A Criminal Past is a different kind of Deus Ex, and one that kept me engaged.

Flywrench is a treat. It’s amazing how Messhof has transmuted the very basic activity of controlling a little bendy line through a minimalistic level, into the feeling of being some kind of superhero. When the music is hitting just right, and you’re flipping through those colored gates at breakneck speeds the game feels somehow important. Like getting to the end of the level has something riding on it. Then you remember that you’re just flapping a little line around the bare skeleton of a game… which makes the illusion all the more impressive.

It’s fun, looks great, and has a level of depth that people may not expect.

Last Epoch straddles the midpoint between familiar accessibility and depth. There is plenty enough character customization to reward experimentation and repeated play. The basic, addictive ARPG loop is compelling, even if the narrative is a bit muddled. Once past the first few overly familiar hours, Last Epoch starts to really come into its own as an excellent hack-and-slash with lots of potential and staying power.

The Sims 4: Snowy Escape gives us a ton of fun new content and a beautiful new location. The new activities, the CAS and Buy/Build modes, festivals and clothing we get to play with is certainly worth the price. And with the new added features of having the lifestyles system in place, it really brings the game together and EA needed that, especially since the debacle with the last expansion pack. So, what are you waiting for? Grab those skis and snowboards and get ready to hit those slopes!

A fantastic game and a must-play for anyone that enjoys puzzle-platformers. The game is by no means hard, and you’ll likely finish it over the course of a weekend – but for those that are set on completing every objective and finding every Pixel Toad – you’ll be sure to squeeze many more hours out.

Dead Or Alive 5 is accessible both to casual players and hardcore fans of the genre and it feels very rewarding when given enough time. Underneath all of the saucy attire, it is definitely a frantic fighting game with both depth and substance and one worth playing.

Despite its style and engagement, it is still pretty formulaic in its execution. Though it lends its own spin to a classic video game genre, fans of the 2D platformer will notice some cues going back to the SNES days. If you love this stuff, there’s every reason to give Foregone a shot. But if you suffer from platformer fatigue, there may not be enough here to rekindle that spirit. If you’re new to the genre, you could do a lot worse than Foregone.

That feeling of greatness when beating a particularly troublesome level is a reward in itself. Where Tropical Freeze seems to miss a beat or two is in its implementation of cooperative play, which personally I could do without.

It’s a great game if you’re looking to kill time and also if you are looking for a challenge.

Far: Lone Sails allows players to complete the game at their own pace, and some might find it to be relatively brief. As a matter of fact, the short length is the game’s biggest weakness. I wanted more, but what’s there is something I treasured.

They feel worth it to me, but I’m a Pokémon lifer.

There’s not much to dislike about Dandara. It certainly could be more accessible for newbies but any gamer that’s played a Metroidvania before should have an idea of what to expect. What’s unexpected is the totally cool and trippy traversal system. It might take some time to get used to, but it’s very intuitive. Dandara’s sharp level design and enemy encounters are memorable in a genre that is starting to get overcrowded. The story isn’t anything to write home about, but Dandara makes up for it with fun and challenging gameplay. Regardless of your platform of choice, Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition needs to be your next game.

In those areas where Diablo II: Resurrected attempts to improve on the original, it absolutely succeeds. It looks infinitely better, it’s more accessible to a wider range of gamers, and it mostly feels like it deserves to live on current-gen systems. At the same time, some of the changes seem arbitrary when looked at through the lens of what could have, and should have, been updated. Part of Diablo II: Resurrected feels wonderfully nostalgic and timeless, but another part feels mired in outdated mechanics from decades past, and pretty graphics alone can’t fix that.

They feel worth it to me, but I’m a Pokémon lifer.

