A borderline unusable map and generally difficult combat combined with traps that kill you immediately could definitely turn people off, but those who choose to persevere will likely enjoy this game enough to see it through to its obtuse, confusing ending.

If you’re a fan of My Hero Academia, you’ll enjoy My Hero One’s Justice 2. It brings your favorite characters to life and gives you the opportunity to pit them against each other in a solid fighting arena experience. But for the rest of us, this is a pretty lackluster brawler that looks and plays a lot like other games we’ve seen. What it does, it does competently, but My Hero One’s Justice 2 has a long way to go before it can claim the King of Fighters title.

Cyanide & Happiness: Freakpocalypse isn’t going to blow you away. It’s certainly not going to have you reaching for the medicine cabinet, though. I suppose much of what you get out of CH: F will depend on your ability to take a joke. The gameplay won’t be what keeps you coming back, but Coop’s story has much left to be told, and I’ll be there for the sequel. The rub is that if Explosm doesn’t bring their A-game for episode two, I’ll probably take a swing at Coop, myself.

If you can get sufficiently sucked into the gameplay, every other problem seems insignificant. On the other hand, if any part of the moment-to-moment experience starts to drag, it can pull you right out of the game. In other words, if all you want to do is sail around starting fights, slowly gathering power until you become a force of nature on the waves, King of Seas is perfect for you. Conversely, if you’re looking for something more multifaceted and less focused, you may want to steer clear. I thought sailing and sea battles would sustain me. Perhaps there’s more to being a pirate after all.

At its price point, you’ll be in for an okay time, especially if you find yourself enjoying the look and have an itch for a light tower defense game. It’s charming, and it doesn’t get in its own way of just letting you have at a few levels quickly. Whether or not it sticks with you will depend on how much you jive with its critters, the hand-drawn art, and Victor’s story.

Time-machine nostalgia and a pixel-perfect retro vibe can only carry Graven so far. Combat, exploration, and level design have to ferry the player to the end. Unfortunately, Graven has enough issues in these areas that its very promising premise isn’t quite fulfilled. Players who grew up with mid-90s shooters will appreciate what Graven has to offer, at least for a while. Ultimately, it might make them appreciate how far we’ve come.

I really enjoyed Rushing Beat X: Return of Brawl Brothers. The core beat ‘em up combat is fantastic, and the goofy story gives the game a unique flavor. I never thought we would see another game in the series, and the devs obviously have great love for the source material. Unfortunately, Rushing Beat X: Return of Brawl Brothers is lacking in features, which puts it behind all the modern genre greats. But I easily recommend the game to anyone who’s a fan of beat ‘em ups, or in the mood for something nostalgic.

In my experience, setting the game to Pro and using a joypad is an experience in frustration. You will need many hours of practice starting at amateur and slowly disabling driving aids before you can finally remove all the training wheels.

Need for Speed is not a horrible game, but it is definitely not the amazing ‘reboot’ experience I was looking for. Its biggest detractors are the repetitive gameplay, the graphics engine hanging up or stalling at some very inopportune times, and the ‘less than robust’ online modes.

Neptunia x SENRAN KAGURA was a pleasant experience and nothing too crazy happens. It can be a delight to fans but can also disappoint those looking forward to more. Unfortunately, the story was pretty uninspiring and the crossover was more mindblowing than the actual game. It was entertaining and easy to learn though, but if you aren’t a fan of either franchise it can be hard to understand. While the game was an absolute delight, there isn’t enough content to make this the best crossover ever. Hopefully, with Ninja Wars being the start, there will be something more in the future.

The Crow’s Eye is a strong experience that even those not as interested in the genre can access and enjoy.

Tower of Fantasy has some strengths and several annoyances. Its attractive world is populated by a generic story and forgettable NPCs. Its exciting combat is hampered by time-gated exploration and an overly complex, fussy gacha system. For fans of the Asian MMO genre or recent converts to Genshin Impact, the game might be worth checking out. I don’t think Tower of Fantasy is a good introduction to gacha games, and there are generally lots of better MMORPGs to invest your time in.

