FIFA 18 shows Alex Hunter moving into a wider world of football, and while that story experience is absorbing, it also reveals how much work areas like the career mode – which hasn't meaningfully changed in years – need. It's still worth it to play all the modes the title has to offer, but this is a title that caters to its superstar.

With so much conversation with characters that feel like they'll be left in the past after this episode, a dreary prison setting, and gameplay that generally fails to engage, Jailhouse Block is the weakest entry of the season. The fleeting high moments like the difficult decision or the climactic battle don't save the episode. However, like most episodes Telltale releases in any of its myriad licensed series, it ends on a solid cliffhanger that has me intrigued about what happens next.

With so much conversation with characters that feel like they'll be left in the past after this episode, a dreary prison setting, and gameplay that generally fails to engage, Jailhouse Block is the weakest entry of the season. The fleeting high moments like the difficult decision or the climactic battle don't save the episode. However, like most episodes Telltale releases in any of its myriad licensed series, it ends on a solid cliffhanger that has me intrigued about what happens next.

With so much conversation with characters that feel like they'll be left in the past after this episode, a dreary prison setting, and gameplay that generally fails to engage, Jailhouse Block is the weakest entry of the season. The fleeting high moments like the difficult decision or the climactic battle don't save the episode. However, like most episodes Telltale releases in any of its myriad licensed series, it ends on a solid cliffhanger that has me intrigued about what happens next.

With so much conversation with characters that feel like they'll be left in the past after this episode, a dreary prison setting, and gameplay that generally fails to engage, Jailhouse Block is the weakest entry of the season. The fleeting high moments like the difficult decision or the climactic battle don't save the episode. However, like most episodes Telltale releases in any of its myriad licensed series, it ends on a solid cliffhanger that has me intrigued about what happens next.

Not all the shots NBA 2K18 takes are swishes, but its shooting percentage is high enough to once again recommend you step on the hardcourt. The deep MyGM, MyCareer, and MyTeam modes offer hundreds of hours of compelling play, and the on-court action is once again stellar. Once the servers stabilize and Visual Concepts patches in some easily correctible fixes, NBA 2K18 should once again be in pole position for sports game of the year.

Not all the shots NBA 2K18 takes are swishes, but its shooting percentage is high enough to once again recommend you step on the hardcourt. The deep MyGM, MyCareer, and MyTeam modes offer hundreds of hours of compelling play, and the on-court action is once again stellar. Once the servers stabilize and Visual Concepts patches in some easily correctible fixes, NBA 2K18 should once again be in pole position for sports game of the year.

Not all the shots NBA 2K18 takes are swishes, but its shooting percentage is high enough to once again recommend you step on the hardcourt. The deep MyGM, MyCareer, and MyTeam modes offer hundreds of hours of compelling play, and the on-court action is once again stellar. Once the servers stabilize and Visual Concepts patches in some easily correctible fixes, NBA 2K18 should once again be in pole position for sports game of the year.

I’ve been having a great time with PoE, and it’s fast become my go-to when I need to get in a rewarding grind. The Xbox One version may be a little late to the party, but it was absolutely worth the wait. This fantastic game takes the best of the genre and propels them to impressive new heights.

The mysteries of Danganronpa V3 may not offer the same rewarding highs as previous entries, but the core formula remains entertaining despite some missteps. I still had fun piecing together the murders and learning about the characters, which is enough to help V3 earn its passing grade, though it isn’t graduating with honors.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is a fighting game that tries to appeal to everyone, and it largely succeeds (unless you’re a die-hard Wolverine fan). I occasionally cringed at the bad one-liners, but I also giggled with absurd joy every time photojournalist Frank West tossed a demigod like Thanos across a dilapidated space station. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite isn’t trying to be taken seriously; it’s a series of geeky what-if scenarios that play out in spectacular aerial battles. After I embraced that, I had a lot of fun.

