It’s got a great retro vibe and the aesthetic is beautiful. Sadly, the runner mechanics take away the fun and goodwill, leaving it as forgettable as the Dead Island franchise itself.

If you are a player that enjoys exploring while maneuvering your way through a dangerous platforming world, then On Rusty Trails is sure to deliver a memorable experience.

If you’ve got a great group ready to have fun, then Drawful 2 will keep you entertained for hours on end.

Trials of the Blood Dragon is a great idea on paper but when it messes with the design that makes Trials so fun to play, the whole experience nearly collapses under the weight of its ambition.

Version favoritism aside, Corpse Party does a good enough job with the technology to deliver an interesting and thoroughly Japanese story of tragedy, murder, and the paranormal.

A grim journey indeed. Letter Quest: Grimm’s Journey Remastered fails to make a puzzle game work the way that they should with messy RPG elements and difficulty based on an upgrade system rather than your own personal skill level.

Lumo takes a simple premise and makes something that shines through the avalanche of similar games in its genre.

I’d highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a funky new spin on an old classic, but I would particularly recommend Melody’s Escape to anyone who really enjoys listening to and engaging with music. It’s certainly a new kind of experience that I, for one, found engrossing.

There are a number of very compelling elements that really solidify Anima as a title that had an ambitious vision and a team dedicated to making it a reality. At the same time, they also sought to take elements from other successful games. This amounts to an inferior gameplay experience, but one that is also surrounded by the strength of its original elements.

Look past its sexy veneer and Shinovi Versus is a solid, well made brawler with panache. Come for the boobs, stay for the empowering battles against ninja hordes.

Oxenfree has a fabulous soundtrack, well written dialogue, and it takes some bold steps into territory that’s rarely tread in games. The island Alex and company find themselves trapped on holds many secrets, but none of them seem to warrant discovery.

Though its bewitching world and stimulating combat are brought down by some counterintuitive mechanics, it’s still a provocative tale about fate and the human condition that left me contemplating what it really means to be part of a family, and the sacrifices we make for the sake of those we love.

Inside takes an already great formula of and improves on it in just about every way. The beautifully designed environments coupled with the cleverly crafted puzzles easily makes this the indie game to beat this year.

Downwell is highly recommended, whether you have a few minutes or several hours to devote to getting down this well.

If a little more effort and refinement had gone into the game’s level design, those feelings would have been stronger.

If you are looking for a competitive game to play at your next social gathering or want to increase your adrenaline levels with some intense, fast-paced battles, then destroying robots with rocket powered fists is the way to go.

There’s a reason scope management is taught in game design schools. Overflow Games’ underestimation of its own limitations is the source of almost all of the faults in Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim.

Not A Hero: Super Snazzy Edition is a collection of interesting ideas that, while refreshing, deserved to be used more ambitiously.

Superhot‘s time manipulation is a fun mechanic that allows you to play a first person shooter in a way you couldn’t elsewhere. Despite a few shortcomings, the game does a superb job of mixing the first person shooter genre and puzzle games into entertaining experience.

Forced delivers this kind of pure enjoyment in spades, a feat not every developer can boast of having mastered. Give it a try and see if you can’t convince a couple of friends to as well, I guarantee you won’t regret it.

Party Hard presents some interesting ideas and has a promising start, but it sours quickly due to repetitive game design and a frustrating inconsistency in difficulty.

Overall, Paranautical Activity is an average game, hindered by vexing roguelike mechanics.

While games like Call of Duty and Battlefield make you feel like a warrior, playing Overwatch feels like joining the Avengers. Hell, that’s pretty much what Overwatch is: a loose collection of heroes with special powers in battle.

Like the majority of tables they release, the Aliens Pinball Pack is an overall positive for pinball fans. It does a great job of capturing the essence of the licensed properties, and Zen Studios goes above and beyond with the actual Aliens table by using the voices from the movie itself.

DOOM has been the biggest surprises of the year. I didn’t care much for the survival horror, Dead Space tone of Doom 3, so the brutal, nihilistic and metal tone of this game is better suited and more familiar to the source material.

Whether you’ve played every game in the series or this is your first experience with a Lombax, you really can’t go wrong with Ratchet & Clank.

