It's a game where every aspect of it is designed with such incredible care and efficiency that it actually comes together as one cohesive whole.

I may not have like this iteration as much as the rest, but it's still streets ahead of most current action games and deserves a warm spot on your shelf by the bonfire.

The whole package feels extremely light on content, and even a bit rushed. With reused assets, features missing that were in previous titles, added microtransactions, a lack of characters, and lots of grinding, it is hard to recommend this to even the most titty-starved gamer. You'd be better served watching videos of the spicier scenes online or just going to any number of free porn sites, thus saving yourself the time, money, and brain cells that would otherwise be spent on this.

The gameplay is excellent, the cutscenes are interesting, even the live-action stuff is surprisingly engaging. Everything about it works great individually, but everyone will absolutely notice that they're just that: individual parts. The overarching story connecting it all isn't enough to keep it from feeling disjointed...It's a disappointing realization, but not a damning one. Far from it, actually. Remedy's keen understanding of how to make an action title shines through, and it's every bit a game that has been lovingly crafted for years.

Darknet is something that could technically work in a traditional, non-VR environment, but the immersive nature of the game does feel justified. Even though it was daunting, I loved looking around the world and figuring out where to go next, and for the price, I'd consider it one of the Oculus' must-have games. [Oculus tested]

While I've talked extensively about the things that didn't quite do it for me, I will say this: if you enjoyed the first game, or if you're a diehard fan of the web series or the movie, you will more than likely appreciate this sequel. For everyone else, including those like me with only a passing interest in the web series, it's a very hit-or-miss experience. If you enjoy potty humor and language filled with more “fucks” and “shits” than you can shake a stick at, then Angry Video Game Nerd II is definitely for you. If not, then I might suggest looking elsewhere to get your platforming fix, because while the actual gameplay is decent once all the humor has been removed from the equation, it's still not the greatest.

It's noble that Smashing the Battle was built around VR -- at the launch of the Oculus Rift, no less -- but it ultimately feels like a free-to-play game and not a $20 brawler. It's no surprise this was originally slated as a mobile title. [Reviewed with Oculus Rift]

In a season consisting of five or more episodes, a transitional, table-setting tale like Give No Shelter would theoretically justify itself. But with just one more chapter left, it feels like there should be more here. Despite that, I do have faith that the finale will tie it all together neatly.

Anything it gets right or does adequately enough is countered by a pitfall or something lackluster. It's perfectly functional and seems to do what it wants to do, it's just a pity none of those things are particularly exceptional in any way.

StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops doesn't deliver anything that you haven't seen before, but it does it in an engaging way that sufficiently supplements the universe. If you aren't big on the massive time investment that a typical StarCraft campaign warrants, this is a nice little alternative.

I'm sure it can and probably will get better over time with polish, but what's here at launch is disappointing. I struggle to picture Slain! ever becoming genuinely good barring major reworks.

Windlands is one of the most beautiful games I've ever played. From the uplifting soundtrack to the thrill of jumping around in first-person and grappling like a maniac, it's a fun experience. It's just that right now, in terms of VR, it's exactly that: an experience, flaws and all. [VR Edition]

Trillion: God of Destruction isn't a game, it's a job; and not a very good one. This isn't something that should be played at home but instead in a cubical, on a desk surrounded by unsigned TPS reports while Becky from accounting reminds you to sign Bill's birthday card before he goes home for the day. And while the company you work for may be interesting, the work you do is so mind-numbingly banal you can't help but wonder if your skills could be put to better use somewhere else.

Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge basically amounts to a demo that can be completed in an afternoon and doesn't go far enough with its ideas, but it's a far better effort than the abysmal amiibo Tap.

I can't stress enough that Adventure Time: Magic Man's Head Games doesn't amount to much more than a tech demo that you can complete in one sitting. In that sense it's a proof of concept for VR platforming, but that doesn't mean it isn't a joy to play from start to finish.

It's addicting and easy to pick up, and the progression system has legs without feeling like I need to dump money into it. [VR Edition]

Clocking in at four hours or so, it doesn't overstay its welcome. I can also see jumping back into Adr1ft every so often to freak myself out again, or show it off to friends. So long as you have a stomach for it, this is one of the first "must-have" games for VR. [VR Tested]

As a VR experience though, Tale really sells the idea of 3D platformers, and I'd be very happy to play a fully-fledged sequel one day.

