With customizable shows, an extensive list of unlockables and a massive roster of both current and classic WWE Superstars, WWE 2K17 sets out to establish itself as a simulation title and succeeds.

In short, Syndrome is disappointing. Your level of disappointment will depend on how many horror games you have played as the games Syndrome borrows from are all substantially better.

There are a few frustrating jumps, but you’ll overcome them in no time. This artistic platformer is well worth your time and money.

It’s not entertaining, nor is it memorable for any good reason. It’s simply frustrating, annoying, problematic and painful to play. Skip it, and spend your money on something much more deserving of it than Manual Samuel is.

Fans of the original game may find much here to like and a welcome sense of return. For everyone else there are far more engrossing and scary horror games waiting to chill you.

They don’t come around as often anymore, but Mantis Burn Racing shows that the topdown racer is still alive and kicking. It excels in being a casual and accessible racer for newcomers with excellent and responsive controls while offering a robust and challenging career mode for the hardcore. While the load times can sometimes get annoying between races, the actual gameplay is fun whether you’re playing solo or with your buddies.

The game has never been better, and now it comes bearing a heap of new and exciting content that fans are sure to appreciate.

Shadow Warrior 2 a is brilliant bundle of slice and dicing fun, and being that I’m someone who was massively unimpressed by Flying Wild Hog’s debut title Hard Reset, I gotta give credit to them for improving so drastically over just a few years.

If you like shooters, particularly bullet hells or other puzzle shooters, then you’re going to love Thoth. Hands down, this is the most refreshing indie shooter I’ve played in a while. It could look a little sharper or maybe have some more levels, but for such a modest price it’s very hard to complain.

Mafia III’s compelling story and combat really shine through, and it is simply a fun game.

Skylanders Imaginators is a dream for gamers who love to customize, platform, and just blow stuff up. The customization options are both easy to use for beginners and advanced enough to make some truly fantastic creations. Combat can be wonderfully chaotic but the lack of dodging or sprinting can make it uncharacteristically slow considering how frantic the game is otherwise.

Aragami is a well designed, fun and challenging stealth game that, minus a few bugs here and there, is a solid entry into the stealth genre.

While the game does not bring anything significantly new to the Paper Mario franchise, it does bring a nearly perfected Paper Mario experience which in itself is worth the price of admission.

I won’t say Soul Axiom is a terrible game, but I honestly believe if developers focused on creating a shorter game, with more effort put into the games pacing, graphics and sound, the overall experience would have been far more enjoyable.

If you’re looking for a game that has a fair bit of replay value, and is flush with quality gameplay and music, then you would be very pleased with what Klang has to offer.

Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade is a missed opportunity and a game that sadly has too many issues to ever completely work out.

While I do appreciate the game retaining the quirky and simplistic nature of the older versions, I’m a little disappointed it doesn’t bring much more innovation to the genre.

Blood Ties is the first real step in turning Lara Croft from a mere video game avatar to a character you can have an emotional attachment to.

As the first in an episodic series, Dead Synchronicity ends quite abruptly, which is very disappointing after putting the time into the story.

It’s a well-founded mix of strategic turn-based battles, resource management, and customization that makes each gameplay unique to its very own player. While XCOM 2 does have some issues with its framerate and loading times, its gameplay overshadows its imperfections and becomes a very small disturbance in a largely enjoyable game.

While the Big Score comes with a hefty price tag, it also comes with a good deal of solid content. While you may not enjoy everything the Big Score has to offer, the same great gameplay that captured your attention is back with even more bells and whistles.

Atlas Reactor is a game that I appreciate for its diverse cast and refreshingly short match times.

The controls are simple and soon become second nature as you mine, create, and battle your way around a lush yet simplistic world.

Gears of War 4 doesn't reinvent the formula but it definitely brings enough improvements without changing the core feel of Gears. With stellar production values, incredible action, series' best multiplayer, engaging new characters, and an introductory story that should satisfy new players and returning fans alike, Gears of War 4 may just be your new favorite Gears game. It's certainly mine.

Despite the flaws, I thought this was a fantastic addition to the series.

If you’re looking for a new table to add to your Zen Pinball collection, you’re going to be happy with your choice if you side with ‘Marvel’s Women of Power’.

At its best, Licthspeer is a frantic combination of a pulsating soundtrack and rhythmic spear throwing. At its worst, Lichtspeer can feel incredibly cheap with some enemies, particularly the walrus’, offering a quick death right near the end of a level, forcing a restart.

This is a definite step up from what PlayStation 4 owners received not too long ago.

Mankind Divided’s first DLC story is divided between a stellar narrative and a disjointed gameplay experience.

