Alwa's Awakening takes its players to pretty pixelated places filled with NES challenge, but mars the whole experience with a clumsy magic system that makes the game's difficult platforming segments needlessly frustrating.

During my time with F1 24, I found that there are a fair few things that were improved from last year's title, but with some game modes missing entirely, what else is there to do?

For the price, Zombie Night Terror is a fine way to spend a weekend or more.

Don’t Stop Believin’ helps to undo a lot of damage of previous episodes, but this more level-headed characterization is five episodes too late.

Sniper Elite: Resistance sticks to its guns and plays it safe, reiterating everything that makes the series great without introducing anything new.

Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator is an incredibly authentic game that is only held back by some mild performance issues.

A few bizarre twists and noted historical mutations left me equally confused and intrigued.

It’s not quite the next big step that some may want, but Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice is nevertheless a fun, funny little platformer that’s a worthwhile romp for fans of the genre.

Bulletstorm VR successfully translates into a VR experience on PC, occasionally tripped up by bugs and lacklustre enemy AI that Incuvo needs to address.

A game that doesn’t do any more than it has to but just manages to get by due to each game being so individually solid.

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is another bare minimum remaster from Aspyr, which doesn't give Lara or the Switch 2 the attention they deserve.

This a fresh third-person shooter with asymmetrical multiplayer and a cast of characters that's hard not to love. Even if its servers are basically empty and it includes microtransactions that belong in a free-to-play game.

The familiar game play and dirt cheap price makes Revelations 2 worth a look for even casual horror gamers.

An exquisite game with a great story, but control and graphical issues could hinder a player's experience.

Triangle Strategy feels like: “Oops, All Exposition,” and while I did find myself enjoying it at times, I found myself glazing over far too often. It’s clearly got a big story to tell, but at the expense of all the other gameplay, and it ends up feeling more like a visual novel with some combat encounters, so it can technically be called a game. I’ve no doubt people will find something to enjoy here, but speaking for myself—as someone who genuinely likes turn-based strategy games—I’ve had to really push myself to enjoy it, and I don’t know how many people will.

At its heart, Scott Pilgrim is a simple beat ‘em up that struggles with pacing. But once it gets going, it reveals itself to be a colourful and engaging throwback to an era of video games long gone. And while it is better played alongside some friends, Scott Pilgrim’s got enough personality to make it worth experiencing retro Toronto even by yourself.

HORGIHUGH is a cute, approachable shmup with a loveable hero and some handy weaponry.

Wild Card Football offers a refreshing, arcade-style twist on the traditional football game, perfect for quick matches and party play.

PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo had an immersive mystery story, along with utilizing 2D visual novel features that amplified its overall quality.

Skyshine’s Bedlam is definitely rough around the edges, and could certainly do with a few balance fixes (and a more rewarding ending), but as a package, I still found it to have a charm that its faults couldn’t quite spoil—if only just.

Atelier Lydie and Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings succeeds in important ways, but a lack of polish really takes away from an otherwise great experience.

Pacific Drive captures the spirit of working on your car in a game that heavily leans into the crafting experience over its driving roguelike elements.

Darkside Detective is a quirky, sometimes overly so, adventure game with simple but enjoyable puzzles that's over before you know it.

Cities VR keeps players engaged in building their own utopias with refined controls and immersion but misses an opportunity to innovate through platform-exclusive features.

Slime-San mimics what made titles such as Super Meat Boy so different, but despite being beautifully unique, it never reaches the same type of greatness.

Despite not living up to the character action games it clearly draws inspiration from, Wanted: Dead is a competent action game in its own right.

Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV, while not an epic virtual reality experience, it is a pleasant one. This is a title I would recommend to Final Fantasy XV fans for a relaxing evening. For players wanting a thrill, I say look elsewhere to get an adrenal rush.

Ashen tries too hard and not hard enough to be both a Dark Souls clone and something different, and loses a lot in the process.

Persona Q2’s has a lot of fun dungeon crawling to offer, but doesn’t make the most of its great cast’s time together.

Yurukill: The Calumnation Games has a decent storyline, and is a solid time, but for the price point, there are far better options.

While the adventure is nothing worthwhile, One Piece: Unlimited World Deluxe Edition is a fun brawler for the Nintendo Switch.

Horizon Call of the Mountain might get lost in its own exploration with less series-defining action, but makes a strong PSVR 2 launch title that looks as great as it feels. In the process, Horizon fans finally get an immersive version of the Sundom only VR can deliver.

Alchemic Cutie is a sweet sim-RPG that, though lacking guidance, will have you hooked the moment you dive in. After encountering a few bugs, the game can be frustrating, but overall is still on my daily “to-play” list.

