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.

I guess if you really want to play a true to source retro game that does nothing to stand out, then I guess you will be just fine, you will most likely have fun and remember all the fun you used to have when you were a child. But for those who want games to evolve, to get better as time goes on, well, Cursed Castilla (Maldita Castilla EX) is just too lukewarm to really recommend.

Despite the generic design of Eagle Flight’s story missions and the inability to reliably play online, it’s still a thrilling thing to experience in VR. It would be easier to write off were it a tradition, VR-free PlayStation game, but the immersion the headset offers makes it all the more fun and a good way to destress from the day.

Overall, Slayaway Camp hits the mark when it comes to being an homage to classic slasher films. It is cheesy, filled with murder and crazy kills, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. While the puzzles can be challenging early on and easy towards the end, they are still fulfilling to complete and that sense of accomplishment doesn’t go away at any point. While it would’ve been nice to see some additional kills and hear some additional lines of dialogue from the narrator, it still works for what it is. Slayaway Camp is one of the best homages to classic slasher films and should be an easy buy for any horror buff looking to pass the time.

Resident Evil VII is a great pivot from the formula and also works as a fantastic re-imagining of the original game and a perfect jump in point for newcomers. There’s a warm feeling of familiarity but it never feels gratuitous or as a result of Capcom running out of ideas. Resident Evil VII successfully kickstarts an exciting new chapter in the long running franchise and is certainly worth your attention.

With a decent number of modes and a solid core gameplay system, Aqua Moto Racing Utopia has the opportunity to surprise a lot of people. While it has some rough edges like its trick system not being easy to utilize and some issues at the start of races with overall chaos, I found myself having a lot of fun with the game more often than not and I’ll probably be heading back into the game to continue beating my best times and shaving that last second off wherever I can.

Don’t Chat With Strangers feels less like a game and more like a practical joke being played on the gamer. It fails at just about everything besides delivering punishment through trial-and-error. It isn’t a clever puzzle game – it’s just an irritating one. Each scare or surprise is effective once or twice, but they all wear out their welcomes before the end. And, when you finally do get to the end, the game reveals how little content it actually has. It is a ten minute experience stretched into three hours via insta-fail and permadeath mechanics that force you to play through a series of boring, mundane events dozens of times.

Detention isn't for everyone. It's not an easy snack to gobble up. It will haunt you for some time and creep into your dreams. I recommend the game for those who enjoy deep and troubled stories and want to experience them in some other manner than just keep walking and pressing X when prompted. I can't stress enough how mature the story and its dramaturgy is, considering these guys have never done any published games or storytelling before. Detention meets all the unwritten laws of Asian tragedies and I could easily picture it as a movie by the likes of Ang Lee, the world renowned Taiwanese director. That's the highest compliment I can imagine giving to this game.

I wanted to like 99Vidas after it promised to faithfully live up to the classics and add new beat ‘em up elements, but it couldn’t hit its own hype at all. The beat ‘em up genre is one that is filled with monotony and it desperately needs a fresh new face to give it the revitalization that other genres, like fighting games, have seen in recent years. I wasn’t expecting 99Vidas to be that game but I was hoping it’d be a competent beat ‘em up. Instead, it leans too heavily on lazy writing and tired mechanics while only adding mechanics that serve to make the game more frustrating.

As a point-and-click adventure fan, I liked Subject 13 despite its flaws. There were some shining examples of environmental puzzles and an interesting story that hooked me. Due to the faulty controls and the horrible final puzzle, I can only recommend this game to the most devout fans of the genre. This game was made for those fans, as the Kickstarter suggests. With just a bit more polish, Subject 13 could have been a solid example of a modern point-and-click adventure.

It’s low rent gun porn. At its best, Lethal VR is a tech demo and barely worth notice, even for hungry PlayStation VR owners looking for something to play. Best acquired during a PSN sale, if at all.

I have to be honest, after only a few hours of playing the game, I got bored and lost motivation to keep playing.

If you enjoy Cities: Skylines, you should definitely put aside some money for this expansion. Your first instincts will provide plenty of amusement, but when you go back to playing the game as usual, the true value of Natural Disasters becomes apparent. Far from being a tangential add-on, it adds more to the game than you would dare to assume. Though slightly marred by visual inconsistencies and conditional performance wobbles, Natural Disasters is a thoroughly essential addition to the Cities: Skylines experience.

I Expect You To Die is a fun jaunt into the world of megalomaniacal super villains and the spies trained to stop them. It has charm, a great sense of humor, and would do well with fans of James Bond and Archer. The puzzles themselves are delightfully elaborate and fun to work through, though I did experience my fair share of impatience at having to restart entire missions because of goof ups that were out of my control. The VR experience is mostly great, though make sure your setup is calibrated and at the right distance from the camera for best results. I Expect You To Die does right by PlayStation VR owners looking for something to play by themselves or with friends.

Though sometimes derivative in humor and puzzle solving, The Little Acre has a character of its own. A great deal of love has gone into making the game and it rubs off on you. It had such an effect on me that I felt bad punishing the game for its weakest elements. The Little Acre should be celebrated for its talent, artistic know-how, and as a demonstration of its developer's skills. The shortcomings (pun intended) of the game are balanced with its irresistible charm and appeal and ultimately the running time is reduced only to a face value. In the end The Little Acre is a hand-crafted piece of art and I definitely want to see more games from Pewter Games, preferably longer by each outing.

