Doomsday Vault is a charming title with a great message. I just wish there was a bit more of a narrative to help drive the player along, as I didn’t feel particularly inspired to move forward even though I knew I needed to. As a game for casual gamers or for the younger players getting into puzzlers, I would definitely recommend it. If you’re looking for a game with a deep narrative, more challenging puzzles, and question spending approximately $17.99 on a game that can be completed in a little over 2-3 hours, then you may not be as happy with this title.

Greak: Memories of Azur is a heartfelt, thrilling adventure. With three leading characters, the game has managed to carve its own identity within a crowded genre. The jaw-dropping visuals and intricate soundtrack ooze atmosphere, enticing you to explore every inch of the world. Although controlling several characters at once can be troublesome, it takes nothing away from this fascinating, methodically paced, puzzle-platforming quest about family, home and hope.

When it’s all said and done though, Dodgeball Academia is much better than I was expecting. I enjoyed the style, the zaniness, the characters, and only got frustrated by the gameplay a couple of times. Given my childhood history with the sport and my general anger over not being able to win in every game, a couple of times of frustration is a MASSIVE win. While the RPG elements to it are a little on the light side, the open-ish world and all of the side quests/daily challenges you get to tackle on top of the story have you 3 hours deep into dodgeball games before you know it. The fun and light hearted aspects of the game outweigh the negatives, making Dodgeball Academia a good pick up if you’re looking to hear that SPLAT once more.

Foreclosed is a stylish title that integrates comics and video games. The use of panels is exemplary and helps to communicate the narrative. With the symbiote revolver and intuitive hacking, the game has implemented many features successfully. Unfortunately, the repetitive gameplay and sparse environments affect the overall experience. That being said, releasing at a budget price, comic book fans may want to check out this intriguing title.

The Hero’s Journey does yeoman’s work as a structure for Seed of Life, and the game boasts some imaginative environments and challenging puzzles in service of a classic tale of discovery. Where action, platforming and precise input are called for, Seed of Life shows its mechanical limitations and wonder is sometimes replaced by frustration, but fans of puzzle adventure games with a sci-fi twist might find something to appreciate about Seed of Life despite its issues.

Overall, it was hard to care for Ao and Bo’s story. The dialog was a slog. The character’s perspectives often changed too fast. And while going over their dilemmas, again and again, I found myself not wanting to play anymore. I’d rather just go out for a beer and talk to them in person and let them know life is going to be okay. High school and college are but footnotes in hopefully a long healthy story of yourself. In the end, if you find yourself at this particular time in life, it might be worth experiencing their story. But if you’re past it, you may not find much here to resonate with.

Whether you think it’s an artsy and legit plot point or a cheap cop out (I tend to lean heavily towards the latter), Retired Men’s Nude Beach Volleyball League has appallingly simple and amazingly unattractive art, horrific control and mechanics, audio that sounds like it was ripped from an Edison cylinder (look it up, kids), and repetitive music. A purposefully crude game made as some sort of meta-comment on “real” games is not even close to being a new idea, and its high-concept absurdism and potential insights about aging are not worth the one to three hours it takes to “play” through to the end.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is not without its faults. The user interface is hardly user-friendly, opting for a simple recreation of the PC version without much thought given to console gaming. The Flight Training tutorials could have some added polish to make them more accommodating to aspiring pilots. And finally, if I’m going to crash, let me crash in style. Give me epic explosions or something to punctuate my failures – not just a simple black screen. If you’re currently an Xbox Game Pass subscriber, then you have no choice at all – download Microsoft Flight Simulator right at this moment and experience this amazing accomplishment in gaming. Yes, this game is a simulator, but it’s a simulator that does so many things right.

Wind & Leaves turned out to be a real bummer. The exploration and world history are intriguing and there’s no denying the beauty of the world as it speeds through growth when time is fast-forwarded. There is also some really good soundtrack music going on too. The intent of creating a Journey-like experience is clear but there are too many game mechanic missteps that break immersion. This a game some will no doubt like because of the world. It all depends on your tolerance level of the game mechanics.

