IGN's Reviews
The Banner Saga 2 doesn't change much of the experience that made the original such a well-loved surprise two years ago, and that's a good thing. The improvements may be small, but they're also substantial: the new combat units, the introduction of a second caravan story to follow, and the obstacles in the battlefield add up nicely. While beautifully written and populated with memorable characters and twists, the story does slightly suffer from a case of the "middle episodes" that may leave you eager for more. On the bright side, we know that more is on the way in a third and final installment.
Wasteland Workshop adds some neat new cosmetic window dressing to Fallout’s settlement-building systems, but the piecemeal additions didn't include enough new gameplay applications to hold my interest. The traps and creature-capture mechanics are briefly enjoyable but not fully fleshed out, which quickly makes them deteriorate into disappointments.
Chronos is a challenging, calculated adventure through intricate dungeons and relentless enemies that demand your best attention. Where it falls short as an RPG, Chronos redeems itself by offering beautiful environments and a sense of scale that probably can’t exist without virtual reality. It’d be worth playing regardless of the hardware it’s tied to, but the sense of presence the Oculus Rift allows you to have inside of Chronos’ varied dimensions is something I definitely recommend you feel for yourself.
Hyper Light Drifter is a gorgeous, trendy hunk of stylish old-school sensibilities mated with the iconic hues of pixelated indie charm. It's a return to simpler control schemes, building on sound mechanical fundamentals rather than trying to wow with new ways of interaction within each and every checkpoint. Though its wordless storytelling took some of the thrill out of completing the campaign, Hyper Light Drifter is a joy to play, (and replay in the new game plus mode) its mechanical excellence and stylish veneer.
Ratchet and Clank is a culmination of everything Insomniac has done with the series over the past 14 years. It takes the characters that we fell in love with long ago, and sets them off on their most gorgeous quest yet. The deep and rewarding weapon system, beautiful and varied worlds, and charming-as-heck story make it an adventure that anyone with a PlayStation 4 should strap in for.
Dead Star has the basics of combat and ship balance right, to the point that even losses have their fun moments. Its primary shortcoming is that it allows too great an advantage for pre-made groups, which is especially a problem considering the wonky matchmaker.
There’s some charm to Lucky’s Tale’s simplicity. It’s not exciting, but it’s finely polished. Old-fashioned 3D platforming is still fun, especially some of the boss battles, which require more precise jumping and dodging than any of the more slowly paced levels. It’s just not remarkable, especially as a showcase for VR.
Enter the Gungeon's design is quite sophisticated for a game about shooting bullets at anthropomorphized bullets with guns; it uses elements of one genre in the context of another, enhancing its most enjoyable elements. Despite there being so many more moving parts than in a typical arcade shooter, it somehow feels more immediate and focused on getting you into the action and keeping you there. And where other similar games can run out of novelty within a few hours, Enter the Gungeon is still surprising me with new implements of destruction after 50 hours of play.
Nova Covert Ops Mission Pack 1 stumbles out of the gate by being too timid to go all-in and fully flesh out some of its more interesting ideas. Kicking ass with Nova’s diverse equipment builds can be entertaining, and the new and returning voice cast do a laudable job bringing the StarCraft universe back to life after the conclusion of its grand arc. Unfortunately, they’re given a pretty lame environment to do it in, both in terms of the scenario design and the story execution. I sincerely hope the remaining six missions get a better footing.
If Dark Souls 3 truly is the last in the series as we know it, then it's a worthy send-off. Weapon arts allow stylish and versatile new moves without tarnishing the purity of the combat system. Lothric's awe-inspiring locations provide visually stunning arenas for rigorous exploration and fierce face-offs with hosts of deadly enemies and even deadlier bosses. While not all the risky changes land as neatly as others, Dark Souls 3 is a powerful journey and the sequel the series truly deserves.
Cold Darkness Awakened is a welcome change of pace to Rise of the Tomb Raider’s usual rhythms. Though its gameworld isn’t particularly interesting, it does a great job at escalating tension and resolves Lara’s fight against an infected horde with an explosive climax.
Quantum Break is a stylish, often-exhilarating third-person shooter wrapped up in a tautly paced tale of time travel.
Simply put, MLB The Show 16 is the best baseball game available on any current-gen console. It looks, plays, and feels amazing, offering many ways to play the great American pastime. Franchise and Road to the Show modes have made incremental but impressive improvements, while Diamond Dynasty offers entirely new ways to play. Not every mode works, but it's encouraging to see such a radical new mix of gameplay.
Michonne is undoubtedly a strong star, but the rest of the characters fall short as a supporting cast — they’re mostly backdrops and mirrors for Michonne to look into. It doesn’t hurt her character development, but it takes some of the emotion out of otherwise-powerful scenes that clearly affect Michonne deeply. Going into the third and final episode, those characters and the story overall have a chance to go in a more interesting direction, but for now, Michonne must carry it all.
Once you break free from the tactics-focused mindset of most RTS games, Ashes of the Singularity is a challenging, engrossing, and cerebral exercise in strategy that has me mentally iterating on army compositions, build timings, and board deployment schemes even when I’m not playing it. The campaign comes across as an unwanted stepchild beside the strong multiplayer, and the terrain art is dull and uninspired, yet Oxide has delivered on the promise of bringing back capital-S Strategy to the RTS space. This is a warzone where the shrewd general looking at the bigger picture will triumph over the fast-thinking ace with lightning hotkeys.
After spending many hours in virtual reality, I believe the launch of the Oculus Rift is the start of a new era. The first time you put it on is the closest thing to real magic you’re likely to experience anytime soon. It’s true that VR has a lot of maturing to do, but this amazing headset is a front-row seat to watch gaming history being made. Its current lack of motion controllers means these enticing experiences are mostly “look, don’t touch,” but even though it can’t live up to its full potential quite yet, the ability to so easily immerse ourselves in a game world or other virtual environment is worth every penny.
Getting by on strong atmosphere (no pun intended), scenic views, and an intuitive means of controlling full three-dimensional movement, Adr1ft's repetitive fix-it missions make its second half a chore to get through. Some strong pieces of voice acting would've been put to better use if the story weren't so vague.
Adr1ft doesn't pioneer any new types of gameplay with VR, which is a shame because it desperately needs some variety in that area. However, it does benefit greatly from blocking off the rest of the world, creating a feeling of isolation that aligns with what your character is experiencing. Floating out over the Earth and looking down from this perspective is truly impressive.
Stardew Valley beautifully combines genres to create a captivating small-town life sim.
A brilliant and beautiful stunt driving masterclass, Trackmania Turbo is fast, frenetic, fun, and only occasionally frustrating. If this generously proportioned and highly engaging arcade racer gets its talons into you the way it did me, it'll have you compulsively chasing ghosts for ages.