IGN

• PC
• PS4
• XONE
• 6.5 / 10
• États-Unis

Though Black deserves credit for adding new puzzle mechanics along the way, it could’ve easily seen its 6-8 hour runtime chopped in half and still gotten its message across. That entire time I found myself wondering if, like Inside, Black would have anything to say. When I finally discovered its message at the end of the campaign, it did inspire me to look up the real-life issue it was drawing attention to and learn more about it. I applaud it for that. Sure, it could’ve done so with a bit more subtlety – it's a bit heavy-handed at the very end – but at least Black does have a point to make. It’s just a shame that it wrapped that in a game that’s so shamelessly and distractingly derivative.

• PS4
• SWITCH
• XONE
• PC
• 8.5 / 10
• États-Unis

I didn’t want the Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy to break what wasn’t broken. Thankfully, Vicarious Visions clearly didn’t want to either, and the studio’s reverence for the original maddening yet rewarding challenges that still remain fun is clearly on display. On one hand, that leads to the frustrating limitations of the original Crash Bandicoot persisting 20 years later. But it also results in the incredible visual and aural overhaul and the gameplay tweaks to earlier entries, like time trials and crate counters, that Naughty Dog added later in the series. Those additions make the overall package so much more cohesive while never forgetting what made, and what still makes, so much of Naughty Dog’s original trilogy a blast to play.

• 3DS
• 8.9 / 10
• États-Unis

It’s no easy task, but Ever Oasis has managed to make me care as much about preserving my town as I do about saving the world. Despite the few odd design choices, there’s a wonderful blend of adventure and town-building where every task you tackle finds multiple ways to reward you.

• XONE
• PS4
• 6 / 10
• États-Unis

Valkyria Revolution tells a decent tale of war, but the strength of that story is dulled by overlong, boring, and poorly animated cutscenes. It sacrifices the unique historical setting and art style of the Valkyria Chronicles series proper in favor of generic JRPG elements that fail to leave a strong impression, and its hack-and-slash combat offers little in the way of strategy and ruins its own flow with an poorly matched magic system. Recommends ‘No Xbox’ Trends as Fans Hit Out at Marvel vs. Capcom Collection Skipping Microsoft’s Consoles Dungeons & Dragons 2024 Core Rulebooks Are Up for Preorder Microsoft Confirms Xbox Game Pass June 2024 Wave 2 Lineup Fantasian: Neo Dimension Revealed, Previously Apple Exclusive From Final Fantasy Creator Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake:

• PS4
• 7.5 / 10
• États-Unis

Space is big and empty, dotted with small points of brilliant light. Elite Dangerous is much the same way: it can at times be boring or mundane, as much of it is spent flying from point A to point B. Thankfully, whether you’re soaking in the cosmos around you, banking large sums of credits from a well-planned trading haul, or surviving a harrowing encounter with space pirates in dazzling ship-to-ship combat, Elite Dangerous has plenty to keep me excited to come back. And when those long-haul sessions become too much, Arena mode is there to inject some much-needed action at a moment’s notice.

• SWITCH
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

• SWITCH
• 9.5 / 10
• États-Unis

The Nintendo Switch version provides an authentic Minecraft experience that is hugely benefitted by the ability to play it anywhere with physical controls. The one drawback is the lack of voice chat, which makes online multiplayer less fun than on other platforms, so it’s best enjoyed in the same room as your friends.

• XONE
• PC
• PS4
• 9.2 / 10
• États-Unis

It’s perhaps symbolic that Codemasters has included Colin McRae’s old co-driver in Dirt 4 for the first time in one of its rally games since Colin McRae Rally 2005, because Dirt 4 very much feels like a return to the good old days of the series. Hearing Grist’s pace notes again – a voice drilled into my brain in the late ’90s and early 2000s via my ravenous consumption of all games beginning with the word ‘Colin’ – has taken me back nearly 20 years. Back then Codemasters’ rally games were the yardstick against which all other racers with off-road aspirations were measured (at least up until the likes of Richard Burns Rally and WRC: Rally Evolved). Well, those days are back. Accessible yet tough and grimy yet gorgeous, Dirt 4 sets a new standard in rally racing – and its well-considered career mode and endless stages inject it with tremendous stamina. Absolutely stonking brilliant.

• PS4
• XONE
• PC
• 9.5 / 10
• États-Unis

Tekken 7 truly is a hallmark, a fighting game crafted with obvious affection. It strikes a fine balance between accessibility to series newcomers and retaining much of its technical traditions. The soundtrack is an electronic treat, and while the story can at times seem a bit cliche, the fact that it never takes itself too seriously lets it bring in a tremendous amount of flexible character customization. Its dedication to the details helps push it into the position of my favorite fighting game of 2017 so far.

