DLCs are often targeted at those wanting to expand the core game. Ashes of Elrant, though, is largely more of the same. Problems in Chained Echoes' main quest, like the grind of battle, lack of player progression or questionable ending, are not addressed in the slightest. Those looking for a story-adjacent experience will be interested, but anyone after something new is going to want to pass.

Even though Earthfall is, in most respects, mechanically sound and competently designed, it's still a hard game to recommend. This co-operative FPS never successfully manages to step out of the shadow of its inspiration. The ability to set up defensive measures, including turrets and barricades, is pretty neat. However, that's not enough, particularly when every other moment feels overly familiar and sometimes worse. All in all, this rendition of humanity's last stand won't hold anyone's attention for very long.

In anime-styled puzzle horror adventure High School Dirty Secrets, a student wakes trapped in a dark school where a killer and plenty of girly panties can be found, and while said school has a very good, oppressive atmosphere, the almost goofy use of fanservice, the repetitive walking-simulator gameplay and the not-that-well-handled story make this fail both as a scary ride, as well as an engrossing quest filled with mystery and riddles.

Fans of sandbox or crafting games might be pleased with the package, and can bump this score up at least a point or two. For others, this has some serious flaws with its user interface, and simple constructing/crafting is often aggravatingly difficult, which unfortunately drags down what otherwise is an okay, if repetitive title. It is really sad, as at its root, this could be a gem, with some simple patches or design overhauls, and appeal to a far greater audience.

It's not clear why Code of Princess on 3DS was ever a cult hit; maybe because it was the only action RPG on the 3DS at the time? Organising a local multiplayer session ends up taking up more time than the time spent playing together since the core gameplay of Code of Princess EX is very shallow and very tedious. Battles just drag on for an eternity as heroes constantly wail on goons, making everyone who is playing feel only regret. What a waste of excellent character designs that they have to be used in such a milquetoast beat 'em up.

Without its atrocious AI Hotshot Racing is okay. With it, it's a racing game to avoid. Genre aficionados, especially those who lean towards the more arcade side of the scale, will manage to quench their thirst for a bunch of evenings, but it's unlikely this will stay with you for long.

Exit the Gungeon does a charming job at taking the original's core gameplay loop, and flipping it on its head, but the follow up is more glorified mini-game than it is spin-off. The controls are mechanically tight, and the emphasis on dodge rolling compliments the vertical level design well, but losing the dungeon crawling that defined Enter the Gungeon (and subsequently the thrill of finding secrets) is a tremendous loss. An emphasis on RNG also makes it difficult to enjoy the gunplay, as most weapons gone as soon as they appear. Exit the Gungeon may have Enter the Gungeon's chaos, but it lacks its soul.

This is a series that has far more iterations and versions that anyone could possibly imagine. While a huge contributor to the 'grand strategy' genre, Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8, even remade and expanded, is too dense with too little payoff to highly recommend to anyone except series fans. General strategy gamers will be put off by the death-by-menu gameplay and lack of interesting things happening for what amounts to playing small hands of poker and shuffling Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

The joy here is not exploring, fighting, or experiencing a carefully written plot. Seven Pirates H is pretty honest with what it is, so you'll get some tiny amount of fun, but it will be in the form of extremely-casual-friendly gameplay, sexual innuendo-fuelled imagery and dialogue, and anime funbags that grow and change with a little caressing. Does this make the game any less repetitive? Unfortunately not.

Action roguelikes are a tough genre to screw up, yet Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree manages to do that. From lacklustre in-run upgrades, to permanent progression that is boring, to perhaps the biggest problem of how utterly dry combat is, it drops the ball in many locations. The better parts, such as the banter and voice acting, are not enough to carry the woefully lacking core gameplay.

Chronus Arc is not a bad old-school RPG by any means, but after all the time since its original release, it now suffers from the comparison with other games from even the same developer that are already out on Switch. If craving for more Kemco RPGs after having already finished every other already available on Switch then sure, it isn't bad, but if not, it's totally possible to do better on the same platform.

Gears of War meets Destiny… and the end result is mediocre. Take away the "coolness" of playing a gun totting superhero, and all you are left with is basically one more generic looter shooter, that doesn't manage to impress, neither with its repetitive gameplay, nor with its boring story and world building. Add to that a couple of technical and network issues, and you are in for a - pricey - treat.

