Bread & Fred is a novel concept that fails to deliver due to its frustrating climbing mechanics. The idea of climbing a large mountain and working with a partner to do so is appealing; however, the inconsistent physics and anger-inducing design that allows you to lose progress in an instant hinder the game. Although SandCastles Studio adds an array of assist options to address these concerns, at its core, the game struggles to balance challenge with enjoyment. The fundamental design flaws overshadow the creative premise, resulting in an experience that is more exasperating than entertaining.

Panzer Dragoon: Remake won’t be for everyone. I never played the original game, but I have a basic knowledge of the franchise. It looked familiar to a personal favourite of mine, Star Fox, but unfortunately, Panzer Dragoon was nowhere near as enjoyable. It simply lacks a lot of the fun touches and personality that make the Star Fox franchise so good. Panzer Dragoon does have some fun moments and some of the visuals are quite impressive. I didn’t care much for the story and the game is quite short. If you were a fan of the original, nostalgia alone might be enough to make the purchase. It’s worth noting that a remake of the sequel is already in development, so if you do enjoy Panzer Dragoon: Remake, you’ll have something more to look forward to.

In theory, Dust and Neon was made for a gamer like me. And I do like the art, the premise, and the style of action. Some aspects don’t quite feel fleshed out, like the mission designs, the narrative, and the range of weapons. Then there’s the reload mechanic, which I found more annoying than innovative. Dust and Neon isn’t a bad game, and fans of twin-stick shooters, Westerns, roguelikes, and looter-shooters should all find a little fun hunting outlaw robots. Unfortunately, its pleasures are just a bit too shallow and brief.

Metal Wolf Chaos XD is a priceless artifact, a flawed gem the size of your fist that must be seen to be believed. Especially if you’ve got a history with From Software’s other mech titles. This is a critical link in the chain with no equal in the genre’s history. On the other hand, if none of that applies to you, hot damn this game has issues. The premise and the execution are wildly disparate elements. The pacing is stuttered and archaic. The mechanics at play are padded yet flat. I can’t fault that timeless voice acting either way, though. My thoughts on the game aside, hearing president Wilson and co. deliver their lines is absolute delight. Metal Wolf Chaos XD is a weird, wonky game you should almost definitely, probably, see for yourself.

For every part of the game I slammed up against, it was bookended by some excellent moments. While not always clearly defined, Battle Princess Madelyn is still a damn decent excursion into the storied history of 16-bit platforming.

I can’t really know what the AAA version of No Place Like Home even looks like. I think I wish the controls felt a little tighter, and that it looked a little bit nicer. It’s great to get all the garbage off the grass, but I wish the grass was a bit more textured. Maybe it would have been nice to see it shine in the sunlight. But that’s not where No Place Like Home places its focus. The developers clearly put time into balance and rhythm. If you are a gamer who peacefully likes carving out a digital home for yourself, there is a peace to be found in No Place Like Home.

Touhou: New World was indeed a new experience of the franchise for me. Having played games in all the genres it touches on, this game provided an interesting new experience for me. The game started a bit slow due to its low difficulty. It eventually started to catch on and provide a more enjoyable challenge. Despite this, the overall inconsistency with the game in various aspects does detract from the overall experience at times. If the game interests you in the slightest, I would recommend giving Touhou: New World a try.

#DRIVE Rally delivers on its intentions to be a fun, arcade rally racer. You can quickly get into a race if you are short on time or are just looking for something less demanding than a more realistic rally racer. The game launches on September 25, 2024 on the Steam, Epic, and GOG game stores. [Early Access Provisional Score = 75]

Sacred Citadel is a throwback to the glory days of arcades and side scrolling brawlers, but sadly doesn’t really capture the magic of genre classics. It’s technically competent, but suffers from repetition and a general lack of diversity and uniqueness.

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

Each level presents a new challenge, with some really forcing some outside-the-box thought in order to succeed, but there are moments where the difficulty becomes more frustrating than challenging. iFunForAll made a neat little game here, it’s just a shame that the execution wasn’t as clean as the main character’s work.

I find about 80 percent of this game incredibly compelling, and if you don’t focus on the progression of the story or the ending, there are amazing moments here. The unfortunate part is that narrative games live and die by, well, their narratives. Still, I’m glad I played it. I find some sort of weird excitement in being monumentally disappointed by stories — they give me context on what we appreciate in the titles we do enjoy. So if you are like me, The Suicide of Rachel Foster might just be worth your time.

