The Best Game of January 2017

Best Game of January 2017 Honorable Mention: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue

Read the Review!

Starting with a couple of honorable mentions, check out the Twinfinite’s Staff picks for our favorite games for January 2017 which includes of course, our Game of the Month!

Features Editor Ishmael Romero: Compilations of video games aren’t exactly new. Heck, Kingdom Hearts already has two of its own, which are slated to be re-released on the PS4 in March. However, Kingdom Hearts 2.8 manages to be more than just a collection of games. With Kingdom Hearts III looming somewhere on the horizon, fans are hungry for more information and insight into what Sora’s next adventure has in store, and Kingdom Hearts 2.8 manages to provide just that.

While previous compilations in the series were comprised of games that have existed for some time, 2.8 switches things up by introducing a brand-new experience in the form of Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage. This new chapter managed to take many loose threads and tie them together as it pushed the story right up to the beginning of Kingdom Hearts III, filling the gap and preparing fans for an exciting future. It also happens to be running on the same engine as the upcoming sequel, so it’s the closest fans can get to actually playing the long-awaited entry, and it proved to be quite impressive.

Smooth gameplay, stunning visuals, and dynamic combat replaced the sometimes stiff nature of previous entries. It was only a glimpse, but one that showed a whole lot of promise. When combined with a HD remaster of Dream Drop Distance (arguably one of the best entries in the series), and Kingdom Hearts x Back Cover, a cinematic that sheds light on the events that sparked the series, 2.8 feels like the most meaningful collection put forth by Square Enix thus far. It’s been years since the story has moved forward, and now that it’s taken its first few steps, we can’t wait to see what follows.

Best Game of January 2017 Honorable Mention: Gravity Rush 2

Read the Review!

Managing Editor Ed McGlone: Gravity Rush 2 is a flawed game. Let’s just get that right out of the way. In a lot of ways, it’s just more of the first game, with a few new tricks thrown in, that are hit (gravity forms) or miss (I’m looking at you stealth sections). But what it does right, it does just so, so right.

There’s something about Kat, and her adventures that are just so incredibly charming. It’s almost impossible to dislike Kat, and you root for her every triumph even if you don’t exactly know what the heck is going on in the story. More importantly though, Kat’s ability to shift gravity is addictive. It’s so much fun just flying around and searching for precious gems, a task that would be mundane in any other game.

There are times in Gravity Rush 2 where I wanted to snap the disc because of how frustrating it would get. The stealth missions are pretty bad, and the camera is as much an enemy as anything else at times. However for the majority of the game, you get to play as Kat completely unleashed, free to fly and fight with no limitations; and that is an experience that PS4 owners should not skip.

Best Game of January 2017 Honorable Mention: Tales of Berseria

Read the Review!

Assistant Editor Hayes Madsen: Tales of Berseria brings a welcome change to the long-running series, adopting a much darker tone for its story rather than the happy go lucky games that we’re used to. Berseria tells the story of Velvet, a young girl that lives in a quiet forest town, who’s life gets turned upside down by a terrible event.

The ensemble cast of Berseria are some of the most likable main characters from a Tales game in years. They’re all very flawed characters that don’t always do things the right way, but have multiple layers to their personalities and motivations.

On top of that, the title has a combat system that continuously adds more options and featured into the mix throughout the game. You can play as any of the characters in the party, and each one has a four-step combo assigned to each face button. Every step in the combos can be customized, allowing for a ton of variation in combat. Even though it takes a while to get into Berseria’s systems, once you have things figured out, it’s incredibly rewarding.

The Best Game of January 2017: Resident Evil 7

Read the Review!

Reviews Editor Zhiqing Wan: You could argue that the Resident Evil series lost its way a little bit with 5 and 6, but there’s no denying that Capcom has made a spectacular comeback with this latest entry in the long running survival horror franchise. Finally, it’s as if Capcom has taken fan feedback into account and went back to the series’ horror roots. While the shift to first-person perspective might seem a little jarring at first, Resident Evil 7 truly embraces all of the little tics and elements that made the original Resident Evil such a beloved game in the eyes of horror fans.

Resident Evil 7 sees the return of long-forgotten mechanics like taking refuge in save rooms, managing your inventory with item boxes, and most importantly, picking up a whole lot of random junk like ox heads and dog heads to open mysterious doors in a creepy mansion. For the longest time, it seemed as if Resident Evil would never be able to strike fear into the hearts of players ever again, but Resident Evil 7 proves the naysayers wrong, and it ends up being one of the most polished and well-made horror games we’ve seen in recent years.

***

That does it for our January 2017 Game of the Month. Congratulations to Resident Evil 7! What were your favorite games from last month? Let us know in the comments.