Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
Amidst the sea of sequels, prequels, remakes, and rehashes, Enslaved is a breath of fresh air. Being a new IP from Ninja Theory, the guys behind Heavenly Sword, this Action-Adventure title flew right under the radar and has been a pleasant surprise. The game takes place in the distant future where the land is overrun with Mechs and humans are hunted and enslaved. You play the role of Monkey, a loner with an obscene amount of hair spray surviving on his own, who has been equipped with a slave headband by Trip, a fellow survivor of a slave ship crash. She commands you to escort her back to her village, and Monkey begrudgingly complies. The journey that ensues is one of the more memorable ones in recent history.
The narrative is interesting, the character interaction is entertaining and the flow is well paced. The voice acting and dialogue is well done and the relationships are believable, but it makes you wish it was fleshed out just a bit more. The graphics are great, and the art direction is strikingly unique featuring a vibrant color pallete and distinct character designs. It does suffer from some technical issues, graphic stuttering and the FPS drops dramatically in certain situations. The gameplay itself is a mix of a Prince of Persia/Uncharted style traversal and climbing, with Arkham Asylum style combat, and even some third person shooter elements. It’s a mish-mash of a lot of different styles and the result is an extremely satisfying experience.
★★★★☆
Liquefiction 
