Hardcore Gamer

• XONE
• PS4
• PC
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a powerful series that blends in touches of the supernatural while telling a grounded narrative. That's partially what makes it so powerful -- everything in Before the Storm is an event that could happen to someone,and that's one of the aspects that makes the journey through it even more painful than the main Life is Strange. There, the fantastical elements reminded you that you're in a fictional tale. In Before the Storm, everything is plausible and more scary as a result. Before the Storm is a must-play component of the series and the franchise is something that anyone who enjoys a strong narrative should try out.

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

The Silver Case was a seminal example of an incredibly influential game creator’s early days while he is finding his creative footing. It still remains a flawed, but genius, masterwork. The 25th Ward: The Silver Case manages to fix some of those flaws, keep others and introduce whole new ones. In the end, The 25th Ward takes the edge as it is a less clumsy, more playable experience even if it could be argued that the quality level is a wash. This is a fantastic experience for people who enjoy Suda51, visual novels or finding out of context quotes to annoy friends.

• XONE
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Fear Effect Sedna is a flawed return for the late PS1-era classic, with its combat occasionally being a bit clunky and not utilizing the tactical elements as well as it wanted to. But the creepy descent into Inuit horror, stylish graphics, and challenging puzzles and gameplay may still provide you with enough reasons to take a peek at it. And even with a few kinks to iron out, it still shows that there’s still a place for Hana and company in gaming today, regardless of the exact genre, so here’s hoping future journeys with them improve on things even further (and that the upcoming remake causes interest to continue spiking).

• PC
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Moss is an exceptionally thoughtful, beautiful and unique experience. It’s deceptively simple, but surprisingly deep in unexpected ways. While $29.99 USD is a steep asking price for an experience that feels unfinished, if you have a PlayStation VR and are dying to try out something fresh, you’d be remiss not to give Moss a go. It’s a game that wouldn’t feel right without VR, yet doesn’t rely on the technology as a lazy gimmick in lieu of proper game design. We haven’t seen the last of our little pal Quill and something tells us that her next adventure will take virtual reality to new heights.

• PS4
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

Gravel offers fun racing with a variety of cars and environments. The Off-road Masters mode that includes the Gravel Channel storyline is a unique way to include a story that features boss battles with the one-one-one challenges. Otherwise the modes in Gravel are lacking and the visuals are severely hurting. There’s better car models in some mobile games, but at least the selection is enough to get past this and the game looks good in motion with the colors and the lighting. Unfortunately, while advertised as PS4 Pro Enhanced, HDR isn’t included even though Milestone’s latest Supercross game included HDR. What makes the negatives more forgiving is that Gravel retails for $49.99, rather than a full-priced game. It has its moments and its variety, but it can’t be compared to something like the DiRT series.

• PS4
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

For those willing to bear the brunt of its inexcusably poor opening and subsequent first few hours — and can even find it in themselves to excuse the nagging stats requiring a near-constant influx of food and water — Metal Gear Survive does deliver a few good ideas along the way buried beneath its mediocre world and often grind-focused, loot-based item-gathering. There’s a perilous yet warranted intrigue to exploration and it’s this more specific tackling of the survival trope that the game does at least garner some pluses. Sadly, its invasive microtransaction structure and otherwise lack of engagement as a Metal Gear/stealth entrant is what will likely stand as its greatest downfall — inevitably cancelling out all the goodwill the game creates in its shorter spells. Metal Gear Survive as a whole isn’t the utter abomination many had suspected it would be, but it doesn’t push itself beyond the still-waning status of being tepidly average.

• SWITCH
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

The first Bayonetta is slowly showing its age, but its more robust sequel remains at the top of its game. It contains some of the best combat mechanics that are perfectly integrated in the most over-the-top, outlandish scenarios. It’s stylish, frantic and oddly addicting. Unfortunately, the story may as well be non-existent and the voice acting from characters such as the newly-introduced Loki will make you want to skip cutscenes. It doesn’t help when you hear the brat calling Bayonetta “Love” every second sentence and cussing every scene. Regardless, it’s all about the craziness that PlatinumGames usually brings to their games and they’ve hit it out of the park with Bayonetta 2. They refined the formula with the sequel, creating a top-tier action game that shouldn’t be overlooked. It may not be perfect, but this is a solid remaster that more players need to experience, and considering you get two games for the price of one, this ends up being an incredibly appealing package.

• 3DS
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

• PS4
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[st] brings new additions to the table, but doesn’t offer massive improvements over the games that came before it. It’s very much a reminder of a bygone era where an incremental upgrade led to a “new” entry in a series, but this does at least include quality of life improvements thanks to the overhauled storyline presentation. Anyone who has a prior version of the game will know what they’re getting into here, while newcomers should have a blast if they enjoy a faster-paced Guilty Gear-style affair.

