I feel like if this game had one more overall draft to marry the story, script, puzzles, voice acting, and environments, it could have easily gotten a high 80 or more from me. As it currently stands, I can only recommend Relicta to the hardcore lovers of physics-based puzzles.

Playing this game on your own is a punishment. With some friends, however, it’s pretty fun.

I thought I was going to love Hi-Fi Rush, but I didn’t. There is the kernel of something interesting here. Maybe if they used house music and had the player blending tracks during attacks it might have been more musically engaging. It’s a game that would have worked much better for me in arcade-y, short bursts, because playing through the levels was a slog. The gameplay is so simple that it actually might work well as an intro action game for someone new to the genre. But there are way better rhythm games, and way better third person action games out there. I know a lot of people love Hi-Fi Rush, so if you’re curious I would still give it a chance, but my experience was underwhelming.

Ultimately, I wanted to like this game more than I actually did. The pacing is excellent, the systems are deceptively deep, and the interface is well-crafted. Plus, your consequences for failure are expertly balanced, giving you a lot of freedom to fail. On the other hand, the constant repetition is exhausting. It feels like the roguelike treadmill set to a dead sprint. And while you’re forgiven for failure, you’re also not pointed to success. I had to poke, prod, and muddle my way to any sort of goal. You can absolutely succeed, but the road to that point is a long and meandering one. If you’re looking for a unique take on Chinese history, you’re in luck! But be warned: many pitfalls and dead ends await you.

Whether you enjoy KJG depends on what kind of fun you’re looking for. If you want a racing game, this might not be for you. If you want to ogle and/or glam up a squad of anime girls, then you’re in for a good time. This is one of the central tenets of XSEED and Honey Parade’s line of games. Whatever main activity is being advertised is likely not what got you to buy the game. And honestly, the extra content is usually more fun anyway. Mini-games, customization, item collection, and light fan service are the areas where games like Kandagawa Jet Girls shine brightest. So long as you understand this caveat, you’ll have a ton of goofy, slightly pervy fun.

Even with the new additional content in this “Game of the Year” like instalment, it would have been more ideal for the new content to be a DLC package for Deception IV: Blood Ties instead of part of this re-released version.

It’s not amazing, but it’s definitely not awful. While it functions well enough as a platformer, performance issues keep it from being a stand out in the genre.

I’ve always been a staunch supporter of the idea that a game doesn’t always need to break new ground in order to be good so I won’t say that Juju is in any way a bad game. I just wish it had something to it that really made it stand out from the impressive list of amazing games it so clearly borrowed from.

It’s like that easy beach reading book that you enjoyed for a few hours on holiday, and then put back on the shelf never to read again.

I can live with many of Need For Speed Unbound’s faults. Admittedly, there were fleeting moments when I enjoyed the routine of earning cash, upgrading, outrunning police, and climbing Lakeshore’s underground racing ranks. But, when a Need For Speed game spits in the face of people that use wheel and pedal setups, it’s tough to feel a need for anything other than a need to play a better game. There’s a foundation here to build upon, but EA and Criterion have their work cut out for them if they ever hope to compete with the giants of the racing game scene.

While I wasn’t a fan of the resource management and crafting system as a whole, due to frustration and lack of hints, those with patience and who love experimentation will no doubt see hours pass by as they try to survive one more day to find that one item you’ve been searching for.

After waiting for Below for over five years, I’m left conflicted. On one hand, it’s a beautiful and deeply engrossing roguelike with fantastic art direction and stunning music from Jim Guthrie. But it also doesn’t quite jive with some of its gameplay systems and, at times, feels like a confusing mixture of ideas. Despite this, however, I still don’t regret my time with Below. Even though it doesn’t always feel cohesive, it’s certainly worth playing, especially if you’re a fan of roguelikes —just know that your mileage may vary in the enjoyment department.

Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden is in an unfortunate position where the core game is kind of good, but everything surrounding it is kind of bad.

There’s an existential discussion to be had over whether or not games need to be fun, and I’m not prepared to have it. Dark Train is not fun, but it is beautiful.