Like a good diorama, Button City has a lot of fine detail. Sure the story is breezy and the characters are charming, but what about the games? What about the simple, engaging level design? I wish the sidequests were less about long walks, yes. I want a run button so very badly, it’s true. And the games could actually be harder. But I still want to visit this weird little town. I want to keep coming back to this arcade, I want to get sick of the only good games, I want to save up for the only good prizes. Whether you remember places like this or not, Button City is a delightful escape to the lost world of arcades. Heck, if you’ve got one in your town, this might convince you to start going again.

On the surface, Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle looks like a children’s card game with glorified animation, but it is actually more than that. With solid battles and structured rules, a large variety of cards, and a lot of NPCs specializing in different classes, every time you challenge someone it feels like a completely new experience. While following a cheesy and fun storyline in this RPG, the card game remains consistent and the characters predictable, making it easy to focus on strategizing and advancing to the top. Sure, there are moments where the repetition is evident, but there aren’t many RPGs that don’t require grinding.

For the Dark Souls fan who sees every From Software game as a validation of the “git gud” mentality, Eldest Souls will probably scratch a persistent itch. For everyone else, especially those who appreciate Souls-like games for their journeys and not their boss destinations, Eldest Souls may seem too focused on doing one thing, no matter how well it succeeds. Eldest Souls is designed around frustration and challenge, and if that’s your idea of a good time, then this game is for you.

Overall, City of Gangsters is a fine title that attempts some fun twists on the 4X genre. The setting is excellent, the art is good, and the music is atmospheric. It would have benefitted from a little voice acting, especially in the tutorials, as this game has a lot of text to read. City of Gangsters demonstrates that the 4x genre works just as well in miniature as it does in grand, sweeping epic spans of history.

Fuga: Melodies Of Steel is a tricky game to review. It’s likely not what anyone is looking for. Not only is it different gameplay-wise from the other Little Tail Bronx games, but its linearity will also turn off many RPG fans. What it is though, is very good. CyberConnect2 certainly achieved their vision with this strange adventure. Though Fuga’s audience may be extremely niche, those who play it, without expectations, will be in for a treat.

One could make a long list of things that Jupiter Hell isn’t, but that would be missing the point and the prize. Jupiter Hell is an easy-to-understand, but challenging and addictive roguelike, with turn-based action that never gets bogged down with the minutiae of facing, hexes, grids, or overly-complex mechanics. Instead, it zeroes in on cover, position, tactics, and the smart use of the tools at hand. The procedurally generated elements are the stuff of hit and miss, luck of the draw, run-ending frustration, and occasionally some pretty barren levels. Aside from that, Jupiter Hell is a focused and fun homage to an era of shooter where you never knew what was around the next dark corner.

All in all, NEO: The World Ends with You manages to escape the pitfall of being a period piece by taking the Heathers approach to youth culture and focusing more on capturing the feeling of youth than trying to accurately portray the ever-shifting trends. It has a fun cast, an interesting story, and a much more straightforward battle system with room to spend ages gathering collectibles and getting your pin load-out just right. Unfortunately, its cast is generally more well-adjusted than the original game’s traumatized teenagers, meaning that this game doesn’t hit quite as hard as the original The World Ends with You.

Thanks to offering only two factions and a limited number of modes, Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector might not be the deepest or most complete strategy game ever made, but it’s definitely one of the best and most authentic uses of the license to date. Challenging strategic battles, appropriately melodramatic voice work, more than decent graphics, and a respectful translation of the tabletop game to a digital format make this a must-have for fans of the franchise, and even appealing for casual strategy fans who are not yet invested in all things Warhammer.

It wouldn’t be unfair to summarize Ragnarock by saying it is Beat Saber with a Viking theme. And it is undoubtedly another solid VR workout game that will have you burning boatloads of calories, but having so much fun you won’t notice how sweaty you are. But Ragnarock lacks some of the elements that make Beat Saber great; there isn’t enough variation in the rhythmic actions you do to the music, and the playlist of songs is a bit paltry (although the devs have said they will be adding to it). Combine that with mediocre visuals and Ragnarock is a decent game and fun way to get a great workout, but one whose repetition might make you want to hang up your helmet after a while. Pick this one up if you’re a fan of Norse themes, you’re looking to take a break from Beat Saber … or you just want to rock.

