Gaming Trend

• SWITCH
• 85%
• États-Unis

Saturday Morning RPG is an extremely fun and heart-filled adventure, giving a great homage to the 80’s. At $9.99 this game is definitely worth playing for the geekdom alone. I would have liked to play through even more adventures, but  I wouldn’t be surprised if we eventually get some DLC with more episodes down the road. I hope everyone who plays this game enjoys it as much as I did!

• PS4
• 60%
• États-Unis

Agents of Mayhem is a very interesting game with some wild concepts, many of which didn’t seem like they would work out. While the combat is enthralling, the mission design surrounding it is consistently disappointing. The city of Seoul is wonderful and begging to be explored, but that’s not something Agents of Mayhem encourages through its design. Agents of Mayhem is hit or miss, but has more misses than hits.

• PS4
• 85%
• États-Unis

Hellblade could have been carried alone by its insanely beautiful graphics and standout voice performances -- some of the best of 2017 -- but while these scenarios were always refreshing interruptions from long, meditative walks through Helheim, they distracted from the game’s greater focus on demystifying a taboo mental disorder.

• PS4
• 85%
• États-Unis

LawBreakers feels like combat occurring inside a snowglobe while a five-year-old shakes it really, really quickly. It’s a shooter, like so many others out there, but it doesn’t camouflage an axis-locked multiplayer formula with a new historical setting or gimmicky abilities -- its low-gravity environments and lightning-fast traversal make it like no shooter you’ve ever played.

• PC
• 90%
• États-Unis

An excellent and challenging update to a familiar formula, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is one of those games that makes you cheer at your well-planned success when everything goes off without a hitch, and groan at your own poor planning when it doesn’t. It gets so much right, that the relentless difficulty, and slightly less gorgeous console port can’t mar its beauty. This one snuck up on me, and I couldn’t be more glad that it did.

• PC
• 80%
• États-Unis

Sudden Strike 4 is a great example of a challenging real time strategy game without all of the ‘dirt farming’ aspects of other titles. It requires real thought instead of simply pouring all units into the path of the enemy. There are a few hiccups in terms of pathing and AI, as well as a baffling choice for voicework, but the game has more high points than low. It would also be nice if there was just a little more handholding to bring in new players, but overall Sudden Strike 4 is a welcome addition to the genre.

• SWITCH
• 55%
• États-Unis

The core premise and style of Overcooked is a perfect fit for Nintendo's portable console, but its technical performance ruins the experience. There aren't many issues that couldn't be fixed with a patch, but as it stands, Overcooked offers an exciting cooperative experience which is quickly hampered by performance issues.

• SWITCH
• 75%
• États-Unis

In the end, Ironcast is easily a fun game that you can get caught up in while playing. It keeps you engaged and planning, but not to the point where it becomes a chore. The soundtrack stays faithful to the older steampunk style of the game as well. It's not a long campaign, maybe a few hours at most, but the permadeath roguelike mechanics offer more replayability. The final boss was definitely the most frustrating thing to me because of how much tougher it is with no real lead-up. Other than that and bad luck with the board a few times, Ironcast has been largely enjoyable experience. A nice addition to the color matching puzzle genre of games.

• XONE
• 75%
• États-Unis

If you’ve played games like Gone Home, Dear Esther or Firewatch, Tacoma is instantly recognizable, but it remains distinct by introducing a wildly exotic space setting and a mechanic that keeps the “look and listen gameplay” from ever becoming a bore. It can, at times, devolve into too much of a linear experience, giving way to predictable pacing, but this is forgivable, because when your time is done on the Tacoma lunar station, your heart will be a little fuller for the people you met while you were there.

• IOS
• ANDROID
• 80%
• États-Unis

Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and Millionaires’ Conspiracy is a great mobile foray into the mainline Layton series. While the overall story is a tad uninteresting, the excellent puzzle gameplay and tons of replay value more than make up for it. This is a title worthy of its franchise’s reputation.

• PS4
• 90%
• États-Unis

Pyre is a wonderfully made game, with simplistically beautiful graphics, and an engaging soundtrack. The gameplay can get a bit repetitive, but that doesn't stop it from being an enjoyable journey. The characters and challenges were more than enough to make up for it.

• PS4
• 70%
• États-Unis

While Arizona Sunshine might have been an incredible game on other VR systems, the PSVR version seems to be lacking due to the platform’s limitations. An intriguing narrative and impressive voice acting make Arizona Sunshine an enjoyable, if short, experience. Some minor glitches hold the game back, but excellent sniping and comfortable controls make up for these inconveniences.

• PC
• MAC
• ANDROID
• 85%
• États-Unis

Albion Online is taking some new, innovative approaches to some of the tired, established traditions of the MMO genre. Top-down and low poly, Albion Online can be played on computers and mobile devices. With a player-driven economy and a focus on PVP and risk vs reward gameplay, the world of Albion is incredibly fluid. A unique gear focused, class-free system encourages unique and surprising equipment combinations. Dungeons may be boring, but there are plenty of other ways make your mark and either earn or steal a fortune in the world of Albion Online.

• SWITCH
• 70%
• États-Unis

Death Squared is a great example of a game that fights you every step of the way. However, its sharp and witty narrative mixed with simple pick-up-and-play controls guarantees that you’ll have some frustrating fun with a partner. Just make darn sure to leave your best friends out of party mode if you want to stay that way.

• PS4
• 95%
• États-Unis

Stunning graphical overhaul aside, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age delivers several gameplay-improving mechanics never seen in North America. While balance is still occasionally wobbly, there’s no doubt that Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is a masterclass in the light but deliberate touch necessary to take something great and make it even better.

• 3DS
• 85%
• États-Unis

Ever Oasis offers a surprising amount of content in a fun, accessible game. Challenging yet forgiving battle mechanics mean that beginners can hack and slash away, while masters can focus on strategy and speed running. A diverse cast of characters with numerous abilities encourages playing with diverse parties, and the warp system enables lots exploration, creating replayability while making long slogs across maps a thing of the past. Easy to pick up, hard to put down, and overflowing with features, Ever Oasis really is a diamond in the desert.

• PS4
• 65%
• États-Unis

Dark Rose Valkyrie doesn’t blow the doors off the hinges, but it does serve as a much improved JRPG over what has been a largely tepid series of releases from Compile Heart and others. The story is fine, the battle system is fun and unique, and exploration is a large part of the adventure. While there are some cliches and rehashed elements throughout, Dark Rose Valkyrie represents what a top end-formulaic JRPG can be.

• SWITCH
• 50%
• États-Unis

The Nintendo Switch version of NBA Playgrounds is probably the most inferior. While an entertaining romp with fun mechanics, a lack of content and fundamental patches keep this from being a slam dunk.