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Among the Sleep puts the player behind the eyes of a two-year old and tasks them with surviving a series of wildly traumatizing scenarios. Careful hands and compassionate minds push Among the Sleep's delicate subject matter away from abject immorality, however, not with enough guidance to pivot an honest story into a capable game.
A successful reboot of a classic that manages to meld game design from the old school FPS days with modern elements, giving players the best of both.
Watch Dogs doesn't have the depth you'll find in a Grand Theft Auto title, but it does have a unique gameplay experience through hacking abilities, a gorgeous gaming environment to play in and enough added content via side quests and online play to make it worth your time.
Monochroma isn't shy about its influences. It looks like Limbo. It features an escort mechanic similar to Ico. It yearns to express a fraternal bond like Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. By defining its look, play-style, and passion through a buffet of modern classics, Monochroma's identity is left to the strength of its execution. Unfortunately while Monochroma's story manages some delicate moments, its gameplay can't escape obscene points of needless frustration and mechanical tedium. It's the latter that comes to define the experience.
Transistor's nuanced world-building and clever storytelling render its narrative original and intriguing. Its combat system presents a myriad of viable choices but remains indifferent toward how the player chooses to engage them. Its painterly visuals and pitch-perfect use of musical themes call to mind the greatest moments of 90's-era Japanese role-playing games. Its attention is focused on the first time through the game, but not lost on the second or third. Completing any one of these objectives would have been enough to satisfy those with a particular affinity toward a specific style, but watching them succeed as parts of a larger game widens its appeal and makes a declarative statement; Transistor is how games should be made.
Bound By Flames is a fun and very competent RPG whose pros clearly overshadow its cons. It's not perfect, it's not from a big budget studio, isn't 100+ hours, and it doesn't say Scrolls, Age, or Souls on the box, but any fan of the genre should give it a legit shot -- I think they'll be pleasantly surprised as I was.
Mario Kart 8 won't change your mind if you're against the series' basic conceptual design, of course, but for everyone on the fence who just wants a fun, skill-weighted, multiplayer-centric party racer, this is truly as good as it gets. The balance of luck and skill is very well done overall, and the selection of available features, items, and gameplay elements is the best the series has had to offer yet—not to mention the excellent track design. It's safe to say that this is the best Mario Kart since the SNES days, and that's a pretty heavy statement.
For all but the most passionate Spider-Man fans, TAS2 is one you can safely skip or get by with on a rental.
There can never be another Dark Souls. From Software's Magnum opus required years of King's Field and dry run in Demon's Souls before visions of Dark Souls were made a reality. A sequel owes an allegiance to its ascendant, and it's doubly-hard trying to improve upon a game many feel was born perfect. Dark Souls II, as its blessing and its curse, is not another Dark Souls. It is, however, more Dark Souls - and it makes good on its hallowed name.
Mario Golf: World Tour is hardly progressive and rarely creative on the level of its predecessors—and in some ways, it actually feels somewhat regressive. However, the core appeal of the series is still alive and well nonetheless, and with the added extensibility of online play and tournaments—as well as downloadable courses—it's hard to deny its appeal if you ever enjoyed what the series had to offer from the start.
If you're looking for an accessible and often-fun four player competitive splitscreen game, Cel Damage HD is worth a look.
Daylight is gold when it comes to scares, but is merely sterling silver in the gameplay substance department. The price might be worth the risk, though.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe is exactly what you would expect it to be: multiple game modes, creative level design, fun lighthearted style, colorful presentation, and crisp precise platforming. Kirby continues to live as a creative series built around a simple mechanic of move stealing and move-set freedom and will always be regarded dearly in this gamer's heart. It doesn't matter how many times the formula is reiterated as long as fresh ideas are pumped into the gameplay. Recommended.
This one is for the nostalgic fans out there that grew up with and respect the 8-bit era. Nintendo has put together some solid mini-games and remix levels from some of their strongest NES titles. You'll find a lot to love about NES Remix 2. Just beware of the occasional frustrating moments.
Trials Fusion seeks to layer a true stunt system through its maniacal blend of physics-based motorcycle racing, all the while leaving room for a mixture of surreal weirdness and circus sideshows. Unfortunately, these ideas feel like disjointed appendages to a perfect body, leaving Trials Fusion potent on paper but incomplete as a realized game. It's everything you loved about Trials, just with some roughed up baggage that should have been better.
LEGO The Hobbit brings a bigger world, improved gameplay elements and a deeper gaming experience than thought possible with a LEGO game. If you like the LEGO games, then you need this one in your collection. It's certainly the best of the best amongst its LEGO brethren.
The beta is over, and it was 15 million strong; now, we have the product of its revelations. With a thankfully redefined purpose and a much more enticing endgame, Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is probably the game you were hoping for years ago. It's not about competition, but cooperation. It's not about methodically stressing over your loot, it's about the thrill of the hunt. It's not about rushing to the top, it's about the sheer enjoyment of the journey itself. It embraces its core competencies and brashly ignores all other complicating factors—and, with few exceptions, it's a much better game for it.
KSR is better and deeper than most motion controlled games that I have played, especially of the family/sports compilation variety. However, it's still light on content and just doesn't have a great deal of staying power or replay value you would hope for.
Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends - Complete Edition has so much to offer and so much to do that it's difficult not to enjoy yourself. Is it perfect? No, but it gives hope that future Dynasty Warriors titles will look and play amazing on the current generation of systems. I think with a bit more work Omega Force can perfect this game. Right now, it's a really good game, but not yet great.
Goat Simulator is stupid, ridiculous, and incredibly fun. Everything from the hidden areas to the different goats make this game hilarious, and well worth the price.