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Few games have everything working in such synchronised harmony as The Talos Principle. The world, puzzles, narrative and music are all served to the player in small helpings, never overwhelming and allowing you to soak in and become one with the world. By the end of the game, it has challenged your mind in multiple ways. As a game The Talos Principle forces the player to reason through the mechanics of its puzzles, all the while tickling the philosophical parts of our minds with deeper questions.
You're not getting a refined game in Hatoful Boyfriend. Surely you already knew that, right? If you were looking for a refined game, please ignore my score below. Otherwise, I'll just let this scene from Friends starring my good friend Chandler do the talking, because, amazingly enough, it actually mirrors the experience I had playing Hatoful Boyfriend:
That might not prove to be the case, but I don't believe there is any chance of reaching a fully satisfactory closure in one more episode running two more hours, give or take. Regardless of that, the stage is set for a spectacular final episode that promises enough political intrigue and bloodshed to keep fans of the books and show satisfied.
Thankfully for those who really enjoy the visceral x-ray angles from perfect sniping shots, this title supports that in all of its over-the-top gory glory. Zombie Army Trilogy is a culmination of things that are all done well, but not great. There are bugs in the animation and world, the game difficulty is uneven and it feels like a second rate action/horror movie from the 80's. Of course, that vibe can also work for a game, and for the most part it does here, even if I think the team could have done even more with that aesthetic.
Otherwise, BlazBlue remains the slick, fast, competitive and vibrant fighting game that we saw in previous versions. As with the other fighting games that I like I would love to see this franchise expand out - I think Noel would be a wonderful lead for a JRPG, for example - but as the talented team at Arc System Works continues to produce fighters of this quality, and continues proving that fighting games can indeed have interesting narratives supporting them, I'm not complaining in the slightest.
Legions of Steel was great to sit down for long periods at time as there was never any rush to finalise my moves until you were ready. It's a niche game, as all Slitherine projects are, but the publisher does have a deep understanding of what makes for a quality, deep, strategy game, and it has applied the same expertise to the tactics sub-genre with impressive results.
Godzilla should be fertile material for a fun game, but the slow pacing and shallow controls hold it back, creating a repetitive experience that misses too many opportunities for me to recommend it to anyone but the most hardcore of Godzilla fans.
While I have some issues with the way Deception IV explores its themes, it is nonetheless a very fine and entertaining game, and I can guarantee you that there is nothing else quite like it on the PlayStation 4. For that reason alone it is worth a look; it might be a polarising game at times, but it is memorable and unique project, and as such it represents a creativity that we should all be encouraging in this industry.
Way of the Samurai 4 didn't impress me a great deal, or perhaps I didn't look in the right places, but it isn't altogether bad. It has its charm and some good ideas running in the background, but these are offset by the game's more overt issues, and a taste for the surreal that will never be popular for the mainstream. That being said, while this game was not for me but it is just odd enough that it might work for you.
Tachyon Project does not reinvent the wheel for twin stick shooters, but it does add some creative new tread that allows it to feel familiar yet fresh at the same time. There are plenty of modes, challenges and customisations to try out, so fans of the genre should have plenty to keep them busy throughout their time with it.
Spectra reminds me a great deal of Audiosurf, which is meant to be high praise as I have spent a lot of hours with both games in that franchise. However, while the soundtrack provided in Spectra is an excellent one, the inability to import more music of your own choosing and the lack of visual variety in the levels makes this title quite inferior.
Though I have plenty to complain about with LEGO Jurassic World, it's because I have spent the last number of years playing through each of them with family members. Most of my platinum trophies have occurred thanks to LEGO games. Chances are I will be getting a platinum in this one too, as the game functions well enough for me to somehow enjoy myself despite all of its irritations. In both single player and co-op, there's still fun to be had, and most people play the LEGO games for the fun factor. You'll find nothing ground breaking in LEGO Jurassic World, but it is so rushed that I can only recommend looking at one of the many other LEGO games out there unless you're a massive fan of Jurassic Park.
But then there will always be the thrill in shaving off hundredths of a second from the best lap times, and F1 2015 is remarkably effective in subtly digging its claws into you and convincing you that yes, with just a touch more practice and precision you could take that difficult corner a little better.
While Astebreed may be short in length, it more than makes up for it with its anime styled storytelling and quality, fast, furious action. It's another classy little indie game on the PlayStation 4 that further enhances the console's value.
Whispering Willows is a scary, scary game in a beautiful, beautiful world. The hand drawn, Legend of Korra style artwork is only a façade to the darkness that lies within, and is stripped down by the notes, diary entries and running commentary by Elena. Whispering Willows is a beautiful game, only marred by the short time it takes to finish, and when that is your only issue, I can still highly recommend it.
But as I said, these three issues are incredibly minor when considering the sheer scale and variety of content in the game, and they haven't stopped me logging over 300 hours in total play across Final Fantasy XIV and now Heavensward. I don't use the five-star rating to describe the perfect game. As per our scoring process, a five-star score is like a five-star hotel; it's a deluxe experience that offers something meaningful well beyond what most games do. But Final Fantasy XIV has genuinely developed into the best MMO on the market as far as I'm concerned, with its brilliant post-game content and now, with the additional Heavensward content, the best is just getting better. This game is a compelling argument for the continued validity of the subscription model for MMOs.
J-Stars Victory VS is very playable. But, when you consider that the entire purpose of this game's existence is to act as fan service, the fact that it fails to offer the kind of fan service that would have had fans clamouring for it is incredibly disappointing. There are so many directions Namco Bandai and Spike Chunsoft could have taken Victory that to produce a merely playable brawler is just not good enough.
Ar nosurge has instantly become one of my favourite games of all, up there with the likes of Nier and Persona 4. Even when it's not at its best, it's still better than almost anything else. Emotional and poetic, deep and intelligent, it's the kind of game that will fly under most people's radars, but it's also one of those games that will hold a place of pride in the libraries of those that are lucky to discover it. This is a game you will hear me celebrating for many years to come.
RONIN is over in around seven to eight hours but the lengthy design of the levels makes it feel a lot longer than that. When you're locked in a stalemate with ten armed guards, jumping around the walls to avoid gunfire is more tiresome than engaging. RONIN is good for a few short levels in your spare time, but I can't fathom playing it for a long session.
These are minor complaints, though. The platforming is rock solid, and as I noted, I love the theme with a passion. I would like to see WayForward do something more narrative-heavy with Shantae, as I think she would be a spectacular lead in a RPG or similar, but as it stands this is my favourite 2D platformer series of all, and I'm glad to see that it's now on PlayStation too.