It’s a solid enough game and it does offer a lot for serious baseballers while still being pretty fun and approachable for guys like me who might just want to play some arcade-style baseball with friends. While I did wish it had a little more to make it a more complete experience, I don’t regret my time with it.

While it lacks in variety, Heroland serves up an original idea that is almost sure to give RPG fans a laugh along with a taste of something new, yet familiar.

Exoprimal has a lot of fun dino-blasting to be had, but you’ll need to get past some truly questionable barriers to get to that point.

Castlevania Requiem lets players get their hands on two excellent games, so even though it offers little else, it is still a worthwhile purchase.

Despite some good moments, Bowser’s Fury just feels like a strange collection of ideas that never really coalesce—like it wants to be a Course Clear Mario, trapped in the body of a Sandbox Exploration Mario. I can’t help but feel like maybe if Bowser’s Fury was built like Super Mario 3D World and had a collection of actual levels—maybe some that were normal, and some where Fury Bowser was in the background the whole time creating obstacles and threats, which culminated in various “3D” Fury Bowser boss battles, than it might have felt like a more put together experience.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 starts incredibly strong in the first half, but after certain revelations, the story speeds up to a point where the conclusion feels rushed and half-baked.

Trials Rising, another excellent racing platformer hybrid, is bogged down slightly by an ugly loot box economy and an unnecessary leveling system.

Heading Out is a decent game for those looking for primarily a driving-based game, and it delivers a fun, fast-paced adventure game where you choose how your story will play out.

A flawed but promising 2D take on the Dark Souls formula.

Despite how [The Park’s] conclusion stands out as both horrifying and emotionally resonant, the plot suffers in a lead-up that can feel a bit aimless.

Dragon’s Crown Pro is filled with endlessly captivating art, but those same visuals also trip up its deep, intricate action (and may be a bit too risqué for some players’ tastes).

Upgrading gear is no longer quite the marathon it once was, with players able to retain the stats of weapons, and even upgrade existing gear to meet the new performance caps that have come with House of Wolves. And this really is the expansion’s biggest issue; the patch changes that are free to all are more important than the paid content.

Culturally tone-deaf themes and few innovations hamper a genuinely fun experience.

Dragon Is Dead has a great sense of style and a lot of good ideas, but its execution of mechanics makes it feel a bit confused about what it wants to be.

Switch Sports is a solid multiplayer game that is fun to play, even if there is a limited number of sports and game modes to engage with.

What we have here is a charming little action game with a lot of detail—not every detail matters, but there's solid effort put into making the machine work.

.hack//G.U. Last Recode is a fascinating novelty, but makes a better impression as a time capsule than a compelling video game in 2017.

Tormentum feels like one of the dreams I (and many other teenagers) had from time to time. Inspiring to the imagination and often evocative, but easily forgotten.

Like the films that inspired it, Aliens: Fireteam Elite is great popcorn fun with a friend or two, but if you’re not a fan of the popular film franchise and/or siege-style game modes like Gears of War’s Horde and Halo’s Firefight, you are likely in for a long grind, especially if you are playing solo.

Four years after arriving on other platforms, Trials of Mana for Xbox is a reassuring sign of future Square Enix releases on Microsoft consoles going forward, but as a product it shows its age and offers next to no improvements over the original 2020 remake.

The Edge of Fate accomplishes its unenviable task and lays down some solid foundations. In the process, it also taps into some aspects of the Guardian experience that have long been ignored, and brings back some of that retro-futuristic aesthetic that made the first game so curious—an encouraging omen as the game embarks into this new territory. Let’s just hope we all get to Bungie’s destination in one piece and see what fruit it bears.

Iron Harvest delivers some fun tactical gameplay, some gorgeous visuals, and some real disappointment.

Let's School does a fine job giving players a management sim they can enjoy, even if it doesn't come close to the classic titles from Bullfrog or the more recent Two Point Campus.

Aphelion isn’t a particularly bad game, but its gameplay and story are a little too safe to create an experience that is memorable.

Children of the Sun built upon some concepts from other first-person puzzle games, and came up with something charming and uniquely fun.

It’s fun and challenging, albeit a bit easy, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Most often you'll feel, at best, looming dread or smug satisfaction and only rarely shock or triumph.

Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree has a lot of half-good ideas—each one marred by questionable design decisions.

Bugs and hiccups aside, Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan is staggering for an inaugural effort, especially when you consider that it's the first ever game from Central Africa. It needs some polish, but the core base is there, and the team really knows how to tell a story.

Fate/Extella Link improves upon Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star in nearly every way, even if it still struggles in many areas.

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles acts as a great, fun reference database for the popular anime series but doesn’t present a lot of unique traits to be memorable on its own.

For the most part, Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden is fun and simple with creative visuals that is good in short playthroughs.

