It doesn't have quite the same highs as a lot of its predecessors, but it maintains its tranquil equilibrium throughout. If you have an adventurous spirit and the patience and time to put into it, Ashen will pay dividends.

That Dragon, Cancer is a beautiful experience, if one that would have benefited considerably from having content cut to improve the flow, pacing and tone.

Because of the mechanics and varied modes, you're not going to run out of those awkward funny moments. Whether it be spearing a player in their narwhal ass or dry humping in space for an entire round, Starwhal will provide the thrills -- so long as you're willing to take the ride.

I came out of Human Resource Machine unsure who it was really designed for. It's at times too simple for experienced programmers, and often made leaps too large for beginners to overcome without obtuse outside research. While I had a sense of accomplishment every time I made progress, said progress at times felt like I was an infant thrown into water and expected to swim straight away. I might manage it, but it's not the ideal teaching method to leave me feeling comfortable going forward.

King’s Quest: Once Upon a Climb isn't the most enthralling tale I've played, but I'm still very much all-in on the series and was grinning throughout. It's a nice slice of life with a likable cast, and with the goodwill this reboot has gained so far, that's all I need.

How much you enjoy Dead Rising hinges entirely on your acceptance of this principle. As someone who doesn't mind playing games over and over until I perfect them, I like the idea of adding some form of urgency, and feel like in most sessions I have ample time to meander without missing out on much. By that same token I also prefer the leniency of the sequels, and enjoy replaying them more often. It's a give and take, but Dead Rising is worth the squeeze and still holds up after all this time.

A short, dark trip through the nightmare of youth; growing up, discovering yourself, and existing among a society that rarely understands. Sure to be a divisive title, there are those who will find The Missing overpriced and melodramatic, while others will be taken by its surrealist story of undying friendship, ironically becoming an indelible memory to those who dare to experience it.

It may not be a game you need to finish, necessarily, but it's utterly unique and needs to be seen first hand.

Over 15 years after their initial release, PATAPON 1 and PATAPON 2 are back in the PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY bundle, and they’re better than ever. Both games were already solid, but the small improvements and touch-ups included here give them new life in a repackaged format that puts them back in the spotlight again.

People of Note is a whimsical and lighthearted turn-based RPG made by music nerds, for music nerds. Every facet exudes charm and silly humor, which varies between cringy and cute, as you make your way through its adventures. It's a short-lived tale that I wish were a bit deeper, but still an enjoyable experience for anyone who has played or loved music and the connections it can help forge.

The Wonderful 101 is one of those rare games that keeps getting more and more fun the more that you play it. If you have the dexterity to handle the controls and the patience to deal with a few momentum-killing platforming/puzzle bits, you're in for a heck of a time.

While it’s not yet perfect, Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 is easily the best wrestling game we’ve seen this generation, hands down.

It has been worth the wait, as Mario Golf: World Tour took that next step and brought us an outstanding online golf experience. The learning curve is steep, and there are some issues with the camera and aiming control, but working through them is worth it as the online play is outstanding.

When stood on its own, NPC! DK JB is great, and one of the best platformers for the Wii I've yet played. If you missed out on it the first time around or hated the bongo controls, I implore you to go out and pick it up so that you can experience this strange and wonderful game.

Its uniqueness is its greatest asset; there isn't anything else quite like it out there, and it takes a different kind of thinking to get through.

Killzone: Mercenary could have stood to provide more content, but that which is on offer is all very well polished and plays almost impeccably on Sony's latest handheld venture.

My main concern with WarioWare Gold, exacerbated by the lack of download play and only one real multiplayer gametype at that, is that it doesn't really have legs.

Tropico 4: Modern Times gives the core game a much needed content injection, and turns Tropico 4 into a better game. Some additions have a larger impact on Tropican economic planning than others, but Modern Times is well worth checking out for any fan of Tropico.

Gunfire Games has some really good ideas that I hope to see employed more often in the future.

NFL Blitz's online co-op offerings are similarly robust. You can simply jump into a co-op game with up to three different friends, including a guest on the couch with you.

The beat is strong with this one.

The actual gameplay of El Paso, Elsewhere didn’t really impress me. It’s an interesting twist on Max Payne, but it falls short in a lot of ways. Its story, though? Hoo, gosh. I’m going to be chewing on this for a while.

