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.

There are three problems with Crysis Remastered: first, the game was never really that good, second, this isn't a remaster, and third, it's actually a heavily downgraded, flawed port. Sure, it's still an enjoyable FPS to kill some time (and other beings) with, and it's kind of impressive that you can now carry a photorealistic jungle with you, but it's still hard to stomach the audacity of calling this a remaster; in other words, an upgraded version of the original.

Spirit of the North's enchanting journey is magnificent on the Nintendo Switch Lite's screen, as played on for this review, and is even better on a large TV screen. The, at times, challenging game, has collectibles that add to the replay value, and playing as an unlocked snow fox in the snow magnifies the immersion of the game, with levels that beg to be experienced again simply for the fun of enjoying their beauty.

Building an evident framework for a "good ending" without detailing a clear path to find the requirements, Hotel Sowls struggles between being a true mystery, and holding the player's hand with clues. Replayability, rather than a compelling journey, seems to be the main through line for this title. That being said, the impossibly cute art direction and interesting visual language will keep audiences charmed and engrossed, even if they are not usually fans of the mystery and thriller genre.

While impressive from a technical standpoint, Ultracore carries way too many flaws from the past to be a solid recommendation, whether you are a retro fan or not. Repetitive, unpolished, somewhat unfair, and very trial-and-error-y, it's pretty evident that the game's current owner didn't really do much before porting this interesting piece of old-school history to modern systems.

It seems as though the limited budget available for Fairy Tail has been used in the right places, saving on unimportant parts, and spending on the important bits. The gameplay, ranking and battling systems are well thought-out, and presented beautifully. For a game with such a low budget, everything has been implemented very well. It is very clear that the author of the manga, Hiro Mashima, was closely involved in developing this instalment, as it represents the feeling of the anime/manga incredibly accurately.

In many aspects, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 reiterates all the good things of the first instalment, and goes beyond just enough to justify its existence. All qualities of its predecessor are in place, with an extra dose of wackiness and originality on top. The classic Castlevania 3-inspired recipe works just as well now, and the retro-stiff but tight and satisfying controls are a joy to experience for any fans of the genre. Inti Creates did it again!

A post-apocalyptic road trip that offers a fantastic, riveting experience, where destruction and beauty, and hope and despair, get entwined in a way that’s nothing short of genius, The Last of Us is so good that its somewhat repetitive, and occasionally dull gameplay isn’t enough to rob it of its rightful place amongst the video game greats. Therefore, if looking for an unforgettable action-adventure, with strong cinematic sensibilities, and a heavy emphasis in adult, character-driven storytelling, look no further than Naughty Dog’s classic, especially now that the remastered version has made the original even more stunning.

Fans of Eurojank (critic guilty as charged) can generally stomach low production values and lack of polish, but Everreach: Project Eden is just plain (and incomplete) junk. It fails as a Mass Effect-esque RPG, and fails far more as a shooter. One has to wonder why the developer still charges so high for something as badly-made as this, especially since it has obviously abandoned it.

Codemasters has delivered a masterful racing experience with F1 2020. Despite the heavy jargon-filled opening, there are plenty of helpful tutorials that break down everything to make this easy-to-understand for those who may not necessarily be car enthusiasts. For those who are after a deep and engrossing racing experience, the My Team Career mode is a joy to play through, with plenty of features to deep-dive into that extends across many hours. Whether playing online or offline, the developer has put forth one of the best racing experiences that can be enjoyed by F1 fans or newcomers alike.

Every technical issue is worth the hassle, because no other game offers a world as alive or as charming with as much conceptual depth. Deadly Premonition is nothing short of brilliant.

While an enjoyable title that has been polished up and seems generally very modern, it cannot be expected that The Sims 4 is not going to be compared to The Sims 3. In this respect, it seems that while the game took a few steps forwards, it also took a few steps backwards by abandoning features that were very helpful and appreciated in the previous versions. It does have new features that people have been waiting for, such as emotions and more personality for the Sims. As for now, for some players it may not quite be worth to abandon The Sims 3 for it, but for new players looking for a first experience with the franchise, they may have an easier time navigating than former The Sims 3 players. People that have previously enjoyed the latter may be disappointed by the menus (Sim creation, building, or navigating town), as they have been so massively oversimplified that they are now actually confusing.

The Story, Adventure and Boruto's Tales add up to at least 30 hours of content, and are all executed brilliant, with exception of the frame drops in Adventure mode. If Naruto has a nostalgic place in your heart, then Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Road to Boruto is a must-own.

The Last of Us Part II's purposely bleak, pessimistic narrative spares no one, and offers a deeply engrossing tale of vengeance that grabs and never lets go. The production values, and overall attention to detail are insane, making one wonder what the developer will do when it gets its hands on the PlayStation 5. The gameplay and overall structure and pacing, while still not the thing that matters here, is thrice as good, making this a far more enjoyable experience, with a higher replay value from the original.

An, initially fun, mix of a pachinko and pinball machine, Pachi Pachi On A Roll won't stay with you for long, especially due to its - mostly - luck-based gameplay. Throwing some busty anime cuties in there doesn't help much either. This clearly belongs in the world of free mobile games.

The developers deserve accolades for trying something new, but the game is just rife with far too many problems to recommend. Pathfinding and controlling is a mess, difficulty swings are incredibly wild, and despite all the cool pictures of stats and equipping stuff, none of it really matters. It was clear what it was going for, it just fell short of the mark.

