GameTrailers

Shovel Knight works well because it knows exactly what it wants to be. The people behind it have a clear love of retro games, and that collective passion has created something great. So often we play games that try to prey on nostalgia in the cheapest ways possible, whether it's half-hearted HD remakes or blatant ripoffs. Shovel Knight is one of the few games that not only honors the past, but something we may be reminiscing about for years to come.

Picking up Pushmo World isn't the most exciting prospect up front. It takes far too long to really get going, and we wish there were additional challenges and incentives to retry old puzzles. That said, it really does get more interesting as you dig deeper in, and there are more than enough individual puzzles to keep you busy for quite some time. Add in the ability to download pushmo or craft your own, and it's a game that you can come back to again and again.

The few moments where Murderd: Soul Suspect actually makes good on its supernatural potential aren't worth slogging through the rest of the game for. It's trying to be a gripping murder mystery, but never really knows how to get there. This is one you should probably just leave for dead.

Still, "In Sheep's Clothing" nails it where it counts. Not since episode one have we felt so fascinated with The Wolf Among Us. It ties the ongoing story threads in such a way that they become more significant, making us eager to see how it all wraps up. These characters may originate from simple bedtime stories, but Telltale has made them far more real than they've ever been before.

Watch Dogs isn't inspiring or revolutionary, but it's a well-rounded approach to open world gameplay. Completing the story and merely sampling the various side activities can last over thirty hours, with plenty more left to do. The focus on hacking lends to more cerebral gameplay, and the multiplayer is solid. So get out there and get hacked.

Despite some reservations with the ending, Transistor is captivating in ways that few other games can manage. It creates a place that we wanted to be a part of, learn more about, and most importantly didn't want to leave. Transistor isn't something you'll forget about immediately after finishing it. Instead, it's one that you'll wish you could play again for the first time.

Wolfenstein: The New Order suffers from minor inconsistencies in nearly every aspect of the game from its storytelling to its action, but the good news is the game never feels consistently bad. Things are at least kind of interesting even when the pace lags or the story and gameplay don't quite line up. And from minute to minute you're engaged in meaty, challenging combat that rewards smart, tactical play that results in plenty of dead Nazis -- even if there are a few kinks.

The overall high quality of the game is so impressive that it doesn't really matter that much that the zero-gravity gimmick barely adds anything that's truly new. Next time around, though, Nintendo might need to come up with new tricks if it hopes to keep us coming back for more.

Bound by Flame is far from perfect, but underneath a few rough edges, a memorable journey awaits, defined by an unpredictable storyline, and decisions that have a meaningful impact on the story. Not having to just be pure good or pure evil is interesting, the demon is always there even if you want to do the right thing and be a good guy. Hopefully this is just the first step into the icy world of Vertiel.

In all Super Time Force, is a humorous romp through the ages, but the core rewinding mechanic that makes it different fosters a love-hate relationship. It's both an asset and an obstacle, but with tons of characters and a quirky storyline, you'll find the space and time to enjoy yourself.

Hopefully this episode will be nothing more than a misstep in an otherwise excellent season and not a sign of things to come. Plenty of important things happen and there's a lot of action, but none of it carries the weight that it should. Instead, "In Harm's Way" is mostly a bullet point list of zombie-story cliches without many of the excellent character interactions we've come to expect from Telltale. It's certainly troubling when characters get killed and the only thing you feel is indifference.

You don't need to be the clairvoyant Madame Webb, who first appearance was Amazing Spider-Man 210, to know that Amazing is anything but. The various game crashes, audio glitches, and unceasing loading make up an additional catalog of do-not-want, but it's really just how diminished Spider-Man is that hurts. The anemic plot and the oft-repeated zingers give us a pencil sketch of the great Spider-Man, when he deserves to be inked and colored.

Although not every element is as impeccable as its presentation, that shouldn't stop anyone from experiencing Child of Light. Simply absorbing its sights and sounds would almost be enough to carry you through 12 hours, but the game offers much more. When it clicks, the battles are exciting and tense. On top of it all is a cast that sticks with you long after it's all said and done. Child of Light may not be the biggest game this year, but sometimes it's the smallest things that shine the brightest.

Simply stated, NES Remix 2 is a real sequel's sequel, with stronger games, weirder remixes and better bonuses. Players who'd like an interactive history lesson and anyone with fondness for old-school Nintendo could do far worse than romancing these ROMs.

If you have a tendency to rage quit and throw controllers, Trials Fusion may not be for you. Sometimes satisfaction is only found after hours of failed attempts, but the ease of giving it "just one more try" can be absolutely engrossing. The game's outside-the-box goals are brimming with creativity, and the uncompromising level design pushes you to keep digging deeper to conquer every roadblock in your path.

While we wanted more answers, episode three of The Wolf Among Us is a thrilling ride. The plodding pace of episode two is replaced in favor of far more drama and action. Though the series has yet to recapture the magic of the first episode, The Wolf Among Us still offers a grim fairy-tale world worth getting lost in.

The odds are almost always stacked against you, and the repetitive conflicts they never seem like a fair challenge. The story's breadcrumbs are more often than not eaten by the birds, or perhaps the game's figurative bugs. There's not enough material for the spark of creativity to ignite, and Betrayer never finds its focus. This mix of ideas just never properly congeals. Uncovering mysteries and vanquishing foes while building up your repertoire and knowledge should be fun, but wandering this world is often little better than performing listless chores.

Whether you want to treat Hearthstone as a frivolous time-waster, or you're looking for a new obsession, the game is a blast either way. It caters to every type of player. If you're a Warcraft fan, there are plenty of nods to the series you love. And even if you've never crafted war, it really doesn't matter. Hearthstone is thoughtful and complex, but at the same time welcoming and almost irresistible. It may just be a card game, but it often feels like so much more.

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls is a solid expansion building upon a patch that was brought about from player input. Blizzard listened to complaints, and moved to rectify issues, not just remove them, while mixing in an impressive amount of new material. It's more than enough to entice veteran players to return, and if you have never played Diablo 3, there has never been a better time to start.