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What are the best fantasy games for Xbox One?

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Divinity: Original Sin II - Enhanced Edition vs Dragon Age: Origins vs Bastion

 vs The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt vs Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen vs Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice vs The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim vs Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor vs Diablo III vs DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin vs Dark Souls III vs South Park: The Stick of Truth vs Dragon Age: Inquisition vs Middle-earth: Shadow of War vs Lost Odyssey vs Jotun: Valhalla Edition vs Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition vs Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire vs Vampyr vs Blue Dragon vs Dark Souls Remastered vs Final Fantasy Type-0 HD vs Battle Chasers: Nightwar vs Dragon Age II

Specs

Genre

Turn-based RPG

Platforms

Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Co-Op

2-4 Players

Controller Support

Yes

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Tactical Role-Playing

Platforms

Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, macOS

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Action RPG

Platforms

-

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Action RPG

Platforms

Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

Steam Rating

Overwhelmingly Positive

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

1080p, ~500p on Switch

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Action-Adventure, Psychological Horror

Platforms

Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Fantasy Role-Playing

Platforms

Windows, Xbox, PS, Nintendo Switch

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Dungeon Crawler RPG

Platforms

Windows, macOS, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Action Role-Playing

Platforms

PlayStation 3

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Action Role-Playing

Platforms

Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Role-Playing

Platforms

PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Action Role-Playing, Tactical Role-Playing

Platforms

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

No

Multiplayer

Yes

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Role-Playing

Platforms

Xbox 360, Xbox One

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Action, Adventure

Platforms

PC, Mac, Xbox One, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Dungeon Crawler RPG

Platforms

Windows, macOS, Linux, PS4, Xbox One

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

2 Player Local / Online

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

RPG

Platforms

Windows, Mac, Xbox One, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch (TBA)

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Horror, Action Role-Playing

Platforms

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Role-Playing

Platforms

Xbox 360, Xbox One

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Action Role-Playing

Platforms

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Switch

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

3 Player Online

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Action Role-Playing

Platforms

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

Yes

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Role-Playing

Platforms

Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, macOS

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

-

Multiplayer

-

Genre

Action Role-Playing

Platforms

Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Windows, Mac

Steam Rating

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Native resolution

-

Available on Steam

No

Multiplayer

-

Pros + Cons

Pro
 Huge amounts of content and choices

The main campaign has a staggering amount of content. The maps you'll explore are massive with various routes, containing numerous quests, battles, secrets, and even ambushes along the way. Even if you rush through the story, a single playthrough will last you about 50 hours. D:OS2's greatest strength, however, is the ability to choose. This includes choosing your character, your companions, what builds to use for them, what route to take when exploring the map, how to solve various encounters and quests, and many more. Every single choice affects how the story progresses, and a bad decision early on can come back to haunt you later. As a result, there's enough variety to keep multiple playthroughs new and exciting from start to finish.
Comment

Pro
 Very deep turn-based combat

Winning battles in D:OS2 is equal amounts of preparation and tactics. When preparing for battle, you need to consider your group setup, your formation as you enter the battle, and even what equipment you bring with you. For example, during one battle you fight against an ice dragon that constantly freezes the ground. Any character that steps on the frozen ground will slip. To avoid this, you can equip spiked shoes on your characters before the battle, allowing them to retain footing. During combat, you always need to keep in mind things like turn order, positioning, height, and how various magical effects interact with the environment and characters. For example, standing on a cliff increases your range and visibility, using a lightning spell on a puddle electrocutes all characters standing in it. Fast characters will get a turn first, so a group of fast characters could end a battle without letting enemies retaliate. As a result, the combat has enough depth and variety to satisfy any RPG fan and even entice newcomers of the genre.
Comment

Pro
 Excellent and thorough voice acting

Every single dialogue line in D:OS2 has a voice-over. From the prattling of an overzealous city guard, to the lines a sketchy shopkeeper feeds you, to even the conversations you have with forest animals. You even get a narrator to read out long walls of text for you. On top of that, each and every voice actor's performance is superb, providing depth and nuances even to obscure side-characters, which is hardly ever experienced in games.
Comment

Pro
 Complete freedom when building your character(s)

Even though you choose a class when creating your character, it only affects your starting equipment. You can create a character build with any skills you like without class or archetype constraints. This includes a fire mage that wears heavy armor while wielding a shield and a hammer, an archer that can use teleportation magic to always keep the distance, and countless more. You even get to build your companion characters from the ground up, allowing for hundreds of party combinations. As an added bonus, once you complete Act 1 of the game, you can respec your build whenever you want, free of charge. Because of this, you don't have to worry about messing up your build, allowing you to freely try out any skill combination/setup.
Comment

Pro
 Great soundtrack

D:OS2 has an expertly composed soundtrack, giving the world a great amount of color and atmosphere. From the mellow flute permeated with ambience and a divine chorus when you travel down a road, to the upbeat strumming of string instruments as you ransack a tavern, to even a ominous orchestra during a confrontation with a dragon. Wherever you are in the game, the soundtrack is a joy to listen to.
Comment

Pro
 Outstanding multiplayer mode that allows for endless content

D:OS2 features a Game Master mode, which lets you create custom multiplayer campaigns for up to 4 players, with the 5th player assuming the role of a Game Master. When creating a campaign, you can use any asset within the game, such as characters, items, etc, and import new, user-made assets as well. You can even create new quests, levels, and alter any of the existing assets, allowing you to go as far as creating a sci-fi campaign if you have the patience. Additionally, because there is a game master, you can create various role-playing events not possible in a normal campaign. For example, you can designate one of the playable characters as a kleptomaniac, so whenever they're near an object that can be stolen, you'll have to roll a dice to determine if that character resists the urge to steal or not. On top of that, the game master can control NPCs, add quests, and make rule adjustments on the fly. There's enough creative freedom to create any campaign/story you want, keeping you interested in D:OS2 long after you've finished the main campaign. Even if you don't want to create a campaign on your own, you can just download a campaign made by another user.
Comment

Con
 Slight learning curve

Very few game worlds have the same interactivity as D:OS2. Because of this, it can be easy to forget that using fire near an oil barrel will cause it to blow up in your character's face, or if a fire is blocking your way, you can just douse it with water. As a result, it might take a while until you get fully used to the interactivity.
Comment

Pro
 Plenty of mods available

Nexus Mods contains many mods to change just about any aspect of the game such as adding new dungeons, new companion interactions, and ways to save time like with the auto loot mod.
Comment

Pro
 Well-implemented tactical combat with unique playstyles

The combat gameplay is great, featuring various playstyles and a key way for you to control the flow of battle. The different battle classes -- warrior, mage, and rogue -- have branching specializations with unique abilities. Going with a templar that branches off from the warrior class gives you an edge over enemies who use magic, while duelist rogues have more speed to strike quickly and dodge the most hits. You can also pause the game to bring up a radial menu to pick which abilities to use and specific enemies to target, meaning you can take your time in battle and not get overwhelmed by everything. Mastering your class specialization and using the radial menu to your advantage gives the combat a lot of strategic depth.
Comment

Pro
 Your choices can give you vastly different playthroughs

The choices you make affect the gameplay and plot, opening things up for very different playthroughs. Right from the start, you pick which race and combat class you want for your protagonist -- human, elf, or dwarf -- each with their own playable origin prologue, such as a human mage with noble blood or a dwarf warrior part of the working class. Which origin you pick also has a big impact on how your companions and NPCs react to you, such as people respecting you more if you're a noble or looking down on you if you're an elf. Once you become a Grey Warden, the choices you make during the story segments determine who will join you for the final battle. You can side with the people whom you know will provide the most support in the finale against the darkspawn, but these characters might be irredeemable and reprehensible, so you might not want to help them after all. Or there may be other groups or people that you absolutely want to help, yet this comes at a great cost that negatively affects others in the world. It's a balancing act where you have to carefully take everything into consideration. All in all, your choices give you the chance to experience unique playthroughs, with potentially hundreds of hours of gameplay if you want to see how each outcome plays out.
Comment

Pro
 Great ways to interact with companions

There are interesting ways to get to know your team members in Dragon Age: Origins. Giving them gifts, talking to them at camp, and listening to party banter are all realistic and fun. You can increase approval with your favorite characters by figuring out what types of gifts to give them, like general trinkets in the shape of a dragon, or more sentimental items with personal meaning to them like a parent's cherished locket. While resting at a camp, you can chat with anyone about what's on their mind, opening up side quests, and possibly triggering romance options. Party banter is always insightful and entertaining, with characters giving different lines depending on who you bring along. For instance, if two of your party members don't like each other, you can expect them to snipe insults or make more passive-aggressive backtalk depending on their personalities. Your companions feel like actual people you can interact with and listen to, each with their own preferences and perspectives.
Comment

Pro
 Epic dark fantasy story

The story in Dragon Age: Origins is long and expansive with many different parts that are all fit together by the finale. As a Grey Warden, you specialize in killing demon-like darkspawn enemies in order to prevent them from taking over the world in a cataclysmic event known as the Blight. Even with the darkspawn threat, there are many other issues across the country of Ferelden, such as the oppression of mages and elves at the hands of humans, and several displaced dwarves who were nearly wiped out during the Blights in the past. There's plenty of political drama as well, with you and your fellow Grey Wardens caught in the middle of a betrayal at the highest level of Ferelden's monarchy. You play a big part in the culmination of the drama with the choices you make, many of which aren't just black and white. All of these threads come together nicely by the end as you fight against the darkspawn to save the country and all the people that you get to know on your journey.
Comment

