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That said, the combat system remains completely untouched since Samurai Warriors 4 and for all is minor tweaks and nuances, time's running out for this ageing brand of battlefield action. Even long-time fans will agree that, after being pulled in just about every direction, the series desperately needs to move on. No pressure, then, Dynasty Warriors 9.
While there's a distinct appeal to Steel Division: Normandy 44, this is a game that caters to a particular niche audience of hardcore strategy fans. Its depiction of the Second World War focuses on realism, with a reliance on ambushes and weight of fire in infantry combat and a surprising fragility to the tanks, but this difficult to master game won't be for everyone. There's some clever ideas in the shifting front lines, the fog of war and Battlegroups, but there's problems with the presentation and some elements that feel unbalanced.
Flying Wild Hog has gone well beyond churning out a simple sequel to its rebooted series. Shadow Warrior 2 stands on its own as a frenzied yet fresh blending of genres that can easily enthral groups of players for hours at a time. For lone wolves, the looting and shooting will be slightly less appealing. This, and a few smaller hitches, hold the game back from greatness, though die-hard fans of the genre will certainly get their fill.
Injustice 2 has built upon the original in every way and then added a whole host of content on top, setting a new standard for fighting games. The gear system alone adds a ton of depth allowing players to experiment with different builds for characters, and that keeps you coming back to the Multiverse or playing online. Injustice 2 has so much content to play around with, and if you enjoy fighting games or the DC Universe in general then this comes highly recommended.
Skylar & Plux does an exceptional job at giving us a beautiful 3D platformer with truly fun platforming sections, delightful puzzling elements and one-liners that had me laughing. The problem with the game is that it needs a bit more polish. While taking good inspiration from games like Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank, it has taken on-board some pre-used traits that have become too much of a signature to those games. I feel more work on Skylar and Plux's movement and character design would be a good start to reaching its own identity going further. This could be the start of a beautiful new platform game franchise.
NBA Playgrounds gets so much of the setup right, often reawakening the spirit of the NBA Jam series, but it fumbles some of the finer details with needless complications and lacklustre AI. As a solo experience there are much better ways to spend your money, but when it comes to multiplayer NBA Playgrounds is so very nearly shooting nothing but net.
On the whole Mass Transit is a more than welcome set of additions and improvements to Cities: Skylines, but there's just that nagging feeling that it could have gone a little bit further in some areas and a couple of options could be a little smoother to use.
With heavy hitters like Horizon, Nioh, Yakuza 0, and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, there's no shortage of fantastic exclusives on PlayStation 4 this year. That said, Sony continues to galvanise this lineup with a stalwart range of remasters. As with PaRappa, LocoRoco hasn't been idly slapped together – there's a thoughtfulness and diligence there, preserving the original look and feel of the game in a way modern audiences can now appreciate.
Bugs and a weak narrative aside, The Surge is a much more confident take on the emerging Soul-like gameplay style. It takes the known tropes of being challenging and having progression dependent on learning attack patterns while adjusting your play style to accommodate, but it also has some fresh ideas that not only make perfect sense, but could shape future games. It's nice to see a developer give a gameplay style a second shot and Deck13 have almost nailed it here.
With Farpoint, Impulse Gear set out to achieve a goal: to create a traditional first person shooter that works in virtual reality. In that respect, the game is a major success. Although not as fully-featured as its non-VR contemporaries, it captures those essential elements and makes them work in a space that doesn't require overt tracks of handrails. The joy of cranking headshots and feeling like a real-life space marine is a novelty, but one that will eventually wear off. When it does, Farpoint becomes less remarkable, though its immersive Aim controller gunplay definitely gives it the edge over every other shooter currently available for PlayStation VR.
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia manages the remarkable trick of remaking one of the oldest entries in the series, and making it feel fresh. The major differences from the other 3DS games may take some getting used to, but long time fans will relish the return of some purity to the tactical action, while this is easily the best-told story the series has ever seen.
Akiba's Beat is a bad game, but it's an even worse sequel. So many aspects of the previous game, Akiba's Trip, are abandoned or watered down in this title, from the downgraded graphics, to the lack of customization, the poor characters, and more. Akiba's Beat abandons it's roots, instead trying so desperately to fill shoes far too big for it. Like the Chinese knockoff Transformers toys in my local deli, Akiba's Beat attempts to emulate many big franchise without the budget, skill, or style of any of them. You will buy it for a steep discount and know exactly what you're getting into, or you will laugh at it and walk away before buying the game it tries to be.
Butcher is a game that will mainly appeal to those who like hardcore shooters, where one wrong move can cost you progress. For others, that style of play could prove frustrating, especially when testing your platforming skills. Though it's built around the idea of being a relentless killing machine, that doesn't really feel fully realised with most enemies on a par with you when it comes to dealing damage. Butcher shows potential, but it doesn't reach it in its short campaign.
Forza Horizon 3's Hot Wheels DLC is something of a missed opportunity. Visually spectacular, but adding virtually nothing to the core Horizon 3 experience besides some new-found problems and annoyances, fans are arguably better off sticking with the tarmac/dirt/sand of the mainland.
If you've beaten it and are looking for a fresh challenge, go for it. If not, beat the main game first before deciding.
Writing over our memories of the Prey that preceded it, Arkane Studios' game is something new and yet strikingly familiar. There's a great deal of kinship to the likes of Bioshock, Half-Life and other classic games, but it's also broader and more expansive in what it tries to do. Regardless of its flaws and similarities, Prey manages to be an enthralling science fiction adventure.
I really tried with Strafe, spending a good six hours with it and getting only as far as the fourth level before dying. I liked the overall tone, and the gunplay is solid fun, but really this is one of the more punishing Rogue-Lites out there, with a high skill ceiling that sets you right back to the beginning once you die without any meaningful progression unless you somehow find the key to a teleporter. A lot to admire, but for most it'll seem utterly impenetrable.
It feels somewhat churlish being so negative about what is in many ways a professionally put together indie game. Many of my complaints could be patched out – although the graphics would need a severe overhaul to prevent the distractions – and it may well be that 'masocore' fans will click with the controls but, unfortunately, for me they were an insurmountable barrier to my enjoyment of the game. Super Meat Boy keeps the crown for now.
Minor niggles aside, I very much enjoyed exploring the World to the West and would certainly recommend it to others looking for an old-school Zelda-esque adventure to follow or distract from not having the sublime open world Breath of the Wild. It successfully captures the feel of a 16bit style adventure and combines this with charming characters and some great environmental ability-based puzzling. Plus, Lord Clonington has the potential to become a gaming icon for these hipster times. As I found myself unintentionally humming to myself, 'Together, we will go our way / Together, we will leave someday.'
Dragon Quest Heroes II is an enjoyable hack and slash sequel with a great array of characters and enemies. It continues on the good work of the first title in conjuring the feel of the Dragon Quest series, but it's still just a Musou title underneath it all with all the repetitive combat that entails. While the RPG elements add a nice level of customisation, it can all feel a little too prescribed to be truly enthralling.