New Cinema Labyrinth is wonderful for series fans. For Persona fans waiting on Persona 5 the Royale, this is a great way to fill the gap and is worth the price of admission just to watch the characters from these different games interact together. With so many inside jokes that fans will truly appreciate. Admittedly, the level design could be much better, with the labyrinths themselves a pale comparison to the Etrian Odyssey mazes it mimics. Thankfully, the addictive mapping, Persona-inspired combat, wealth of side-quests and the solid story combine to more than make up for its flaws.

Layers of Fear 2 is narratively brilliant but lacks some much-needed polish that would truly make it great. The game subsequently struggles to deliver consistently over the course of its roughly eight-hour length, but it is ultimately this short campaign and its thrilling atmosphere that saves it from becoming monotonous, allowing its expertly crafted story to truly shine. The game lives up to its name as a layered and nuanced tale of horror, making it worth experiencing for any fan of the genre.

Goat Simulator is a bundle of fun. Its baffling lack of polish and crazy misdemeanours are so charming and, in all honesty, hilarious, making this hard to put down... initially. Playing it with a friend will provide a couple more hours of entertainment, and could liven up a party a little if it needs an ice breaker. That said Goat Simulator is a lot of things and in the end it will wear thin. A fun romp but only while it lasts. In the words of its creators, you'd probably be best to spend your money on something else, if it's not on sale.

Imperfect controls and other minor annoyances aside, Vaporum is a very enjoyable dungeon-crawler. Its insistence on tile-based movement results in battles that are decided by a rather peculiar dance. Sometimes it takes quite a few steps just to create an opening in the enemy's defences. To add to this, every decision, no matter how slight, carries weight. An action as simple as turning around can leave the player in a difficult position. It's almost as if one has to adopt a sixth sense, just to keep track of where enemies are going. Provided you give your best effort, then you are sure to be rewarded. Altogether, this is a very impressive effort that's well worth anyone's time.

Although the controls aren't exactly ideal, Golem Gates is a thoughtfully crafted title that blends RTS gameplay with some solid deck building. Forging new Glyphs, reorganising a deck to make it more optimal, or simply experimenting with deck types fit so naturally in the RTS genre that it's at times shocking how well realized all the core concepts are. Unfortunately, the title is also plagued by terrible performance issues that didn't seem to be present in its initial PC release back in 2018. Load times are often long, lag is a problem, and this is prone to downright crashing should players spend too much time customising their deck... in a title all about deck building! This is a legitimately good RTS. Just not on PS4 for now.

Draugen is not bad, just disappointingly... mediocre-to-decent, when it could be so much more. The whole noir mystery narrated by an unreliable protagonist thing definitely manages to spark some interest, but this never really becomes the engrossing tale it wants to be. Forget the marvellously rendered Norwegian landscape, and the magical music that keeps it company. What lies underneath is just an okay-ish, walking simulator.

The Castlevania Anniversary Collection is a required pick-up for fans of the classic whip-slinging series. Granted, there are a couple of minor problems with this set, most notably the lack of button-remapping. Hopefully they're being worked on. Still, it's hard to argue with having four of the all-time best action-platformers around. Plus you get four other games, which range from awful to pretty good. Whether you decide to pick this up now, or wait for the region-select and other fixes, you're guaranteed a good time.

Building LEGO-like vehicles, and having them explore a vast world, do quests, and shoot at other, similar tanks or planes, might sound like a fine idea for a construction sandbox, but TerraTech isn't really that good at what it does, for the simple reason that this just isn't fun to play, especially since the transition to the Nintendo Switch has you doing all that building and rebuilding with controls that feel out of place.

True to its name, Whispers of a Machine does exactly that: it whispers. Rather than "shouting," with flashy audio-visuals, cool action, and in-your-face storytelling, it uses the humble, grey-haired Adventure Game Studio, to offer something that's far more subtle in its approach. Clifftop Games creation is a simple, yet stunningly well-written, immersive, and all around fun point-and-click adventure game, with a gripping sci-fi plot, and an unwavering focus in its flawless, detective-style gameplay loop. Currently just a hidden gem, this must-have needs you, fellow adventure fan, to spread the word…

If you're just looking for a mildly-amusing journey to help pass the time, Warlocks 2: God Slayers isn't the worst choice. However, if your intension is to play on the highest difficulty and invest a lot of hours, then the game's flaws will become apparent. The projectile spam and frequent stutters are the leading sources of aggravation. This is extremely problematic on the harder difficulties, since everyone's a squishy mage. Without post-game content, there's not enough of an incentive to continue playing either. All in all, this title just isn't where it needs to be.

Over 100 stages of mind-boggling puzzles await anyone who decides to tackle Warlock's Tower. Depending on your patience and aptitude for problem-solving, this adventure could last for quite some time. In every respect, Midipixel has done a fine job. The charming visuals and great soundtrack accompany a wealth of challenging ordeals. Frustration and exhaustion are rarely a factor, because this puzzler never tries to do too much at once. Altogether, it's a worthwhile pick-up for genre fans.

Resident Evil 0 was already widely considered one of the weakest traditional entries in the series, due to its meaningless story and tedious game design. There were so many possibilities that could have worked out so much better if some of its design got tweaked, and if Rebecca was a new and totally different character so the story wouldn't clash with the established canon. While it is an exceptional looking title, the ridiculously longer load times is a good way to ruin the mood to keep playing on top of the gameplay being inferior to older entries.

I fell from Grace, is pleasantly... unpleasant. It's a very dark tale of a man, who, while - hopelessly - trying to save his dying wife, loses a lot more. The rhyming dialogue will be off-putting to many, yet it's actually an element that creates a nice contrast with all the tears and blood that will be spilled throughout this pixel-art, horror-ish adventure. On the other hand, the actual process of playing this leaves a lot to be desired, and the pacing is painfully slow for what is essentially a narrative-driven experience.

Persona 5 is an absolutely amazing game that convinces with its art style, music and story. It has anything one could ask for such a game and more. The turn-based battle system offers a wide array of opportunities. While it may not be everyone's cup of tea, it is definitely recommended to give it a go.

With the addition of region-select, Konami's Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection has become the easy recommendation it deserves to be. An eclectic array of games is included in this set, and most of them are still quite entertaining. The newly-added region-select option allows players the chance to study how different approaches to difficulty can affect a title. It's rather fascinating how a few simple changes can create new challenges. All in all, it's a worthwhile pick-up for arcade fans.

Picross S2 is a relaxing game that offers some variety in its gameplay to stay interesting enough. It is surprisingly addictive, yet it also lacks some features that could improve its levels of variety. Its price currently seems a little too high for what is offered.

This, admittedly, fantastically made, but incredibly short DLC chapter, will be great for fans of both the game and Shazam!, the movie. It's a hard recommendation based on its relatively small replay value, but if purchased with the season pass fans have lots of great content to look forward to! Fun, but ultimately could have been a lot more...

A game dripping with cool intrigue and style marred heavily by bad level design, bland hordes of enemies and awkward systems. Fate/Extella will still appeal to many but in this case, it feels like failed potential. To have started with an awesome, stylish, uncommon RPG to being diluted into a simple hack and slash title. This "Warrior-ising" of franchises is slowly wearing down the existence of more unique games. Disappointing.

Gato Roboto is a bite-sized trek that's sufficiently programmed for the right amount of enjoyment. With enough charm to last a Sunday afternoon, Kiki's escapade is sure to leave behind a pleasant memory or three. Just be sure to keep expectations in check. It's unlikely that hardcore gamers will get the fierce action and stress-inducing scenarios that they crave, while the casual crowd might be a little put off by the short play-time and lack of extra content. Still, there is a bit of depth to uncover. Skilfully navigating the research facility is a reward in itself. All in all, whoever decides to pick this title is bound to get their money's worth, and that's reason enough to check it out.

One game by itself would be a fun developmental RPG, but with all three bring an ongoing storyline overall, and a foundational focus for each that mitigates the lack of such for the other two. Though the series has yet to push the boundaries of its host hardware, the Atelier Arland Trilogy does accomplish two goals: to set up for the fourth game releasing soon, and to provide unique and fun gameplay with immense value for investment hours.

Tom Clancy's The Division 2 has thrown its hat into the ring for being a possible 'Game of the Year' contender for 2019. The post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. is such an eerie site to see, and Agents can roam around solo or in groups to complete missions and earn better loot to upgrade their characters. With more content well on the way, the base game is still packed with heaps of stuff to do - and the huge variety in gear types and stat boosts, modifications, and skills means that 1000+ hours can easily be put into this title over the course of the year. The only bane to these sorts of titles is the 'always-online' internet connection that is required, which does remove some parts of the gaming population from being able to play it, unfortunately.

Absolutely filled to the brim with content, Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy! is a charming take on the Mystery Dungeon format. While it might not offer too much in the way of innovation, there is a refined quality to just about every aspect. From the Buddy System, to the wonderful integration of Final Fantasy's Job System, there's very little on display that doesn't ultimately come together. The difficulty's pacing might pose a problem to some, but Square Enix's latest interpretation of the Mystery Dungeon franchise is bound to be remembered as one of the series' highest points.

Playing Back in 1995 does not evoke feelings of nostalgia, it only insults those who loved horror gaming in the '90s. What is sad is that it seems as if this was meticulously designed to be bad on purpose due to a misunderstanding of the genre. The idea of a retro throwback style, low-poly survival-horror has potential due to the power of imagination that sparks when confronted with nightmarishly uncanny, early computer graphics. Regretfully, Back in 1995 will please no one. Hardcore, old-school fans will be insulted, and modern gamers will only get a distorted example of a long-lost type of games that only exist today as HD rereleases.

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.

Earth Defence Force has stuck to a formula, and when a different team attempted to diverge from it, things didn't work out. Earth Defence Force: Iron Rain is like a fully-realised Insect Armageddon. The story is basic, but the world is thought-out, interesting, and populated with likeable characters. The combat is crazy and bombastic, yet refined and more contemporary than its mainline entries. Every class has its strengths and weaknesses, and the addition of a practice mode helps players better understand how each one works. It's quite satisfying when everything clicks. Iron Rain re-modifies the series formula, but doesn't abandon the no-nonsense approach of the other games.

Witch Thief is the worst shoot 'em up this critic has ever played. It is barren of redemption, and is an unsightly blight on the Nintendo eShop. The outrageously long load times should be taken as a warning for anyone who wants to give it a chance, and hope there is some light at the end of the tunnel. There are so many quality bullet-hell titles available on Switch these days, courtesy of Arcade Archives, that nobody should need to be tormented with this one.

Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder is an ingenious mixture of madness that is punctuated with highly entertaining animated sequences. The striking visual style that ACE Team is known for is distinct with just an acceptable amount of amateurishness keep it hilarious and memorable. Whether it's going up against another human or the AI, everyone should always throw rock.

Using Journey to the West more as a clever backdrop rather than outright adapting it, Unruly Heroes makes for a charming action-platformer that pokes fun at one of China's most important novels, while also crafting together a wildly fun experience. With four distinct characters to choose from across 29 visually stunning levels, and the journey to restore balance to Heaven and Earth results in rarely a dull moment. Toss in a surprisingly engaging combo system, on the fly character switching, and plenty of secrets to uncover to tie the package together, and Unruly Heroes winds up quite the formidable platformer.