What is good here is really good, but what is bad detracts enough that the entire package is a bit of a disappointment. A great piece of science fiction may ask a lot of hard questions and make the audience think. Halfway is not a great piece of science fiction, but it is a good strategy game for those willing to put some effort into it.

It really is a pretty straight forward and rewarding game. While it's in no way perfect, it's a completely serviceable roguelike for its price and for the Vita. If you can't get enough of this genre, then by all means consider Flame Over.

With some pretty decent platforming, a dash of shockingly grim humor, and an utterly ridiculous Sour Patch Kids music video courtesy of Method Man, World Gone Sour is far from the worst thing you could waste five dollars on.

Is the Blair Witch game a good fit for a franchise many have mostly written off by now? As a fan of said series, I would say yes. It absolutely has its faults, with the poorly paced gameplay and story elements being the worst offenders, but the amazing set pieces and psychological horror do a great job of raising the heart rate of anyone willing to venture through the forest. Ultimately, there are a lot of interesting ideas here, but they simply don't come together like they needed to in order to make the best of them.

On its own, Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon is a quirky, light-hearted spin-off with well-developed dungeon crawling gameplay that provides a satisfying level of difficulty and gives the player plenty of room to develop their own strategies, all the while offering tons of customization options with a huge roster of potential allies and moves. It's a solid entry in the Pokémon franchise.

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.

Despite the serious tone set by the plot, it's best to go into Clandestine with a light-hearted approach. The movement is a bit clunky, the animations and voice acting are stiff as a board, and there's plenty of visual issues. However, the core gameplay and asymmetric ideas work well together.

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.

Deus Ex: The Fall works far better with touch controls than one would think, and it offers up a lighter, if a little bare-bones Human Revolution experience. In many ways though this experiment feels like a waste, as it would really be stronger as either a PlayStation Vita game or even a downloadable console title.

I love the game in a fetish sort of way, in a way that I don't expect most people to relate with.

I have no idea when the next "Dark Pictures universe" entry is coming, but I'll be waiting for it.

Although Tokyo Rumble plays great and I had lots of fun with it, the gameplay on display has been done better, and recently. Both Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Double Dragon Neon have online and local co-op play in addition to considerably better graphics and sound.

Maybe I just expected too much, but I find myself missing the careful balance of story and gameplay that The New Order had down pat. Youngblood makes plenty of strides forward for this series, but it also takes some steps backward that end up hurting the overall package.

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.

Through it all though, I'm still going back and playing it. The live, die, repeat roguelite mechanic has its hooks in me and although it's frustrating at times, I'm working through gritted teeth to unlock more items to help me in future runs. The aesthetic beauty of the game helps keep me going as well as the music but I only wish some more tweaking had been done to some of the shootout mechanics. If you pumped hours upon hours into Enter the Gungeon then chances are you'll find a similar grab in West of Dead, but be fair warned that there isn't as much polish here.

A disappointing finale doesn't completely undo the goodwill earned by the rest of the season, but a sour aftertaste is still pretty hard to wash out.

Warhorse Studios took a big risk with this game and hopefully in the long run the technical issues can be addressed, because as of right now, they prevent Deliverance from reaching greatness. If you can climb over the mountain of jank and poor optimization then you'll be in for an incredibly authentic experience, that when it works, truly puts role-playing front and center in a fabulous way.

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.

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]

Mario Tennis Open feels a bit lifeless at first, simply because it doesn't give any other incentive for playing than to keep unlocking things and to just play more tennis.

The story and characters are somewhat forgettable, most of the missions are straight-forward, and the locales tend to blend together after a while. Having said that, there's a lot of potential here if you dig deep down into the game's ingenious difficulty sliders and challenge modes. In that sense, Thief succeeds as a bold stealth game, despite its bruises.

Despite its sparkling surface, Song of the Deep could use a bit more polish. That said, it hits more than it misses, and I can easily see myself coming back to its sprawling world every few years or so.

The Definitive Edition has a way about it that just feels right, to the point where I had to do a double-take and watch a video of the original just to see if I was going crazy. No, the 1997 edition never looked this good, and the remaster doesn't douse its legacy in any way.

In a game like this where mastering the mechanics is key, there's a lot to learn early on in Abyss Odyssey and it can feel slightly overwhelming.

I feel conflicted about Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, because while it’s never been more interesting to play as a game, the fact that its narrative is typical of latter-day Sword Art Online stories has actually become something of a liability.

While Front Mission 1st didn’t set my world on fire, and I found it lacking in a lot of areas, I did enjoy it. It’s not the best tactical strategy game to come out this year, but it’s welcome nonetheless. It’s also a great and loving remaster of the Super Famicom title, and while there are places I wish it was tightened up, I’m overall happy about it. It leaves me excited to play the next two remasters as they work their way to release.