Unfortunately, for as aesthetically and stylistically pleasant as the visual novel is, its script leaves quite a bit to be desired. It isn't so much that the story is bad - there's a very intriguing layer of horror that permeates over the narrative - but that dialogue is especially weak. Mordred is not a particularly compelling protagonist, and most of the character writing comes off distinctly voiceless and surface level. The story revolving around serial killing inspired by Greek Mythology is enough to keep the plot engaging, but it's hard to ignore a visual novel whose greatest flaw is its writing.

Arcadian Atlas had some solid concepts, the sprites in particular deserving serious commendation for being a highlight of the game that sprite fans will love. Unfortunately, from there the quality really slips; unreadable text, a lacklustre class and skill system, and disjointed art to name a few of the multiple little issues that drag the game down. there are too many little issues that drag the game down and prevent it being fun. The developers seem responsive and some of these issues may be addressed in future updates, but given that the game is being sold for a mid-range price, players should expect a better package.

Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate does an incredible job at showing where the roguelike genre started. Fans of this series and its 'all or nothing' gameplay will adore this port and all its new content. However, players new to this genre or this series will find very little good here. There has been no effort to reach out to a wider audience or bring this game forward to a level of modern quality. Although it is still the Shiren the Wanderer that fans know and love, it is more than obvious that this is a game stuck in time.

It is unfortunate that the last Atelier on Nintendo Switch before Switch 2 launches has so many issues. There is great strength in the Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land character personalities, stories and design, yet the world is either environmentally rich or totally empty with little in it to see and do. By the time the credits roll, Yumia is loved enough to replay for the story's sake, as well as enjoy the New Game Plus extra bosses to fight and clear everything 100% for completionists. Nonetheless, it is not an Atelier game that fully showcases why the series is so beloved. Perhaps if there is a sequel it will solve all the bugs that so heavily affect gameplay.

While building a Mars colony is a neat theme for a city builder, how that was executed in Per Aspera is underwhelming. Lots of time is wasted on simply waiting, and when you get to issue some orders there's not much in the way of thinking very hard about them. It's… ok, but that won't suffice.

KINGDOM of the DEAD is nice. Sadly, that's all there is to say about it. Putting the neat "ink & paper" art style and unique synth OST aside, what's left is a way too simplistic love letter to mid '90s FPS games that just doesn't manage to impress in any way. Fun, but it's the one evening kind of fun.

It's definitely not on the level of the 'big boys' of music games, but with a better budget, more time and more effort, there's something lurking under there that has potential.

Wreck-It Ralph is a solid platform adventure with a few enjoyable character-swapping puzzles thrown in. Unfortunately, it is over before it begins, lacks any multiplayer, skimps on the extras, and generally runs out of steam in the creative stakes. Whilst competent for the most part, it really does feel like a missed opportunity, especially given the amount of cameos that made it into the film but are absent here.

Despite featuring what's arguably the best combat system in the series, Bayonetta 3 is nothing short of disappointing. Bayonetta's core gameplay is outstanding, weaving fluid controls together with incredible weapon variety and tons of fun mechanics to play around with. The combo potential is high and battles just feel great to play… as Bayonetta. An unforgiveable amount of playtime is dedicated to newcomer Viola, stealth segments that make poor use of Jeanne, and relentless gimmick stages that wear out their welcome immediately. Tossing in mediocre level design, lacklustre performance, and a flavourless story that panders towards the current multiverse craze, it's clear PlatinumGames has lost its magic touch when it comes to the Umbran Witch. Bayonetta 3 is simply mediocre, at best.

Thanks to half the game not utilizing the Godheads, that half is relegated into a standard couch experience. Even when the gimmick is brought in full force, it has a tendency to feel more obnoxious than fun. Fans of arena style titles, but not those who like a lot of depth, will probably find something of value in Oh My Godheads' digital battlefields. However, this feels more like a base game, for which the developer can build upon later. It feels surprisingly empty, and in the hallowed halls of local multiplayer, like it's just too plain and bland overall - which is sad, because the first couple of hours are actually pretty fun.

You can make all sorts of island towns in Townscaper. Large and full of detail, small and cute, or messy piles of colourful rock. Your imagination is the limit… unless your boredom wins first. Oskar Stålberg's creation doesn't give you much to work with, and the end result always looks the same, no matter how extravagant and imaginative it is. As a whole, this is like a tiny sample of a meatier game. Fingers crossed for that ever becoming a reality, because it would then be a high recommendation.

