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Outlast 2 is a true improvement on its predecessor, with Red Barrel Studio planting its flag to claim the standard for horror games in 2017. From the beautifully horrific environments, the ambitious ideas to the sheer unsettling nature, it's disturbing in the ways you'll want from it. It makes this title truly interesting, even affecting. While it's aggressive in its assault on the player, perhaps to the point of becoming tiring, on the whole the game is very, very good. This is especially true of the exquisite second half of the game that sings to a developer in tune with its vision. Outlast 2 serves up an expertly crafted horror experience that will likely find itself burrowing into you even after your time in the Sonoran desert has come to an end.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe takes the best game in the series and improves it. It looks better, plays better, the soundtrack remains an utter joy and the inclusion of a fully-featured and fiendishly fun Battle Mode is the cherry on top. This is the best Mario Kart game ever, and it's hard to see exactly how Nintendo will ever be able to improve upon it.
Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series gets off to a good start with a story that intrigues about a set of characters all too familiar. How closely the game looks to the recent movie and upcoming sequel for its tone, characters and design is to some degree understandable, but also seems like a missed opportunity – at least this early on. As ever with a Telltale series there's potential going forward, but if the Guardians are to strike out on their own in video games, they need to play something new. At the moment, they're a bit like a covers band.
Persona 5 isn't just a rank and file member of Japan's streak of game of the year contenders in 2017, it's a blistering RPG masterpiece that cements itself among the all-time greats.Tagging along with the Phantom Thieves of Hearts on their psychedelic capers triggers a contact high of dazzling sights and sounds, with enough thematic depth to match its relentless swagger. It's a game that'll try to steal your own heart, and you'll willingly oblige.
Snake Pass is designed for 20 to 30 minute bursts, getting a little frustrated during that time but revelling in the satisfaction of completing a climb and finding a new trinket for the pile. It has issues with its structure and pacing, but not at all with the artistry of its mechanics or audio-visual design. Given life by David Wise's laid back, fun and thoroughly-hummable score, Noodle's world is rich, vibrant and a joy to slither around.
It's difficult to recommend Yooka-Layee to adults let alone the children this game is aimed at. The unbalanced challenge it presents and the lack of in-game direction is sure to infuriate. You could argue kids of this generation could play the game alongside a YouTube video for help, but why should any game need to be played alongside a video guide? The first three-hours of Yooka-Layee are delightful, but after that the experience quickly sours. Playtonic's ode to platformers past should have been something special, but instead it's a reminder why video games have evolved, and why quality over quantity should be the first decree in every developer's rulebook.
To the credit of BioWare, despite Andromeda's many flaws I still wanted to visit the planets with my teammates, to progress and colonise new worlds. It is a solid game, but one with issues that appear worse than they are due to high expectations the developers have earned from a stellar history of better RPGs. Would I be thrilled about the prospect of another game set in the Andromeda galaxy? Probably not. However, if future games can push past the familiar and embrace ideas of the "unknown" that Andromeda aspires to, but never realises, then I do think the series still has something to offer.
Ghost Recon Wildlands delivers on the promise of a special operations sandbox, but its version of Bolivia is toothless, with its vivid colours and bright ideas coming together to create just a bland grey. The stealth gameplay is satisfying, and co-op gives the game more tactical depth than might first seem apparent, but technical issues and mediocre AI teammates and enemies lead to a performance that's more "meh" than "yeah!", and it's unlikely you'll hear anyone talking about Wildlands a month from now.
Before playing it, I had Nier pegged as a fun hack-and-slash game. What I didn't bargain for was an existential RPG that would soon have me questioning almost everything I saw. Featuring a gripping plot that tackles surprisingly hefty themes, its brilliant writing not only makes you think twice about your role in the game's world but occasionally even about your place in our world too. It's certainly not without its flaws, but regardless of your typical gaming preferences, you owe it to yourself to check this wonderfully weird experience out.
