Over and over again, you will die. Maybe you’ll get better, faster, more responsive to the various threats that assault you. Maybe you’ll learn all the tricks and strategies needed to steamroll most enemies like target practice at a gun range. This still won’t help you when you round a corner and get ganked by some goddamned sentry the second before you reload. Then you get to watch the blood stream down your screen before you start the whole ordeal over again. Perhaps this masochistic dance will light a flame in your heart. You’ll think to yourself, “Finally! A game with some real challenge!” To you, I say good luck, godspeed and always be reloading. You’ll run out of health long before you run out of ammo.

If you enjoy action RPGs and don’t mind butting heads with enemies or bosses that will kill you in a couple hits, then check out The Surge. The few problems with it are certainly present, but they can be overcome through patience and perseverance. Just don’t underestimate the security forces, those guys are no joke.

The game this time around is more story and dialogue heavy, and I felt like it presented itself as more of a visual novel, however the battle system is quite good and remains mostly the same as the First and Second Chapter.

Playing through Empathy: Path of Whispers didn’t take me much time, yet I found myself wishing it were shorter.

Galactic Civilizations III: Crusade is not just another DLC; this feels like an expansion or maybe even a sequel to the original release. While this was one of my favorite games already, the improved depth and gameplay make the 20th or 30th hour just as fun and interesting as the first – and that is saying something. Stardock has made one of gaming’s best 4X strategy games even better, and this an essential purchase for series veterans and newcomers alike.

Prey starts off with a bang and does not stop as the Talos I aims consume you into its engrossing atmosphere and narrative.

If more hard-hitting story is what you’re after, then surprisingly 3C3C1D119440927 might just be for you. It will come across as just another arena mode for many, but there are enough little details layered in to make this combat-centric content worthy of any fan’s time. It’s a little pricey being over ten dollars, but I assure you that this one is definitely worth it.

Super Rude Bear Resurrection is a triumph in game design. It manages to make a highly difficult game of skill become playable to a wider audience without having to ease up on the challenge any. Making a player’s death, and thus what would normally be their mistakes, into a mechanic is pure genius, and results in one of the coolest games I’ve played. There’s even more depth for those that want a pure masocore experience, but the top-notch design shines no matter how one plays.

Most strategy players know the opening dozen or so turns are crucial to developing your tactics and what you do will make or break your experience. Dawn of Andromeda, however, makes you play the long game: enemies are virtually unable to rush you in combat as they are hindered by the same tech tree you are and this means the biggest rewards come later in the game. While this is a moderate introduction into the 4X genre, there simply isn’t enough of the necessary substance here to carry itself. Should construction times be cut or simplified at least players would have more to do, but as it stands it’s a lot more waiting than anyone will want to put in.

Moonfall does a lot of things not necessarily wrong, but to a lower quality than you might hope for in a purchased product. It’s Fishcow Studios’ second published title, so there’s hope for improvement in the future. If this were a browser-based free game, it would easily be nine out of ten. However, with a sticker price of a bit under ten dollars, it’s going to be average at best.

It does a lot of things right, but still feels like the sum of its parts don’t quite add up. When it comes down to it your enjoyment of Butcher will directly correlate to how quick and nasty you like your games. But if quick n’ nasty sounds good to you, you’re in for it, because Butcher is awfully quick and wonderfully nasty.

Overall, The Caligula Effect is an ambitious PS Vita JRPG that falls just short of expectations. While the game may not be the outstanding experience some have come to expect, it remains a decent title on an otherwise barren platform that can still be enjoyed. Despite being repetitive in a few aspects, The Caligula Effect’s story and battle system will be sure to keep you coming back for more.

The core gameplay is frantic and fun, but I’m always feeling bamboozled. You’re given a wide range of abilities that feel distinct and well-constructed, but they get you no closer to the top of the tower. The music is amazing, but it has to work very hard to dissolve my frustration. I hate myself for going back, but I feel compelled to anyway. In a way, this game is an amazing recreation of that ‘arcade’ feeling. You’re pumping in fistfuls of coins, desperately hoping that this time will be different. To the developers’ credit, this palpable frustration and compulsion to continue balance out pretty well. I’ve said out loud, to multiple people, that I hate this game. I recommend you play it yourself. I know I’m going to keep coming back to it for some time.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III is an enjoyable, challenging and rewarding RTS experience. Not everyone will be enamoured with its MOBA-flavoured gameplay, but there is no denying it makes for some frenetic and action-packed battle goodness much of the time. Just as with the game, fans will be divided into “factions” – players who like attack-oriented strategy will be completely in their element – while a minority (like me) who enjoy slower, defensive play will find that this game is more of an acquired taste.