Magic, animal-themed idol girls. Three visual novel "fetishes" combine into one, with the result being a mildly funny slice-of-life experience that gets boring really fast. Animal Trail * Girlish Square is just too generic a read to recommend to anyone but genre super-fans.

Although Saturday Morning RPG certainly captures the feelings of playing a Saturday morning cartoon, that quality may very well be its downfall. The episodic format, coupled with the fairly involved battle system, make for a breath of fresh air in the early game, but they quickly become repetitive and rather dull, much like a typical '80s cartoon.

One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows is unfortunately not the hero this city deserves… or needs. While it does a good job of capturing the aesthetic and charm of the One Punch Man universe via its cast of recognisable characters and suitably ludicrous character customisation, it doesn't quite hold its own as a video game. Instead, it stumbles in its presentation, content and, crucially, it's combat. With more of a focused vision on what it wanted to be it might have been able to set itself apart, but this is sadly not the case here.

Stay Cool, Kobayashi-san!: A River City Ransom Story is a mundane beat 'em up that's held aloft by a couple clever ideas. The combat is fun at first, but the doldrums set in long before completing the first of potentially many play-throughs. Some fights, particularly the finale, definitely could've used a few tweaks. Still, figuring out the fastest route to the end is really cool. It gives the adventure a tinge of replay-value. However, unless you "have" to play every game in the River City Ransom canon, then this won't catch your interest.

As bold, or unique the horror-meets-sex concept might be, the execution here is far from excellent… or great, or very good, to be honest. Lust from Beyond is a decent adventure, for sure, with a neat dose of Lovecraft in it as well. While it has its moments, it isn't really very effecting at being scary of discomforting, with the gameplay certainly being the least enjoyable aspect of it all. It's easy to find a lot worse in the realm of indie horror games, so if a big fan of the genre, do try it out if you get the chance to find it really cheap, just don't expect something that will stay with you for long.

Shelter Generations is a considerable disappointment. This whole package seemed filled with promise but each and every element is terribly flawed in its execution. Shelter 2 feels like an empty world, meaning it regularly begins to feel dull, and even when the world has enough content, there isn't enough development in the story or the core gameplay to keep things interesting.

Monkey Pirates is competently made but thoroughly average in almost every way.

Oceanhorn 2 has the odd moment which is really enjoyable, mostly limited to the puzzles and bosses within the dungeons. But there could be so much more here, there are glimpses of a game that could be really special, but it regularly loses the attention of its audience due to the barren open world. The presentation feels low quality and dated, the combat clunky, the world empty. This looked so promising, but is quite the disappointment.

Apex Legends is a live service experience, so there are reasons to be optimistic about the future of the title. The best advice at the moment to is to turn off cross-play and just compete against others with the same limitations. At its core, though, there is something really good here. Unfortunately, it's just hidden behind a wall of technical issues in terms of graphics, frame rate, resolution and overall stability. Panic Button is the king of Switch ports, though, and it feels like the developer deserves the chance to try and put this right. Fix the stability, adjust the graphics and work on cross-progression. If Panic Button can put things right, it will enhance its reputation to no end.

The Legend of Kusakari is flawed from the outset. While the idea of a grass-cutting simulator makes for a funny one-liner, it's near impossible to create an engaging experience from such a simplistic concept, and it quickly falls into the trap of mundanity. It may ooze charm, and the love poured into it is apparent, but it's much more difficult to enjoy in practice than in theory.

It's quite telling that Ever Forward's demo (released independently with the subtitle Prologue) isn't that much shorter than an actual full play-through. Despite the title's tense stealth sections, and fairly involved puzzle-solving, the fact of the matter is that the final product plays out like the tutorial to a much longer adventure that never starts. By the time Maya's story starts to breathe, and the core gameplay begins introducing complex and layered puzzles, the journey is more or less over. The atmosphere is commendable, as are the puzzles actually present, but the is sure to leave genre veterans disappointed, and newcomers desperate for some meat to chew on.

It's clear from the very first hour into the dark fantasy world of GRAVEN that this retro-flavoured FPS was not a victim of an incompetent developer, but one more example of internal problems that didn't let the team behind it complete its homage to titles like HeXen. The end result remains fun despite its many issues, like its unnecessary long length and unbalanced mechanics. Sadly, it's also very likely that players might stumble upon a game-breaking bug that will ruin hours upon hours of gameplay.