As suspected, 1-2 Switch would have been much better served packed in with every Nintendo Switch (and it may yet become that). As a demonstration of the Joy Cons' abilities it's fantastic, as a multiplayer party game it's fun and often hilarious, but it could stand to have just a little more in the way of longevity.
In reinvigorating the Zelda series, Nintendo has rediscovered what gave it life all those years ago, capturing a spirit of adventure that flows through Breath of the Wild like the breeze on Hyrule's fields. Link and Princess Zelda's battle to save Hyrule and vanquish evil has rarely felt like such a personal journey, thanks to a masterful game defined by its peerless, charming and truly beautiful setting. A masterpiece.
Horizon: Zero Dawn is a stellar open world game. Guerrilla has crafted a magnificent and utterly gorgeous adventure game with surprising depth that rewards player skill and will more than likely prove to be PS4's next major action franchise. It's just a shame the game's open world is so desperate to validate its own existence that it never lets you truly enjoy the thrill of the hunt.
Halo Wars 2 isn't a bad game, but compared to the wealth of excellent strategy games we've been spoilt by over the last few years, it feels positively ordinary. Exceptionally well-handled Halo fan service obfuscates a mediocre game that doesn't really have any new ideas. Fans of the franchise will appreciate what is here, but RTS buffs will be better served elsewhere.
In short, For Honor is bloated in a way it doesn't need to be, but in a way that's completely unsurprising for Ubisoft. A ton of cosmetic upgrades and progression rankings can't save it from being an ultimately narrow experience. It may not wholly satisfy anyone craving an enormous single-player campaign or competitive multiplayer, but if you want a surprisingly competent fighting game that's capable of offering some great, tense and skill-based encounters, For Honor has enough to offer. Ubisoft may have marketed the game as a big, broad battler, but in truth it's just about you and your opponent and that's where it is at its best.
Sniper Elite 4 is a good game by many metrics, and is the best in the series so far. It's a good shooter, a good stealth game and has exceptional shooting mechanics, but as a whole it's rarely exceptional. It's one of the better stealth games of the last few years, with several distinctive ideas combined to create a tense game that, while not all that much bigger in scope than its predecessor, feels bolder and more interesting.
IO Interactive's new, episodic Hitman is a triumph. The developer knew how to revive its ailing series and did so with aplomb, crafting a robust set of core mechanics and designing superb levels around them. Reminiscent of everything Blood Money did so well, from its focus on gameplay over story to its cold, sardonic presentation and dark sense of humour, this is Hitman as it is and always should be.It falters when the game leans too heavily on optional Opportunities, but counter to this hand-holding system are Elusive Targets – a fantastic test of any Hitman player's abilities. While these one-chance contracts are only available for a few days at a time, IO's consistent, quality support of the game ensures many more will follow this first season's physical release.
Despite some small niggles – such as stealth being so rudimentary it feels redundant, and the aforementioned uninspired late-game location – this is the best horror game since Creative Assembly's wonderful Alien Isolation. It's best if players slowly creak open the game's doors themselves, discovering the story and set-pieces on their own, as this is an experience that works best when it's free to surprise you, like a rotting doberman crashing through a window.
Sloppy combat inherited from its handheld predecessor thankfully fails to smother Gravity Rush 2's gleefully avant-guarde design and its enigmatic leading lady. Kat and Dusty's sophomore outing sees the series' potential explode in vibrant, joyous fashion. The rough edges are still there, but you'll have to squint to see them as PlayStation's refreshingly eccentric franchise soars to spectacular new heights.
Considering its development history, it's unsurprising that Final Fantasy 15 lacks crucial focus and depth when it comes to its largely stodgy tale of Oracles and Crystals or its unspectacular combat, with both found particularly at fault during the game's dour concluding chapters. Yet like Prompto's incessant nagging to go ride Chocobos, it's easy to give in to the breezy charm of the game's luscious open-world and the whimsical antics of its Tumblr-baiting bro-tagonists.
Everything that would make the game a beautiful and unique classic to match or even surpass its predecessors is here, but like its captivating star the game doesn't always perform as you'd hope.