More so than any pop game this year, Super Mario Odyssey sees virtual space as a land of elating possibilities.
Knack 2 falters when it stops reinventing elements from other games and starts cannibalizing itself.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is one of the most creative turn-based tactical games in years.
The original Crash Bandicoot is better remembered for what it was and what it meant than what it is.
This port of the 2015 Wii U title Yoshi’s Wooly World doesn’t try to break the mold, though it’s certainly cuter.
Because creativity comes at the cost of cohesion, the whole adventure turns into one irritating mini-game.
It’s an experiment that acts as a deconstruction and overjoyed celebration of everything Super Mario Bros.
Two lackluster RPGs slapped together with a basic matching game, sans any gotta-catch-’em-all glee.
Marked by predominantly uneventful dice-rolling sessions, uninspired Amiibo support, and an unforgivable absence of online functionality.
There’s only two questions that matter: “Do you love Nintendo?” and “Do you enjoy hitting things ’til they go flying off into the stratosphere?”
Treature Tracker is a powerful gesture of confidence by Nintendo: a spinoff game with more original ideas than most companies’ new IPs.
The refinements to returning characters, while not quite revelatory, subtly tip the scales in favor of the dedicated player in a pinch.
The game’s 30-character roster has its pros and its cons, but there’s enough dissimilarity in weight classes that there’s always a suitable option in any versus situation.
The slightly altered core mechanics of World Tour are manageable but can at times be frustrating.
It’s a shame Arzest routinely steps out of line when it comes to the visual and aural artistry of Yoshi’s New Island, because the gameplay ushers the little spin-off that could into the current century.
The one component that has Tropical Freeze dropping the ball in a major way is its multiplayer.
The variation in objectives stretches past the typical bored-game rigmarole and into uncharted territory that frequently invites cruel, comeback-heavy sabotage.
Puppeteer’s creative even in the intermission between levels, where you can review the back stories of the various heads you’ve collected or read Edward Gorey-ish picture books that fill you in on the supporting cast.
The game is far from sleepy, and as with previous installments, Dream Team takes on the properties of its new hero. It’s a more confident, more attractive, and more powerful RPG.
I was so excited to see the film as a kid that I nearly vomited after getting my ticket punched.