Con
 Too easy to fix relationships with companions who dislike you

It's way too easy to smooth things over with disagreeable party members. Your companions can grow to actively dislike you if you pick certain dialogue options with them, or they can judge you harshly for certain story decisions you make. By giving them gifts, you can greatly improve their approval of you as if nothing had ever happened in the first place. None of your relationships with your companions really have any consequences when it's this simple to make them like you again after disagreements.
Comment

Con
 Characters are partially clothed during romance scenes

The romance scenes include characters wearing their undergarments, which ends up looking weird and distracting. Full nudity isn't absolutely necessary, but it just seems off here. Having more creative camera angles to cover things up would have had a better effect without coming off as unrealistic.
Comment

Con
 Silent protagonist even though everyone else has voice acting

It's jarring that your protagonist is the only character in the game who doesn't speak. While everyone else has a voice with their dialogue, it's awkward when you pick your own dialogue options and your character says nothing. When you choose your response, there's a pause between the other person's lines that doesn't quite feel right. It would have been nice if the voice acting were consistent, with voices for everyone or no one, to keep things on the same page.
Comment

Pro
 Incredible soundtrack

Bastion's soundtrack expertly sets the atmosphere with its soundtrack. From somber blues songs during touching story moments to exciting trip-pop mixes during combat. It's just so nice to listen to, making the experience of playing Bastion better as a whole.
Comment

Pro
 Beautiful art style

Bastion uses a hand-painted art style for its characters, monsters, environments, and even backgrounds. There's so much color, detail, and variation in everything, it feels like you're skimming through a picture book. It's always exciting to see what this game will show you next.
Comment

Pro
 A unique way of storytelling

While the central plot is pretty simple, Bastion has a narrator that comments on everything that you do. This includes things like falling of a ledge, obtaining a weapon, or even destroying a massive monster. Because of this, it feels as if you're playing through a story book, where your journey and actions is the central story.
Comment

Pro
 Fun varied gameplay

Bastion is a game about exploring floating islands while destroying monsters along the way. The combat is simple, fast, and it's a lot of fun to destroy monsters with a variety of weapons. This includes a machete, pistols, a pike, a carabine, and even grenades. You can also equip two weapons at the same time, allowing you to use cool combinations like hammer and a machete or a cannon and a mortar. Each weapon also has upgrades and unlockable skills, giving you new methods for destroying monsters. All of this makes Bastion stay exciting for a long time.
Comment

Con
 Combat can feel repetitive

Like most hack and slash titles, Bastion's combat is very simple, having you mash buttons in every monster encounter. This probably won't bother you as much during short play sessions, but the longer you play in one sitting, the more tiresome it becomes, especially if you already have all the upgrades and don't have anything else to do between levels.
Comment

Pro
 Choices matter

The Witcher 3 has three completely different endings. The decisions during main quests and side-quests affect how the endings play out, adding up 36 possible outcomes. It feels refreshing to actually impact your character's fate and not just trot along a path to an inevitable conclusion.
Comment

Pro
 Immersive story

Developers have taken great care to make an interesting story, but what really pulls you in is the dialogue and character interactions. They're made great through excellent writing, stellar voice-overs, and great body language. The characters on-screen may feel like real people, so it's very easy to forget you're playing a game and not watching a TV series.
Comment

Pro
 Attention to detail in almost every facet of the game

The Witcher 3 is how an AAA title should play, sound, and feel like. Its deep combat, beautiful graphics, amazing sound, interesting quests, immersive story, and almost every other aspect of the game has a surprising amount of polish.
Comment

Pro
 Side quests are as good as the main quests

There are almost no lazy "go get me 12 turtle shells" quests in the Witcher 3 and you get to experience some amazing writing even in the most obscure side quests.
Comment

Pro
 Lots of random side quests

You can just walk around for hours, find abandoned structures, caves, etc and find interesting side quests to do.
Comment

Pro
 Convenient ways to get around the massive world

The world is intimidatingly massive but thankfully there are ways to cut down on travel time. You can ride a horse, use a boat, or just simply fast travel to explored locations. This makes the experience more accessible and enjoyable as a whole.
Comment

Con
 Performance hiccups

Even though the frame rate is capped at 30 frames per second it often drops below that. You also might experience long load times or textures not loading fully in some areas.
Comment

Con
 Story quests may feel like a chore

If you happen to enjoy doing side quests, you might end up overleveled for the story quests, allowing you to easily power through them. This may remove the challenge and enjoyment, causing it to feel like a chore, especially because the loot also remains low-level.
Comment

Pro
 Character size/weight affects gameplay

A lot of video games focus just on the stats, classes, and weapons as the key difference, but Dragon's Dogma throws in height and weight into the mix. For example, a tall and bulky character jumps higher, carries more equipment, and has a longer reach with their weapon. The downside is that the character is slow and is easier to hit because of the size. On the other hand, a short and light character is quicker, can pass through a large monster's legs, and enter narrow passages such as Goblin holes. Unfortunately, they usually have a poor reach and can be knocked down pretty easily while not being able to carry that much equipment either. Practically no other video game in the market uses a similar mechanic, making Dragon's Dogma feel really unique and fun.
Comment

Pro
 Interesting companion system

Throughout the game, you'll be accompanied by up to 3 NPCs called "Pawns." One of them will be a Pawn you created, and the other two will usually be summoned from other player's worlds. What's interesting about this is that Pawns will grow alongside players, but not just in terms of stats and levels. For example, if you fight monsters with the Pawns, they'll gradually gain knowledge about the monsters. Once they have enough knowledge, they'll be able to give you various hints through in-game dialogue about a monster's weaknesses, patterns, habitats, and so forth. You can also hire other player's Pawns that already have acquired all the knowledge, making the learning process much easier for you. Pawns also mimic their creator's behavior, so if you prefer to smash everything in sight, your Pawn might just do the same when visiting another player's world. It's a really cool companion system that gives the game a multiplayer feel without any actual multiplayer.
Comment

Pro
 Awesome combat/hunting gameplay

The combat in Dragon's Dogma is very fast and intense. You can string together combos with swords, axes, and daggers, launch/throw enemies, shoot arrows with a bow in quick succession, and even dodge/block enemy attacks. Even the spells look absolutely amazing and feel really powerful. For example, when you cast an ice spell called Gicel, massive spears of ice will weave forth to skewer enemies. It looks like something you'd only see bosses use in other video games, making it feel that much more empowering. The enemies also play a large part in making the gameplay feel great. It will start out simple with you fighting bandits and packs of wolves on your travels, which will gradually turn into you taking on massive mythical beasts such as manticores, gryphons, cyclops, and even dragons. While in other games you'd probably just beat on their ankles until they fold onto themselves, Dragon's Dogma has a really cool grappling system that allows you to grab onto enemies and even throw them (if they're light enough). For example, if a dragon makes the mistake of lowering its tail into your reach as it rains down fire and death from up above, you can just grab onto it and climb on the dragon's back. This turns into a very intense sequence of you trying to not fall off before you drive your sword into the dragon's neck. It's the type of mechanic that makes you feel like the heroes written about in storybooks, which immensely adds to the fun and immersion.
Comment

Con
 Forgettable story

The story starts out interesting but loses its steam shortly after. Hardly anything happens during the middle part of the story, the side characters feel bland, there are lots of plot holes, and the narrative starts feeling like a mess. Even the conclusion is somewhat confusing, trying too hard to be profound. If you're looking for a very good story-driven experience, you won't find that here.
Comment

Con
 Limited fast travel options can be tedious

Dragon's Dogma has a very large but sparsely populated world, which means that a lot of time is spent traveling between quest objectives. There are no horses, forcing you to simply walk everywhere and the only method of getting somewhere quickly is through very costly teleports available only much later in the game. If you dislike having insane amounts of downtime, Dragon's Dogma might not be for you.
Comment

Pro
 The infighting of voices in Senua's head is unnerving

The many voices in Senua's head, all with their own unique personalities, showcase her struggles with psychosis, with the voices either taunting Senua, picking at her weaknesses, or encouraging her to stand her ground and fight. They can also be useful in battle, with some voices warning Senua to look out behind her as a new enemy spawns and readies to attack her. Constant exposure to these voices is unsettling, because their constant back and forth with praise or insults can take a toll on you after a while. Playing with headphones on is a must in order to feel the full experience of the voices and how well they blend into the gameplay.
Comment

Pro
 Compelling main character

Bolstered by an award-winning performance from Melina Juergens, The story constantly pushes Senua to her limits, both through the innumerable enemies who challenge her and the voices in her head that mock her to give up her impossible journey. She is an incredibly vulnerable character who fights on with her many fears and doubts, showing a different type of protagonist in the gaming landscape.
Comment

Pro
 Intense boss fights

Though few in number, the boss battles in Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice are a testament to how brutal the game's combat can be, with menacing boss designs and distorted arenas that inspire true fear in their intensity. These fights put Senua's skills as a warrior to the test with telegraphed moves that she must react to swiftly, along with tight windows of opportunity for her to wound the enemy. With no UI elements for health bars, neither for Senua nor the enemies she faces, these boss fights are an exercise of patience and mettle, giving an adrenaline-filled sense of satisfaction after a hard-fought victory.
Comment

Pro
 Powerful environments and atmosphere

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice boasts a beautiful, yet haunted atmosphere that evokes powerful feelings of awe, with towering mountains that stretch on for miles, lakes that glitter in the sunset glow and reflect the intimidating architecture of the Norse halls throughout the environment.
Comment

