As a whole, Sine Mora EX excellently interweaves the age-old time travel trope into both its complex paradoxical plot and unique time manipulation mechanics. And all seven levels are a spectacle, hosting beautiful environments and impressive gigantic bosses. The ability to slow down bullet barrages, combined with a fair checkpoint system, makes it more approachable than others in the genre. Regardless, most won’t get mileage outside of the main campaign, which ultimately makes this a hard sell for anyone but enthusiasts. And although the Nintendo Switch edition has that trademark portability, it’s tough to justify that higher price compared to other systems’ versions. Nonetheless, it’s an exceptional experience that will offer hardcore shoot ‘em up fans a great time.

Destiny was, out of the gate, kind of a mess that got much better with the Taken King expansion. It was, for a time, incoherent and obtuse but attracted a rabid fan base that appreciated its multiplayer combat and mystical story and worlds. Destiny 2 arrives as a much more polished, tightly focused experience that has far fewer glaring faults and many core strengths. It looks fantastic and the combat is still really fun. Its campaign is far more coherent and probably better executed but lacks passion or characters with whom we can engage. From its lavish advertising campaign to its lavish production values, Destiny 2 has a bloodless, corporate feel that acknowledges the sins of the first game, but maybe goes a little too far in its zeal to correct them.

10tons has truly mastered their unique concept of top-down shooters. The more they make them, the more addictive they get. I’m truly impressed by how simple yet genius the game structure and gameplay mechanics in JYDGE are. Nothing superfluous, just beautifully honed bare-bones concept of fun. Just like in the old times. Re-playability is built into the game as a key factor and the customization options are eventually exhausting. You can pretty much decide how you play the game and even exploit it to some degree by creatively combining certain upgrades. As big Arnie slurred in Terminator 3, the jydgement day is inevitable, so you might just as well jump in there right away.

Batman: The Enemy Within is Telltale at their best, and The Pact simply continues to prove why.

At the end of the day whether you jump in for the grind or not, NBA 2K18 is an amazing game of basketball. I know the microtransactions are going to drive some nuts, but for me personally, I found a ton of enjoyment without ever once thinking about spending money. I believe that the foundation that 2K has laid with the neighborhood could revolutionize not only this franchise but others out there. It’s a compelling way to extend the life of a sports game far past the initial season. If 2K is able to soften the grind without having to pay to win, NBA 2K should have no problem remaining the king of sports games.

It has simply been done too many times before, and the game seems content to be a comfortable -- in both a good and not-so-great way -- and immediately recognizable experience. Easy for me to say. I'm not sure how to make the storming of Normandy or the frigid Russian winters surprising again, especially in an RTS where the human drama takes a back seat to pushing around little units to solve tactical puzzles. For console gamers less affected by ennui, Sudden Strike 4 is approachable and not terribly obtuse and provides something that PC players have come to take for granted: a great looking, fun-to-play, well-made strategy game about one of history's most turbulent and strategically interesting periods.

Sonic Mania is a wonderful celebration of what's made Sonic so great in the past while also striving to push it forward. This isn't to say it's perfect – it has some of the problems of the previous games as well – but it's such a perfect encapsulation of old Sonic games, it's impressive. If you've ever been curious about what makes these old games special, or if you're just interested in revisiting the series you loved as a kid, this is the best way to do it. It's the old and the new wrapped together in a way that makes both shine. I hope this team goes on to do more, and eventually break themselves away from needing to remix old levels and just make their own.

All the additions to the base game, from the new hero, to the ultra creepy Mosquito Vampires, are glorious, and in the end, add a fantastic amount of good content to an already great game. Ten dollars earns you an easy 30+ hours re-exploring the Ancestor’s Homestead, and while I am loathe to make value calls, this one is so easy that not making it feels wrong. If you have not picked this up yet, stop wasting time. The Countess calls…

R.B.I. Baseball 17 is a decent arcade sports game but doesn’t do anything particularly special to sell itself beyond its authentic rosters and MLB license. There is some fun to be had with scoring big plays or home runs, but that should be a given for this type of game. This one is only recommended for the biggest sports fanatics who are craving a baseball experience on Switch and can overlook its glaring drawbacks. While the simplistic gameplay promotes pick-up-and-play matches, the lack of online, faulty fielding, and bland presentation make it feel like a watered-down version of other sports titles. Add in the game-crashing glitches and R.B.I. Baseball 17 strikes out.