• XONE
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

OK K.O.! Let’s Play Heroes has all of the makings of an astounding beat-’em up thanks to its fun and action-packed combat, as well as a style and flavor in all areas that perfectly matches the show and is guaranteed to please fans. Sadly, it does not have the makings of an astounding RPG, though, and the bare-bones quests and overall story that goes on for too long renders the whole deal overly repetitive. Fans of the animated series may still get a kick out of it for a while, but in the end, it may just be better to marathon several episodes in its place.

• PC
• 4 / 5
• États-Unis

Even so, Dandara‘s seemingly-impossible feat at combining elements of platforming, combat and strategy within its explorative template takes some doing and is almost an accomplishment in of itself. To have that play out across a game that’s both challenging and rewarding shows just how well it succeeds at tackling the Metroidvania philosophy while adding to it. Where its movement and controls excel because of their fluidity, it’s the more strategic mindset of its set-pieces that give the game its lasting identity — one Dandara delivers with both confidence and finesse. While it may not be the most narratively-engaging or atmospherically-consistent outing of the bunch, the gameplay stands front-and-center and provides a Metroidvania that’s immensely satisfying to approach and inevitably conquer.

• PC
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

• 3DS
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

When it comes to turn-based RPGs, Radiant Historia manages to hit all the right points that makes it a well-rounded title. A simple-to-learn yet complex battle system, a memorable cast of characters and a fun time-traveling mechanic to make it easy to do things at one’s own pace. The remake pulls out a lot of great ideas to make everything smoother to play through, while keeping together what made it so great to begin with. Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology is a brilliant title that calls back to the classics while being able to stand alone with its own endearing twists and making it a memorable entry that every RPG lover should try.

• PS4
• 3 / 5
• États-Unis

As the successor to the PSP hits, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT does a lot of things right but gets a lot wrong. The Bravery Combat system remains a unique and exciting way to experience a fighting game. While not everyone will be particularly happy with the 3v3 setup, NT manages to make it work in a way that keeps matches exciting. There’s a lot of depth to the combat and those that stick it out will find an enjoyably unique fighting game. As a love letter to Final Fantasy players, the presentation is on point, allowing fans to re-imagine characters and locations rendered with today’s technology. Unfortunately, the game comes up short in a few areas. The story is terrible and the way it forces players to unlock it through Memoria feels more to do with padding than anything else. NT doesn’t provide enough content to support the robust gameplay on offer and much of it is recycled from the more feature-rich PSP games. Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is a well-presented package with excellent gameplay, but doesn’t pack enough new in to support it.

• SWITCH
• 4.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Nearly one year later, Night in the Woods remains one of the most quotable and passion-fueled indie titles in recent years. While the Switch version’s technical issues does hold it back from being the best platform to experience the game on, the solid presentation, equal-parts socially-relevant and comedic dialogue and welcome additions to the core game keep Night in the Woods a must-play title for those who are experiencing or have had an emotional stretch of time as a young adult or simply those looking for a well-told adventure title.

• XONE
• 0.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Simply put, Celeste is a tour de force. A piece of work that will no doubt go down as one of the year’s best platformers or even just one of its best games in general. Between the immaculately crafted levels with a wide variety of challenges, the intense gameplay that rewards crackerjack timing, the sheer amount of post-game content and things to discover in every chapter, and a moving, amazing story in the form of Madeline’s urge to climb the behemoth that awaits her, what we have here is truly magnificent and an experience that simply cannot be missed. And hey, word has it that the view from the top is amazing.

• PS4
• 3.5 / 5
• États-Unis

Fans of the sport will get a kick out of EA Sports UFC 3. While the career mode is lacking the expected pizazz, and can be a grind later into your story, the Ultimate Team offers an engaging online component that can be played for hours on end. Sure, it does have a loot box implementation (or card packs in this case), but the amount of in-game currency earned from each fight is properly balanced so you won’t feel cheated, especially considering you can earn them offline. The core fighting mechanics are retained and they’re smoother than ever thanks to an improved animation system that accurately replicates real motions with one exception: grappling and submissions. While it’s difficult to emulate both defending and pulling off a neck cranking or arm breaking submission, the current set-up is less than ideal and just cumbersome. In addition, while Stand and Bang is a solid inclusion, the Submission Showcase and Tournament modes are barebones. Fortunately, this is one of the more stable games in the franchise with only a couple of technical bugs and awkward, robotic animations to be found. In the end, while EA Sports UFC 3 is an incremental upgrade to what came before it, it’s still a more polished and balanced experience.