Pro
 Amazing voice acting

Melina Juergens gives a riveting performance that showcases the full range of Senua's rage, vulnerability and introspection throughout her journey. Each tremble of fear in Senua's voice and her sharp cries of pain in battle further highlight her determination to reach her goal, pressing onward in the face of insurmountable obstacles.
Comment

Con
 Shallow combat

Although the enemy and boss designs are top-notch, the moment-to-moment swordplay with Senua isn't as deep as it could have been. Simple presses of light attacks and heavy attacks mixed in with blocks, strafes and rolls are most of what the combat has to offer. Occasionally an enemy will be blacked out and unable to take damage, and Senua can use her Focus ability to rectify this and continue attacking normally. On one hand, it's realistic that Senua's sword fights are to-the-point, but from a gameplay perspective, things can get dull rather quickly.
Comment

Con
 Too many puzzles

Because those with psychosis are adept at pattern recognition, Senua's strength with patterns translates into puzzles to solve throughout the linear world, but they're far too numerous and overstay their welcome quite early on. They often break the pace of exploration, with too many instances of Senua needing to loop around a small area several times in order to align shadows or illusory portals to open up the path to the next area.
Comment

Pro
 Huge variety of mods

Bethesda Softworks has upheld a tradition of releasing their internal content-creation tools to the public since Morrowind (2002). Many modders transition to new Bethesda games as they are released, bringing their experience with them and helping newcomers through forums and wikis. As a result, Skyrim's mod selection is outstanding in both variety and quality.
Comment

Pro
 Unrestrictive skill-based RPG system

Skyrim has no set character classes or equipment/spell limitations. Instead, it allows you to form your own class based on how you decide to play. For example, sneaking increases your sneaking skill, hitting an enemy with a shortsword increases your one-handed skill, taking damage while wearing leather armor increases your light armor skill, and so forth. You can you play however you want and the resulting character will be a perfect match for your playstyle, giving Skyrim a different feel from other RPGs.
Comment

Pro
 Deep lore rivaling classic fantasy literature

Skyrim inherits the stories and world-building of The Elder Scrolls series, which stretches back 20 years. It has numerous stories surrounding the various races (orcs, elves, lizardmen, demons, etc.), mythical beasts, gods, cataclysmic events, parallel worlds, and just about any fantasy trope you could think off. What's even better you can read the lore in books found in-game, allowing you to immerse yourself for countless hours.
Comment

Con
 Buggy and crash prone

While this game is not as buggy as it was upon release, there are still many people that encounter various bugs and crashes. These can happen in both modded and unmodded games and it's a common occurrence in Bethesda released titles. Fortunately, there are some community mods that try to fix most memory issues, stability issues, and general bugs.
Comment

Con
 Forgetful NPCs can break immersion

After completing certain story quests NPCs get new lines added to their dialogue based on your decisions. Sometimes the NPCs might become forgetful and return to their default dialogue, which can break immersion, especially if they talk about an event that's been long resolved.
Comment

Con
 Combat is too simple

Most of the time you can just whack an enemy until it dies and it involves very little strategy or planning to succeed. For example, targeting specific body parts doesn't deal extra damage, nor can you cripple an enemy. There are no vulnerabilities, so you can't set furry forest animals ablaze easier than humans. The enemies also lack any real variation in how they attempt to fight you – they just run at you swinging wildly or attack you from afar. Because of this the combat is very one-dimensional and can start feeling like a chore after a while. Luckily most of the combat issues can be fixed with mods, allowing you to enjoy a more varied and deeper combat experience.
Comment

Pro
 Entertaining combat

Shadow of Mordor has very fast-paced combat, allowing you to have exciting fights with groups of orcs. You parry, you counter, you roll, and you slash away at the orcs with your sword. You even have supernatural abilities that give you an edge in a bad situation. For example, after stunning an enemy with Wraith Stun, you can perform a devastating combo that kills the enemy. The same ability can be upgraded to affect every enemy in an area, so it can also be used to escape losing battles or exact justice on all of them. Regardless of your methods, you always feel like the dominant force, which makes it all the more satisfying to ruthlessly skewer helpless orcs.
Comment

Pro
 Enjoyable preparation element

Bosses in this game have different immunities and weaknesses to in-game skills. For example, a boss can be immune to takedowns, but can also be vulnurable to fire, so it's best to have a flame-infused weapon ready to fight him effectively. This makes preparation very important to succeed, sometimes even requiring you to mix up your playstyle and fighting methods. Because every enemy requires a different approach, it can help the gameplay stay fresh for a longer time.
Comment

Pro
 Great stealth combat mechanics

In Shadow of Mordor there are various ways you can kill enemies while staying unnoticed. You can simply sneak around by staying low, breaking line of sight behind walls and carts, backstabbing orcs when you sneak up on them. You can climb walls and traverse building roofs, dropping onto unsuspecting orcs while impaling them. You can even use supernatural abilities or wait for nightfall to make you even stealthier. All of this coupled with Shadow of Mordor's very smooth controls, makes being stealthy really enjoyable.
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Pro
 Mind control mechanic that adds depth to tactics

Players can mind control orcs to call upon them in battle, turning a one-vs-many battle, into a more evenly balanced showdown. You can even use your makeshift allies as fodder, allowing you to sneak up on unsuspecting enemies in the heat of battle and take them out instantly. It's up to you to decide when and how to use the orcs, giving the battles a decent amount of tactical depth.
Comment

Con
 Extremely repetitive

The game can begin to feel like a chore after 3 hours. Every area has the same missions, requiring you to unlock towers, kill/dominate that orc, or defend/attack a base. There isn't much change over the course of the game, so it can feel pretty disappointing if you're expecting more variety.
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Con
 Unskippable cutscenes interrupt gameplay

Every time an orc leader enters the screen, there is an unskippable cutscene where he rambles a bit, focusing the camera on him and halting combat until the cutscene ends. This usually happens as you're fighting another enemy, potentially disrupting your rhythm, which can be really frustrating, especially if mess up your combo or take an unnecessary hit after the cutscene.
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Con
 Progressing through the storyline can be confusing

While excessive hand-holding in games is bad, you might get lost in this game with no idea what to do next. This is mostly because the game almost never tells you what you should be doing, so it's up to you to find out, which can sometimes result in you aimlessly running around an area for up to an hour. Anyone looking for a more directed experience might not like Shadow of Mordor that much.
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Pro
 Fun to collect loot

One of the better parts of Diablo III is collecting the piles of gold, the colorful gems, and various pieces of equipment. It's especially exciting when a legendary quality item drops from a monster since it makes a distinct sound effect and shoots a beam of orange/green light into the sky. So whenever a lot of legendary items drop all at once it just feels incredibly satisfying.
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Pro
 Easier to learn and enjoy than most other similar titles

Diablo III is very simple, requiring very little to no planning to succeed. You create a character, pick a skill and just progress through the game while occasionally upgrading your equipment. You can change skills and any stat points you've earned without penalties. You can also choose from one of the 17 difficulty levels, so you can always play at a level that's challenging but not too stressful. All of this creates a game that you can enjoy without worrying about messing up in the long run.
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Pro
 Decent selection of character builds to try out

There are more than 50 distinct class/skill combinations, including ranged builds, melee builds, support builds, defensive builds, pure-offense builds, and many more. You're sure to find a build that you'll enjoy playing, whether you prefer to play alone or with friends.
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Con
 Endgame grinding can get really repetitive

The endgame in Diablo III consists of only two things – completing bounties and clearing greater rifts. Both of these have very little variation in them, so quite often you'll run through the same map layouts, clear the same enemies, and complete the same objectives. This gets extremely stale after long play sessions and can cause you not to pick up the game again.
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Pro
 Branching gameplay with plenty of choices

The branching gameplay within Dark Souls II makes for not only a great way to tailor each adventure to each player keeping everyones experiences unique, but also a reprieve from many difficult points in the game. If one area has become to tough or something has the payer stuck from advancing further, an alternate path in the game can be taken to wholly different areas. This allows for a multitude of options on how to level up as well as well as many different options in finding and equipping that found gear.
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Pro
 Expansive fantasy settings

Dark Souls II offers a wide variety of locales to explore, all within a fantasy setting. The amount of differing locations does give a feeling of lack of cohesion though but does have the benefit of locations that are wildly different from each other, which can be refreshing at times.
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Pro
 Excellent boss battles

There are many iconic boss battles throughout the game that make for some of the most difficult moments to be played. But once finally defeating a boss the feeling of accomplishment is well worth it.
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Pro
 Slow and deliberate fighting with reward/risk mechanics

Each enemy encounter needs to be calculated and precisely timed, as any mistake will most likely mean death. An added level of complexity to this equation is enemies that can be ignored but will then gang up on the player once a boss is beaten. This creates a risk/reward scenario that the player needs to weigh with a lot of thought.
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Pro
 New lighting system

Before the original Dark Souls II was released the developer had shown off a lighting system where areas were pitch black and a torch was necessary to see. This was eventually removed before the release. Now with the release of the DX11 version, DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin is able to actually have this lighting system working on par with what was shown of years ago pre-release. Many areas will now be completely dark and in order to traverse them the player will need to use a torch to see and light static torches throughout the level to keep it lit. This will then allow the player to go through the level without the aid of the torch in order to battle all enemies that lay within. this overhauled lighting system creates a whole new play mechanic that will force players to tackle levels in a completely different manner than the original game.
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Con
 Difficulty that requires a lot of time and patience

