Stygian isn’t that long as it takes some 15-20 hours to see its horrors through, depending on your willingness to search every nook and cranny of its warped world, and the story paves the way for more adventures in the doomed Arkham. However, the replay value is strong due to different character archetypes and what gameplay options they will bring along, adding to the multiple ways to approach quests. In many ways, the game was an eye-opening experience. It sets the bar high what comes to meaningful content and depicting an atmospheric game world and also reminds of what is still possible to achieve in its well-worn genre when given enough effort, heart and thought.

Marred only by a relative lack of content, Fast Racing Neo more than ably fills a void left by other futuristic racers and just looks and sounds incredible as well.

Faeria is a solid card game that has enough depth, and unique features to make it standout in a overcrowded genre. Despite a low total number of cards, the vast singleplayer options, coupled with a generous economy and very interesting mechanics, makes this one of the better games in the genre.

There are many gamers, I’m certain, who will not only enjoy Ghostrunner’s challenges but be perfectly happy with its demanding and repetitive mechanics. I enjoy challenge, too, but I also want to learn from my mistakes and maybe even succeed the first time around. Ghostrunner is a well-made game with a very specific intention, and there are players for whom this title will be Nirvana. Just not me.

Assassin's Creed is an amazing accomplishment by Ubisoft Montreal. Make no mistake, this is a fantastic game, it has so much to offer.

Overcooked! 2 is fun, exciting, and keeps the joy of couch co-op alive. The formula and flow of the game are fantastic and I was constantly delighted by the challenges posed by unconventional kitchen layouts modeled around different themes and mechanics. This is definitely going to find a place among the games to break out when I have friends over.

Hunt: Showdown doesn’t try to do a lot of things beyond its core mission, and the challenging gameplay and limited selection of maps — though they are expansive and interesting — might be a barrier to long-term enjoyment. Assuming the developers keep infusing the game with content, Hunt: Showdown is a fresh take on the genre that has already become a bit stale.

I think Strange Loop Games had a lot of nice and genuinely cool ideas that were decently executed. For the most part Vessel is fun, creative, and deals very well with fluid dynamics (congratulations to the programmer[s] responsible). It's a shame that such a crucial component of the game is executed so poorly. However, as the new studio's first product, Vessel succeeds more than it fails and shows that the studio has the potential to make a truly fantastic game in the future.

Visual Concepts feeds the gaming public's hunger for fast and edgy college basketball action, with this feature-rich and rock-solid game.

Dream Team‘s bright and friendly world is an easy one to fall in love with, but by the time you reach the end, that love will have been tested repeatedly by uneven design and a lack of narrative follow-through. Many of its flaws could be reduced to its strict following of the series’ formula without expanding on what makes it endearing. Much like Luigi’s dreams, AlphaDream’s latest is a little pre-occupied with expectations of Big Bro.

Despite those small story issues, Helldivers conquers its fair share of stars.

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy may not reset your thoughts on the series, but it’s still an excellent game in a long-running series, and even people who’ve never played a game in the franchise can enjoy their experiences with the game.

The all too familiar Quick Time Event mechanic, featured prominently in “Catch A Ride,” is old and its age is made all the more noticeable because of the weak story. It’s also unfunny, hurt by technical issues, and fails to inject excitement in its own narrative, one that I still have no idea of where it’s planning to go.

Personally, I don't see it winning any awards at the end of the year, but if you like high fantasy and games that will keep you busy for hours with a great number of quests and activities, Amalur is certainly well worth your money. However, if you're already entrenched in Skyrim, holding off on this one for awhile might be a good idea, lest you suffer from open world RPG burnout.

Sunset Overdrive is the definition of the word “fun.” Insomniac has created something special here. The hilarious plot, unique gameplay, stunning art style and massive, explorable world translate to an unforgettable journey into Insomniac’s not-so-serious apocalypse.

Crysis has been a graphical benchmark to which PC games have been striving to reach for four years. Now it is on consoles and it is an undeniably good time no matter what platform it is on because despite having lauded graphics, that is not what makes the game great. The gameplay is fantastic too. Though not without its shortcomings, Crysis for consoles is an experience to be had by anyone that cannot play it on their PC. And since its only 20 bones, what are you waiting for?

My advice would be to rent Rage, it can be completed within a weekend and has a few great moments, just keep your expectations to a minimum.

Rockstar bounces back from their Hot-Coffee fiasco in style, with a fresh take on table tennis. Think of it as Pong for the 360, a truly fluid and fun budget title.

The Jak and Daxter HD Collection is a nice little piece of history coded onto a disc.

In bringing the series back from the dead to today’s competitive scene, Samurai Shodown not only chooses to honor the series legacy but dares to be old-school. Instead of flashing extra frosting to attract attention, the game trusts that its basic gameplay is enough to keep the players coming back to it. There’s no trendy character customization and all the collectibles are just gallery items, such as sounds, artwork and movies, you unlock by playing, not paying. Samurai Shodown is like a Chinese checkers to more showy and easygoing fighting games out there but not any less engaging. It’s not how fast you can hit but when you hit that matters. Uncompromised and dignified, Samurai Shodown might be a niche title in its genre but it does its own thing and succeeds in it.

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.

It has plenty of great courses, fun characters, and just a very accessible and solid gameplay system.

EA takes basketball to the next level with the extreme arcade series, this time with solid gameplay and juicy visuals that does enough to keep you hooked.

Putting the poor Live experience aside, the game is really quite good combining a heavy dose of both action and strategy into one game, makes for an extremely enjoyable experience.

Are you in the mood for a unique puzzle game filled with ambient electronic music and want to feel good about supporting independent game development? Waveform may just be right up your alley. It is elegant in its simplicity, but don't let that fool you. The game quickly becomes challenging and with about eleven stages (filled with ten levels each), there's a surprisingly large amount of game and replayability to be had. I see myself coming back to this game often.

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is an excellent 2D platformer that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The humor is quirky, the gameplay is great, and it expertly crafts a retro-style game into a glossy and new coat of paint. Even so, it didn’t seem to provide the same sense of awe that Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse provided in the not-so-distant past of 2014. This is not to say that Half-Genie Hero missed the mark; it’s just different from what you would expect out of the series. Fortunately, that’s one of the best features about the series as a whole. Each game feels unique, bringing a whole new taste to the table every time. This is what always brings me back to Shantae, and it’s what makes Half-Genie Hero all the more enjoyable. Ultimately, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero manages to create a sense of old-school bliss in the modern era where there proves to be little success, and it’s wonderful.

Everything in the game adds up to the overall experience, making The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II one of the best in the genre. The third part of Trails of Cold Steel saga has seen the daylight only in Japan for PS4. I hope the western PC conversion doesn’t take too much time to arrive. I want to see what’s stored for Rean and Class VII in the future!

It's an incredibly solid game of football that hasn’t done a great job of putting it all together. I really like the tightened up player movement and all quality of life improvements in the franchise mode. But I can’t help but feel like the best of this franchise is still ahead of it. Madden NFL 19 is a fully-featured and well-playing enough and if you’re in the mood for some football, it's still the game to get.