Polygon's Reviews
It gets the balance right between nostalgic touches and clever new twists, and never once let me down with a boring boss or too-familiar retread. In all my years of playing with the Mario gang, I've never been quite so happy to hurl myself into the unknown, and 3D World delivers challenge, surprise and joy in almost every moment.
Ori and the Blind Forest is a rare realization of fantastic design and production values in a space where I wasn't expecting to find it, displaying a spectacular level of confidence in what it is and what it does.
Sunset Overdrive is contagiously enthusiastic
Titanfall has all the makings of the next big thing
Episode 2 raises stakes and expectations for The Walking Dead's second season
Mario Kart 8 doesn't mess with the formula much, but it left me smiling
Forza 5 brings multiplayer to solo play
Civilization: Beyond Earth successfully injects new life into Sid Meier's long-running strategy series
Pushmo World offers a constant trickle of "A-ha!" moments
Final Fantasy 15's big heart and ambition easily outshine its flaws
Halo 5 offers some of the best multiplayer the series has ever seen
This sequence is the story of FIFA 16, from its participants, to the tools used to deliver the goal, to the cathartic payoff that sent me leaping from my seat. Sports video gaming is at its best when you're fighting your ass off and the miracle comes through. And when it does, no game rolls out the TNT like FIFA 16.
It successfully pushes this series to new heights of polish, allure and charm. It has a few blemishes, enough to distract a bit from the intriguing and weighty themes that the game wrestles with. But even through the rough patches, Persona 5 doesn't give up a drop of its colorful personality.
Uncharted 4 delivers a thrilling, moving conclusion to the series
It's hard for me to mask my excitement about Guitar Hero Live, because in my opinion, there's nothing more exciting than a developer who's capable of outsmarting an entire genre's fanbase. Guitar Hero Live isn't just well-executed; it's clever and innovative in ways that no one other than FreeStyleGames ever imagined. My fears that Guitar Hero Live would be wringing blood out of the franchise's stone were unfounded; at some point, FreeStyleGames found itself a newer, better stone altogether.
Salt and Sanctuary lovingly adapts the Souls games into 2D
SOMA may not be as scary as Amnesia, but it is without a doubt a stronger game
In spite of a few glaring technical issues, XCOM 2 represents a high water mark for the entire franchise. Firaxis successfully tells an evocative story. It treats players with respect and includes so many small quality of life improvements over the original they are simply too numerous to mention. It is challenging enough at its basic difficulty level to feel like a complete experience. Despite the bugs, it's still the best-looking, most exciting turn-based tactical game I've ever played.
The occasional technical hiccup aside, Galak-Z is a brilliant take on so many different genres, but it's the game's roguelike innovations that make it soar. Some lesser entries in the genre use permadeath as a blunt tool, wielded to tack some artificial length onto a repetitive slog. Galak-Z is going to kill you back to a season premiere constantly, but not for lack of content — it's part of a laser-focused intent to make Galak-Z as tense and thrilling a game as can possibly be.
Madden 16's hard-earned successes feel that much more satisfying.