If more of what Sonic is what you want, then this is very much that, but more, and bigger, and faster. But for me, as someone with fond memories but key criticisms, Sonic Mania seems content to paint over some of the series' problems rather than fix them, making for a game that falls a little short of what might have been.
As a mystery, a deep-space haunted house with dozens of stories of tragedy and humanity to tell, Prey is a remarkably successful archaeological expedition — and it manages to compellingly ruminate on what it means to be .
I guess, in the end, it's not just that Breath of the Wild signals that Zelda has finally evolved and moved beyond the structure it's leaned on for so long. It's that the evolution in question has required Nintendo to finally treat its audience like intelligent people. That newfound respect has led to something big, and different, and exciting. But in an open world full of big changes, Breath of the Wild also almost always feels like a Zelda game — and establishes itself as the first current, vital-feeling Zelda in almost 20 years.
Halo Wars 2 can't stick its landing, but it remains accessible without feeling dumbed down
Dead Rising 4 isn't always smart, but it's rarely boring
Dishonored's 'whalepunk' world remains stunning
Titanfall 2 has the basics down, but loses much of the focus
Battlefield 1 succeeds far beyond expectations
Gears of War 4 is a remarkably complete package.
A boring collect-a-thon and empty open world drag down Recore's strong fundamentals
Mankind Divided's cybernetic playground feels fresh, even if it doesn't go as far as expected
Headlander isn't Double Fine's funniest game, but it's one of its most consistently fun
At around six hours long, Song of the Deep doesn't have enough time to become a disaster, and there are redeeming aspects of it. The character, the voiceover, the presentation are all a change of pace from the video game status quo, and the sense of discovery the first half offers is welcome. But it's hard to shake the feeling of a game with potential that never quite figures out how to deliver on it.
Mirror's Edge Catalyst is a flawed, but often great breath of something different and exciting in an open-world landscape full of the same old thing.
Quantum Break is a surprising success