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Last reviewed: K-Pop Idol Stories: Road to Debut · yesterday
there's no denying that Age of Mythology’s gameplay can feel simplistic, which is ironic, considering how influential the series has been. Having played a bunch back in the day, the missed campaigns are appreciated, but we can’t see ourselves regularly returning to the well.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard isn't quite BioWare back to its absolute best, but it is the most cohesive and emotionally engaging RPG that the studio has delivered since Mass Effect 3. Its shift to crunchy action combat is an improvement over Inquisition's middle-of-the-road approach, and although the game feels a little light on meaningful player choice, the storytelling pulls no punches when it actually matters. This is a gorgeous and gripping adventure, backed by a cast of endearing heroes and deliciously devious villains.
We had some fun with Mortal Blitz's brief 90 minute campaign, but it's hard to ignore the lack of imagination that's gone into its makeup. For every moment of glee, mostly afforded by the VR headset than any real design philosophy, there's an equal moment of disappointment. As a genre, it perfectly suits the VR medium, but the repetitive and uninspiring design leaves little to reflect on with too much positivity.
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm is more down to Earth than the main campaign, and it's actually better for it. Deck Nine's done an incredible job of working within the boundaries that DONTNOD's story set, and its biggest achievement is characterising the enigmatic Rachel Amber, who's both intoxicating and fragile all at the same time. Episode 3: Hell Is Empty feels like it could use a little more breathing room, but it crescendos with a gorgeous conclusion that's as heart-warming as it is heart-breaking. After all, we already know where this story ends.
There's an enjoyable core gameplay loop at the heart of nDreams' latest VR outing, but there simply isn't enough content here to allow you to delve any deeper than the surface level. We certainly had fun with Shooty Fruity, but with only enough levels to support four hours of fun, you may want to look a bit more upmarket with your next grocery shop.
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ is a wonderful way to spend several hours thanks to a delightfully fun combat system. The standard JRPG storyline means everything feels very familiar, but it's not all bad. Overall, the game's nothing special -- certainly not to look at -- but there's at least plenty of content here, and the title does a decent job of keeping things fresh.
What we're left with is a multiplayer game that still has the ability to delight and surprise, but perhaps lacks some finishing touches to make it truly great. With online play a bit of a mess and a limited number of modes, Gang Beasts isn't short of issues, but just about gets away with it due to a solid core idea that, with friends, can be uproariously entertaining. If you're after a new title for gaming nights with buddies, or indeed, the Christmas party, you can do far worse than this.
Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ignis is the most impactful character episode yet, and it's easily the most essential. Those already invested in Final Fantasy XV should find a lot to like in terms of additional story elements, and Ignis' flashy, fast, and fluid fighting style keeps enemy encounters engaging. Here's hoping that future episodes build upon what this latest scenario gets right.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard's End of Zoe expansion offers the kind of tongue-in-cheek silliness only Capcom's survival horror franchise can provide. Played straight with some pretty serious stakes, the DLC still manages to be downright stupid all at the same time. It's a wonderful send-off for one of 2017's greats.
It's hard to complain about an additional two hours of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard – especially when it's free. There's some fun lore for fans to soak up here, and some pretty tense scenarios, too. While it never really has anything to rival the main game's best bits, it's worth the bandwidth for Redfield's masterfully manicured mane alone.
Star Ocean: The Last Hope straddles the line between highs and lows – it's both exhilarating and bombastic in equal measure, even though its story never reaches the same euphoria as its predecessor. It makes up for this with a tactical and action-packed combat system, interesting crew management system, tons of content, and a marvellous remaster job that has the game running beautifully on both PS4 and PS4 Pro.
Okami is a joy to play and delivers not just a great adventure but along the way actually boosts your sense of well-being as you bring life to the plants, people, and flowers of the world. This is a thoroughbred classic game that deserves to be experienced by as wide an audience as possible; if you missed it before then this new HD version is the best way to experience such an engaging game – don't miss it this time.
A Hat in Time excels with an overwhelming charm in its writing and art direction that overcomes any missteps in these areas. Its core, smooth mechanics also benefit from promising ideas, but none of them prevent the game from being pulled into a wormhole of mediocre level design and objectives. The potential for phenomenal platforming and exploration is here, but for every positive, there seems to be a negative in A Hat in Time.
Aside from some more inventive level design and a couple of new bells and whistles to keep you occupied, LocoRoco 2 Remastered is more of the same, which in our book is no bad thing. There's little here that will surprise you, but it does just as good a job as the first game in providing a simple, grin-inducing few hours. We've rather enjoyed revisiting both titles this year, and we think fans old and new will still get a lot of fun out of them. Games as jovial as this one don't come around very often these days, so if you're after something light, you'll have a ball.
A party title with great visuals, sound, and gameplay, Ultimate Chicken Horse is a great combination of conniving strategy and frantic platforming. With plenty of modes to play, maps to customise, and unlocks to go for, Clever Endeavour Games' PS4 debut is as good for your wallet as it is for your sofa. An essential for any get together, the game's well-tuned mechanics lead to pure animania.
Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris is ultimately more Destiny 2 for those who want it, and that would be fine if it wasn't stuffed with so much squandered potential. For its asking price, there's no reason not to expect more from this first expansion. The story missions range from okay to insultingly dull, and the one truly interesting concept that Bungie introduces -- the Infinite Forest -- ends up being little more than a tedious shooting gallery. The most frustrating part of all this is that the developer has been here before, and it still insists on repeating the same mistakes all over again.
Mike Posner was a few years early: all he needed was to set a high score in Invector to show Avicii that he's cool. This is a hyperactive rhythm game, which is perhaps defined more by its presentation and soundtrack than its simplistic underlying gameplay. It's good fun, though, and playing it will make you feel cool – even if it's only for a fleeting second. There's something to be said for empowerment like that.