If there’s a sticking point to really enjoying Xuan Yuan Sword VII, it’s that not everyone will respond to its pace and insistence on story and character over action. While its mythology, history and politics are firmly rooted in Chinese culture, this 20-hour family drama is moving, universal and entirely relatable, and its action is rewarding. For those with patience, Xuan Yuan Sword VII is a unique and memorable action roleplaying game experience.

A fast-paced and easy-to-navigate game, there is never a dull moment in Headland. Levels don’t take forever to clear. Rewards are not impossible to earn, and death and failure are forgivable. Headland has a simple plot with a fearless protagonist. It features quick battles without requiring players to think deeply about their actions and choices. Though it may not have a memorable story, Headland provides more than a momentary enjoyment for would-be adventurers.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes is a unique tale from the crypt of Supermassive Games. The intriguing premise and methodical pacing help to build an overwhelming sense of trepidation, making you question what lies in the myriad of breathing shadows. Although the final third lacks the ambition and ingenuity of its early segments, it’s another great example and celebration of the horror genre.

Dreamfall Chapters – Episode 1 does an excellent job of laying the groundwork for what is to be sure to be a helluva journey.

Styx: Shards of Darkness had the potential to be a really fun and clever stealth game in a high-fantasy setting with a memorable and witty protagonist. Unfortunately, it never progresses beyond being a moderately functional game with low-fantasy aspirations and an irredeemable main character that would be pretty forgettable if he wasn’t so damn annoying.

Haven is a noteworthy story that defines what it is like to find your home with your loved one. Yu and Kay have their ups and downs, but Haven shows that love conquers all hardships. The game is about exploring and finding new places, and of course being free to love whoever you want. Like all relationships the game isn’t perfect, but it successfully presents a warm and powerful narrative that demonstrates an adult relationship with characters that we can all relate to.

If you don't mind being patient, however, Mundaun might be right up your alley. The hand-drawn graphics are beautiful yet unsettling, the worldbuilding is baked into every surface, and the lonely horror atmosphere reaches some terrific high points. If you don't mind some long walks through the mountains, there's a compelling story here, just waiting to be told.

Evil Dead: The Game is mostly everything I hoped it would be. It’s a fun, logical next step in the asymmetrical multiplayer horror genre. Sure, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it did enough to reinvigorate my passion for this type of experience. I’ll be keeping a close eye on Evil Dead: The Game over the next few years. It’s a few maps and some solid single-content away from being truly great.

In one sense, spending hours mowing virtual lawns in a game could be considered a ridiculous waste of time. But aside from being a satisfying management sim, the act of mowing lawns in Lawn Mowing Simulator can be surprisingly relaxing and maybe even a little inspiring. This isn’t a lawn mowing version of Formula One, where you play a plucky kid with a push mower dreaming of glory on a shiny, souped- up John Deere. But it’s also much more than a one-joke game. Lawn Mowing Simulation is a full-featured product with a very specific focus, and a pretty well-made one, at that.

Lamplight City is the rare detective game where the mysteries are challenging to solve and satisfying to do so. While the world-building often doesn’t stand up if you peel back the initial layers and there are frustrating elements to the way cases stack against each other, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the world of New Bretagne and the mysteries inside of it. The game handled sensitive topics with real care and integrated them seamlessly into the story of Miles Fordham.

There’s lots to do in this game, there’s lots of challenge and it all works pretty smoothly. But Project Highrise just feels flat and never achieves the “just one more turn” level of addiction that I love in the best sim titles. Despite its strengths, including the extra content in the Architect’s Edition, there’s a certain je ne sais quoi that’s lacking – be it color, humor, variety, what have you – that had me just wishing I could hang up my hardhat after not too long.

Where Cards Fall is a lovely puzzler that fails to capitalize on its innovative premise. While The Game Band nails the design, the gameplay experience is hindered by fiddly controls that mar the experience. Puzzles are enjoyable offering a suitable level of challenge but fail to deliver any truly memorable moments. Although the developer’s desire to tell a sympathetic narrative is clear, its delivery lacks the nuances required to engage the audience. Even though there’s an ace somewhere in the hole, several issues leave the game in the lurch.

MADiSON is a solid, polished indie horror game. It struggles with pacing because of the mechanics involved with the puzzles. For collectors and completionists, you may find some replay value as you can collect camera skins and special photos.

