0 serves up a compelling open-world adventure with lots of action and oodles of content to keep both series vets and newcomers entertained. Add an intriguing story filled with underworld politics, good character interactions and a high level of polish and you’ve got what’s arguably the best entry in the excellent Yakuza series to date.
Life of Black Tiger is the kind of game that will make you question what you’re doing with your life. On the plus side, there's nowhere to go but up after playing it.
This HD re-release of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is the same game that fans know and love, complete with high-paced action, team mechanics and over-the-top hyper combos that’ll take you for a ride. As a port, however, this rendition does the bare minimum and does not add any new key features while also suffering from some netcode issues. It’s still a great game for hardcore fans or newcomers looking to get into its kinetic action. At the same time, it’s also a bit of a missed opportunity.
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone rectifies the main issue with Project Diva X by adding a huge song list that will have you playing for days on end. The lack of a story or interaction among the cast is disappointing and the difficulty can be intimidating for more casual players. Tight gameplay, lots of unlockables and catchy tunes, however, make this an easy recommendation for rhythm game fans.
Following 2015’s excellent Wii U version, Super Mario Maker 3DS takes the fun of Mario level design on the go. The portable version brings the fun of the original’s creation tools as well as modes like the 100-course and 100-Mario challenges. Although the visual downgrade is expected, however, the limited level-sharing options are more surprising and take out the teeth from an otherwise solid game that’s centered on creation.
Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization feels like a game that’s on the cusp of something great but is held back by a few hiccups. The story is interesting and quite fleshed out, and the base combat has potential. The inconsistent pacing, sketchy AI and grindy nature of the game, however, make it feel like a slog after a while. If you’re a fan of SAO, though, this is worth checking out just to re-experience Aincrad’s rebirth once again.
The Last Guardian is a story about the bond formed between man and beast where loyalty and friendship trump instincts. It's not perfect as Trico's AI can be finicky and the pacing will not be for everyone. Nevertheless, if you like games that challenge your knack for problem-solving and also appreciate storytelling that's both touching and raw, The Last Guardian is a game with timeless appeal that's very much worth the wait.
If you’re a fan of Hearthstone and took a break or if you’ve been interested but didn’t know when to start I highly recommend the new expansion. If you’ve tried the game before and found you don’t like it for any of the core mechanics or maybe you just don’t like card games in general, then this expansion isn’t going to do anything for you to change your mind. Overall, though, I’m personally having a ton of fun trying to survive on the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan.