While this might not be my usual type of game, I had a great time with it nonetheless. Elder Gods is crammed with gorgeous set pieces, clever puzzles, and engrossing writing. I got stuck more than I would have liked, which threw off the pacing. Between that and the adventurous tone, this game wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Even so, Call of the Elder Gods was a delightful time. If you’re in the mood for an eerie eldritch adventure, this game would be a great choice.

Mighty Goose is an absolute blast. The solid mechanics, stunning art direction, and underlying humor make for a truly thrilling experience. Although the runtime is short, you’ll enjoy every minute of it.

An homage to the amazing JRPGs of the 90s, I Am Setsuna is a love letter to your childhood written with passion and penned with respect by equally passionate developers.

Tangle Tower is a very excellent presentation of a very short game. It feels like a mobile game, and has a very short play time of 5 hours, with no incentive to replay. If this was a $5 game it would be a lot easier to recommend, but as it stands, Tangle Tower can’t justify it’s $20 price point.

All in all, Ring of Pain is a different enough take on the card game genre that it’s definitely going to be a good time. While not perfect, it has enough lurking in its depths to keep you thinking “Okay, well just one more run!”

Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame 5 should please fans of the series. The additions make the game more accessible than ever and is more fleshed out thanks to the new content. The main drawback is the lack of haptic feedback in relation to the track surface.

The Tale of Bistun has an engaging narrative and even stronger ties to Persian mythology and storytelling. Few games are so thoroughly respectful of their source material and culture. As a game, The Tale of Bistun has acceptable but very limited mechanics and a structure that’s a bit repetitive. Still, at only three hours of playtime, it isn’t a huge investment and worth it for the unique window into little known mythology.

A story David Lynch would be proud of, great music, and twitch-action gameplay are even more reasons to pick this up and give it a shot.

Not a Hero is a game that will immediately grab your attention within the first few moments of playing it. By the time you make your way to the middle of the game’s story, some of the charm will probably wear off as you start to see some of the game’s more glaring issues including a ramped up difficulty, no checkpoint system, no auto-reload or missing a piece of cover to be killed by enemies once again.

I’ve played Pendragon dozens of times. I’ve unlocked most of the characters (I still can’t see to get Branwen the archer to trust me) and I know there are stories I haven’t pursued to their conclusions (Excalibur is out there, and I will find it). So rather than a traditional RPG or strategy game, Pendragon plays like an impressionistic take on a classic Nintendo formula. You’ll tell your own stories and if you play them right, the dream of Camelot will live on.

3D platformers can still be done well, it turns out. All you have to do is focus on the action, fix the camera in place, and fine-tune the controls. Things like the narrative still need your attention, just not as much of it. I was pleasantly surprised by this game. Penny’s adventure is well-crafted, colorful, and tons of fun. The challenge level gets pretty high, sure. And the controls are still built for speed. But this is all part of the package. If you’re looking for a new 3D platformer, Penny’s Big Breakaway should be at the top of your list.

The Yakuza/ Like a Dragon series has become one of the most beloved video game franchises on the planet. They’re a combination of cinematic crime drama, fun third person brawl combat, deep open world exploration, and insanely wacky sidequests and minigames. Yakuza Kiwami 2 is the best version of the second game in the series. Cutting the Sotenbori is a major loss, but the new content more than makes up for its omission. Overall this is an excellent version of an all-time great video game.

A great game that doesn’t bust the bank and will give your hours of enjoyment as you plot, craft and deploy your plans for your great prison break.

Biped is well worth a look, especially if you like cute, lovable little robots (and who doesn’t?). Grab your buddy, your sibling, or maybe get lucky and find someone online, and get ready for some crazy, chaotic co-op fun. This is one time where two legs are definitely better than four.

So I turned off my Switch and booted up my PC. I started a new game of Battle Brothers on that. And you know what? It’s as good as it ever was. A truly superlative strategy game made better with mods. I could not recommend Battle Brothers enough, but do yourself a favor and avoid the Nintendo Switch version. You’ll avoid one tragic end to meet a much more satisfactory one.