Samorost 3 is a relatively short journey, taking about five to six hours to beat and a little more to fully complete. That time is jam-packed with delightful characters, stunning scenery, and clever puzzles, so while it may be brief, it's certainly time well spent. For anyone who appreciates Amanita's previous titles or the point-and-click adventure genre in general, Samorost 3 comes highly recommended.

Dokuro is a frustrating, and occasionally fantastic game. It's a shame that there are a number of levels that felt phoned in and the touch controls are so off and on, as the art style and character designs do a great job of drawing you in.

Going in with modest expectations despite that price point, this is a decent DLC release. The main draw, the robot-building feature, is cooler and more extensive than expected.

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

Day of the Tentacle remastered is an excellent way to feed your 90s soul with good, nonsensical fun.

Personally, I don't mind paying for Hyrule Warriors all over again with Legends. I got hundreds of hours of enjoyment out of the Wii U version, and being able to relive that is fine with me. But not everyone is as keen as I am, so if you're not a superfan already, it's a tough sell -- because really, this series deserves to be immortalized on a big screen.

As far as endless runners go, the only thing Shred It! has going for it is the art style, and even that is feeling old hat these days. The gameplay follows the same formula as all the other runners you've played.

The quirky story, solid mechanics, awesome boss fights, and gorgeous animations all made it easy to overlook the minor flaws. The unlikely rabbit and turtle duo left quite an impression on me. In fact, I could certainly see Dr. Jonathan Banfield standing beside the likes of Quote, Lemeza, Aban Hawkins, and other indie greats.

It's a neat distraction for puzzle enthusiasts, but it won't be setting the world on fire.

The bad news is that this entertaining and occasionally surprising narrative is wrapped around an inadequately polished Hitman knockoff.

If you're interested in a modern classic that's both a loving retro homage and a cleverly design platformer, go ahead and give Mutant Mudds Deluxe a go first to see if it's your thing. If so, picking up Super Challenge wouldn't be a bad idea, because while it doesn't wildly alter the formula, it complements the series in an honorable way.

République is a competent stealth game that leaves plenty of room for improvement. While it weaves a number of intriguing plot threads into an interesting story full of socio-political motifs, it's ultimately an uneven ride that could have done a better job conveying its ideas.

But between the clever level layouts, exciting gunplay, expressive sprite art and animations, and some chill grooves by composer Chris Christodoulou, I was hooked. By the end of Deadbolt, I wasn't nearly ready to leave. The game felt like it was just starting to become truly great.

Shadow Complex was great in 2009, and for the most part, it still is to this day. You won't find many new elements in this remaster apart from standard graphical upgrades, but if it has been a few years since you've played the original version, it's worth going through the journey again.

If you're looking for a reason to jump back into Just Cause 3, the biggest draw with the Sky Fortress DLC is easily the addition of the jet pack. It's great to fly around in, but it never reaches the same excitement as the old-fashioned wingsuit. The missions don't do anything interesting and the straightforward story is told with static images, making Sky Fortress the definition of mediocre.

Bandai Namco has crafted a deep brawler that deserves to be up there with a lot of the competition, but some logistical issues specific to the Wii U hold the game back a bit more than I'd like.

I wouldn't say its the best entry in the series with the excessive use of the break mechanic and the story does the game no favors, but the combination of flashy action and fan-service kept me satisfied throughout.

This all adds up to a decent amount of bro-time if you really want it, but I'm fairly certain whoever you play this with will end up being a not-bro for a little while. Broforce could have been a fun "Hoo-rah 'Murica" romp, but it comes with artificial difficulty and bugs that aren't worth dealing with. You're better off watching First Blood again and pretending Satan is going to show up at the end.

It's difficult to be disappointed by a great studio taking solid mechanics and narrative beats from one of the best studios around, especially when the result is something as well-crafted as Salt and Sanctuary. While I do wish Ska Studio's latest had more of its own identity, I can't deny that I enjoyed every minute of it.

