Cyber Shadow is a bit disjointed at times, but right when it's chugging, it begins to crescendo and pick back up again.

Dungeon Encounters is one of the best games I’ve played this year. I get that may be kind of hard to believe given its stripped-down presentation. After all, this isn’t exactly the type of game we expect to come from Square Enix, a developer that is no stranger to extravagant graphics and battle systems. But if you’re judging it on looks alone, you’re really not going to be able to see the rewarding dungeon crawler found within. Give it a shot, and once you get into it, you might see it the way I do: as a gripping, strategic adventure that is not only a game but a celebration of one of the great innovations of the turn-based RPG genre.

The Eye isn’t perfect and, in the end, it wasn’t my home. But it is the place where I discovered a different one. Citizen Sleeper elicits feelings like that incredibly well, while providing a practically catered experience that will stick with me, long after my departure from Erlin’s Eye.

I was pleasantly surprised with Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, and will be keeping up with the meta and pro scene for the first time in years. While Harada and his crew could have easily given us a little more to do long term other than chase more treasure, it doesn't feel like grinding in the slightest given how fun it is to play.

As a default experience, Metro: Last Light is a good game that forgets why Metro 2033 was a great one.

Rising Storm needs a bit more polishing and a few more updates to really shine, but as it stands it's an excellent escape for old-school FPS fans. If you were a hardcore fan of Heroes of Stalingrad, this is basically an expansion in the Pacific with more gameplay you know and love.

Aside from lacking robust online options and a few clunky menus, Lethal League is an amazing package. It’s my personal favorite of the revival of couch co-op games, and may be my favorite “tell a friend” game of all time.

It succeeds in pulling off the gargantuan task of getting people to care about Mega Man again.

Everything about Captain Toad is overwhelmingly charming.

There's very little fluff or padding and while the game is not always focussed on guiding you down a certain path, it's hard to get sidetracked and lose what your goal is.

I don't know when was the last time I was so fascinated by a game, especially one as story-heavy as this.

Anthill: Tactical Trail Defense provides strategic challenges through a variety of different levels. Looking past minor problems in the difficulty -- the levels don't provide as much of a challenge as they probably could -- it's impressive how addictive this game can become. The additional Infinity mode pushes the limits of challenge, and it's here where this game shines.

If you’re new to the dungeon or it's been a long time since you ventured into its depths, do yourself a favor and get your sea legs ready before wading into the bloody pools of The Crimson Court. If you’re an experienced delver looking for a new challenge, then by all means, step into the moonlight and find out what the night has in store for you.

A Short Hike is far from perfect, but it absolutely is unique and worth your time. It's also super fucking rad, and I love it. Warts and all. If you’re looking for something different, and you don’t mind the price of admission, I think this is more than worth the price of entry. It may not be perfect, but life never is, and that’s fine and beautiful in its own way.

I hope every Resident Evil game from here on out has VR support, because it’s a great long term value add. At this point you kind of know that if you’re buying into an RE project, there’s something cool coming down the line. I can get behind that!

Fans won't be astounded by Joe Danger 2, but they will have a polished, enjoyable, different-enough new installment to look forward to playing. You can't ask for much more than that.

But if you’re a fan of Jet Grind Radio, Katamari Damacy, or any stylish, pseudo-sandbox style game, then get de Blob today. You won't be disappointed.

Wandersong is the most emotionally satisfying game I've played in 2018. It's a rollercoaster ride through the spectrum of feelings, all wrapped up in a lovingly crafted construction paper world. I didn't even know this game existed a month ago. Now, it's one I'll never forget.

Zen Pinball is a must-have anywhere you can grab it, and Zen Pinball 2 specifically on PlayStation 4 is equally just as desirable -- if not more-so.

Really, it's hard to find anything wrong with Severed. It obliterated my conceptions of how a touch-based game can play, it looks breathtaking, and it gave me a reason to break out my Vita.

When I first started up Duel of Champions and played through the tutorial, I never thought I'd be playing for the next four hours. I found myself becoming easily lost in the game, with my duels lasting over a half hour but only seeming like 10 minutes. It's a solid CCG for sure, and one that I don't mind being tied to at the moment.