Divinity: Original Sin II is one of the greatest PC RPGs of all time, and Larian’s continued dedication to creating incredible freeform adventures inspired by tabletop lineage is inspiring and commendable. A few bugs and frustrating encounters are small prices to pay for a lavish ensemble of the genre’s best and a one-of-a-kind experience.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is a fighting game that tries to appeal to everyone, and it largely succeeds (unless you’re a die-hard Wolverine fan). I occasionally cringed at the bad one-liners, but I also giggled with absurd joy every time photojournalist Frank West tossed a demigod like Thanos across a dilapidated space station. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite isn’t trying to be taken seriously; it’s a series of geeky what-if scenarios that play out in spectacular aerial battles. After I embraced that, I had a lot of fun.

Destiny 2 is a massive and rewarding game that offers the potential for hundreds of hours of fun and discovery with friends. Quibbles aside, Bungie has crafted a fantastic follow-up to a wildly popular formula, and one that no other developer has come close to equaling in sophistication. Many of the streamlining choices welcome a new crop of Guardians into the mix, but also make this new game more playable and understandable for even returning players. As I settle in for what I hope to be another several years of adventures, I hope Bungie can nail the elusive balance between depth and accessibility.

Death of the Outsider ultimately emerges as a strong chapter in one of the best modern action/RPG series thanks to gameplay refinements and dedication to its dark fiction. This standalone expansion doesn’t revolutionize the series but instead does something more important, navigating the familiar to bring everything to a satisfying conclusion.

NHL 18 may not win every scrum in the corner or go top shelf with every shot it takes, but it still shows enough grit and hustle to earn your respect. The new offensive and defensive tools are welcome additions on the ice, and the entertaining Threes mode could become a party staple for hockey fans.

NHL 18 may not win every scrum in the corner or go top shelf with every shot it takes, but it still shows enough grit and hustle to earn your respect. The new offensive and defensive tools are welcome additions on the ice, and the entertaining Threes mode could become a party staple for hockey fans.

I absolutely enjoy playing PES 2018; its gameplay elevates an aspect that was already strong. This is remarkable in and of itself, but also highlights the work still to be done in important areas such as the Master League. The franchise contains a great foundation, and will have to continue to build on it to remain at the top of the table.

All of this represents good progress for the franchise, but while NASCAR Heat 2 adds racing series, rivalries, and other features, it misses an opportunity to make them meaningful and expand the actual scope and excitement of the game.

This might be Samus’ first 2D adventure in more than a dozen years, but it’s a great reminder of why we fell in love with the franchise in the first place.

Series fans might be put off by Monster Hunter Stories’ simplified combat, but I enjoyed the opportunity to pilot some of my favorite creatures from the franchise on the other side of the blade. Fans of turn-based JRPG fare, newcomers to the franchise, and younger gamers have more to enjoy here – to explore and engage with the Monster Hunter universe without having to enter through a less accessible door. Monster Hunter Stories is a warm and welcoming trek that’s only brought down by stale and repetitive combat. Despite its shortcomings, there’s still a neat egg to crack here.

With its stellar survival mechanics, The Long Dark makes for a brutal experience that requires patience and micromanaging to fully appreciate. However, it’s brought down by some bugs and a story mode that leaves much to be desired. It’s nonetheless a satisfying test of survival in a gorgeous setting – as long as you can brave the frigid cold.

With its stellar survival mechanics, The Long Dark makes for a brutal experience that requires patience and micromanaging to fully appreciate. However, it’s brought down by some bugs and a story mode that leaves much to be desired. It’s nonetheless a satisfying test of survival in a gorgeous setting – as long as you can brave the frigid cold.

Gigantic is an accessible MOBA that admirably scales the genre down, but loses the magic that makes the genre so enticing. It lacks many of the myriad ability and character interactions that make learning these kinds of games so much fun, and the combat doesn’t find a comfortable center between MOBA and third-person action.

Slime Rancher has the ability to keep you hooked for hours; I often looked out over my ranch, felt pride at my accomplishments, and eagerly ventured back into the wilderness to see what other strange things I could find.

Though it doesn’t add much for players looking to play around with its improvements solo, Nidhogg 2 adds layers of depth to a simple formula without breaking what made it so appealing in the first place. The new weapons and maneuvers blend seamlessly into fights, making them more dynamic and tense. Its single-player offerings may be paper-thin, but for anyone looking to test themselves against their friends, Nidhogg 2 is hard to beat.