To be honest, difficult is a nice way of putting it, this game can destroy ones will to live. It is not even worth counting how many times one dies, as it will be in the hundreds if not thousands. Only through patience and sure determination will many reach the ending of the game. So much time is needed in order to replay many areas and bosses over and over in order to learn the exact timing and what moves to use that not many people can spare it. This is not a game for casual players, that is for sure.
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Pro
 Great combat system

Dark Souls 3 is a very fast-paced game but it's not just about having quick reflexes. A lot of the combat comes down to exploiting your enemies. To do that, you have to learn their patterns and attack the moment they pause or perform a telegraphed attack. This creates a combat system, which rewards awareness and patience, and is satisfying to master, even if you don't have extraordinary reflexes.
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Pro
 Can give a great feeling of accomplishment

The Dark Souls series is known for its difficulty and Dark Souls 3 is no exception. It's filled with difficult enemies and tough boss battles, able to cause you grief on more than one occasion. However, every time you progress to the next safe spot or defeat a boss you'll often be filled with a mix of joy and relief. Beating this game will almost certainly feel like an achievement.
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Pro
 Stunning environments

The world of Dark Souls 3 looks amazing, so you may often feel the need to stop and take in the beautiful sights. This can be the sheer size of structures, mountains, or caves. It can also be the decorations, inscriptions, or details in a room. There's always so much to look at, allowing you to truly immerse yourself in its world.
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Pro
 Solid controls

This game feels and plays really well. Your character responds to button inputs immediately and it almost never feels like you're losing control over it. The control scheme can also be customized, giving you the option of a more personalized experience.
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Pro
 A great variety of equipment for almost any playstyle

You'll be finding new pieces of equipment quite often, giving you many options to choose from. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to pick the equipment that best suits your playstyle. For example, heavy armor will make you move slower, but you'll be better protected. Greatswords have a wide reach, but you swing them really slow. Conversely a dagger is very fast but it has a horrible reach.
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Pro
 Unpredictable boss battles

The boss battles in Dark Souls 3 consist of several phases, changing up how the bosses fight over the course of the battle. They will gain new abilities, become more aggressive, or reveal various nasty surprises. This creates an enjoyable experience that is different from most modern games where bosses are just glorified pincushions.
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Con
 Poorly tuned dynamic visiblity

You may notice some texture pop in while sharply turning the camera. It can be somewhat distracting if you notice it, but most of the time you won't because it happens in the distance.
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Con
 It's hard

You should try avoiding the trap of great review scores since most of them fail to mention the difficulty. It's simply put - hard. A lot of the combat requires quick reflexes, good mechanics, and the mental fortitude to carry on after failing for hours. If you're new to the Souls-like genre or simply want to enjoy a relaxing evening playing a video game, you most likely won't enjoy Dark Souls III.
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Con
 Occasional performance issues

There are portions of the game that will have noticeable framerate drops, which can negatively affect the gameplay. Most of the fault lies with the game engine, so getting a PS4 Pro won't help that much.
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Pro
 South Park's trademark humor throughout the turn-based combat

When you start the game, you have the option of choosing between four distinct classes: Fighter, Mage, Thief, or Jew. The classes all give you a different edge in combat to suit your style, and the armor for each one makes you fit right in with classic dungeons and dragons fantasy games. If you choose to be a Jew, then you'll be able to take down groups of bad guys all at once with huge, powerful attacks named after religious references. Later on in the game, no matter which class you are, you can summon Jesus in combat to come down from the sky and purge groups of enemies with an automatic gun. South Park fans will probably get a good laugh out of the combat and how over-the-top it is.
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Pro
 Entertaining parodies of the RPG genre

All throughout the story, you'll find funny knocks on the fourth wall as characters make comments about why the voiceless protagonist doesn't talk, and the meaning behind why everyone has to take turns in battle. The whole premise of the South Park kids embarking on an epic fantasy quest together is fun and imaginative, especially as they make remarks about why they're dressed in their outfits and carrying swords or staves. It pokes fun at the role-playing genre while serving as a reminder that the kids are only playing a very convincing game of make-believe.
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Pro
 Customizable player character

You can tailor your male protagonist to look however you want, with plenty of hair options, skin tones, eye shapes, and more. While your protagonist isn't voiced and has no name, you'll still feel like a realized character in the South Park show because of how much the boys include you in their activities. Later on in the game, you'll find the girls who will offer to give you a make-over with dresses, shoes, makeup, and hairstyles for a whole new look.
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Pro
 Puts you in the middle of the South Park show

The art style makes the game indistinguishable from the South Park show, featuring the same voice actors and an abundance of references to the long-running series. You'll get to meet the kids, team up with them, and earn their friendship as you explore the town and get in all sorts of trouble together. Each of the characters' houses are mostly fully explorable, and whichever companion you choose will make remarks about the things you find, like what someone's parents might have gotten up to as you rummage through their bedroom. There's a lot to discover, and all of it feels like an authentic recreation of the show dedicated for South Park fans or anyone who wants to jump into the franchise for the first time.
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Con
 Crude humor that isn't for everyone

If you don't enjoy the crass, vulgar humor in the South Park shows, then this game probably won't change your mind. Some players might be put off by the shocking jokes, cursing and foul language, and other raunchy and inappropriate scenarios.
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Con
 Too easy on the default difficulty

Battles aren't all that challenging on the default difficulty that the game starts with. If you notice that the game seems too easy, then you can go into the options menu and adjust things to your liking.
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Pro
 You get to feel like a commander in combat and in the story

As the Inquisitor, you're the focal point of a huge movement to wage an army against the main villain. You're in charge of a ton of things: fortifying your base of operations, scouting for intel and resources, crafting gear, managing your companions in battle, picking which story decisions are most beneficial to your cause, and more. Besides controlling your own character during the real-time combat, you can control any of your team members, which gives you access to their diverse range of skills and tools to deal with any situation. If your Inquisitor can't heal, for example, then you can switch to a character like Solas who can take care of your party's wounds on your orders. You can also pause the action by bringing up the tactical radial menu, where you take your time to assign where you want your characters to go and which enemies to focus on. Story missions revolve around picking sides during conflicts that benefit your army the most, such as siding with the templars against the mages in order to have them with you for the final battle, at the cost of possibly angering your teammates who disagree with your choices . It's up to you to decide the best course of action and deal with any possible consequences. There is a lot to keep track of, but these decisions give you plenty of agency, helping you feel like your decisions and directions matter.
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Pro
 The areas you discover are huge

The areas in Dragon Age: Inquisition are simply monstrous. The world is divided into separate maps that are each gigantic worlds on their own. From the sprawling hills and valleys in the Hinterlands to the expansive snowy ruins of Emprise du Lion, every level has tons of outposts, environmental challenges to solve such as leaks of hazardous gas or broken bridges, side quests to discover, and people to talk to in order to learn more about the world and the lore. All of this is amazing for people that enjoy exploring and making new discoveries.
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Pro
 Building relationships with companions is enjoyable

There are a few neat ways you can build relationships with your party members and non-playable war advisers. These aren't limited to just romance options -- you can spend time with characters to become better friends with them, too. Improving your approval rating with characters comes down to picking certain dialog options, either to flirt with them or agree with their worldview. Doing unique side quests to help with a character's personal matters unrelated to the main story also goes a long way toward showing that you care about them, letting you see more of a character's intricate backstory and motivations. After building up enough approval, you get a special scene with your romance option or friend, and afterward you can return whenever you want to spend more time with them. It's a really good system that lets you feel like the characters are your actual comrades, helping you grow more attached to them throughout the game's long story.
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Pro
 Tons of content

There's lots of content in Dragon Age: Inquisition that can keep you playing for a long time. The game offers a very long main story, with even more side quests and hidden areas that can take many hours to complete. The main story has plenty of branching decisions that affect how your playthrough turns out, encouraging you to play the game twice or more to see the different outcomes. Exploring the open world for the epic dragon slaying side quests is a great challenge with cool-looking fights and amazing loot. For those looking for a game to sink 60+ hours into, this is a good choice.
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Pro
 Lots of interesting characters and lore

The characters in Dragon Age: Inquisition are great, with intriguing backstories that delve into the game's lore. Early on, you meet a couple of once-high-ranking members of the Templar Order, like Cullen, who isn't a playable character, but serves as your military adviser instead. He previously fought back against the corruption in the templar ranks, and now wants to help you on your journey to unite an army against evil forces. Another interesting character is the elf named Solas, a playable mage who knows a lot of information about the world. He acts as your guide, providing you with intriguing lore about the places you visit, like the Fade, a mystical realm filled with spirits and demons. Even though he seems one-note in his role as a dispenser of information, has some hidden depth to him that may end up surprising you. All of the characters have layered personalities that fit with the lore surrounding them.
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Con
 Overwhelming amount to do at start of game

After the prologue, you arrive to the Hinterlands: a massive level with way too much to explore. Even though it's great that the open world is so big, you pretty much get dropped off in the Hinterlands without enough direction or guidance. The game just tells you to look around and find the next story quest, which can be overwhelming in the first few hours. It would have been better if you had the chance to get eased into the expansive feel of the maps first.
Comment

Con
 Slow combat animations

The combat animations can often be really slow. This causes problems, like when an attack's animation takes too long to finish, and you're left second guessing whether or not the attack will go off at all. You have to wait for the animations to play out, which can be troublesome if your aim is off or the enemy moves. This takes away from the combat's strategic play, leaving you open to attack while you wait for the animations to sort themselves out.
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Con
 Forgettable multiplayer riddled with awful microtransactions