The beauty of this arcade game is that you can play multiple games in a very short period of time. For a mere fiver you get a lot of fast and furious fun.

Episode 5 sadly proves the episodic model does not fit the franchise, or at least this incarnation of it, and that we may have been better off with a more traditional release. If it succeeds in one thing, it’s to set up an explosive finale in the sixth episode.

I found it to be not only a lot of fun, but a rewarding challenge at times as well. Yes, the dialogue and story might not be your thing, but you can always just skip past that. Don’t let an established IP stop you from playing what I consider to be a solid addition to turn-based strategy games.

Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity fell flat. With repetitive combat and a lackluster story line, Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity didn’t deliver the experience I was hoping for. There are moments of pure joy and the game finishes much stronger than it starts, yet at the end of the day this is a game best left for hardcore fans of the franchise.

As a Rhythm RPG, the team at Puuba wanted to keep the strategic elements of a good role playing game but to also speed it up. The Metronomicon offers fun characters, a solid and wacky story line, strategic elements and some really great tunes. And with the colorful and fun character design, this is a game that should be dancing into everyone’s homes.

While the humour seems to be the centre of the game, Zenith has some major fundamental flaws that make it less fun to play and all the more frustrating. If you like the story, the writing and the humour, it might be worth your time. If you need fluid controls and care about the combat and game mechanics, then absolutely not.

A mysterious Halo-esque narrative and the surprisingly fun multiplayer additions alongside some new areas to explore make Rise of Iron easy to recommend as more updates and patches are sure to make for an even better experience.

All I know is I was thoroughly entertained playing Children of Arkham and am jazzed to play the next episode and see where the story goes next.

For those who want a fresh take on the 4X genre with charming graphics and tight combat, you could sink some serious time into this game, without question.

It is so well-designed that its mechanics alone merit a look. It’s just a shame that the moment to moment experiences are so thrilling and yet so unable to affect.

Virginia is a quality game that isn’t afraid to be itself. While its basic mechanics and emphasis on story over gameplay won’t be for everyone, it’s a unique ride that mature and intelligent gamers should take, especially if they happen to be a fan of The X-Files or Twin Peaks. This is something different, and it deserves to be applauded for that.

RPG veterans will likely love this game, whereas some of the more contemporary RPG players might find the game to move slowly.

It’s a very contradictory product that grossed me out as much as I was impressed. It’s a strange game that I recommend dabbling around in, but one that also ends up being its own worst enemy.

At the core of the game is your relationship with the ship’s AI – Kaizen. If you treat it with the proper respect and try to foster a friendly relationship, the game narrative will resonate with you more and by extension, make your journey through the game all that more engrossing.

While FIFA 10 and FIFA 13 made huge leaps forward on the gameplay front, FIFA 17 brings it all together. From the world-class presentation to the familiar mechanics, FIFA 17 delivers the most holistic football experience ever.

It’s an exceptional all-in-one package for those who have been considering jumping into the franchise. While it’s unfortunate that there’s a noticeable decline in the remaster job after the first Bioshock game, it’s still greatly improved from their original releases.

If you like classic RPGs and don’t mind a toned-down art style, Avadon 3: The Warborn is for you.

Ultimately ReCore contains fun combat, an engaging lead character, cool customizable corebots, and a big world to explore filled with challenges.

Overall, Steins; Gate could be considered the pinnacle of visual novels with its brilliant storytelling combined with beautiful visuals.

I can only say this: give Dear Esther a chance; it could prove to connect with you on a deep and personal level while challenging your perception on gaming as an art form. Or, you’ll find it pointless and know to avoid these interactive experiences in the future.

In many ways, Forza Horizon 3 is the perfect sequel – it adds enough content to stay fresh, while retaining all the hallmarks that made the previous games so awesome.

Although King Oddball is repetitive and becomes frustrating with poor level design and the reliance on luck over strategy, there are a few redeeming factors including additional game modes, that actually make the game a decent value for the price. For less than $5, you can play an indie version of Angry Birds, with controls that are even more simple.

Ane of the most memorable and enjoyable experiences I have had in quite some time.

While Mother Russia Bleeds is a competent brawler with a nice variety of punishment to extoll, it clings a little too tightly to old school mechanics and ideas about gameplay and narrative. The slick presentation is nice to look at, though, so you could do much worse for an afternoon on the couch with your buddies.

Treyarch has once again given fans what they have come for and that is some meticulously detailed maps that give Black Ops 3 some legs until the next installment in the franchise arrives.

It has been upgraded and polished, for sure; but whether that justifies purchasing a whole new game is questionable. Last year, I had no hesitation in recommending that you buy NHL 16. This year, as great of a game as NHL 17 is, you might want to stay on the bench for this one.