LawBreakers delivers in terms of neat weapons, lightning-fast kills, and aspirational skills. You’ll look back in awe at performing feats like landing a triple kill while blasting yourself backwards into a zero-g environment. Despite the adrenaline-fueled highs, the title falls back to earth due to uninteresting environments, generic characters, and a lack of variety.

Bloober Team’s latest is one of the scariest horror experiences I’ve played in a long time, and its strong sense of place, story, and action put it above the majority of other games in the genre. Observer is simply the best of both worlds and is a must-play for anyone who considers themselves a fan of either sci-fi or horror.

Bloober Team’s latest is one of the scariest horror experiences I’ve played in a long time, and its strong sense of place, story, and action put it above the majority of other games in the genre. Observer is simply the best of both worlds and is a must-play for anyone who considers themselves a fan of either sci-fi or horror.

War of the Chosen contains so much new content that it could almost have been called XCOM 3. Every mission dishes out a new enemy, mission type, or environment, which allows the game to remain fresh for several dozen hours. War of the Chosen’s wealth of interwoven systems might overwhelm newcomers, but strategy nerds willing to master the nuances will be treated to one of the most rewarding strategy games in years. I don’t know how Firaxis could make a more complex yet gratifying strategy game, but I can’t wait to see them try.

War of the Chosen contains so much new content that it could almost have been called XCOM 3. Every mission dishes out a new enemy, mission type, or environment, which allows the game to remain fresh for several dozen hours. War of the Chosen’s wealth of interwoven systems might overwhelm newcomers, but strategy nerds willing to master the nuances will be treated to one of the most rewarding strategy games in years. I don’t know how Firaxis could make a more complex yet gratifying strategy game, but I can’t wait to see them try.

The Enigma lives up to its name of being difficult to understand from start to finish. Telltale is all over the place in this episode, but the desire to be gritty and different is exposed too much, and the story suffers from it, feeling more like an odd one shot than the first part of something larger. Mysteries abound, however, and enough engaging narrative threads are left dangling to potentially right this second season’s direction.

The Enigma lives up to its name of being difficult to understand from start to finish. Telltale is all over the place in this episode, but the desire to be gritty and different is exposed too much, and the story suffers from it, feeling more like an odd one shot than the first part of something larger. Mysteries abound, however, and enough engaging narrative threads are left dangling to potentially right this second season’s direction.

Knack II is the sequel no one expected to see, yet everyone should consider playing, especially if they are fond of Ratchet & Clank, Jak and Daxter, and Crash Bandicoot.

The neighborhood is a joy to explore, with its brightly colored environments that look like watercolor paintings. The characters feel lively and real, despite their vague, eyeless appearances. They speak to each other in incoherent murmurs, which means the story is told mostly through body language and visuals. I enjoyed having to piece things together myself, but their high-pitched mutters grew tiring, often portraying exaggerated emotions that didn’t feel authentic.

Last Day of June paints a world that is visually beautiful on the surface and darker at its core, but its emotional story loses luster quickly. While some narrative twists drew me in nearing its conclusion, I never connected enough with the story and felt distracted by its repetitive nature.

The act of bouncing a ball back and forth against an opponent in a virtual space, the main hook of Sparc, is fun and it works well. After overcoming my initial shortcomings of accurately being able to throw a digital ball, I quickly began to enjoy Sparc and even work up a small sweat. Beyond the basic fun of the main game, however, there just isn’t much here.

This franchise's attempt to step out from its own shadow is only half successful, and not because it dared to do so in the first place, but because it didn't dare enough. It also lacks a singular vision, and instead feels like a collection of parts pieced together.

Awake shows you a broken Chloe - someone at her lowest. Everyone hits those trying times in their lives, and what Awake does best is illustrate how much another person can make a difference in those situations. The emotional pull is strong, and the story's strength is its relatability. This first episode has me intrigued at how Chloe and Rachel Amber will make it through their distress, and it also has me rooting for them.

Awake shows you a broken Chloe - someone at her lowest. Everyone hits those trying times in their lives, and what Awake does best is illustrate how much another person can make a difference in those situations. The emotional pull is strong, and the story's strength is its relatability. This first episode has me intrigued at how Chloe and Rachel Amber will make it through their distress, and it also has me rooting for them.