It's easy to forget that the multiplayer in this game exists. The developers basically tacked it on, taking the same single-player combat and changing it to horde mode for a multiplayer environment. It's the same type of combat over and over again with no meaningful progression. The microtransactions are abhorrent, some of them costing an arm and a leg just to get you ahead in a multiplayer that hardly anyone plays or cares about. This mode is such a blatant cash grab that you're likely better off avoiding.
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Con
 Stiff and repetitive character animations during cutscenes

Character animations are incredibly stiff in ways that look robotic. During cutscenes, you'll see the same types of movements over and over, like a character shifting their waist back and bobbing their head to seem important or defiant, or moving their head down with their words to make a point. If there were more variation with the animations instead, then the stiff delivery might not be all that bad.
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Con
 Generic villain drags the story down

The main villain, Corypheus, is so bland and unremarkable that he worsens the entire story. He's a darkspawn, a type of demon enemy in the Dragon Age lore, hell-bent on bringing ruin to the world for reasons that aren't all that compelling. He doesn't have much of a personality beyond his evil tendencies, turning him into more of a caricature. If you've seen any old generic Hollywood movie with an evil villain, then you know all there is to see with Corypheus. He's such a safe and boring villain that he bogs down the narrative, making most of the twists and turns predictable and uneventful.
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Pro
 Satisfying combat

Shadow of War gives one of the better feeling combat systems in recent times, allowing you to be either stealthy or go for direct confrontations. If you choose to be stealthy, you can skewer unsuspecting orcs from behind with your dagger, drop onto them from a building while impaling them with your sword, or just pierce them from afar with your bow. If you choose a direct confrontation, it's a really quick-paced and brutal showdown against your enemies with your chosen melee weapon. You weave combos against enemies, dodging, parrying, and countering enemy attacks, which ends in a devastating finishing move, resulting in a mutilated or decapitated orc. Whichever method you choose, the combat flows really well and you always feel like a force to be reckoned with.
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Pro
 You can lead an orc army and expand your own dominion

As part of the Nemesis system, you can recruit orc leaders after you've bested them in combat. Each one has his own unique strengths and weaknesses, so making the best possible army for conquering enemy territories might take a while. For example, an orc leader can be completely immune to ranged attacks, but can take increased damage from explosions. You should take such an orc leader on assaults against fortresses filled with archers but be wary of the slightest hints of any bombs. Once you've finished building a sizeable force, you can assault a fortresses. If you succeed in the assault, you'll take over a territory, allowing you to install your own orc leader as the ruler. With enough effort you'll gradually take over Mordor and its surrounding lands. Shadow of War makes you feel like a recruiter, general, and a ruler, which is very empowering and a lot of fun.
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Pro
 Addictive gear collection fuels your thirst for orc blood

As you kill orc leaders, they'll drop random quality gear items, ranging from common rarity every-orc weapons/armor to legendary rarity artifacts with unique names. Each item serves to improve your character, providing various stat increases and damage bonuses. You can also upgrade gear with gems or via challenges that usually involve killing orcs, bolstering your strength even further. On top of that, there are set bonuses for legendary items, giving you special abilities such as your hits applying explosive poison on regular enemies. It's very exciting seeing what gear piece an orc leader will drop once you lob his head off, causing you to constantly seek out new victims.
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Pro
 Character connections make for a compelling experience

Shadow of War uses the Nemesis system to create a more immersive and alive-feeling world. Thanks to it, orc leaders have names, ranks, titles, tribes they belong to, and most importantly, connections to other orc leaders. For example, an orc leader might be at war with another orc leader. This conflict won't end until one of them dies. There are also orcs that are considered blood brothers, having unwavering loyalty to each other. Because of this, don't be too surprised if you ever get betrayed by one of your followers that's trying to do right by his blood brother. Additionally, the leaders you fight will also develop connections with you. Orcs that you've killed or spared, may come back with scars, recalling your previous encounter and vowing to exact vengeance. Orcs that you've escaped from will mock you for being a chicken, and so forth. The gradual creation of this web of connections is very enjoyable and sometimes even more compelling than the game's main story.
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Con
 Unskippable cutscenes disrupt the flow of the gameplay

Every time an orc leader enters the screen, there is an unskippable cutscene where he rambles a bit, focusing the camera on him and halting combat until the cutscene ends. This usually happens as you're fighting another enemy, potentially disrupting your rhythm, which can be really frustrating, especially if mess up your combo or take an unnecessary hit after the cutscene.
Comment

Con
 Can get repetitive

The overall gameplay formula doesn't change much over the course of the game. You fight orcs, take over strongholds, upgrade your character, and collect blips on the world map. After a while it can start feeling like a grind, especially during long play sessions. This is made worse in the final stretch of the game where you have to fight through 20 consecutive stronghold battles without any story segments or exposition.
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Pro
 Mature story that grapples with the downfalls of immortality

As you play as Kaim, you'll get to relive his lost memories of his family that he can't remember. Even though he's immortal, he can't remember the things that should matter most to him. He struggles with this transience in his life while fighting to save the world. It's an interesting and mature take on the tropes of immortality and amnesia, putting you in Kaim's shoes as he struggles with these tragedies alongside his companions who support him along the way.
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Pro
 Well-executed traditional turn-based combat

Lost Odyssey's turn-based combat captures the traditional feel that JRPG fans love, with elemental magic for exploiting enemy weaknesses, plenty of skills to learn, and lots of gear management. Your magic casters stay in the back row to shoot out spells, and your physical attackers will hold the line in the front to protect the casters. For tougher battles, you'll be able to rely on your immortal characters who can't die in combat, but they're really limited when it comes to learning new skills. Your mortal characters will get knocked out if they take too much damage, but they're free to learn new spells and skills like normal. There's also a cool and unique system where mortal characters can teach their skills to immortal characters to keep battles from getting stale. With managing your gear, you'll find a lot to play around with through the game's equippable rings. These rings have certain resistances to different elements, so you'll want to make sure that your team has the best rings for any challenges in your way. If you're having a hard time with a thunder boss, you can spend some time tweaking your ring loadouts for your characters instead of throwing yourself at the fight and losing over and over with no real strategy.
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Pro
 Backward compatible on Xbox One from Xbox 360 with improved loading times

Lost Odyssey's graphics were ahead of their time on the Xbox 360, but these unfortunately came with the limitations of long loading times. Thanks to backward compatibility on Xbox One, you don't have to worry about waiting for two minutes or more each time you zone into a new area. The loading screens are reasonable, and you'll most likely go through the game without many performance issues.
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Pro
 Beautiful visuals that hold up well on Xbox One

Impressive character models and gorgeous oceans, sweeping vistas, and detailed cyberpunk cities in Lost Odyssey feel like they could easily belong on Xbox One. You'll get to see every level of detail in Kaim's expressions as he goes through many hardships in the story. Exploring the lush forests and rocky mountains of overworld levels is exciting because of how real everything looks and feels in Lost Odyssey's detailed style. The opening cinematic that shows Kaim fighting against a legion of soldiers is especially great, with a seamless transition from the cutscene into a battle, almost like something out of a tech demo.
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Pro
 Epic soundtrack

Lost Odyssey has an epic soundtrack with a huge scope, capturing all of the emotions behind war, family, and tragedy. The battle themes have piano and percussion melodies that sound tough enough to fit right in with war movies. For large overworld locations like snowy plains in the middle of blizzards, the wintry xylophone sounds and menacing synths really make you feel like you're trekking through a harsh environment. More tragic songs for cutscenes pull at your heartstrings with harpischords and violins. But then there are other songs with harps and violins that give you hope that the story will turn out okay for Kaim and his friends. The composer, Nobuo Uematsu, covers a lot of emotions in this soundtrack, fitting perfectly with the game's mature story and themes.
Comment

Con
 JRPG tropes dilute the overarching plot

If you're not into JRPGs because of the tropes, then Lost Odyssey may not change your mind about the genre. The plot with a cast of characters coming together to defeat a destructive evil force isn't too original. Although there are other details that help the game stand out from the crowd, like the focus on immortality, they won't do much to bring in anyone who dislikes the predictable tropes.
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Pro
 Beautiful hand-drawn graphics

The graphics and animations resemble a painting in motion thanks to their colorful, hand-drawn style. Lines are bold, with lots of contrasting colors. The crisp, vibrant look is easy on the eyes and helps to make your journey through green plains, forest, and snowy fields even more inviting. With gorgeous backdrops and scenery throughout, exploring the world is simply great.
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Pro
 Immersive Nordic atmosphere

Not only do you fight war gods as a viking warrior, but the entire landscape and story is steeped heavily in Norse lore from start to finish. Rune stones are scattered around the world which give glimpses into tales and stories about mythology. The landscape itself is heavily influenced by Norway including green plains, mountain vistas, and rolling fields of snow. The soundtrack hums along in the background with soothing, woodwind ballads and crashing battle music. All the voice acting is in Norwegian. Taking on the role of a viking warrior as you roam this vast and detailed world is incredibly well done.
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Pro
 Bosses provide an exciting shift in tone

Encountering a powerful boss after the relaxing nature of the exploration is a huge shift in tone. Rather than calmly discovering and taking your time, you're thrown headfirst into action-packed battles. This stark contrast between calm exploration exploration and thrilling combat is incredible, as the sheer physical size of the bosses shows how massive the world truly is.
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Pro
 Great boss battles

