3 Up, 3 Down – January 2019
It’s a new year, which means new video games to follow up last month’s top reviewed, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Dusk. Since half the country’s sitting in one of the worst cold snaps of the last two decades, a lot of people probably need something to do, right? Well, video games are close to home, and thanks to downloads, you don’t even need to go outside to get more. Let’s take a look at what we most recommend—and what we don’t—to get you through those chilly January days.
The Best
Wargroove
Wargroove has had a long time to come to fruition, but it finally arrived with its unique approach to the strategy genre and its beautifully styled art. With a great mix of multiplayer and single-player action, not to mention its overall polish, it turned out to be worth the wait. In our review, we said, “For those who are eager for a new turn-based tactics game that succeeds at trying something new…Wargroove is immensely satisfying and certainly doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon.”
Kingdom Hearts III
It’s been a long time coming for Kingdom Hearts III—thirteen years, in fact—and everyone’s been nervously (or eagerly, take your pick) waiting to see if it lives up to its predecessors. What it delivered is a game with an unintelligible plot, gorgeous graphics, and the mashup of Disney and anime characters that you can’t find anywhere else. We said in our review: “Kingdom Hearts 3 is still some of the most genuine and wholesome fun I’ve had in thirteen years, and even though to some degree it is more of the same that we’ve seen from past titles with more polish, finesse, and technological magic, but in a way, that’s what makes it feel like home.” High praise.
Resident Evil 2
All three games on our top games of January list scored the same: a 90/100. This doesn’t mean they’re all the same, however. With a JRPG Disney mashup and an indie strategy game behind us, we’ve now got Resident Evil 2, a survival horror game of epic proportions. What do they have in common? We’ve been waiting for all three for a long time. Resident Evil 2 brings a tense and spooky atmosphere, great graphics, and fun gameplay to its remake in an industry where half-hearted remasters are often the norm. Here at COG we said, “Resident Evil 2 is a remake that went above and beyond the call of duty.”
Check our page 2 for some of the less beloved games…