Quantum Break is a surprising success
The Division's MMO aspirations get in the way of its shooter fundamentals
Taken for what it is, and what it’s doing, Hitman is still pretty great, and it’s still offering something that no one else has done and still aren’t doing. And in establishing a strong, episodic offering for the series, Io has built a foundation to carry the Hitman series forward much sooner than they ever have before.
Street Fighter V is the skeleton of a great fighting game
If Garden Warfare was an attempt to make a multiplayer only shooter that just about anyone could enjoy, Garden Warfare 2 takes that a step farther by removing the original's budget-priced compromises. Making the original Popcap concept into a shooter isn't novel anymore, and I hope that the developers pay attention to the game's potential balance challenges over time to make sure that "asymmetric" doesn't become "lopsided." But Garden Warfare 2 stands strong on its own, and with friends.
Frustration tangles up Unravel's better ideas
Rainbow Six Siege is already fighting a difficult battle trying to enforce a more methodical vision of a competitive shooter. It's a minor miracle that Ubisoft Montreal has built such a solid foundation in that regard. But the bizarre progression hooks Siege borrows from free-to-play games, its dearth of content and its network problems make for an awful lot of frustration to overcome in search of those rare moments of unit cohesion.
Fallout 4 brings great gameplay to match its world and ambiance
Black Ops 3 doesn't meaningfully move the series forward
Halo 5 offers some of the best multiplayer the series has ever seen
With the loss of some of its personality, Forza Motorsport 6 sometimes feels like a little less than the sum of many much improved parts, and there are certain quality-of-life changes that feel increasingly overdue. But these are only distractions, bumps in the road that make Forza feel "just" great when looked at from a distance.
Ultimate is the best possible demonstration of Gears of War's classic shooter bonafides
The Witcher 3 is a great game — with some major qualifications
Titan Souls finds its best moments when its willing to spare the rod
In areas where Battlefield has always excelled and pushed forward, Hardline presents experiments, rather than refinements or fixes. The result is multiplayer that feels very familiar, very quickly. But its campaign, while feeling not completely sure about what it wants to be, is more interesting and certainly all-around better than the last few years' worth of Battlefield games.
Ori and the Blind Forest is a rare realization of fantastic design and production values in a space where I wasn't expecting to find it, displaying a spectacular level of confidence in what it is and what it does.
ScreamRide is one of 2015's first great surprises
Evolve offers something different, even if it doesn't always succeed
Dying Light too often loses track of what it's best at
It's a smart game that doesn't punish you for it, a puzzle game that allows a sense of creativity. And while it isn't the most upbeat thing out there, there's a vein of hope that runs through it — and ties it all together neatly at the end.