And while some of the online stuff feels half-baked, most of the modes are well-balanced and enjoyable – especially with the addition of conservation as a secondary goal to pure profit-making. The animals that inhabit them are lively and lifelike, and each presents a satisfying set of factors to balance if you want to max out their welfare. The environments look great and you’re given tons of tools to make them look better. Review Score: 8.5 | Developer: Frontier Developments | Platform(s): PC From our review: Despite my soft heart bankrupting just about every zoo I touched because I refused to fire the Michelin Starred-chefs making three meals a day for my snow leopards, I had a great time with Planet Zoo. Stern, focused, and tough as nails, it’s as tricky to tame as its predecessor but doing so is as satisfying as ever. It’s a confident rally racer for serious drivers.

Review Score: 8.5 | Developer: Codemasters | Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PCįrom our review: Dirt Rally 2.0 feels great, looks good, and sounds fabulous. Tightly crafted combat and rewarding progression prove you don’t need to cram every possible feature into a game for it to be great. Removing much of the complexity from games like Monster Hunter leaves a core that’s immensely fun to dive into for quick sessions or hours on end. Review Score: 8.5 | Developer: Phoenix Labs | Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC (Switch, Mobile 'coming soon')įrom our review: Dauntless combines insanely fun and accessible monster hunting action with cross-platform multiplayer and non-intrusive free-to-play mechanics. Tackling some heady ideas with a down-to-earth approach makes Afterparty’s raucous, emotionally moving night in Hell one to remember. With sharp writing, this choice-driven adventure manages to retain Night School’s knack for endearing, character-driven stories, but accentuates it with the unique new drinking menu that can further mix up – again, pun intended - how I decided to shape Milo and Lola’s personalities. Night School has crafted an original take on the Biblical location, smartly riffed on moral and societal ideas, and told a personal, intriguing story about Milo and Lola’s afterlives.

Review Score: 8.5 | Developer: Night School | Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PCįrom our review: There’s nothing damning about spending time in Afterparty’s version of Hell.

Metacritic best games of 2017