Although this Switch port evolves XCOM 2 in yet another way, it does make many sacrifices that may make or break the experience for newbies. The controls and overall gameplay of XCOM 2 is as good as ever with this port, which are two of the most important factors with it being so competent both docked and in handheld mode. If you’re willing to stomach some muddy visuals and frame rate issues when transitioning from one scene to another, it could be argued the Nintendo Switch is the best platform to own the XCOM 2 Collection. Being able to play XCOM 2 on the go is such a nice perk. 2K has evolved Firaxis Games and Feral Interactive’s deep strategy title in yet another way and I’m looking forward to seeing where the series goes from here.

The catching mechanics, the upgraded box system, the new HMs and the effortless min-maxing are all excellent additions to a timeless classic. The combat isn’t as feature complete as other modern Pokemon games, and the gen 1 pokedex might turn some people off, but this is a fantastic rendition of Red and Blue that I can easily recommend. Whether it’s your first time or fortieth, Pokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu and Eevee are a trip to Kanto you won’t want to miss.

Yooka-Laylee is a whimsical and witty gem of a 3D platformer, offering a wealth of secrets to find, puzzles to solve and large colorful worlds to explore each of which are populated with some of the most charming characters to hit a video game in years. The good far outweighs the negative and any shortcomings found never outshine the fun to be had. Yooka-Laylee made me feel like a kid again and proves there’s still a place for the classic 3D collectathon.

I can’t imagine that anyone would be blown away by any one part of Wuppo. The art is wonky, the combat is simple, and the lore is kind of silly. But it’s when these aspects combine that Wuppo’s charm begins to appear, and it’s a charm that can’t be stifled by any flaws.

The catching mechanics, the upgraded box system, the new HMs and the effortless min-maxing are all excellent additions to a timeless classic. The combat isn’t as feature complete as other modern Pokemon games, and the gen 1 pokedex might turn some people off, but this is a fantastic rendition of Red and Blue that I can easily recommend. Whether it’s your first time or fortieth, Pokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu and Eevee are a trip to Kanto you won’t want to miss.

If you’ve been burned by console strategy games in the past, Stellaris: Console Edition will wipe away all of your fears. It’s both innovative and ambitious as a 4X, while also, at the same time, raises the bar for what’s possible with the genre on consoles. Thanks to a clever and surprisingly intuitive controller layout, the console edition of Stellaris stays true to the PC original without any compromises. It might not come with the latest version, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy one of the best and most accessible strategy games in recent years.

While all the components are very familiar, the game is well-designed to be what it is. If a certain feature is derivative, that’s because it works for the story and gameplay experience. You can tell that this game is a labor of love, and it is maintained by a team that not only loves the source material, but loves fun games as well. And since my Switch is portable, I can grind for levels wherever I go, and take the Amazing Flamefist to the levelcap and beyond.

There is truly something here for every hockey fan. Traditionalists who love their basic online and franchise modes, NHL 19 has you covered. For those looking for something fresh, World of CHEL and Ones should be right up your alley. NHL 19 doesn’t exactly reinvent the franchise but it does advance the series forward in this generations of consoles.

With its wild punk rock vibe, Charlie Murder is a solid game offering up more then the average Xbox Live arcade title. The lengthy campaign is a lot of fun to tear through with friends, and the great soundtrack makes for a fun atmosphere.

Is it a sequel or does it feel more like a remake? The immediate analogy that popped into my head was similar to comparing The Evil Dead to The Evil Dead 2. They both felt very similar even though not entirely the same. I guess in this case it’s a good thing that the original Nidhogg was so well received, it was a pretty great game and so is Nidhogg 2.

I’ll admit it’s a great time. I sank hours into single player, despite my frustrations, and I had even more of a blast with the multiplayer. The Switch is proving itself to be a worthy home for fun party games, and Ninja Shodown is a strong addition to that lineup.

95% of this game is pure excellence.

I’m really glad that a game like Disc Jam has released and has as much polish as it does. I think they went a little overboard with the cosmetics and not enough on character variety, but those minor things that I can overlook since the core of the gameplay don’t rely on those things. It a great game that I could easily recommend on any platform as long as you use a controller.