Make no mistake, if you enjoyed what you have played so far of Pillars of Eternity, then it will be worthwhile for you to finish off the saga by playing this expansion pack. It is more of what you loved in your previous experience with this game. With that said, you might be surprised by how much that disappoints you, or how just plain tired you are of it.

If you love music, as a composer or just as a fan, Tadpole Treble will be a pleasure from start to finish.

My dissatisfaction with Rocketbirds 2 stems from Ratloop’s poorly implemented ambition. On paper, the new tweaks and gameplay adjustments should have made for a much more fun game. But because the combat, which wasn’t great in the first place, never got the shot in the arm it needed, the whole thing is a mess.

While I could not have recommended it to any but the hardcore fighting game community when it released, it’s now complete enough that I don’t have qualms about getting into it now. I’m still having fun with the game, even though most of my time is spent trying to complete survival runs and challenges rather then feed people rating boots online.

It’s fairly obvious that a major reason for Samorost 3’s existence is to give its series some recognition as something other than a footnote to the rest of its developer’s work, and in that regard, it roundly succeeds. But after shaking off the “browser game” stigma, it merely continues its business as a temporarily enjoyable diversion.

Sadly, Koi is so easily forgettable and dull that I struggled with finding things to even say about it.

Hitman Episode 2: Sapienza builds on the first episode in just about every way. The dense multi-layered map, creative assassination opportunities, and an overall better performance makes this easily the best episode of the two so far.

It’s a wonderful, heart wrenching experience that’s honestly opened my eyes to a whole new world of exciting storytelling possibilities.

It’s in a class of its own. It’s the most fun I’ve had with a video game since Super Mario World. It’s an absolute treasure that combines action and story in a beautiful concert that I never wanted to end. It’s one of the rare games that years from now I know I will remember exactly where I was when the credits rolled and I said goodbye to Nathan Drake, one of the most prolific video game characters of all time. Bravo Naughty Dog, bravo.

Soda Drinker Pro has all the joy of a flat, lukewarm Pepsi.

It builds a strong foundation on the gameplay front, offering up rewarding combat and simple skills, but doesn’t follow that with anything substantial, being content to let the standard end game grind and excellent-yet-stressful PVP try to cover all the questions its writing leaves you with.

Much like the classic storybook wanderer, The Walking Dead: Michonne ends up just like its titular heroine, a little battered, more then a little bruised, and with a little less closure then she was hoping for.

With a cheeky narrator that doesn’t know when to be quiet, different stories that are told in brief, bite-sized chunks, and a fun and fluid combat system, Stories: The Path of Destinies is worth checking out even if its clearly lacking the amount of polish other games of this nature have.

Airscape: The Fall of Gravity is an excellently crafted action platformer. The game’s difficulty will prove to be a challenge to most gamers but never becomes punishingly difficult. The variety of level designs, gameplay mechanics, and characters keep the game feeling fresh right through the end.

Day of the Tentacle: Remastered is the next game in a long line of successful updates from Double Fine, and it does a lot to show that adventure games still have a place in the growing library of games and genres.

Salt and Sanctuary clearly gets it’s inspiration and ideas from previous Souls games so there is a lack of innovation here, but developer Ska Studios does a masterful job of adapting the already proven formula of Souls into a exceptional 2D adventure.

There just isn’t enough within R.B.I Baseball 16 to recommend buying it unless you’re an absolute diehard fan that needs to own every game in the series.

If you are looking for a fast paced game with lots of bells and whistles, A.D.I.O.S will not suit your needs. However, this game is very well executed. A.D.I.O.S teaches you the lesson of patience.

This will never be anyone’s favourite title, but it’s a riskless purchase for anyone who wishes that story-focused games had a little more gameplay to them.

Overall, it just exudes an overall lack of polish and detail, which, unfortunately, detracts from the few new features the game touts over other bus driving games and falls short on its ‘simulation’ aspect.

All in all else Heart.Break () is a unique and challenging gaming experience that invites the player to take a turn on the other side of the program, all the while introducing us to an ambiguous world not so different than our own.

Attractio is a good game that you can play in a weekend, share with your friends, or give your brain a complex challenge.

OOTP 17 is the best baseball simulator out there, bar none.

At the end of the day, EA Sports UFC 2 does an admirable job of trying to create the complex world of UFC in a video game while still making it fun for the player. It’s not a perfect game by any means but a good game all the same.