This is a type of game that, while experimental for the studio, really represents missed opportunities. Ranging from the extremely limited move set of the characters, lack of any new skills/moves, and a bit too much repetition, it leaves a strong feeling of how much better it could be. A heavy reliance on multiplayer likely dooms this, as the online population is relatively small, and the match-making is atrocious. Sad, as the graphics are great, and it could have been really fun with even a little bit more depth.

It would be remiss to not point out some severe flaws, notably how boring the actual combat is, or the lacklustre exploration. Despite this heavy criticism, there is something definitely charming about the whole experience. The de-levelling novelty is notable, if nothing else, and there is a feeling of being pulled into the game that many modern JRPGs sort of lack nowadays. This is the type of game that shows heart and passion can trump huge budgets.

It gets all the basics of the genre right, but it simply lacks any depth, and becomes an incredibly grindy only a few missions into the campaign. Interestingly, all the basics are there, it merely is lacking any exciting options, choices or selections; this is in addition to a very bad 'dead zone' tactical problem that is a huge contributor to the slog. Very rapidly a player will have seen everything there is to offer and there just isn't much beyond it. The game just starts to become frustrating the more it is played.

The Isle of Armor is a nice extra chunk of land to explore in the Galar region that brings with it 100 past Pokémon, and two new ones to add to the list of playables in the 8th generation games. A slew of extra items and features making Pokémon breeding and training a bit better are also included, along with enough bonuses to warrant the existence of this DLC... but not much more than that. Nevertheless there's a sense that story content is kind of short here, and that having to pay extra to gain access to more of the older Pokémon, whereas past games included all of them right from the start, whether through Pokémon Bank or not, is not the best of deals. Still, this is better than having to pay for a full new game like Ultra Sun and Moon, only to have access to a bit of extra stuff. The concept of expansions is, at least, a better solution.

Beyond a Steel Sky brings old school point-and-click adventure into the 21st century, with an action, and humour-packed plot, and a compelling sense of character. Puzzle-solving strikes that nice balance between satisfying, but not too complicated as to force the player to be bogged down at the expense of the story. The story itself at around 10-hours long or so, is a classic science-fiction adventure, and it hits all the right notes of action and emotion, despite Robert Foster not being exactly the most compelling character out there. While there are a few bugs and little niggles as far as movement animation being a bit stiff, these are cancelled out by what the game does well, which is in its high octane cinematic narrative quality.

For cycling fans, this whole package is probably the ultimate dream of combining everything that is great about the sport into one extensive management sim. The level of detail in rider stats; the amount of control over races; the strategic plays during the heat of action. All of these things mean for fans it is absolutely a must own. That said, niche genres always have to be balanced to also allow for the introduction of complete outsiders to the field. For such people, the experience is still an overwhelming one, even with the addition of a rigorous tutorial. There is still a whole heap of gameplay mechanics that could do with just a bit more explanation. With all that said, the Pro Cyclist mode which streamlines many of the most complicated mechanics into a more traditional role-playing mode, helps in that regard significantly, and therefore pulls the overall experience for newbies up.

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.

Multiplayer is a really positive experience, and it becomes very easy to sink hours into just exploration and small side quests, with no attention being paid to the main story. Pick up and play is a feeling so rarely found in JRPG titles that it feels like a really positive step towards what should be seen as the new normal. What is baffling, then, is hiding such a great feature, along with all the other main parts of Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris behind 12+ hours of repetitive story. The honest truth is that players with a passing interest aren't going to put the hours in to get past the initial chapter, and in doing so, are going to miss out on an enjoyable experience with a lot to offer for both casual players and hardcore fans. Stick with it.

The atmosphere created here; a plot that pulls the player in with compellingly designed and voiced characters; an addictive and highly polished gameplay loop; and a fantastically realised visual world. These are some of the reasons why Death Stranding is such a joy to play. In many ways, this is more than a game. Gameplay here is built to service the atmosphere rather than the other way around and it makes sense that there are some who find this a step too far. It is also why the act of being a deliveryman and keeping BB safe is more of a focus than the passable combat or the, sometimes, fiddly controls. Running like a dream on PC and looking incredible, this was the way Hideo Kojima's vision was meant to be played.

Like with NAMCO MUSEUM ARCHIVES Vol 1, the second volume is a mixed bag in terms of games - in this case there are fewer gems, but fewer pieces of junk as well. The main issue remains the fact that this shouldn't be a two-part collection. In other words, if interested (and you should be), keep an eye on that price, and hit that 'Purchase' button when it gets reasonably low.

There are many, many ways that NAMCO MUSEUM ARCHIVES Vol 1 could be better, but as a whole, fans of retro gaming will definitely love this. Apart from the greedy idea of separating 20 super-old games between two collections, the only thing really holding this back right now is its price. So, put it on your wishlist… and wait.

Despite its simple appearance in how it looks and the game mechanics, Story of Seasons Friends of Mineral Town is a superb remake, filled with many tasks to do that help the farm grow in all areas. Farming games are much beloved for what they offer, the wide variety of crops and handful of animals mean there is rarely a dull moment, unless it's a season like Winter, due to the absence of crops. There is no doubt that this remake delivers an enjoyable farming experience that provides countless hours of game play. It is a joy to relax with and be immersed by a simpler life compared to reality, with various town events throughout the year providing extra entertainment, sometimes with a trophy to be won, and the addictive tasks necessary on a farm.