USgamer's Reviews
Firewatch doesn't provide the same emotional heights or satisfying conclusion you'd expect from such a story-heavy game, but Campo Santo definitely shows promise with their debut project. Even if it won't have you reaching for the tissues by the end, this woodland walking simulator still provides a pretty great way to burn through an otherwise unoccupied afternoon.
Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright is a great followup to the amazing Fire Emblem: Awakening. The story is solid, the tactical combat is great, if simplistic in this version, and the characters are wonderfully endearing. The game excels in providing options, letting players tailor how they want to experience this world. If you care more or equally about the romance and social aspects of Fire Emblem, this is the version you should be playing.
Fire Emblem: Conquest is billed as the "hardcore" side of Fire Emblem Fates, and it doesn't disappoint with its intricate and challenging maps. On top of that, the core of Fire Emblem's relationship mechanics are strong as ever, and the castle hub is a very nice addition. Even if you opt to ignore Birthright, Conquest is a full-featured and satisfying RPG on its own.
A single battle in Project X Zone 2 can drag on forever, and its overarching story doesn't make much sense. Still, its hilarious character interactions and chaotic fights embody what a video game should be: Fun.
Street Fighter V is a great core for the next generation of Street Fighter. The roster of 16 characters is varied, the game has been tuned to be easier for new players, and everything feels relatively balanced. Unfortunately, SFV is missing most of the bells-and-whistles we've come to expect from a retail fighting game. Capcom is updating the game, so it'll reach greatness eventually, but it's not quite there yet.
Dying Light: The Following adds a whole new countryside to the zombie infested Harran and a brand-new buggy to ride across it. It's a strong expansion to a great game, continuing the original game's survival aspects into a new, open arena. This is almost a different game hidden in DLC.
Like Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax, Nitroplus Blasterz brings together various characters from Nitroplus properties. Unfortunately, fans may not know these characters, many of whom have never been published in the West. That leaves a solid, but rather basic fighting game to draw players in.
I can't believe how much I'm not enjoying Final Fantasy Explorers.
It's a bit lighter in content than some other Musou titles with more history, but Arslan: The Warriors of Legend improves the formula with a stronger, focused story based on the anime. Arslan anime fans and Dynasty Warriors fans should find a good time here. If you've ever wanted to take up a sword and slaughter hundreds of enemies, Arslan is your game.
Unravel is a solid (if flawed) puzzle platformer wrapped up in beautiful visuals and emotional moments. It's like a Christmas sweater. It's not perfect, but you're compelled to love it just the same.
Crypt of the Necrodancer is a brilliant, fresh spin on the roguelike genre. It's uncompromisingly tough, but its pattern-learning, beat-matching gameplay is also highly addictive and very rewarding to play.
XCOM 2 updates the franchise's formula without sacrificing what works in the original game. You have more freedom than before, and relatively superfluous elements like the Interceptors have been cut. More importantly, the pacing and structure really does make you really do feel like a band of renegades taking on an occupying force. It's been a fun ride, and with more mods on the way, I'm looking forward to playing it again - the best possible compliment I can pay to a tactics game.
Gorgeous, gripping, and well-paced, Oxenfree cuts a new path for adventure games, and is an excellent debut from Night School Studio. Do yourself a favor: Skip movie night and play this one alongside a friend.
ZHEROS is fun to play for a while. Its combo system is entertaining to use, and its graphics look good. However, flaws in its design include frustrating difficulty spikes, some punishing later levels, and occasionally awkward controls, which results in a game that falls short of its potential.
I love the fact that Gravity Rush exists. How rare is it these days to see a major publisher produce something so wholly original, so defiantly non-commercial? The game has its shortcomings, it's true, but they're the sort of things that sequels are made to iron out. While I'd prefer this remaster have taken a crack at shoring up the game's weaknesses, the technical improvements it brings more than justify its existence. If you've never played Gravity Rush, you need to play this remake... and if you have played it, this version offers an improved enough experience to justify a second visit to Hekseville.
It's easy to fall in love with The Witness, and even easier to have your heart broken by the callous indifference of Jonathan Blow's beautiful island. A healthy challenge is good for any game, but the puzzles on display here offer few inroads to understanding for those who can't think exactly like their creator.
By shoving the story aside and doubling down on its great battle system, Paper Jam smartly emphasizes what the series does best. Some of the padding can be a little annoying, but the way paper-thin characters add new angles to enemy encounters makes this crossover more than just a simple gimmick.
I can't say enough nice things about Darkest Dungeon. Its presentation is brilliant, its systems are smart and well-constructed, and it does a lot to subvert what we should expect from the average dungeon crawler. For a game built around slowly grinding up multiple parties of adventurers, it's remarkable how fresh it can feel even after more than 50 hours. It's only January, but Darkest Dungeon is already one of my favorite games of the year.
Video gaming meets 90's family drama in a finely-crafted piece of interactive fiction whose atmospheric story is intelligently articulated in a very compelling way. While Gone Home's experience is rather short, its characters will stay with you for days after you've finished the game - despite you never meeting them.
Aviary Attorney might look like nothing more than a silly riff on Ace Attorney, but thankfully, there's a lot more to it than that. The era-appropriate illustrations and music set the perfect atmosphere, while the short cases with multiple endings provide a great incentive to jump back in and shoot for happier resolutions. Aviary Attorney doesn't quite hit the heights of Capcom's own series, but it's still a fine way to kill an afternoon.