When the game is at its best, it provides exactly what a video game about a submarine should provide -- that childlike sense of wonder and adventure that can only come from a new discovery or a narrow escape from a tough battle. It is just a shame that the game is hampered by some major flaws that shouldn't have been terribly difficult to avoid. If you can stick with the game, it rewards you suitably. When the credits rolled, I was left smiling, with a positive impression of the game, but that was only five hours or so after I decided to quit the game and never pick it back up again.

Judged purely as a strategy or a simulation game, it is mostly a failure. It suffers from too many game design mistakes and it has too many broken systems to survive on its gameplay alone. Judged as an overall experience, however, and the game fares better.

I really wanted to like Rise & Shine. It’s one of the prettiest indie games I’ve played because of its beautiful and vibrant hand-drawn backgrounds, enemies and player characters. It’s also rife with fun, tongue-in-cheek references to the video games of yore. But that love quickly fades after spending hours and hours on a game that feels way harder than it needs to be. The demands and rigors of combat are unnecessarily stacked against the player, taking the form of frequent and cheap deaths. Love turns to fear, fear leads to anger, anger leads to pain, and pain leads to rage quitting and never wanting to play Rise & Shine ever again.

I really liked the way Trüberbrook looks, and although that isn’t enough to carry even a short game, Trüberbrook had enough interesting story beats and characters to keep me engaged. Mechanical issues and slow pace would have killed a longer or more complex adventure but the game’s imperfections were a tolerable price to pay, given the rewards of experiencing its hand-crafted world.

Until fatigue with the game design sets in - which will vary from player to player - City of Brass is a lot of fun, a flavorful medley of ingredients that harmonize well.

Without spoiling anything, it is hard to explain how great From the Ashes truly is. The Detail is heating up and episode 2 provides it with the spark and breath it needs to last three additional episodes.

NBA Playgrounds does a solid job of filling the void left by the NBA Street and NBA Jam series. There is a deep roster of players, and the game's cartoonish visuals look great, but the bare-bones online play and frustrating gameplay mechanics sometimes make the game feel more like a chore rather than an enjoyable experience.

There is no doubt that 3 on 3 NHL Arcade is missing some key features like a Season or Tournament mode, it needed something. Lucky for the guys and gals over at EA, 3 on 3 NHL Arcade works from top to bottom giving a really great arcade hockey experience.

This story shared between a young boy and injured bird is absolutely worth a small chunk of your afternoon.

Attack of the Earthlings checks off a few boxes that don’t often get checked. It’s a stealthy turn-based game with a sense of humor and flipping the role of humans to enemy is a welcome change. It’s a bit slow and the highs it hits aren’t stratospheric but fans of the genre who need a strategy fix should check it out.

There’s a land of wondrous play and exploration somewhere in this premise, but Never Alone isn’t it.

Code of Princess EX is fun in spurts, but is otherwise a mixed bag. I enjoyed the cast’s jabs at the story more than the plot itself. The mechanics are empowering and fun to play out, but lead to a repetitive and predictable gameplay loop. Likewise, the plethora of playable characters is offset by limited movesets. The relatively high price for a port of a 3DS game may not win many fans over either. Ultimately, Code of Princess EX is most tailored to enthusiasts of the beat-em 'up genre and to players seeking a cathartic experience.

Sands of Salzaar could be considered an unfashionable game because it’s not permadeath roguelike Souls-like with survival and crafting elements. Despite its looks, it’s not a loot-a-thlon either. Instead it’s a fast-paced and personally involving action-RPG that is fresh as a bubbling oasis in middle of the desert that isn’t just a mirage! Mod support and separate multiplayer campaign add to the already addictive experience. All this comes at the price tag of only 13 dollars for some amazing value for money. One could even say that Sands of Salzaar puts many of the bigger titles to shame with its creativity and energy. It may not re-invent computer role-playing games but it shows that there is still kick in the old genre and all it needed was bringing it out to the sun.

The poor story mode and the absence of the online play really hurts the game's overall value.

When it comes to nostalgia, there’s a fine line between “loving homage” and “trying desperately recapture former glory.” Fortunately, ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove is a fantastic and faithful attempt to bring a nearly thirty-year old game into relevancy. It’s more than just a flashy reboot of the original title, adding in new elements as well as those adopted from its sequel, Panic on Funkotron, to make something that feels fresh, new, and stand shoulder to shoulder with the kind of roguelikes available today. A blast from the past that never feels forced or at odds with itself, ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove is a delight from start to finish.

It's certainly not perfect, but it's a wonderful attempt that captures a lot of what made the games fun in the first place. It's a strong entry in a storied series, and will hopefully be a guiding light for a resurgence of the franchise.

The bottom line, though, is that I can’t help feel disappointed that the bugs I experienced really ruined it all as I hate losing game progress over something that wasn’t my fault. I’m hesitant to recommend the game until it gets patched (again, let people make setting changes from the pause menu! And give us a manual save, too!). Or, at the very least, let me caution you to be extremely conscious of how and when you go back to the game’s menu screen to avoid harsh, mental anguish.

But just be prepared for some frustrating controls and a somewhat unforgiving camera.

For all its cool factor and pitch perfect virtual reality immersion, the lack of any substantial and compelling gameplay for most of the game make Detached hard to recommend at its full price. Wait for a sale.

Although they may have been late with a Finding Nemo game, THQ releases a fun party game with lots of mini-games to thrill the younger gamers.

Although it wants to be like Wii Sports and be enjoyable by yourself or with others, it just doesn't get that far. However at the same token, EA Playground when played with others is a really strong experience and it's use of the motion technology comes together very nicely and makes for an enjoyable game to play through.

It's not flat-out bad, but it is frustrating, questionably designed, and more than a little boring.

American Fugitive is an enjoyable homage to GTA of the distant past, with a good deal of content and a story that does a good — if rarely memorable — job of moving game through its paces. Some regrettable mechanics and repetition in mission design steal some of the game’s good will but American Fugitive is engaging simply for competently exploring an under-represented genre and style.

I would recommend that to get the most out of the game in all areas, you should play it on another platform. The compromises of the Switch version can take away from a lot of the visual beauty and wonder, which is a big part of any game - I mean, you’re looking at the screen all the time. However, the Nintendo Switch version - while certainly rough around the edges - is still playable on the hybrid system. It’s worth keeping in mind the drawbacks mentioned in this review, but if you don’t have the option for another platform to play on, or are dead-set on playing the game with handheld as an option, then this is still a solid option for those players and is an RPG worth playing however you can.

There’s an old school vibe that permeates through The HD Adventures of Rotating Octopus Character. Its simplicity, difficulty and colorful, Japan-inspired visuals are a call back to a bygone era of games.

If you just want to play a game that’s all about pointless grinding, for whatever weird reason, then go ahead. But Citizens of Earth just can’t keep up with the promise of its story and falls flat after just a few hours and then you realize that you’re somehow not even halfway done.

A game that really has the makings of a good game but doesn't stick around long enough to successfully show it off.

Stronghold Crusader 2 was a rare game that I got lost in. I started playing and before I knew it, it was six hours later. Who can resist a game about castle building, economy raising, and taking on large castles full of troops and hazards?. Especially when you can soften up the numbers by launching diseased animals over castle walls.