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Platinum didn't create a captivating narrative with Vanquish, but it serves as a showcase of some of their best pure action work. If you haven't had a chance to give it a shot yet you might as well with the definitive version on PC.
Maybe I was expecting too much from Perception, but it doesn't deliver on any of its promises.
At the same time, if you're an enthusiast fighter and want a competitively viable game with a lot of depth to explore, Injustice 2 makes a strong case for itself. It's the full package in a market filled with fighters that have come out half-cooked. I plan on savoring it for months to come.
Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada brings plenty of welcome elements to the formula and makes me excited for what Omega Force holds for us in the future once it fine tunes everything introduced in this game. While it brings plenty of shiny new features, it feels smaller in scale compared to the last mainline entry. But those new little things do add up to a lot. Spirit of Sanada offers a fresh take on the Warriors experience that can be very welcoming to newcomers and veterans alike.
Meet the new Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers, mostly the same as the old Street Fighter II. Beyond the veil of some visual wizardry and a few rote fleeting fluff modes, this is the old school foundation that a lot of folks built their fighting game careers on. That's not a bad thing, especially with the Switch's on-the-go hook, but it could just as easily have been a downloadable release.
Guilty Gear Xrd is possibly the best fighter out right now. It took three tries to round up this cast (and you can bet your bottom dollar there will be DLC or a Rev 3), but the cycle is complete. With one of the best tutorials outside of Skullgirls it won't even be that hard to break in, either.
While Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception won't break new ground in terms of narrative novelty or tactical depth, it remains an attractive, polished fantasy romp that will especially delight fans familiar with the original story. Everyone else, though, should be prepared to pick up the sequel, lest they leave the story halfway done.
There is a certain type of person who is going to enjoy this, and Cooking Mama: Sweet Shot has the good fortune to arrive at a time when I write for Destructoid, a man whose basic enjoyment of video gaming is such a low bar to hurdle that it can essentially get a pass other writers probably wouldn't give it. I like the game, warts and all. Objectively, you should be able to tell for yourself it shows nary a whisper of growth or innovation since the series' debut. Subjectively, I'm somehow that giggling schoolgirl once more, fawning over a cake I just mini-gamed into existence.
Simplicity is the biggest strength of Old Man's Journey. It doesn't require you to be a genius or a master gamer, but to have a penchant for something more oft-kilter. That it manages to be a satisfying experience all without saying a single word is remarkable and definitely worth a look.
Even though it ended on a sour note for me with a few too many elements snowballing into an avalanche of hair-pulling frustration, on the whole, Polybius had me in a trance. I'm happy just thinking about it. PlayStation VR owners, Jeff Minter fans, and arcade enthusiasts need to get in on this.
I had a lot of fun with Endless Space 2, and I'm looking forward to putting more time in with it. Despite my initial reservations about diving into the deep end, I soon found myself invested in the stories that came from my triumphs and failures. There's a lot to like here if you give it a chance, and even if strategy isn't your preferred genre, you might find that it's worth your time to give ES2 a shot.
Forza Horizon 3 Hot Wheels works even though it occupies a weird space. It doesn't play to Forza Horizon's strengths and, eventually, it doesn't even feel much like Hot Wheels anymore. It's claustrophobic and constricting in a way this franchise hasn't been before. In a twist of irony, it's the Hot Wheels aspect that prevents this expansion from ever performing anything spectacularly perilous.
Even if it wasn't a gross misuse of a license, Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days is a boring, buggy game with a universal selling point that's nowhere as fun, or as smart, as it thinks it is. And just like Joe Cabot, I'm so goddamn mad hollering at you guys, I can hardly talk.
It's a decent adventure with varied combat, cool boss battles, and semi-interesting locales. I'm going to keep at it until I've obtained everything there is to obtain, but even then I know I won't have seen everything there is to see. Some of the neatest stuff possible isn't scripted in by the designers, it's waiting to be imagined and created by an aspiring magician.
To put it bluntly, Seasons After Fall is "pleasant." A world with a great feeling experience that tends to knock you out of it when moving around. As much as I appreciate a game as relaxed as this, that relaxation never quite became true enjoyment.
Fire Emblem Echoes could have been held back by its need to usher the second iteration back into the fold, but it still feels like a fresh new entry. It is weaker than the last few games, but those bars were set so high that I won't hold that against it.
Even if Akiba's Beat had a higher budget and more time, it lacks any unique features, mimicking what other games do, but worse. For 40 hours you'll mash X through slow dialogue, then run around a dead environment, and then do more dialogue until you get to mash square against sponges. If Akiba's Trip is the shirtless jock who kicks the door with beers in hand, Akiba's Beat is the timid cocktail-drinker standing in the corner with one hand in his pocket. Technically functional, but spiritually dead.
If you love rhythm games, ignore the score below and pick it up for yourself because the music selection is outstanding overall and who knows when next we'll get something else like it. But know the game isn't nearly as good as it should be and you may spend far more time than you want repeating the same songs just to advance.
The Surge is a mix of interesting ideas and hiccups in execution. While there's no doubt that it will resonate with a specific, hardcore audience, it's missing just enough to alienate a generalized audience. Its combat is challenging, but not perfect; its story starts with a compelling hook but falls flat shortly after. There are echoes of something special running throughout The Surge, but it never escapes its own shadow.
Funny enough, I leave Prey happy and content with everyone's story but my own.