I never sat down with The Escapists 2 without smiling. Even during its rough first hours, its personality and a keen sense of humor kept me going. And as you discover its layers of challenge, intrigue, and variety, you'll be hooked. By turning the routine into a steady and engaging flow of progress, and by spicing things up with historical and fantastical locations, The Escapists 2 gets tremendous mileage out of its premise. Then you have the online, which is mildly problematic yet brimming with life and new ways to experience the game. You may be serving time in jail, but The Escapists 2 will ensure that you won't feel guilty about it. Now excuse me, I think I've earned some kind of punishment for that awful wordplay.

Voltron VR Chronicles is a small and sweet love letter to a great cartoon series. It also makes great wish fulfillment—on par with Star Wars Battlefront’s VR Mission—for those whose childhoods were enriched by the series back in the day. If there’s a specific thing to call out against the game, I was a little bummed that there were no interactive bits involving Voltron itself. Then again, as the giant robot’s right leg, what is there to do except kick furiously? With a nice balance between in-engine cinematics and simple, yet solid gameplay, this is one of those VR games I plan to keep on my PlayStation 4 to show others the immersive capabilities of the PSVR and to keep me satiated until the next season of the show debuts on Netflix.

It is too bad that what was good about AereA did not ultimately find a better game in which to reside. It is a bad game, but it is one that does not feel like a soulless cash grab. On the other hand, it is also not a game that stumbles because it is overly ambitious or because it banks on one or two game mechanics that just don’t work. It is a game that sets a low bar for its gameplay and then fails to hurdle it. It is hard to tell what, exactly was the goal of developer Triangle Studios when they developed this game, which is far too simple and repetitive to compete with any action RPG produced in the past 20 years. What is easy to conclude, however, is that AereA is not good, and regardless of your interest level in action RPGs or classical music, you will likely not enjoy it.

Don’t Knock Twice is a short, play-it-once-and-forget kind of game whose purpose is to promote a film that might have flown below a radar or two. I enjoyed the genuinely unnerving moments of psychological terror that I thought brought the game within arms reach of Silent Hill. As a media tie-in, it’s not an especially bad game but the schtick doesn’t last as long as it should. The game does have two different endings but to ask the player to go through the whole game again just to see them is almost too much. If given a more polish and additional content, Don’t Knock Twice could have been a fantastic VR horror experience.

In the end, I feel like Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battles is a great game just falling short of a few paces from becoming a masterpiece, which I mean in a positive sense because there are rooms for improvement in this already exceptional tactical/strategy game. Ubisoft went above and beyond to prove that they can make a Mario game that can make Nintendo and its fans proud while opening the door for many possibilities in the future.

Bleed is a game that ends before it should. The silver lining to that statement is that it's an absolute blast while it lasts, with tight, satisfying gameplay and an unforgettable protagonist. And while its levels don't provide enough content, its flexible difficulty and upgrade options will compel even non-completionists to stick around after beating them. You may want to wait for a sale on this one, but do keep your eye out- it's a game you really ought to play.

Knock Knock is driven by a neat idea and an evocative presentation. It’s a shame, then, that its goodwill is hampered by gameplay that feels a little broken. To give it the benefit of the doubt, the issues I ran into seem to be a result of the game not going far enough to give the player a proper explanation outside a few needlessly cryptic notes in between stages. The game is equipped with the right scares but I found it hard to invest in the experience because of frequent, unknown fail states.

In the end, I didn’t feel that Bit Dungeon+ respected my time. Much of the gameplay is tedious, and the dungeons are very simply designed. The repetitive and annoying grungy chiptunes and the lack of story didn’t do anything to motivate me either. The roguelike structure is more stressful than entertaining, mostly because death can await at any turn, including via game-crashing bugs caused by errors in the programming. There are better dungeon crawlers and roguelikes out there, so while this is a cheap option, you get what you pay for.

SteamWorld Dig 2 is a sequel that does more than simply update the original. It creates a larger world structured like a Metroidvania by adding more mazelike corridors and open rooms. On the flip side, the digging segments feel more tedious this time around, especially when compared to the excellently designed challenge caverns and environmental puzzles. Regardless, the constant progression loops and enticing upgrades carry the game along, keeping the adventure interesting. And the prospect of uncovering the secret truths underground remains alluring throughout. If you enjoy games like Metroid, you’ll likely dig this game.

My initial thought towards the renewed interest in Windjammers was little more than a fun, limited time joke. Only after emerging victorious against fake international flying disc enthusiasts and human players did I get why the game received the attention it did. For something made over twenty years ago, it still has legs and the entertainment value to stay in the consciousness of new gamers and those that still play cash games of Warlords to this day. A wonderful relic of the past (seeing the Data East logo pop-up after all these years brought a tear to my eye), Windjammers is an awesome and unique sports game that, having survived semi-obscurity, might have the cache to become a staple of modern competitive gaming.