Oneechanbara Origin rights a lot of wrongs found in the early entries, yet it still feels oddly antiquated. The combat is riotous and entertaining, but the overall experience becomes monotonous after a few hours of play. Plus, it's barebones. With only a campaign and an endless wave survival mode, the game is slim on content, unusual since previous entries offered a lot of bang for their buck. It has a B-movie charm that's hard to resist, but other titles of similar fare have shown its possible to mix titillation with action to make a great time.

Series fans will find something to enjoy, yet those simply looking a fighting experience with friends will find this to be frustrating. Considering the studio's history, and the nature of the source material, this could be a natural win, but this is something that is fundamentally flawed. The Story Mode balancing results in far too little actual gameplay, and too much time on slow plodding wanderings through uninspired areas. When it comes to the actual playing, the combat is just as flawed as the rest of it all. Slow, easy to abuse, and repetitive. The only saving graces are the retelling of the source material itself along with the combination of the signature CyberConnect cinematic battles. It's such a shame, but it seems CyberConnect has gone backwards with this adaptation, losing every step of progress they moved on with each subsequent iteration of the Ninja Storm series. Thankfully, the huge popularity of the series almost guarantees there'll be more to come with this series, and CyberConnect may have the chance to revisit the world of Demon Slayer.

Whilst moderately enjoyable in brief multiplayer bouts, the game fails to hit the mark far too often.

There are some titles that have high replay value despite their simplicity, but Flip Wars is not one of them, as this is nothing but a simple mini-game turned full game. In other words, while this is definitely cheaper, better save that pizza money for Splatoon 2… or pizza.

Rock Zombie is playing on nostalgia from the time when arcade halls were everywhere and arcade styled beat 'em up titles were flooding the console market - the 'Golden Age' of arcade games. Sadly, however, due to misbalanced difficulty and an overly simplistic fighting system and enemy design, the game falls flat.

Super Dungeon Bros. is one of those games that is best described as inoffensive. It doesn't do anything wrong, but at the same time it doesn't do anything right, either. It is a perfectly fine multiplayer experience for roughly an hour or so, before things start to get boring and blend together. Single-player is not nearly as enjoyable, and the online player-base is essentially completely dead, but if you can wrangle up a friend (or three), there are certainly worse ways to spend an afternoon.

Sadly, Spirits is nothing more than a mediocre Lemmings rip-off; one that's has less variety in its mechanics and overall look (1991 pixel art FTW!), but mostly one that's just not that fun to play, mostly because of how it relies more in trial-and-error-ing through its badly implemented physics, rather than smart, skilful planning.

You would be better off buying two separate solitaire and Match-3 games, both of far better quality.

Shuten Order is a unique and stylish murder mystery visual novel with wild narrative ambition, but its lack of consistent execution, pacing issues, and underwhelming gameplay variety keep it from reaching the heights of its inspirations. It could have been really good if it was about a third as long. Each side branch takes 5-10 hours when about two is the max they should have ran. Mystery fans and visual novel enthusiasts may appreciate the experience, but most players might wish for a more focused, narrow adventure.

The Gunvolt series was one of the better, and cooler, platformer series in recent history; unfortunately the most recent games have just been entirely mediocre. Much like the previous Luminous Avenger, all the pieces are there for an absolute fantastic game, but it never comes together. Regrettably, the story in Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 is the weakest in the series, and the two main characters are far more annoying than entertaining.

The very idea of Cloudberry Kingdom's procedural level generation might be enough to entice people to give it a try, and, certainly, some will enjoy the challenge it puts up. However, the tediousness of the same-looking levels that can only be completed by being pin-point accurate and its quickly-growing frustrations don't really spur on any sort of drive to see the game through and, more importantly, deliver very much in the way of enjoyment.

Too easy, too simple, and more often than not, too dull and slow, LUNA The Shadow Dust counts on its beautiful, fairy-tail, dreamy graphics, and soothing OST, a bit too much than it should. It's not a bad point-and-click adventure, sure, and those who can look past its heavy flaws will be entertained for about two to three hours, but if it weren't for its stunning hand-painted world, few would give it a second look.

Anyone who was already a fan of de Blob will likely enjoy replaying it on the PS4. This is as straightforward as ports go, with no added features or graphical effects. Regretfully, the pre-rendered CGI cut-scenes have not been given the care they deserve, and the controls were not carefully considered when translating them to a DualShock 4. There should have been a bit more effort put into this instead of almost none. Some annoying control quirks aside, the core gameplay still manages to be addictive. The timeless style of the visuals and jazzy music gives this a charm that is rarely achieved. Hopefully, this will pave the way for the superior de Blob 2's PS4 conversion.