I haven’t felt this surge of nostalgia and excitement about a game in a long time, and I truly think Broken Age will be looked back fondly as one of the greats. That being said, the first Act is only a few short hours and ended on a nail-biting cliffhanger with no word on how long we’ll be waiting for the rest of the game.

I found WildStar to be both a solid foundation of tried-and-true methods and an all-too familiar retread. If you've finally grown tired of WoW and want another hardcore MMO, this is it -- but everyone else may want to wait for a free trial period.

The Next Penelope is a blast to play on PC, and will probably be a massive hit at parties when it arrives on Wii U later this year. It's a shame more old-school racers aren't around, but with games like this and 90s Arcade Racer, the scene is seeing a revival that brings a huge smile to my face.

Everything a remaster should be.

A Plague Tale: Innocence is a grim, gripping, and fantastic adventure. The solid stealth gameplay offers little new, but the unique setting, affecting characters, excellent dialogue, and oppressive atmosphere more than redress that linearity. Add to this a lean design, an emotive score, and a commitment to narrative focus, and A Plague Tale deserves to be heralded as one of 2019's very best adventures.

The DLC is must-play content for any Horizon fan.

The game succeeds in bewitching players with its aesthetic quality and impressive volume of content, but the flaws are constantly remind you of their existence and sadly drag the whole production down.

While not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, it is one of the better video pool games I've played and certainly worth a look if billiards is your game. With its robust online options and excellent physics, Hustle Kings is excellent if occasionally frustrating fun.

Out of Bounds is Hot Shots Golf perfected. You'll find that this one game can provide both a relaxing afternoon of 18 holes and a fevered 50-person tournament. Newcomers will find this game to be easily accessible, while series veterans will find plenty of new challenges.

What is here though is a deep simulation where every aspect of your nation interweaves with itself telling a story that you built. I’ve never been this in love with a strategy game before. I finally found the one for me, and I won’t need another one for quite a long while.

Closure's faults can't prevent it from, at times, reaching some of the greatest heights in the puzzle-platforming genre. Once you get to the final ten stages, you are in pure puzzle-platforming bliss. Or hell. I suppose, bliss, then hell, then bliss again.

Umurangi Generation defines itself by its ability to make self-contradiction work in its favor. It’s a joyful romp and a painful trap. It’s colorful, zesty, and empowering, and also bleak, confining, and debilitating. The way it weaves these opposite traits together into a cohesive whole allows it to be potentially life-altering. It has permanently changed the way I see video games, the real world, and myself. It wouldn’t have been able to do that if it weren’t so perfectly imperfect.

For those new to the Kingdom Hearts universe or fans just brushing up before the release of Kingdom Hearts III, this is one of the most faithful remasters of any game I’ve ever played. With the PlayStation 3 nearing obsolescence, it’s great to see such an amazing system have this collection as one of its swan songs.

Overall, Mega Man 10 doesn't have as many high-water moments as Mega Man 9, but it is still consistently fun, while providing more overall content than the Mega Man games that preceded it.

The best thing about Classic is that it will evolve, and you can join in at any point without too much fuss.

As much as I enjoyed the game’s outlandish story, intense combat, and various modes, I can only imagine how much more it will mean to someone who is also a DC junkie. Instead of asking for Sub-Zero to appear in Injustice, I am now prepared to ask for Aquaman DLC in the next Mortal Kombat. Because Aquaman feeds his enemies to sharks. And that’s pretty badass.

Nidhogg stands as one of the true kings of competitive gameplay, and that doesn't need to be patched one bit.

It's a game full of minor improvements to what remains one of the best multiplayer experiences available but, at this point, there's not much left to improve upon without taking some genuine risks for the sake of innovation. DICE is hitting diminishing returns and I'm curious to see where the series goes from here.

Like the way that the Ninth World rises from the ashes of other civilizations, Torment: Tides of Numenera is a layered experience. For role-players keen on experiencing a game of consequences and twisted fantasy, it’s well worth the adventure.

Kalimba is an enjoyable solo romp, but to get the full experience you're going to need a local co-op partner; trust me, the juice is worth the squeeze if a couch friend is hard to come by.

As far as Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade INTERmission goes as a whole, I'm really glad it exists. To be frank I wouldn't mind seeing another one of these, say for Vincent, at some point.

