Developer Strange Company is to be lauded for creating a VR RPG that is lengthy and far more substantial than so many of its brethren. While aesthetically Left-Hand Path can't quite overcome the technical limits of the Rift or Vive, it is built on a magical combat system that is robust and challenging (and occasionally frustrating) to use. Now that we're a couple of years into the their retail releases, no developer has managed to produce that killer app that makes virtual reality systems an essential purchase. That said, games like Left-Hand Path are moving the creative progress of gameplay and storytelling in VR incrementally forward.

Although I appreciate what the Royal Pack has brought to the lore of Insomnia, its paltry additions may only appeal to the most hardcore fans who don’t mind replaying the definitive edition of a single chapter. If you’ve never played Final Fantasy XV, the Royal Edition or Windows Edition, both of which have all the DLC – including the character episodes and bonus content not present in the Royal Pack – is the way to go.

Cognition – An Erica Reed Thriller – Episode 3: The Oracle, is mostly an entertaining experience. You may miss some of the features that showed up in the first two episodes, like the forensics/murder investigation elements and the variety of locations.

It's a pretty standard action RPG with simple controls and decent action.

As time wore on so did the fun of the game, and it ended up being just another movie made into a game.

It's a shame that the single-player and online components of Nidhogg 2 are so underwhelming, because the local multiplayer itself is quite fun. As a party game, the game has a lot to offer, especially when passing the controllers around and playing the game in small doses. While it's not going to pull anybody away from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Nidhogg 2 deserves a place in your lineup of Switch party games, especially at its price tag of 15 bucks.

At it's default difficulty, Dead in Vinland is a very challenging game, made up of many interconnected systems, each with the potential to create a fail state if not carefully managed. The combat is pretty simplistic and not as rewarding as simply keeping the characters alive day to day but in general, this is a game with a lot of depth. It's easy to die, and each replay becomes just a little less interesting, so I highly recommend playing through on the easy mode first.

Extreme racing is truly well and good on the PSP, with solid fast-paced action on the small screen and excellent visual which would please the series' fans.

In short, Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment is a fun disappointment.

Compilations generally don't do well, but Capcom gives PSP owners quite a treat with the decent emulation of truly great classics.

Mothergunship is a cool FPS rogue-like shooter with a cool mechanic that’s hurt by technical hiccups. There's enough to like, though; gun crafting is fun and creative, the writing has a good sense of humor, and some of the boss fights are both pretty neat and intense. Building guns will soon be better with friends when a free update launches in August that will let you play with someone else in co-op mode.

This L.A. Noire remaster is more than worth revisiting, even if it is lousy with issues that just start to seem more apparent with time. It's the definition of flawed ambition, shooting for the stars and never quite reaching it. It's rare to find a game like this that is willing to be so simple and down-to-earth, about a cop with a wife (who's never even threatened or fridged!) just doing the work. Hopefully Rockstar's remastering of it is a suggestion that they're on their way to starting the franchise back up – it may still be enjoyable, but there's a lot that could be improved.

Death Squared has been marketed as a puzzle game that anyone, from hardcore gamers to grandmas, could pick up and enjoy, and I think in that respect it succeeds. I see it being most worthwhile as a party game to be played with friends, where everyone can work together to solve these puzzles that are often times both intricate and exceedingly challenging. The concept behind Death Squared is sound, but with a startling lack of variety in its content, the satisfaction from solving these inventive puzzles only lasts so long.

The degree to which you like Alone with You will depend largely upon how much emphasis you put on story versus gameplay. At times, the game feels a little bit too much like a walking simulator with 1993 graphics. A game like Alone with You that features survival so heavily as one of its major themes should make survival tough and satisfying, but the game does not offer that experience. On the other hand, success comes in abundance with the game’s setting, characters, and story. Whereas most “space disaster” games feature scary aliens, action, and explosions, Alone with You features realistic human tragedy. It is a unique approach to this genre of fiction that I have never experienced in video games. It is for this reason that this game can still be considered an overall success, despite its overly simplistic and deeply flawed gameplay.

Capcom's free-flowing Zelda-esque adventure title is a surprisingly decent blend of action, platforming and puzzle-solving.

Herald: An Interactive Period Drama achieves what it set out to do: It weaves an elaborate story full of entertaining characters, without being squeamish in terms of pointing out racism and cultural bias. The atmosphere is a vivid landscape of bold, striking hues, and the dialog is ripe with interesting conversation choices. I felt genuinely interested in Devan’s experience and personally invested in my decisions along the way. Each choice felt like it carried true weight, given the context and underlining exploration of very serious themes. The voice acting is top-notch, and the soundtrack is a lovely element that compliments without overshadowing. I’m a huge fan of the Point & Click genre, so titles that challenge the norm and think outside the box always capture my attention. Fans of historical themes, story-rich adventures, and compelling characters need to look no further than Herald for a great new experience.

