Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin is a wacky game that will end up being a cult classic. The devs were not afraid to march to the beat of their own drum, and the result is the type of slightly messy, unique AA game that we used to get in the late 2000s and early 2010s. It’s goofy, flawed, and fabulous, and I hope Square Enix continues to lean into publishing more experimental titles like this.

To say that Brink is a bad game wouldn't be accurate, and instead it's a good game that falls short on delivering its full potential. Had it come with more maps, and a little bit more emphasis on the story to make gamers want to learn more about The Ark, it would have been a great class shooter. Straight out of the box it is just a decent one with bad A.I.

This is a game you and your loved ones should play/watch together. It tells an incredibly personal story about love, loss, and growth that serves as an example of how far the video game medium has come as an art form.

It could be argued that Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness is not, in a traditional sense, a game, but even so it’s unbelievably entertaining. Story gamers will be in heaven, and fans of the anime are sure to find it just as delightful. I’ve never even seen the anime and I definitely found my own happiness within the stories I experienced.

It’s been awhile since I’ve so thoroughly enjoyed a learning curve in a racing game. Tiny Trax hides a highly challenging racer behind its charming presentation, and I’ve enjoyed going from nearly being lapped to occasionally winning races. The only thing that really holds the game back is a lack of content and options, as there are only three cups of tracks to master, but FuturLab definitely has a winner in the gameplay department.

Though it may not be what you imagine when you think of console RTS titles, Comet Crash 2: The Kronkoid Wars is a well-designed game that offers a constantly evolving structure. While it’s not something that will set the world on fire as far as hype is concerned, it’s an entertaining space adventure featuring a stout campaign and interesting mechanics. Spending a little time in its orbit would be a fantastic way to burn a few lunar cycles.

Like Constable Zellner, the game is deeper than it looks and has a story that will keep players guessing. I couldn’t ask for much more in a great whodunnit.

For all it aspires to deliver, Mutant Football League is a refreshingly vulgar, entertaining take on a tried and true football formula.

Even with the occasional boneheaded design choice, there’s still so much that Apex Construct does right. The absorbing level design, outstanding voice acting, and competitive combat all prove to be fantastic uses of PlayStation VR. Ultimately, the game feels like a very promising glimpse into the potential future of the platform.

I don’t know what I expected with Valley, but this was not it. I was not prepared to find an exploration game with a powerful story, fun exploration mechanics, a unique twist on death, beautiful artwork, and one of the best video game soundtracks in the industry.

Clearly a passion project for Digital Eclipse and Ubisoft, Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition is a proper celebration of the limbless platforming icon. His first adventure set the stage for what future titles would be and is still as charming today as when it was originally released 30 years ago. Any fan of Rayman will certainly want to check out this premium rerelease.

Though some of the early storytelling does prove to be disappointing, it is nice to know that they have plenty of room for improvement in future chapters. Given the nature of the conflicts dealt with in this installment, I am still extremely curious to see where things go from here.

Spellbreak‘s magic systems and fun take on the battle royale genre show that with some more time and development it’s going to be something really impressive. Whether or not it has the staying power is up to time and how much its community sticks with it but already there’s a lot of potential brewing here.

Patapon Remastered is a worthy remastering of a classic game that deserves to be checked out. If you can’t take an intense difficulty curve, however, you may find yourself frustrated at a lack of progress early in on the campaign. Sticking with it, and getting used to Patapon’s many mechanics being used, however, will likely result in a slow but steady mastering of all your drums.

Destiny is the player’s story and Rise of Iron continues to make me feel like a legend in my own right, even if at the moment it holds a little less endgame vitality than other releases have offered.

If you can get past the long AI turns and the generally long matches, then Blood Bowl 2 is worth buying.

With some further streamlining, refinement, and innovation, with particular attention paid to the multiplayer, the next installment could be amazing.

I’ve been critical of some of Telltale Games’ endings in the past, but I really enjoyed how Guardians of the Galaxy wrapped up. Did I regret some of the choices I made? Definitely. But more importantly, I felt as if the team had legitimately grown due to some poor judgment calls, even if poor Groot was missing an arm by the end.

The ceiling on combat potential has been shattered here, and using the new tools at players’ disposal can allow them to more or less combo indefinitely to their hearts’ content. While the breezy, fast and simple style of Musou isn’t for everybody, fans will undoubtedly have a blast pushing this one to its breaking point, should one even exist. Warriors Orochi 4 is an easy highlight in a series that has consistently improved (Dynasty Warriors 9 being an exception) over the past few years.

Taken as a whole, it is an entirely new and interesting take on genres that are as old as gaming. Billions has such great moments at times that it’s rather surprising that these genres hadn’t been smashed together already. Billions leaves plenty to be desired everywhere else though—in visual fidelity, art direction, sound design, and even game balance. Clearly, this is a first step on a new and mysterious frontier. Hopefully, not the last.

If I’m being honest, reviewing Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots comes with its own pain points, but very little of that has to do with the game itself. Yes, there are certainly some shortcomings, some of which I hope can be addressed post-launch, but my misgivings come from whether or not I should recommend it to others. On the one hand, I’ve genuinely enjoyed my time with Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots, and it’s likely that other fans of the franchise will as well. That being said, it’s difficult to recommend it to those who haven’t gravitated towards the genre in the past. And even for those who grew up playing these types of games, you should temper your expectations a bit. For every birdie or eagle that Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots lands, its head gets stuck in a sand trap just as often.

Odd control schemes, lack of core gameplay features from previous installments, and unfortunate legacy design decisions make this holistically feel like an inferior experience.

There’s a lot to like about Directive 8020, as the sci-fi horror video game is a nice departure from Supermassive’s previous titles. With smoother gameplay and some genuine chills, the extra time in development has definitely helped it. However, some longtime fans of the Dark Pictures series will be disappointed by the lack of exploration and no true co-op play, which had been staples of the franchise. It also feels less enjoyable to replay because of its many stealth sections and solo focus, even though it’s a better experience the first time through.

If you ever wondered what it would be like if Kazuma Kiryu gained like 200 lbs and fell into the Mad Max universe, well that’s Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise summed up pretty neatly. On the other side of the coin, Fist of the North Star fans will have a blast tearing it up as Kenshiro, but those still hoping for a great video game adaptation of the classic manga may come away disappointed in that respect.

When it comes to pleasant surprises, Serial Cleaner ranks among my favorite indie releases of 2017. The simple to grasp mechanics yet surprisingly deep execution managed to take a genre that I traditionally loathe, and somehow deliver an immensely gratifying experience.

The entire experience is a classic, arcade-style, on-rails light gun shooter. And like the old coin-op games of the past, there is a ton of fun to be had with Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. It is lacking, however, in replay value unless you’re the type to challenge your own scores or are dying to see that “true ending.”

I wish Tormented Souls had a story to match the amazing visual work. I get imparting the tale via personal journals but pairing that with characters that pretty much ignore Caroline’s direct questions and statements regarding it is just sloppy and uninspired. This could have been a game that left me with my hairs standing on end and delicious goosebumps. Instead, when Caroline’s screams persisted through the continue screen and bled into my game it ate away my desire to pick the controller back up. Not enough morphine in the world to make me want to suffer through this again.

Earth Defense Force 5 is absolutely, thoroughly, another Earth Defense Force. If you know what that is, you know what you’re in for. It’s the first one built for modern hardware, which means more stuff happening on screen, but it’s not an upheaval of the formula, nor is it a magical facelift.