A wonderfully different dive into the Caped Crusader’s past culminates in a worthy chapter that further defines his future, and small problems aside, I could not be happier with the way it all went down.

Final Fantasy XV takes a lot of chances, with combat, story, characters, and its open world setting. More often than not it manages to hit that sweet spot nexus of innovation and familiarity: the game world is immense but not overwhelming, the combat is chaotic but manageable and exciting, and the story and characters equally endearing and unfathomable. Assuming that Final Fantasy XV is a template for future installments and not simply a one-off, ten-years-in-the-making experiment, the game may cry out for refinement but hints at an exciting direction as well. It definitely breathes new life into a franchise that was on the verge of irrelevance for many gamers.

I have nothing against scantily-clad bodylicious anime babes and in this time and era when the western games are stripped down of all sexual innuendo it's refreshing to see something so lewd and uninhibited. But as it is Senran Kagura: Bon Appétit is nothing more than a glorified peep show. To be fair it is the game's ultimate purpose in itself and everything else is just glazing but I wouldn't have minded more seasonings in its recipe. Onechanbara and Dead or Alive series do it all better as they offer more game in their fan service.

Pirate Pop Plus is really just a victim of changing expectations in the market – if it had come out on the original Game Boy, say, it would be an easy rec. Fun, high score challenge, and look at how much to unlock, just incredible! But now it just feels very shallow, and the $5 asking price starts to feel weirdly steep for a game that would feel so much more at home on a phone, the last bastion for these kinds of "boot em up quick at the doctors office!" types of games. If it comes out there and has an awesome high score tracking feature or something, it's easy to recommend, but now if you just want to grab something fun and don't mind spending the $5, you could do worse.

Small Radios Big Televisions is an interesting project and those keen on trying it out should either wait for the game to go on sale or watch a Let’s Play on YouTube. With no real challenges to test your mettle and a game length of just under two hours, it doesn’t come with much staying power. It might be more fun as a VR game, given the premise and the places the cassette tapes reveal. Either way, there is little more to the game outside of it being a “Hey, check this out” experience.

Its varied just enough to make the entire experience quite refreshing. And really that’s what Watch Dogs 2 comes down to. It’s a refreshing and easy going world to be in. Even when the narrative tries to up the stakes you can go on hacking the world and making it do whatever it is you want to do. The game is opened up just enough to allow for the insane to happen and when it does Watch Dogs 2 really shines. It’s not a momentous step forward for the franchise but anyone sitting on the sideline worried that Ubisoft slept on the criticism of the first, fret not, Watch Dogs 2 is a better game in every way from its predecessor.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare does little to really push the series forward in a meaningful way, beyond the addition of space combat. Although well written and acted, its story is still too binary and lacks the subtlety of real-life geopolitical conflict. Amazing, its short campaign can feel too long in places, and its stop-and-start pace suffers in comparison to its shooter peers. Multiplayer and Zombie modes fare better, and for many players, that will be good enough.

With dragons to fight, weapons to craft, a home to make, and children to adopt, Skyrim: Special Edition represents the better gaming experiences I’ve had from Bethesda. Their fantasy games are more visually and narratively interesting to me instead of the the cynicism and nihilism that lives in the Fallout series. And because of its wintery locale, Skyrim is a really cozy game to play on a cold, rainy day. Unless you’re still playing it, picking up Skyrim: Special Edition is a good enough excuse to enjoy the video game equivalent of comfort food.

There’s just a ton of content packed into FIFA 17 including an updated Ultimate Team that makes this an extremely compelling package. I’ve sunk nearly thirty hours into FIFA 17 already and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon. The new engine increases the spectacle of the sport while still keeping true to the franchise. This is a great looking game and easily one of the best sports games of the year.

Other than the Cities franchise, the building-sim genre has been a little under represented as of late, and the amusement park-sim world hasn't seen anything this exciting since the early, glory days of Rollercoaster Tycoon. Planet Coaster represents a return to form and sets the bar very high for sim designers in general. Fun, flexible, deep, endlessly entertaining -- and at a bargain price -- Planet Coaster might not be for every gamer, but for fans of the genre it can't be beat.

Anyone who played and enjoyed Dishonored will recognize that its sequel meets or exceeds what players enjoyed about the first game. Excellent level design and a convincing world are coupled with a rich suite of weapons and abilities, guaranteeing that every enemy encounter is an opportunity for creative mayhem (or cleverly avoiding it). An underwhelming story, rote voice acting, and aging graphics aren't enough to do more than tarnish what is at core a fantastic and fun experience.

Two Tribes were always known for their tight gameplay and responsive controls and in those areas the game succeeds in flying colors. But the new things they invested in for their final game such as voice acting and an actual plot just feels average in comparison. The game is 15$ on PSN, so if you want a 5-6 hours long game that will push you to your absolute limits in terms of sheer skill, then RIVE is definitely worth checking out.

Several technical issues aren’t game-breaking but they hurt the flow. As it its, some parts of the game take more perseverance than they should. All the problems bugging Ginger: Beyond the Crystal could be fixed with some serious patching. I really hope the developers rise up to the challenge as there’s clearly a fun and chirpy game bubbling under, something a whole family can enjoy together.

