Written by Jose Gonzalez / DicloniusGames

Before she reunited with her best friend and left the seaside town of Arcadia Bay, she was a 16-year-old badass with a mouth and an attitude. In Life Is Strange: Before The Storm, players take control of Chloe Price; the secondary protagonist of the main game. Sans Max Caulfield, and set 3 years previous to said events, Chloe navigates her way through the minefields of Arcadia Bay and Blackwell Academy along with familiar characters such as Nathan Prescott, Frank Bowers, Joyce Price, Victoria Chase, and David Madsen before he became Blackwell’s security guard. Episode one focuses on the burgeoning friendship between Chloe and Rachel Amber, who was only referenced in the main game and not shown. ​

Written by Rick Warren / Gfn2112

​I've played video games since I was 4 years old, on everything from the Atari to Gameboy to PlayStation. Nothing made me happier as a kid than getting a new game and jumping into a whole new experience. When the PlayStation 3 rolled around, I was beyond excited. I came in a few years late (finally getting the console myself in 2009), but I couldn't wait to check out all the games I had been hearing about. I started off playing random sports games with my dad just for fun, but was confused when a notification came up in the left-hand corner of the screen. It came with a simple but pleasant sound, and a sentence that's all-too-familiar to me today: "you have earned a trophy". ​

Written by Rick Warren / Gfn2112​

Matterfall takes a bit of time to get used to. Its side scrolling gameplay is something that Housemarque hasn't really dabbled in since 2011's Outland, and it’s a bit slower than you'd expect from a Housemarque game. Once you get through a few levels and get the hang of the mechanics, though, it begins to feel as refined as any game from the Finnish studio. I had a great time running through the three-hour campaign and was excited to sink more time into other parts of the game... but I soon found that there were none. All Matterfall offers is one strong but very short mode. This brought about a huge problem that I've never had with this studio's games: a lack of content and low replayability. ​

Written by Adam Advocaat / Moofey

​Bandai Namco’s Tales series has always had a spotty history with the west. Unlike other popular JRPG franchises like Final Fantasy, the Tokyo-based developer hasn't been as keen on bringing their flagship roleplaying franchise outside of Japan. Though the last few years have been better, previous games like Tales of Xillia and Tales of Zestiria have missed the mark; Something they’ve looked to change with their most recent outing: Tales of Berseria.
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​Berseria happens a few hundred years before the events of Zestiria and puts you in the shoes of the franchise's first female protagonist: Velvet Crowe. Following the death of her sister and unborn nephew during the Scarlet Night some years earlier, she's been living a tranquil life with her younger brother, Laphicet, and her brother-in-law, Artorius. Her peaceful life comes to an end when the Scarlet Night returns, and she finds Laphicet at a nearby altar in the process of being murdered by Arthur. Velvet, too, finds herself on the wrong end of his blade but a sudden reaction from the altar turns her into a “Therion,” a special kind of daemon that feeds off of other daemons for more power. She spends the next three years locked up on the prison island of Titania, only thinking about exacting revenge on her brother's killer, until someone finally breaks her out.

Written by Rick Warren / Gfn2112

After years of media centered around Greek mythology, it seems that Norse mythology is now beginning to take the spotlight in today's entertainment. Thor Ragnarok releases in theaters this November, and God of War is coming in early 2018 with its Norse-focused reboot. Hellblade, too, is heavily inspired by that same mythology. Yet, to be honest, I was never particularly hyped for this game's release like I currently am for Thor and God of War. I always thought that it looked gorgeous, but aside from that, was super unimpressed by the gameplay and trailers. I fully expected this to be an okay game at best that came and went quickly, overshadowed by 2017's many beloved games. I could not be any happier to say that I was wrong, as Hellblade is the most surprised I've ever been as a gamer. Despite some noticeable flaws the game delivers fluid combat, great boss battles and an extremely important main character that struggles with something rarely covered in video games: mental illness. Senua’s Sacrifice does this all with the most immersive sound design I've ever had the pleasure to experience, and it's enough of a reason on its own to play through this eight-hour game. ​

​Developer: Telltale
Release Date: 8/8/17
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC (played on PS4)
ESRB/PEGI: M/PEGI 18
MSRP: $4.99 USD (episode)/$24.99 (season pass)

Written by Rick Warren / Gfn2112

​​Within the first few minutes of the game, Persona 5 had me hooked. I had been given no information about whom I was playing as or what exactly I was doing, and the characters who were speaking were kept nameless and had their faces hidden. Yet it says so much about this game that I could fall in love so quickly, even without what would ultimately be Persona 5's greatest strength: it's cast of characters. The short, action-heavy prologue does a wonderful job of giving the player a taste of what this 100-hour journey is going to offer. Persona 5 is a game that is filled with style, and it shows some of that here. The amazing art mixes well with the fast and fun turn-based combat, enough to where even post-battle screens are nice to look at. In the background, a track from the game's excellent soundtrack plays (you'll be hearing a few songs multiple times in this lengthy JRPG, so it's relieving that the music is as great as it is). The heavy red and black color scheme fits extremely well, with the UI being one of the sleekest I've seen in a game yet. After a few quick battles, the prologue ends the way it began: with a short but sweet anime-style cutscene. These charming scenes are sprinkled throughout the game and keep heavy story moments from feeling too bland or repetitive. Yet, despite these great mechanics, Persona 5 has much more to offer. So much so that despite having played games my entire life, it stands out as one of the most unique games I have ever played.