In all honesty, Soul of Darkness is a decent game that adequately captures the gothic spirit of the Castlevania franchise. Unfortunately, its failure to expand upon promising game mechanics, its criminally short playtime, the absence of any real challenge, and the lack of compelling replay value make it hard to recommend.

Those looking for a sweeping story about legendary heroes are barking up the wrong tree. This game is about marching through trap-laden mazes and solving puzzles at a deliberate pace. Go in with the right mindset and you will discover a well-crafted role-playing game, one which has aged surprisingly well.

It's a wild, creative, occasionally erratic game. Pit People is imperfect, but it's so worth your time.

Those who don’t want to pay to try something that’s almost finished and/or planned as an eventual free-to-play game might want to wait for the final product in 2018. Those who are curious enough and willing to pay the price of admission now might want to bring a trusted buddy along for the ride since it’s one of those repetitive games that’s instantly better with familiar company. [Early Access]

The game looks great -- it's awesome to get down on the ground level and watch the little dudes duke it out. Even the maps themselves look incredible. But once the novelty of "it's in virtual reality!" wears off, you are left with a mechanically-solid RTS game with a poor story, that lacks specific commands veterans will expect, and has what is likely a very small community.

I was completely taken aback by how well RIGS comes together. Although it has some issues to work out with future patches (mostly related to a content drought), as a symbol for the tech it's one of the best virtual reality joints out there, and not just for the PlayStation VR. Hell, it might be the most justified virtual reality game I've ever played.

It alternately shocks and entertains without resorting to the boring, repetitive combat we usually associate with survival horror. Black Plague is nowhere near perfect, but it still deserves to be played.

Despite the fact that Watch Dogs hasn't made any meaningful impact on the genre, I found myself having a ton of fun with it. Between the deep levels of customization and the sheer breadth of content, there's no shortage of things to do. If Ubisoft can take the game's core fun factor and marry it with an actual "next-gen" experience the next time around, they'll have something truly special.

With better care given to the other modes and maybe some concrete rally tracks, this could have been the definitive rally racing game. As it stands, though, DiRT 4 is a hardcore simulation with limited appeal beyond a specific audience. Those fans will absolutely love this game, but any newcomers should try to cut their teeth somewhere else.

Hot Wheels Unleashed impressed me on basically every marker. It looks terrific, it feels great, and the track design is extremely well done. I kind of hate the blind box approach of unlocking cars, but that’s a small complaint when getting my wheels on the track is always a delight.

For as gorgeous as Eastward‘s graphics are, and as endearing as some of its characters become, and as much as I need its soundtrack on vinyl as soon as possible, it also falls short in some ways that leave its conclusion feeling a bit off. It’s one of the more promising debuts I’ve seen, and Pixpil has ensured I’ll be incredibly interested in whatever they do next. Eastward is something a fan of pixel art and good music, with a weakness for video game nostalgia, deserves to check out. It’s just also a journey that left me wanting a little more.

It’s very convenient and nice. It’s convenient and nice to not have to install a handful of mods on the original version in order to get it to look not terrible. It’s convenient and nice to have small quality-of-life things added that new players won’t even notice while Baldur's Gate veterans will likely welcome them with open arms.

State of Decay is ugly. It looks ugly, and in many ways it plays ugly. However, there's a simple beauty underneath the frightful veneer, one that surrounds a compelling, interesting, complex, and enslaving little game...Few zombie games, for all their marketing power and visual sheen, can come close to providing what State of Decay does.

Despite just offering a taste of what's to come with Vader Immortal, the first episode has me hooked and I want more.

It doesn't have the charm of PaRappa, the hummable tracklist of Gitaroo Man, or the addictive quality of Elite Beat Agents, but it's a nice shot in the arm for a genre that has grown stagnant.

Sonic Colors feels like a step right back into the same crap this series has drowned in for the past decade. If I had to pick a color for this game, it would be brown, for very obvious reasons.

There are far better shooters on iTunes than this, at the end of the day. They may be more expensive, and they may have dodgy business models, but they're simply better.

Inkulinati has its quirks, but it’s dripping with charm. For a small studio’s first game, it’s a solid experience that makes me look forward to what Yaza Games comes up with in the future. The game is on Xbox Game Pass, so it can’t hurt to try it out. Inkulinati’s deceptively robust combat and Monty Python-esque humor makes for a delightful experience that is well worth your time.