As always, M2 has done a commendable job at preserving a piece of gaming history. Shinobi was an early and influential action title that set things in motion for greater things to come. The amazing Mega Drive sequels would cement the franchise as a legitimate action platformer franchise that gave SEGA an edge over Nintendo. Even the two highly underrated PlayStation 2 releases could give Capcom a run for its money with their take on 3D character action. Only the most die-hard of retro game enthusiasts will get something out of SEGA AGES Shinobi. Everyone else would find a much more enjoyable experience with the other Shinobi instalments found in the SEGA Mega Drive Classics compilation, or by just downloading Shinobi (2002) onto a PlayStation 3 off of PSN.

This is the Police 2 is presented well, featuring a great visual style, accompanied by an equally great score, but a poorly penned script, coupled with gameplay that is not engaging, keeps it from realising its full potential.

The all-important battle system in Adventure Labyrinth Story is solid, but features such as a pointless story taint the game and leave it marred in mediocracy. Repeating the same dungeon over and over can feel a bit stale, although the randomised items and layout definitely help.

Shenmue 3 is a tough recommendation for general audiences. It won't please the die-hard fans of the originals due the step backwards in terms of game design. Neophytes who are curious about it will be confused and bored by the sleep-inducing pace, plus the how the voice acting has not changed since the early '00s. The visuals may have improved, and the loading times are a thing of the past, but this is still has the soul of a Dreamcast title. It won't live up to the expectations that fans have, nor will it excite interest in the franchise. Nothing of substance gets solved by the conclusion, and there's a lack of a pay-off to playing such an intentionally slow experience. The highs in Shenmue 3 involve doing what amounts to nothing; that is just taking in the atmosphere and exploring.

No, this isn't as good as those who have fallen in love with it say it is. In fact, for something that's supposed to be one of the best visual novels in comparison to the thousands of titles out there, CROSS†CHANNEL: Steam Edition's not that original. Sure, the premise is kind of interesting, and this is far darker than it looks, but the execution follows the standard harem anime approach, sadly destroying what little value this seems to have every now and then.

Boring when playing solo, and just 'good' when playing with a bunch of friends, Aperion Cyberstorm is just a few steps above mediocre, but not enough to be recommended. Yes, not a single flaw truly stands out, but, sadly, none of the positives do, either.

It looks like 2019, but it plays like 1991. Despite the fact that Gods Remastered is a good-looking re-skin of an older title, the most important factor in any title is the gameplay. Robot Riot UG probably wanted to retain the original feel of the title for newer fans, and they still could've, but still this could be much better, with a bit more work to tidy up the fluency of the controls and the animations. However, if the older animations and controls can be ignored, then this is a good way to deep dive into an older game for nostalgia's sake for older fans, or for newer fans who wish to experience what games used to be like.

Compared to most visual novels Necrobarista is, without a doubt, a breath of fresh air… but sadly only concept wise, because the execution doesn't follow suit. Filled with dialogue whose only purpose seems to be to stretch the overall duration, and with the whole experience leaning heavily towards repetitive character encounters, it becomes increasingly hard to remain interested in this, otherwise, very original and exciting look on the subject of death. Long story short, this cup of coffee looks great, and has an inviting aroma, but the taste is decent at best.

Despite this being far from a rushed indie piece of junk, like the hundreds that are plaguing the Switch library, Wallachia: Reign of Dracula is unfortunately one more retro-inspired game that fails at what matters the most. A love letter to SNES-style Castlevania, sprinkled with a little bit of Contra's fast-paced action, this should be something great. Sadly, due to some issues, like the way the main character moves, and how unfair some parts of the whole thing can feel, it soon gets from mildly-interesting, to downright annoying.

Honestly, Canvaleon a pretty good game, with some solid presentation and gameplay, but it's slightly let down by a lack of conveyance and a devilish difficulty.

Despite its overall lack of polish, Aqua Moto Racing Utopia is a pleasant enough watercraft racer with a large number of tracks available (even if a lot of content is reused and modified) and decent mechanics. It's a shame that as a whole it's ultimately forgettable and its many small issues pile up, as this could have been something greater. Still, if you're looking for a type of racing game that you rarely see and have already played the Wave Race and its sequel to death, this might be worth checking out.