Awake shows you a broken Chloe - someone at her lowest. Everyone hits those trying times in their lives, and what Awake does best is illustrate how much another person can make a difference in those situations. The emotional pull is strong, and the story's strength is its relatability. This first episode has me intrigued at how Chloe and Rachel Amber will make it through their distress, and it also has me rooting for them.

Telltale continues to do some fun things with these familiar comic-book heroes, especially in fleshing out character backgrounds in compelling ways. More Than A Feeling wraps up the initial conflict, and lays out a new one to carry us into subsequent episodes. If this installment fails to dramatically up the tension, at least it maintains a solid storytelling pace, and fans of the galaxy’s most loveable space misfits should continue to find moments of fun.

Ys VIII gets its hooks in you with its progression loop; you're always making new discoveries and locating new materials to craft something better. Nihon Falcom also does its best to inject variety when it can, from battles that involve your entire village to Dana learning different fighting styles throughout the game. With a wealth of content to pursue, you always have something to do, even if it's merely fishing or cooking. On top that, Ys VIII has a lot of memorable battle moments; I only wish the story and characters held the same allure.

Sloclap’s first foray shows glimmers of brilliance in the combat and the somewhat intriguing aesthetic of masked martial artists going at it in strange lands. Even so, Absolver feels like a collection of little pieces from something larger that just never happens. It’s as if someone has set the table for a fascinating three-course meal and the appetizer is the only thing that ever comes out of the kitchen – and by the time you take your first bite, you’re being ushered out the door.

I was as skeptical as anyone when I heard the words “Mario” and “XCOM” uttered in the same sentence, but Kingdom Battle didn’t just prove me wrong – it ended up being my favorite Mario game in recent years. Nintendo and Ubisoft took a big risk working together outside their comfort zones, and that risk paid off.

War of the Chosen contains so much new content that it could almost have been called XCOM 3. Every mission dishes out a new enemy, mission type, or environment, which allows the game to remain fresh for several dozen hours. War of the Chosen’s wealth of interwoven systems might overwhelm newcomers, but strategy nerds willing to master the nuances will be treated to one of the most rewarding strategy games in years. I don’t know how Firaxis could make a more complex yet gratifying strategy game, but I can’t wait to see them try.

This is my number one frustration, as any mistake puts you back much closer to square one. Any contraband you've hidden in your desk remains, but the on-hand keys, equipment, and weaponry you spent your time crafting are gone, and it's not quick or easy to regain. It wouldn't be so frustrating if the game allowed for manual saves, but the individual levels are tied to their online leaderboards and autosave every few seconds. I wish I could have turned this off for local play.

When you find the right offbeat item, or barely squeak by a guard in Escapists 2, it's incredibly refreshing. However, the monotony of gathering items and playing errand runner for other inmates sours the experience, and the awkward controls don't help. For those who crave unforgiving challenges, the Escapists 2 brings them in spades, but it often comes at the cost of your patience.

When you find the right offbeat item, or barely squeak by a guard in Escapists 2, it's incredibly refreshing. However, the monotony of gathering items and playing errand runner for other inmates sours the experience, and the awkward controls don't help. For those who crave unforgiving challenges, the Escapists 2 brings them in spades, but it often comes at the cost of your patience.

The game’s overall scale is still impressively large, but there’s only one main area to explore. Visiting the first entry, enhanced as it is, certainly gave me a greater appreciation for the strides that the series made later. That’s probably not what Sega was hoping for here, but it’s unavoidable considering the close proximity to Yakuza 0’s release.

Madden 18 can't easily be characterized by what's on the back of the box. Underneath what seems like a collection of thrown-together or even uninteresting features is a good game whose rewards are less readily apparent.

Madden 18 is missing a host of fixes, wishlist staples, and improvements, but it doesn't have to appease to have worth. It captures the joy that I find in playing video game football even after all these years. That's not just a love of the sport with a license slapped on it; it's the continuing refinement of gameplay and modes that still has the ability to surprise and excite.

Given just how fully featured this adventure is, Lost Legacy could have easily been Uncharted 5. Where Naughty Dog goes next is anyone’s guess, but I would love to see Chloe and Nadine return for another hunt, as they’re every bit as engaging as the Drake family. They make a hell of a team.

