A bare-bones refit, but this remains a captivating JRPG, marrying slice-of-life drama with stylish demon battling.
Marrying astonishing spectacle and overwrought drama, The Wonderful 101: Remastered is one of the most memorable action games you'll ever play. Its delirious excesses come with a price, and it's one that's at little harder to forgive this time, with the original's flaws remaining untouched, and a few compromises made to accommodate the Wii U version's dual-screen set-pieces. But for all its minor frustrations, it's a game that rewards patience and perseverance. Grit your teeth through its control quirks and camera foibles and relish the giddy spectacle of a game that doesn't know when to stop.
The kind of game you'll be quoting for years to come.
An exceptionally pretty if otherwise conventional JRPG with diverting combat. Not an all-timer, but worth a (re)visit.
Never quite the sum of its parts, Octopath Traveler is a game with brilliant moments rather than a brilliant game.
An otherwise strong season drops the ball at the death. Clementine deserved better.
The sharpest writing around, wrapped inside a surprising adventure that's tough but rarely unfair. Failbetter's finest hour.
Overwrought, unsatisfying storytelling takes the shine off a gorgeous and ambitious finale.
Capy's tough-love approach and well-worn survival systems makes it harder to appreciate Below's singular look and feel.
Beautiful, hypnotic and frequently surprising, Tetris Effect is a bravura reinvention of a classic game that deserves to be recognised as a series peak. The odd difficulty spike aside, there's little to fault in what is undoubtedly one of 2018's very best games.
Combines robust storytelling with consistently inventive, surprising missions. Not just a return to form, but a new series peak.
A JRPG for people who haven't played one in a while, basically. Well-made, but disappointingly safe.
Busy friends list but short of local pals? This safe but solid sequel was made for you.
A daring, exciting and bleakly powerful payoff that handsomely rewards your investment in its characters.
A blend of mismatched genres that somehow works, Yoku's Island Express is a beguiling game of modest brilliance.
Made with affection and artistry, this retro appetiser is a very pleasant surprise.
Familiar, lightweight but almost impossible to dislike, this is an effortlessly enjoyable action RPG.
Messy, varied and inadvertently hilarious: A Way Out is an unusual but uneven tandem ride.
Kazuma Kiryu's final outing is an emotionally charged tale of familial bonds and the violence that threatens to rip them asunder
A flimsy remake of a flawed 16-bit favourite that exacerbates all the original's problems while failing to recapture its strengths.