Imagine: Fashion Designer 3D is an average game overall for the target group Ubisoft was intending to aim this at. Unfortunately, though, Ubisoft's Bulgarian development arm has failed to instil excitement in general as Imagine: Fashion Designer 3D fails to excel with the lack of save files for customised outfits and minimal menu options.

Fans of adventure will find Argonus and the Gods of Stone to be too light on content; both when it comes to its plot, but mostly in regards to its almost non-existent puzzles. Fans of mythology, and especially Greek legends, will surely enjoy some bits of this small journey, but in the end, this is nothing more than an okay-ish (and empty) theme park with a Greek mythology setting.

Steven Jenkins does have some interesting ideas and he really should continue developing more because High Strangeness does show promise. Perhaps with a bit more careful planning and more focused management, he can deliver a game that satisfies all his narrative goals, since this seems surprisingly rushed.

The charming protagonist is crushed under the weight of a lack of challenge, and sheer boredom. First of all, this isn't an adventure game, but an interactive novel - albeit a very good one, but it has a mind-numbingly slow, artificially padded pace that it's hard to recommend it to anyone who expects good gameplay.

Ultimately, it's not quite worth the buy for anyone.

There's really not much that needs to be said about Neptunia Shooter. It's a decent shmup with an identity of its own. However, it could've been a little more ambitious. Constantly switching between half a dozen weapon… err, characters gets to be messy and annoying. A lot of mechanics are introduced in a very short time, and it's hard to get a handle on them. Practice makes all the difference, but it's not enough to overcome something that seems to favour gimmicks over consistency. If there's ever a sequel, perhaps it should have multiple characters available from the outset, and then build from there. Introducing everything piecemeal over a 15 minute span isn't ideal.

Pokémon Violet offers a ton of familiar and enhanced fun, but the lack of polish and outright unacceptable performance let it down as one of Nintendo's most iconic franchises. The open-world setting and gameplay additions hint at an exciting future for the Pokémon franchise, but the state this was released in too often overshadows that. Before it's been patched up and optimised, it's tough to recommend.

It would not be fair to harp on a series for sticking to a formula that works; however Romance of Three Kingdoms XIV seems to eschew innovations in its own series for stagnant and cumbersome gameplay effectively for no reason other than to remain needlessly dated. While the improved focus on politics is certainly a positive which may elevate the title for some, it will likely hold little more than niche appeal for others who hold little interest in in the personal engagements of the Three Kingdoms period.

Unfortunately, there isn't an awful lot else to come back for, but it is proof that augmented reality and motion controls work extremely well together. For those that don't own Pokémon Black Version 2 or Pokémon White Version 2, however, remember to avoid this one.

You can draw the hero of this tale… and that's about all there is to say about this. Fun and mildly addictive as that part is, it's not enough to hide the fact that Drawn to Life: Two Realms lacks the necessary depth expected from a puzzle-platformer. Besides the lack of polish here and there, as well as the unexciting level design, the bland story one has to endure adds to the general feeling of boredom. It's also sad that aside from the character creation window, painting doesn't really feel like a big part of the whole experience.

Ironically, by trying to bring to light all the issues plaguing video games in recent times, Shadow of Loot Box is not an overall enjoyable game to play because, as the novelty wears off quickly. Luckily, this is a two-hour experience, so at least it ends quite quickly. The loot box enemies are funny at first; but they are bullet sponges that get quite annoying, especially as weapon-upgrades do little to destroy them quicker. While platform elements and open-world stages creep in, the control mechanics are still clunky enough to detract from the larger issues that Shadow of Loot Box tries to commentate on.

There's literally nothing special about S.Prysm Destroyer. It is average to a fault. A mediocre shooter where you simply move to the right and shoot at robotic things that want to hurt you. It's overly simple, repetitive, and in the case of the Switch port, annoying due to its user-unfriendly control scheme.

There is nothing surprising here about MouseCraft. What you see is what you get, and unless the simplistic gameplay appeals to you, it is unlikely that there will be much here that the average gamer is interested in. Some of the puzzles are nice and all for a while, but ultimately, there are no true clever ideas or anything beyond just dropping varied blocks into holes and waiting for the mice to hopefully make it.