Volta-X has its enjoyable moments and provides a decent strategy experience with a fair level of difficulty. Since I like to take my Nintendo Switch with me when I head out, I do wish the offline mode had more content but nothing’s stopping me from playing this when I am home. Even though the story may not have been the wow factor, I can feel a lot of love was poured into the game, and this is evident in the smooth controls, colorful designs, and of course, the webcomic. Though battles can feel repetitive after a while, its intuitive controls make it easy to put down and pick back up the next day, and Volta-X is enjoyable enough for you to want to do so.

The world of Henford-On-Bagley is absolutely breathtaking and has such a fairy-like and whimsical charm. EA really did a wonderful job capturing the rustic vibe of the European countryside. There are a few flaws with inventory management and the relatively scant wardrobe options, but you can still really enjoy your time on the farm. Because honestly, what’s better than being able to hug and pet your cows and llamas!

Ultimately, Grime is an overall successful transposition of the 2D Soulslike subgenre into a new and engaging world. Although it lacks the emotional richness of the best Souls games, Grime’s striking environments, solid combat, imaginative enemies and original mechanics all work together in harmony, and it clearly establishes a formula that is open to refinement and possibility.

A steady diet of musou games would most certainly lead to nutritional deficiencies, but now and again playing a game like Samurai Warriors 5 is a great reminder of how much fun the genre can be. There’s almost always a least a hint of repetition in these games, including this one, but with its balance between well-told story and fluid action, memorable characters, and epic battles, Samurai Warriors 5 is both an excellent way to dive into the franchise and a welcome new direction for longtime fans.

Orcs Must Die! 3 isn’t much of a step (let alone, a leap) forward from the last installment, but after eight years maybe it’s just enough to remind people that hey, this fun fantasy franchise is still alive and kicking. It has modest ambitions but it’s certainly not a disappointing installment, and Orc Must Die! 3’s blend of action, tower defense and puzzle-solving remains unique and entertaining.

It’s hard to believe this game was released originally five years ago. However, the sentiments about loneliness, love, and what it means to be alive and human are still incredibly prevalent today. For those who want a more narrative-focused experience with a bit of gameplay set amongst a romantic Sci-fi theme, I would certainly recommend this game to you. It’s an incredibly endearing adventure, and with two different endings and multiple love interests, I would say doing more than one play-through is absolutely worth it.

Unbound: Worlds Apart is an excellent Metroidvania that is a must for fans of the genre. The imaginative use of the ever-evolving portals ensures that each area feels unique, helping to create a great sense of pace. Although there are some performance issues, they don’t spoil the beautiful adventure through this grand, fantasy world.

Chernobylite certainly has ambitions beyond being a rote shooter and although not everything meshes and the gears of its systems sometimes grind, the setting feels authentically haunted and foreboding. There’s a lot going on in Chernobylite, and sometimes the melancholic love story at the center gets buried under unnecessary game play complications, tepid combat or shifts of tone. In other words, it’s all still a bit messy but interesting and worth playing for shooter, RPG or horror fans, especially those fascinated by this particular moment in modern history.

If you’re desperate for a platformer, you might find some redeeming qualities here. Overall, the game took me under 5 hours to beat, but completionists might need an extra few hours. This game could have been something exceptional, and hopefully, the devs take this criticism as an opportunity to add more polish to the game with future updates.

Not every game or genre needs to appeal to every gamer. Hell Let Loose is built for hardcore multiplayer shooter fans with a desire to move away from the casual and sometimes irrelevant teamwork that makes easier games well, easier. Hell Let Loose demands commitment, cooperation, and enough patience to learn the game through several hours of painful, frequent death and have a genuine willingness to contribute to a squad instead of being a lone hero. Meet these requirements and you’re in for a singular and memorable battlefield simulation.