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Nioh is brilliant. It takes some of the best elements of old school gaming such as level design, customization and layout and mixes it perfectly with modern action combat and online components. In the middle is a timeless loot and upgrade system that adds hours of tinkering. Team Ninja has packed a ton of content into this game, almost to a fault. The amount of things you can do and engage in is almost overwhelming, and that is not including the subtle stats, stances, and the upcoming DLC and PvP. 2017 is just getting underway, but Nioh has already made its case for Game of the Year.
In case it hasn't become clear, Brut@l is a simple experience. That simplicity isn't necessarily bad, as it allows the game to be very focused on the intended experience. I enjoy the game, and for others your enjoyment of the game will hinge entirely on how much you enjoy the core gameplay: kill/break stuff to get materials for more and better stuff, try to conserve resources, repeat until boss or death. The simplistic combat leaves a little to be desired, but it's an entertaining and mostly gratifying way to unplug and spend a few hours causing a little mayhem.
All of the elements that made Episode 1 great, are just a touch better in Episode 2. Characters and voice acting settle in well. Plot points and character interactions are top notch here. Replayability gets a boost due to more significant choices that could be compelling to try a "do over" on. To better compare, Episode 1 isn't quite a tutorial, but presents as a solid introduction. Episode 2 uses that foundation and takes flight (on awexome batwings).
I've left out the specific criteria as they would match episode 2. Telltale continues right where they left off and run with it. Batman is, through Episode 3, a consistently excellent game. This installment, being right in the middle, delivers on the tried and true practice of delivering conflict after character and story development. And wow is there conflict! Bruce is one unlucky bastard
For Honor is fun game to play, and a gorgeous game to look at. If you have an interest in medieval sword fights or fighting games, you definitely should pick this one up. For everyone else, I'd still say you can't go wrong with it, though perhaps wait until the first DLC is out which will add in some more play modes.
With no multiplayer to support the game’s replayability, Horizon Zero Dawn focuses on providing an exceptional single player campaign, robust and flexible combat mechanics, creative and unique enemy designs (both aesthetically and in combat), a vast and fully realized world to explore, engaging side mission stories, and most importantly a compelling and likable main character. Horizon Zero Dawn does not drastically invent anything new in the open world genre, but rather makes it enjoyable to explore in. And isn’t that all we want as gamers: to enjoy the game we are playing?
An engaging, action-packed and even relaxing exploration of existentialism. Nier: Automata merges action and RPG as seamlessly as it switches cameras angles from player-controlled to fixed scroller. Have your pick of reading a visual novel and threading the plot together, or hack and slash through waves of enemies in a gorgeous dance - I did them all, and I loved every minute. Worth full price.
Be prepared to take a voyage in time and space, not only to the Ninth World countless years into the future, but also 20 years into the past, into your bedroom as a young gamer just finding your way. If you still know how to read the Numenera known as a "book", Torment: Tides of Numenera will take you places no other game has in a decade. Although the game is not overly long (about 30 hours), it is easily justified for the modest price of 44.99$.
With no competitive multiplayer in the game, Ghost Recon Wildlands focuses on giving a massive open world for you and your buddies to explore. With a disjointed narrative experience, great visual and audio design, solid shooting and stealth mechanics, Ghost Recon Wildlands offers a perfectly functional and fun co-op experience that is fun to play in short bursts. Ultimately though, the game becomes boring and repetitive due to it massive world, which is devoid of fun activities to engage the player with. It does not feel like a Ghost Recon game and could have been a new franchise on its own. Just like The Division last year, this is a game that had a lot of promise, and although it has its fun moments, feels like a missed opportunity.
Overall I'd say the game remains stable. There's not much point to doing ranking for individual aspects, but in comparison to Episodes 1-3, the story takes a small hit this time. However, replayability gets a nice boost for sure and a couple small tweaks introduce just enough variation to the mix to give gameplay a small upward adjustment.
