A Year in Review: App Trigger’s video game reviews of 2017

November

• Super Lucky’s Tale (XB1) – 5/10 – “[Super Lucky’s Tale is] more like those bargain titles your grandparents would sometimes find at a department store and just buy you for your birthday or Christmas because they don’t really know any better.”
• Hand of Fate 2 (PC) – 6.5/10 – “One can certainly appreciate the unique mechanics and gameplay, just be sure to stay hydrated to counteract all the extra salt this game brings with it.”
• Ittle Dew 2+ (NS) – 8/10 – “Ittle Dew 2+ isn’t a game I’d heard much about until now, but it’s an absolute gem joining the growing Switch indie library.”
• Call of Duty WWII (PC) – 8/10 – “Anybody who remembers the good old times they had with the franchise’s earlier titles should eventually take a look, as Call of Duty WWII is a return to form.”
• Need for Speed: Payback (PS4) – 6/10 – “Need for Speed Payback’s focus on microtransactions leads to a poor progression system and an over-reliance on grinding. The game takes several steps forward, but just as many back.”
• DOOM (NS) – 8/10 – “Though not the optimal way to play the game, Doom comes to the Nintendo Switch more or less intact and it does nicely fill the void for anyone looking for solid single and multiplayer FPS experience on the go.”
• Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy episode 5: Don’t Stop Believin’ (PC) – 5/10 – “A graphic adventure title cannot coast on its cast; the story must remain a gripping journey through its narrative design and storytelling. Guardians of the Galaxy episode 5 fails to deliver on both accounts, presenting a mishmash of conflicting ideals and tension-killing slowdown right on the verge of the story’s climax.”
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (NS) – 8.5/10 – “Skyrim on the Switch may not allow you to have dragons that look like wrestlers, but it remains an epic adventure well worth undertaking and many may prefer the ability to have it with them wherever they go.”
• Nioh (PC) – “It may not be a technical marvel, but it plays to its own combat sensibilities while toeing the line, mechanically, between Dark Souls and Bloodborne.”
• Lineage 2: Revolution (Android) – 6/10 – “Lineage 2: Revolution is proof that something like the MMORPG format can work on mobile, but its insistence on clinging to certain MMO conventions will likely confuse those looking for a different experience than what it offers.”
• Star Wars: Battlefront II (PC) – 5/10 – “Multiplayer is a little better, but the entire progression system is flawed at its very core, and they run through the entire experience at large. It would take a massive overhaul that’s likely impossible in order to clean up this mess.”
• LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2 (XB1) – 8/10 – “As long as you don’t mind hearing “Come and Get Your Love” on the title screen everytime you start the game, you are certain to enjoy this game.”
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PSVR) – 8/10 – “Skyrim VR is the best game available on PSVR right now. The ridiculous amount of content, gameplay, and options combined with flexible movement controls make up for the aged graphics and bugs.”
• Cat Quest (NS) – 8/10 – “Cat Quest is a simple and charming RPG that still manages to be deeper than it first appears and is a nice bite-size adventure compared to the many all-consuming ones you can already find on your Nintendo Switch.”
• Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (Android) – 8/10 – “I might like playing this game too much.”
• Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (3DS) – 6.5/10 – “Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are, effectively, the swan song of dedicated-handheld Pokemon. I hoped to see the series leave the platform with more of a supernova finish.”
• Battle Chef Brigade (NS) – 7/10 – “Trinket Studios clearly put time into Battle Chef Brigade’s art, story and voice acting, but the gameplay often feels lackluster.”
• Portal Knights (NS) – 7/10 – “Portal Knights may not be a stand-out title, but it fills a desired niche of those looking for something Minecraft can’t quite deliver and fills it well.”

December

• DOOM VFR (PSVR) – 8/10 – “A high octane visual thrill ride that offers an intense workout, DOOM VFR is on par with some of the best VR first-person shooters out today.”
• The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series Collection (XB1) – 8/10 – “The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series Collection was honestly a hard game for me to stop playing, even though I had already played it before.”
• The End is Nigh (NS) – 8.5/10 – “The End is Nigh is a marvelous and challenging game, and is both familiar but also somewhat alien for fans of both Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel’s past works.”
• Reigns: Her Majesty (PC) – 8/10 – “The wry, self-aware writing remains Nerial’s strong suit, uplifting the gameplay and drawing players in until they, like the game’s protagonist, are eagerly reliving lives over and over again.”
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – The Champions’ Ballad (NS) – 8.5/10 – “The Champions’ Ballad hits a few stumbling blocks in its execution, but by and large is an excellent coda to the soaring symphony that is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.“
• The Sims 4: Cats and Dogs (PC) – 7/10 – “The Sims 4 Cats and Dogs changes the pet formula once more, reducing the amount of micro-management, but also the fun.”
• Finding Paradise (PC) – 8/10 – “Though admittedly light on gameplay, the strength of Finding Paradise’s characters, story and music will easily sweep you into its universe.”
• Life is Strange: Before the Storm episode 3 (PC) – 6.5/10 – “Before the Storm‘s final episode delivers a heartfelt but unfulfilling conclusion to its realistic story about relationships and personal transformations.”
• PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PC) – 9.5/10 – “Ushering forth a new era of Battle Royale gameplay, its technical qualms are the only thing standing in the way of the path to near perfection in its gunplay and survival-first gameplay. Every match is a new story, and every loss is a learning experience in an unrelenting journey towards the ultimate prize; chicken dinner.”