Progression can be slow at times, while still feeling too brief in the grand scope of the game, and the combat can be a bit of a yes/no gear check, but critically, none of this mars the experience, nor can it ever upset the beauty of the game’s randomly generated worlds, the vibrant colour palettes, the stunning parallax, and the overall “feel” of the game.

If you love grinding for hours in dungeon crawlers after doing a three-hour long tutorial, this is the game for you.

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

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

Earth Defense Force 4.1 is a smoother, more polished version of the same cheesy, excellent product that Sandlot’s gotten so good at making.

Fall Flat’s weird controls can frustrate at times, but it still manages to be enjoyable and hilarious throughout.

Song of the Deep is also a great game. Its spunky protagonist had me rooting for her until the heartwarming conclusion, and I didn’t want to leave the game’s enthralling world. It’s one of the most original titles of this year, and certainly one of the most fully realized.

You might pull your hair out trying to complete the story mode, but you'll have a blast doing it.

Dangerous Golf, despite its constant penchant for flames, is not going to set the world on fire. It's a fun distraction for all you latent destroyers out there, and that's all it really needs to be.

Necropolis is worth playing mostly because of its commitment to a fun tone, but falls short when you actually have to play.

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.

Headlander is a perfect storm of thought-provoking sci-fi, biting humor, and pitch-perfect gameplay that comes wrapped in a stylish, affordable package, and is one of this year’s very best.

Unholy Heights is so good, it’ll make you feel sympathy for the devil.

On PS4, Kerbal Space Program is a lazy shoehorning of the PC title onto a console with next to no regard as to how it should look, play or control on that platform.

10 Second Ninja X never truly reaches its pinnacle in the game-play department by a charming cast of characters and a surprising story push the game across the finish line.

If you have time to dig into the indie fighting scene, Night In-Birth Exe:Late should suit your needs just fine.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme VS-Force tries a million different things, then botches all of them. Import Gundam Breaker 3 and skip this insipid timesink.

Even without the IP, Dex manages to be the absolute best Ghost in the Shell game we’ve ever gotten.

I can’t think of another game that manages to evoke the themes it presents to players so well. In every way imaginable, from the plot, to the scenery, to the music, and even to the combat system, I am Setsuna wants players to question their mortality, the time they have left, and the decisions they can make in that time.

About as exhilarating as frying an ant with a magnifying glass, and about as cruel to people who play it.

In its unrelenting toughness, Furi will really call to a specific type of gamer.

Nothing about it feels genuine, nor is any of it engaging enough to sustain more than a few hours of interest.

The mindless destruction is amusing, and it’s all presented in such a gleefully tongue-in-cheek manner that it’s hard not to chuckle at the absurdity of it all. The game is best enjoyed as an arcade-style time waster.

I genuinely feel that it’s a step in a new, more accessible direction, without sacrificing too much of the franchise’s signature difficulty.

Western Press is a great party game for those with friends who want a challenge and are sick of playing Mario Party 2 (the only good one.) It’s fun, exciting, tense, and has a ton of indie charm. For a good time that won’t cost a lot, it’s definitely worth checking out.

If you’re addicted to the puzzle genre and need another game to get your fix, you’d ultimately be better off picking up Mystery Castle on a Steam sale. It has some clever ideas and gets pretty good later on, but you have to wade through so many re-used concepts you probably won’t get that far.

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

If you even remotely enjoyed Limbo, you'll feel right at home with Inside.