Hardcore Gamer

• 3DS
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

It feels like Spike Chunsoft was either too eager to cash in on the Attack on Titan fever sweeping the globe or too scared to stray from the events of the show to take any real chances on this game. Whatever the reason, Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains is a beat-for-beat replica of the source material that somehow misses the action, suspense and tenacity that define the anime and manga. Despite a fairly expansive online component, its shallow mechanics and repetitive campaign ultimately doom it to join the ranks of the countless other mediocre licensed games.

• PS4
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is more of Wolfenstein: The New Order. It’s the same gameplay and same perk system with similar design choices that made last year’s The New Order such a hit. Outside of the new story and a few new gameplay mechanics, there’s not a whole lot new about The Old Blood. This is a standalone expansion, however, and The Old Blood succeeds in what it sets out to do; give us more of The New Order. Is Wolfenstein: The Old Blood necessary to understand or enjoy the The New Order? No, but it does add a fun side-mission that further enhances the world of Wolfenstein. Coming in at only $19.99, there’s plenty of content and story here to make a return to Wolfenstein worth a purchase.

• 3DS
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker is an enormous package. It not only boasts Devil Survivor 2‘s original campaign, enhanced with fantastic voice acting, but also an entirely new complementary epilogue. Despite this, however, most of Devil Survivor 2 remains unchanged in this enhanced port, and those who played the original may not find enough reasons to double dip with Record Breaker. Make no mistake — it’s a compelling, challenging and rewarding JRPG in it’s own right, but with little fresh content and some lingering accessibility issues, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 might not be the title everyone was hoping it to be.

• PS4
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

Omega Quintet is a game at battle with itself. On one end, its multifaceted battle system has the potential to make JRPG fans drool. The same is true of the excellent PVS editor which will satisfy fans waiting for anything of this sort to make its way west. On the other hand, its graphics in no way push the PS4 (and some aspects look downright ancient) and all this complexity seems to be at the cost of an awesome storyline. It’s cute and lighthearted, but at some point you want to see something actually happen instead of just listening to characters babble about nothing. Omega Quintet will be best enjoyed by those who know exactly what they want out of the game. The comprehensive battle system and simulation are well-executed and unique, even if the rest of the experience offers only wobbly support for them.

• PS4
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

When we reviewed Shovel Knight at its initial release back in June 2014, we were amazed by its impeccable design, rock-solid mechanics and loving homages to classic games. All of those aspects still ring true on PS4, and Yacht Club Games has without a doubt successfully replicated one of 2014's finest experiences on Sony's flagship console. Its other versions' exclusive features have been easily trumped by the addition of cross save, trophy support and the wandering boss Kratos, and those bonuses alone are sure to entice many a gamer, whether for the first or fiftieth time, to strike the earth with Shovel Knight on PS4.

• PC
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Crypt of the NecroDancer is a phenomenal dungeon crawler. It's loaded with personality, great music, fun characters and deep action that only appears simplistic on the surface. Every move synchs up to the music, pushed forward at a steady pace that makes it easy to screw up until you learn to dance with the dungeon. Each enemy requires its own strategy to defeat, and while they may be relatively simple on their own, they rarely come singly. Figuring out the best course of action on the fly, knowing the strengths of each weapon and spell and learning when to use each to its best advantage while coming up with a plan as the rhythm pushes you forward is always a great time, even when screwing up a single move sets off a failure cascade that results in death. Retrying is quick, painless and practically mandatory. The necromancer's dance-club dungeon is only missing a bouncer who doesn't think you're quite good enough to be seen with the beautiful creatures to complete its image as the best nightclub in the underworld, and even if had proper security, there'd probably be a way to combat-dance it into oblivion.

• PS4
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

The PlayStation 4 version of Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones is a great example of how not to port a game to a new system. Instead of recapturing the essence of one of 2014’s best surprises, Curve Studios managed to increase the frustration level of a title that already had the potential to elicit annoyance. From the clunky user-interface, to its seemingly downgraded visuals, to the fact that the most punishing mechanic is mapped to the largest button, everything about Stealth Inc. 2 on PlayStation 4 seems to indicate that some extra focus testing was necessary. If you’re dying to play Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones, you’ll certainly be able to get what you’re looking for here, but bear in mind that it’s not even close to being the definitive experience.

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Titan Souls is a quietly beautiful little epic. The contrast of the boss fights with the peaceful exploration works to create a world of contrasts, broken but not dead. Or at least not dead until you come calling with a bow and magic arrow. Just be aware going in that the challenge can be as unforgiving as the ruins are serene, and every ounce of skill may still not be quite enough.