I still want nothing to do with microtransaction-laden Ultimate Team. Connected Careers is still dull in Owner Mode (halfhearted management sim) and filled with unnecessary gimmicks in the rest (don't worry about Confidence, just dump XP direct into player stats and win games).

It's quite long, too, easily taking you six hours or more to complete nearly everything there is to do on the new island. Moreover, it offers an excellent opportunity to try out a new build if you've been stocking up powerful equipment in your stash, but never bothered to commit to a full respec of your abilities before.

There are no other games like Quadrilateral Cowboy, and it will likely stay that way. It’s a unique blend of computer science, puzzles, and beautiful storytelling that could only come from Blendo Games.

Slowly but surely Ninja Theory has moved into film territory, but they can't let go of their need to shove action mechanics into everything they do.

It’s a game that absolutely demands 40 hours or more of your time. You must experience it first-hand if you truly want to understand what Team Danganronpa is trying to tell us.

My first actual full playthrough of Quake was a pretty enjoyable experience. Not only is the port a solid effort, even going above-and-beyond of what’s expected, but it’s also still a great game. Maybe not Doom great, maybe not even Duke Nukem 3D great, but there’s room in this world for all sorts of flavors of ‘90s shooter.

Fantasian: Neo Dimension takes all the great things about classic JRPGs and finds ways to innovate on them while still keeping the innate charm and feel the genre is known for. And while there have been plenty of great RPG releases in recent years, there’s something special about Fantasian: Neo Dimension that melds the old with the new to create an enthralling and nostalgic journey in a unique high-fantasy world that’s simply a ton of fun to play.

While the robot motif comes in half-cocked, Planet Robobot is still a safe, serviceable Kirby game. After beating the story and reflecting on it, many elements felt like just going through the motions, but those motions haven't gotten stale yet after nearly 25 years.

As an experiment, even almost three decades later, Live a Live mostly succeeds.

For many, tacking playable goons onto Superstar Saga won't be enough to revisit the world of Beanbean Kingdom mostly because the campaign is still the same uneven adventure it was before.

Deceptively cute, because behind its adorable facade is a complex game. It's well designed, which you know because you can't see the seams, yet, given all the working parts, you know that every piece of the game is part of an intricate, balanced relationship. What's more, the experience that the gameplay creates subtly, inexplicitly facilitates the sparse, minimalistic narrative bits.

Before Trails from Zero, I didn’t know anything about the Legend of Heroes series outside of the fact that people really like to complain about how text-heavy its titles are. And while the Crossbell arc could certainly use an editor in my mind, I would be fooling myself if I didn’t admit that, when taken together as one complete experience, Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure are easily one of the best turn-based RPGs I’ve ever played. Here’s to hoping someday I’ll be able to find the time to see the rest of what this series has to offer.

As a shooter it's refreshing, and as a 3D platformer it's up there with some of Nintendo's greatest creations. You'll quickly forget about the fact that you're playing Turf War over and over as you squid down an alley, leap across a gap, and shoot enemies in the air as you fall. All Nintendo needs to do is keep supporting Splatoon, because the foundation is fantastic.

It’s really hard to say whether or not I recommend The Kids We Were. I don’t hate it. As much as I feel the narrative was sloppy, it’s not a total loss and I’m sure some will readily attach to it. Atmospherically, it’s on point. The music is sparse, but it does well to get you through the five-six hours the game will probably take you.

The realm of possibilities seems endless, and every time I set sail I find something new.

Episode three was probably my favorite from season one of The Walking Dead -- so far, I'm feeling the same way about In Harm's Way.

All told, Turbo is some of the most fun I've had with the series.

It's Terry Cavanagh's best game to date, and one of the best platformers I've ever played. If you have any interest in challenging platformers whatsoever, you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to pick up VVVVVV.

Although it does have some issues with text readability in handheld mode, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore otherwise represents a clear improvement over its Wii U counterpart. The ability to speed up Session combos makes the combat feel substantially faster in the game’s later stages, and the new content exclusive to the Switch release is a more than welcome addition to an already sizeable package. Despite my one issue with it, I can’t help but consider it the superior version of an already excellent game.