While I never really connected with the trap mechanic or the new Trap Master toys, Skylanders: Trap Team is still a well-oiled machine. On newer consoles it looks fantastic, the action gameplay is still exciting, and the charm is still there. I just hope that Activision and its ilk have more interesting concepts in mind for the next iteration.

The plot’s weak, the characters blab on too much, and the whole deal’s very last-gen, but for the truly dedicated, it’s playable, I guess. Rent it if you're a tactical geek -- everyone else should forget it.

I spent close to a dozen hours with the main progression path in PixelJunk Eden 2, and I've hardly dug into the unlimited-time "choose your garden and Grimp" free-play mode. Whenever I feel the gotta-catch-'em-all collectathon itch, I'll be sure to head there first since that mode has its own achievements. You can't tell me the total number of seeds in each level and not expect me to hunt them down. PixelJunk Eden 2 is one of 2020's few pleasant surprises, and I'm so thankful it exists.

If you're still rocking a DS Lite and own all four GBA games already, then you might not need this collection, but if you missed even one of the Zero games in the past, you're sure to get your $30 worth.

The Magic Obelisk has so many things going for it. It has really unique light-based puzzle game play, super cute graphics and characters, and a fantastic price tag. The clunky control does let the game down a bit, but I still think it's certainly worth your time and your $5.

It literally feels as if Techland studied the original Call of Juarez, identified all the things that made it feel fresh and interesting, and intentionally left them out of the sequel. What was once a franchise of weirdly intoxicating half-successes has been turned into a dull, unsatisfying, originality-devoid shell of its former self.

Although Amid the Ruins doesn't really go for many jump scares and is clearly a table-setting episode for the explosive finale, it's very much worth playing through multiple times over.

A game of this magnitude is bound to have its successes and failures, and Assassin's Creed Syndicate definitely has both. But, in most instances, gameplay and narrative are interwoven nicely enough to keep us vested in our pursuit of a better London.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is a beautiful remake of a good-but-not-great game. Its structure is more well-suited for the platform it originated on, and several of the one-shot gameplay concepts it introduces don’t really land as well as they probably did in 2007. Still, it’s got charm, and I love the unpredictable nature of the DMW and how it impacts the solid combat mechanics. I don’t think Zack’s adventure will resonate with me for as long as Cloud’s did, but I am happy to have been given a chance to get to know him better before he pops up in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

For those who enjoy beating down their friends in score-based challenges, the Score Wars feature alone will provide an endless amount of fun.

I'd love to see more add-ons like this in the future, and hope Blizzard supports Hearthstone for years to come. However you look at it, bare-bones or not, Naxx is a great start.

Despite the fact most of us will never have played the game it's a sequel to, the quality of Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines shines through its gorgeous visuals and deep mechanics. Come to think of it, there's no more fitting way for a game that's about leaving a worthwhile legacy to conduct itself.

Despite the uneven feel, there's a solid foundation underneath Charlie Murder, and fans of beat 'em ups will find plenty to enjoy as they bash their way through hordes of the undead while listening to a pretty kickass soundtrack.

Rune Factory 4 isn't the deepest or most structured game out there, but it more than makes up for it with its charm and wide-open freedom. If you are willing to put in the time to learn its varied systems, I think you'll find that this game is an absolute delight.

Nearly 14 years after first bursting onto the scene, Melty Blood has aged to the point of near-perfection. While a few aspects of the package leave something to be desired, the fact remains that, at its core, this is a supreme fighter with a diverse roster and deep, compelling mechanics that merit your attention.

Trials is a hodgepodge of stuff that should have been patched in and stuff worthy of extra development time.

When the dust settles, Grid 2 serves as a solid enough racing game with generally strong opponent AI. What it does not serve as is a worthy successor to the first game -- instead offering a stripped-down version of itself that is filled with lazy design, unfair AI opponents, special ESPN 'live' broadcasts that no one really asked for, and to top it all off, its bizarrely irritating narrator and loudly drunk or completely apathetic fans.

Atelier Shallie Plus may close the curtains of the Dusk trilogy, but it is a good place to start for those new to the Atelier games and can even be a good way to ease into the series. The story doesn’t get overly serious while maintaining a lighter tone than your typical JRPG.