Squaring off against the larger-than-life Jotuns (bosses) is action packed and requires paying attention to the mechanics, but the encounters never really feel unfair. Trying to get a hit in with your axe while dodging massive attacks and environmental attacks can be challenging, but doable once you learn the patterns. Each boss features their own mechanics, and surviving each of these encounters can be rewarding knowing you beat it through skill and persistence.
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Pro
 Relaxing exploration

Much of the gameplay is simply focused on enjoying the scenery and soaking up the lore as you explore. Roaming around and encountering lore items that dot the map and then taking a break to listen to the stories contained within can be quite calming. Walking through snowy fields as the soundtrack plays Viking-inspired music really gets you in the state of mind to see whats around every bend. Casually exploring while enjoying the atmosphere is really what this game is all about.
Comment

Con
 Can be a bit boring

Much of the gameplay consists of walking around searching the various areas for power ups and runes. With the exception of the boss fights, there is very little combat. This slower pace may be boring to some.
Comment

Con
 Combat is too minimalist

There is only a light attack, heavy attack, dodge, and a couple special abilities (which are learned as you progress). You'll also use the same axe for the entire game.
Comment

Con
 Overtuned last boss feels very out of place

The last boss is so hard and unforgiving, that it completely ruins the laid-back feel of the rest of the game. This sharp difficulty spike feels very out of place compared to the other bosses.
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Pro
 Morality based gameplay that actually impacts the game

You'll be confronted with moral choices during your quests. These choices change how other characters perceive you, affecting the overall story and ending. This makes the story feel more realistic and immersive since actions have consequences.
Comment

Pro
 Highly interactive world

Divinity: Original Sin has a highly interactive world. This ranges from NPC interactions, elemental spells that can affect the environment, to a cornucopia of in-world items and objects that can taken or moved. There are so many things you can do, it's very easy to immerse yourself and have a great time.
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Pro
 Self-deprecating humor allows the game to stay lighthearted despite many serious overtones

The writing in the game is often entertaining and humorous as the game does not take itself too seriously. There are quite a few inside jokes to be found for this type of genre game as well as many situations that lighten the mood, such as talking pets that hand out light-hearted quests.
Comment

Con
 Building a working party may take several tries

Some party setups work better than others and some don't work at all depending on the difficulty. A bad party can make the game feel like an impossible struggle at times. This may cause you to restart several times until you get the right setup, allowing you to enjoy a much smoother playthrough.
Comment

Con
 Mechanics take some trial and error

There is a basic tutorial, but it doesn't explain some of the finer aspects of the game such as using spells. Most spells can be used in and out of combat, giving you access to locked or hidden areas. For example, if you want to get into a locked door, you can burn it down. If you want to save a burning ship, cast a rain spell over it. While this is an intuitive mechanic, it may take a while to get used to. Until then you might spend some time scratching your head, trying to figure out how to proceed.
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Pro
 Open, hand-crafted world

Unlike the first Pillars game, which was a linear set of explorable regions, Deadfire offers up the whole world for your adventures. You'll be exploring anywhere you want right from the beginning. The best part is, nothing is procedurally generated or random. Every map, enemy placement, and interaction is carefully hand-crafted and intentional. This allows for a more organic adventure that doesn't feel forced or suffer from bad placement.
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Pro
 True freedom of choice in how you handle quests

Quests can be completed in multiple ways, depending on how you want to approach them. You're able to tackle quests in a multitude of interesting ways such as sheer brute force, stealth, diplomacy, and more. For example, if you need to get a key off an NPC you can either fight them, try to steal the key, or even talk them into giving to you. Depending on how you build the skills of each member of your party, the possibilities for completing quests are almost endless.
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Pro
 It's exciting to commandeer your own pirate ship

While your ship is mainly used to explore and hop from island to island, it goes well beyond that. Seeing another ship on the seas and attacking it (or being attacked by it) in naval combat gets you to you fight to make sure your boat stays afloat. Being out on the ocean can spark a whole bunch of different random encounters with hostile forces. You can also assign your party members to various positions such as navigation, cannons, and more depending on their unique skillsets. Depending on their skills, different party members will have various benefits when assigned to different positions such as better accuracy or steering capabilities. You never know what situations you'll find yourself in or what islands you'll discover when you're traveling the high seas, making it a pretty fun and exciting experience.
Comment

Pro
 Strategic combat

Pausing the combat action between every swing of your sword or winding up of a spell can lead to really some really strategic play as you plan each and every move. Positioning your party or deciding what actions to take can be handled with a lot of thought behind it. Additionally, all of your units can be scripted individually to do things like attack, heal, or use a spell when certain conditions are met. This means your healers will only cast their healing spells when actually needed, or your mages will only use a devastating spell at just the right time. From start to finish, this full control over the combat helps it to feel more like an intricate puzzle beaten with brains and awareness, rather than a button mashing frenzy.
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Pro
 Dynamic roleplaying opportunities

Your skills and character stats influence every dialogue choice, interaction, and even how NPCs react to you. The world around you dynamically adjusts and changes based on how you're building your character and who you choose to recruit to your party. When interacting with NPCs, you're presented with unique dialogue options or opportunities based on your skills and reputation. Perhaps one NPC that would have given you a quest doesn't trust you anymore based on an action you took previously in the game. Or maybe you're good at stealth, so you are asked to carry out a sneaky operation. If your diplomacy is high, you can even talk your way out fights or help NPCs resolve their problems without violence. Sometimes, something as simple as being a certain race or hailing from a certain place will change the way you are treated or the quests you are asked to complete. You or your party's background might even mean the difference between an NPC being a friend or foe. All of this opens to the door to some really immersive role playing opportunities where you can really feel the weight of your decisions and how you choose to flesh out your stats.
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Con
 Crafting is useless

Crafted potions, traps, and bombs are very weak and ineffective in combat. It's possible to succeed in combat without them, so there's really no point in crafting or using them to begin with.
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Con
 Combat is too easy

Most common enemies pose little to no challenge. It's very easy to become overpowered and simply steamroll through packs of mobs. There is an option to pause the live action and ponder your next move in combat, but it's rarely ever needed or utilized, except on the highest difficulty setting. Note: At the time of this writing, the devs have promised a future patch to rebalance the combat difficulty.
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Con
 Questing becomes unrewarding

It's easy to become level capped about 75% into the game, making quests somewhat meaningless as you'll get no experience reward for completing them.
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Con
 Unfocused storytelling

Rather than focusing on stopping the god you set out to destroy, much of your time will be spent helping side characters and running errands for the three main factions. Most of the game is devoted to these side quests/objectives and only a handful of these have any noticeable effect on the main storyline progression.
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Pro
 Compelling approach to choosing your victims

The role-playing elements of Vampyr are the strongest parts of the game. You're a vampire, so you need to feed on blood to survive through killing the various characters you meet. These NPCs are regular townspeople, questgivers, and so on. If you decide to get to know your target better through solving their problems and speaking with them, you earn more experience points once you finally do devour them. This also has the interesting effect of blocking off future story paths and possibly making your city less safe once certain characters are dead, giving some weight to your choices through long-lasting consequences.
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Pro
 Gloomy, foreboding atmosphere in London during World War I

The game's setting is very fitting for a horror story. Set in London during the years of World War I, the city is gritty, dreary, and full of despair, yet there are some bright spots, like the many flavors of characters you interact with. The time period also lines up with the outbreak of the Spanish flu, adding to how drab and creepy the city is. Buildings are run-down, the streets and alleys you pass through are dark and unsafe, and you can never be quite too sure if you can trust the people you run into. The atmosphere is really well-done here, with lots of detail and realism.
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Pro
 You get to meet plenty of different types of characters

The breadth of characters you come across adds a lot to the atmosphere and culture. Since this is in London, you meet both highborn and lowborn NPCs, with certain accents and style of clothes to match their class and status. The people you decide to help through quests have all sorts of personal histories and secrets for you to learn about, adding to the dynamic of whether or not you decide to feed on them for your own survival. Vampyr's diverse characters adds more weight and intrigue to the role-playing aspects, making the game's story much more memorable.
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Con
 Combat isn't all that fluid or fun

The hack-and-slash style action combat leaves a lot to be desired. It's not terrible, but it's not good, either. When trying to lunge and attack enemies, there's a strange sensation of your attacks not quite connecting and your overall movements not really syncing up with your button inputs. It's pretty clunky and it lacks a cohesive flow, though there are some cool moments like grabbing opponents to feed off of their blood. If you don't mind how weird everything feels, you might find some enjoyment from the combat anyway.
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Con
 Subpar character animations

The character animations in Vampyr aren't the best. The main protagonist's animations are okay, since they clearly had the most work put into them over the other NPCs. His combat moves lack weight, though, which is part of why the fighting doesn't really live up to much. For everyone else, their movements are stiff at best and wonky at worst, always looking unnatural or weird.
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Con
 Some performance issues

From time to time, you may run into some framerate dips and other stuttering problems. The unstable performance is made even worse by the autosaves that pop up and completely freeze the game for a few seconds. Even though these things don't happen that often, when they do occur, they're distracting enough to pull you out of the moment. They give the overall impression that the game is unpolished.
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Pro
 Engaging classic turn-based system with unique magical phantoms that grow with you in combat