Fictorum, to me, feels like a game that has a single focus, its destruction mechanic, and everything else was slapped on after that was nailed down. It feels like the kind of game that is acting more as a business pitch to bigger companies, a way for the developers to say look at this cool thing we did instead of hey gamers, check out our awesome game. There is a great mechanic here that is fun to play with, but Fictorum lacks any kind of soul beyond that. It’s worth checking out for a weekend or two, but I can’t recommend much more than that.

Mario Party 7 has a minigame, Tile and Error, in which players must ground pound tiles to claim territory. The fact that Flip Wars can so easily be compared to a 30-second minigame from over a decade ago should say a lot about what you’re getting yourself into if you purchase this. Some of the hip dropping, tile-flipping mechanics are genuinely interesting, but Flip Wars is essentially a $10 minigame and a rather average one at that.

Clocking in at just over an hour and a half, Episode 3 has been the shortest on time, and yet still managed to bring the heat with some great scenes and set pieces. With as much as they have riding on their shoulders, the fact that Minecraft: Story Mode hasn’t turned into a heavy, Walking Dead-esque slog is a testament that you can still work through some deep subjects without needing to crush your audience beneath the heavy stone weight of dystopian reality. Minecraft and Telltale both continue to surprise me with this series, and I can’t wait to see how Jesse and Company deal with The Admin… eventually.

Repetitiveness can sink in the long periods of playing and if anything - besides obvious skills - Sundered demands time. Difficulty spikes can be punishing as the more you play in a one go, the enemies will mount in ever-increasing numbers and toughness. But again, what does kill you, makes you only better. Sundered is a hardcore game, not some casual fun which can be completed in a matter of few hours. The game rewards the time spent on it, and the more you put into it, the more awesome it gets. Just like Eshe, who in the beginning is a mere shadow of the lean, mean killing machine she’s to become. To me, she is the Starkiller that never was and the caverns are her proving grounds.

There are more than enough indie games that involve survival and crafting. That Wrongworld can enter into this crowded genre and still provide an experience that is unique enough to be worth playing says a great deal. Despite containing many of the conventional trappings of a survival game and some significant flaws, it still feels fresh for at least a dozen or two hours. It isn't the most ambitious indie title on the market, but it is a tightly focused experience that is intelligently targeted to a specific audience. If you have reached the end of this review, then there is a strong chance that you lie within that audience. If so, then Wrongworld is a fairly easy game to recommend to you.

Boost Beast is an underwhelming take on the established match three formula. The few attempts Arzest make to set it apart backfire, making much of the game dependent on luck. You either lack the correct colors to defeat the zombies or you score ridiculously big boosts with very little effort, making even victory unsatisfying. Unless you absolutely must have your match three fix on the Switch, there are better puzzle games out there.

I honestly believe a video game where you play as the eagle that eats Prometheus’ liver would be more exciting than Theseus. Everything about Forge Reply’s game is superficial. It’s pretty to look at, but the gameplay is terribly hollow and lacks variety. Adding to that, it fails to do anything meaningful with VR, using it only to create tension through a series of fixed camera angles whose transition are jarring and disorienting. It pains me to say that this is one game that should have been sacrificed to Hades.

The first episode debut of Before The Storm will make returning Life Is Strange players feel like they never left Arcadia Bay. The characters might be younger but all the familiar locations, tone, and controls are pretty familiar (except the camera controls of which I am not a fan because it’s too fluid for its own good). As a first episode, Awake performs its task of setting things up for the adventure ahead, one that I really curious to see its direction. The original game used time travel to create a story with all sorts of unpredictable twists, turns, and emotional trauma. It would have been nice if Deck Nine didn’t religiously follow DONTNOD’s design but all the same, I want to see what Chloe Price got up to during a moment in time she needed a best friend the most.

While the moody synth pop driving the action forward is exceptionally good, the graphics and the narrative design are modest to say the least. Still, they’re sufficient enough for what Time Recoil sets out to do. As most Finnish indie games do, Time Recoil finds a comfort zone in a playful side of things, toying with an idea and then making it a plausible game mechanic. Here it’s time that matters, making some levels play out more like puzzles. I was most glad to discover how tactical the game was, which in my books is more fun than mindless mayhem. As challenging as Time Recoil is, it’s a bit on a short side. It takes only about five hours to complete the story chapters but as mentioned, the time attack mode adds replayability. With all its quirks and polished gameplay, Time Recoil is a nifty little game to kill time with – or in this case to kill with time!