Knack 2 isn't the game of the year we have been waiting for, instead it's just more Knack. Who asked for this?

Oninaki has some good ideas, but they’re overshadowed by a weak story and tedious combat.

Sea of Thieves feels like a game that should be offered for $10–$20 tops as an early access or game preview product. There just isn't enough content or depth here, its core gameplay is grinding repetitive fetch quests and not a whole lot else, the progression here just isn't fulfilling, and fun factor depends on who you're playing with.

Nodding Head Games’ Raji: An Ancient Epic tells an interesting story but is simply not functional enough to enjoy.

By the end, I was just making whatever contradicting choices I could, mostly in a bid to cause drama because I care so little for the characters and the events of their story (with the exception of Clementine of course). Everything feels so rushed (I actually timed it this time, it takes one solid hour to clear this episode), each episode ends in disappointing abruption rather than an intriguing cliffhanger and none of it feels genuine. By this point, I honestly don’t think episode four or five will redeem this season for me.

Aftercharge truly has the potential to be “the next big thing”, with all fundamentals of what makes a shooter great, but in its early days its clear there is still polish that could done to the overall experience.

Cat Cafe Manager plays into its quirkiness and cuteness bringing a fun, fast-paced sim that you can jump into on the Nintendo Switch or PC.

Avalanche Studios have managed to create a game that is true to its inspiration, while offering all the hallmarks of a AAA game.

Hey! Pikmin forces the series into something it’s not, resulting in a barebones platformer with Pikmin on the cover.

A good revitalization for the franchise and one that packs enough charm to forgive its faults.

The weakest of the original less action-oriented run of games in the series, and the characters and locations aren’t all that interesting or unique. If you’re not a die-hard fan of the series willing to force yourself through the nightmare that is the horrid inventory system, I’d say avoid this one like a rotting corpse.

I’m still kind of confused regarding how I feel about this game, but I can’t stop playing.

WrestleQuest is an easy recommendation to any professional wrestling fan, or RPG fan, and may be the champion of bridges between the two.

For fans of the manga, anime series, or of the Dynasty Warriors franchise, this game is an absolute winner.

A colourful vertical bullet hell that coasts along until finale where the difficulty spikes abruptly. Some decent ideas can be found here, but overall an average experience.

.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.

Final Vendetta is a love letter to the late 80’s and early 90’s era of arcade and home console brawlers that fans of Final Fight, Streets of Rage 2 and SNK’s Neo-Geo console, will immediately appreciate, though the high level of difficulty, lack of continues and no online play might make it a hard sell to newcomers.

Eldegarde has an interesting idea with its MMORPG styled Extraction game, but is a bit too mundane to stay with for too long.

You won’t build all that much in the initial hours of LEGO Worlds.

Ereban: Shadow Legacy cleverly uses popular mechanics from other games in a stealth adventure title that feels familiar yet fresh.

Telltale has created [a] well-written instalment of the Game of Thrones game that will please fans of the show, and stands on its own as a tense, dramatic tale of intrigue, politics and what families do to survive.

Dragon Marked for Death is a hot new Switch exclusive that combines Mega Man X, Castlevania, and the difficulty of Monster Hunter into one fun little game.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain offers players with a nice change of pace from the hyper-connected and competitive nature of contemporary gaming, with a game that actually feels like a game.

Despite not living up to its full potential on Switch 2, Daemon X Machina is still an incredibly fast-paced and fun action RPG.

Ark: Survival Evolved is a half-baked game that still isn’t worth full price.

I don’t know what makes me angrier, that Automatron is a hollow and boring bit of DLC, or that it actually made me have to reinstall Fallout 4 on my PS4.

Miasma Chronicles brings some solid evolution to the turn-based strategy genre. While making itself approachable to newcomers and fans alike. The gameplay is really good, but the story is, for the most part, forgettable.

What Friday the 13th: The Game on Switch lacks in graphical fidelity, it makes up for in consistent fun.

Deliver At All Costs is a wildly chaotic and immensely fun experience that channels classic GTA and almost makes it a parody of itself.

Fine to fill time or bring existing pokemon fans to other styles of games, but not for much more.

If you were hoping for the new Star Fox or Eve Valkyrie, this isn't it. Instead, its the only game I've ever played that managed to make shooting lasers in space boring.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage - Tape 2 not only fails to conclude its story in a meaningful way, it highlights all the ways the entire story’s structure doesn’t really work.