Killing hasn’t been this fun since Blood Money. Despite the technical issues, Hitman is off to a promising start to the “season”. The smooth controls, beautiful visuals, and incredibly detailed level design does a solid job in bringing the world’s deadliest assassin to current generation consoles.

Assault Android Cactus is a great dual-joystick shooter for those looking for a new one.

Dark Souls III won’t be for everyone and it doesn’t shy away from the deserved reputation of being difficult. Persevere, however, and the rewards are plenty. I feel like I repeat myself with every release of this franchise but it’s the god’s honest truth: no other video game makes you feel so empowered and awesome. Tackling the game’s numerous obstacles, big and small, is a major accomplishment. And the pride and exhilaration one feels from a Dark Souls game is a lot like getting wrapped up in a blanket, fresh from the dryer, on a cold and rainy night.

The best way I can describe Quantum Break is that it’s a game that I never felt compelled to come back to. I never got invested in the experience; when I sat down to play I always enjoyed myself, but I never found any part of Quantum Break to be all that satisfying. It’s obvious that some masterful developers put this game together but the game lacks the intangible grab that truly great games have. Quantum Break for me ends up being a middle of the road third-person action game with some pretty spectacular ideas with shaky execution.

It’s certainly not for everyone, but for those willing to look past the bumps and bruises, there is a decently fun time to be had with Gemini: Heroes Reborn.

MLB The Show 16 is yet another great game of baseball, but for the first time I felt like the franchise is starting to wane in its greatness.

Broforce is a fun concept that just never coalesces right.

It’s a shame that the combat is such a drag because it’s the main part of a game that is overflowing with life and excitement.

Dokuro feels like an idea with a lot of passion and little effort in its execution.

There’s fun to be had if you look for it, but if it’s a matter of choosing one group of tables over another, its certainly something I would take into account.

It’s nice to see games continuing to try and push forward narrative in the side-scrolling platformer, and Klaus is a very strong entry into this genre.

If you have any interest at all in turn-based games, you owe yourself this game as a gift, and honestly, even if you have little to no interest, playing this may just get that engine started.

A stark and slowed down shooter that behaves more like a puzzle game, filled with neat out-of-game menus and secrets to find, Superhot is one of the coolest things I’ve played in a long time.

Inside My Radio is a brief, interesting romp that never lives up to the potential it enters with.

Fortified is certainly an enjoyable game to play. The lack of variety and somewhat cliche story isn’t necessarily going to grab you, but the lighthearted tone of the game coupled with its entertaining wave-based combat makes for an pretty solid title.

Overall, I’d recommend The Flame in the Flood for those looking for a new type of survival game, and those patient enough to deal with the interface.

With a meticulously designed world and the elaborate puzzles that reside within it, The Witness is a game you won’t want to miss.

It’s a game basically anybody can enjoy thanks to its straightforward design and simple premise. Again, it definitely has the possibility of being strongly habit-forming, so if you’re someone who loves to crunch through more and more difficult challenges you might want to try it out fairly soon.

Unfortunately the game also has some design issues, repetition and a solid lack of good jokes.

Layers of Fear isn’t just about being terrifying, as it has a solid story that deals with some dark material even though you could very well miss the majority of it if you aren’t diligent about investigating your environment.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is truly a phenomenal game from top to bottom and it has some of the best visuals around. But graphics alone do not make a game great and Rise does not rely on them.

While The Bug Butcher won’t be amazing gamers with its unique premise anytime soon, it’s a game that is well worth playing for a handful of hours.

It is easy to appreciate the effort and creativity that went into this title, but it is probably one that you will want to tackle in thirty or sixty minute spurts.

Oxenfree has its flaws, but the story will keep you engaged until the very end and the charismatic cast of characters, coupled with the visually stunning environments, makes this adventure worth playing.

That Dragon, Cancer tells a beautiful story in the most human way possible and the flaws the game does have can’t take away from that fact.

If you skipped the original, now is a great time to drop in and see what you missed, and The Following adds dozens of hours of new missions and things to do outside the city.

Through a combination of often relaxed but sometimes tense gameplay, a dreamy atmosphere, and genuine characters that feel like they’re actually alive and all living together in this isolated society of longing, Undertale transcends its medium and becomes a genuinely moving experience I would recommend to anyone who is open to a sometimes sorrowful, sometimes hilarious, always bizarre and engaging emotional journey.