There's an audience out there who is really going to appreciate what Ride 2 offers. While it's not the fanciest, I can't think of another motorcycle racer giving me as much control over my own experience as this. But the fact of the matter is Ride 2 wants a lot of time from you, and scarcely offers tangible rewards for the effort.

Fruit Ninja Kinect 2 is a game that improves upon its predecessor in almost every conceivable way. Anything less would be unacceptable given that this feels somewhat more like a remaster of sorts than a true sequel.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles is another decent brawler adaptation that sort of asks you to already have a bit of background on the source material to truly enjoy it. In that sense, it joins a very crowded space of many other anime games before it, and many of you out there know where you stand on these.

With more zones and less weighty in-app-purchases by way of an update, Dash could be one of the more enticing endless runners on the market. As it stands, you might find yourself picking this up, and running right past it after a fleeting sense of enjoyment.

Clockwork Aquario is here. 30 years late, but soaked in old-school style. Westone Bit Entertainment’s final release would not win any awards for originality, but offers a short, fun, and attractive journey to the halcyon days of the ’90s arcade renaissance. The package on offer is a little thin, and the price will be a tad high for the average player’s taste, but important work has been done by publishers ININ Games and Strictly Limited — here’s hoping they will be rewarded in kind.

A flawed, but ultimately good game. However, here we come to the major malfunction. Barely anybody is playing this thing. Even with 32-player matches available, it's really hard find a game populated by even half that number.

Fusion: Genesis is like a house made of different colored and shaped bricks, but no mortar. It's fun to play with the individual elements yet it all feels a bit unstable as a whole. Still, if you are a big fan of twin-stick shooters and space sims, and if you can overlook its faults while playing it casually, you can still get plenty of hours worth of enjoyment out of it.

Despite my enjoyment of the game mechanically, I cannot recommend Mayan Death Robots to anyone looking for a worthwhile single-player experience. For those wanting another entertaining local multiplayer game, however, it provides some unique strategic gameplay. It likely won't keep players enthralled for hours on end, but serves as a great addition to any local-multiplayer library.

Magicka 2 is just a retread.

As wonderful as the art and soundtrack are, and for as much as I enjoy the story, they can't quite save what is otherwise a pretty standard puzzle-platformer.

You're getting a very small narrative and another big interconnected Wild Area: that's pretty much of the gist of it.

While there is nothing fundamentally wrong with Sword of the Stars: The Pit, there just isn't anything that is really mind-blowing. It is a well-polished roguelike that doesn't stray far from expectations, but instead stays in a rather comfortable zone from a game design perspective.

Here's the bad news for those of you who already bought the original. While the new story is enjoyable and the Studio is fun to mess around with, you aren't really getting a substantial new expansion to pour over for weeks here -- think of it more like a hefty DLC package. In other words, unless you absolutely love Deception, it probably isn't a good idea to shell out $50 for Nightmare Princess.

Override: Mech City Brawl had a lot of potential, but ultimately I like the concept a lot more than the execution. The fighting engine is adequate, but I felt like it should be a lot more fun blowing up a city in a million-ton robot suit. It kinda seems like this one was sent out to die, and that's a damn shame.

There really isn't a whole lot to Miracle Cure if you aren't going to play multiplayer with a friend who shares your passion.

If Callisto Protocol was able to get out of its own way (and was less glitchy at launch), it probably would have been an even bigger hit.

Is The Conduit disappointing? No, not at all. I think it turned out to be exactly what we all thought it was going to be: a well executed Wii FPS with some ups and downs that's fun to play.

Beyond the threadbare narrative and vacant cast are some interesting battle systems and lovely aesthetic qualities. Unfortunately, it has almost as much unfulfilled potential as it does promise, never managing to separate itself from the crowd or do much of note to truly demand your attention.

As mindless as it is, Injustice iOS is a very easy way to get reacquainted with your favorite DC Comics characters.

Like all Labo experiences the Vehicle Kit was fun to build, but once that's done and you've saturated the software, you're done.

Nothing this Wii U release does can improve upon the core gameplay, which remains as dry, disaffected, and banausic as ever before. Razor's Edge gives us more, but when the original serving exceeded that which the player could stomach, "more" isn't a very tasty prospect.

Despite the pixelated exterior of Slave Zero X and its unforgiving temperament, it doesn’t necessarily feel like an old game from a bygone generation. Rather, it feels like the work of a passionate team that knew what they wanted and unapologetically went for it. It took an obscure license and ignited a new spark in it without compromising its own vision. It’s a rare thing, and I truly hope it finds its audience.

Hearing about how different Star Fox Zero was compared to its inception, it's almost like Miyamoto jettisoned most of the new ideas in favor of playing it safe due to complaints from testers. Even with Platinum's involvement, it's a confusing project that isn't quite sure of itself, wanting to try new things while simultaneously reigning it in. Despite these blemishes, I enjoyed my time with it.