It simply stands as a slightly above average game for its price but nothing else more. Although future DLC is said to be on its way, I can only hope UFO Dad will be expanded and be given the spark it needs.

Even though Shadow Blade: Reload is fun to play, and the graphics are well done, there are some obvious flaws that detract from the enjoyability.

It won't win any beauty pageants or appraisal for artistic ingenuity, and it probably won't be marveled at for its in-depth story and character development; but if you crave that old fashioned, non-stop mayhem of an old school first-person shooter, no one does it better and with more attitude then Serious Sam.

Chocobo GP is a solid kart racer that deserves your attention. Fun and frantic, the game is accessible but contains enough of a challenge for veterans. Although there is a notable absence of a battle mode, there is still plenty of content for on and offline play. Clearly leaning into its influences with the mechanics and aesthetics, the game doesn’t push the boundaries but is successful in its goal of being a charming and joyous racer.

Here’s the thing, Unbox: Newbie’s Adventure is a platformer that doesn’t bring anything new or fresh to the genre and can be downright frustrating at times. Rather than try and evolve the genre, developer Prospect relies on simplistic standards that have been done to death.

If you want to make a visual novel, make a visual novel. If you want to make a visual novel with a heavy emphasis on music, make a visual novel with a heavy emphasis on music. If you want to make a visual novel with a heavy emphasis on music that’s also a rhythm game, you had better be ready to make something really truly special to make it work—Lost in Harmony: The Musical Odyssey is not.

The Station is a promising game, telling a magnificent story through a path paved by games like Gone Home and Tacoma. Those games might have had a little more polish than The Station, which suffers some annoying gameplay hiccups, but the story this new game tells absolutely holds up.

Republique Episode 4 is neither the weakest entry, nor the best. It’s caught in the middle. Whether it’s because of development troubles or simply to blame on the story, remains to be seen, and with a finale on the horizon, it still has a chance to end strong.

It’s been a time since I’ve been able to play an RPG like I used to with the grind and the turn-based combat and the healing between battles in order to stay in the action. They just don’t make them like they used to! It even comes with a $14.99 price tag to boot. However, I really wished that all the things that Citizens of Space does well weren’t attached to a game that is so… in your face. It borders on obnoxious but keeps the annoying line repeats and the length of time to get anywhere just under the bar of annoying. It did, however, prevent me from being able to play for a big chunk of time and it sucked a lot of the fun out of the well-done aspects of the game. I think it says a lot that you can get a lot of enjoyment out of this game but it’s best enjoyed on mute.

Even with my frustrations with the interface, the game itself made me want to keep going. I credit the style of gameplay and my total need for world domination for that. Anything related to the Roman Empire is compelling, but even though I sank 14 hours into this game, I didn’t even get strong enough to unlock any of the other clans. I got closer, though, with each restart, but in my last playthrough, I found myself stuck because right after creating a fishing and galley joint army to begin an exploration mission, my game crashed. I tried returning to the previous save, but it won’t allow me to play in that Kingdom again. So I suppose, my conclusion is that the game has a lot of potential and I intend to keep playing it. I get the feeling that a lot of this will be worked out in time.

From its amusing setting to its solid gameplay mechanics, Murderous Pursuits has a lot going for it. When you boil it down, it’s a fun game to play, especially with a few friends to share in the antics.

Mystery and thriller fans looking for a slick and intriguing game would do well to check it out. MISSING has found the right mix of technical and artistic elements.

This is a solid platformer that highlights a new chapter in the Assassin’s Creed universe, taking us to a unique setting and providing a well needed challenge that will test the very limits of our patience.

Some of the design decisions will come off as a little strange, but there’s some decent fun buried in there. If you loved the Super NES original, however, this updated version will fill you with confusion, anger and disappointment.

Bard’s Gold, while simple in theory, plays with a bit more difficulty, and though you may want to turn your TV down to avoid the uninspiring soundtrack, it is well worth its price of $4.99.

While I like just about everything that’s presented in Strikers Edge, prolonged periods of play had me comparing the final product to Pong. That’s not a great comparison in 2018 unless you believe there’s no beating the classics.