Middle-earth: Shadow of War - Desolation of Mordor brings a worthy character into the spotlight with a slightly different feel, to aplomb.

If you’re a fan of noir thrillers, puzzle games or just creatively presented ideas, you’re bound to find something you’ll enjoy here. It also won’t require a massive time investment, which is always a plus.

Every time I could find something to enjoy in Flynn & Freckles it would quickly be overshadowed by a frustrating platforming sequence, mundane level design, or one of the many rage-inducing bugs that would ultimately result in my death. The character design and colorful world all have promise, but it's evident that something when wrong along the way.

Riddle Corpses EX doesn't go beyond its initial premise and I'll admit I'm more than tired of zombies and demons as the go-to cookie-cutter enemies. With a bit more personality or perhaps some original ideas, it'd be a no-brainer to recommend. As is, it's simply a fun and challenging twin-stick shooter that's perfect in short bursts. Quite frankly, that's good enough.

This is about as pure as a game can be. You learn how to play it in a few minutes, but can sit with it for hours. Its stylistic visuals and awesome soundtrack draw you in and keep you hypnotised, while addictive and challenging gameplay teases you with frantic block-dodging mayhem, great multiplayer modes and weird, surprisingly emotive "characters." In a time of incredible looking, but often flabby titles, it's nice to be reminded that, sometimes, Just Shapes & Beats is all you need.

Unworthy falls just a bit short. Not much can be done about the level design, but a few key tweaks to item management and difficulty balancing could lead to this becoming a hidden gem. If nothing else, it scratches the itch for more Souls that From has left.

I called dibs on Grab the Bottle because it looked kind of silly, and figured at worst it'd be a fun little distraction. It definitely hit those points, but wound up being something I legitimately enjoyed for some quick, on-the-go puzzle solving. And with a story that wound up having minimalist heft to it, I think this is a nice little excursion from your typical gaming experience well worth hitting the sauce for.

Danger Zone 2 isn’t a bad game, but it falls apart under the weight of its technical issues. If there wasn’t already a better version of this game by the same devs (disregarding the Burnout series), I might be more forgiving of some of these flaws. I simply can’t ignore the shortcomings, though.

State of Anarchy: Master of Mayhem is a decent twin-stick shooter that more or less works in function and fun, but has many setbacks that prevent it from being anything other than a middling affair. It's certainly not a bad way to get some light arcade action, but you'll hardly feel like you've mastered any mayhem by the end.

I had legitimately enjoyed playing it. This has somehow become one of my favorite games, and I couldn't be happier about that.

It just misses the balance, leaning too heavily on the side of frustration, with too little to show for all the hard work a player could put in.

Frozen Dawn is engaging as a micro story mission even in solo play, and one of the most impressive zombie offerings to date.

Hopalong: The Badlands is a fun and intuitive arcade shooter that lasts just long enough for you to feel like you've truly mastered its controls, but not too long to overstay its welcome.

All of the gating is unnecessary, but if you're willing to dig into Seal the Deal there's a decent amount there.

The game's variety of tools and obstacles keep it interesting all the way through... Just don't expect anything particularly special from its story.

My biggest issue is that DLC is so blatantly being held back from the game that it's annoying. The base board that you play on has the artwork for the two factions from the Invaders from Afar expansion and it's like they aren't even trying to hide the fact that there is still more money left to be spent. I understand the need to charge for expansions but at least try to hide it next time.

Super Dungeon Tactics poses a decent challenge, some cheery art and a fluffy storyline and straightforward campaign with a respectable variety of missions whose tedium is helped by the variety in the mechanics upon which they sit. When it’s put next to Disgaea or X-COM, it’s almost laughably simple and cheap in comparison, but cheerful enough to grant a looksee if you have exhausted any and all other similar options on the Switch.

It's not quite as good a package as my favorite Jackbox Party Pack, but in my opinion, Party Pack 5 is much better than last year's offering. None of the games seem to be here just to fill out the pack. If you're looking for something to do with a group over the upcoming holidays, there's plenty in Party Pack 5 to keep a whole bunch of people engaged and laughing for hours.

If you're a hardcore fan of Japanese role-playing games, then Resonance of Fate might be for you. The storytelling is far from remarkable, and the battle system requires a whole lot of patience and commitment. It wasn't groundbreaking in 2010 and isn't groundbreaking now, but there are a handful of neat ideas.

Even though it's not the most thrilling side of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Hunted accomplishes what it sets out to do. It's an introductory chapter, one that establishes a new conflict at the origins of the Assassin's Creed lore. Although reserved, Hunted manages to be plenty entertaining. More importantly, it constructs a compelling foundation for the rest of Legacy of the First Blade. If the latter two-thirds can build on the first chapter, we're in for one hell of a story.

Shikhondo - Soul Eater is a dessert shmup. Newcomers won't want to skip ahead to the last course of a meal because there are already so many other dishes to choose from, even at the same restaurant..

Gungrave, like when it debuted over a decade ago, is an acquired taste.

I think the absolute worst part, and this is unique to Skate Jam, is when the game decides that you hit an angle wrong and instantly boots you back out to a random area instead of the zone you're actually playing in.

The Lord of the Rings Living Card Game is crafted by a company that loves Tolkien, and understands both the lore and how to craft a unique world around the source material.

Rastakhan's Rumble isn't the best expansion Hearthstone has ever released, and it's only a small step up from August's Boomsday Project. Unfortunately, like its predecessor, the reward for completing the single-player content is extremely disappointing. Rumble Run is a decent way to spend about an hour, but that's all it is and you'll never go back to it. I hope Blizzard puts more resources into the next expansion's single-player mode.

Shadow Heritage is more Assassin's Creed Odyssey and I'm absolutely going to take it as we wade through an AC-less 2019. The episodic delivery system is a ballsy move that's somewhat paid off, though I wish it took more grounded risks.

Due to the marriage of puzzles and story I was swept up in Isle of Madness from start to finish.

It isn't perfect, but this episodic format isn't something I'd mind seeing return to Assassin's Creed in the future.