The first half's finest
We've passed the first half of the year and there are already a bunch of new games to play. While some gamers would call this time of the year gaming's dry season, there is no denying the number of quality games that have been released. Here's a list of all the biggest games that we have deemed to be the best of this year so far.
Bloodborne
From Software's Bloodborne is the masterful spiritual successor to Dark Souls and Demon's Souls. While similar to those games in its fundamental mechanics, Bloodborne sets itself apart with its faster combat and chillingly surreal gothic visuals. Released in March, the game still remains absolutely exhilarating. Its tense battles against terrifying monstrosities and impressive interconnected world make it a joy to relive the repeated experience of death it gives you over and over again. Without a doubt, Bloodborne is a game that deserves your time if you haven’t already given yourself up to the machinations of its melancholic world.
Her Story
Her Story is a brilliant game that works off the allure of its ambiguous premise. Beginning at the screen of a 90s police video footage database with a window open with its search parameter reading "murder," the game invites you to make sense of its mystery. Doing so is simple as all you need to do is sift through the game's collection of uniquely presented live-action videos in order to gather any information you can. But what is so compelling about all this is the eerie sense of discomfort you get as you slowly uncover Her Story's secrets. It's unsettling but completely spellbinding. Regardless, to say anymore about the game would spoil the experience. Her Story is a game you need to play to understand.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a master class in action RPGs. Everything about the game screams quality with its phenomenally detailed open world, its satisfying streamlined combat system, and its somber and intimate quest lines. During its highest notes, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a game that will throw you into epic battles against fearsome beasts and creatures, while at its lowest, you’ll simply be riding your horse admiring the beauty of the game’s luscious countrysides. Without a doubt, the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a crowning success of an RPG that you need to play immediately.
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
Capcom's latest entry in the Monster Hunter series makes this long-running action game series even more deserving of your attention than ever before. Featuring streamlined tutorials, improved quest design, and the addition of online co-op, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is the most accessible entry in the series that packs all the thrills of its predecessors into an even more easily digestible package. But that isn’t to say that there aren’t any new additions either. The game now gives you the ability to jump, mount monsters, and even bring along two AI companions to hunt with you when other real-life players aren’t available. If you haven't picked it up already, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is the definitive Monster Hunter game that is well worth your time.
Kerbal Space Program
Kerbal Space Program is a fantastically entertaining space flight simulator that teases you with one persistent goal: how far can you make it into the depths of space? As a simulator, Kerbal Space Program is light-hearted and approachable, but at the same time challenging and merciless. Often you will build a custom rocket ship only to have the physics of space blow it up as you cross Earth's atmosphere. Other times you'll make it to the moon only to fail your landing miserably. But these trials and tribulations are where the charm of this game lies. The labor it takes to accomplish your goal is simply worth it. Either way, Kerbal Space Program proves in true fashion that against overwhelming odds (and punishing physics) that there is still wonder and excitement in space travel.
Dying Light
What do you get when you mix Mirror's Edge with zombies? Dying Light, a zombie survival game that puts its focus on melee combat and agile parkhour movement. Where other games walk the path of arming you with countless firearms to mow down waves of mindless zombies, Dying Light instead gives you the tools to climb atop rooftops and leap above them. As a result, the game offers a gameplay experience that is incredibly satisfying and even tense. Even despite its faults in its sometimes frustrating and boring missions, Dying Light is a thrilling and entertaining game that uniquely stands out among other contemporaries of its genre.
Mortal Kombat X
Mortal Kombat X doesn't do much shake up the Mortal Kombat series' formula, but that isn't a bad thing. Found within is a gorgeous looking fighting game that features the same bloody bouts and over-the-top fatalities that the series is known for. But unlike past Mortal Kombat games, the fighting mechanics underlying these iconic elements in Mortal Kombat X have been made to feel more fluid, subtle, and nuanced than ever before. In addition to improved mechanics, the game also comes with several new characters, modes, and a story that will very much please fans of the series. Mortal Kombat X is a step above its predecessors that is easily worth playing during these slower months in gaming.