There are things to like about Nobunaga’s Ambition. On a technical level it does what it promises and if you’re looking for that very specific thing you’ll probably really enjoy the game.

There’s a lot to love about Where The Water Tastes Like Wine, from the beautiful and surreal 2D hand-drawn imagery that adds an air of eeriness. In combination with the blues and roots music, it makes for a perfectly atmospheric game with a ton of great catchy tunes.

Expeditions: Viking finds an excellent balance between historical realism and RPG mechanics.

While the magic system that is the core of Mages of Mystralia is outstanding, the rest of it can use some of that creativity as well. It is a game where a sequel may be due, to add to what Borealys Games has made here and really bring this world to life.

Gord is a richer and more complex game than it first appears. There are interesting layers of moral ambiguity and mental health to consider. Gord is a dark Slavic folk tale in survival/RTS-game disguise. Its mechanics and systems add up to an engaging gameplay experience. For a modest entry price, Gord provides a lot of entertainment, an engaging story and plenty of replay value via customizable scenarios.

Sure, there are some technical bugs now and then, the Play Set missions can be mundane at times, and it may be expensive to ‘buy-it-all-to-collect-it-all’ giving you a bit of “sticker price shock”, but in the end how can one not enjoy what is offered here. The ability to create your own Disney-esque world in the Toy Box is truly amazing, the figurines are very well done, and the thought of future Play Sets is exciting (HELLO…Star Wars, Marvel, or classic Disney worlds).

If you are familiar with the genre, you know what to expect with Phoenix Point. Little flourishes, like letting you manually aim your shots, inject some new life into a fairly predictable genre. It is the plot and the aesthetic that make Phoenix Point truly shine though; the world is so strange and immersive that you will love playing the game over and over to learn everything you can — which is precisely how the game is meant to be played. Even though it doesn’t shine technically, Phoenix Point has it where it counts — in an engaging gameplay experience.

Overall, Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is a phenomenal experience. It has truly unique gameplay wrapped in a Triple A Kingdom Hearts presentation. The music featured is among the most memorable scores in video game history, and the amount of content will keep players getting much more than their money’s worth. If you’re at all curious about Melody of Memories, rest assured that it’s a must buy.

Jotun is a well-crafted experience made for anyone fond of great storytelling mixed with satisfying combat.

The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story successfully delves further into the lore of the franchise while offering a new experience that will appeal to newcomers. The high-tempo combat and engaging narrative, make this an enthralling action RPG that will keep you hooked throughout. Although the side missions and some of the hub world extras feel a little unnecessary, the slick gameplay will keep you coming back for more.

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly is a remarkable piece of interactive horror history. The nuanced storytelling and atmosphere immerse you in its strange, haunting world, while the Camera Obscura offers a unique mechanic that adds tension to every encounter. However, although the remake remains close to the source material, it doesn’t provide the significant upgrade that other modern revivals of iconic titles have delivered. Much of the original era’s DNA remains, with some clunky controls and awkward animations hindering the experience. Regardless, this is still a remake of a classic. Despite its flaws, fans and newcomers can immerse themselves in a pillar of the survival horror genre, one that continues to haunt with its eerie village and tragic story.

Saints Row is unrealistic in the best way possible, and what it lacks in substance it makes up for in outrageous antics and a priceless, middle-school sense of humor. It’s an absolute riot, and it never seems to draw its boundaries. Steelport is an adult playground for blood, gore and sex, and there’s no consequence for the violence and chaos you can induce. Almost everything about the remaster is fantastic, from the catchy soundtrack to the buttery smooth combat. It’s not a game you’d want your children to play by any means, but for everyone else of appropriate age and discretion, it’s a wicked good time.

Sora succeeds in providing a satisfying toolset for players to mix and match playstyles and attacks. The sheer number of mechanics adversely gets in the way of consistently fun combat as players are bound to forget the dozens of weapons and dash combinations triggered by an insane number of button commands that are introduced.