Amnesia: Collection does exactly what it set out to do: it presents three terrifying, fun, and intriguing genre-defining horror games in one uncomplicated package. It doesn’t offer any new content or significant visual upgrades from the original releases, and there are a few hiccups here and there, but it is still an unforgettable experience nonetheless. For any fan of first-person survival horror games, Amnesia: Collection is not something to be overlooked.

It might sound crazy but I find Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel a better brawler than more widely known Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, also an anime-style beat 'em up just recently converted to PC. I really appreciate the clean and crisp nature of Nitroplus Blasterz, both in presentation and gameplay, while Guilty Gear seems too often a blundering mess of too many effects and things happening at the same time, making the player feel a bit lost. As I have understood, the freaky Saya alone from the visual novel Saya no Uta (The Song of Saya) as a playable character is a reason enough for many fans to get Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel. Why not, and there are lots of other cool and fun to girls to play with!

All in all, though, the Women of Power pack are just fun, fast tables. They allow Zen to stretch a bit by setting up a small story arc, and provide something just a little different for the player then they are used to. Absolutely a worthy pick up if you are at all invested in the Zen Pinball platform.

Tyranny takes a lot of chances and offers some brilliant new ideas, most of which pay off making for another worthy addition to the genre. Unfortunately, it clearly shows the rough edges of a limited budget and/or short development cycle, limitations that diminish the game’s appeal. Tyranny is worth playing despite these issues but temper your expectations.

Exile’s End is a game full of ideas that have already been done before. From a narrative standpoint this leaves the game feeling predictable, shallow and uninspired. While from a gameplay standpoint, it captures the feeling of a classic 2D action side scroller that is a blast to play. If your entering this game for a thought provoking story with interesting twist and turns, you will be disappointed. If you go into expecting a classic gameplay style that feels great to return to, then you will be pleased.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a worthy inclusion for any fighting game fan’s collection. It’s a straight port of the 2011 game, but the included DLC makes the purchase worth its price. The graphics don’t feel too outdated, and its comic-book style still holds up as far as 2D fighters go. With a huge roster of fan-favorites, flashy movesets, classic game soundtrack remixes, fair online infrastructure, and medium-defying crossovers, UMvC3 is pure, unadulterated fun.

Coming at the end of a very impressive gaming year, Let It Die can't help but suffer in comparison to a whole bunch of other, more burnished titles. Still, the game's excellent action combat, weirdness, and variety of weapons give it just enough character to stand out and make it worthy of attention. The pay-to-win aspect is a bummer, and there is overall a sense of things being not quite solid, but anyone who's enjoyed other Grasshopper Manufacture games will enjoy this one as well.

What we have in the end is a game that charms you with how it looks and feels, but then does nothing to keep your attention. It shows you that it doesn't want to be generic; that it genuinely wants to be an entertaining and memorable experience. However, it's shallow, repetitive, and tedious- things that were probably meant to be obscured by its broken online mode. With its likable premise and art style, this one really makes you wish it were better than it is. There seems to be a gore-free gem in every genre. Super Dungeon Bros is not one of them.

A much more upbeat entry chock full of streamlining that lets its new ideas really shine, Pokemon Sun and Moon are the most friendly and modern-feeling games the series has put forth in a long time. Though it shifts away from the exploratory aspects I've loved in past games to focus more on a main quest, S&M have some of the most memorable parts I've seen in the series in a while. It feels like Game Freak finally took cruise control off and are willing to try something new, and I just hope they expand on some of the more offbeat ideas in the future.

A much more upbeat entry chock full of streamlining that lets its new ideas really shine, Pokemon Sun and Moon are the most friendly and modern-feeling games the series has put forth in a long time. Though it shifts away from the exploratory aspects I've loved in past games to focus more on a main quest, S&M have some of the most memorable parts I've seen in the series in a while. It feels like Game Freak finally took cruise control off and are willing to try something new, and I just hope they expand on some of the more offbeat ideas in the future.

Given where Episode 2 leaves us, I am truly looking forward to see where A New Frontier goes. Javier is a charming character with a deep backstory, and they way his family is introduced throughout the past and present leads to an immediate investment in his future. Add in some shady actions on Clementine’s part, as well as the overwhelming desire to keep her around, and I feel that TWD is back on the right track. Telltale continues to impress.

The Last Guardian is proof -- for anyone who doubts it -- that video games can be a unique and emotionally powerful form of participatory storytelling. On top of that, The Last Guardian's visuals and creature design give it a timeless, mythic quality that both call to mind the sweet-natured Ico and the towering scale of Shadows of the Colossus. Exciting, challenging, and full of heart, The Last Guardian is unforgettable.

Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour ultimately is a tweaked version of the original game with a touch of new content, though it neglects the content included in its expansion packs. It’s a bit easier to play, and the sound is vastly improved, but beyond what was already great, there isn’t too much else to offer outside of a new episode and developer commentary. The game is still fantastic and holds up very well thanks to this version of the game, which can be a hard thing to do with classic games in the same genre. It’s unfortunate that World Tour doesn’t stand on its own, but it would be a big lie to say that I didn’t enjoy playing through it.