It’s a short game, only an hour or so long, but it leaves an impact far beyond its runtime. Give it a chance, and it might just change the way you think about death.

It's really not a great videogame. But it's certainly a good waste of time.

Rain on Your Parade more or less delivers on what it promises. It's a clever and charming game that's bound to put a big, dumb smile on your face each time you ruin some unsuspecting person's day.

As much fun as it is to share with loved ones, Death Squared is considerably more difficult than Snipperclips, which didn't even have a failure state. Even though it has a "party mode," it's not a game I'd advise pairing with alcohol, since fine motor control is one of the first things to go when you're hammered. If you're persistent and willing to work together though, Death Squared is a good time, and definitely worth picking up on the Switch.

The Operator presents a number of fun puzzles and situations and gives you a story that is compelling, if rather clumsy. It’s about 5 hours long and manages to be entertaining throughout. Once it’s over, you might find yourself unsatisfied by its strict straightforwardness and the short leash it keeps you on. However, if you’re able to settle into the rigidity, you’ll find something enjoyable but hollow.

Inazuma Eleven is one of the best role-playing experiences I've had in a long time, and more importantly, rekindled a youthful feeling I've grown to miss.

As an emotional experience, This War of Mine: The Little Ones is peerless. As a game, it's a sluggish chore.

It might not be the perfect console arcade combat flight sim experience, but Ace Combat: Assault Horizon remains a treat for any fan of the genre or fans of stupidly awesome looking air combat action. Where it breaks with tradition, it injects a shot of epinephrine straight into your heart and keeps it pumping until a mission is over.

If you want to get the most out of Good Job!, forget trying to get the best score possible and just have a blast wrecking up your dad's company as this commentary on nepotism slowly plays out. That's when the game is at its best. Save those "S" rankings for a second run through.

Every time I play it I feel like I've mastered a new piece of the physics engine, or a new nuance to wall-jumping. It's one of those games that keeps on giving years later due to a solid foundation, so long as you have the company to enjoy it with.

Despite this, The Walking Dead: 400 Days is a worthwhile, bold narrative experiment. It throws away most of the trappings of the adventure game genre that the first season still hung onto; it's more directed, which perhaps makes it less compelling to play, but just as wonderful to experience. If The Walking Dead is more about dialogue and choices than the occasional puzzle and cupboard searching, then 400 Days is an excellent addition to the series.

El Shaddai isn't perfect, but it has more than enough breathtaking moments to make the journey worthwhile.

At its core, New Super Mario Bros. 2 is a Mushroom Kingdom coin -- shiny and addictive, but carrying no practical value whatsoever.

For once, I actually felt overwhelmed in a zombie outbreak, which is a real example of how next-gen technology can be used to do more than simply "make things look better."

Hell is Us is a great action-adventure game taking inspiration from Resident Evil, Souls games, and Tomb Raider. With a strong story and awesome puzzles, its overall inconsistencies and frustrations could be overlooked, though they take too much away from the experience to be ignored.

I can wholeheartedly recommend the full-price purchase of Wario Land: Shake It to only three groups of people: kids between 5-10 years old, die-hard fans of hand-drawn animation, and people who love "easy but smart" 2D platformers.

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit functionally serves as a playable teaser for the sequel to Life is Strange. Because of this, we never get real resolution to Chris' story. It ends on a gratuitous cliffhanger, and that's so predictably frustrating. But Captain Spirit uses its two hours well to craft a narrative that leaves us wanting more. That was the whole point. Chris may be a superhero but he's also an underdog. Everyone loves a good underdog story.

SNK 40th Anniversary Collection is a fine collective of games that helped define several genres, even if they weren't nearly as popular as their successors.

Dead Space 3 could have been the best entry in the series, and in many ways, it still does provide some of the franchise's most energetic, thrilling, entertaining moments. The changes thrown into the game inevitably damage its charm, though, and make this a step down from its prequels.

If you skipped out on the 3DS release entirely or haven't played Hyrule in any form yet, it's going to be a much more enticing prospect.

I did enjoy being in the water, but I can't help but feel the beautiful visuals and music were jamming pictures of places and emotions in my face instead of earnestly telling a compelling story. There's an unshakeable air of falsity about Abzû. As a treat to the senses, however, it's hard to beat.