If this episode is any indication of what’s to come, this short form adventure could prove to be some of the best work that Telltale Games has put out since the amazing first season of The Walking Dead. With improvements coming through graphically, and the story telling showing strong against the quickened pace of a half season, this small package has a lot going for it. Here’s hoping that it continues.

The game is greatly hindered in two key areas. First its story is nothing short of terrible. Second, and I think far more detrimental, is that it sticks dangerously close to the two games before it. From a pure technical standpoint, the game is sublime. It plays beautifully and is still an incredibly enjoyable game. But the lingering feeling like you’ve done all of this before never left me throughout my time with the game. And for a game that’s supposed to take place over 10,000 years ago that’s a problem.

Nuclear Throne knows what it is and makes no bones about it. It’s a difficult, stylized roguelike with a clear vision of what it’s trying to achieve.

When faced with challenges of a certain magnitude, many people seek escape through emotional-altering substances, mindless activities, destructive relationships or even by escaping physically to someplace remote and isolating. Eventually, they come to realize — perhaps suggested in Firewatch — the ultimate futility of trying to escape that which they carry with them all the time and they begin to accept and understand themselves a little more clearly.

Planet Diver is an unexpectedly ambitious title. A lesser developer would have been content with the simple concept of dodging rocks while hurtling along at nearly unmanageable speeds, but the team at Fabraz have expanded from that baseline admirably.

On one hand I believe it’s a truly brilliant game and an experience that everyone should play. On the other though this is one of the toughest games to play and I can’t say I “enjoyed” any of it. At the end of the day I think it’s a game that everyone should play.

As a gussied-up artifact of another gaming era, it fares conserably better and anyone who loves the series, is a franchise completionist, or missed it on either Gamecube or Wii, should check it out.

Jackbox Party Pack 2 suffers a bit from a lack of novelty when compared with similar mobile games, but it still manages to hold its own with a few fun sequels and a handful of decent, if not riotous, new additions.

Not A Hero is pretty upfront about what it intends to deliver. There are no heroes here, just as there aren’t any deep mechanics or unexpected twists in the gameplay. What the game does have is an incredibly memorable cast of villains, most of whom you’ll be controlling throughout, and a solid core mechanic that unfortunately gets stretched a little too thin.

Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen should be played by every fan of action RPGs.

If you weren’t won over by AC Chronicles: China, AC Chronicles: India probably won’t change your mind. But if you want a game with some solid stealth gameplay and a sizeable smattering of timed, platforming bits, you probably won’t be too disappointed (the low price of admission also helps).

Clocking in at a little under 6 hours, there was no part of Unravel that I found wanting. Great visuals, excellent mechanics, and a satisfyingly sweet, personal narrative background make this a complete no-brainer in my book. I adore this game, and if you have any kind of a heart beating inside of you, I have no doubt that you will too.

It winds up having a look and bothering to introduce an idea, but doesn’t pay it off or give a reason to come back for the next episode.

In a nutshell, Punch Club acted like a stamina-fueled boxer and wore me down. Over time I found myself loathing the training process I originally felt happy progressing in. What started as a fun progression from nobody to star became a tedious task of increasing numbers that may or may not affect the outcome of a fight.

If you are looking for a cheap way to spend a few hours with some friends, and want something light enough to tear through and easy enough to put down when you’ve had your fill, you might find some enjoyment here. Otherwise, I’d look elsewhere.

All things considered, an interesting premise and good storytelling can’t make up for bad game design.

Life is Feudal - like many of its peers in the genre - is not enough fun or rewarding in the short term, and the long game is only for true devotees.

That leaves the package, as a whole, as entirely worth it, and another set of great additions to Zen’s ever growing library.

As an action game, it’s streamlined and not terribly deep, but the labyrinthine tower itself is an inspired setting and the premise of the game and its excellent execution are fresh enough to fill in the gaps when the combat starts to disappoint.

Steamworld Heist is a ton of fun, and developer Image and Form are doing a great job of trying new things following the surprise success of Steamworld Dig.

If you aren’t a big fan of turn-based combat, then Hard West is probably not a game for you. If, however, you have played through the XCOM series, Wasteland 2, or even the Shadowrun reboot RPGs, then Hard West will provide something a little different if you are still looking for more turn-based combat.