Dark sci-fi Hellpoint sits smack-dab in the centre of soulslikes quality-wise. It's not terrible, but it's far from a good one too. Should you wait for a price drop, and a couple of fixes for its technical issues? Frankly, no. The strong atmosphere and cryptic plot have the capacity to provide the incentive to endure the many flaws and keep on playing, but aggravation and plain 'ol boredom will soon ruin everything. IF still willing to try it out, stay away from the Switch port, as it is the worse one yet.

Please, Touch The Artwork 2 has a few original concepts, like making many paintings feel connected, but the gameplay is uninteresting, slow and sometimes annoying. It may be a game for art lovers, but gamers are probably better off looking elsewhere.

On paper, the Tokyo Scramble concept isn’t bad. A survival horror game with post-apocalyptic vibes and dinosaurs? Sounds like a wild ride. There are moments of creativity and clever design, but these are overshadowed by monster maze monotony. Tokyo Scramble feels half baked. It's clunky and the story pay-off for patience is not worth the investment. Exercise your own patience, Jurassic Park it for now and wait for the game to go on sale.

The Longest Five Minutes is an interesting take on a nostalgia trip, but by splitting the game into the individual memories it does a huge disservice to its RPG nature. If only these memories had been fleshed out, giving the main characters a little depth, some side quests, some hidden quests… anything to make it feel like the games it is monkeying, instead of being such simple little, objective-based stages. There are moments that shine, but they are marred by the numerous issues and make this Nintendo Switch release somewhat of a disappointment.

It starts off well but is marred by technical problems.

Both the shooting aspect, as well as the naughtiness on offer is just... ok. While there's nothing terribly wrong with Waifu Uncovered, it's just a very average shmup, with the sexy art not managing to leave a lasting impression. There are much better alternatives out there for both.

For some hardcore fans and for some casual players, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite will do the job. The online and training modes are there for the former, whilst the arcade and accessible gameplay is there for the latter, but it doesn't make an effort to go all out and do all it can for both sets of players. Add to this the inexcusable locking out of characters as DLC, the weak overall roster, and rubbish presentation, and it is clear Capcom didn't want to put the effort into what could have been a great revival for the series. No doubt Infinite will still have appeal when it comes to the esports scene, but in the face of stiff competition, this one is likely to fall by the wayside before too long.

It's not a bad title, but it's not a particularly good one either, and it just gets too 'samey' too quickly.

Some of the things Football Manager 26 implements are a step forward for the franchise, such as the shift to allow tactical tweaks for every moment of the match, and the match engine is also noticeably improved. However, FM26 does not feel like an upgrade on 2024’s edition and that is down to a combination of the removed features and UI decisions. Too much information is hidden away, and the gameplay loop becomes about going from one fixture to the next and ticking them off, as opposed to before, when it became impossible not to get sucked into the drama of the world. This franchise has a fantastically loyal fanbase and they are good at seeing the bigger picture. Nobody can question the work ethic of the team at Sports Interactive and they deserve the time and space to ensure FM26 can become the first step in another successful evolution for the series.

With this being Tecmo Koei's second game for the Wii U, it's unacceptable for it to make similar mistakes to those made with Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper. Not only that, but this game appears to be less enjoyable than its predecessor, Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage.

Governor of Poker isn't a bad game, but it's not a good one, either. The concept of taking over the entirety of Texas by winning games of poker is quite cool, but it's a tedious grind against loads of AI opponents that couldn't care less about making risky moves, simply because there's no risk involved for them.

While it is a ho-hum entry in the Zen Pinball oeuvre, this is still worth the low price, since the game is competent and isn't insulting. It is, however, unimaginative and kind of cheap considering the tie-in property it is attached to.

Legend of the Skyfish is a good game that's hanging out with a bad crowd. Sure, there's the cute art style, the level design is mostly passable, and the gameplay itself does its job most of the time. It's like it knows what it wants to do, and it knows how to get there. Still, every once in a while, presumably on cold, rainy nights, it likes to play dress up. It's cosplay of choice being a much less enjoyable game.

A poor addition in the "series," Pretty Girls Pop Match is an enjoyable Match-3 title, but it's so light in content (even when it comes to the pretty girls themselves) that most are advised to play any other of the dozens of free alternatives that are out there.

What is Shadow Man Remastered? It's a great remaster, of a not so great game. A tedious collect-a-thon wrapped in fancy horror-themed paper. It isn't really that fun, and not just because of its age, as, in all honesty, it wasn't that enjoyable to begin with. Despite being quite the sleeper hit of its era, it's an action-adventure whose overstretched length, and aggravatingly labyrinthine structure won't be appreciated by everyone, especially modern gamers. If still curious to try Shadow Man out, do purchase Nightdive's version, though, as it is undoubtedly the definite one.

