A poorly executed Bomberman clone that is technically broken in almost every respect, Basement Crawl is shambling husk of an online multiplayer game. Avoid as if your life depended on it.
Knack would have been a passable game twenty years ago, but now it just feels tired and uninspired. It's a bland, boring adventure, made only more frustrating by its sheer difficulty curve and questionable design choices. There's a soul somewhere in this golem, but it's buried under a pile of ancient video game dreck.
Frustrating and generic gameplay rounds out an otherwise technically impressive package. Killzone: Shadow Fall should have been another solid entry in an above-average franchise, but instead it succumbs to all of the usual launch game pitfalls, and a decent though unimpressive multiplayer suite can't save it from mediocrity.
I Am Setsuna aims to invoke the spirit of classic 16-Bit JRPGs like Chrono Trigger, but its obtuse combat and monotonous pacing keep it from reaching those lofty heights.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness wants to be a grand sci-fi JRPG, but its mediocre production values undercut it at almost every opportunity.
There is a good game somewhere inside Star Fox Zero, but its forced reliance on the Gamepad's screen and motion controls cause it to barrel roll right into mediocrity.
Republique is filled with interesting ideas about the very real fear of modern-day fascism and the omnipresence of privacy-killing technology, concepts that are more often found in literature than video games, and the way it approaches its themes through the security cameras of a dystopian nightmare is admirable. But all the interesting ideas in the world are moot if the game can't make a satisfying experience out of them, and sadly, Republique fails to stick the landing.
Screamride has a pretty impressive roller coaster building suite and some satisfying destructible environments, but everything else - from the other gameplay modes to its presentation - is a total snore.
The Last Tinker tries to ape the best platformers out there, but with boring combat and unchallenging gameplay, it's just a dull one.
Disney Infinity 2.0 tries to do too many things, and ends up not being very good at any of them.
Infamous: First Light takes an interesting, flawed character and does nothing with her. Even at $15, it's a vapid, empty, wasted opportunity. At least the combat is still fun, though.
Graceful Explosion Machine is the gaming equivalent of empty calories. It's pretty to look at, super smooth, and has some interesting weapons, but there's no real hook to keep you sustained beyond the act of moving around and blowing up aliens.
When Gravity Rush 2 sticks to its strengths, it soars; it’s a shame that its stale mission design and clumsy controls keep it from getting too high off the ground.
World of Final Fantasy's opening hours show a lot of promise for fans and newcomers alike, but the longer you spend with it, the more its lack of depth becomes apparent.
Skylanders Superchargers is a competent sequel, but it lacks some of the charm of its predecessors by focusing too much on its collection of vehicles.
Cloudbuilt should have been an addictive competitive speedrunner, but its imprecise controls and brutal checkpoints mean that only the most patient and dedicated players will press forward in this uniquely frustrating game.
Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition has as much content as its name implies, and it's the most stable the series has ever been. While it provides some mindless, button-mashing fun, it's still incredibly repetitive.
Sniper Elite 3's focus on marksmanship over direct confrontation is admirable, but its lack of polish or any real personality keep it from standing out.
As great as it was when the series first launched on the PlayStation 3 - but that's mainly because, other than a couple of new modes, it's practically the same game.
While the core Sleeping Dogs experience is still worth playing, the Definitive Edition is loaded with graphical issues and costs way too much for a game that plays worse than the PC version released two years ago.