I like A Bastard’s Tale, I just wish that some more care and attention went into the gameplay. It tries to go for the Souls-y tough-but-fair difficulty, but its problems means it ultimately falls flat. Despite that, it’s still a short, campy, and very pretty experience that has a lot of heart to it, and for what it costs it’s definitely worth checking out.

Sadame is as repetitive as a song about thongs sung by man named Sisqo. The vast majority of encounters in the game follow the same pattern: enter an area, watch enemies appear, defeat enemies, watch more enemies appear, defeat more enemies, go to next area. That's it. That's the whole game.

Currently, Bloody Alloy: Reborn feels more like an Early Access title or proof-of-concept than a finalized product, so it is hard to recommend unless you love beating your own high scores and are starving for a fast Strider-like experience.

That's all well and good, but a lot of the ideas pitched in Telepaint have been seen before, and several levels actually retread over the same material, seemingly to pad the experience. While that doesn't happen often, when it does, you'll notice it, and will likely feel the urge to take a break before diving back in. Since the price tag is only a few bucks, it makes that pill a little easier to swallow, especially when the fatigue sets in.

Deathsmiles on PC is an odd port of a classic shooter, and even though it may not measure up to some of its Cave-bred ilk, it's still worth playing if you haven't experienced it yet.

The load times on PS4 are terrible.

It's a squad-based game that just happens to take place in an open world, and that's basically it. I don't see Division lasting as long as other, similar games either months down the line, as it simply doesn't allow for anything on a raid-like level to truly hook in the dedicated crowd.

The core mechanics and relaxing aesthetic merge so well together that players will sink in to the experience and never want to leave.

It's enjoyable enough on its gameplay merits to warrant spending time with it; it's also inconsequential enough that you couldn't be blamed for skipping it. It really just depends on how badly you want to play more Assassin's Creed.

If you're willing to dig in, and I mean truly dig in, the two styles of play benefit Return to PoPoLoCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale. The core story is roughly 30 hours or so, but you can mess around with all of the side content and the farming aspect for far beyond that, which is a perfect excuse to spend weeks on end with a portable.

Little quality-of-life additions like GamePad item management go a long way with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD. They manage to hide some of the game's less flattering blemishes, and let you focus on what it does best. While I still wouldn't put it near the top of the Zelda pile, it's still head and shoulders above most modern adventure games.

Gurgamoth is closer to Starwhal, another novelty-based, colorful competitive game, but at least the latter had a sense of humor and janky-controls that are part of the fun. Put another way, Gurgamoth really is just bumper cars: a fleeting, mild amusement best remembered as a sliver of an otherwise warm, fuzzy day.

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

Don't blame From Software for this -- the studio didn't even make it. And even if the developer gave the project its blessing, there's no way it could have possibly predicted what it was doing or how poorly Slashy Souls was going to turn out.

The plot is banal, the writing is tone deaf, and the acting is wooden. Those who can ignore the dressing and focus on the puzzles alone can find some good head-scratching moments and interesting logical interactions.

Overall, Soul Axiom is a painful experience...I love the plot premise; the idea of a digital, man-made afterlife and how that affects society is a cool idea. I just wish Wales Interactive explored it in a bit more detail, instead of giving us the half-baked story, sparse and boring environments, and easy, repetitive puzzles that it did. It feels like an opportunity for something special that’s been completely wasted.

It's hard to say what it actually is, but I think Ubisoft has managed to distill the formula down to the most basic level possible, and created an AC arcade game that's even more muted than the recent Chronicles offerings. Only those who haven't tired of the setup need apply.

The slow-motion combat might not be for everyone, but I found it to be just as exciting as any twitch-based shooter. Being in control of the situation at all times is exhilarating, especially when one wrong step could mean certain death.

Even with its flaws, The Flame in the Flood remains an engaging and challenging survival game.

At this point I'm starting to tire from the Telltale formula, especially when it doesn't provide a cast of memorable characters from the get-go, but Michonne herself was enough to power me through the episode and keep me interested. In Too Deep hasn't topped either season of The Walking Dead so far, but if you can still stomach a few empty "remember" prompts, you'll enjoy the story they're trying to tell.