The first episode of this season introduced improved combat that added new elements like dodge-rolls and a stamina bar, as well as a new way to craft entire structures using the resources in your inventory on a grid-based platform. I was delighted not only to see the structure I built in the first episode reappear in Giant Consequences, but also the opportunity to build a new structure that I hope will make an appearance in a future episode.

With a breakneck pace and action-packed events, the sophomore episode of season two has me hoping that the series can carry this momentum forward. Though I'm anticipating the typical Telltale pattern where all your choices end up not making much of a difference at the season's conclusion, I'm at least enjoying the ride to that point.

With a breakneck pace and action-packed events, the sophomore episode of season two has me hoping that the series can carry this momentum forward. Though I'm anticipating the typical Telltale pattern where all your choices end up not making much of a difference at the season's conclusion, I'm at least enjoying the ride to that point.

Agents of Mayhem finds an identity of its own thanks to the memorable characters and structure, even if the action is familiar.

Agents of Mayhem is cheesy, rarely funny, and generally ridiculous, but I was eager to play for long periods of time. The action is frenetic and fun, with room for strategy using all the characters’ assorted abilities. Even if Seoul ends up being a bland backdrop, I enjoyed being in the world and causing explosions in at every opportunity.

Matterfall’s brand of action is simple but refined, producing many doses of adrenaline as you survive overwhelming odds again and again. The shooting is satisfying, and zipping across stages while blasting foes is a great, dumb time. For those who like their action simple but visually pleasing and challenging, Matterfall is an easy recommendation.

With its stellar survival mechanics, The Long Dark makes for a brutal experience that requires patience and micromanaging to fully appreciate. However, it’s brought down by some bugs and a story mode that leaves much to be desired. It’s nonetheless a satisfying test of survival in a gorgeous setting – as long as you can brave the frigid cold.

Bloober Team’s latest is one of the scariest horror experiences I’ve played in a long time, and its strong sense of place, story, and action put it above the majority of other games in the genre. Observer is simply the best of both worlds and is a must-play for anyone who considers themselves a fan of either sci-fi or horror.

Exciting level design, a stellar soundtrack, and cool expansions on the original formula work in one accord to deliver the Sonic game fans have been waiting for.

Exciting level design, a stellar soundtrack, and cool expansions on the original formula work in one accord to deliver the Sonic game fans have been waiting for.

A return to the series' roots in every sense, Sonic Mania is a joyful reminder why the franchise became such a hit in the first place. Though it's content with reliving past glories, it does so exceptionally well. Exciting level design, a stellar soundtrack, and cool expansions on the original formula work in one accord to deliver the Sonic game fans have been waiting for.

A return to the series' roots in every sense, Sonic Mania is a joyful reminder why the franchise became such a hit in the first place. Though it's content with reliving past glories, it does so exceptionally well. Exciting level design, a stellar soundtrack, and cool expansions on the original formula work in one accord to deliver the Sonic game fans have been waiting for.

Though it doesn’t add much for players looking to play around with its improvements solo, Nidhogg 2 adds layers of depth to a simple formula without breaking what made it so appealing in the first place. The new weapons and maneuvers blend seamlessly into fights, making them more dynamic and tense. Its single-player offerings may be paper-thin, but for anyone looking to test themselves against their friends, Nidhogg 2 is hard to beat.

LawBreakers delivers in terms of neat weapons, lightning-fast kills, and aspirational skills. You’ll look back in awe at performing feats like landing a triple kill while blasting yourself backwards into a zero-g environment. Despite the adrenaline-fueled highs, the title falls back to earth due to uninteresting environments, generic characters, and a lack of variety.

Cryptark’s surprising depth of options might hook you at the outset, but they aren’t enough to make you return time and again.

Immaculate level design, devilish enemy placement, and a steady but always punishing difficulty curve help Nex Machina stand head and shoulders above most competing shooters, not to mention the early arcade titles that inspired it, like Robotron: 2084. That’s meaningful, as Nex Machina was created in cooperation with Eugene Jarvis, one of the designers of that early classic game. Nex Machina is far deeper than first impressions might suggest, and can offer many hours of searing challenge, presuming you’re willing to face a little eye strain. Blinking is not encouraged.