You take turns attacking with your party members, cast magic, defend, use items or change formation. Figuring out enemy weaknesses and exploiting them will give you an edge, giving you a real sense of accomplishment as you take quickly down monsters with the best elemental spells. Your magic comes from shadow-like phantoms you control that are like mini-summons. Your phantom retains all of the abilities you learn even as you switch jobs, like using healing magic even when you're no longer a white mage. You can pick and choose the skills you want to customize your phantom with, making them more powerful alongside you as you grow stronger.
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Pro
 Improved framerate on Xbox One with backward compatibility from Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 version of Blue Dragon suffered from a fluctuating framerate and other performance issues like screen tearing. With backward compatibility on Xbox One, the framerate is much better, remaining at a steady 30 FPS save for a few rare exceptions.
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Pro
 Cool anime art style

The characters in Blue Dragon all have a charming anime art style that sets them apart from most games. Their wide eyes, spiky hair and colorful clothes give them much more personality. You'll feel like you're playing through an anime series in a video game as your characters fight in battle and interact in cutscenes. Anime and manga artist Akira Toriyama from the Dragon Ball series designed the characters and monsters, giving them his trademark style.
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Pro
 You get to control how you engage enemies in strategic ways

You'll find monsters out in the open instead of in random encounters, and you get to control how to fight them or avoid them with special skills. If you select nearby groups of enemies with a cursor, you can take them on one after the other for better rewards. If you sneak up on monsters, you can stun them and launch a surprise attack to deal more damage to them. Or if you're in a hurry, you can execute enemies and take them out of your way. You won't earn any experience points if you do this, but it's great for those times when you return to older areas and you don't want the hassle of weaker enemies slowing you down.
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Con
 Story has a slow start

Blue Dragon's story takes at least ten hours or so before really getting started. These first ten hours are mostly linear without much meaningful character development. The world opens up a lot more after that, but some players might not feel motivated enough to reach that point.
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Con
 Reused assets

Some of the monsters in the game are merely recolored versions of ones you encounter earlier in the game. It may not be noticeable enough for some, but for other players, they may be turned off by these reused assets.
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Con
 Repetitive story

Depending on how invested you become in the plot to save the world from the evil wizard antagonist, you may get bored with the game's story. It's your quest to travel from town to town, saving everyone from the evil spells in the air and an infestation of monsters. There are some plot twists here and there, but they're easy to spot ahead of time. Outside of that, it can get too easy to boil down the story to this repetitive cycle of saving various towns and finding out more about the evil wizard.
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Pro
 Brutally challenging real-time combat that rewards patience

Dark Souls is a hard game at its core because of the combat. It's "difficult but fair", as in, the enemies are relentless and hit like a truck, but they're not overpowered or cheap to defeat. If you take your time to trade blows, dodge, and parry as needed, you can get through. Making your way slowly through new levels and taking on enemies one at a time, whenever possible, is the best approach. Unless you're a seasoned veteran, if you're try to bum rush your foes, you may find yourself getting quickly destroyed. It seems impossible at first, but if you keep at it and learn from your mistakes, you'll surprise yourself with how far you can get in this game.
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Pro
 Gives you a great sense of discovery from exploring

There's an unrivaled sense of exploration you get just from traversing normally through the game's medieval fantasy world. Simply going from one area to the next is astounding, because you get to see exactly how far you've come. After travelling a distance and defeating challenging enemies, you can find a shortcut that takes you down to a previously-visited location, for example, showing you that all of the levels are interconnected in a labyrinthine-like way. Thanks to this well-implemented level design, the world feels like a grand place that's full of mystery and adventure.
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Pro
 Epic and meaningful boss battles

Bosses in Dark Souls are huge, terrifying, and intriguing in ways that don't feel forced at all. They have stories to tell without words, showing their lore and history through awe-inspiring designs and setpieces. Seeing a tower off in the distance, getting there many hours later, and finding a gigantic boss there also builds up the sense of anticipation once you arrive to the fight. Ranging from dragons, hulking armored knights, mythological beasts, and tons more, the variety of boss types are creative, with their own unique movesets for you to learn. Alongside the combat, the bosses make the game what it is.
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Pro
 Incredible soundtrack and atmosphere

The music in this game is astounding because of how well it fits any given situation. Moments where the music stands out most is during boss battles, with sweeping, booming choruses where it works, and quieter pieces where you may not expect them. The warm but sorrowful wind instruments you hear at the main home base area is your cue that you're in a safe location after all of your grueling battles, letting you take a moment to reflect and unwind. Most playable areas have no music, letting you focus on the atmosphere from all of the little sound effects from enemies' footsteps and your own clanking armor as you go along. So whenever a song does start playing, it stands out more than it would have otherwise. Overall, the music definitely helps to give you long-lasting emotional memories of everything you experience.
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Pro
 Extensive lore that's presented in unconventional ways

There's tons of lore everywhere for you to discover, but it isn't necessarily told through a conventional story. Weapons, armor, spells, and items you acquire have descriptions on them that tell you where in the game world they came from, any prominent characters they're associated with, and a bunch of other relevant and interesting information. So when you find examples of the lore scattered around the game, like bosses wearing a style of armor you read about, or an obscure NPC mentioned in a sword's description, you know the history behind the design and their purpose without that boss or character needing to explain anything to you. Even though the actual story in Dark Souls is very thin, there's a lot to find under the surface if you're willing to look for it.
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Pro
 You can bring two friends along for online co-op

It's possible to play through most of the game with up to two friends. If you need help with a boss or if you just want to run things with other people, there's a simple online setup for the other players to join your world through password matching. They will return to their world once you defeat a boss or if you die, but it's easy enough to invite them back.
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Con
 Unforgiving and discouraging learning curve

Even though Dark Souls is technically fair, it's still really hard to get into. From the start, there's a minimal tutorial where you read messages scattered around the area for tips on the controls, and then you're forced into an immediate challenge that you have to figure your way out of. The game is clever in the way it pushes you into seemingly impossible situations and makes you think on your feet, but gamers who are new to the genre will more than likely find a serious culture shock here. Because the learning curve is so incredibly steep, you may struggle for a while before things finally click.
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Con
 Certain mechanics leave new players open to unfair PvP invasions

There are a few ways you might find yourself invaded by another player even when you don't want to be. The method for inviting co-op players into your world also leaves you open to PvP invasions, which you can't turn off. The other one involves how you can only carry five healing items with you at the start; there's a way to increase this to ten, but by doing this, it becomes possible for PvP-minded players to enter your world to challenge you to battle whether you like it or not. There's also an area a couple of hours into the game that's notorious for high-level players seeking out oblivious newbies to tear them apart, so beware.
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Con
 Lazy remaster that isn't worth it if you already own the original version

This is more of a port than a true remaster. Despite the couple of added online capabilities, there isn't anything new here to entice existing fans of the Dark Souls series. The textures still look like they're from the original game, and the devs butchered the lighting scheme in an attempt to update the visuals. If you were unfortunate enough to only own the game on consoles while suffering through the performance issues, or if you're new to the series, then there's nothing wrong with picking this up. But for PC players especially, this is basically a port with the DS Fix mod that fixed the performance issues.
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Pro
 The story shows a dark and gritty depiction of war

Final Fantasy Type-0 isn't afraid to show what war is really about and how it affects the world without glorifying anything. You play as a gifted group of military academy students called "Class Zero", and despite their youth, they manage to see through some pretty horrific things, like the true evil and sadism of the evil empire taking over the world one country at a time. The very beginning of the game shows the more violent and depressing aspects of war, hooking you in on an emotional level. It's a surprisingly mature story, especially if you're a fan of Final Fantasy, since the series typically doesn't go this far into gritty realism.
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Pro
 Varied cast of playable characters

There are over a dozen playable characters that you can choose from to fight on your squad. They all have a range of different personality types, fighting styles, and specialized weapons to choose from. You can pretty much bring along anyone you want for most missions; if your preferred characters are all spellcasters or sword-users, you can take them with you just because you like them as characters and not miss out on anything. Even though some characters devolve into tropes, for the most part, they're all quite likable and well-rounded.
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Pro
 Fast-paced action combat

The real-time fights in Final Fantasy Type-0 are fun because of how quick and chaotic they are. You bring along a small squad with you for missions with everyone's different fighting styles at your disposal, though even the characters with heavy-hitting weapons are still agile enough. Targeting enemies and firing off lightning-fast combos of magic spells or physical hits feels satisfying. It gets even more intense once you're on some of the game's important, story-heavy missions with critical objectives and high-stakes. The combat is overall incredibly engaging and doesn't get old.
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Pro
 Huge world to explore with tons of content

There's tons to do in between main story missions. The world is sizable enough with plenty to do during your free time. You can take on side quests to help liberate other towns and cities, go dungeon crawling and take down powerful monsters, or just hang around the military academy and talk to your classmates to get to know them better. More activities also open up as you progress through the story as a way to change things up from the usual combat.
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Con
 Inconvenient time management mechanics

There are some time management details that you have to deal with. While at the academy, you can choose what you'd like to do in between major missions, but these activities all take up a certain amount of time. Heading out to the world map to explore takes up a handful of hours, regardless of how long you actually spend out in the open, while spending time with your teammates and getting to know them better only takes a couple of hours. This mechanic essentially makes it impossible to see everything in a single playthrough, since you have to sort your priorities and go with whatever's most efficient.
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Con
 Some of the characters are bogged down by tropes and stereotypes

Sometimes, the large cast of characters ends up working against the story. A good number of them are fleshed out well, but others are just there for the sake of being there, or they're so poorly-written that you may forget that they exist. The worst ones have awful cliches as their central personality traits, like the dumb brute or borderline damsel in distress. It's irritating and cheapens the story as a whole.
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Con
 Graphics are dated and inconsistent