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is an isometric action game that is a brilliant trip down a surreal washed out saga of crime, vigilantism, and brutal murder. Like the first Hotline Miami, its sequel demands a quickness of reflex and a dose of methodical on the fly planning to master. However, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is a marked improvement over the first in terms of its level design, challenge, and non-linear narrative. Its hyper violent gameplay fueled by its thumping electronic soundtrack is undoubtedly an experience that deserves your attention time and time again.
Ori and the Blind Forest
Ori and the Blind Forest is a well-crafted adventure that delivers beautiful moments of bliss and excitement. While it captivates with its visual artistry, it also brings a wonderfully paced platforming experience that demands an impressive amount of dexterity and speed. Often Ori and the Blind Forest will take you through brilliant high notes as it presents you with its array of precisely programmed challenges weaved together by its simple fable-like story. And as you experience the game in its entirety, you will come to know what makes it so special with its elegance and clever mechanics.
Axiom Verge
Axiom Verge is a game that most retro gamers will be pleased by. With 2D sidescrolling exploration gameplay heavily influenced by classics like Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Axiom Verge is yet another addition to the collection of games inspired by the genre that those older games helped create. But that isn't to say that Axiom Verge doesn't try to break new ground. If anything, the game subtly adds new layers to the formula. Its biggest contribution is the Address Disruptor weapon, a device that provides unique new mechanics to the genre in the way it transforms enemies into allies and reveals hidden objects. Regardless, while Axiom Verge formulaically pays homage to the classics it bases itself on, it still manages to be a game that holds just as much quality.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D is a definitive example of how something old can be made new again. With a host of small tweaks, such as its updated boss battles, new item locations, and the addition of a comprehensive quest log, this cult classic game has been made to feel more fresh than ever before. There is no doubt that Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D is an enhanced remake that is worth playing over the original. So if you haven't played this classic yet, do yourself a favor and pick this one up now so you can experience this beautiful and eerily ominous adventure.
Heroes of the Storm
Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm is a must-play game that improves on ideas seen in previous multiplayer online battle arena games by giving them a new level of refinement and accessibility. As opposed to others in its genre, Heroes of the Storm offers similar but different elements like multiple maps with varying side objectives to complete, shorter round times, and an entirely new class in the genre called the specialist, which have mechanics specific to their characters. Thanks to these subtle differences, the game manages to create a unique experience that avoids following in the exact footsteps from the genre.
BoxBoy!
BoxBoy! is a distinctively charming puzzle game for the 3DS developed by Hal Laboratories, the studio behind the Kirby games. In it, you play as a two tone square who must use its power to spawn boxes out of its body to help navigate it through a variety of hazards to get to the end of a stage. While this seems overtly simplistic at first glance, BoxBoy's prowess comes from its ingenious ability to serve up challenging and clever puzzles that never underestimate your intelligence. If you're a fan of puzzles or games with great pick up and play factor, BoxBoy! is a delightful title that deserves your attention.
Splatoon
Splatoon is a charming game that proves that not all shooters need to be violent to be appealing. Both equal parts compelling and unique; Splatoon manages to charm you with its colorful premise and inventive gameplay. But as a shooter, the game plays around with the genre in interesting ways with its ink-based shooting and mobility mechanics. Instead of just being a standard shooter that prides itself on player death count, Splatoon favors how much you can cover your opponents and environment with ink. What results is a gameplay experience that deserves recognition for the way it reshapes what a shooter can be while providing mechanics that help enrich the genre in bold and meaningful ways.
Cities: Skylines
Cities: Skylines is one of the best city building simulators to come out in the last decade. Comparable to genre giant SimCity, Cities: Skylines offers similar elements. You build up a city from the ground up and then manage it. But where recent SimCity games have contained elements that were more fantastical, Cities: Skylines opts for a more realistic approach. Featuring city managing mechanics with full control over zoning, approachable design that focuses on planning, and the ability to create districts and policies, the game gives you the proper tools you need to actually feel like you're running a real city. Because of this, Cities: Skylines comes up top as a city simulator that is worth playing for any of you would-be virtual mayors out there.
from GameSpot Image Galleries http://ift.tt/1fqeXHm
via IFTTT
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق