While Metal Wolf Chaos XD isn’t about to set the world on fire with its stellar graphics, revolutionary gameplay or thought provoking and hard hitting narrative, it does hold a place as unique and ridiculous piece of gaming history, and I’m glad the West has been given a chance to properly celebrate it.

There are a handful of things to really like here, but when it comes down to it, there’s an unjustifiable price tag hovering over a game whose content is as light as a feather.

Despite its amusing concept and charming vibes, Skatebird can’t get far when it actually gets on the board.

A charming facade can’t save Buildings Have Feelings Too from its own poor technical framework, gameplay design issues, and lack of player accessibility options.

With an expansive main campaign that takes far too long to get started and quite a few underdeveloped mechanics, this Sword Art game is a tough sell for anyone but the most dedicated fans.

While Daymare: 1998 is a love letter to the classics, there’s not a whole lot about the game itself to love.

Fimbul offers a compelling narrative and a beautiful world, but it is hindered by poor controls and a loosely weighted multiple choice system.

Table Manners is designed to give you indigestion with its OTT gameplay bound to provide a few frustrated laughs, though its lack of polish and longevity mean it's a bit of an empty snack.

Forever Forest has a mysterious atmosphere and wonderful design, but the gameplay is not compelling enough to snare you in for long.

The ideas are sound and the visuals look good, but Generation Zero doesn’t have too much to offer. Looking past the glitches may offer some fun co-op play, though.

Dance of Death is obviously made with a lot of love, and though it’s not perfect, it’s a solid point and click game with a modern twist.

While there’s still some ramshackle charm and memorable silliness to be had, The Good Life takes every opportunity to sell itself short and make playing it a frustrating, repetitive, and user-antagonistic experience.

Monster Jam Steel Titans has an identity issue. It’s stuck somewhere in between wanting to recreate the actual fun of monster trucks, and making just a fun, exciting game, and in the end it manages neither.

Remothered: Broken Porcelain’s striking visuals and outstanding sound design can’t disguise the repetitive, mundane survival horror game lurking underneath.

Frankly, Riot can barely support itself as a strategy game. I don’t predict a riot, but I do predict giving this title a miss.

Some fun can be had playing with WWE’s toys, but the cost of entry seems steeper than ever this year.

Whalenought’s retro-inspired RPG attempts to do a lot with very little, resulting in a frustrating experience that hopes to be in the same pantheon as Fallout, but instead falls flat.

Its fantastic art and concept cannot help Mainlining on Switch from being an absolute chore to play.

Fight of Gods was never going to be a contender with the likes of Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, and it shows in the ropey albeit enjoyable gameplay. However, releasing the game without key modes and features makes Fight of Gods hard to recommend.

Dated, buggy, and irredeemably wearisome, DayZ on PS4 offers an experience as empty and uninteresting as Chernarus itself that was certainly not worth waiting nearly half a decade for.

Don’t Escape: 4 Days In The Wasteland is a unique, well made survival game and a great way to spend your final days.

Unknown Fate is a story about overcoming terrible gameplay so you can uncover the also-terrible narrative.

Competent but uninspired match-three gameplay and a surface level story leave The World Next Door with little to offer unless you’re looking for a simple, relaxing experience.

Woolley Mountain is a touching homage to 80s and 90s gaming, but modern audiences may struggle to get along with it.

By all accounts, The Cinema Rosa could, and should, have been so much more, but what we’re left with is a small game with big problems.

The positives outway the cons in this indie title. A short and flawed yet satisfactory game, Path To Mnemosyne is recommended for anyone who is looking for a good brain teaser.

Super Skelemania is a speedrunner’s delight masked as a Metroidvania that does little to differentiate itself from the titans of its genre.

Streets of Rogue has the heart and complexity rivaling any major release, even without a story to back it up. If you have the hard drive space, there’s no reason not to pick it up immediately.

Resort Boss: Golf tees off well, but by the time it gets to the green it’s a little under-par.

Despite the challenge it presents, there is an undeniable quality present that makes Driven Out incredibly difficult to turn away from.

It is a rough diamond that is in need of some refining and shining, but still provides a good bullet hell experience.

Astra Exodus is a fairly decent 4X strategy game with some interesting ideas and a surprisingly good tactical combat system, but it’s bogged down by a lack of polish and some technical issues.

A gorgeous comic book aesthetic and unique premise helps to alleviate Deep Sky Derelicts’ rudimentary and uneven card-based RPG tactics.

While this may be a miserable experience for new players, some fans of the original might love it for what it is.

Ultimately, ICBM is a tight and compact little game illustrating global nuclear war in a digestible manner.

After three years of development, Hiveswap: Act 2 is just fine. Hopefully the next instalment is stronger and will come earlier than 2023, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Though innovative in concept and boasting a great setting and aesthetic, a lack of content and glaring balance issues keep Hero Among Us from taking to the sky.

Sons of Ra is a tight and fast-paced competitive game with a neat setting and flavorful presentation, though does suffer from some balancing issues.

Instead of ushering in a revolution for the strategy genre, Carrier Command 2 ends up feeling more like a prototype that needed extra time in development.

Though there’s some technical issues, some more devastating than others, The Big Con is a heart-warming teenage road trip that’s worth playing.

Monster Harvest is a simple but engaging farming sim with an interesting twist that makes a good first impression, but ultimately suffers from bugs and the weight of its own ambition.

While it's not perfect, Super Arcade Football is an entertaining way to enjoy the beautiful game.

Grand Tactician: Civil War 1861-65 is a solid historical wargame in its own right, but players will need to slog through a lot of mud and frustration to get to the meaty heart of the game.

While the tactical gameplay authentically captures the Cold War battlefield, Combat Mission Cold War is stuck in the past under a mountain of frustration and tedium of its own design.

Shock connoisseurs may enjoy Martha Is Dead’s body horror and gore, but there is a lot of muck to wade through in the game's short playtime.

For a game that showcases perhaps the most dynamic and wholesome athlete in generations, MLB The Show 22 ironically feels like the flattest and safest version of itself.

While Lumote’s puzzles can be head-scratchingly good, the two-tone color palette, repeated environments, and, at times, frustrating user interface hampers any satisfaction.

Line War introduces awesome and innovative ideas for real-time strategy gaming, though it’s bogged down by technical issues and not quite enough ambition.

Enchanted Portals looks delightful, with 2D animation reminiscent of childhood cartoon favorites, but its monotonous gameplay and artificial difficulty make for a hollow gaming experience that’s frustrating in all the wrong ways.