Although Gato Roboto does not provide the type of sprawling world design that Metroidvania titles are known for, it still does a decent job at reducing this type of experience into a condensed form. The abbreviated process of upgrading Kiki’s mech suit is a satisfying sprint that takes you from helplessness to empowerment at a rapid pace. It may not offer an exciting new take on Metroidvanias, and the limited scope of the world is disappointing, but Gato Roboto works as a solid microcosm of its genre for those who are strapped for time.

No matter what your favorite character platformer series is -- be it Sly Cooper or Ratchet and Clank -- Skylar and Plux is likely a game that won't measure up to it. It is a game that can be forgiven for all of its flaws though, because so much genuine love went into the game that it is nearly impossible to actively dislike it. There is nothing cynical whatsoever about this game. Instead, it oozes with an almost childlike enthusiasm, which is something uncommon in today's environment of dark, gritty games and hopelessly bloated development budgets. It is that enthusiasm, along with the constantly changing music and scenery, that wholeheartedly carries the game and gives you the ability to overlook its shortcomings. The game may be guilty of relying on that sense too much, forcing you to look the other way at everything that it is missing or does wrong. Gamers who require more robust gameplay mechanics or more collectibles may find themselves underwhelmed by Skylar and Plux. They should still be able to appreciate the effort though, if not the result.

Nighthaw-X3000’s primary flaw is the lack of innovative or revolutionary design with its core gameplay, with levels that do little that stand out. It also could’ve been a little longer, having only eight levels that last a few minutes each. Having said that, the presentation is astounding, the music is awesome, the main hero is over-the-top in a very amusing way, and the bosses are incredibly fun to fight. Add in its low cost and co-op, it’s hard to not recommend. Retro-gaming and shmup fans alike should consider giving this a try.

Still, if you loved Dishonored as much as I did, The Knife of Dunwall is worth your time; just be prepared for more of the same and less of the extraordinary. Except for Daud. Daud’s cool.

Leo’s Fortune has all the components for fun, but it’s length and familiarity are its undoing.

A pretty standard sci-fi story filled with your standard tropes punches slightly above its weight thanks to a great performance and some okay gameplay. The shooting isn’t anything to write home about, but a few of the weapons provide enough moments that the shortcomings aren’t easy to ignore, but mild enough to put up with. To paraphrase Hurk, sometimes you find yourself somewhere without context and just kind of have to roll with it. When you’re Lost on Mars, it’s really the only way to go.

Skul: The Hero Slayer has a lot going for it, but it is also muddled with design issues. For all of its creative skull designs, interesting build options, and cool and flashy attacks, I found the experience as a whole to be draining. It’s a case where the core gameplay loop is hindered by its overbearing rogue elements. A genre reliant on repetition has to accommodate for it by offsetting the recursive elements of the game, no matter how good the combat is. Skul: The Hero Slayer is certainly enjoyable on occasion, but its roguelite ingredients ultimately harm the title as a whole.

Had a lot of potential but didn't do enough with it. They focused a little too much on Rayne's abilities and not enough on trying to make the game more difficult, and more challenging.

It's cool if you ever thought of playing a GTA-style game set in 80s' Mexico, but ultimately marred by the 'overdose' of bullet-time gameplay.

BAFL is flawed, strangely in ways that could’ve been easily patched up. What’s there at its foundation is strong, though, with a good palette of gameplay choices. You'll be done with your hour-or-more sessions in an afternoon, but it's priced with this in mind. Beyond that, the time trials give it what I’m going to call intermittent longevity; it’s the type of game that sits on your menu, playable in less than a minute, just begging you to improve upon your last score. Some additional options and visual tweaks would’ve served it immensely, but all the same, BAFL is worth a look.

In the end, I think that an FMV game should offer more variety in locations and interactivity than The Complex. A one-location drama doesn’t necessarily carry through consecutive playthroughs all that well in this media. When you are skipping through scenes, you only begin to pay attention to iffy special effects and some extras who really look a bit out of place. The Complex has a well-written story, some witty dialogue, and a likable cast, but the lack of true branching for most of its running time dilutes its appeal beyond a few playthroughs. In the hunt for all the endings, you will most likely grow feeling indifferent to everything the story tries to say.

However the final results is an underwhelming first person shooter that lacks clear direction and character.