The Sims 4 Nifty Knitting was a pleasant surprise and had a lot more content in it than I had thought it would. I’m glad that EA is listening to the Sim Community and actually hearing what we want in the next packs. I hope that with these positive reviews, they’ll begin to do fan votes more often cause clearly we know what we want. All in all, I would put this Stuff pack in my top three favourites, with the other two being Tiny Living and Laundry Day.

I can’t argue that at the heart of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade of Light is the tried-and-true Fire Emblem formula. And when used as nothing more than a reference to how far the series as a whole has come in 30 years, it answers the question of whether or not it’s worth your hard-earned $6. But I’d bet the farm that the majority of casual Fire Emblem fans won’t be able to deal with the games offensively slow pace. And to top it all off, I love the sights and sounds of the eight and sixteen-bit by-gone era, but by the end of the campaign, I was ready to never again play another classic. There are only so many beeps and crumple sound effects that I can handle in one lifetime.

Saints Row is an ambitious reboot of a popular franchise. Its open world is expansive and entertaining to explore. There is always something to keep you occupied, most of it served up in bite-sized missions that are fun to check off. The game rewards you for almost everything, so your time is never wasted. Unfortunately, the main campaign is a little less successful, often falling back on repetitive action, gunplay and set pieces that go on too long. Despite some tech issues and inconsistent mission design, this kinder, gentler incarnation of Saints Row is probably a step in the right direction.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 got a resounding ‘meh’ out of me. While the game play mechanics were fun, they got boring over time and downright aggravating with the plethora of rage inducing boss battles.

If you just want to play a game that brings you nostalgia, you want to know what it was like to play a game 30 years ago or you just want to show your kids how good they have it – Exile’s End has faithfully recreated that. Just know that’s what you’re getting into if you decide to.

Gemini: Heroes Reborn offers up pretty good value for the buck. When you consider the $15 dollar price tag there is a lot to like here. The telekinesis and time travel abilities make for an experience I found remarkably enjoyable. While the games presentation and frame rate issues dampen the experience, this is perfect Sunday afternoon romp for anyone looking for a change of pace.

Despite some very minor misses in gameplay, Ready at Dawn sets a very high bar in terms of both presentation and story offering up one of the best experiences to date on your PS4.

Alone in the Dark is an impressive reimagining that successfully revitalizes the franchise. Instead of leaning into the action elements that have become more prevalent in the genre, Pieces Interactive respects its DNA by opting to focus on the puzzle aspect of the adventure. As a result, the game carves its own niche which will lure fans of the genre. Although the action segments feel a little rigid and dated, the conundrums are well thought out and a highlight of the experience which helps to make this a must for horror addicts.

If you like puzzle or adventure games, Whispering Willows won’t have anything new to offer you. Its lack of critical thinking puzzles, basic mechanics, and inability get you invested in the story from the beginning make it a game hard to recommend.

Despite the steep difficulty curve and lack of any real new content, Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD is a noted improvement over the original version of the game. It runs very well, and isn't a huge space-eater either, coming in at 1.4GB, allowing it to fit nicely alongside your other digital titles. This is also thankfully not a full-price title, so those looking to dust off their monkey ball skills can do so without breaking the bank. Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD does a lot well, but it's just not quite as ripe as the rest of the bunch.

I enjoyed Mosaic. It isn’t reinventing the wheel, and we’ve seen this sort of story many times before, but there’s something about this game that just works. It’s not too long, it’s interesting right from the start, and I think it does an excellent job of commenting on a few specific hardships of life. Much of the game is open-ended and will leave the player wondering what they just saw, but that’s the beauty of it. As I said earlier, Mosaic can be what you need it to be, and if you’re feeling down on life lately, maybe this game can inspire you. If even just a bit.

I’ve not played the previous games in this series, but from what I can see, Heat 5 doesn’t offer much more than Heat 4. NASCAR Racing is not for everyone, and compared to other sim racers out there, this is easily the tamest of them all. The game does nothing badly, but neither does it excel at anything. It’s truly a middle of the road racing sim. Hardcore fans are the only ones that will want to suit up for this iteration.

