There are not enough words to describe how beautiful the game looks, or how despite the huge number of alternate costumes you have access too, nothing feels as right as the new suit Insomniac created. I could spin webs about the excellent boss fights that liter the back half of the game, and how they manage to test your skills without resorting to just packing the screen full of enemies and story-wise. I could do all these things, but I won’t because you need to play this and experience it for yourself. Again, with no qualifiers, Marvel’s Spider-Man is the best game you will play this year. It most certainly has been the best one I have.

In the end, Death's Gambit is a solid 2D Souls clone that actually attempts to tell a direct story and provide the same challenge that fans are looking for. And it's just downright beautiful. Unfortunately, the gameplay is fairly shallow, with limited weapons and abilities. Death's Gambit can also be rather short if you are skilled at these types of games (I mean, I definitely grinded some levels). If you can't get enough of Souls action and are looking for your next challenge, you should definitely have your eye on Death's Gambit. If not, this is a title you can definitely save for a rainy day.

Freedom Planet’s solid level design, clever movesets, and well-executed combat mechanics all come together to achieve a balanced flow, placing a focus on platforming and combat over raw speed. Most importantly, the game keeps a consistent pace, so the faster automatic segments are exhilarating and the slower sections don’t feel like a massive downgrade.

From top to bottom, Bow To Blood offers a solid concept, fun player/AI dynamics, randomized play, and great VR immersion. This game belongs in every PSVR owner’s library.

Gamers who love Stardew Valley primarily as the opportunity to live a vicarious alternative life might be disappointed by Graveyard Keeper, but those who are attracted to the slow and steady rhythm of building, crafting, and management will enjoy the many systems at play. The game is rarely punishing but maybe not always rewarding in the same measure some would prefer. Its humor is dry and witty without being too obvious and its presentation and polish are only marred by some infrequent bugs.

Fans who are starving for more Pillars of Eternity II will not be disappointed, either by the gameplay or by this mini story’s dive into some of the universe’s more interesting lore. On the other hand, if you have sunk 150 hours into the series through two full games and two previous DLCs, then you may be tiring of its formula, its routine, and its combat. It probably feels even more tiresome if you love the series for its open ended exploration, since the mostly linear DLC offers very little of this. How much you will enjoy Beast of Winter ultimately depends upon how important each of these elements are to you.

A season pass promises new characters and campaign missions. I can only hope they also bring along much needed variety to the gameplay.

Overall, Flat Heroes is a fun little game that I recommend in short micro bursts. You may get bored during longer play sessions, but this is the sort of game you can return to again and again. That is, of course, if you can get past the entry barrier of the primitive and simplistic presentation style. But I have always been a gamer about fun first and foremost. I will play a simple looking fun game over an incredibly looking mediocre game any day.

iNK Stories’ effort to create both an enthralling story and a factual window into history is admirable, and while it doesn’t quite stick the landing, it’s still an interesting game with plenty of historical information to paw through after you’ve completed it. The price tag is a bit too steep for a three-hour game, but history buffs and Telltale fans alike should see value in 1979 Revolution: Black Friday.

Insane Robots is a neat little game. It's well-presented and easily-accessible, something for everyone but the simple, lite card battles will not keep most people entertained for long.

The game is put together competently, but missteps and minor issues are repeatedly encountered to the point where they grow large in scale. A good concept and the intent to make a strong game is there, and by trying to reap a niche market, the developers clearly have the passion to make a great game. However, there aren’t enough hooks to keep you strongly invested in Titan Quest.

Like so many games before it, Yakuza Kiwami 2 does a great job of bringing players up to speed with previous events, which makes stepping into this pleasantly dense universe easy and comfortable.

The game is not just another Diablo clone either as NeocoreGames has woven enough depth of its own to the well-worn concept. The dark science fiction setting is also a refreshing departure to the sword and sorcery the genre usually sees. Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr is a good game and has makings of a great one too - if only its technical issues are eventually fixed.

There will be something here for those looking to scratch the Left 4 Dead itch, but Earthfall revels in simply functioning like it should, rather than standing out on its own. It exists in a limbo between a great and bad game, simply becoming a perfectly adequate but forgettable experience. Earthfall will be very heavily reliant on future updates to decide which side of the fence it falls on.

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.

An amazing confluence of level and monster design, combat and gameplay systems, Monster Hunter: World is undoubtedly best Monster Hunter game. After spending well over a hundred hours outside the campaign, I think my original review score was actually a little low. As a game, Monster Hunter: World is still incredible, but the PC release can only be considered definitive for a relatively small number of power users with top-shelf GPUs and zippy processors. While everyone with a recent PC and decent graphics card can make the game work, for many players the best experience may still be on console.