While most of the game was rather bland, Tempest’s potential showed in some of the stranger quests that popped up (ghosts!), the large scale naval battles, and surprise sea monster attacks. Unfortunately, these events are short distractions from the lackluster nature of the rest of the game.

With breathtakingly haunting audio and some nostalgic gameplay, Shiny is a wordlessly emotional story with a sympathetic hero that has all the potential to be a great experience. However, the menu bugs and basic level structure can leave this something of an unintentionally bleak affair in the wrong way.

Verdun offers a unique experience not seen elsewhere on the PS4. It’s realistic, historically accurate and sometimes satisfying gameplay can’t make up for the fact that the game’s community is almost non-existent, gameplay is riddled with technical issues and the lack of a proper tutorial can make the game downright frustrating.

Assetto Corsa does a lot right, and a lot wrong. It does; however, get the gameplay right which is far and away the most important aspect in racers, even if it fails to deliver a compelling career mode. In its Special Events mode the game shows off its best side while the career mode is average at best. Not to mention the antiquated look cannot be ignored. That being said, Assetto Corsa has a unique tone and feel that differentiates it enough from the competition.

Claire: Extended Cut is a nice addition to the survival horror genre, and if you appreciate, or can at least tolerate, the pixel aesthetic and 2D gameplay, then this game deserves to be in your collection.

If you are looking for fast paced, or precision platforming then you fill find the game frustrating. The game is a real mixed bag but you have to give credit where credit is due, it really puts you in the shoes of a nameless mob… turns out the heroes have it pretty good after all.

Unfortunately for me at least, this is another example of coming close but still being oh so far away. This was a great opportunity Bethesda, and it seems you’ve gone with the safer route yet again.

This seems like the perfect gateway expansion to snag those players who might be on the border about buying WoW.

A variety of fresh mechanics, some excellent music and writing, and a generally entertaining cast of characters and scenarios help remind us why we fell in love with this bizarre little series back in 2005.

Livelock is a flawed top-down shooter. The dialog and its delivery is awful and the game has some glitches to work through, but it also features some well designed, fun gameplay – and ultimately, that is what’s most important. Being able to have two friends join in the adventure via online co-op is also a huge plus. If you enjoy top-down shooters, you really can’t go wrong with Livelock.

This is a very impressive port, which is bereft of notable issues and only experiences the odd hiccup, making it perhaps the best version of the phenomenal survival horror experience to date.

With easy to use controls, gorgeous levels and vectors, and a pleasantly challenging AI, Strike Vector EX has classic arcade shooter written all over it. I wasn’t particularly happy that customizing my vector was limited to online multiplayer, and the thin storyline with irrational character decisions was a bit of a letdown. Had more effort gone into the story and characters, this could easily have been a much more impressive title, and with multiplayer restricted to PS+ it just feels that much smaller for those not interested in buying the service.

Vibration from the controller and the sheer speed and sense of losing control feels great and makes you believe you are in a powerful suit.

If you love an interesting story with some creepy sci-fi elements, then I highly recommend The Final Station. Finding bits of lore and slowly uncovering parts of the mystery was intriguing and kept me moving down the line, but that’s not for everyone. It’s a bit short for the price tag, but well worth your money if you enjoy single-player titles that leave you wondering at the end.

With only a few smile inducing moments and a complete lack of interesting interaction, One Way Trip ends up falling flat and may leave you begging for the credits to roll, if you can even last that long.

The combination of characters, backstory, and gameplay all play its part in making God Eater 2: Rage Burst an enjoyable action RPG. Visuals and audio are both solid and do its job of presenting the game with fluidity and fast-paced action. While gameplay doesn’t necessarily deviate from that of God Eater: Resurrection, you should be playing because you enjoy the gameplay style, but want a new story and more content to delve into.

Bound is a work of art, carefully crafted to give players a memorable experience. If the gameplay had been more challenging, fluid, and present in the game, Bound could have been a title discussed for years. Despite this, Bound is a powerful narrative with a robust camera mode, impressive visuals, and haunting sound.

This simple but very effective visual style is accented by a very fitting original score, which begs to be listened to. Mixing haunting melodies with the keys of a piano, it perfectly conveys the tone of the game and what’s going on at any given time.

What is does get abundantly right is its unique tone, powerful narrative, masterful writing, and a visual style that fooled me into underestimating it makes it worthy of praise.

From last year’s stripped down version of the 2015 F1 game which was the first iteration of the series on the PS4 and Xbox One (a la shades of last year’s furor over the initial bare bones release of the NHL 2015) this year’s release is a definite step in the right direction and hopefully a sign of things to come.

