After a bumpy start with its combat, Pyre lives up to its predecessors with its rich lore, stunning art design, and interactive narrative. With the choices that you carry out altering the story, Pyre‘s diverse cast of characters in such an imaginative world makes it one to return to after you beat it, possibly again and again.

The Lion’s Song is a game that leans hard on its storytelling and pulls it off in fine fashion. The tale is intriguing and demands attention, while the element of choice adds some replay value for good measure. The story and novel visuals may not please everyone, and it’s definitely no Kentucky Route Zero, but for fans of the traditional adventure game looking for some more things to click on, The Lion’s Song is a fine choice.

Yonder takes many of the things, such as fishing and farming, that usually take a backseat and brings them front and center with rewarding results.

Accel World vs. Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight is a game for the fans. If you’re into one or both of these properties, it’s worth your time. If you’re not, while the freedom of movement and combat are fun, the environments are too dull and the story too boring and low stakes to really recommend it.

Kingdoms and Castles is a charming, relaxing, and easy to play real-time kingdom builder. Using simple polygons and vibrant colors, the game is heartwarming and challenges you to meet the needs of the people while expanding your empire.

When you accelerate away from the line for the first time, you quickly realize how clinical and devoid of character it all is.

The combat… my god the combat. I can’t imagine playing through the entire campaign with all that frantic button-smashing.

There’s someone out there who may enjoy Doctor Kvorak’s manic style, and if so, they may find a game with decent puzzle design. Even that person though, will have to brave the game’s difficult control scheme, and finicky physics. Doctor Kvorak picked some good influences, but doesn’t come close to matching their quality.

With some impressive titles already released this year, the Nintendo Switch continues its hot streak with Splatoon 2. This may seem like a bold statement but Splatoon 2 finds itself to be one of the best shooters available right now. Granted, it is hard to compare gritty AAA first-person shooters with Splatoon 2 but it's equally hard to argue against the aesthetically pleasing visuals, smooth framerate, polished gameplay, and pure fun of the game.

Antihero is a charming aesthetic package wrapped around a solid tactical core. If you can master the various systems at play, you can turn any situation into a victorious one. There are multiple paths to success, and you’re only funneled into a specific one if your opponent is absolutely dominating the board from start to finish.

While Absolution is by no means a disaster it just feels lacking in comparison to the rest of the content we’ve been given for Infinite Warfare so far. Although Absolution does add new content, and the Attack of the Radioactive Thing! is both complicated and fun, the multiplayer maps just don’t fit very well within the constructs of Infinite Warfare.

If you’re looking for a puzzler that tests your brain as well as your reflexes, then Death Squared will fit the bill nicely.

For the two hours it took me to complete, Minecraft: Story Mode Season 2 is off to a grand start. I never thought I’d enjoy something that’s so outside of my gaming ballpark, but I genuinely can’t wait to see how the rest of Jesse’s second journey unfolds, even if it’s not heavily weighted by my decisions.

A fractured, short, unrewarding experience that needs to figure out what it is before it says anything more.

Each level presents a new challenge, with some really forcing some outside-the-box thought in order to succeed, but there are moments where the difficulty becomes more frustrating than challenging. iFunForAll made a neat little game here, it’s just a shame that the execution wasn’t as clean as the main character’s work.

The pacing is still weird, even if it is breezier. The battle system will still turn you off if it did the first time. Still, this is Ivalice in all its glory. Enormous, beautiful, flawed and fiercely compelling. Even if you've already put a hundred hours in the original, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age can get its hooks in you, and deep.

Provides a solid amount of goodies to keep Breath of the Wild fans occupied through the summer months.

Technical issues aside, sadly Cryptark ends up being a middle of the road roguelike. It has some well thought out and unique ideas that get lost in the business of everything around it.

Astro Boy: Edge of Time is a fun and functional CCG, it just doesn’t do a whole lot to stand out from the many other like it.

It’s smart, the jokes are funny, and the story is incredible with some excellent twists. I fell in love with its canvas visuals and character interactions, making this one of my favorite point-and-click adventure games in recent memory. It plays wonderfully on console and its charm is never lost. Its relatively short length isn’t a detriment in the slightest; It only encouraged me to fall for it over and over again.

A delightfully charming game with some irritating design flaws that prevent it from achieving excellence. While the characters are fun and their abilities are creative, the puzzles they’re used for lack the level of challenge that’s become expected from modern indie games, and the fast-travel system often forces you to spend lots of time backtracking. That said, there’s still a lot of fun to be had in this world, and the beautiful aesthetic and fantastic musical accompaniment will keep you entertained at even the most tedious moments.

The real kicker here is that Air Missions: HIND features some incredibly detailed helicopter models – almost full simulation quality – and initially looks like it has bags of potential. Sadly, it doesn’t even come close to realizing it.

It’s evident MXGP3 is not an AAA racing game. With 22 people on small dirt tracks, the races are often fast-paced and exciting and the bike physics add a surprisingly realistic touch. Unfortunately, with its so-so graphics and lackluster game modes, the rest of the experience feels somewhat rushed and unpolished.

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.

The premise is amazing, and your first hour or two with the game is stellar, but the long term enjoyment you’ll get out of it depends on what level of tedium you’re willing to tolerate.

While the gameplay might be repetitive and clunky at times, the game encourages players to return, and the town building aspects are quite addicting.

Elite: Dangerous is a well crafted and complex space simulation in flight, combat, and a number of RPG elements such as resource management, questing, and upgrading gear. With real world science creating the games universe and some very nice graphics, the game’s downfall comes from the overly complex controls used for flight, making the game difficult for newcomers who may be expecting a more user friendly experience.

Get Even is a fun, stylish mind-bending adventure that I found very enjoyable for much of my play through. Each part of the game plays like an episode from Cole’s past, and each offers a fresh twist in play style and tone that keeps the experience fresh.