Despite the old school feel, the level design holds up tremendously. So long as you can deal with some over-the-top humor, you'll have fun with Duke all over again.

Awful design, a counter-intuitive art style, and an obscenely cheap approach to difficulty makes BloodRayne: Betrayal a game that should be avoided by all but the most masochistic and deranged of gamers. The deep revulsion that this game inspires within me cannot accurately be described, but it is measured only by the intense, burning disappointment I feel as a fan of the series.

If you haven't played a Dynasty Warriors game in a long while, picking up Xtreme Legends on your shiny new PS4 isn't a bad idea. It doesn't offer up anything mind-blowing that demands the attention of casual fans, but as a complete package it's a wonderful entry point.

Shinobi is a great game with tons to do. Some of the old-school elements are sure to turn many players off, but if you can surmount the steep difficulty curve, there is a substantial amount of satisfying gameplay to be found. Those who want a cohesive narrative or who can't afford to endure a few hours of frustration should look elsewhere, but those who can make it past the hump can wring out a lot of fun.

Q.U.B.E. may not be the most original game. It has problems and leaves plenty of room for improvement. Regardless, it's a genuinely enjoyable experience that fans of first-person puzzlers should not miss out on.

What Piranha Bytes has developed could have been a thoroughly supreme game, one that could have gone toe to toe with the heavyweights of action role-playing. Due to a number of highly questionable design decisions, however, a lot of that potential has withered away. With so much lost, it's perhaps a testament to how talented the team secretly is that Risen 2 is still packed with fun in the face of truly inhibiting setbacks.

Infinite Warfare has had an uneven Season Pass but it's far from a disaster.

It's a fun distraction to casually play with friends -- be they competitive or casual -- and will perhaps help hold us all over till a proper Smash Bros. releases on the Switch; much like how the developers waited for a 3DS version. This is one fun little dance.

Fighting can be incredibly fluid and fun, but it's like Capybara took an idea they had for a side-scrolling beat-'em-up and stretched it beyond its limits into an ill-fitted action RPG. In that same breath, you'll be hard pressed to find a game more faithful to its source material.

Maybe one day ILMxLAB can craft something even greater, but for now this will do.

When it comes to gameplay and longevity, Death Come True suffers from the exact same issues as many titles in the FMV genre without breaking new ground. But Izanagi's engrossing tale of love, regret, and murder redresses the balance with superb performances, dramatic twists, and a genuinely impassioned climax. It's a short, somewhat expensive trip, but one worth taking when it hits your personal price-point.

Red River may not appeal to everyone – our sense is that it's too hardcore for the console crowd and doesn't have enough of a unique identity for the PC crowd – but that shouldn't dissuade fans of the series or of modern-warfare shooters from taking a playthrough.

The game we've been presented with works against itself more often than it does not.

Completion of a stage in R-Type Command is every bit as rewarding as it was in its shoot 'em up predecessors, but without the painful hand cramp. Give your trigger finger a rest and pick this title up.

The combat is fun even for those who are unfamiliar with the series, but there is certainly not enough to entice new players, and many will feel alienated by a story that doesn't much care for them. I personally have no desire the see this game's story reach its conclusion.

At times beautiful, hilarious, and even occasionally thoughtful, this is a one-of-a-kind action-RPG that deserves your consideration, if not your monetary vote. There's certainly nothing quite like it, and for all its foibles, when it hits its mark, it does so with vigor.

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

Knack II has the bones of a good platformer and a hint of charm but it just doesn't execute. I'm not sure what the Knack series attempted to accomplish, but after a sequel, it stands as one of the most missable franchises Sony has ever crafted.

You have to hand it to Atlus and Success for taking on a project that's aimed at such a niche audience -- their passion for giving gamers a hardcore title obviously ranked above any need to dumb the game down. Bravo!

As much as I enjoy the tone of Okhlos and its silly but well-informed take on Greek mythology, its repetitive format and simplistic gameplay hook aren't an engaging combination. I'd like to see every little goofy reference it has to offer, but the motivation to push through the grind just isn't there.

The Spectrum Retreat has a tragic story about a family cast aside by the American health care system. That much becomes apparent early on, but the finer details are hidden behind too many consecutive puzzles. There's a narrative worth hearing here, but the cadence at which it's told is just a little bit off. That, mixed with the good-but-not-outstanding puzzle design, keeps The Spectrum Retreat from being a truly great stay.

For those who are willing to put the time in and stick with it, Rust provides both a social sandbox and a deep, functioning crafting system. At times, it feels like anything is possible in Rust; like witnessing players double-crossing one another or stumbling upon a small sheet metal city in the desert.

