IGN's Reviews
Mass Effect: Andromeda only occasionally recaptures the series' brilliance, but delivers a vast and fun action-RPG.
The Elder Scrolls: Legends may not be the most visually appealing CCG, but what it lacks in looks it makes up for in modes, mechanics and card design. This is well worth checking out for fans of The Elder Scrolls or digital card games in general. And like all great CCGs, the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.
The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ adds more of what we loved about the original and keeps the formula fresh. It's a tough game, but one that balances challenge with a refreshing feeling of the unexpected. The unpredictable items and varied enemies make it one of the most wacky and replayable games I've ever experienced.
FlatOut 4: Total Insanity is better than I'd feared but not as good as I'd hoped. Kylotonn has dredged this near-forgotten racing rebel from the very bottom of the barrel and fashioned it into a basic but fun, stunt-filled speedster, but I found myself regularly frustrated with its repetitive career mode, its stingy economy and nebulous unlockables, its superficial demolition derby events, and its uneven difficulty. A respectable franchise rescue mission but one that still needs some fine tuning and some extra grunt.
LEGO Worlds is commendable for its environmental diversity and the power of its creative tools to build anything you can dream of or manipulate every castle, hillside, and forest in sight. Unfortunately, fiddly menus, a pretty terrible combat system, and at times clunky and unfriendly construction controls weigh down on the wonder of finding and creating. Despite all this, I still find myself drawn back into it to discover what more the designers have hidden in the world-generation code, as coming across a massive ruined castle or an active volcano for the first time is always a treat - and an inspiration for what I want to build next.
I found myself thinking about my daily farming routine in Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns even when I wasn't playing it. Since there's never any feeling of the grim spectre of Father Time looming large and there are enough random events to shake up the daily routine, doing my virtual chores in these charming and beautiful towns and unlocking a steady stream of rewards is relaxing, despite some annoyances with unnecessary travel and unskippable animations. And since the only requirement of Trio of Towns is to prove that farm life is a noble life, the pressure to succeed is never daunting.
Styx: Shards of Darkness greatly resembles the earlier Styx: Master of Shadows from 2014, but Cyanide improved the gameplay this time around with the inclusion of craftable weapons, the lack of a lock-on in combat, and expanded abilities. It presents an interesting world to explore but wastes its potential by recycling environments from early missions late in the game. Co-op mode is fun, too, but only selectively as some stealth-only missions seem far more manageable on one's own.
While it’s a shame that its dungeon dwelling enemies are far too easily exploited, Blaster Master Zero is ultimately an enjoyable reimagining of a largely overlooked 8-bit classic thanks to the rewarding exploration-focussed structure of its side-scrolling overworld. There are enough secret rooms and power-ups to seek out (including an additional ending), that I was compelled to scour every last inch over the course of my eight-hour completion time. It’s a good reboot; just not a Masterful one.
This huge, wide-open shooter constantly shows its flaws in its mission variety and vehicle physics, but its strong, sandbox-style gameplay and seamless co-op kept me coming back for more madness. If you must repeat experiences over and over, you could far worse than helicopter chases, assassination missions, or drug busts gone wildly wrong.
Despite the fact that this is a first-person VR adventure mostly devoid of the combat platforming that made the original Psychonauts so memorable, it still carries the same spirit. The wonderful writing and solid use of VR make it a fitting continuation to the series that left me pining for Psychonauts 2, especially when it ended after three hours and visiting just a handful of locations.
Super Bomberman R’s multiplayer versatility and boss-filled story mode are laudable retreads of classic gameplay, but its depth and customizability are disappointing. By contrast, the aforementioned Bomberman Live was a brilliant, fully featured Bomberman for Xbox 360 that came out 10 years ago, and it only cost $10. It’s reasonable to expect a bit more from a $50 Bomberman game in 2017.
Fast RMX may not be the perfect anti-gravity racing package, but it certainly offers high-speed racing and a lot of tracks to challenge yourself on. It’s a shame that the online multiplayer offering is so barebones, and that the time trial mode is currently AWOL, but in lieu of an official Wipeout or F-Zero this is a solid option to get your arcade racing fix on the Nintendo Switch.
This is the best version of Shovel Knight yet, and Treasure Trove is the most complete package. In addition to piling ever more new features on top of the original, Yacht Club has improved on Shovel Knight in nearly every way with the Specter of Torment expansion. From the story and writing to the simple fluidness of platforming and combat, Specter Knight is an excellent new step for the series.
With a clever idea for 2D physics-based puzzle solving and a bright and colorful personality, Snipperclips: Cut it Out, Together! is a good experience by yourself and a great one with friends. Solving every puzzle won’t take too long, but Snipperclips is continuously clever in its puzzle design and adorably fun to watch play. It left me eagerly waiting to reunite more frogs, put together more cat puzzles, and solve whatever other odd challenges developer SFB Games might have in mind.
Nier: Automata is a crazy, beautiful, and highly entertaining journey full of nutty ideas and awesome gameplay. It may not include the most sensical story or compelling characters, but its frenzied combat -- coupled with beautiful visuals and a stunning soundtrack – make it too much fun to pass up.
Just Dance 2017 is a very predictable update to a long-running series of dancing games that shines in visual design and unique choreography but is very loose with its tracking of your body movements. It’s not going to teach you to be a professional dancer, and it honestly doesn’t really teach you how to be good at Just Dance itself. That said, it’s still a whole lot of fun to play, and the songs that aren’t locked behind a paywall are varied and, largely, recognisable
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is evocative, exhilarating, and a masterclass in open-world design.
1-2-Switch is the Switch’s version of Wii Sports, in that it acts as an overall mission statement for the console itself. The quirky, bizarre nature of the unique mini-games make it a funny, memorable experience, but some games are hard to play at first due to unclear tutorials and dialogue cues. Despite its oddities and flaws, I have had so, so much fun playing and watching 1-2-Switch with a small group of friends that I can recommend it in that specific situation, but I don’t have much desire to go back.
Robo Recall is an excellent demonstration of what a VR shooter can be on Oculus Touch. Thanks to highly physical action and tons of options for smashing a bunch of great-looking robots with both magically replenishing guns and your bare hands, the three available maps feel like plenty.
The turn-based combat may be a little disappointing, but Torment: Tides of Numenera manages to live up to the legacy of Planescape: Torment by offering a fascinatingly weird and well-written tale. Thanks to a wide variety of options in conversations and the influences of its tidal system, it offers decent opportunities for replay value and a memorable tale each time. This is the rare game that leans almost entirely on its setting and writing for its appeal, and the miraculous thing is that it usually succeeds.