Once again, only the overall score is necessary. Telltale delivers a consistent experience from start to finish, carried along by the strength of its story and voice acting. Gameplay is quite good for a Point and Click affair. Puzzles are on the casual end for sure for the genre, but the QTEs and dialogue segments are the true winners here. Replayability depends on the player. Those who care about the different choices will likely take it for another spin. The price is fair, but I would again point out that people need to be aware that you're paying for the incredibly high production of the story/acting rather than an epic saga that will take you years to complete. To conclude, Telltale fans likely don't need to be sold on this. Batman fans looking for a unique spin on things shouldn't miss it either. For everyone else, remember Episode 1 is free and what you see there only gets better.
Plentiful, engaging and beautifully designed content adds many hours of playtime and reasons to return to the base game one year after release, be it to enjoy fashion souls or your powerful new arsenal, or simply explore what humanity may have meant all along. A fitting end to a fantastic game, worth full price.
Mass Effect games usually have decent gameplay and focus on an exceptionally written story with very engaging characters. This one feels completely reversed as the gameplay is loads of fun, with a lot of experimentation, and is also well executed. The story on the other hand suffers from major problems along with most of the characters being bland and boring. Multiplayer may be fun to play, but very little has been added to the mode to keep you engaged for long unless you’re a hardcore fan of the mode. Overall the game doesn’t really innovate much in the way of newness and there is some work to be done to make the sequel to be a success the Mass Effect that surpasses the original games. However, there is a lot of potential to explore in this brand new galaxy.
Half visual novel, half dungeon crawl, all awesome. 100 hours of actually meaningful content, a unique (and sometimes uniquely brutal) combat system, excellent writing, and extremely unsubtle social commentary, all wrapped up in a very stylish package. Definitely not for everybody, but if you've spend the last 10 years wishing they still made JRPGs like they did in 2006, and you're willing to put in a lot of time, then this is probably the game for you.
Moonfall, Overall, is a hack 'n' Slash game with basic combat and exploration, and simplistic RPG elements. While its hand drawn art style is gorgeous to look at and it's, every other aspect is just….average. Not bad, just, average and plain. And considering that there are other games like this that exist online, in some cases for free, for its price point, Moonfall's only worthy selling point above other games of its kind is its artwork. Besides that though, if a 2D hack 'n' slash or beat em' up is what you're after, there are plenty of other games out there. You can do worse, but you can also do better.
Little Nightmares is an evocative and very creative game. It's clear that developer Tarsier was invested in making this not only a game but an experience. It explores themes of childhood and some of our deeper fears, although it's lack of story context does leave it a bit more abstract than it needs to be. The gameplay of the puzzles are well designed and escaping to the next is a harrowing and rewarding experience. Although it's short, the experience is tense and meaningful. There is enough to ponder here philosophically to merit a look. If unsettling yourself for a few hours is your thing, there are much worse ways to spend $20.
Between Lords of the Fallen and now The Surge, it has become increasingly clear that Deck 13 has both the talent and know-how to make a fantastic RPG, but for some reason keeps falling just short of a homerun. While The Surge is a good game, and definitely one of the best currently available in it's genre, things like lack of character creation, no multiplayer or any multiplayer interaction of any kind, and very little in terms of unique elements that only their game possesses are holding them back from being at the top of their class. The gaming industry has raised the standard of Action RPGs since Lords of the Fallen, and although Deck 13 has raised theirs as well, The Surge is likely to struggle in a market with games like: Nioh, Nier: Automata, Bloodborne, Horizon Zero Dawn and Witcher 3. If you don't already own those games, it will be harder to justify the 59.99 price tag for this game, especially when you can get any of those above for much less. If, however, you have already played those games, then The Surge is the next step in your RPG journey.
For a game whose namesake implies a certain standard of tactics and strategy in an RTS, Dawn of War III is a bit of a bait and switch. While Dawn of War III on its own is a good game, you have to be completely objective in order to see that and many long time fans of the series won't. It remains to be seen if this iconic branch of the Warhammer 40,000 franchise is heading in a new direction entirely or if this was just a bad judgment call, but I believe many players will be skeptical of a future release and Relic may not be able to rely on their brand alone to sell their next installment, should one ever be developed.
Overall Illusoria is a game that can conjure up old memories of a genre that is underappreciated and often overlooked in today's modern video game landscape
I found the gameplay engaging and challenging so the lack of story isn't a critical issue, but having something there to help encourage me to clear missions would have been nice.