Daemon X Machina is a great mech action game that’s comparable in quality to the best entries in the franchise it’s heavily inspired by.

WWE 2K17 is fun. But much like a loved one who has a substance abuse problem, I know it could be better, and I want it to be better, but it keeps messing up.

For those intimidated by the complexity of RTS games, 8-Bit Armies is a great place to start.

If you’ve watched the trailer for Bye Sweet Carole, you’ve seen the best parts of Bye Sweet Carole. The game takes a demo's worth of content and stretches it out over four painfully long hours.

Last Flag has many fun aspects to entertain players enough for a full weekend of gaming; however, it may be lacking the special sauce to ultimately click with enough of an audience to keep the live-service game running.

While not wholly deviod of quality, that Marvelous released Rune Factory 5 in it's current state, is pretty shameful.

Lost Sphear's classically-styled RPG bones can scarcely bear the weight of its uninspired narrative.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood feels less like the story-driven co-op shooter that it should have been, and more like a product made to cash in on the legendary IP.

It’s a little early to say if Ninjala will stand up with the likes of Fortnite or Splatoon, but it’s a creative, fun, and charming game that we should be keeping an eye on.

I can’t help but feel this game would be better off in arcade form, with a properly greased joystick adding a more tactile experience than a gamepad or keyboard.

Rush is a very middle-of-the-road title. Nothing spectacular, yet nothing weighing it down. If you have already played Rush: A Disney Pixar Adventure, there is no need to revisit it. The new content of Finding Dory isn’t enough to justify recommending it for a second time. For young fans who have never experienced Rush, it is worth considering, just don’t expect hours of entertainment.

Chaos;Head Noah and its sequel, Chaos;Child, are bleak and dated visual novels, probably only suited to a very niche audience.

Despite feeling a bit more streamlined and simplistic than its predecessors, Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy is another solid entry into the franchise.

Mercenaries Saga Chronicles is about as straightforward as a strategy RPG can be, its greatest asset being an impressive volume of content that eclipses its meager asking price.

Mato Anomalies loses itself with too many systems, mechanics, and story-telling styles. While ambitious, it never gets good at any of the things it tries to do, which makes the overall experience lackluster at best.

Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss has some interesting ideas, but it hides them behind poorly explained puzzles and deceptively linear design.

Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception tells two different stories—one serious, one sexy—that are so at odds with one another that it loses itself in the process.

Gundam Versus is an addictive arcade multiplayer game that requires some TLC from Bandai Namco Entertainment to reach its full potential.

Seven: The Days Long Gone does a few things very well, but none of them involve the mechanics or gameplay at all.

Its main saving grace is a co-op mode (both local and online, which is a rarity in indie games like this) that significantly improves the pacing of the game. Having multiple allies in tandem with extra firepower and different abilities mixes things up and gives you a better response to what the game throws at you, but as usual, co-op is certainly a crutch for what should be a better solo experience.

NNG is about as relaxing as an afternoon with Papers, Please. It’s also a hell of a lot of fun.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 is a game on par with its predecessor in terms of quality, but that is hard to see when it is covered in garbage business decisions.

Koihime Enbu is a solid, old school fighter with a strong foundation that taps into the nostalgia of a bygone era.

Battleborn left me feeling like it was not bad or good, it just is, and that's not a good thing.

Let's School has some interesting ideas, but fails to execute them in a satisfying way and is particularly unwieldy on the Switch.

Sonic the Hedgehog and Bioshock had a lovechild and named it Valley, a sleeper hit that deserves your attention.

Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections is another derivate ink stroke on the never-ending ninja scroll that makes up the Ultimate Ninja Storm series.

The game won’t win any prizes for originality and the final game can be potentially unfair, but it’s still worth checking out.

Déraciné creates what may be the most enriching world yet seen in VR, but only scratches the surface in terms of actual gameplay.

INAYAH - Life After Gods has an interesting look but lacks the depth needed for challenging combat, and the incentive to explore its world to make for an interesting Metroid-like.

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection is an incredibly robust collection that is sure to please long-time fans, but may be a bit too archaic for some newcomers.

Don’t Open the Doors! is a game with soul. People cared about this game, but the gameplay just isn’t there.