A calm, cozy experience you can really immerse yourself in for a few hours while shutting out the world and enjoying somewhere somewhat strange yet utterly comforting.

All quibbles aside, Lost in Nightmares still does a lot to correct the things that I didn't like about Resident Evil 5, and I hope it's an indicator for where they may take the series in the future. More of Barry Burton headbutting Saddam Hussein look-a-likes until their faces explode would be a good thing.

Paradise Killer is a strange experience. Even having completed it, I have difficulty putting into words what it was like to play it. It's sometimes boring, often intriguing, frequently funny, and startlingly deep. I didn’t go into this expecting such an amazing detective experience, but that’s exactly what I got. It’s rare to see a game so adeptly balance style and substance, and even though it’s not a flawless experience, it has it where it counts. We may have just fallen short of Paradise this time around, but the next cycle could be perfect.

The variety makes the frequent deaths more palatable and I would probably buy a custom dedicated handheld that just played this game.

Topped off with beautiful 3D animations, an unsurprisingly excellent soundtrack, and some great anime sequences that highlight major moments in each case, Dual Destinies is not to be missed.

Lone Survivor is easily among the best survival horror games that I've ever played, a feat that's truly remarkable when one considers the 2D perspective and visual limitations.

I would have to nitpick to come up with anything else. I suppose The Lion’s Song isn’t what you’d traditionally call a “game,” but it works as an engrossing experience that you’re bound to relate to in one way or another.

With its tough-but-fair combat, timeless storybook visuals, and unique furry fantasy, Tails of Iron is one of the year’s most distinctive RPG experiences. The intentionally subdued pace and challenging nature will definitely test the impatient, but anyone looking for a knuckle-cracking slugger, powered by a tale of valor and vengeance, will find Odd Bug Studio’s sophomore effort washes down like a fine flask of Bug Juice. Rest well, Redgi, your friends have done your memory proud.

Advanced Warfare plays it a little too safe with the campaign, but it feels like a real core entry in the series, and will please fans who are jaded after last year's release. While Treyarch is still the king of Call of Duty in my eyes, Sledgehammer Games has shown itself to be more than capable of taking over with its debut entry. Infinity Ward is now the odd man out.

Diablo II: Resurrected did what it was supposed to as a re-release, and it managed to simultaneously preserve the original game.

Isolation has some flaws, but it's faithful to the film series, and I'd love to see a follow-up with a few extra alien evolutions.

If you enjoyed the original or skipped it purely because you needed online multiplayer support, Overcooked 2 should be a no-brainer. While the sequel runs the risk of being slightly too familiar and lacks any big surprises, it's still a winning formula. Co-op gaming doesn't get much better than this.

With no new features aside from the rudimentary 3D, this collection is meant to satisfy those who haven’t come to love the unique and colorful world of Phoenix Wright.

Evokes the feeling of old ghost stories told around a campfire. There's the familiarity of friends and family around a warm, man-made fire, but with it comes the unnerving tale of the strange and unusual. Kentucky Route Zero is beautifully bizarre and perfectly poignant, and most of all, deserves your attention.

Treasures of the Sun is definitely one for the fans and it offers plenty of new content with its new locale, while simultaneously giving you a new reason to play through the full game again.

DJMAX Technika Tune offers a smooth, enjoyably frustrating experience rooted in precisely-tuned gameplay fundamentals.

A fantastic way to spend an evening, and it improves and builds on the strengths of the original in iterative but meaningful ways. Whatever happens next, I’m fully invested in this series. The price is more than fair, and it’s a unique passion project that’s so dang wholesome and smile-inducing. It’ll montage dance its way into your heart and prove that ground pies, picked up and cleaned off, can still be delicious, perfectly sanitary sources of nourishment.

Where laughs are concerned, Dangeresque 3 knocks it out of the park. It's just a real shame the puzzles couldn't have done the same.

With the market now full of unbelievably fantastic fighting games, and it being a revision of a five-year-old title, Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown still manages to stand head and shoulders above most of its competition. It may not have the install base of other fighters, but it's still one of the deepest fighting game experiences to date.