ACA NEOGEO Gururin is a tough recommendation, even for hardened veterans of falling block puzzlers. The learning curve is enormous, which usually isn't a complaint in itself, but it just doesn't mesh with the pick up and play nature of arcade titles. A lot of time is going to be spent fumbling around and not achieving much of anything. Given enough practice, and a propensity for thinking several moves ahead, players might be able to make some progress. Until then, don't expect to have a lot of fun.

The feeling of being left adrift in Pirates! is one that just should not be tolerated.

EarthNight is really a product of its genre. It's rare that auto-runners feel truly unique, and while this does a decent job of introducing new mechanics regularly, it does such a poor job with enemy placement that you will have to run through the same kind of courses over and over before you get to see them - unless you skip on through the fray, and that only works so long. Even when you find these new ideas, they are often just one tweak shy of something a lot better than they ended up being, and it's a shame such an original idea feels so flat.

The excitement of being able to play what is effectively a WarioWare game on the PC, quickly dissipates after realising that, despite being a recent release, Game Soup is actually inferior compared to its inspiration, with a severe lack of variety, and a couple of - easily fixable - rough edges here and there. A free addition of more mini-games, plus a little bit of fine-tuning, would certainly help this become much better.

A slow episode that shows that many of the game's characters don't have a long shelf life. Hopefully episode four can right the ship. Characters feel like they're running, but gaining almost no ground as they do so. This could also be said for the story itself, which feels like it only moves an inch or two upwards during this episode. However, the direction of giving the player more choice in the physical confrontations is one Telltale needs to explore further, because with the earlier episodes' writing and this fully fleshed out combat, the final two episodes could be truly astounding.

It is hard to come to The Fall Part 2: Unbound after experiencing the (very) rough diamond that is its predecessor, as everything feels inferior. Most puzzles are annoying, the controls are even clunkier than before, and the plot feels less... hard sci-fi than it previously did, as well as less focused on what it wants to offer.

Some of the power-ups are fun, like spawning small fighters or missiles, but the core loop of Galactic Glitch is simply far too repetitious, the upgrades are too slow, the meta-progression is glacial, and any driving factor to continue is non-existent. The idea could have been fine, but everything previously mentioned needed major overhauls and pretty much could be summed up by "needing cooler stuff faster" at every stage of the game.

Pumped BMX Pro is a fun BMX platformer - when it wants to be. But, on the Xbox version anyway, the right-stick for tricks is a temperamental control that only sometimes performs the tricks, despite being held in the correct direction. Plus, the "pump" system is extremely specific with when to use it, and Pumped BMX Pro takes no prisoners in miss-timed presses that will basically cause the rider to fail the stage. But once these kinks are worked out, this is definitely a BMX title worth checking out for those who don't want to invest in a heavy sim-based game, and opt for the more arcade-styled versions instead.

At its best, The Lost Child knows how to engage its audience with a creative take on the monster catching format without leaning too heavily into its Shin Megami Tensei influences. Unfortunately, at its worst, and it is more often at its worst, The Lost Child drags the audience along with an incohesive story, lacklustre dungeon design, and a repetitive battle system. The title isn't entirely without merit as everything does tend to mesh well enough in small doses, but longer play sessions reveal the monotony of it all. The Lost Child is an interesting experience, but perhaps one best experienced at a severely reduced price.

Elrentaros Wanderings had so much potential. After one inevitable wall and annoyance too many, the flaws will be too great to ignore any longer and will result in most just abandoning the adventure. From the utterly simplistic town, complete with non-moving NPCs, to various soft locks based on the general lack of a progression system, to simple design choices like the lack of save slots, this feels more like an alpha version or a tech demo, not something that its peers are just far better than.

Hunt the Night wants to stand beside the gothic greats it so clearly worships, and visually it often succeeds. That said, its haunting pixel art and oppressive atmosphere can’t hide its many rough edges, as beneath the beautiful darkness lies combat that’s stiff and exhausting instead of satisfying, exploration that rarely excites, and technical issues that constantly chip away at immersion. The creation of Moonlight Games is not without merit, but for every moment that captures the spirit of its inspirations, two more remind the player of why these became classics in the first place.