I’d still recommend trying out Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy just to see some of the interesting ideas floating around, and how not to design jumping in a game. It puts an interesting game-ified twist on Egyptian mythology and shows how far influence can take a project, as there are multiple prominent moments where the game is clearly trying to emulate the feel and pacing of a Zelda title. But in a time where remasters and remakes are a dime a dozen, THQ Nordic may want to put a little more effort into their IPs next time around.

If you’re more of a casual racing fan looking for something different, it might scratch that itch, especially if you prefer more simulation-style racers over arcade racers.

Angry Birds: Isle of Pigs recognizes the appeal of its predecessor and delivers physics-based puzzles in spades. There are no gimmicks here, just good old bird-flinging fun. Isle of Pigs may not reinvent or reinvigorate the franchise, but it shows that Angry Birds certainly has a home on VR. If Rovio goes on to release as many sequels and spin-offs on VR as they have on mobile, well, that may not be a bad thing after all.

The story isn't engaging, the overall gameplay loop is weirdly off-balance, and the combat won't surprise you. But if you want to sink into that loot cycle, be it for better scythes or snappier clothes, you'll make yourself at home in no time. God Eater 3 is a delightful smashup of monsters, swords and skintight leather. Just don't be surprised when you discover that's all there is.

Through effective storytelling and creative puzzles, My Memory of Us did an excellent job of retelling horrible events that took place through strong and imaginative analogies. The topic was no doubt a dark and heavy one, but the game was able to successfully highlight the love, support, and care people had for one another during these troubling times. While the length of the game was a little on the short side, My Memory of Us was a powerful story with enjoyable puzzles that has left an impact regardless of its length.

Desolate definitely has some mega aspirations for such a short game. The developers are clearly acting under the influence of some major titles that have dominated the genre and for a game at a $19.99 price point, it delivers … for now. While we were playing, we talked it over as a group and we think the game is definitely worth the sticker price — we all agreed that there was a really good foundation, but there’s a long way to go. More story, more quests, more character customization, and more rewards appear to be on the horizon. The framework for Desolate is super solid, but it’s time to flesh this out before folks lose interest.

In the end, I am still enjoying Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal as I continue to play through it. It’s a fun, vapid and over the top action game that doesn’t shy away from what it is – a game about sexy ninja girls. Sometimes I don’t need a game to be deep or hit me with the feels, sometimes I just need to relax and undress my opponents, and really, is that such a bad thing to ask?

Episode 2 might be a slower entry in the episodic series, but it gave me enough meaningful content and satisfying gameplay to enjoy playing throughout. Life is Strange 2 isn’t about Daniel’s telekinesis. It’s about the relationship between Sean and Daniel, two brothers who’ve been torn from their normal lives by unforeseeable circumstances. While the supernatural enhances the story, it never drives the emotional connections. As before, I look forward to that wonderful nerve-wracking experience of learning what terrible and joyous things will happen to the brothers next.

Episode 3, Broken Toys, has me suitably excited to see The Walking Dead: The Final Season out to its conclusion. The various moving narrative parts are coming together for what will undoubtedly do the series proud – and bring to proper close the journey of Clementine, the one consistent thread uniting all the series’ seasons. Like hungry Walkers, fans are slowly shuffling towards March 26th, when we get to sink our teeth into Episode 4.

Octahedron: Transfixed Edition is a solid and deceptively simple platformer that uses its challenging structure, pumping rhythm, and striking visuals to create a package designed to overwhelm the senses. While each part is solid, the final product wasn’t enough to hook me into playing long term. The challenge was refreshing and the visuals more than pop, however, the game advises you to follow the rhythm and it didn’t quite feel in sync enough with all three aspects to do so. It’s an impressive and ambitious title, but not one as memorable as it ought to be.

Even with my frustrations with the interface, the game itself made me want to keep going. I credit the style of gameplay and my total need for world domination for that. Anything related to the Roman Empire is compelling, but even though I sank 14 hours into this game, I didn’t even get strong enough to unlock any of the other clans. I got closer, though, with each restart, but in my last playthrough, I found myself stuck because right after creating a fishing and galley joint army to begin an exploration mission, my game crashed. I tried returning to the previous save, but it won’t allow me to play in that Kingdom again. So I suppose, my conclusion is that the game has a lot of potential and I intend to keep playing it. I get the feeling that a lot of this will be worked out in time.

While each element of this game had it’s ups and downs, I was still able to get sucked right into the battles on every stage. Even when battles dragged towards the one-hour mark, the rhythm of construction and conquest was compelling. The catchy music and the destructible environments meant that each fight was fun, even when it was frustrating. Though there were some flaws and stumbling points, I can still easily recommend 8-Bit Hordes to anyone looking for a simpler stroll through RTS territory.

Reviewing Everything feels so embarrassing. After discussing it for a few minutes, I feel like I want to thank you all for coming to my TED talk. That’s because it’s so impressionistic, existential, philosophical … all the things people invoke when they want to convince you that video games can be art. But Everything has a leg up on a lot of those art-installation-as-games. Everything is also a lot of fun!

