2016 Video Games Recap: App Trigger Reviews Of 2016

April

• Dark Souls 3 (9/10) – “Not quite a remake, not quite a remaster; there is a concerted effort to intertwine the stories of the past and to carry it to the future, and in the process, there is a fair bit of servicing the fans regarding the overarching lore.”
• Miitomo (9/10) – “Though Nintendo will likely produce a seemingly endless stream of conversation options, I have my doubts as to how long [Miitomo] will stick around. I can only stand to listen to my friends tell me pizza is their favorite food so many times before it starts to get tiresome.”
• Kill to Collect (8/10) – “[Kill to Collect] works best as an experience played with friends, and sometimes fails to offer everything that we’ve come to expect from loot-driven adventures, but…the hours of entertainment provided by Kill to Collect make it a worthwhile experience for anyone with an interest in this kind of title.”
• The Walking Dead: Michonne – Episode 2 (8/10) – “The episode (and series) is still too short to engulf me in the same way its predecessors did, but the excellent story design makes up for those limitations as best it can. The plot has evolved in Episode 2 for the better, leaving the series dangling on the edge of a potentially thrilling finale.”
• Bravely Second: End Layer (8/10) – “Bravely Second…expands on the numerous goods from Bravely Default while still telling a brilliant story all its own. Keeping it from perfection are its inaccessibility to series newcomers and occasionally over-the-top dialogue, but that’s all gravy when you look at the battle systems and complex storytelling.”
• Star Fox Zero (6/10) – “You have to overlook a bevy of flaws to enjoy the game for its core mechanics, which is quite the unfortunate turn for the storied franchise.”
• The Magic Circle: Gold Edition (7/10) – “The Magic Circle should be commended as an experience which offers unique ways to play and interact with its world, complemented by a story which, despite some inconsistencies, is humorous and insightful for most of the run-time.”
• Hitman: Sapienza (7/10) – “With Sapienza, Hitman has begun to deliver on its true promise and ambition, with one of the best locations in the entire franchise to date, let alone this game so far.”
• Party Hard (4.5/10) – “Party Hard has some good ideas wrapped in a stylish aesthetic, but any of its initial charm is quickly lost in the imbalanced serving of fair challenge and the repetitive, over-simplistic gameplay.”
• The Walking Dead: Michonne – Episode 3 (8.5/10) – “Without characters like Clementine to fall back on, it was always going to be difficult to craft an engaging tale in such a short amount of time. However, due to excellent pacing, a great story, superb writing and diverse characters, the series has lived up to expectations.”

May

• Homefront: The Revolution (3/10) – “Even once you look past the glaring technical problems, the game is still a cut-and-paste mixed bag of worn ideas, marred by uninteresting gameplay and a largely underwhelming story.”
• Kirby Planet Robobot (8/10) – “Kirby Planet Robobot is a surprising gem of a game, one of the few on the 3DS to truly use the full range of the handheld’s 3D capabilities both for aesthetic and gameplay.”
• Hitman: Marrakesh (6/10) – “As IO Interactive’s ambition continues to escalate in terms of level design and mission structure, Hitman’s persistent issues simultaneously become more of a problem, as they actively impede the ebb and flow of the experience.”
• The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine (9/10) – “Considering Blood and Wine may be the last time we see, or play, as Geralt of Rivia, this incredibly rewarding expansion closes the curtains on his adventures with a truly grand finale.”