Azure Striker Gunvolt is a fresh take on action platforming. The developers utilize Gunvolt’s signature electric Flashfield effectively throughout as both a unique form of attack and a means to engaging with the stage. Its emphasis on playing fast will attract speed runners, and an in-depth scoring system provides a thrilling arcade-like experience. The game doesn’t last long nor will it leave long-lasting impressions, but Azure Striker Gunvolt’s mold-breaking gameplay will please fans of the genre.

One weird bug aside, this was a tremendous episode. Telltale’s creative use of Batlore was on full display with their low key use of his most famous villain, and they created an episode that managed to stand on its own while also leaving a jumping off point for the season finale. Guardian of Gotham delivers on all fronts.

Perhaps the main reason why Slain: Back from Hell is both a successful tribute to the old school gaming and a damn good game in its own right is the track record of its developers. They really did some of those Amiga games I grew up with back in the day. A heartfelt thanks to the graphics artist and the man behind the concept, Andrew Gilmour, and his co-developers for taking me back to my teen years. A time machine isn’t invented yet but Slain: Back from Hell is surely the next best thing. Those pampered modern gamers might think otherwise as the game takes a good chunk of old school masochism to go with it.

Event[0] is a short, flawed, fun and memorable experience.

Jackbox Party Pack 3 is a mixed bag of interesting party games and subpar experiences. At the very least, the pack looks and sounds good, with appropriate aesthetics matching each game’s tone. Each game’s announcer is consistently humorous, making light of each situation and reminding you to have fun. If at least a few of these diverse party games sound entertaining, then give this package a try. Otherwise, stick to some of Jackbox Games’ older offerings.

Xanadu Next would have been just a relic from the past if it wasn’t such a blast to play. If you can overlook somewhat dated graphics, the lack of voice-acting and the quiet demeanor of the silent protagonist, there’s a gripping and enjoyable action role-playing game awaiting in Xanadu Next. Easy to grasp nature of the gameplay mechanics and effortless controls tell about respecting the player but the game doesn’t underestimate its adventurers either. It’s easy to get into Xanadu Next but hard to leave its dungeons and secrets until they’re fully revealed.

Though a sluggish leveling system prevents a consistent sense of progression, the stirring single-player campaign, and endlessly enjoyable multiplayer modes cement Battlefield 1 as a new staple in the first-person shooter genre, and prove that WW1 is just as captivating of a time period to explore than any imagining of modern or future eras.

If Dead Synchronicity sounds intriguing (it did to me when I first heard about it), playing the game should be done at your own risk. This game has no ending. The conclusion is thoroughly unsatisfying and because I have no idea what the future looks like for this game on the platform, I’m at a loss to offer much in the way of a recommendation

Even if you never touch the multiplayer side of Titanfall 2, the game is worth the price of admission for its creative and continually engaging single player experience. Challenging, puzzling, surprising, funny, and above all, satisfying, the campaign elevates Titanfall 2 to one of the best shooters of the year. Pair that stellar accomplishment with an equally full-featured competitive suite, and the result is the definition of “must buy.”

Although it does a great job of nudging the player along the way, Civilization VI is complex, deep, and endlessly replayable. Like every entry in the series, Civ VI will no doubt be followed by a number of rebalancing tweaks, small changes, and expansion packs but fresh out of the digital box, Civilization VI is simultaneously familiar, fresh and remarkably fun.

I can definitely applaud CE2 for not just resting on its laurels and just releasing more CEDX but with more maps and skins or something, but what they actually did with the gameplay managed to take a lot of the thrill out of it. Despite the fact that it seems to run a lot faster, there were too many times while playing this game that I just got bored in the middle of a run. “This still going, huh?” I thought to myself. For all its bells and whistles, bumping music, and sleek framerate, Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 just doesn’t keep the thrill alive.

The game takes the approach of building a relatively small but highly detailed, rigorously simulated world. It prospers with this approach, instead of building a large world and filling it with copy-and-pasted material. Unfortunately, it bogs down often, either due to its poor interface or its puzzles that force you to spend way too much time trying to figure out what the developers where thinking when they designed them. In the end though, the positives outweigh the negatives, making Wuppo a game that is worth playing for the opportunity to explore its beautiful and immersive world.

Dragon Quest Builders is definitely a great stride of creativity in the gaming world. Going in, I didn’t expect anything more than the ability to build things and killing a bunch of slimes. What I got was something far greater, and far better than anything I could have imagined. You have the ability to completely change everything around you, and you can truly feel the importance of your role; even the aesthetics and sounds are great enough to evoke that kind of emotion. It gives you an awesome sense of accomplishment, surrounds you with some of the most interesting concepts that this genre has ever seen, and makes you feel like you’re worth something in this world. This is what it means to be a Builder.

Ashes of Ariandel offers a whole new bestiary of challenging creatures to murder, a beautiful, if haunting, world to explore, and a new story to figure out. Although the zone is built using a lot of familiar pieces, it evokes a rich sense of place. That’s the benefit of being separated from the rest of the game’s playable zones.

While I did like The Bunker, it definitely feels like it suffers from the same things that old FMV games like this always have, feeling like the only difference that’s occurred in the 20+ years since the first FMV adventure game was released is fidelity. With a stronger script, the game would be an easy recommendation, but as it is it’s mostly coasting on novelty, with just enough hooks to get you going through to the end.