Edens Zero is a mediocre attempt to bring a well-loved manga into the interactive medium. The combat lacks the nuance found in stronger action-RPGs. While switching between party members adds some variety, battles quickly become repetitive and tiresome. The story is messy, and its basic presentation fails to hold your attention. Although the game throws together many ideas, none are fully realized, resulting in a disjointed and unpolished experience.

Puzzle-platformers are nothing new, but Squirrel with a Gun’s sandbox approach and jumping-shooting mechanics help it transcend the absurdist title. The game squirrels away a lot of fun and engaging gameplay that will surprise players not expecting the game’s variety and depth. All I know is, I’ll never look at our neighborhood squirrels quite the same way again.

Siegecraft Commander is a fun and delightful RTS title that is easily approachable for serious strategists and newcomers alike. With the focus being on expanding across the map and staying in the action as opposed to resource management, the game never feels like it is lagging and is constantly nudging you into the throes of war.

PC-caliber MMOs used to be a pipe dream, but now with games like TERA Online, they’re a reality.

Even beyond this bizarre hurdle, the whole game is designed to impede you. The money you earn can't be spent on anything useful. The experience you gain never leads to you getting stronger. The battle mechanics make every fight as slow as possible. Even clicking on chests and items comes with a short delay. YIIK frustrates me so badly I feel like I personally offended the creators at a party or something, and this game is their revenge.

I deeply believe that there are the bones of a good game buried here. And the fixes might be easy. Or they may never come. As it stands now, I had quite a lot of fun with Empire of Sin, but I couldn’t get a groove going. It’s hard to recommend before a bit of an overhaul. But stranger things have happened in gaming! And in real life. Remember when alcohol was illegal in the United States? That feels pretty crazy right now.

In the end this game does manage to show off what some of the benefits of The New 3DS are, but the short gameplay length and shortcomings of the 2011 original that are still evident (e.g. pixely visuals when close to the ground environments) just can’t push this game into the realm of must have for The New 3DS.

It’s dull, repetitive, and just doesn’t offer the replayability of other rogue-likes.

Dragon Quest has beautiful graphics, an official modern translation, and plays great portably. The Nintendo Switch is the perfect way to experience this classic. So for those who are into retro gaming, or are curious about game history, Dragon Quest is a must-play.

Presentation-wise, Supergonk has a lot to offer. Gameplay-wise, Trailblazers kicks off on all cylinders in a wonderful first impression. However, it drags on its way to the finish line, which is why a driver might prefer some company to keep them entertained along the way.

It’s set-up is ludicrous, it’s biomes are beautiful but sparse, and it’s story is convoluted; but even still, I enjoyed Maskmaker and I recommend you take up the chisel and mallet and experience it for yourself. There’s a clever and unique use of VR in this game that make it worth trying on, despite everything.

Defense Technica is a fully serviceable tower defense game, but I don’t buy the claim of being the ‘next evolution’ in the genre by any means. It is fun in short bursts, but unless you like a grueling difficulty, it’s a game that is tough to hold your interest for more than a short period once you hit that wall.

Curse of the Sea Rats is disappointing. It’s a pretty bland Metroidvania. It has a unique visual style, but its gameplay completely relies on its multiplayer option to hide its shortcomings. The game also needs a bit more polish. I was immediately very excited when I booted up the game, but I quickly soured. If the visual style wasn’t so interesting, and there wasn’t a multiplayer option the score would be a lot lower. Only play Curse of the Sea rats if you love the idea of a simple 4 player Metroidvania.

Despite my initial reactions, I finally start to enjoy Life is Feudal. After getting over the initial learning curve and skill grind. There is something liberating about being able to terraform any piece of land and cut down any tree I find.

If you’re itching to bounce around and solve puzzles, you could do worse than Shiftlings – just don’t expect a mind altering experience.

Overall, the game was impressive – the graphics, the visuals, the music, the sound effects, and the gameplay were out of this world. Planet Alpha is great for those who want a fun challenge, not because it is hard to land on platforms but because it requires your mind to think beyond that. I highly recommend all gamers to give Planet Alpha a try, and I highly doubt anyone will regret the experience.