The controls are tight, the visuals and audio are simple and charming, enemy types are varied and interesting, and you get to shower opponents with an endless barrage of giant shurikens, which never gets old.

While Far Cry Primal is a well-made experience, one I enjoyed a great deal, it oftentimes had me thinking about the routine the series has settled into, and envisioning a future where the Far Cry formula may not be as compelling as it once was, no matter how extraordinary the setting.

This game is not for everyone, but if there's even a little part of you that wants to hurl daggers at skeletal spiders under extreme duress, I recommend you go to hell. It's fun here.

This one is for fans only; and good on Compile Heart and Idea Factory for that. So to the Nep-heads who have enjoyed the series’ take on the console wars and its obsession with pudding and boobs: I can’t think of a reason why you shouldn’t pick this one up. To everyone else, there’s probably a better RPG you should spend your time and money on.

There is no reason to waste your time on a game as unambitious as Shooting Stars! You can say it's a small game, a joke game, a mobile game, and that's all true. I'm not holding it to ridiculous big-budget standards. But even within its genre and scope, there are better playing games out there that don't insult your intelligence on a regular basis. Play those instead.

Under all of this is the framework of a great runner. There are times when it's pleasing in almost every conceivable way. But, the unnecessary is too much to ignore; it bogs it down into the waters of mediocrity. The cliché fits perfectly here: More isn't always better.

The hub world is a far more realized slice of the wider Plants vs. Zombies universe, and it's so delightfully odd.

Conquest on the other hand is a more enjoyable from my perspective as a strategy veteran. It's much more complex from the start, and offers bigger maps, more interesting objectives (such as point defense or sieges), and a more intriguing plot.

Speaking of alleviating frustration, Birthright is probably the best starting place for newcomers. Not only does it offer unlimited grinding opportunities to beef up your party, but the actual missions mostly consist of easy "rout (kill) the enemy" parameters. The tale is also relatively open and shut, following a traditional storyline from a macro perspective, while keeping the complicated relationships intact.

It's a great middle-ground overall, really. Players can still grind like they can in Birthright (a mechanic that's eliminated from Conquest), but the difficulty is more in tune with the other release.

In a word, Cobalt is clunky. It has a lot of decent ideas, but it doesn't execute them very well.

Most people will be spending their time in the online component, though, and here's the good news: it works, and when more players start to really use it, it's going to be great.

The PC version also has local multiplayer, which governs the reason behind the price difference. Players all move along the map simultaneously, and the player with the least amount of mistakes wins. Dying eliminates a player until the next checkpoint, which instantly brings them back in. It's never too long between checkpoints, which means no one player will be doing nothing for too long.

If you don't intend on playing on Ironman mode, and have enough patience to deal with (not so) occasional glitches, it's excellent. If you were looking forward to a hardcore playthrough, or can't stand it when technical issues get in the way of a good time, you'll definitely want to wait for a patch or two before deploying.

Layers of Fear wasn't as frightening as I thought it would be based on early impressions, but I was still entertained by its mind-bending haunted house even when the jump-scares fell flat.

By wrapping classical adventure writing in a thoroughly modern play experience, inkle has turned Sorcery! into a great testament to the power and place of text in gaming's canon.

The combat is a bit predictable to start, but once you get yourself stuck into the more accessible alchemy system, you'll never go into two fights with the same toolset available, which is refreshing.

I don't know if this is the work of the localization team or the original scenario writers of the game, but gone is the disjointed structure of Project X Zone and here is an easy-to-follow storyline that even people who are totally unfamiliar with the series will be able to understand.

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth plays it safe in a lot of ways, but for many of you out there, that's going to be perfectly fine. Just don't expect it to convert you if you're sworn off the formula.

If you can stomach a few minor issues that add up over time, Arslan: The Warriors of Legend will be your huckleberry. True to Warriors form there's plenty of collectibles to find, new weapons to discover, online and offline co-op, and a free-play mode.

The Following was larger than I expected, and it maintains a high level of quality throughout.

With six challenges to do (just like India) and a New Game+ option, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia has plenty to offer for a bite-sized package, but it fails to live up to the bar set by its predecessors. The loud and powerful styles of China and India simply trump the final piece of the pie, which goes out with a muted rebel yell.