Although there are many interesting non-combat portions of the series that do not appear in Attack on Titan, the game proves itself to be a titan in the anime tie-in genre of video games.

Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars is an homage to its predecessors and loaded with fan fare of the original games. The controls are simple and easy to manage, the graphics pleasing, and once the ball starts rolling you truly feel like the leader of an entire civilization.

Phantaruk is a solid game that makes a great first impression but like that annoying party guest that does not know when to leave, the longer the game goes on the less terrifying it becomes. The game mechanics stay the same throughout which cause the player’s anxiety to become numb like a dentist’s anesthetic prior to filling a cavity.

What stands out to me in this case, is that between how terrible the initial release was, and how the folks at Wolf Brew had to literally crawl out of the abyss to turn Slain into a competent title. Slain: Back From Hell is truly metal in very sense of the word.

Playing this game did give me a lot of nostalgia about middle school, yes, but when it comes to fun to be had in 2016, Worms W.M.D. feels dated, as does the enjoyment you can squeeze out of it.

There is fun to be had in Episode 4, but in the end it wasn’t a memorable gameplay experience.

Kelvin and the Infamous Machine is a hilarious point and click adventure with am excellent look and even better voice acting.

Mutant Mudds Super Challenge is a tough recommendation for those new to the series or the more casual of platforming fans. But for the most hardcore of hardcore retro inspired fans longing for a true challenge, you may have a new favorite on your hands.

A strong narrative and stellar cast manage to hold together an experience that is absolutely rife with bugs and downright questionable design choices.

To say that Okhlos is repetitive is largely true, but it’s that repetitiveness that ultimately makes the game addictive. The narrative, gameplay, visuals, and even the music all combine to make a game that screams “angry Greek mob”. Okhlos is quirky, fun, and unique all under a simplistic and straightforward structure that makes it accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

I cannot help but feel an overwhelming sense of disappointment with Madden NFL 17. With no new modes, visuals that look largely the same, a less than stellar soundtrack and a game that plays nearly identical to last year’s game, Madden NFL 17 feels more like an expansion or upgrade than anything else.

Sean Murray and the team at Hello Games promised us a huge, open universe in which we could live out our dreams of being interstellar explorers. And they pretty much delivered – think about how amazing that is.

Bohemian Killing, with its unique plot and great artistic style, is a great experience for fans of murder mystery, however, it does seem to be a niche game targeting a very specific audience.

Layers of Fear: Inheritance may inherit the technical wizardry of Layers of Fear but it does not recapture the level of tension and dread of its parent game. More proof that you indeed cannot go back home.

If you’ve got the season pass, it’s worth it to pop into the multiplayer for a bit, even if you just want to try out The Harvester. I really don’t like giving guns or equipment to specific users over others, but neither the EMG nor the kinetic mine feel overpowered among the current arsenal. Rather, they fit right in and can kill with the rest.

Call of the Beastmen is not a bad bit of DLC; it’s just an overpriced one. It is nearly a third of the price of the main game, and it contains nowhere near a third of the content. For hard-core fans of the original, this addition is worthwhile for the extra race, but it might be prudent to wait for a sale. Casual fans can ignore the Call altogether.

Move or Die will demand every one of your senses to keep up as you bash, slash, and crash into your fellow players in some seriously fun chaotic mayhem. The fast pace is refreshing and soon becomes second nature as you focus on each mini-games unique objectives and try to destroy your opponents in twenty second intervals.

Throw some supplies into a duffle bag, find a map to Canada, and hop in the van folks, because the zombie masses of Death Road to Canada are coming for you, and getting eaten alive was never so much fun.

The PC port just isn’t able to capture everything that made the original special, even if the core game is still intact. Little King’s Story feels more like a quick pick-up and put-down instead of a polished and complete product.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme VS-Force has a lot for long-time Gundam fans to enjoy, but little to offer for newcomers. The action is too cumbersome for those just looking for a fun beat ’em up, but the amount of fan-service included is enough to make this a good time for those who enjoy the anime. Hopefully this will lead to some of the better Gundam games coming stateside, but as of now this is what fans will have to settle for.

There isn’t a ton of variety within Chambara, but what it does, it does extremely well.

The game is most enjoyable for fans of the series, but an overall shallow experience sinks the title in an already small Vita pond.

If you’ve got the pass already, then Vault-Tec Workshop is worth looking into. If you played the hell out of Fallout Shelter, then you’re sure to love this update. Otherwise, save your money for Nuka World, and cross your fingers in hopes that it’s as good as Far Harbour.