One Dog Story started out as an ambitious project, with many ideas and references that unfortunately seems to have fallen short when it comes to embodying its proposal. I was never fully engaged in the experience, and while I do commend Big Ways for pressing on and finishing the game, perhaps not every dog should have its day.

Puyo Puyo Tetris isn’t just an arcade puzzle game; it’s packed with loads of different mode types, ways to play with others, and approaches to the puzzle genre. There’s so much to do in many more different ways that truly brings out both Puyo Puyo and Tetris in a unique way. Together, Puyo Puyo and Tetris make the ultimate stack, match, and clear game. If you even have the slightest urge to puzzle it out Puyo Puyo or Tetris style, give Puyo Puyo Tetris a shot, you won’t be disappointed.

Syberia 3 feels unfinished. It is buggy and rough in almost every way. It fails to be immersive in spite of some honestly impressive world building simply because it offers too many distractions. All of this is extremely disappointing, because I really want to play more of it but I can’t force myself to finish it in its current state.

Some of the games moments feel a little forced, but as a whole, everything fits together quite nicely. The game is incredibly linear, and it’s unlikely you’ll have any need to return aside from collecting some missed Trophies/Achievements. The experience is short, but ultimately well constructed.

Outlast 2 made me jump and cower more than any other game or movie has in the past year. If Red Barrels’ main goal was to make me want to hug my loved ones the moment the credits rolled then they succeeded with flying colors. Outlast 2 is a delightfully nerve-racking horror experience that serves up some of the most horrific and unsettling images you’ll likely see in a video game in 2017. Please enjoy.

GNOG is a sight to behold in virtual reality, but when that spectacle is taken away it becomes an incredibly charming, yet non-spectacular, puzzle game. The audiovisual experience trumps the puzzle design, and there’s not enough complexity for any real eureka moments to occur. KO_OP has made a game that’ll keep the player’s attention for the two hours it lasts, but one that fails to make any sort of lasting impact.

It truly suffers from a lack of personality.

As frustrating as the puzzles were, I still appreciated the game overall. I commend the developer for taking on such an odd corner of literature and creating a unique story inspired by a Bohemian author. The art and music are so well done that I hope to see more of what comes from this developer; furthermore, I hope to maybe see more of these themes explored in other games as well.

It’s incredible to me that a game with such maudlin themes and tense, haunting atmosphere could come from a team like Tarsier Studios, whose previous titles, Little Big Planet 3 and Tearaway, were so full of light and cartoonish whimsy. They’ve complete flipped the script on their previous oeuvre, crafting a work that left an indelible mark on me as a gamer and as a human being.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Fame and Strategy Expansion Pack is a much needed and sorely missed breath of fresh air into what was a somewhat dull experience for all but the most avid history fans. With new features that bend the rules on re-enacting the noble history of China, Romance of the Three Kingdoms is loosening its tie and taking a moment to remember that it’s a video game, and history doesn’t have to be boring.

Short, contrived, and occasionally frustrating; Episode 4 of New Frontier is so far the weakest of the bunch, and it’s up to the game’s finale to bring this entry back to the top of its game. The chaos of this episode’s conclusion has lots of potential for a thrilling conclusion, but it certainly reminds me why I feel it’s best to binge Telltale games at once, rather than wait through the agonizing weeks and months just to see a weaker episode that you know, will be forgotten.

The Dragon Quest Heroes series is an ambitious undertaking. Blending arcade-style action with RPG elements is a tricky balance, one that Heroes 2 doesn’t always manage to maintain.While it might bite off a bit more than it can chew, the end result is still good frantic fun. If you’re hungry for more Musou action, a Dragon Quest fan, or both, you can’t go wrong with this game.

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

The fact that there are some­ interesting mechanics trapped beneath the monotonous grind called Vroom makes it all the more disappointing. Poisoft has shown the ability to create fun portable experiences in the past, but all of the trappings that would normally keep players coming back are missing here. With little to offer other than some unintentionally hilarious dialogue exchanges, Vroom in the Night Sky is best avoided on the Switch eShop.