It is uncertain what influence this game will have on the future of the series, but what we do know is that this competitive multiplayer shooter is a colossal waste of time, and a total failure.

For their first steps in the Dark Knight’s boots, they made one heck of an entrance.

Creative achievements (that are rife with spelling errors) and a grading system offers some replayability. However, once you collect all the achievements and earn perfect grades for every level, this isn’t much to do afterwards. It’s a fairly short game with no multiplayer option, so when it’s over, there is precious little to keep you coming back.

For a game without a single living thing in its world, it has a lot of heart.

It is easy on the eyes, fun to listen to, and its cruel satire and toilet humor make it an entertaining journey from the beginning to the end. The game would benefit from more fleshed out gameplay and more imaginative puzzle design, but it is still one that left me wanting to see more out of this developer in the future.

Nimble gameplay, luscious aesthetic values, wise storytelling and truly understanding the principles of its genre make Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan a breath of fresh air amidst Western games with often are marred by needless drudgery. Quite an achievement for a 2D side-scrolling action-RPG with a very modest price tag coming from an untapped territory in the world of gaming.

Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst is an admirable attempt to make a niche concept work. Unfortunately, it so intently focuses on avoiding the pitfalls of the previous game that it stumbles into a hole of its own.

The developer’s desire to recapture the magic of a previous age clouded their vision of what constitutes good design, and created an experience fraught with antithetical decisions. As a result, Hard Reset offers an average game which becomes particularly tedious long before it ends.

Outside of the small issue of too much randomness in the drops, Enter the Gungeon is an excellent way to blow more then one afternoon.

As long as you can look past a few design flaws and don’t mind slightly dated graphics, Neon Chrome is a game for anyone who wants strategy and destruction in a single package.

It’s got a great retro vibe and the aesthetic is beautiful. Sadly, the runner mechanics take away the fun and goodwill, leaving it as forgettable as the Dead Island franchise itself.

If you are a player that enjoys exploring while maneuvering your way through a dangerous platforming world, then On Rusty Trails is sure to deliver a memorable experience.

If you’ve got a great group ready to have fun, then Drawful 2 will keep you entertained for hours on end.

Trials of the Blood Dragon is a great idea on paper but when it messes with the design that makes Trials so fun to play, the whole experience nearly collapses under the weight of its ambition.

Version favoritism aside, Corpse Party does a good enough job with the technology to deliver an interesting and thoroughly Japanese story of tragedy, murder, and the paranormal.

A grim journey indeed. Letter Quest: Grimm’s Journey Remastered fails to make a puzzle game work the way that they should with messy RPG elements and difficulty based on an upgrade system rather than your own personal skill level.

Lumo takes a simple premise and makes something that shines through the avalanche of similar games in its genre.

I’d highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a funky new spin on an old classic, but I would particularly recommend Melody’s Escape to anyone who really enjoys listening to and engaging with music. It’s certainly a new kind of experience that I, for one, found engrossing.

There are a number of very compelling elements that really solidify Anima as a title that had an ambitious vision and a team dedicated to making it a reality. At the same time, they also sought to take elements from other successful games. This amounts to an inferior gameplay experience, but one that is also surrounded by the strength of its original elements.

Look past its sexy veneer and Shinovi Versus is a solid, well made brawler with panache. Come for the boobs, stay for the empowering battles against ninja hordes.

Oxenfree has a fabulous soundtrack, well written dialogue, and it takes some bold steps into territory that’s rarely tread in games. The island Alex and company find themselves trapped on holds many secrets, but none of them seem to warrant discovery.

Though its bewitching world and stimulating combat are brought down by some counterintuitive mechanics, it’s still a provocative tale about fate and the human condition that left me contemplating what it really means to be part of a family, and the sacrifices we make for the sake of those we love.

Inside takes an already great formula of and improves on it in just about every way. The beautifully designed environments coupled with the cleverly crafted puzzles easily makes this the indie game to beat this year.

Downwell is highly recommended, whether you have a few minutes or several hours to devote to getting down this well.

If a little more effort and refinement had gone into the game’s level design, those feelings would have been stronger.

If you are looking for a competitive game to play at your next social gathering or want to increase your adrenaline levels with some intense, fast-paced battles, then destroying robots with rocket powered fists is the way to go.

There’s a reason scope management is taught in game design schools. Overflow Games’ underestimation of its own limitations is the source of almost all of the faults in Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim.

Not A Hero: Super Snazzy Edition is a collection of interesting ideas that, while refreshing, deserved to be used more ambitiously.