Polygon

Although EA Vancouver planned a three-year rejuvenation of their hockey series, NHL 18 seems like it’s on the downside of generational sports games. While Threes adds some zest and significant features, that’s the only notable addition to the game. When the introduction menu pops up and “What’s New” offers only three choices (one being a tutorial), 2017 is not a good year. NHL 18 is (as always for this series) more than competent, but for the first time in a while, it’s a “wait for next year” revision.

To call Metroid: Samus Returns a remake feels unfair. Remakes are old games with new coats of paint: an upgrade in resolution here, reworked artwork there. Samus Returns is far more than that. It’s a top-to-bottom reimagining, bringing the bones of a game that’s over 25 years old into the modern era with fantastic results.

The no-frills quality of NASCAR Heat Evolution meant NASCAR Heat 2 had to show a little more than just great racing this year, and it does in spots. There’s a lot of variety in NASCAR Heat 2, it’s just more immediately seen in things like the one-off races or online multiplayer. It’s hard to fault Monster Games and 704 though; we’d been asking for all this stuff for years. But it makes me feel like I’m sitting down to a nine-course meal more than a buffet.

Hellblade successfully weaves metaphors of grief and loss into fundamental game mechanics and rich folklore, and through these I felt like I truly was able to understand how someone else sees the world.

Knack 2 is an entertaining platform game like those of yesteryear. It's been created with due care and attention. Sure, it’s old fashioned, and its story is appalling. But it’s a reminder that the character-led platform combat game is still alive and well. Despite its good looks, it’s more a work of engineering than it is a work of art. But, as my kid said to me after we'd mashed our way through a co-op level, it's kinda fun.

That story stops in a beautiful place at Episode One's end: a cliffhanger that makes me want Episode Two, stat. I'm a little nervous about having to deal with more of Chloe's pop-punk-esque "I'm not OK" pontificating. But based on what I've seen from Before the Storm's premiere, I'm willing to tough it out alongside her, and Rachel, and the rest of Arcadia Bay.

That story stops in a beautiful place at Episode One's end: a cliffhanger that makes me want Episode Two, stat. I'm a little nervous about having to deal with more of Chloe's pop-punk-esque "I'm not OK" pontificating. But based on what I've seen from Before the Storm's premiere, I'm willing to tough it out alongside her, and Rachel, and the rest of Arcadia Bay.

Songbringer is a game where playing it more than once is the point; it’s what justifies the game’s whole existence. But each time I fed in a new world seed word, I found myself enjoying the game less. The generated worlds are an interesting gimmick, but they spread Songbringer’s shallow mechanics too thin. The game provides nearly limitless worlds to explore, but it didn’t give me much motivation to keep at it beyond those first couple runs.

Last Day of June is a narrative puzzle game that makes full use of a wide range of powerful emotive devices to make its point. Its fairly straightforward puzzles won't keep you up, scratching your noggin at night, but the effect of its wonderful characters and the love they have for one another will leave you feeling like you belong to something bigger than yourself.

Whatever gets added in the future, though, I hope that Absolver doesn’t lose its sense of focus. If the game had tried too much — if it had thrown me into more complicated duels, or forced me to use weapons more often — I don’t think I would have found it nearly as appealing. Instead, Absolver recognizes its singular goal of building a robust, satisfying martial arts combat system. It leans into those strengths, and it’s a better game for it.