• PC
• PS4
• 6.8 / 10
• États-Unis

Star Trek: Bridge Crew feels like a promising first draft of a fantastic Trek simulator, but it only goes boldly for a few hours. After the novelty of finally sitting on a beautiful Federation starship bridge wears off and you’ve exhausted the handful of mission types, all that’s left is the goofy physical comedy of messing around with your friends or strangers in VR. That’s nothing to scoff at, but with such a basic combat system and so much time spent twiddling virtual thumbs in two of the four chairs, Bridge Crew’s needs a refit before it’ll be ready for anything close to a five-year mission.

• PS4
• XONE
• PC
• 6.9 / 10
• États-Unis

When you’re playing as Jason, this is unquestionably the best Friday the 13th game ever made. I really appreciate the genuine love for the franchise on display here. Hunting down players and executing them in spectacularly gory scenes is an homage that warms my lifelong Friday-fan heart. But the fun of its asymmetrical multiplayer-only action is heavily skewed toward Jason, which means you’ll mostly be stuck playing as teens rummaging through drawers. Despite that lopsided gameplay and some pretty heinous glitches, there is some dumb fun to be had here – which is all the movies ever really offered, anyway.

• PC
• XONE
• 6.5 / 10
• États-Unis

Thanks to the imprecision of its shooting controls and the cheap behaviour of its AI, I could never really develop any confidence in Tokyo 42’s frustrating combat. Which is a shame because, glitches aside, I really loved exploring the wonderfully crafted world and the simple yet still challenging nature of its stealth-based assassinations. This tiny hitman game dresses smart, packs the right kind of ammunition and certainly aims its sights high, it just doesn’t quite nail the execution.

• PC
• PS4
• XONE
• 6.5 / 10
• États-Unis

Rime’s superficial beauty and interesting mysteries provided enough enjoyment to make me willing to put up with its shallow and familiar elements under the hood. While nothing about Rime is necessarily bad, you can find more interesting versions of nearly every single element of it in other, better games.

• PC
• 7.9 / 10
• États-Unis

Endless Space 2 is a beautiful and capable 4X game, with memorable personality that's seemingly calculated down to the pixel level. It doesn't deviate much from the genre's norms, but it delivers a generally satisfying 4X experience with only a few missteps in combat and diplomacy. Provided you're also okay with tackling a steep learning curve, it's also a satisfying entry point for the genre.

• PC
• 5.2 / 10
• États-Unis

A cool license and a clever time-twisting idea both go to waste in Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days. With more mission variety, character development, and technical polish I could see this being an unexpectedly fun top-down shooter. As it is, its lack of ambition in scenario design makes too little use of its unique mechanic which, in itself, doesn’t always work the way you’d expect it to. Bloody Days also fails to really capture the feel of the movie on which it’s based, presenting iconic characters as cheap knock offs that spout their signature lines at odd moments like pull-string toys. While the shooting can be fun and challenging, this one’s definitely not worth losing an ear over.

• 3DS
• 7.8 / 10
• États-Unis

On the battlefield, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a delightful look into the simpler combat of Fire Emblem’s past. Elsewhere, it carefully guides the series forward into new territory. There’s not as much depth as I expect from this series, but whether I was exploring 3D forests, shrines, and caves in a series first, or learning first hand why Fire Emblem’s early entries are considered a formidable challenge, it was usually good old-fashioned fun.

• PC
• PS4
• XONE
• 7.9 / 10
• États-Unis

The Surge makes good use of its detailed sci-fi setting and provides an engaging experience throughout the 30 to 40-hour campaign, mostly thanks to its widely customizable inventory and wickedly fun combat system. It may struggle to keep the action moving and tell a strong story amid the chaos of battle, and its weapon progression plateaued early, but it offers some interesting ideas and delivers a solid new take on a familiar genre.

• PS4
• 7.5 / 10
• États-Unis

Farpoint is more than a proof of concept or another tech demo for virtual reality. Despite its predictable and unsatisfying story and hard-to-ignore bugs, it’s a full-fledged sci-fi shooter that feels fantastic to play with Sony’s high-quality PSVR Aim Controller (and slightly awkward without it). Several smart control options and design choices cater to a variety of different types of players, and the gunplay is second to none in VR. If I were to recommend one shooter to a PSVR owner, this would be it.