Even though Hell is Empty stumbles at times, it's never enough to actually fall down. It'll intensify things in ridiculous ways because that's the stuff that makes for grand conclusions. But it's grounded in Chloe and Rachel's relationship -- their struggles, their mutual escapism, and their sacrifices -- and that's more than enough to keep us invested. The quibbles are easy to overlook when the core feels that authentic.

Fast Racing Neo made a strong impression right off the bat, and is easily one of my favorite games this year. It's fast, it's responsive, it has a compelling color-switching mechanic, and Hero Mode provides a stupidly fast-paced challenge that's going to last me quite some time.

Mordhau is a goofy yet realistic medieval combat game that caters to a ton of different players. Many will grind games in order to best perfect their skills with their favorite weapon. Then there's me, who literally runs around the battlefield playing a musical instrument that adds absolutely zero gameplay value to the team. That's the beauty of Mordhau -- the individual moments tend to outweigh any of the design flaws or technical glitches that are present.

Gunslugs is a great tribute to the old school, while still maintaining a fresh outlook on the genre. While its random level generation isn't perfect, the control and chaos at play here is a fun distraction for an afternoon. You'll shoot a lot, you'll die a lot, and you'll always be moving right, but you'll always be having fun too.

I love the new controller design, the FMV portions work far better than they should, and Guitar Hero TV hooked me with its channel concept.

Though the game ends on a rather disappointing note, everything else up until then exudes that WayForward je ne sais quoi. A wonderful female lead, an inventive game mechanic, and a friggin' T-Rex that shoots laser beams are enough for me to recommend Mighty Milky Way.

Rare in that it gives you real cars in real locales, but also provides an intensity and excitement that other sim games can't offer. While the steering isn't as polished as it could be, you won't be thinking about that in the tense, white-knuckle, high-speed races that this game offers.

Borderlands 4 is easily the best in the series when it comes to gameplay and fun factor, and the best overall game in the franchise since Borderlands 2, but some performance issues on PC are cause for concern.

Sakura Wars is a game apart. It is a niche game within a niche genre, and is quite proud of it. The open-minded and unafraid will find a cheerful experience that is happily free of more contemporary obsessions with maturity and grit, content to be silly, fluffy, quirky and madly "anime".

I couldn't shake the feeling that I was playing the unholy union of Hotline Miami and Mirror's Edge that I didn't know I was missing in my life.

Voez is a diamond in the rough, at least as far as the Nintendo Switch eShop is concerned. The system's launch went from zero (or just Zelda) to hero in seconds flat, and as long as you're okay with a lack of a TV mode, Voez is a worthy pickup.

It may be brief, but Untitled Goose Game is worth taking a gander at. With its clever puzzle structure, charming art direction, and a soundtrack rife with Gershwin influence, it's an absolutely grand way to spend an afternoon.

Yes, many of the puzzles were kind of underwhelming, and yes, some of the most dramatically important scenes were severely undercut by Telltale's technically limited engine (the episode 4 finale is so almost-incredible it actually hurts), but hey -- it's Monkey Island, man. A pretty significant part of me can't help but love it, despite all its flaws.

Strong Badia the Free is mostly made up of all new environments, so it in no way felt like a simple recycling of Homestar Ruiner, and while the game's structure of "convert a country, to move to the next country" makes it inherently more predictable than Homestar Ruiner was, it's still full of surprises.

While it may be lacking in raw content for some players, it more than makes up for it with layers of cooperative and competitive elements that make it one of the best strategy games on Xbox Live Arcade.

Assassin's Creed is a disappointing, repetitive game filled with horrendously long and unnecessary cut scenes, a boring plot, tedious chores, and significant difficulty problems -- it's a game with a few great ideas but absolutely no idea how to implement them...Once you get past all that, however, there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be able to have a hell of a fun time with it.

Despite some minor flaws, Bloodroots is a manically fun game that oozes style. Discovering new and unique ways to use the extremely varied arsenal to my advantage kept me coming back again and again. Even when I died (and believe me, I died plenty), I was thoroughly enjoying myself. If you're in the mood for a fast, stylish action game with plenty of challenge, Bloodroots might be just what you're looking for.

While prone to feeling slow at times, Ilomilo is an undeniably well crafted title. Most of its puzzles feel perfectly tuned, and despite the occasionally flabbergasted controls, the amount of polish on display is something to be applauded.