Destructoid

With Street Fighter IV however, I felt my passion falter. It was a great, well-made game, but there was something about it that just didn't light my fire, like most past iterations managed to do almost instantly. With Street Fighter V, I feel that fire again -- I just wish it had all of its planned features at launch.

I would love to be able to give XCOM 2 my unreserved recommendation, but I can't ignore the elephant in the room. If you don't intend on playing on Ironman mode, and have enough patience to deal with (not so) occasional glitches, it's excellent. If you were looking forward to a hardcore playthrough, or can't stand it when technical issues get in the way of a good time, you'll definitely want to wait for a patch or two before deploying.

Terrifying or not, I was compelled enough to unintentionally complete the game in a single evening. Granted, it's only a couple of hours long, but the pacing proved captivating. The checkpointing isn't particularly generous, so that worked out for the best. Layers of Fear wasn't as frightening as I thought it would be based on early impressions, but I was still entertained by its mind-bending haunted house even when the jump-scares fell flat.

Sorcery!'s shortcomings, such as they are, tend to be more technically-rooted. Though it's been reasonably well-adapted for PC, the interface still feels optimized for touch, with large elements that look fine on a phone or tablet screen but are a tad oversized to players using a mouse. The game, or rather the story, is also technically incomplete.

Ultimately, Atelier Escha & Logy Plus is probably the best entry point this series has had. Sure, the first few hours are excruciating and I wouldn't blame anyone for not wanting to have to push through that, but the story of personal growth, trust, and ambition that lies behind it was well worth experiencing.

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth plays it safe in a lot of ways, but for many of you out there, that's going to be perfectly fine. Just don't expect it to convert you if you're sworn off the formula.

The Following was larger than I expected, and it maintains a high level of quality throughout. Being pared down from the bloat of Dying Light earns it more moment-to-moment excitement, and I greedily consumed it over the weekend. The last few minutes have me pondering the future of what's clearly going to become a franchise, and I'm ready for whatever Techland brings next.

If you can stomach a few minor issues that add up over time, Arslan: The Warriors of Legend will be your huckleberry. True to Warriors form there's plenty of collectibles to find, new weapons to discover, online and offline co-op, and a free-play mode. Like nearly every Omega Force game before it, I'll be playing this one for quite some time.

With six challenges to do (just like India) and a New Game+ option, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia has plenty to offer for a bite-sized package, but it fails to live up to the bar set by its predecessors. The loud and powerful styles of China and India simply trump the final piece of the pie, which goes out with a muted rebel yell.

The analog inputs (pulling up the walkie-talkie or map, spinning the same "1234" tumblers to unlock every single park lock box with Henry's paws) combined with unique animation and believable voice work help ground Firewatch, which manages both restraint and maturity in its story without ever going full mumblecore "walking simulator."