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

As someone who is a big supporter of ports on the Switch, this game may have me reaching my breaking point with the whole concept. I’m getting tired of publishers using the Switch as a reason to double-dip on games, I’m getting tired of ports that aren’t optimized for the system it’s on, and I’m just getting tired of old games taking precedence over new ones. Why couldn’t we have gotten Star Wars: The Force Unleashed instead?

Overall, Ad Infinitum does great outside of its first two hours. There is a gripping story with some incredibly well designed monsters in store for you if you can get yourself past the introduction section of its first monster.

The Jackbox Party Pack 10 is a well-rounded smattering of minigames, proving there's still plenty of gas in the series' tank.

Citadelum brings city building to the next level, and although some ideas feel a bit like busywork, at the base of it all is an exceptional sim experience.

GreedFall: The Dying World, unfortunately, misses the mark with an incredibly buggy experience and lacklustre combat, despite a story and world that could have been worth exploring.

Much like the pottery it's based on, Kiln is a game that has some creativity but is pretty empty on the inside.

The Casting of Frank Stone is an interesting, albeit mildly frustrating game that does a solid job expanding on the Dead by Daylight franchise.

Serious Sam 4 is a no-brainer for fans of the series and is a game that fans of singleplayer/co-op shooters will likely enjoy too.

Warriors: Abyss can provide a fun experience for the Warriors die-hards, but could be skipped by everyone else.

The Charnel House Trilogy takes too long to get going and doesn't go very far when it does. Most of it is a dead bore.

The Nintendo Labo Robot Kit is disappointing. While I absolutely adored the in-depth build and the creativity behind the Toy-Con Garage, the actual gameplay included in this $100 package simply isn’t worth the price of admission.

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.

Battlefield 2042 is a fun enough time, but DICE needs to work hard if it wants to take the unrefined ideas found here and turn it into something that feels like a worthy successor to the Battlefield legacy.

The Long Journey Home is an interesting exploration game that succeeds in a lot of ways, but never really seems to shine.

Outcast - A New Beginning will certainly please fans of the original, but its lack of anything unique and somewhat outdated gameplay may not impress others.

It's a shame that Root Letter has such abysmal writing, because there truly are some fascinating plot threads to unravel throughout this brief journey.

Who Needs You pulls out tedious nonsense and meaningless set pieces all to keep you away from Guardians of the Galaxy’s actual story.

Sniper Elite VR fails to take full advantage of its platform and deviates too far from console quality, but puts up a fight to offer non stop frenetic action.

If you’ve got a Vita and you’re jonesing for a Final Fantasy Tactics clone that is not too deep, and incredibly silly, this is the game for you.

Although the two-dimentional visuals in Zwei: The Arges Adventure differentiate itself from its sequel, the game retains a lot of the depth and plot that made the other so good.

Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is a solid throwback to the glory days of 2000s action games.

Super Beat Sports succeeds at doing something familiar but fresh with the rhythm genre and is a blast to play with friends.

Outlast 2 builds on what the original did well, crafting terrifying chase sequences with care.

Genital Jousting is a pleasurably girthy package with loads of fun mini-games and a short, funny-yet-impactful story mode that dares to touch on subjects other games wouldn't dare that will surely arouse some controversy. No need to beat around the bush, this one is rock solid.

Mafia III’s ambitions are large and its narrative vital, but ultimately this satisfying revenge yarn is hampered by dated mechanics and progression systems that belong in a 2007 GTA knock-off.

While Strikers Edge has interesting ideas, it fails to expand on many of them making for a bare-bones experience.

inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories combines deceptively effective gameplay with some excellent storytelling for a captivating experience that will definitely make you a return customer.

This anime-styled fighter goes plus ultra for fans of the My Hero Academia franchise, but its lackluster single-player content feels phoned in.

Songbringer is a randomly generated top-down Zelda-like that has a surprisingly cohesive story and may be worth a play if you can snag it on sale.

Fairy Tail 2 is a highly polished, cel-shaded action-JRPG that faithfully adapts the final dramatic arc of the Fairy Tail franchise into video game form, but its severe lack of onboarding for newcomers risks alienating a much larger potential audience.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is the best title in the franchise and provides a non-intimidating onboard ramp to the simulator franchise, but game crashes and performance issues can be frustrating.

While deep and captivating on their own, Digimon World Next Order’s bloated mechanics step all over each other and make progressing through the game as a whole a stressful chore.

The Castle Game is a small, visually pleasing, and pleasant tower defense title that provides plenty of content.