It's hard to get away from how bad the graphics look. Since this is a remaster of a handheld game from 2011, there was only so much the devs could do to improve things without fully remaking Type-0 from scratch. The main characters look okay, but environments and non-important characters have sloppy textures that make it obvious they didn't get the same special treatment. It's jarring when one of your main party members is in a cutscene with a less important character, and your party member has better graphics and detail than the other person. This unfortunately happens a lot throughout the game.
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Con
 Convoluted story that requires multiple playthroughs to fully understand

The story hardly makes any sense on its own, and on top of that, the game expects you to play through multiple times to figure things out. With all the terminology and mythos that's so poorly explained, you might find yourself getting lost right from the beginning, struggling just to keep up as the story goes on. There's a bunch of lore that you can find outside the game through other media, but if you don't go looking for it, you won't be able to fully get what's going on. But the worst part is that the endings you can get on your first playthrough don't really explain much of anything, so you have to play through again if you want to have any basic comprehension of how the plot wraps itself up.
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Pro
 Fun battles thanks to overcharge

Using your basic attacks builds up a special charge that allows you unleash devastating attacks, oftentimes being awarded bonus damage based on the charge spent. This charge disappears when combat ends, which encourages you to use it or lose it. This means you can constantly use the most fun and flashy attacks without having to worry about conserving resources for a boss fight or tough enemy. Building up and unleashing brutal attacks in every single fight, no matter how minor, really makes the battles shine.
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Pro
 Engaging side content helps the world feel alive

Outside of progressing the main story, there are a lot of interesting side activities to take part in that help you feel like you're part of a real world. Fighting wave after wave of increasingly difficulty enemies in the arena is a great way to put your skills to the test. Seeing how far you can advance in the arena is pretty fun. Certain NPCs also give you the opportunity to go on hunts, where you can track down and kill rare monsters for rewards. These hunts are a great way to get out exploring and find things you normally wouldn't encounter. If you ever want to take a break from the fighting, there's also crafting and a fishing minigame to partake in.
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Pro
 Satisfying battle animations

While in battle, all your attacks and special abilities are accompanied by fancy and colorful animations, such as the wizard Knolan waving loops of fire around shortly before tossing at the enemy, or Calibretto the giant golem making a huge spectacle of charging up his big guns before firing them. Watching these attacks play out is satisfying due to all this showmanship, and there's an exciting anticipation that comes with watching a big, powerful spell wind up.
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Pro
 Exploration is rewarding

There is a large and detailed overworld filled with dungeons, towns, secret bosses, and plenty of hidden treasures. Just exploring and finding all the tucked away secrets in each of the eight regions can be quite enjoyable and extra rewarding when you find a special monster or treasure chest.
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Pro
 Robust and interesting crafting

Almost everything you pick up can be used to craft something. There are recipes, but you are free to experiment and add new reagents to known formulas to create interesting items. Even if you are missing a certain ingredient, you can often substitute a larger quantity of a different one to make up for it. It's a fun side activity for those who like to experiment and get creative with crafting without being locked into strict recipes.
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Con
 Story is generic

The story fails to break out of RPG stereotypes and ends up feeling very plain. You are playing as nine year old Gully and her ragtag crew of misfits when your airship is shot down over a strange land. You soon come to find out this land is under the threat of an evil sorceress who intends to steal all the mana for herself. Your characters never get deeply involved in the story, don't have any struggles of their own that get resolved, and simply seem to just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They then set out to stop her because it's the generic "hero" thing to do. The story never really goes any deeper than that, characters are never fully developed to their full potential, and there are very few side stories.
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Con
 Party system has some glaring issues

Although you can recruit additional characters to your party, you can only have three active at any one time. Only active characters get loot and experience, which makes it clunky and hard to level all your characters equally. This essentially creates an imbalance in your roster where it feels like you're pigeonholed into using the same three characters for the duration of the game. New characters you pick up along the way never feel like they quite fit into the groove you've built up with the original three.
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Con
 Characters feel plain and static

While all the party members are mostly likable, it's hard to become attached to any of them. None of them change in any meaningful way or learn anything over the course of the story. There's not much banter among them as you travel, and they don't ever really seem to form any kind of real bond. Their backstories are never explored in any depth, and none of them have any major problems that need to be resolved. During the entire adventure, they seem to be just "going through the motions" and don't have much enthusiasm or reaction to the world around them.
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Con
 Story ends on a cliffhanger

There is no story resolution at the end of your adventure. This can be a major turn off for some, especially people who enjoy a story with closure.
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Con
 Latter portion of the game starts to flail

Due to the crafting system and easy-to-acquire dungeon loot, it's very easy to steamroll everything in the latter portion of the game. This takes away some excitement from the battles as combat poses no challenge, and it makes the final portion of the game way too easy when it should be harder.
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Pro
 Well-implemented action combat with some elements of strategy

The combat gameplay is great, featuring a few different classes and a key way for you to control the flow of battle. The different battle classes -- warrior, mage, and rogue -- all play differently, though they each offer a similar fast-paced type of action combat in real-time. You can also pause the game to bring up a radial menu to pick which abilities to use and specific enemies to target, meaning you can take your time in battle and not get overwhelmed by everything. Getting used to the speedy combat and using the radial menu to your advantage gives the combat a lot of strategic depth.
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Pro
 Lots of interesting characters and lore

The characters in Dragon Age II are great, with intriguing backstories that delve into the game's lore. Your party members and other NPCs are all written quite well. There are the fan-favorites like the sassy pirate named Isabela who never minces words and is always up for a good time, and the honorable Temple Knight named Cullen who helps fight against the corruption in the city of Kirkwall where you reside. These characters are also tied to the Dragon Age history in various ways, such as having even a minor presence in the previous game, Dragon Age: Origins, and influencing the events of the story. All of the characters have layered personalities that fit with the lore surrounding them.
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Pro
 Building relationships with companions is enjoyable

You can build relationships with your party members to get to know them better and to romance them. Improving your approval rating with characters comes down to picking certain dialog options, either to flirt with them or agree with their worldview. After building up enough approval, you get a special scene with your romance option or friend, and afterward you can return whenever you want to spend more time with them. It's a really good system that lets you feel like the characters are your actual comrades, helping you grow more attached to them throughout the game's long story.
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Pro
 You can customize your protagonist Hawke

There are lots of ways to make Hawke feel like your own character. The character creator at the start of a new game lets you change all sorts of options, from your hair, to your skin color, the shape of your nose, mouth, and ears, and so much more. Or, if you prefer, you can simply stick with the default male or female Hawke. You also get to pick which class you want to be for combat, and throughout the game, the dialog options you pick determines if your Hawke is sarcastic, compassionate, or has more of a mean streak overall. You can role-play as Hawke however you want, with plenty of options to customize your looks and your combat specialties for whichever role suits you the most.
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Pro
 Tons of content

There's lots of content in Dragon Age II to keep you playing for a long time. The game offers a very long main story, with even more side quests and hidden areas that can take many hours to complete. The main story has plenty of branching decisions that affect how your playthrough turns out, encouraging you to play the game twice or more to see the different outcomes. For those looking for a game to sink 60+ hours into, this is a good choice.
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Con
 Most of your narrative choices from Dragon Age: Origins don't matter

If you played the first Dragon Age, all of those decisions you made get watered down here. You only see the effects of some smaller things, such as who ends up on a certain throne by the end, or how you chose to defeat the final boss. Your decisions get commemorated in some ways, but it's not all that obvious or overt. Since Dragon Age II takes place with a whole new character and setting, you previous narrative decisions don't get a lot of attention. It's unfortunate in that it doesn't give the sense that your actions have an impact across the franchise.
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Con
 Stiff and repetitive character animations during cutscenes

Character animations are incredibly stiff in ways that look robotic. During cutscenes, you'll see the same types of movements over and over, like a character shifting their waist back and bobbing their head to seem important or defiant, or moving their head down with their words to make a point. If there were more variation with the animations instead, then the stiff delivery might not be all that bad.
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Con
 Too many reused environment assets

Dragon Age II was a rushed job. In the beginning, you'll take note of the dungeons you explore and the way they look. A couple of hours later, you may notice that even though you're in a different dungeon, that the walls look strangely similar to earlier locations. This ends up happening again and again, with environments copy-pasted all over the place. Considering the game was developed in such a short time, this would have been okay if it only happened in a few places here and there. It's sadly way too common.
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Con
 Rushed story

The story in Dragon Age II lacks the high stakes and epic fantasy elements from its predecessor, Dragon Age: Origins. It focuses more on you as the protagonist Hawke, who is more of an everyday person that gets swept up in the conflict of the mages versus the templars in the city of Kirkwall. The narrower scope would have worked just fine if there had been more depth to the story, instead of relying on the shallow and predictable premise of the mages rising up against the templars. There are some redeeming parts, like the corruption within the templar ranks, but this only gives the player a tropey resolution toward the end. The story overall lacks nuance and depth, ending up as a big disappointment, especially if you're a fan of the first game.
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Con
 The whole game is unpolished

Dragon Age II as a whole lacks quality. The visuals are muddled and janky, even for a game from the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era. Even though the combat itself is fun and engaging in the way it plays, it doesn't feel fluid, and it can get repetitive, like when bandits rush at you at every turn whenever you wander Kirkwall at night. The bigger issues of the rushed story and reused assets also speak to how messy the game is. These issues could have been avoided with some extra development time to polish things up.
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