For all its talk of destruction and carnage, Danger Zone plays it pretty safe.

Remnant II: The Dark Horizon's lacklustre story mixed with a shallow villain makes for a bland playthrough narratively. However, the new Warden Archetype, refined prism system, excellent new loot and new zones on N’Erud help pull the DLC up by its boots straps.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet manages to be a fun adventure in spite of numerous technical issues thanks to great open world design.

A Space for the Unbound tries to stand on its story, but wraps it in a gameplay that is unbearably tedious.

Interesting combat mechanics and a decent story headline Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior, and finding new ways to tackle each encounter keeps me coming back.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet manages to be a fun adventure in spite of numerous technical issues thanks to great open world design.

Endless Ocean Luminous occasionally has some interesting moments, but it squanders its potential with tedious gameplay and a boring sea.

Just because Dead by Daylight: Special Edition game is light on mechanics does not mean it is light on fun.

Portal Knights feels like a barebones experience. While the foundation Keen Games created is solid, there is so much more that could be expanded on and fleshed out to create an even better experience for its players. Portal Knights may not have hooked me in, but I believe that with a dedicated fan base, the game can grow into something bigger and more elaborate. In its current state, however, Portal Knights lacks depth, especially when it comes to its RPG classes and skills.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens gives you everything you expect from a LEGO game, for better or worse.

Ys: Memories of Celceta is a good port on the PC, but weak visuals and a forgettable story hold it back.

While by no means a bad game, 198X is a bit like ordering a pie and finding out it has no filling.

Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway is a competent kart racer that fans of the source material will surely appreciate.

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered feels like it wants to be a loving tribute to the franchise's origins, but comes across like a half-effort instead.

If GTAV was more fully devoted to being either a comedy or a drama, its narrative may have been more successful. As it is, the most fun to be had in the game comes almost entirely from the moments when the player breaks away from the mission structure and enjoys the world without worrying about the context of its plot.

Among the Sleep is a fun way to kill a couple of hours, and while it isn’t the deepest, most engaging puzzle game on the planet, playing from the perspective of a innocence-filled child is an innovative and interesting approach.

While I can’t say Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is a bad game, it might not be a very good Switch game.

Killing Floor 2 has a lot of potential, and what it has is often pretty fun, but not enough to keep players attention for long.

I don't even know if I'd necessarily recommend ABZÛ even if I did enjoy it. It's one of those games where you have to list a ton of caveats off when discussing, to the point where many people will be turned off. But if you regularly partake in walking (swimming?) simulators and artistic endeavors merely for aesthetic value, it might be worth the...ahem...dive.

Death’s End re;Quest has an interesting story to tell, but sometimes struggles with the ways it tries to tell it.

Gigantic is an imperfect game in a genre dominated by Overwatch, but this isn't a bad place to start if you are interested in the idea of a hero shooter. Plus you can play for free.

Even if it's an imperfect collection, Disney Afternoon Collection now offers even more value, especially for gamers of a certain age.

Crimson Desert is an ambitious open-world game that buckles under its own weight, making it a fun but flawed experience that will leave the player base divided.

If you’re one of the eager fans who cannot wait to dive back into this world, the impression that this inaugural episode will appease your worries, rekindle an old flame, and inspire confidence in the game to come.

Pac-man Championship Edition 2 Plus keeps all the fun and frenetic gameplay that made the original so appealing, a inconsistent frame rate holds back the otherwise great package that shouldn't be missed.

God Eater 2 Rage Burst is the easiest hunting game I’ve played yet. Standard missions and hard missions never presented a genuine challenge for me to overcome, and I can’t imagine veterans of the genre will feel any different.

This title won’t win any awards for ingenuity, but it will provide any gamers who like to casually call each other “Ice Man” and “Maverick” with plenty of bonehead blowin’ up fun.

Skullgirls 2nd Encore is a much easier purchase to recommend to a PS Vita or PS TV owner who already owns Skullgirls Encore on PS3 or owns a PS4.

A pretty solid first outing for a small studio. I love the original take on a classic formula as far as setting goes (despite all my characters looking like total dorks), and it’s refreshing to see. However, the linear gameplay, chaotic combat, and lack of items and sidequests really holds it back from being a huge success.

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons revives a fundamental beat-em-up dynasty, with variable paths and multipliers making it a worthy multiplayer investment.

If you’re hankering for a million ways to die in the west, I’d say this is worth a look.

Held back by a lack of polish and some persistent netcode issues, War Commander: Rogue Assault is nevertheless a decent mobile distraction that doesn’t tread into pay-to-win territory.

Silent Hope is a solid action adventure title that is easy to recommend to fans of the Marvelous aesthetic, but may be a hard sell to newcomers.