Here's a list of games I played at the very tail end of 2017 and through 2018. It's interesting to note that the first three games on this list, had they been played a little sooner, almost assuredly would have made my top 3 of 2017. If 2018 is a good enough year for games to shake them further down the list, we're in for some real treats.
As of this writing, I'm taking my time through Odyssey's creative worlds, gorging myself on each one in turn. I look forward to seeing what Nintendo has coming down the pipeline for its system, because if it has any offerings as strong as this one on the horizon, it'll be pretty cool.
The translation is sharp, the classic RPG gameplay is meaty and brisk, and I never feel too bogged down in one area long enough to get annoyed. It doesn't hurt that the game's surprisingly witty to boot.
There are times I think Horizon could have used another few months of polish, especially with regards to its glass wall exploration problems, but overall, this is a sharp experience with an inventive world I want to know more about. Really dig the main character too.
Great narrative, and the bugs from the first game seem to be a non-issue here.
Charming take on the Minecraft world. This is definitely a Telltale game, just with Minecraft trappings, and surprisingly, I quite liked the story and the characters. It's meant for a younger crowd, but there's enough sharp writing here to entertain me. Definitely on the list of good Telltale games worth checking out.
Quirky, charming, and with a rock-solid three click foundation, this might be my favorite golf game of all time. That's saying something.
A blast to play, and when the story beats center on Aya and Bayek, it's a terrific story. It's just too bad it's sandwiched by one of the worst overarching plots in an AC game to date. I don't know how you make a Caesar/Cleopatra story feel so disconnected and oddly chopped up. But at the end of the day, this is definitely the best AC game to date.
Kind of the polar opposite of AC: Origins. I love the story and WWII's big moments, but I dreaded actually playing the game, and might just resort to watching cutscenes on Youtube in the future. Every major crazy moment is played out in cutscenes, leaving the player to slog through some incredibly bland levels.
It’s about a five minute experience, all told. Not really good or bad, but falls squarely in the “I wish this was a short story” category of games like Gone Home.
I was pleasantly surprised to find I wasn't terrible at Guts and Glory when I played with my brother. With him pointing out land mines in the road and my patience, we managed to knock out almost all the car and bicycle levels. It's one of the more fun "multiplayer" experiences I've had with a game in recent memory.
Late Shift is neither bad enough to be memorable or good enough as either a game or a movie to be worth your time. The lack of a fast forward feature through sections you've already played as well as a non-existent save feature (you read that right) damns it even more. This game might have been something interesting if it didn't choose to be quite so irritating in its adherence to its "vision."
After hearing this game get shit on, I'm happy to say I think it's much better than the credit it got. It's fairly linear, true, but navigating every previous Dead Rising game was such a chore that in this case, it's kind of a welcome change. I'm digging its sense of humor too. It's crass in a delightful way we just don't see a lot of anymore.
While it has severe late game issues, I don't think Shadow of War is a particularly bad game, just kind of a lazy one. It never really goes out of its way to do anything better than the previous game, and the new mechanics it introduces in its takeovers are eventually so problematic that they stop being fun. That said, though, the core of this is still a spectacular game and for a cheap price, you really can't go wrong with the great combat and silly take on fantasy. I just wish it didn't have a link to Tolkien, because this kind of feels like a shitty take on his universe, but would have made for a funny, silly game if it could have been let off its licensing leash.
New Frontier goes to some really fascinating places, with quite a few uneasy choices to make about family and love. It still suffers from too many quick, meaningless deaths that really aren't necessary - and which cheapen the emotional value of the early parts of the game - but the core characters are all various shades of gray, and I love it for that. It's among Telltale's better outings.
Breath of the Wild is nothing short of phenomenal. It's the sort of game I think about constantly when I'm not playing it. It's difficult but not unmanageably so. It's colorful, spirited, and strangely lonely in its journey. I'm roughly twenty hours in and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. Looking forward to spending many, many more hours in this one.
The first night I bought this, I stayed up almost until three in the morning playing it. Bloons 5 was the first game I downloaded on my original iPad, and it's remained on my devices throughout the years since. This is a cleaned-up version of that game, with a few new monkeys to help you eliminate those damn dirty balloons - and somewhat disappointingly the game is also missing a few old favorites like the eingineer and the bloon vacuum. There's a decent selection of levels, with the new added mechanic that monkeys can no longer shoot balloons behind solid objects. That's an interesting change and adds a small layer of complexity to the game. If they support it as long and often as they did Bloons 5, I look forward to playing this throughout the next half decade - or more.
Crafting adds an interesting layer to this game, but one I'm still on the fence about. It's as tough as its predeccesor, but even more so now, games feel like they last waaaay too long. That said, I really love the premise and the combination of gameplay styles. It's fun!
How in love are you with existentialism and teens whining about their parents' money problems after dropping out of college and steadfastly not getting a job? Because Night in the Woods is basically that. I wish the dialogue and the character interactions hadn't been so good, because otehrwise I'd love to just roast the shit out of this game.
As surprising as the original in a lot of ways, Fractured but Whole remains familiar, but some smart changes to combat and continued great writing make this a really fun experience.
A whole lot of fun, and very, very difficult (at least to me).