The Mooseman has an amazing musical composition that had me listening to folk music of the Komi for the first time. In addition to what I heard, the game also illustrated a history and mythology I had no prior knowledge of. Unfortunately, the game fell short in delivering a worthwhile gaming experience because it lacks actual gameplay design. After finishing the game, I felt that the Finno-Ugric mythology would have been better served by watching a cinema-quality short which The Mooseman essentially was.

Semblance is a game full of excellent and satisfying puzzles, marred only by some odd jankiness and a final level that doesn’t focus on the strengths of what had come before. While short, the experience was overall enjoyable, and a fun take on the idea of a world that can be deformed on your way to finishing a puzzle. It could definitely use more levels, but it doesn’t overstay its welcome, and in the end, isn’t it good for a game to leave you wanting more?

Overall, PUSS! is a game that appeals to those looking for a real hardcore challenge in an uncommon genre. The presentation sold me at first, but as I gradually toiled away at the many difficult challenges, my interest eventually waned. It’s not a game I’d recommend to anyone other than those primarily interested in a high difficulty. Even then, it’s a game that relies on sheer memorization and muscle memory rather than any skill and inventiveness. For a game so heavily inspired by the often calm and melancholic vaporwave, it’s surprisingly tense and aggressive.

Hand of Fate 2 has a perfect home on the Nintendo Switch, as it is the perfect game to play between classes or just before going to sleep. The portability the Switch offers for a game like this is phenomenal and I could not see myself playing on any other system. However, I've never felt both so frustrated and so satisfied by a game before. I simultaneously want to keep playing it and also to never touch it again. As a result, I have no idea how to rate this. I guess I will rate it right down the middle, with a few bonus points for the truly amazing voice talent.

Loaded with problems, dullness, and annoyances, Pool Panic didn’t grip me anywhere in a way I expected it to. It has a good idea, and with some more interesting level ideas in place, the game would have been an easy recommendation. Instead it just feels wasted. It’s flat and wears out its welcome before you’re even close to done with the 100+ levels. The nuggets of greatness can still be found, but they’re just too few and far between to really keep up the excitement that the title suggests.

As much as Dead Cells tries - and largely succeeds - to make some concessions to wider accessibility, it is still a game for players with patience and tolerance. Death is frequent, replays inevitable and while the hack-and-slash is almost always engaging in the moment, there's a fair amount of visual repetition and, thanks to the procedural generation elements, fun is little bit dependent on the luck of the draw. Dead Cells may be a near masterpiece of the genre, but the genre's conventions are still a barrier to greatness.

It’s a shame that Team17 have found it hard to strike a balance between complicating things enough to keep Mugsters interesting but not too much to make it tedious and frustrating. The first few levels are a fantastic hook into the game, showing off its terrific abstract graphical style and some fun, yet simple puzzle mechanics, but the more you play, the more it gets bogged down by the burden of adding more. The multiplayer does add some fun novelty, but ultimately Mugsters probably isn’t a game you’ll feel like completing.

Despite having some cool narrative hooks and an overarching premise that will span several player-influenced chapters, City of the Shroud lacks a coherent, consistent tone and central character about whom we care. Verbose and in need of an editor's red pencil, the writing falters when it tries to be funny and the combat lacks fluidity, variety and intensity. City of the Shroud contains some original ideas but the game built on them doesn't quite do them justice.

A sincere and genuine attempt to tell a story about the impact of depression, Anamorphine as a delivery vehicle for addressing mental illness is constantly undermined by its engine troubles.

We Happy Few could have been a great psychological thriller but its muddled vision and scope leaves it trailing behind the merit it deserves.

As a first episode, Done Running managed to hook me in with its quiet, character moments, allowing for a closer connection to a character I have watched grow from a child into a young woman. I know there’s a lot left to come, but if these moments are any indication of where this season is headed, I am quite sure that the combination of Clem and AJ will have me breaking down in a flood of tears at the end. While the action detracts from the overall experience, I can’t help but look forward to the end, and the hope, that maybe, there is a happy ending inside the world of The Walking Dead.

Sure, it’s derivative and predictable too, but it’s there where the game gets its strong footing. Also, we need more protagonists like Richard. His imperfection makes him more realistic than typical squeaky-clean heroes who are never wrong and act always in an altruistic manner. True to European branch of fiction, State of Mind doesn't feel like underlining or sugarcoating matters. Either you get them or don't, and the game gives a damn if you don’t.