A tight, taut human tale well worth the trek.

The atmosphere is so compelling that I couldn’t help but feel like a piece of my own story was wrapped up in the game with the rest of the photo album. It’s rare but a special thing when a game manages to impart a story that touches strings deep in the heart, and Unravel manages to meet and exceed this feat. Get ready to have all the feels.

Without much option of anything besides leaning on the NES version's method of using Blob (a non-playable character) as the means of gameplay execution, WayForward's take on A Boy and His Blob is frustratingly imprecise and inaccurate. But, by deviating a bit and adding the jellybean wheel, it killed any momentum and turned the game into a slog. That is truly the worst of both worlds.

Tachyon Project isn't a remarkable shooter, but it's well-designed on several levels. There's no multiplayer to speak here, but with a decent campaign, lots of customization, and New Game+/Endless modes, you'll be perfectly fine going at it solo.

Blitz Breaker will bring a smile to your face if you enjoy games like Super Meat Boy, though the experience isn't nearly as deep. Once you've blazed your way through, there isn't much there to coax you into staying, but you'll have fun with the ride all the same.

I enjoyed my time with Fortified, but it is hard to recommend as a single-player-only experience due to it being too easy, and with no split-screen on offer, you're going to have to make friends or play with randoms online. The entire story consists of three short cutscenes, so those wanting a deep narrative need not apply.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is fairly simple as a fighting game, and has evolved little mechanically over past iterations.

Nitroplus Blasterz is a fast, smooth, strategic, and generally enjoyable fighting game that has found a happy medium between accessibility and depth. Provided a decent-sized community builds around the game, this is a fighter I could see myself enjoying for a long time to come.

Seeds of Memories has the all promise of a solid Harvest Moon title, but it fails to develop those features into anything substantial. Its forgettable storyline is somewhat redeemed by how well the actual farming side of things works, but that alone isn't enough to make it worthy of your time.

The good news is that AIPD supports up to four players locally, so if you have three other friends who are die-hard shmup fans, it's worth checking out. Otherwise you can steer clear and pick up the heap of other great shooters on Steam or PS4. Those platforms have no shortage of them.

If you still play Black Ops III, you can't really go wrong with Awakening -- especially since the new maps are now built into normal playlists from the get-go.

Shadow Puppeteer tries to do interesting things, but ultimately comes off as unpolished, bland, repetitive, and mediocre. I really tried to enjoy it, but I just couldn't bring myself to care about it.

It's a fun mindless romp through a couple of interesting setpieces, but not a whole lot more than that when it comes down to it.

American Truck Simulator caters to a wide array of people. There's something to be said for the serenity of cruising down a highway at night and obeying all the traffic laws. It's also a great opportunity to enjoy some audiobooks or podcasts while somewhat-mindlessly growing a trucking enterprise.

If you're looking for several hours of story content that's supernatural in nature, yet offers very little additional content post story? Well, Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch is probably your thing. Just be aware it reuses some assets in that two hour length and offers very little in the way of options for using your weapon once the story is over.

As it stands, playing Bombshell for more than an hour at a time is like ingesting a sedative, save for flashes of rage as you fall through the map one more time or are asked to find six more crystals.

Despite the grind, despite the perhaps undue commitment to brutality, and despite what I feel is a joke at the player's expense at the end, Darkest Dungeon still manages to be one of the most engaging and intriguing roguelikes I've ever played and I'll probably still be diving dungeons and trying new party compositions weeks from now. After all, it would be madness to stop at this point.

Final Fantasy Explorers has a litany of pacing issues, particularly when it comes to its quests and, visually, it feels like a DS-era game at times. But players who are willing to jump in with both feet will find a lot to love, and that goes double if you're planning to play through the adventure with a friend.

What truly makes The Witness everything that it is lies somewhere between the fundamentals of the puzzles and the deeply philosophical of everything else. These two work in tandem, complementing each other even when they seem worlds apart. There are so many layers of separation between the two that it's almost impossible to perceive or even conceive. But, they're there, working hand-in-hand and, on some level, one in the same. You'd be hard-pressed to declare that one of these components is closer to defining The Witness than the other.