The Solus Project does what it sets out to do — immerse you in a dangerous environment for a dozen or so hours and task you with surviving long enough to experience the story. While I wish there was a bit more to the plot, and while the controls frustrated me, it’s a fairly solid exploration and survival game. The VR component makes it worth investing some time in.

Though there is some fun to be had, the game lacks the refinement Nintendo is typically known for and the result of such is a game that can vary from enjoyable to mediocre at varying times.

I loved Trinity Trigger. I’m a big fan of JRPGs, and the Mana series though. This is a game for fans of the genre. Its bland dungeon design and sometimes dumb support character AI hold it back from being a full-blown genre classic. But it has a compelling narrative and great combat. And the local co-op option seems too good to be true in this day and age. If you’re not into action JRPGs, Trinity Trigger isn’t going to change your mind. But anyone with any love for the genre should definitely give it a playthrough.

For young teens and older, the boring level design and lackluster gameplay makes Yoshi's New Island hard to recommend, but for those young ones out there, about 10 years and under, this game should fit the bill nicely.

If you really enjoy dark dungeon crawlers that are punishing to those who rush in, Necropolis could be a lot of fun for you. If you’re a fan of the Souls series and looking at this because it has some similarities, I recommend looking elsewhere. The combat and randomness will likely just leave you frustrated.

Fragments of Him is a well thought out story that ultimately is undone by its gameplay choices. By trying to make gamers interact with the story more, the story became even more inaccessible. While I can appreciate the sentiment that Sassybot was gunning for, the delivery ended up being the undoing of a compelling storyline.

I had an absolute blast playing through Aven. It’s as absorbing as it is relaxing, and it does a good job at bringing its own to the table whilst still retaining what makes city builders fun and challenging. The challenges it brings are unique and fun, and though there might be a few changes I’d personally like to see added, not having them doesn’t deduct much at all from the gameplay.

There is a healthy number of tracks that will take hours to master, cool Gravs and parts to unlock, and it’s a joy to look at and listen to while you do it. But with a little polish and workshopping, Antigraviator could have gone from really good, to really great.

Overall, I found Alt-Frequencies provided some great commentary on how the media decodes the underlying truth and spoon feeds it to the public and how governments can step in to attempt to control the narrative. It was interesting seeing the introduction of rogue elements to the story and how those played out. This experience has a lot to say about a lot of things, which is really my criticism. I wanted so much more.

While some elements of Valkyrie Elysium are disappointingly lackluster, in the end, the combat is excellent. That alone was enough to keep me engaged through the game’s dozen or so hours. I have a pretty long wish list for future games, like more impressive visual design and more interesting missions. But the real-time action? It’s a keeper.

While the graphics and enemies are less than desirable, the music releases an inner childlike sense of happiness that keeps you coming back for more punishment.

Powerstar Golf has a strange addictiveness to it.

It pains me to speak ill of a series I’ve thoroughly enjoyed in the past, but Just Cause 4 is a disappointing extension that needs to aim a lot higher and is, frankly, kind of boring. In the climate of exceptional games that have preceded it this year, it simply does not hold up.

Genre mashups like Red Solstice 2: Survivors can be refreshing and revelatory, or they can feel like a poorly seamed patchwork of ideas. Red Solstice 2 has some fun elements, occasionally engaging combat and systems, and a take on the Red Planet that is familiar but not entirely unoriginal. Poorly explained mechanics, lack of personality and ultimately repetitive mission design all push back against a more thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Brave possesses a unique charm, and should be considered if you are on the lookout for a well made kid-friendly title to add to your collection.

This is a game that I could not put down when I originally played it on PlayStation, and I’ve enjoyed re-experiencing it on the Switch, despite the dip in visuals. If you have the means of playing Maneater on an Xbox or PlayStation, that would be my recommendation. If not, then the Switch is a competent port that will give you the same overall experience. Regardless, Maneater is friggin’ jawesome – don’t miss out.