I loved the idea of this game and enjoyed a few missions here and there, telling my agents where to go and having them exercise their particular skills in saving a prisoner to the backdrop of Cold War espionage chatter and tensions. Yet the gameplay and plot never lived up to its potential, and my expectations slowly lowered themselves into a shallow grave as the gameplay, initially full of potential, let me down through repetitive gameplay and a cliché plot.

While Tales of Hearts R succeeds in providing interesting gameplay, it fails to offer a compelling storyline. The battle and upgrade mechanics are sound, but the juvenile dialogue might turn some people off trying it.

When it comes down to it, I don’t really understand who this game is for because I can’t tell fans they’d love it and I can’t tell the uninitiated to pick it up because the story is baffling, and the gameplay isn’t great. So, even though there are aspects of the game that are solid, this one gets a hard pass from me. Hopefully, I have fewer nightmares about this game than I did about the Skeksis for pretty much my entire childhood.

The game’s biggest problem is the nature of its choice mechanics in that they are almost inconsequential.

With a striking visual art style and an initially promising light and dark mechanic, Black & White Bushido could have been everyone’s new go-to party game. However, not enough modes of play, repetitive map design, and an overall lack of personality put a damper on what is otherwise a decent arena combat game. The gameplay is polished and fluid and the controls are easy to grasp, everything that makes a game like this worthy of play. Black & White Bushido is indeed fun for a few rounds but the experience never feels compelling enough to keep playing. Better keep this one sheathed for now.

It’s a generally appealing game with decent graphics. Gloomhaven appears to be a fun turn-based adventure but requires a significantly higher amount of strategy than expected. Assigning unique quests to heroes, and having an ever-changing party when they finish their tasks, those are the ideas that make Gloomhaven stand out in a fun and engaging way. The actual mechanical experience feels like being asked to solve a Rubik’s cube every five minutes rather than immerse yourself in a fantasy world. For some, this might be exactly the tactical experience you want. For most, it’s more of an exercise in exasperation than imagination.

Defiance can be a fun game, though it is difficult to enjoy its many features when so many bugs run rampant. The visual slowdown combined with the Internet related issues creates quite a mess at times, but when the game is working I can appreciate its uniqueness.

Deception IV is a game that will give you back exactly what you put into it. If you show it some love, it will most likely show you some love back.

Edge of Eternity is almost brilliant. The writing is great, but the graphics, gameplay, and especially the camera angles drag it down. If you crave some dark JRPG action and are willing to put with questionable combat mechanics, by all means, check it out. However, if you hate the idea of trying to plan out a strategy when you can’t see half the enemy forces or you get motion sick easily, maybe give this one a pass.

With a colorful and wild presentation, Micro Machines World Series is a hectic and incredibly fun racing game that manages to be both challenging and light hearted. The level designs, details, vehicles, and game modes are all superb, and the game’s announcer has a wonderfully over-the-top comedic delivery that adds to the excitement. It’s a game full of laughs, but like a good joke, the laughter ends. Micro Machines World Series simply doesn’t offer enough to players to keep them invested beyond playing it as a party game with those who remember the original toy line from the 90’s.

Clockwork Aquario is a product of its time. The short game length and high difficulty are similar to its 90s counterparts. Unfortunately, due to this, there aren’t many reasons to revisit the game after playing through the meager number of stages. The score-based gameplay is a fresh twist and makes for an addictive platforming experience. Gaining multipliers and working out routes is fun whether playing on your own or with a partner. Even with its beautiful, chunky pixel art and vivid backgrounds, the game’s shortage of content and high price, make this a forgettable re-emergence rather than a celebrated return.

At the right price, Zombi is a worthy purchase for some. Unfortunately, some of its technical shortcomings and painfully repetitive sequences kill much of the enjoyment. Not to mention some of the clumsy combat and dated gameplay makes for an experience that is far more tedious than it needs to be.

The best compliment I can give Windlands is that, for other developers, there is a lot that can be gleaned from this experience soaring through the skies, and the game is worth checking out for that reason alone.