Sure, there are some big giant bosses to battle here and there, but they certainly aren’t challenging. There are relatively few things that are firmly something I dislike. By the same token, however, there isn’t really anything that stands out to me as something I really enjoyed about it. While JackQuest may be technically proficient it just doesn’t really move the needle in any one direction. It’s the gaming equivalent of what you had for breakfast last Tuesday. You’re pretty sure you ate something, but you certainly don’t remember what it was.

It’s been a long time coming, but between the metric ton of single-player content, potent multiplayer, and overall polish, it’s clear that there’s a reason Wargroove was so highly anticipated.

There’s a sense of finality to it – from the very start, it feels like the end of something epic and carries that feeling throughout the entire game. Superfans are going to be thrilled at every turn and newcomers will appreciate the bizarre, unmatched genre-blend of Disney and anime culture. Kingdom Hearts 3 is still some of the most genuine and wholesome fun I’ve had in thirteen years, and even though to some degree it is more of the same that we’ve seen from past titles with more polish, finesse, and technological magic, but in a way, that’s what makes it feel like home.

It might be a bit pricey for the amount of content you get, but Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is a well-crafted fighter combat experience with lots of high-flying fun. It pulls you in right away with a nice balance between arcade action and detailed realism, and the core dogfighting experience is consistently enjoyable. Plus, if you’ve got a PSVR this is a must-play, with a level of immersion that you’d need a real airplane – or maybe one of those military training simulators – to match. Strap yourself in, rookie, because Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is a wild ride.

SHP may provide a diversion to youngsters for a short while but everyone else will quickly wander off for more fulfilling experiences. It’s a shame too, because the tone and look of SHP deserve a better game.

Aftercharge’s unique concept makes it worth checking out. The 3-v-3 setup manages to pack a lot of fun in small doses while also keeping the scales balanced on both sides. Aftercharge forces players to use their heads over their trigger finger and it’s here where the game really begins to shine. It’s a shame then that there just isn’t enough content here to keep players coming back. Aftercharge looks, sounds, and plays the part but as of right now, it could do with a bit more meat on its bones.

The thing is, when the gameplay only consists of repeated, evenly-timed button presses, the game quickly grows old, even with as many game modes as Clock Simulator. As a result, I found myself bored after about thirty minutes. I will say, though, that the game did remarkably well to hold my attention for thirty minutes with only the single gameplay element. Unfortunately, once my interest waned, it never returned. However, the game is cheap, and I’d say it’s worth the buy if you’re looking for a silly way to kill half an hour, especially with friends.

There is a ton of content that definitely makes up the cost. However, at this price point, I would have liked seeing a physical release as well instead of it solely being a digital release. With the cute anime visuals, intricate character designs, vibrant and pastel color schemes topped with fun and catchy music, you’ll be in for an absolutely charming adventure with three very adorable girls.

Capcom gave clamoring fans exactly what they wanted. Each part of the experience whether it is the story, gameplay, visuals, or audio have all come together making Resident Evil 2 a fabulous complete package. While minor annoyances do exist, Resident Evil 2 (2019 edition) is about as flawless as one could hope for. Bottom line, Resident Evil 2 is an outstanding remake and one you can purchase with confidence.

In addition to the lack of direction, Vane’s controls are floaty and often unresponsive, which makes puzzles and general navigation that much more frustrating. Collision detection is also relatively wonky at times, which is especially challenging in a game where all of the puzzles involve pushing something from one spot to another, or landing on a small piece of metal. The only bit of solace or reward that comes from operating these forklift controls is the severely underused smooth synthwave soundtrack.

All in all, this was a strong title that is a lot of fun for anyone, regardless of their attachment to the all-knowing behemoth that is the Mario franchise. The game should appeal to children with its ease to pick up (there’s even a mode to bring the difficulty down) and to adults with some downtime on their hands who want to rediscover (or discover) the world inside Bowser. While I don’t personally think it is the best introduction to the beloved franchise—I feel like I missed a lot of little things—it was never designed to be, and it is a strong title with good gameplay, fun comedy, and a lot of memorable scenes.

While Gear.Club Unlimited 2 seems to have a bit more to offer compared to its first Nintendo Switch release, unfortunately it is still lacking in the excitement department that other racing games have. There were not a lot of cars to choose from, the races felt slightly repetitive, and the long loading times were brutal. On the other hand, Gear.Club Unlimited 2 is decent on its own and can be exciting for new racers. However, if you want something more stimulating and comparable to previous racing game experiences, you may want to wait until a more cohesive and complete game is released.

The story is surprisingly quick to blaze through as well, but there’s a lot to come across that the game doesn’t really seem to force on you, and Pikuniku’s world and gameplay is just memorable enough that this is a fun little title you may get more mileage out of than you’d expect.

Regardless of the format, Gungrave VR doesn’t really offer any major reason to try it. It just exists, although even that is up for debate considering how little content is actually available. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it affair, the type of game I’ll forget I even reviewed a few months from now and should serve as more of a warning for the upcoming Gungrave GORE than a precursor. This gun belongs back in the grave.

Tales of Vesperia is one of my favorite Tales games and one of my favorite games from the last generation. While Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition could have benefitted from some quality of life improvements found in newer Tales games, the remastered version still holds up as one of the best Tales games available. Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition is a must-have for fans of the original release due to its new characters and is a great entry point for anyone new to the Tales series as well.