Ars Technica's Reviews
You'll want to see Forza 5 push the Xbox One to its visual limits, but this is the good-but-thin game that will make you glad Microsoft relented on its no-rental policy. Try It.
Grey Goo is definitely a throwback, albeit one with some compelling innovations. Those who remember the heyday of the RTS genre should get a kick out of it, while the unprepared may be scared away.
If you can tolerate the aging hardware, pick it up to experience a flawed but interesting footnote on Black Flag's tested formula.
Try it if you have found modern platforming games to be too "soft."
The Wii U unexpectedly gets one of the best games of the year. Buy it.
Don't cancel your pre-order, but don't rush to buy Fallout 4 if you didn't place an order already either.
Final Fantasy XV takes the series in a new direction, but despite some memorable moments, it remains remains a confused, uneven package.
With a huge world to explore, heaps of secrets and puzzles to uncover, and some great action, this is the best Tomb Raider since the original Tomb Raider.
Sci-fi story lovers should buy. Everyone else should rent or try it later.
There are better ways to get your superhero action fix, but there are worse ones, too. Crackdown 3 is at least worth a try.
Buy it if you're ready to be an exceptionally patient pet owner. Watch some videos online otherwise.
This sequel plays with expectations while trying to exceed them. Buy it.
The Division takes a stab at the Destiny formula with new strengths and weaknesses, as well as some familiar ones. Try it.
Persona 5 weaves engaging JRPG combat around a thoughtful, exquisitely stylish tale of thieves and the struggle to survive in an unfair society. Buy it.
Mafia 3 is a classic case of style over substance, where its slick setting and story can't make up for tired open-world gameplay. What a disappointment.
With a cleverly reinvented guitar and whole music video channel of songs backing it up, Guitar Hero Live is the rhythm game for the people who got bored of rhythm games.
This is a good game. This is a BioWare space RPG. This is a Mass Effect game, in character and execution as well as in name. If you're a Mass Effect fan—the kind who created a custom Shepard and imported a single save game all the way through the original trilogy and has fierce feelings about the proper romance choices for Shepard—then you'll want to buy Andromeda, because even though it won't give you any more Shepard, it will give you more Mass Effect (and there are some hints and voice logs from familiar original trilogy faces to be found—if you look for them).
more, everything about the game—its puzzle structure, its philosophical leanings, its mysteries—eventually comes together in pretty arresting fashion. Part of this is thanks to the game's multiple layers of puzzle-solving gameplay. We've been asked not to say more about that part. Players may need as little as an hour or as long as two weeks to figure out one of The Witness's coolest parts, but however and whenever players get to that point, it's a pretty clever one. (Some of the game's most incredible aesthetic trickery comes as a result of this part of the game, by the way. Kudos to Thekla for pulling it off.)
Do you have kids? Buy and share Gorogoa as soon as you can. This game is admittedly dark and somber, but its saddest content is more of an issue of tone and confusion than outright inappropriate material, and its delightfully illustrated puzzles do not come more recommended for children. Hardcore puzzle fans, meanwhile, should do their best to take a breath while coming up with Gorogoa's solutions and admire the gorgeous story.
Gnog is an extremely relaxing game about fiddling with surreal puzzle boxes. Its short length is well worth the price of admission. Buy it.