It's a very by-the-book rhythm game that's been done many times before, but the unique pairing of SNK properties and the included tracks mesh together better than it would seem at first glance.

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.

I can appreciate that Supermassive has figured out the fundamentals with Tumble VR and come in at such a budget-friendly price, but I also can't deny the times when I grew bored of playing. Don't rush through this one.

If you wanted a terrifying experience, you won’t find it here. However, if you’re not desensitized by horror as I am, then A.I.L.A should offer entertainment, tension, and intrigue with its narrative. Those who are fans of P.T. and Resident Evil should enjoy this title, so long as you’re not looking for the next influential psychological or survival horror.

Tannenberg is by no means a bad game. That being said, I can't recommend it for the sheer fact that the player count is far too low. The audience for this game is split with Verdun, its predecessor, and there simply isn't enough here to make playing it the clear choice.

It may not look it in the screenshots, but Swarm is fast-paced, and absurdly hectic when you're playing it as intended.

Blowout Blast is another game I'll stuff in the "Kirby" folder on my 3DS, occasionally going back to it when I have a few moments to spare.

RPGs rarely hold my attention but I happily sank my time into this one no problem. There's enough quality content here that it feels like the developer or publisher is selling itself short by setting the price so low, as I would have easily been satisfied with this at double the price. It's even more impressive knowing the game was developed by three people.

Akimi Village is truly a fantastic little game and it's still digital crack in its purest form.

At the very least, the Switch version needed more time in the oven. Bugs. Bugs everywhere. Some of them required me to restart the software, and the opening load screen takes an ungodly amount of time to get all its cats herded. Even without them, Cat Cafe Manager controls like absolute garbage, it’s dangerously unbalanced, and the UI needed another pass. But it lets you pick up a raccoon off the street and pass it off as a cat, so at least it allows you to show the appropriate amount of contempt for your customers.

I did enjoy my time in the wasteland, even if it doesn't offer up a whole lot that we haven't seen before.

Hey! Pikmin is a little too simplistic for its own good, especially early on, but Arzest does a fantastic job of distilling what makes this series so special into bite-sized chunks. The transition cutscenes that play out like physical comedy shorts and the adorable little noises really sell it.

If you're a huge fan of boxing games and have been itching for something to fill that void, Real Boxing may do it for you -- otherwise, just keep waiting.

The lack of depth hurts Foul Play the most, and it's really a shame considering how brilliant the aesthetic is. I wanted to run around the stage, but playing the game made me exit stage left.

Although it has a high degree of visual charm and the controls actually work, there's something about the design of the stages that feels off and underwhelming.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020's retro suite is compact but it kicks everything up a notch.

Where it fails, however, is in trying to be superficially difficult through cheap enemies with aggravating attacks and the ability to instantly block all your moves until you level up enough to find the one attack that breaks their defenses.

As a downloadable title, I Am Alive is a remarkable accomplishment. Not only does it create an atmospheric world that feels real enough to identify with, but it succeeds at delivering a unique experience geared towards an adult audience while simultaneously being a fun game to play. It's a roller coaster of emotions, sometimes not exactly the ones the game intended you to feel, but a hell of a ride nonetheless.

Another problem is the lack of variety. I had a lot of fun playing Warplanes, but if you're not keen on going in for dogfight after dogfight (constant team deathmatches, basically) you're going to get bored a lot quicker.

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.

Like the meh Terminator project before it, if you're really craving something substantial from the Alien IP, you might like to blow apart some creatures here.

You're not getting a sports sim here; this is about simple Wiimote-swinging fun. Those looking for a high level of challenge need to look elsewhere.

Glare confidently puts something notably different within the confines of a strict, conventional genre. Though it lacks any glaring faults, I'm not sure it always works. It it interesting, though, and doesn't overstay its welcome.

hack//G.U. Last Recode's intended audience is almost certainly established fans. It's a solid remaster that looks great and runs smoothly. But it's still a dated JRPG that dominates dozens of hours with sub-par combat and repetitive beats. If you have never experienced The World, it's unlikely that Last Recode will pull you in. For those that never wanted to log out, it's a decent way to reconnect.

It may not be the second coming of retro platformers, but it certainly feels like a lost gem.

The new port of Pikmin 2 is a fine way to experience this game, but whether or not you think it’s trash or treasure is going to depend on your preferences. It’s at least cheap enough that you aren’t going to be too out of pocket to give it a try. It’s probably worth it just for the first few hours when it’s at its prime. But just beware that after introductions are made, it’s going to throw you in a hole.

It's not a bad game, but it's not a "must have" either. The LEGO Movie Videogame does a decent job telling the movie's story and being its own licensed tie-in game -- to its own licensed tie-in movie. Thankfully, both are fun in their own right.