Regardless of whether or not you desire innovation in Tropico 4, it remains one of the most enjoyable and charming city building games of current times.

While I might have aimed a little high with my expectations for Everspace, as a fan of the space combat genre, it ultimately is enjoyable.

In the end, Atlas Mugged is not quite as good as Zer0 Sum. It had me chuckling five minutes in, but there were fewer laugh-out-loud moments. It maintained high intensity in its action sequences, though none quite compared to the earlier death race.

It might be a case of sky-high expectations, but this sequel doesn't live up to its sublime predecessor Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+. Still, I'm not so sure it ever could -- that game was damn near perfect, putting Bandai Namco in a tough spot when creating a follow-up. Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 is worth playing for its frenetic new style and ruleset, but it's no replacement.

What Rapture does well feels slight. Interwoven character sketches stretched out like clippings of a short story dropped every mile.

I had a hell of a time with Horizon Chase Turbo. Of all of the retro revival games that have come out over the past few years, it is near the top of my personal list of favourites. I can’t get enough of it.

Date Everything! is a clever, creative, and charming masterpiece in the dating sim genre. It’s innovative and addictive, with A+ voice acting, stellar character design, and genuinely hilarious gameplay. It’s the best dating sim I’ve ever played.

If Style Savvy: Fashion Forward is the franchise's last hurrah, it certainly doesn't go out on a low note as it has the best fashion and is filled to the brim with stuff to do. But readjusting to a real time clock means changing the way I enjoy this series, and without the addictive draw of a short day and night cycle, I don't see this game taking dozens of hours of my time as past entries have done.

Not every single aspect of Everybody's Golf hits the mark, but so, so much of it does. It gets the most important parts right, and I'm hopeful we'll see some quality-of-life updates and advanced control options before long to help close the gap. Clap Hanz has dreamed up a wonderfully warmhearted game, one I encourage every would-be golfer to consider picking up.

Hot Wheels: Rift Rally uses everything the team learned from their prior project to keep you playing a bit longer; which is something you want from a game that costs $100+ and requires a toy to function.

It doesn’t really feel like it’s trying to be revolutionary in any way, nor does it seem like it wants to present you with a glut of content. It serves more as a tribute to the Double Dragon series but more in an aesthetic sense, as the combat system is unlike any of the previous games. You can tell that a lot of love went into making the game, but that doesn’t necessarily result in something indisposable or memorable. It’s less a rise and more of a bow.

It’s a loving tribute to Atari’s early console and the games that defined it, and it provides a nostalgic vision of yesteryear’s gaming laced with a bit of horror. The final act might be a bit too much torment, but it doesn’t crack the polish of the game’s bulk. It’s absolutely worth it, just maybe chamber a few swears in preparation.

Battle for Neighborville doesn't go out of its way to surpass expectations, but it's a silly, strange, joyful game – one I'm glad was greenlit.

If you enjoyed Yomawari: Night Alone, you'll love Midnight Shadows. It keeps the creative elements of its predecessor intact while expanding on some of its finer points. If you haven't played Night Alone, you can still jump into Midnight Shadows and experience the same surprises as the original, both scary and cute.

Just a hair less satisfying than the best of racing games, but compensates well for its shortcomings with nearly endless amounts of peculiar, one-of-a-kind tricks.

For $13, Graceful Explosion Machine is a fun little space shooter with nice visuals and audio that is worth your time and money if you're a high score hound.

It manages to do a lot with the system without, I believe, even scratching the service of what more focused and dedicated videogames could achieve. It's a game meant to excite you more about the system you just purchased, and that is what it does. Well worth checking out, at any rate.

Despite its age, simplicity, and lack of embellishments, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town proves the Bokujō Monogatari franchise has been on the money since the very beginning. Its content may feel a little sparse compared to its successors and competitors, but I can see myself returning to these lands long after the next harvest moon.

If you read up on the planets for fun, enjoy movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Interstellar, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, or Moon, or find the idea of hauling cargo from system to system and maybe getting in the odd fight along the way appealing, there is very little else out there like Elite Dangerous. I'm highly recommending it despite the tedium in its game play and the long periods of time you will spend just looking at stars/reading stuff on a screen. It is a beautiful, one of a kind experience that I cherish, one of my favourite games in the last few years, and the PlayStation 4 release is no exception.