• PC
• 2 / 5
• États-Unis

I wanted to like I Am Bread. Heck, I thought early builds were surprisingly solid, but this full release didn’t just avoid fixing many of the issues, but actually made them worse. The controls are awkward, but it’s the lackluster level design that really kills I Am Bread. Stages are far too labyrinthine and spacious, and when combined with a slim grip meter and the high amount of traversal required to complete the stages, you’re left with repeated failures and tedious restarts. With graphical slowdown, obnoxious navigation clipping and bad crashes, the technical bugs are inexcusable for a game that had so much attention in Early Access. I Am Bread has novelty, but that novelty drains away quickly, leaving nothing but frustration in its wake. It’s YouTube bait and nothing more.

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Now that the PS4 has been on the market for over a year, SD San Diego has had time to fine-tune the MLB franchise, giving it more sheen to the point that it’s easily one of the most realistic sports games on the market. MLB 15: The Show doesn’t bring any major additions to the table, but it does respectably tweak the most beloved modes to streamline the experience for pros and casuals alike. The introduction Year-To-Year saves makes upgrading to The Show 15 easy (figuratively and literally) and the plethora of visual enhancements ensure the upgrade won’t go unnoticed.

• 3DS
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Xenoblade Chronicles was an incredible experience on Wii and it has transitioned beautifully onto New 3DS. Some compression concessions were made in the process, but the underlying quality of the narrative, setting and mechanics ultimately mean the cosmetic blemishes make little difference. Once again cementing its status as a JRPG masterpiece, Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is a game you owe it to yourself to experience.

• XONE
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Tower of Guns is a brilliantly-crafted game that is seemingly forged from the tears of the players who fall to its traps. Gunfire will come your way from every direction, while platforming perils send you to do your death thanks to massive fall damage totals. You'll get excited, but rarely angry. The game's difficulty is extreme, but doesn't get to the point where you want to rage-quit. Failure is a complete learning experience -- even if you're handicapped to such a degree by the default setup that it seems like you're going into a sword fight with a blindfold and your hands tied behind your back. If you want a tough game, give this a shot -- you won't regret it. It's a fun game that rises above any frustrations it may cause to create a memorable experience.

• WIIU
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Affordable Space Adventures is an utterly unique Wii U title. It embraces the console’s maligned tablet controller and utilizes it to great effect, a fact that is particularly apparent in its brilliant asymmetric multiplayer. Those core concepts carry the game through its six hour campaign despite some frustratingly obtuse puzzles and occasionally inconsistent physics. Overall, Affordable Space Adventures is a journey well worth embarking on, especially with a few friends.

• 3DS
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Etrian Mystery Dungeon is a crossover that should not have worked. On paper, it's ugly, cumbersome, and for all intents and purposes, a head-scratching marriage where one-half of the pairing is nowhere near as popular as the other. And yet, for as unappealing as it may have been in theory, it works wonderfully. It's not just a combining of two franchise's famed mechanics and features; it has ideas of its own, unique onto it, that simply transcend the mere mash-up formula. It's an RPG steeped in strong mechanics, and despite being part of a genre known for its overwhelming -- and for some, off-putting -- difficulty, has figured out a way to make that precipitous level of challenge accessible and rewarding all the same. Anyone looking to spend a solid 40+ hours on a roguelike should look no further than this.

• PC
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

If you miss the glory days of PS1 and N64 platformers, then consider Gurumin a must-play. Though it is very much its own game, it’s built on the same design philosophies that made the classics classic, and like all Nihon Falcom games it’s been polished to a mirror sheen. The music-driven combat is brilliant, fast and challenging, and the enemy and level design is fine-tuned to let you get the most out of it. Its cel-shaded, low-poly art style is perfectly suited to bringing its lovable cast of characters to life and painting a cute yet macabre world reminiscent of Caroline and Okage: Shadow King. Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure will make you grin like you’re a kid again from beginning to end.

• XONE
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

Slender: The Arrival boasts some genuinely scary moments, but offers little beyond them. Chapters serve as a mini party game with friends, making this point-and-click game more of a horror movie than an actual interactive scare fest. The lack of a real story dampers things further, and if by some weird chance that players suffer the Slenderman hunt a second time, the feeling of that genuine fright will be long gone.

• PS4
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Toukiden: Kiwami is a great entry in the PlayStation 4's catalog, specifically due to the lack of its genre's presence on the machine. It builds off of last year's Vita game in intelligent ways to make it the definitive Toukiden experience. It has its shortcomings, but they don't hamper the enjoyment that can derived. Its action is fluid and fast, its customization options plentiful. Its setting is also compelling, if for nothing else than for the fact that it's not a frequently employed one. Players looking for a fun multiplayer experience steeped in the ways of Monster Hunter will probably want to pick this up. Those not looking for either, or just someone who wants a sound single player endeavor, may want to test the waters before committing to a purchase.