Hardcore Gamer

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Unravel Two is a quick journey, but one that does its predecessor justice. Coldwood have not just avoided the types of hazards associated with co-op, but also used them to great advantage in order to expand upon their gameplay in the ways that the best sequels do. The puzzles are a blast, the graphics and environments are jaw-dropping, and little bonuses such as the challenge levels provide a good incentive to keep coming back for a while. It may not hit the same emotional heights as before, but the latest outing for our stringy heroes is one that cements them as the stars of a classic franchise in the indie gaming scene, so don’t miss it.

• SWITCH
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

• SWITCH
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Sushi Striker is a new type of puzzle title that is fast-paced and requires a great deal of accuracy along with many different strategies. There is no wrong way to play, with many different paths to becoming a strong Striker that can challenge those who stand in the way of sushi. There’s a great level of challenge to be had, but it lends itself well to those who might be beginners to this sort of puzzle entry and eases people into every new mechanic along the way. With a wonderful cheerful story and plenty of enjoyable moments, Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido is a near-instant classic for the puzzle genre and an absolute treat to play.

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle doesn’t do anything to revolutionize the crossover tag team fighting system, it simply sticks to a formula that has worked before and does a great job with it. The single player experience is enjoyable, though not as robust as we have seen in some other fighters as there is no arcade mode and the Episode mode is more cutscene than gameplay. As one would expect with the genre, BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle excels when playing against another person, and that experience is just as enjoyable either on the couch or online. The initial roster of twenty fighters is respectable, but that will eventually grow to forty through DLC. While the single player content alone might not be enough to warrant the purchase, there are countless hours of fun to be had playing against other people.

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Onrush is the finest off-road racer ever made. The core gameplay is fast-paced and does everything that made the Motorstorm series great, but with far more refined controls. Having things like Burnout-style takedowns from a variety of angles keeps you on your toes at all times too. The healthy array of modes keeps things fresh, while the team-based structure to the game means that you can be an essential part of your team’s victory without having to be an all-star. You can carve a bit of a niche out for yourself in different ways and get more out of this game than a traditional racing game. It’s a great-looking and sounding experience and a must-buy for adrenaline junkies with a penchant for off-road mayhem.

• SWITCH
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Dark Souls Remastered is a good reminder how far we’ve come in the last seven years. This is almost all nostalgia, with the potential to grab newer players and show them where the series more or less started. It’s beginning to feel a little dated, with adjustments to combat and movement from newer games not being implemented, but there’s still the sense of overwhelming gratification when playing, not to mention intense strategy. FromSoftware created an intricate, interwoven narrative that’s rich with exploration and lore. The question of whether Bandai Namco should have charged existing PC players for enhancements that many publishers include in free updates is still up for debate, but there’s no denying this is a significantly more technically sound version than Prepare to Die Edition. Dark Souls Remastered is bursting at the seams with rewarding content that it’s hard to find a game like it.

• PS4
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Detroit is the best possible version of itself. Character interactions and decisions feel natural despite the story being filled with artificially intelligent creatures. And perhaps that’s the point: their artificial life becomes just as valuable as natural life. By the end of the game, the lines of what it means to be human are blurred and the player is left with a complete understanding of both sides of the conflict. Humans don’t want to be overtaken by their own creations, but they are still capable of love and understanding towards androids. Androids simply want freedom, but they’re a new race that is still coming to grips with the world. The narrative is filled with pressing real-world issues including xenophobia, automation of the workforce, climate change, social media influence and more. Though it comes off as heavy-handed at times, Detroit tells an endearing story that verges on the profound, diving deep into the nature of humanity itself. It proves that interactivity and focused storytelling aren’t mutually exclusive and that the two can enhance each other given a proper degree of talent behind the scenes.

• PC
• SWITCH
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Few games can tout that their frustration, difficulty and somewhat teasing attitude is what makes them so enjoyable, but Choice Provisions prove once again that the only thing more palpable than failure is the inevitable triumph. Runner3 isn’t reinventing itself on its third outing, but its frantic, split-second gameplay remains just as addictive to [eventually] get right, as it’s always been. While its transition to 3D-styled environments do little to exude the silliness it initially boasts, the smaller additions to its core gameplay as well as a few neat twists to the in-level perspective, prevent one's play-time from feeling stagnant along the way. It’s been a while since a game has had the audacity to be as ambitious but as annoying in its difficulty, but Runner3 more than gets away with it.

• PS4
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

When all is said and done, Omensight ends up being a dazzling piece of work, a terrific action RPG game with fast and fun combat that works perfectly alongside a well-crafted and impressive mystery that’s guaranteed to keep you addicted until you’ve figured everything out. From the eye-popping art to the enjoyable characters with a surprising amount of depth, there’s more than a lot here to love, so it becomes easy to recommend. After all, we’ve seen the path where a title such as this doesn’t exist, and it’s a sad one indeed, so don’t miss out on it.