While the narrative is front and center, Hellblade also has a swordplay component that has Senua squaring off in brutal encounters.

Psychosis in video games is often used to justify a villain’s world-destroying ambitions, or as a vehicle to present gameplay gimmicks. Hellblade goes beyond those conventions, using Senua’s mental illness as the core from which the entire tale radiates. That approach results in some phenomenal and unsettling narrative moments that knock you off-balance. However, in pursuit of that achievement, Hellblade weaponizes the real-world frustration it causes in exploration and combat. That’s where it falters as a game, even while it captivates as a piece of interactive art.

The Enigma lives up to its name of being difficult to understand from start to finish. Telltale is all over the place in this episode, but the desire to be gritty and different is exposed too much, and the story suffers from it, feeling more like an odd one shot than the first part of something larger. Mysteries abound, however, and enough engaging narrative threads are left dangling to potentially right this second season’s direction.

With its smooth combat, rewarding exploration, and pulse-pounding battles, Sundered is worth a look from fans of Metroid and Castlevania. Though technical issues muddled my enjoyment and the punishing difficulty can lead to fits of frustration, Sundered brings an exciting and noteworthy experience to a crowded genre.

With its smooth combat, rewarding exploration, and pulse-pounding battles, Sundered is worth a look from fans of Metroid and Castlevania. Though technical issues muddled my enjoyment and the punishing difficulty can lead to fits of frustration, Sundered brings an exciting and noteworthy experience to a crowded genre.

Slime Rancher has the ability to keep you hooked for hours; I often looked out over my ranch, felt pride at my accomplishments, and eagerly ventured back into the wilderness to see what other strange things I could find.

The gimmick of Kingsway is rather glorious, but the grandeur fades quickly as you take up your sword and staff for the third or forth completion run. The novelty of Kingsway is quite potent, but it just doesn’t have any staying power. As something to hammer out in a day and put down never to play again, it’s a fun diversion – but don’t count on it to keep you exploring the ever-changing island for much longer than that.

With Tacoma’s unique take on branching narratives and a strong cast, it manages to tell an intriguing tale about mortality and relationships in the face of catastrophe. Tacoma builds on the foundations of Gone Home, but has its own unique tricks to tell an immersive story in a compelling way.

Katrielle is the highlight of this adventure, and I want to solve more mysteries with her (especially the two left hanging), but this first month of her detective agency being in business is disappointing. None of the cases stand out as noteworthy, with the possible exception of the final one. An underwhelming first outing certainly doesn’t spell doom for the new Layton Detective Agency, but I was hoping for more from this series’ reboot.

Gigantic is an accessible MOBA that admirably scales the genre down, but loses the magic that makes the genre so enticing. It lacks many of the myriad ability and character interactions that make learning these kinds of games so much fun, and the combat doesn’t find a comfortable center between MOBA and third-person action.

There’s a lot to love about Miitopia, even though I was fatigued during the last several hours. I enjoy games like The Sims, where you can create characters and watch their personalities interact in unexpected ways. That element is abundant here, along with the mechanics of a respectably deep RPG – regardless of whether you enlist Pringles Guy.

Dream Daddy is a surprisingly wholesome game about fatherhood, and about finding love again after loss. The well-written dialogue surprised me, and so did the fact that it is an incredibly heartwarming game. Rather than focusing on titillation, Dream Daddy has a cast of characters that are both real and diverse, even if it doesn’t always bring enough depth to the topics it tackles.

Pikmin could work in 2D, but Hey Pikmin isn’t the game to make it happen. Nintendo’s low-impact blend of strategy and action flounders between relaxing and boring. I sometimes felt compelled to replay Hey Pikmin’s levels to find the treasures I’d missed the first time around, but I never found what I was hoping to: a richer strategy experience.

Pyre’s storytelling ambience, narration, art, and music work in concert. This gives the experience a singular identity, and the mash-up of role-playing and sports gameplay cements that distinctiveness. More showing and less telling could improve the pacing, and the lengthy travel and dialogue sequences have the potential to detract from the thrill of the “fights.” But I’m hesitant to fault that more gradual approach, as Supergiant has once again crafted an unusual and surprising fictional backdrop, and a little extra reading is well worth it for some unchecked originality.