Treasures has a lot of good building blocks, but they don’t add up to much. The gameplay loop starts out compelling, but it quickly goes stale. The visual presentation is alright, but the music is terribly flat. And the act of traversal, of actually exploring, left me unsatisfied. Worse, I never felt like I was working towards anything particularly interesting. Money eventually ends up meaningless in most RPGs, and this game does not buck that trend. If you find yourself hopelessly compelled by the prospect of hunting for loot, this might be your game. Otherwise, I can’t really recommend Dragon Quest Treasures.

Mirror of Fate is as enjoyable reboot, if you will, to an age-old franchise. The game has all the right elements to make it fun and enjoyable. Sure, it has a few issues but fans of the series, and genre as a whole, will most likely love it even if it does bristle with the liberties in the storyline. That being said, the casual fan may have trouble with the sometimes-tough control and dark undertones of the subject material.

Dead Rising 4 took everything that was great about Dead Rising 3, removed the timer, and brought back the franchises most prominent protagonist in a big way. The game isn't without it's faults. You're more than likely going to encounter the occasional glitch, some of which may require reloading a previous checkpoint. Also, the lack of co-op in the main campaign is a huge disappointment, but the separate co-op campaign is an okay compromise. Dead Rising 4 is an absolute must for fans of Dead Rising.

Men of War 2 appears more approachable than it actually is. There’s a depth and complexity that’s rewarding to master, but getting there takes a lot of time. Fans of the original will find it to be a worthy sequel. Casual RPG players might feel a little overwhelmed at first. Although there’s plenty of content for single players, Men of War 2 really comes into its own with or against other humans on the battlefield. In that genre, it’s one of the best.

The NHL series hasn’t drastically changed the formula for fifteen years, so why would I expect NHL 21 to be any different? I certainly appreciate that Be a Pro has been fleshed out, but I’d trade it in a heartbeat for a game that looked and felt like an NHL broadcast. I stand by that it plays as well as it ever has. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a proper representation of the sport. And most of the changes that have been implemented haven’t translated in the way I hoped they would. The defense is still sporadic, your teammate AI is still clueless, and goalies still get beat by the same exploit goals. If EA Vancouver ever hopes to stand alongside the giants of the genre - NBA 2K and MLB The Show - they’ll need to rethink what simulation hockey really means.

Havok comes across as more of the same old featuring four maps, a new weapon and an Exo Zombie mode featuring the likes of John Malkovich and Bill Paxton.

If you can swallow (heh, bird puns) the basic idea, there are a lot of weird and wonderful stories to be uncovered in Hatoful Boyfriend. Just don’t expect to do much actual playing.

A fun, thrilling – and yes, very scary ride. Its amazing visuals and fascinatingly-creepy environments will have you hesitating at times, jumping at others, but always pushing onwards to uncover the story of its insane protagonist.

Both the storyline and gameplay in the Zombie Army series have that classic “B movie” vibe to them, and with a storyline as insane as this one, it just feels right as the game is self aware and gives the audience what they would want, including tons of gore, humour, and satisfying kills. Rebellion really took things to the next level, not only with tons of variety of undead, but missions and areas to explore. There is so much game here with replayability and I hope it will be expanded with some DLC or online challenges. Even if this is your first time experiencing the Zombie Army franchise, or a game like this, this is a great title to start with. Rebellion really has perfected the zombie shooter. So grab a drink and lets go!

Aside from the wonky camera, the battles are fast-paced and rewarding that makes the game stand out amongst other Final Fantasy titles giving a unique experience.

When you consider the cross platform abilities, low price tag and just the enjoyably ridiculous nature of the game, I think it's safe to say Clever Beans did a great job for their first game out of the gate.

CastleStorm VR is a relatively enjoyable game with an addictive loop, and it’s easy to lose hours to it. While I wish more was done on the VR side, it’s a solid addition to the game. It doesn’t do much to improve the lackluster story or repetitive gameplay, however. Addictive or not, some variety would not hurt at all.

There’s definitely a market for this game, but I completely understand why so many long-time fans are so upset. It feels like Ubisoft basically tried to dumb down an amazing series to gain more popularity, and I’m not so sure expansion packs can fix this.

Just Dance 2014 is about the about as good as it gets when it comes to a virtual dancing simulation game for your Wii U. With over 48 tracks available at launch and the possibility of more DLC to come, it is perfect for those tweens, teens and adults looking for a fun social game to play.

Ultimately, great controls and some occasional laughs aren’t enough to stop Loadout from being an average game and one that doesn’t deserve your time. However, it does have one positive effect and that is, it makes you want to play UT2K4 again and that my friends, is never a bad thing.