• SWITCH
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition is just that, the very best edition of the title that has been released. It offers the most content, and a wonderful quality of life changes that make it easily accessible for new or returning players. Those who played the Wii U or 3DS versions will find this is truly the greatest experience and is very much worth picking up again for those who don’t mind starting from the beginning once more. Anyone who has completely missed out on Hyrule Warriors and is looking for fast-paced strategic combat with a hefty amount of content and challenge will find that it fully delivers above and beyond.

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Fox n Forests is a great game, but does wind up being slotted a bit below something like Shovel Knight. The core platforming and action-oriented combat work well, as does the seasonal shifting mechanic. There’s a natural flow to the levels and exploration is rewarded — resulting in stages that are usually fun to play through again. The RPG mechanics are a bit too girnd-heavy for a platformer, but allow you to extend your skills beyond most games in the genre while the rich graphics and robust sound deliver a satisfying experience for the eyes and ears.

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Combining the same kind of fast-paced fun that worked so well years ago with a picture-perfect progression model, Horizon Chase Turbo is exactly the kind of arcade-inspired racing game the industry has needed. Doing well is rewarded with a slew of unlockables and doing poorly is never punished. It’s a forgiving game and one that provides a high amount of high-quality content. The addition of tournament and split-screen local multiplayer modes to the action give it a ton of replay value as well. Anyone seeking an arcade-style racer should give Horizon Chase Turbo a shot — you won’t regret it.

• PS4
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

While not without some criticism, Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time is an enjoyable experience. The time spent running to random points of the academy in order to advance the story could have benefited by being more streamlined to feel less monotonous and the map system could use some tweaking, but the game is entertaining past those shortcomings. The dialogue sequences themselves are pleasant, the story is interesting and the action sequences are at the perfect level of action where there is a lot going on but it never gets too busy where the player is trying to figure out what exactly is happening Licensing an anime into a game is always risky, as any fan of Dragon Ball and Sword Art Online can attest to, but thankfully for Little Witch Academia fans, their first game is one that’s worth playing. If the developers keep the basic formula intact and streamline some of the issues that held this title back from true greatness, there’s a lot of potential for more games from this franchise.

• PS4
• PC
• XONE
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

While it may not be adding tricks at every turn to the platformer genre or making a name for itself with its minimal puzzles, Forgotton Anne will surely win many over with its gorgeous, animated visuals and more importantly, its sense of wonder. Throughline Games have crafted one of the year’s more unique affairs when it comes to artistic design, but crucially, find the means to deliver it in a way that doesn’t become too indulgent in its own aspiration. As if it were taken straight from the reels of a 20th century animation house, the curious but thoughtful world is matched in equal parts by how delicately rendered it is -- one players will easily resonate with regardless of their history with animation. In the end, popping in and out of the many alleyways and rain-soaked buildings alike (all the while conversing with a few sentient oddities along the way), Forgotton Anne is a delightful and wondrous trek to make.

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Dragon’s Crown Pro is one of those games whose very existence elicits mixed reactions. The game holds up quite well as it’s just as enjoyable now as it was back in 2013. The gameplay can be on the repetitive side as is often the case with frenetic action games, but the RPG elements and story breaks help break up the monotony while multiplayer helps keep things interesting, though not adding voice chat support to online multiplayer is still a puzzling decision. The increased resolution makes a beautiful game look even better, and the ability to play cross platform with people on PlayStation 3 and Vita is a welcome feature, though including it may have come at the expense of making significant upgrades to the title. As good as Dragon’s Crown Pro may be, there are no significant additions and with only the soundtrack and visuals receiving polish there’s no point to upgrade to this version if you still have an original copy of Dragon’s Crown. But if you missed out on Dragon’s Crown five years ago, Pro is a perfect excuse to experience it.

• SWITCH
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Though it may not provide anywhere near the kind of substantial additions to convince veterans to invest for a second time, there’s no mistaking the care and passion Retro Studios and company have put into making DK’s most recent outing one of his best. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for Switch remains a stellar platformer, both in its presentation and more importantly, its finely-tuned challenge. Grueling in its difficulty, yet cunning in its delivery more so, the necessity on getting every split-second move or decision right may put off some, but those keen to stick with it — even replay a level a few more times thereafter — will quickly discover Tropical Freeze’s loop isn’t so easy to put down.

• PC
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

By no means as high a flyer as the ample Devolver Digital outings as of late, The Swords of Ditto does conjure enough of a challenge and inevitable reward for the adventure to feel satisfyingly just, if a little taxing and lost in translation at points. The absence of some key explanation aside, the implementation of roguelike elements does thankfully ease into the backdrop when it needs to, leaving the more organic components through exploration to flourish more so. As obvious these repeated assets or limitations may be. The Swords of Ditto thankfully doesn’t end up faltering as a result, managing to ride out its weaker moments to deliver a dungeon-crawling RPG, that while unspectacular, is nonetheless worth the time and effort needed to tackle its ordeals head-on.