Despite making players run the same levels multiple times, The End Is Nigh is a worthy successor to Super Meat Boy. It offers the same ludicrously hard and satisfying approach to level design and spices it up with some substantial changes. Its interlocked world introduces some fun exploration, even if it can be a pain to backtrack through brutal gauntlets time and again. But if you’ve found the platform genre a little too lenient in recent years, The End is Nigh will give the fix you’ve been looking for.

With an great competitive multiplayer suite, a fun take on the wave-based survival formula, and an imaginative single-player mode, Splatoon 2 is an excellent evolution.

Despite its problems, Hero in Residence presents situations I want to see progress over the next four episodes. Though the pacing is inconsistent and the decision points are questionable in their weight, the new mechanics and revamped combat make me wonder what else Telltale has in store this season. Though I have my problems with this episode, I'm interested to see the direction the tale takes from here.

Despite its problems, Hero in Residence presents situations I want to see progress over the next four episodes. Though the pacing is inconsistent and the decision points are questionable in their weight, the new mechanics and revamped combat make me wonder what else Telltale has in store this season. Though I have my problems with this episode, I'm interested to see the direction the tale takes from here.

Despite its problems, Hero in Residence presents situations I want to see progress over the next four episodes. Though the pacing is inconsistent and the decision points are questionable in their weight, the new mechanics and revamped combat make me wonder what else Telltale has in store this season. Though I have my problems with this episode, I'm interested to see the direction the tale takes from here.

The word I would best use to describe Black The Fall is perfunctory. It mostly functions, but has no highs outside of the opening. It offers no narrative incentive to deal with its onslaught of boring and outright bad puzzles. I rarely finish games that make me wish I could have the time I spent with them back; Black The Fall is an unfortunate exception.

While Tokyo Xanadu has some enjoyable elements, it suffers from its monotonous dungeons and predictable story structure. I look back fondly on some of the characters, and Nihon Falcom still has wonderful skill at constructing a believable and welcoming world. In the end, though, Tokyo Xanadu's flaws hold it back from standing out and being memorable.

Taken as a whole, Master Trials ends up feeling like a fun mess of goodies, but the lack of a thematic unifier for all this content draws attention to how sparse the content here is outside of the meaty Trial of the Sword. This DLC isn’t enough of a reason to head back to Hyrule if your adventure has already come to an end, but it’s nice for those still slowly making their way to Ganon.

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is a remaster done right. The core content remains the same, but the changes in various systems add a new layer of discovery... Not every facet of the game has aged well, but the clever combat and fantastic cast earns this entry its status as classic RPG, and the Zodiac Age is the best way to play it. [Aug 2017, p.152]

I expected The Golf Club 2 to be better than the first in every way given the new career setup and golf societies, but I was surprised the addition of the swing tempo gameplay is what gives this title a lasting structure. This, combined with the course creator, make the game indispensable for any golf fan. You'll be seeing those missed putts in your dreams and savoring every chip-in birdie.

The Crimson Court is a welcome addition to Darkest Dungeon, a neat sidecar to be enjoyed alongside the core experience. The aesthetic of the infiltration and destruction of a hedonistic high-society is handled perfectly, and only the extreme dedication toward ensuring you have a stressful, ride-the-razor experience detracts from the Lovecraftian journey.

For all three games, the feeling of repetition never sinks in, a factor that goes a long way in making this trilogy a blast to play. It's good to have Crash back in the limelight. I hope this isn't the last we see of him.

Immaculate level design, devilish enemy placement, and a steady but always punishing difficulty curve help Nex Machina stand head and shoulders above most competing shooters, not to mention the early arcade titles that inspired it, like Robotron: 2084.

Cryptark’s surprising depth of options might hook you at the outset, but they aren’t enough to make you return time and again.

When credits rolled on Get Even after a powerful ending, I found myself wanting to revisit the world and collect all the clues I missed to see how it would affect Black’s story. Farm 51’s latest is a well-paced action-adventure title that juggles a lot of elements to create an experience that is both thrilling and unexpectedly moving.